Ammand

Ammand was the Pirate Lord of the Black Sea during the time of Lord Cutler Beckett's attempts to eradicate piracy around the World. Ammand was sometime called "Ammand the Corsair". He was one of the Pirate Lords that participated in the fourth Brethren Court meeting, the outcome of which was a declaration of war against the East India Trading Company. Ammand also observed the decisive battle around Calypso's maelstrom.

Biography

Early life

Not much is known about Ammand's early life and pirate career, except that he allegedly became the Pirate Lord of the Black Sea by murdering the previous Pirate Lord and his entire crew by himself, using only his scimitar and deadly skill. From his flagship, the Seref, Ammand led the Barbary Corsairs, a loose affiliation of organized Muslim privateers who robbed the trade ships of Christian "infidels" in the Mediterranean Sea. He combined his forces with the Ottoman Empire to control the region from Morocco to Turkey and sometimes beyond. He would sometimes sail into the Adriatic Sea, and would in turn earn the wrath of fellow Pirate Lord, Captain Villanueva, who presided over those waters.^[10] The Barbary Corsairs often battled Villanueva's Spanish Treasure Fleet, who patrolled the waters of the Adriatic.^[11]

Ammand was wanted dead or alive by the East India Trading Company for crimes including those against the church, theft of church property, assaulting a nun, and piracy along the Barbary Coast. The reward was 4,400 guineas.^[12]

Ammand responded to the summons sent out by Hector Barbossa, and convened with the other Pirate Lords at Shipwreck City. Although, once there, Ammand had a change of heart, and refused to attend the meeting of the Brethren Court. Jack Sparrow was sent by Captain Teague to find and convince him to return. Ammand was stubborn however, and duel erupted. Despite having one of his crewmen throw coconuts at Sparrow, Ammand was eventually defeated, and grudgingly attended the meeting.

The Fourth Brethren Court

At the meeting, Ammand became angry at Captain Barbossa when he suggested that the Brethren should release the sea goddess Calypso, Ammand even proposed shooting him for his suggestion. Otherwise, Ammand was very quiet during the meeting, most likely due to the fact that he had been forced to attend in the first place. When the Brethren voted for a new Pirate King, Ammand voted for himself. He was defeated in this however, and Elizabeth Swann was made King. She then declared war on the East India Trading Company, which was attempting (and succeeding) to eliminate piracy once and for all.^[1]

The East India Trading Company was ahead of them however, and a small force of Black Coats infiltrated Shipwreck Cove, with dozens of Blue Coat soldiers behind them. The task force separated the Pirate Lords from each other and attacked. Ammand and Sri Sumbhajee held out in the Tavern Square. With the assistant of their fellow pirates and Jack Sparrow, they were able to defeat the troops that came against them. Ammand and his crew then boarded the Seref and set out along with the rest of the Brethren that set out to meet the ship of the Governor of the East India Trading Company, Lord Cutler Beckett, and the Flying Dutchman.

Unfortunately for the Brethren Court, the Endeavour and the Dutchman were not the only ships set against them, and Beckett's entire armada lay before them. Realizing it was too late to retreat, King Swann and two diplomats were sent to parley with Beckett. Apparently this had no impact, and the battle seemed inevitable. King Swann ordered the fleet to hoist their colours, and Ammand proudly and eagerly hoisted his flag, ready for battle. Soon after this, however, the skies darkened and a storm formed around them and a massive maelstrom formed in between the two fleets. Ammand and his crew watched as Hector Barbossa's ship, the Black Pearl, went into the maelstrom to fight the East India Trading Company's flagship, the Flying Dutchman. They then later celebrated after the defeat of the Dutchman's captain, Davy Jones, and Lord Beckett himself, with Ammand doing a little dance. With the death of Beckett, and the destruction of the Endeavour, the rest of the Company's fleet dispersed and retreated.^[1] His further fate is unknown.

Personality and traits

Ammand was a very gruff character, having a deep grainy voice.^[1] Although well-groomed, clean, and well dressed, Ammand was sometimes barbaric, preferring to use violence to settle disagreements, as opposed to negotiations. This could perhaps be contributed to Ammand's stubbornness.^[5] Although their pirates commonly crossed blades, Ammand had a measure of respect for Eduardo Villanueva, Ammand claimed that Villanueva was the only pirate he would take counsel from.^[13]

Like many pirate captains, Ammand had a unique pirate flag. Unlike the flags of his fellow Pirate Lords, Ammand's flag reflected his devotion to Islam, instead of piracy. His flag was green with a golden border on three sides. In the middle of the flag was a stylized depiction of Zulfiqar, a legendary double-bladed sword said to belong to Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib, a cousin of Muhammad, surrounded with four crescent moons and a single five-pointed star.

Equipment and skills

Ammand was a tall man, but was hunched over at times. He had a large curled mustache and long brown hair crowned with a skillfully embroidered head-dress. Ammand wore a gold and brown coat and breeches, with a cloak draping down from his shoulders. A form of cummerbund was at Ammand's waist, where his pistol was kept. A grey waistcoat was sometimes worn over this and dark grey trousers were worn beneath the breeches, tucked neatly into his curled shoes.^[1] He also wore two expensive rings.^[14]

Ammand possessed a scimitar,^[1] a long curved sword, which he used with a degree of proficiency. Ammand was renowned for his defensive skills, being able to hold his own against the best. This defense was extremely hard to breach, but the drawback of poor offense made it difficult for Ammand to win duels.^[5] Ammand possessed a unique piece of eight, as did all of the Pirate Lords. It was a pewter brandy goblet used by outcast sisters in a Spanish monastery. They were outcast for a reason, and that reason was Ammand the Corsair. The goblet was destroyed during the freeing of Calypso, along with the eight other pieces of eight.^[1]

Behind the scenes

Ammand the Corsair was portrayed by Ghassan Massoud in the 2007 film Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. He was voiced by Nolan North in its video game adaptation.

The planned seventh issue of the Joe Books Ltd's Pirates of the Caribbean comic book series was intented to prominently feature Ammand the Corsair and his pirate castle in a "caper story" in which the final piece of the Weather Gauge was stolen from the castle's vast collection.^[15] In the eight and final planned issue, following the destruction of the HMS Dauntless off the coast of Tripoli, the story was going to cultiminate at Ammand's castle. The series, however, was cancelled in the fifth issue.^[16]

Ammand's flag shown in Inside the Brethren Court is nearly identical to the flag of the historical 16th century Ottoman Corsair Hayreddin Barbarossa.

Appearances

The Pirates of the Caribbean Wiki has a collection of images and media related to Ammand.

The Pirates of the Caribbean Wiki has a collection of quotes related to Ammand.

• Legends of the Brethren Court: Day of the Shadow
• Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
  • Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (junior novelization) (First appearance)
  • Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (comic)
  • Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End: The Movie Storybook
  • Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (Penguin Readers)
  • Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (video game)
• LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game (Non-canonical appearance)

Sources

• Pirates of the Caribbean: The Complete Visual Guide
• The Pirates' Guidelines
• Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End - The Official Website

Notes and references