Pigeon coop

The pigeon coop, as well as the carrier pigeons they house, is a means of communication which were historically used by the Assassins to covertly trade messages and assignments.

History[]

Antiquity[]

In the 1st century BCE, members of Apollodorus' network of informants often communicated through carrier pigeons. Hotephres had a pigeon coop at his hideout in Soknopaiou Nesos, which he was forced to abandon after his theft of a ledger belonging to the Order of the Ancients member Berenike was discovered.^[1]

Middle Ages[]

Golden Age of Baghdad[]

In the 9th century, the Hidden Ones of Alamut frequently communicated through carrier pigeons, and each of their bureaus in Baghdad featured at least one pigeon coop.^[2]

Viking Age[]

ACV Pigeon coop — A pigeon coop in Ireland

During Flann Sinna's reign as High King of Ireland, pigeon coops were found in cities, towns, and trading posts across the country. Every pigeon coop corresponded to the regions of Ulster, Connacht, and Meath and the royal demands of their kings. The royal demands on the pigeon coops detailed the kings' large issues that needed solving immediately.^[3]

In 879, the Viking jarlskona Eivor Varinsdottir of the Raven Clan was told about these pigeon coops by Flann's poetess and advisor, Ciara ingen Medba.^[4] Eivor subsequently used them to gain influence and support from the kings, in order to garner support for Flann's rule in the aforementioned regions.^[3]

Third Crusade[]

During the Third Crusade, coops were located within Masyaf and the local Assassin bureaus of each city. Messages were often sent to the Rafiq of the bureau to inform them of contracts, or of the arrival of certain Assassins in their city. During the Hunt for the Nine, the Mentor Al Mualim sent pigeons from his study to the cities of Damascus, Acre, and Jerusalem to inform the local Rafiqs of Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad's eminent arrival in the city, and of his current target.^[5]

Renaissance[]

At the time of the Renaissance, most of the contracts sent via carrier pigeon were assigned by Lorenzo de' Medici, and were executed by Giovanni Auditore and, later, by his son Ezio.^[6] Mario Auditore also made use of pigeons in Monteriggioni, though mostly to collect the information gathered by spies he sent to other cities.^[7]

The Shadow Game — Pigeons delivering messages to Monteriggioni

As most rooftops were restricted to civilians, Assassins and their allies were easily able to leave messages at pigeon coops to be later picked up by members of the Order.^[7] Fiora Cavazza relied on this fact when she betrayed the Templars, choosing to wait near a pigeon coop and speaking with a guard she had seen leave a message in a nest.^[8] However, this method was still prone to flaws, such as when Francesco Vecellio sent a message to Giovanni Borgia via carrier pigeon, only for it to fly straight into his room instead of the coop as intended.^[9]

When the Italian Assassins built their brotherhood in Rome, Niccolò Machiavelli managed to plant several spies in the Borgia forces. These men gathered the names of important Templar figures, which were in turn delivered to Ezio Auditore through pigeon coops around Rome. To receive more assignments, Ezio spoke with Pantasilea Baglioni, who would inform him of Machiavelli's progress and the type of contracts available. Through these coops, not only could Ezio accept contracts, but he could also assign his apprentices their own missions.^[10] In Constantinople, pigeon coops were always located near the ground, in secluded areas next to bomb-crafting stations. Though they functioned similarly, they were also noticeably smaller than those found in Italy.^[11]

Golden Age of Piracy[]

In the early 18th century, the Assassins continued to use pigeon coops, and had several stationed on islands around the West Indies. The pirate Edward Kenway used these coops to receive contracts, the targets of which were often located on islands nearby.^[12]

Colonial America[]

During the 1760s and 1770s, the Assassin Aveline de Grandpré regularly collected messages from pigeon coops around New Orleans, which were sent by her fellow Assassin Gérald Blanc and contained details about her missions. Aveline even kept a pigeon coop in the backyard of her mansion.^[13]