Assassin insignia

"The symbol that you sought and found... It is a mark of courage and honor, yes. But it promises pain and loss as well."

- Oiá:ner, regarding the insignia.

The insignia of the Assassin Order, though varying slightly over different time periods and countries, held essentially the same shape and style. Each of its variations also possibly denoted the various sects of the Order.

History
During the High Middle Ages, the insignia was used to mark the entrances of Assassins' Bureaus and could be seen on the banners decorating the fortress of Masyaf. During the Renaissance in Italy, it was used on the mechanisms in the many Assassin Tombs and on the banners and walls of Monteriggioni. It was also displayed on the banners hung in the Tiber Island headquarters. In Constantinople, Assassin Dens and ziplines had a small Assassin insignia atop them, while Bomb-crafting stations were all painted with the Turkish Assassins' personal insignia.

Appearances on Assassins
Additionally, the insignia was worn openly on the armor and clothing of certain known Assassins, such as Mario Auditore, Ezio Auditore da Firenze, Nikolai Orelov, Achilles Davenport, John de la Tour, Ratonhnhaké:ton, and Saeko Mochizuki. Certain modern-day Assassins also wore the insignia in the form of a tattoo, such as Daniel Cross and Kiyoshi Takakura.

Trivia

 * In the Sanctuary, all of the statues had different variations of the Assassin insignia on their waists.
 * In Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, Desmond searched for Assassin insignias painted onto the walls, in order to guide him to the Colosseum Vault.
 * The cape worn during the Carnevale in Assassin's Creed II bore an emblem similar to the Assassin insignia.
 * The insignia bore some resemblance to the symbol of the Freemasons, which was the.
 * Both the original Levantine insignia and the Russian variations were vertically asymmetrical, unlike the most of variations known.
 * The insignia could be seen on the back of the Seusenhofer armor and the Armor of Brutus.
 * The coin on the Mongolian Assassin insignia resembled one from the of China, which occurred much later than the period from which the insignia originated from.
 * As the Mentor of the Levantine Assassins, Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad wore a cloak clasp in the shape of the Renaissance Roman Assassins’ insignia. His robes were also adorned by multiple symmetrical insignia.