In the original Assassin's Creed, Damascus is the city where Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad conducts one of his major investigations.
The 2007 game places Altaïr in the Holy Land during the Third Crusade, with missions set in three principal cities: Jerusalem, Acre, and Damascus. Each city has its own political tensions, districts, informants, and assassination target. Damascus is associated with a major investigation involving the influential merchant and physician Garnier de Naplouse, although Altaïr's campaign ultimately moves through all three cities.
Damascus is one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities and was an important urban center in the medieval Levant. The game presents a stylized version of the city rather than a complete historical reconstruction. Players often confuse the city with Masyaf, which serves as the Assassin stronghold, or with Jerusalem, another central location in the story.
The game's city structure helped establish Assassin's Creed's recurring formula of open urban exploration, reconnaissance, and targeted assassinations.