The Templars are the fictional organization opposing the Assassins throughout the Assassin's Creed series.
In the series' central conflict, the Assassins defend humanity's freedom of choice while the Templars seek order through control. Their rivalry is presented across different historical periods, with each era giving the conflict new leaders, locations, and political circumstances.
Modern-day Templars operate through Abstergo Industries, a powerful corporation that uses technology and research to pursue its objectives. Abstergo is therefore an organization connected to the Templars, not the name of the ancient rival group itself.
The series draws inspiration from the historical Knights Templar, but its fictional Templars possess a much broader, recurring role. The Assassin-Templar conflict is the franchise's main narrative framework.