The Hidden Blade Assassin's Creed in Depth

Awesome post, thank you!

ZOMG wow awesome

I always knew AC was historically accurate, but wow!

If they follow through with the AC movie, I would love to see them shoot on location at Masyaf. Fix it up with CG to make it look newer, obviously. And recreate some exterior rooms with set pieces if needed.

Thanks for all you support. More is coming up! Stay tune!

Dome of the Rock

The Dome of the Rock was an Islamic mosque and major landmark located in the city of Jerusalem. It was built between 689 and 691 AD. It is one of the most recognized and important Islamic shrines in the city, as well as the most coveted among three religions (Islam, Judaism, and Christianity). (Reference: http://assassinscreed.wikia.com/wiki/Dome_of_the_Rock)

The Dome of the Rock is a shrine located on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem. The structure has been refurbished many times since its initial completion in 691 CE at the order of Umayyad Caliph Abd al-Malik. The site's significance stems from religious traditions regarding the rock, known as the Foundation Stone, at its heart. (Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dome_of_the_Rock)

Built atop the earlier location of the Temple, the Dome of the Rock was erected by the Muslim ruler Abd el-Malik in 688-691. Because of its situation on bedrock, the numerous earthquakes over the centuries have not caused significant damage to the structure (unlike its neighbor Al Aqsa mosque). This shrine was covered by a lead dome from 691 until it was replaced with a gold-colored covering in the early 1960s. Because of rust, the anodized aluminum cover was again replaced in 1993 with a gold covering. (Reference: http://www.bibleplaces.com/domeofrock.htm)

You can find Dome of the Rock at here:

Al-Aqsa Mosque also known as al-Aqsa, is the third holiest site in Sunni Islam and is located in the Old City of Jerusalem. The site on which the silver domed mosque sits, along with the Dome of the Rock, also referred to as al-Haram ash-Sharif or "Noble Sanctuary," is the Temple Mount, the holiest site in Judaism, the place where the Temple is generally accepted to have stood. Muslims believe that Muhammad was transported from the Sacred Mosque in Mecca to al-Aqsa during the Night Journey. Islamic tradition holds that Muhammad led prayers towards this site until the seventeenth month after the emigration, when God directed him to turn towards the Ka'aba. (Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Aqsa_Mosque)

After completion of the Dome of the Rock, construction began at the site of the original timber mosque built in the time of 'Umar. A vast congregational mosque rose up, accommodating more than five thousand worshippers. Originally commissioned by 'Abdul Malik ibn Marwan, it was apparently completed by his son Al-Walid in 705AD. (Reference: http://www.noblesanctuary.com/AQSAMosque.html)

You can find Al-Aqsa Mosque at here:

If you guys wanna learn more, click here:
http://www.actionradius.com/jdl/default.asp?id=3711&qty=1

Sorry guys. This is the best I can do on Al-Aqsa Mosque. Or did I get to the wrong in game? Can anyone check that out for me? Thanks!

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, also called the Church of the Resurrection by Eastern Christians, is a church within the walled Old City of Jerusalem. It is a few steps away from the Muristan. (Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_the_Holy_Sepulchre)

Originally built by the mother of Emperor Constantine in 330 A.D., the Church of the Holy Sepulcher commemorates the hill of crucifixion and the tomb of Christ's burial. (Reference: http://www.bibleplaces.com/holysepulcher.htm)

You can find The Church of the Holy Sepulchre at here: (And yes, there is an interrogate investigation)

This stuff is amazing! Keep it coming!

After I do some in-depth research, I found out there are several more landmarks in Assassin's Creed that I seems to cannot get a picture from Google and/or in-game. In Damascus, the remaining landmarks I hasn't shown is: Souk Al-Silaah, Pasha Mosque, Formal Gardens, Citadel of Salah al-Din and lastly Sarouja Souk Market Quarter. In Jerusalem, there a still Tower of David and Western Wailing Wall. In Acre, Fortress of Hospitalier, Cathedral of the Holy Cross and King Richard's Citadel. First, I want to talk about Cathedral of the Holy Cross. I am sure you all realized that Cathedral of the Holy Cross is actually the tallest structure in the entire game. It would be foolish to ignore this structure if I want to make a thread on landmarks. But then in Boston, there is a Cathedral of the Holy Cross. So, to narrow the search, I Google "Cathedral of the Holy Cross Acre" and the result is a zilch. That makes me wonder, does Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Acre really exist? Or it did exist but destroy by war? If you guys have any idea, please comment. Also, if you guys know where can I find those landmark be it in-game or Google, feel free to upload those photos! Thanks! Safety and peace to you guys!

