Assassins

Synopsis

From a master historian, the definitive account of history's first terrorists an offshoot of the ismaili shi'ite sect of islam, the assassins were the first group to make systematic use of murder as a political weapon. Established in iran and syria in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, they aimed to overthrow the existing sunni order in islam and replace it with their own. They terrorized their foes with a series of dramatic murders of islamic leaders, as well as of some of the crusaders, who brought their name and fame back to europe.