The Order of the Knights Templar is the main antagonistic organization in the Assassin's Creed franchise. Where the good flourishes, evil will find a way to slither in. Since history was documented, the Assassins Brotherhood and the Templar Order have been at war with one another. Often times, this conflict would affect the history we all know today.
The Assassin Brotherhood has a very interesting history and background, but so does its main nemesis. Similar to the assassins, the templars are often very elusive. They maintain control from behind the scenes and although a lot of things are known about them through the games, there are a couple of interesting things about the Templar Order many people may not know.
10 Cain Is The Original Templar
While the very origins of the Templar Order and its various precursors remain a mystery, it is widely believed that the core ideology of the templars can be traced to the ancient world. More specifically, during the times of Adam and Eve.
Adam and Eve are human-Isu hybrids who rebelled against their creators. They later bore children named Cain and Abel. When Adam and Eve handed the Apple of Eden to Abel, Cain murdered him to claim the apple for his own. He was branded with a red cross for his sign: the mark of Cain. The Templars would later use this as their logo. The order considers Cain to be the first Templar, and therefore, the creator of the order.
9 The Children Of Cain
Cain's crime would later bear a belief system that the Templar Order will eventually adhere to. The very first iteration of the order is a group of individuals who called themselves the Children of Cain. They used the Mark of Cain as their emblem, and the emblem would later be adopted by the future iterations of the order.
The Children of Cain simply believed in the teachings of Cain. It is believed that Cain himself established the organization and he took the title of Master Mahan. Their goal is the establishment of a New World Order, with Cain at the helm.
8 The Means To Their End
Every villain is a hero in their own story. This saying rings true to the Templar Order. It is their sole belief that humans are corrupted in nature. Therefore, for world peace and harmony to exist, humans would have to be controlled and subdued.
Similar to the Assassin Brotherhood, the main goal of the Templar Order is to save humanity. However, the templars' belief is to save humanity from itself by controlling them and the assassins believe the humans deserve freedom as it is essential for growth and individuality.
7 From Spiritualism To Agnosticism
Prior to the discovery of the Pieces of Eden, the Templar Order were acolytes of the Christian faith. However, when the artifacts started surfacing, the Templar Order started questioning their religious beliefs and turned to a more agnostic mindset. They do, however, remain to follow a Supreme Being called the Father of Understanding.
Despite this, various Templar Order members held on to their beliefs, with several arguing that the Pieces of Eden came from God himself.
6 A Rare Treaty
It is close to impossible to comprehend a moment where the Templar Order and the Assassin Brotherhood would reach a compromise. Since the genesis of both groups, they've always been at odds with one another. However, this did almost happen at one point in history.
During the 18th century, a man named François de la Serre was the Grand Master of the Templar Order. In pursuit of peace, he sought to reach a compromise with the brotherhood. Before an alliance was reached, however, both he and the leader of the brotherhood at the time were murdered by radical subordinates.
5 The Other Enemy
Aside from the Assassin Brotherhood, another group who seemingly creeped out of the shadows have made themselves known and became an enemy of the Templar Order. Interestingly, this is the only instance where both the templars and the assassins have shared a common foe.
This group is known as the Instruments of the First Will. This cult-like organization upholds the belief of reviving the Isus of old, as they believe they should rule mankind once again.
4 Hierarchy
At the top of the food chain in the Templar Order organization is the Grand Master. During the middle ages, when the existence of the Templar Order was still known to the public, the title of Grand Master was given to a sole individual who acted as the head of the entire organization. However, when the order returned to the shadows, the title of Grand Master is given to the leader of any faction.
The other ranks within the order beneath the Grand Master are as follows accordingly: the Seneschals, Advisors, Commanders, Preceptors, Knights, Warriors, Clerics, and the Disciples. In the modern-day Templar Order, the highest-ranking member of the order is known as the General of the Cross.
3 The Other Branches Of The Templar Order
The Templar Order is nothing but highly organized. There exists a couple of groups within the order to ensure the stability of the organization and the fulfillment of their goals.
There's the Inner Sanctum, responsible for every action taken by the Templars which consists of nine elite members. The Outer Temple consists of those members who are kept in the dark of the order's complete intentions. The Guardians answer directly to the General of the Cross. Another group is known as the Council of Elders, who seem to have even higher authority than the Guardians. Finally, the Black Cross, who acts as the order's task force.
2 From Knights To Bankers
In the real world, the Templar Order fell from its power during the fall of Acre in 1291. After their fall from grace, the Templars removed their interest in religion and power and turned it towards the world of banking.
In a turn of events, their banking business led the king of France at the time to disband the order for disrupting the economy. The city of Acre would turn out to be the final stronghold of the real-life knights of the order before they were finally disbanded and expelled.
1 Lesser-Known Members Of The Templar Order
The Assassin's Creed franchise has a wide plethora of historical figures, which is actually one of the many appeals of the franchise. Since the first game was released in 2007, the players have met countless historical figures who turned out to be members of the Assassins Brotherhood or the Templar Order.
There were already multiple figures the franchise loudly revealed to be members of the order like the Borgia family and Julius Caesar. The other lesser-known members of the order who are historical figures include Vlad the Impaler, Juan Ponce de León, and John Wilkes Booth.