Here is other landmarks that give me a zilch when I Google them.

Souk Al-Silaah (This is where you kill Tamir)

Pasha Mosque

Formal Garden

Partially Rebuilt Citadel of Salah al-Din

Sarouja Souk Market

Jubair's Madrasah

Abu'l Nuqoud's Palace (This is where you kill Abu'l Nuqoud)

Fortress of Hospitalier (This is where you kill Garnier de Naplouse)

King Richard's Citadel (This is where you kill William of Montferrat)

Cathedral of the Holy Cross

Lastly, when I Google-map "Western Wailing Wall" I get something like this:

So, I compared it against Assassin's Creed in-game Jerusalem Map, and try to pin-point the would-be location of Western Wailing Wall. Then I got something like this:

And guess what, this is actually the place where Majd Addin execute innocent people.

Whon Zang Yi, thank you for this information. You have no idea how educational this is. You've just revealed how historically accurate ACI is.

Now if only they had this feature in the first Animus...

Maybe the developers weren't thinking about educating their audiences. After all, those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.

I am glad that Ubisoft finally include this system in the second animus. Maybe they do learn from from the past after all.

Thanks for sharing these information.

This is what makes the game so interesting - its inspired by actual historical data.

It actually facilitates learning, at least in my case - I actually got interested and started reading up about the real historical events during / after beating AC and AC :B. (just to know how different was history from the game)

and the government is probably controlled by Abstergo

Thanks for sharing this, it just goes to show how much content and effort was put into AC1 and this is a perfect reminder of how true to life the architecture is.

I have also done some research into real-life locations in AC1. Please see this topic and compare notes. I identified AC1's Pasha Mosque as the real-life Sinan Pasha Mosque and concur that Cathedral of the Holy Cross was fictional. The Gothic architecture was wrong for that time and place.
http://www.thehiddenblade.com/real-life-locations

It looks like you got the right mosque. Al-Aqsa is the only structure standing on the Temple Mount south of the Dome of the Rock.

I'm actually in the middle of that exact enticement! It's how I stumbled upon this site, actually. I've bookmarked assassin'screed.wikia.com and have been following the series' timeline and comparing it to that of wikipedia (although it is a publicly edited site, so some information may be false or unverified). I actually found what I believe to be a conflicting timeline error right in the beginning of my research; Check out the persian assassin Darius I. I'm going to make a post about him and his bizzare connection to his son, Xerxes. Something tells me Ubisoft made a mistake selecting the right Darius, because there is Darius I and Darius II. Anyways, just wanted to comment on how right you are about the game making you brush up on the world's history!

Not to necro an old post, but I've just got around to playing Assassin's Creed 1 (First time venturing into the AC franchise), and wanted to point out a very important landmark in the game.

In Jerusalem, you can see the Western Wall in Jerusalem during the execution scene. If you look at black and white photos of the wall from before 1948, you will see that the wall in-game looks identical to it.

I was super excited when I got to that scene!

Cool! The Prima Guide for AC1 mentions that wall as the entrance to Solomon's Tomb (where Altair stumbles out in the intro). It doesn't come up in the game though.

Also. Welcome to the forums! I hope you enjoy Assassin's Creed.

It sure does!! It's the wall where the 4 civilians are being executed. Part 2 of Jerusalem during the main assassination!

I took in-game screencaps too!

I meant that the in-game dialogue doesn't connect the wall with Solomon's tomb.

Please post a screencap side-by-side with a pre-1948 photo of the Western Wall that best shows the similarities.

if the execution wall is supposed to be the same place that Altair walks out in the beginning, is there any chance to spot the specific point where he walks out?

either if it's marked somehow, or maybe by looking at the view when he walks out and comparing it to the city in free-roam

That's a good point, Rob. Altair's view of Jerusalem fades quickly at the beginning. The sun is lower but it must match the in-game model of the city. I never got around to matching up the viewing angle.