The Templars are the Assassins' principal rival organization in the Assassin's Creed series. The two groups oppose one another over competing ideas about human freedom, order, and control.
The Templars generally seek peace through control, often using political institutions and Pieces of Eden to impose their vision. The Assassins instead defend free will and resist centralized domination, although both groups include characters with differing motives.
The modern Templar organization is associated with Abstergo Industries, the corporation that studies genetic memories through the Animus. In earlier historical periods, the conflict is represented by groups such as the Order of the Ancients, which predates the formal Templar Order.