Order of the Ancients

"The Order is Eternal. You are ephemeral."

- Ptahmose to Bayek, 38 BCE.

The Order of the Ancients, known collectively as The Snake, was a secretive cabal operating throughout ancient Egypt, and beyond, who sought to use the relics of the ancient gods to promote peace and progress for mankind under their ordered rule.

During the late of Egypt, the Order ruled Egypt from the shadows by exploiting the young Pharaoh, Ptolemy XIII, as their puppet. After Ptolemy's death, they shifted their support to Julius Caesar, who allowed their power to expand throughout the Roman Republic. The Order of the Ancients would eventually evolve into the Templar Order.

History
In 51 BCE, as the young Ptolemy XIII ascended to the throne as co-ruler of Egypt alongside his sister-wife Cleopatra. The Order quickly became the true power behind the throne and used all their powers to influence, through Ptolemy, the organization of Egyptian society and to push forward their own plans for the realm.

After discovering that the Queen was not as easy to handle as her brother, the Order instigated the expulsion of Cleopatra from Egypt in 49 BCE. They chose Ptolemy, knowing that Cleopatra was a much more cunning ruler and a better strategist than her younger brother, who was more interested in the superficiality of power and was easily swayed by them.

After he discovered their existence, the Medjay Bayek began a quest to thwart their plans for domination. As a result, he later founded the Hidden Ones, a brotherhood which would eventually evolve into the Assassin Brotherhood and fight against the next iteration of the Order of the Ancients in the following millennia, the Templar Order.

Foundations and memberships
The Order of the Ancients was founded by the Pharaoh Smenkhkare, around 1334 BCE, with the aim of identifying and exploiting ancient Isu technologies. Having discovered the Isu vault Eeyoo Sekedoo Aat, Smenkhkare eventually had his own tomb connected to the vault in order to keep it hidden.

By the time Egypt was under the control of the Ptolemaic dynasty over one thousand years later, the Order comprised of various men and women at the upper echelons of the ruling class; these individuals retained positions of power and, for the most part, were involved in political, religious, economic and military proceedings. Members of the Order of the Ancients symbolically wore masks when they met in congress - a visual display of their loyalties. Each key member of the Order was responsible for their own sphere of influence within Egyptian society and they were scattered all over Egypt, due to the antiquated constraints of communication and transport.

Goals and beliefs
"I have served them and your beloved Egypt. And I'll be rewarded in the Afterlife. An eternity of drinking and whoring with my brothers."

- Lucius Septimius, explaining his beliefs to Aya. Unlike the residents of ancient times, the Order of the Ancients, much like their future incarnation the Templars, are deistic in their faith and are not polytheistic. They do believe in the Afterlife. The Order of the Ancients also believed in the Father of Understanding.

The primary aim of the Order at this time was to bring back a strong dynastic power, equal to that of previous dynasties which had ruled during the glory days of Ancient Egypt, prior to the arrival of the Ptolemies. This was reinforced with the belief that the pre-existing system was much more founded on order, on the divine power of the Pharaohs. In this perspective, the Order were looking for means of control, be they political, religious, military or cultural, to regain what had been lost. In addition, they also had people in positions of knowledge who were looking for the secrets of the past, such as the Pieces of Eden.

Ancient Egypt

 * Smenkhkare (Founder)

Ptolemaic Egypt / Roman Republic

 * Actaeon (The Vulture)
 * Ampelius (The Administrator)
 * Augustus
 * Berenike (The Crocodile)
 * Eudoros (The Hippo)
 * Flavius Metellus (The Lion)
 * Hetepi (The Lizard)
 * Julius Caesar
 * Khaliset (The Hyena)
 * Ktesos (The Ram)
 * Livius
 * Lucius Septimius (The Jackal)
 * Medunamun (The Ibis)
 * Pothinus (The Scorpion)
 * Ptahmose (The Mason)
 * Raia
 * Rudjek (The Heron)
 * Rufio (The Leader)
 * Tacito (The Executioner)
 * Taharqa (The Scarab)
 * Theotimos

Roman Empire

 * Caïus Fulvus Vultur

Allies and puppets
Ptolemaic Egypt / Roman Republic
 * Cleopatra
 * Gennadios
 * Kensa
 * Melitta
 * Ptolemy XIII
 * Venator

Roman Empire
 * Caligula
 * Faustinus

Trivia

 * Many of the members' aliases are representations of various deities in Egyptian mythology:
 * The Crocodile (Sobek);
 * The Heron ;
 * The Hippo ;
 * The Ibis ;
 * The Jackal (Anubis);
 * The Lion ;
 * The Ram ;
 * The Snake, the Order's collective name (Apep);
 * The Scarab ;
 * The Scorpion ;
 * The Vulture ; and,
 * The Hyena
 * The ankh that accompanies the crowned snake hieroglyph resembles the cross pattée of the Order's future incarnation, the Knights Templar.
 * The serpent wears the, the double crown, symbolizing the Order's desire to rule all of Egypt.

Appearance

 * Assassin's Creed: Origins
 * Assassin's Creed: Origins - The Hidden Ones