A bandit is an individual, often belonging to a gang, who habitually partakes in illegal activities, typically in an isolated or lawless region.
History[]
5th century BCE[]
With the absence of a proper and organized law enforcement, usually fulfilled by guards, bandits were widespread in ancient antiquity. People who had found robbing and harrying of civilians profitable also harassed the Spartan misthios Kassandra throughout her travels across Greece during the Peloponnesian War. At the time, the bandits commonly seemed to favor a specific helmet which originated from Chalkidiki, Makedonia. A number of them also sported tattoos, using dark pigments to adorn their faces and their arms with relatively simple markings, though some bore an elaborate image of a griffin on their chests or on their backs.[1]
Exceptions to haphazard bandits did exist, as proven by the existence of The Dagger, a criminal organization haunting the Abantis Islands.[2] Although smaller organized groups of bandits also existed, their leader being a regarded as "chief". A chiefship was an unsteady position however, and in-fighting for leadership was not uncommon. Allegedly, one chief had made a belt from the skin of thier predecessor.[3]
Kassandra also acquired crews consisting of bandits for her ship, the Adrestia. In addition to that, due to an Animus modification, Kassandra was also able to crew the Adrestia with gang members.[1]
1st century BCE[]
Bandits were also a common sight in ancient Egypt during the Ptolemaic Kingdom, taking advantage of the Phylakes focusing on the war against Cleopatra VII to plunder villages, rob travelers, and run various criminal enterprises such as forgery and illegal taxation. The Medjay Bayek of Siwa encountered and fought numerous bandits while he was hunting down the Order of the Ancients.[4]
Of special note during this time were the gangs called Hungry Great Ones in Sap-Meh and Sapi-Res Nomes,[5] and the Disciples of the Lioness in the proximity of Letopolis.[6][7]
9th century CE[]
During the 870s, England had four kingdoms dividing the country. These troublesome times showed great turmoil and thus some sought to profit from the situation. Many men and women allied themselves with groups of bandits, robbing entire villages or passersby, murdering civilians and soldiers alike. They often targeted Viking shieldmaiden Eivor Varinsdottir of the Raven Clan during her travels. Even bigger cities like Lunden saw bandits hiding in plain sight, causing trouble the reeves, Stowe and Erke, had to manage.[8]
12th century[]
Upon his return to Masyaf, the exiled Levantine Assassin Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad encountered the brigand Bayhas and his gang.[9] The Assassin killed the bandits and released the tradesman Mukhlis they'd imprisoned, and proceeded to Masyaf.[10] Later, Altaïr also met Bayhas' father, the bandit leader Fahad.[11]
Renaissance[]
15th century Italy also had its bandit problems which carried over to the following century as well. Bandits occasionally targeted the Italian Assassin Ezio Auditore while he travelled through the landscape of Florence, Forlì, San Gimignano, Tuscany, and Venice.[12] From 1500 onwards, the streets of Rome were plagued by the gang Cento Occhi ("hundred eyes") who had allied with the Borgia, while the Followers of Romulus haunted Rome's countryside and the ruins therein.[13]
19th century[]
In Victorian London, bandits were organized into gangs. In 1868, the two leading gangs were the Blighters led by the British Templar Maxwell Roth, and the Clinkers, who were taken over by the twin British Assassins Evie and Jacob Frye and renamed as the Rooks following a gang war in Whitechapel against the street forces commanded by the Templar Rexford Kaylock.[14] The Rooks proved invaluable to the Fryes' liberation of London by thwarting Templar influence in the boroughs,[15] but by 1888 were overtaken by the serial killer Jack the Ripper, who turned them against the Assassins.[16]
Behind the Scenes[]
Though the emblem of the bandits in Assassin's Creed: Odyssey seems to be based on a 3rd century BC mosaic of a dragon from Caulonia,[17] according to the Discovery Tour: Ancient Greece, it's based on coins from Halikarnassos.[18]
Appearances[]
- Assassin's Creed II (first appearance)
- Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
- Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood novel
- Assassin's Creed: The Secret Crusade (as brigands)
- Assassin's Creed: Syndicate
- Assassin's Creed: Origins
- Assassin's Creed: Odyssey
- Assassin's Creed: Valhalla
- Wrath of the Druids (mentioned only)
- Assassin's Creed: Fragments – The Blade of Aizu
- The World of Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Journey to the North – Logs and Files of a Hidden One (mentioned only)
- Assassin's Creed: Mirage
- Assassin's Creed: Nexus VR (mentioned in Database entry only)
- Assassin's Creed: Mirage – Daughter of No One
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Assassin's Creed: Odyssey
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Odyssey – Death and Taxes
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Odyssey – Hostage Situation
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Origins
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Origins – The Hungry River
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Origins – The Scarab's Lies
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Origins – New Kid in Town
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Valhalla
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: The Secret Crusade – Chapter 53
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: The Secret Crusade – Chapter 54
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: The Secret Crusade – Chapter 57
- ↑ Assassin's Creed II
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Syndicate – Gang War (Whitechapel)
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Syndicate
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Syndicate – Jack the Ripper
- ↑ Caulonia on Wikipedia
- ↑ Discovery Tour: Ancient Greece – Megaris: Bandit Banner