Assassin is a hired killer. The Assassins are a religious organization of hired killers. The peak of development and prosperity of the sect

Many people mistakenly believe that it was the modern Taliban and Palestinians who created the first specialized suicide bombing camps, but this is not so. The grim events associated with the death of people began many centuries ago. At that time, the masters of other people's lives were the Assassins - a religious organization of hired killers, which consisted of Ismailis.

Its founder was Sheikh Hassan I ibn Sabbah, known from the pages of history as the creator of the state called “Alamut”. It included the mountainous territory of Persia (modern Iran), Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. The center of the power was a fortress built on the peak of the Alamut rock (“Eagle’s Nest”).

Where did the power of the assassins begin?

For thirty-four years the sheikh ruled over the territory of his possessions. He was a fairly tough and merciless ruler who instilled fear in his subjects. At that time, under his care, people lived in harsh conditions. However, despite his severity, he himself lived very modestly, he had a wife and children.

For the ruler, unquestioning obedience from everyone was important. He did not even spare his children if they were guilty. He executed his first son for drinking wine, and killed his second heir because he was suspected of being involved in the murder of a preacher.

Hasan I ibn Sabbah was a heartless and strict ruler for everyone, but it was precisely these traits that attracted more and more supporters to him. He soon had more than 60,000 loyal servants at his disposal, who later became assassins. They say that the Mountain Elder, as the sheikh was popularly called, decided to create a sect after the leader of the Savvay Ismailis was sentenced to execution by the Sultan's vizier Nizim el-Mulk.

The Sheikh believed that an innocent man had been deprived of his life. After the execution, he climbed the tower and began to express dissatisfaction with the behavior of the vizier and received massive support from those watching, who very quickly turned into real fanatics who wanted to kill Nizim el-Mulka.

The most active among the crowd was a man named Bu Tahir Arrani, who became the first killer appointed by the sheikh. In fact, the founding date of the Assassin sect is considered to be 1092, when, during the celebration of the religious holiday of Ramadan, the Sultan's vizier was killed by a hired killer. Bu Tahir Arrani plunged his dagger into his chest and awaited his inevitable fate with a satisfied smile.

Naturally, he was executed, and Hassan I ibn Sabbah ordered to hang a memorial plaque with the name of the first assassin, who became the holy creator of revenge. Over time, the names of representatives of princely, royal and sultan blood, high-ranking officials, scientists, writers, etc., killed by mercenaries, began to be entered there. In a fairly short period of time, in just a couple of years, there were already forty-nine names on the list.

Ticket to the next world

Having felt the pleasant “taste” of power after the death of the vizier, the sheikh realized what incredible power he possessed, because the fanatics around him, like attack dogs, were ready at any time to rush at the victim and destroy him. However, he did not recruit everyone into the ranks of hired killers; he gave particular preference to orphans. The detachment he created was called “Fidayeen,” which means “those who sacrifice themselves in the name of faith.”

He was an excellent manipulator and speaker. He promised his “dogs” paradise after death, and in order to reinforce their desire to serve, the sheikh gave them this paradise, but only on Earth. For this purpose, on his orders, an incredibly beautiful garden with fruit trees and fragrant flowers was created. In its center stood a majestic palace, decorated with the finest gold.

Springs flowed near the palace walls, from which milk, wine and honey flowed. In the garden and in the palace there were true beauties who played various musical instruments, delighted the eyes with their plasticity while dancing, and also had incredible vocal abilities. In fact, the sheikh created an earthly paradise, well, at least, he told his followers about such an Eden, and, among other things, he called himself a prophet, capable of sending anyone who wanted to a heavenly place at any time. And he did this periodically.

The young men were put to sleep, and after that they were transported either to Eden, leaving them for several days, or back to the fortress. When the young people woke up, they were ready to kiss their master's feet and do everything he ordered. Naturally, news about “paradise” spread very quickly and more and more people wanted to join the sect.

Assassin Training

The training of hired killers was carried out extremely carefully. Each assassin had to master absolutely all types of weapons existing at that time, understand poisons, and also have extreme stamina and endurance. To do this, the young men were forced to stand motionless at the fortress wall for several hours, regardless of weather conditions.

Patience is one of the main qualities characteristic of mercenaries, as they must hatch a plan of revenge for as long as it takes, whether hours, days or years pass, and patiently wait for the most opportune moment to strike the killing blow.

Also, every supporter of the sect had to be able to transform, and they possessed this talent at the highest level. A distinctive and at the same time unique feature of the assassins can be considered the presence of a smile on their face during torture and execution - they thus seemed to mock those representatives of high society who live believing in impunity and their unquestioning power.

