Armand Bouchart was a

Knight Templar , colors = White mantle with a red cross , colors_label = Attire , march = , mascot = Two knights riding a single horse , equipment ...

who commanded a small garrison during the Templar rule of

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

in 1192.

Biography

Nothing is known about Bouchart's life other than his command of the Templar garrison based in Cyprus. At that period, the Templar Grand Master, Robert de Sablé, could not afford to leave a huge garrison on Cyprus, due to the Templars being required to fight battles elsewhere as part of the

Third Crusade The Third Crusade (1189–1192) was an attempt by three European monarchs of Western Christianity (Philip II of France, Richard I of England and Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor) to reconquer the Holy Land following the capture of Jerusalem by ...

. All that remained on Cyprus was a force of approximately 14 to 20 Templars, with Bouchart among them. Still, this small garrison was strong enough to occupy the entire island. However, the men sent to look after the island were warriors, not administrators, and soon after their arrival, they began disrespecting the local population and taking whatever they wanted.The Templars and Cyprus, 31 March 2010
Templar History
This ill treatment of the Cypriots soon reached its peak and the populace revolted. Bouchart and his knights sought shelter in the local Templar castle in order to regroup. They bolted out of the castle in full armor and assaulted the Cypriots. The massacre was over in minutes and the revolt was halted for the time being. Bouchart told de Sablé that his small number of men was insufficient to hold the island and that another revolt must surely be around the corner. It was then decided that Cyprus was not worth keeping anymore, and the island was soon sold to

Guy of Lusignan Guy of Lusignan (c. 1150 – 18 July 1194) was a French Poitevin knight, son of Hugh VIII of Lusignan and as such born of the House of Lusignan. He was king of Jerusalem from 1186 to 1192 by right of marriage to Sibylla of Jerusalem, and King o ...

In popular culture

Armand Bouchart is featured as the main antagonist in the video game '' Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines'', in which he is shown briefly succeeding Robert de Sablé as the ''de facto'' Grand Master of the Templar Order after the latter's death. He assembles a large army of Templars on Cyprus, both to solidify the Order's control over the island, and to relocate the contents of the Templar Archive—a hidden underground vault containing various items of high importance to the Templars—to a more secure location. Bouchart is eventually killed during a confrontation with the protagonist

Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad ( ar, الطائر ابن لا أحد, meaning "The Bird, Son of No One") is a fictional character in Ubisoft's '' Assassin's Creed'' video game series, a Syrian master assassin who serves as the protagonist of the games set ...

inside the Archive in 1193.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bouchart, Armand Medieval Knights Templar members