Robespierre is one of the most well-known figures of the French Revolution. He was a member of the Estates-General, Constituent Assembly, Jacobin Club and during the reign of terror, a member of the Committee of Public Safety. He was very influential in matters such as the execution of Louis XVI. Robespierre was a very articulate man as evidenced in Baker document 42, Report on the Principles of Political Morality (Baker, 1987, p. 368). His oratory ability and political beliefs initially granted him the respect and support of the general population, so much so that he would gain much power after the execution of Louis XVI. After the execution, the Committee of Public Safety was formed in 1793 by the National Convention and became the de-facto government in France during the Reign of Terror from 1793 to 1794. Robespierre was practically the leader of the committee and used his influence and the committee’s power to execute those who he felt were enemies of the revolution. Enemies could be anyone, ranging from ordinary citizens to major political leaders such as Georges Jacques Danton who was arrested and executed on the orders of the Committee of Public Safety and Robespierre. Robespierre’s reputation soon began to suffer however and he too fell out of favor with the general population.
The convention ordered the arrest of Robespierre and he was taken into custody. While in custody, it is said that he attempted to commit suicide by attempting to kill himself with a pistol but only succeeded in shattering his lower jaw. On July, 28, 1794, Robespierre was executed without a trial and was buried in a common grave.
Robespierre is present in Assassin’s Creed Unity. In the game, Robespierre is a member of the Templar Order and is shown to be a very intellectual man and a man of ambition. The game takes some artistic liberties with events surrounding Robespierre however. In the game, Arno is the one who helps to orchestrate the downfall of Robespierre. Arno poisons Robespierre before he gives a speech so that he has hallucinations and appears insane to the citizens, Arno then steals letters containing the names of many whom Robespierre was planning on sending to the guillotine and distributes them to the crowd leading them to believe that Robespierre is taking things too far. Later on in the game, Arno performs an interrogation on Robespierre in order to obtain the whereabouts of the leader of the Templar Order and it is here that Robespierre receives his gunshot wound. He is shot by Arno’s companion, Robespierre in Assassin’s Creed Unity does not attempt to end his own life. Below are two gameplay clips of Robespierre in Assassin’s Creed Unity, one is of a mission in the game involving the execution of Danton and the other is of the interrogation performed by Arno and his companion. Overall, the game’s depiction of Robespierre is mostly accurate with some historical deviations.
Assassin's Creed and the French Revolution 