The sect was created strictly according to the hierarchy:

“Fedayeen” is the lowest level that carried out death sentences, that is, contract killings.

"Rafiki" - senior privates.

“Dai al-Kirbali” - generals who obeyed the Mountain Elder, who was always in the shadows from prying eyes. That is why only a select few knew about him, and his people did not even suspect that their ruler was the founder of the religious sect of assassins.

The peak of development and prosperity of the sect

The Assassins quickly struck fear into the entire Muslim world, creating many mountain fortified fortresses in Syria and Iran. Every year there were more and more secret political deaths on their account. However, over time, the effectiveness of fulfilling orders began to fall - it is likely that the reason for this was the bribery of mercenaries by the eastern rulers, who gave a new task - the elimination of European officials.

In 1145, the sect received an order to kill the son of the Tripolitan Count Raymond II of Toulouse. He was killed in the church where he was trying to find his salvation. Naturally, the count was not going to leave the assassins’ act unpunished and gathered an army of Templars, but the leader of the sect was able to come to an agreement with him and literally bought his forgiveness for 2,000 gold coins. But still, the peaceful calm did not last long and a disagreement arose between them.

From that time on, European kings were in fear of the power and dexterity of the Assassins. They spoke only flatteringly about the Mountain Elder, and those who allowed themselves excesses in his direction were mysteriously killed. An excellent example was the death of Count Bohemund, who was stabbed to death in broad daylight in a crowd of people. The same fate awaited Conrad of Montferrat, who was a contender for the Jerusalem crown.

The sect was responsible for the murders of four caliphs, forty-eight city rulers and regional governors, seventeen representatives of the spiritual world, as well as the great scientist of Iran - Abul-Mahasin Ibn Tagri-berdi - and this is not the entire list. However, despite the impunity and strength of the Assassins, their rule came to an end in 1256 thanks to the hordes of Mongols, led by Khan Hulagu. They destroyed the center of the assassins - the Alamut fortress and killed representatives of the religious sect of the Mountain Elder.

Does an assassin sect exist today?

There is an opinion that after the Mongol attack, a small part of the mercenaries were able to escape to Indian territory. This assumption has a right to exist, because in the 13th century the Syrian lands were located close to this country. In addition, irrefutable evidence is that it was during this period that the Fansigar and Tag sects existing at that time rapidly increased their influence in Indian lands.

Therefore, it is likely that Syrian assassins became part of them. Also, given that the main fortress of the sect was located on the lands of Iran, which is located next to Iraq and Afghanistan, it is likely that Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein themselves may be associated with the assassins or even be their leaders.

Osama bin Laden

Saddam Hussein

After all, it is no secret to anyone that these people were accused of organizing a large number of terrorist acts. In addition, martyrs, like assassins, firmly believe that they will certainly go to heaven after their “heroic” death.

However, when they perform their actions today, they are in a trance, the cause of which is drug intoxication. Shaheeds, just like assassins, believe that by taking people’s lives, they learn the truth and fulfill their destiny. Are there a few similarities? But while there are some answers, there are still more questions.

Assassins are medieval mercenaries, immigrants from the East, outcasts among their fellow tribesmen, later romanticized by Western folklore. Since ancient times, assassins have been called killers who commit atrocities for political reasons. Recently, the legend of assassins received its rebirth: after studying historical sources telling about hired killers, Ubisoft Montreal released the game Assassin Creed.

Origin of the Assassins

For the first time on the European continent, they heard about assassins during the Crusades. Stories about hired killers were written by the enemies of Muslims - the crusaders, and have long turned into legends. Initially, assassins were used by politicians of the Muslim faith to achieve their goals; later they “retrained” as killers of Christians and began to fight the invasions of the Crusaders. It is known that in 1256 the Tatar-Mongols captured the headquarters of the Assassins, located in the city of Alamut.

In their work, the assassins used various techniques accepted in the Middle Ages. One of these methods was murders carried out in crowded places in order to intimidate possible opponents. However, unlike modern terrorists, assassins never killed civilians; they directed their actions only against real, aggressive enemies. The assassins had their own code, they were trained in the art of war, strategy, linguistics, equestrianism, and the art of camouflage.

Assassins today

Modern people learned about assassins after the appearance of the game Assassin Creed. It is a historical adventure game set during the Third Crusade. The player participates in the events as the main character - modern man Desmond Mealy. Mili, using a machine called the Animus, resurrects genetic memory and restores in his mind the identity of one of his ancestors - the assassin Altair.

