The Holy Grail is an artifact that has been sought by many people throughout history. It is said to be the cup that King Saul gave David as a gift for his defeat of Goliath. This cup then passed through the generations until it reached a Nazarian carpenter named Joseph. He, in turn, presented it to his 'son' Jesus after his ascent to adulthood. Jesus then carried this cup until his betrayal in the Garden of Gethsemane. After this, it was taken into the care of Peter, who lost it in 37 AD. It was found three years later by Saul of Tarsus, who was entralled by it and became one of the earliest Christians. He placed it in the Arc of the Covenant inside Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem. When the Temple was attacked and looted by the Romans in the 100s AD, they took the Grail back to Rome, where it was stored in the Imperial Treasury. When The Emperor Traijan came to the throne, he used the Grail to enthrall the peoples he invaded, thereby expanding the Empire. When he died, the Grail was returned to Rome.
When the Emperor Constantine I began his war with his rival Maxentius, his Chrisitian scribe sought out the Grail. Using it to turn Constantine to Christianity, the scribe then told him to use the Grail in battle to cause Maxentius's men to lose heart. Constantine did just that and at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge, used the Grail to dishearten his enemies and take the Western Roman Empire. In his war with Emperor Licinius of the East several years later, the Grail was again used and Constantine emerged victorious.
It was only after Constanine died that the Grail was considered something more. The Assassins of the time, allowed once again to practice their arts under the Emperor Julian 'the Apostate', they openly researched the Grail and considered that it could be a Piece of Eden and that Constantine could have been a Templar. They took the Grail to Britannia and hid in the tomb of Joseph of Aramathea. It was searched for many times by the Roman warlord and Templar Arcturus (Arthur), but to no avail.
The Templars believed that the Assassins could be coerced into giving them the Grail's location. To this end, Pope Urban II, Grand Master of the Templars, called a Crusade to the Holy Land to take the Assassins' holdings there. In 1099, the Templars won their first major victory over the Assassins with the capture of Jeruslaem and the establishment of the Crusader Kingdoms. Several decades later, however, the Saracen king Sala-ha-Din took back the Crusader Kingdoms, prompting another Crusade. At this time, the Assasins found the Grail in Solomon's Temple. It was kept under their protection until the death of Altair Ibn-la-Ahad. It was then buied with him until it was found by the Templars in 2009. However, the Grail was destroyed in an accident in Denver.