Richard I of England



Richard I of England, or Richard the Lionheart was the king of England in 1191. At the beginning of Assassin's Creed, Richard and his army have just taken the port city of Acre. His ultimate goal is to lead his army into the city of Jerusalem so that he can free the holy land in the name of the Christian faith.

With a base of operations established in Acre, the Crusaders prepare to march south. However, Saladin, leader of the Islamic army, currently rules the city of Jerusalem. Stinging from his army’s defeat at Acre, he will not allow Richard to humiliate him again. The Muslim forces are massing in the ruins of Arsuf, intending to ambush the Crusaders and prevent them from reaching Jerusalem. These war manoeuvres have left the rest of the Holy Land wide open. While Richard and Saladin battle one another, the men left to govern in their stead have begun taking advantage of their new found positions of power. Exploitation, manipulation, and provocation rule the day.

Richard the Lionheart makes a brief appearance during two missions in the game. He is leader of the invading forces allied against Saladin, and has decided to attempt to take back Jerusalem for Christianity.

Assassin's Creed
King Richard appears in the first of the Assassin's Creed series. In the virtual world he's the leader of the Crusader Army who's fighting Saladin in the Holy Land. Several of his lieutenants are Robert de Sable, Grand Master of the Templars, Garnier de Naplouse, Grand Master of the Hospitaliers, William of Montferrat, Regent lord of Acre and Sibrand, Grand Master of the Knights Teutonic. He was unaware of the Templars' plan to betray him by using the Piece of Eden and conquering the Holy Land in the Templar name. After Altaïr had assassinated everyone but Robert, Robert convinced Richard to ally himself with Saladin against the Assassins, their common enemies. Altaïr learned of Robert's plans and personally rode to Arsuf to tell Richard of the Templars' betrayal. After a fierce battle with Saracen and Crusader soldiers, he found King Richard, Robert and other elite soldiers of the army. Then Altaïr told the king of Robert's treason and Robert denying it ("my liege this is an Assassin, these creatures are masters of manipulation of course it isn't true" -Robert de Sable), Richard didn't know who to trust after Altaïr asked Richard if he was truly surprised by his subjects' plan of betrayal. He wasn't truly surprised by the news but he still didn't trust Altaïr so he let the Lord decide who was the one who told the truth and let Altaïr and Robert decide this by close combat. Altaïr's efficiency with the Hidden Blade proved superior to the Templars sword skills, and King Richard believed him after. They discussed with each other about the politics and philosophy of war and peace, in which Richard told Altaïr he wasn't ready for peace with the Saladin yet ("but in time what you seek may be possible" -King Richard), before Altaïr went back to Masyaf to combat Al Mualim.