The Al-Anqa investigation can be started after speaking with Rebekah at the Karkh Bureau, in the southeast of Baghdad. You’ll soon find yourself at the Bazaar, a marketplace where merchants from different lands gather, alongside those who are more local. You need to investigate the area for any threats, before moving on to a merchant camp located south of Baghdad. Along the way, you’ll learn about the corrupt tax collector known as Al-Anqa, who is making the lives of foreign merchants miserable. On this page, we’ll show you how to find Al-Anqa, including all the clues that lead to him.

Follow Roshan to the Bazaar in Baghdad¶

After speaking with Rebekah and Roshan at the Karkh Bureau, you’ll need to follow Roshan to the Bazaar. She’ll tell you a bit about the problems that people are facing there, and you’ll even get a bit more information about her backstory during the chat. Just keep following her until you reach the marketplace, where a brief cutscene will see you part ways for now.

Of Toil and Taxes - Investigate the Threats in the Bazaar¶

Now that you’re alone in the Bazaar, your first task is to investigate the area for any threats. The best way to do this is by using Eagle Vision in this case, which will highlight a nearby NPC who is being harassed by some guards. You can deal with the guards in one of two ways: bribe them with a Power Token, or kill them all. It goes without saying that the former will get you in much less trouble than the latter. Whatever option you choose, once the guards are gone you can free the merchant and speak with them.

Speak With the Perfume Merchant¶

The merchant will tell you that business has been difficult lately, mostly due to higher taxes which have been unjustly imposed on her. The same seems to be happening to other merchants in Baghdad, especially those who are foreign. The merchant tells you that there’s a late shipment she’s been expecting, and that she suspects the merchants who should be bringing it have been hindered in some way. They should be along the road that leads to the south of Baghdad, so you have something to go on.

Speak With the Stranded Merchants South of Baghdad¶

The general area where the stranded merchants can be found should be marked on your map, to the south of Baghdad. You can see the location in the screenshot below if you need help. Take your mount and make your way to the location. Once you’re close enough, you can use your bird to scout the area and close in on the merchants. There’s a “lead merchant” here who you can speak with to learn more about their situation, but most of the clues you need to inspect are in the camp.

All Clues at the Merchant Site¶

The clues you need to inspect in order to complete your investigation of the merchant site are the following:

• A severed horse head
• The owner of the deceased horse
• A merchant on the southeast side of the camp
• Guard Instructions note

All of the above clues are contained within the merchant site, so if you use Eagle Vision and thoroughly explore the camp, you shouldn’t miss them. After inspecting each one you can return to the lead merchant, at which point Basim offers to escort the merchants into Baghdad. Call your mount and follow the merchants along the road, and then be ready for an ambush from some mercenaries. There’s one captain and three swordsmen in the attacking group, so nothing you can’t handle.

Once you’ve killed the attacking mercenaries, you’ll be able to read the Letter of Execution that they were carrying, given to them by Al-Anqa, the tax collector. This is enough to incriminate him as a member of the Order of the Ancients, which makes your next task clear: find and assassinate him.

Investigate the Tax Collector’s Mansion¶

Now that you’ve confirmed who the corrupt tax collector is, it’s time to confront him. His mansion is located in the western side of Karkh, which itself is a district in the southeastern part of Baghdad. You can see the exact location on the map in the screenshot below. When you arrive, be ready to clear the guards who patrol most of the grounds before you begin your investigation.

The mansion and the surrounding area are heavily guarded, but you can use the foliage and other objects to your advantage by hiding in or behind them, then whistle to guards to draw their attention individually. You may need to use Assassin’s Focus if there are two guards together who won’t move, but so long as none of them set off the alarm you should be fine.

As you make your way through the mansion grounds, you’ll soon find a captain who carries the Tax Collector’s Mansion Door Key. You need this to enter the main part of the mansion, where Al-Anqa can be found. The captain patrols around an area where one of the locked doors to the mansion is, so you shouldn’t have trouble finding it. Use the key to open the door, kill the guards inside, and begin investigating by reading the notes inside. There’s also one note that can be found outside, which you can get after assassinating Al-Anqa:

• Orders to Increase Taxes
• My Second and Final Letter
• Approved Blockade Funding

The first two letters listed above can be found in the same building where Al-Anqa is, with one on a table downstairs, and one upstairs. Al-Anqa himself is upstairs, next to a gear chest that contains the Abbasid Knight Outfit. The tax collector isn’t a fighter, so all you have to do is quickly assassinate him to complete that objective.

To complete the mission entirely, you need to go outside and read the Approved Blockade Funding note, which can be found on a bench. To find it, go through the door on the eastern side of the room where you killed Ali-Anqa. This leads to a balcony, from which you can see the note on the bench just beneath you to the north. This concludes the investigation, but the information you gleaned from the notes will be useful in the next one from the Karkh Bureau.

More Assassin’s Creed Mirage Guides¶

If you’re looking for more AC Mirage guides, be sure to check the links below.

• Ali ibn Muhammad Investigation
• Al-Ghul Investigation
• Find the Missing Brother Investigation
• Al-Zarik (Zahra) Investigation