The essence of Assassin games

The goal of Assassin Creed is to carry out a series of contract killings ordered by the leader of the assassins. To complete the task, the player must travel from the Brotherhood's headquarters through the Holy Land to one of three cities - Acre, Jerusalem or Damascus, and find the Brotherhood of agents. Agents provide the player with the necessary information and require additional missions: eavesdropping, interrogation, theft, transfer of information.

Having entered the game, the user finds himself in a world open to exploration. He can take part in side missions, guard the people he needs, climb to the top of towers and inspect the situation from there. After completing the task, the player returns to the Brotherhood, receives a new weapon and a new goal. The character's health depends on the synchronization that occurs between Desmond's memory and Altair's memories. When Altair suffers injuries, it is perceived as a deviation from reality rather than physical damage.

The Assassin Creed game received a lot of positive reviews and ratings after its release. The project has gained popularity among players from all continents; it has been awarded as one of the best action games with excellent graphics, a dashing plot and exciting gameplay.

Assassin games are not limited to the above mentioned game, they are many and varied. All of them feature an exciting plot, addictive gameplay and excellent graphics. We have collected the best of them for you on this page.

Assassins(hashishins, hashashins, hashishins, hashashins) is a fairly popular topic in the modern world. This is facilitated not only by the identification of a member of the order with the word Assassin (killer (English)), but also by the relevance of the plot of Arab killers in the field of show business. Not so long ago, the computer game Assassin's Creed, produced by Ubisoft Montreal, was released, after which the second one was launched part from the same developer. The theme of assassins is also touched upon in the film “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time” (Disney 2010). This quite naturally aroused the interest of many viewers and gamers in a controversial historical phenomenon - the existence of the Order of Assassins. “Okay, let them teach history,” you say?

Alas, everything is not so simple: the superficial knowledge of most fans gives rise to a lot of dogmas and prejudices that spread like cockroaches in the kitchen of a cheap Chinese restaurant. The most striking example is probably the common mistake that the word "assassin" comes from the word "hashishin", which in turn comes from the name of the drug: hashish. The mistake is that the Arabic word "Hashishin" means "herbivore, a person who eats plants." This was just a hint at the poverty of the members of the order, and it has nothing to do with drugs. In addition, the Order of Assassins used opium poppies for rituals, not hashish. In an effort to avoid possible mistakes of pseudo-historical neologisms, I will try to reveal the topic of the history of the order.

To begin with, Muhammad was dead. There was no doubt about it.

After the death of the legendary prophet, the Islamic world split into Sunnis and Shiites. Without going into details, the Sunnis seized power and, in fact, the Shiites found themselves outlawed in the Islamic world. Their communities were so carried away by conspiracy that they completely forgot about maintaining connections among themselves. The result was the formation of a whole cascade of sects - sometimes funny and absurd, and sometimes bloody and terrible. One of these religious sects from the Ismaili movement was led by Hasan ibn Sabbah. Having occupied the fortress of Alamut without a fight (this fortress is mentioned in the film “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time” as sacred), the innovator Hassan ibn Sabbah founded a theocratic state.

Having abolished all previous taxes and, in fact, banned luxury, he understood that he would not be able to support a large army in a mountain fortress. Following the call of reason, Hassan ibn Sabbah is looking for new ways to solve political and military issues. As legend has it, an accident led him to the decision to create an order of assassins. In 1092, in the city of Sava, located on the territory of the Seljuk state, Hashashin preachers killed the muezzin, fearing that he would hand them over to the local authorities. In retaliation for this act, by order of Nizam al-Mulk, the chief vizier of the Seljukid sultan, the leader of the local Ismailis was captured and put to a slow, painful death. After this, Hasan ibn Sabbah climbed the tower and shouted: “The killing of this shaitan will foreshadow heavenly bliss!”

And while he was descending, a crowd had already gathered at the foot of the walls, from which stood out a group of fanatics led by a man named Bu Tahir Arrani, who, kneeling down, said that he was ready to carry out the will of the ruler, even if he had to pay for it with his life. Omitting details, Bu Tahir Arrani completed his task, and the vizier died surrounded by his bodyguards. Nearby lay the body of that same Bu Tahir Arrani. This is the story of the first assassin, from whom the concept of the order originates: the will of the sovereign is equated to the most sacred law; one can enter heaven only by dying for a sacred cause. Yes, it definitely sounds very loud, but let’s figure out why Hasan ibn Sabbah was surrounded by a crowd of fanatics, seemingly insane, ready to make any sacrifice.

The secret lies not only in the careful selection of members of the order, but also in the psychology of that time and region. It is worth noting that religious wars were then waged precisely for religious reasons; in other words, people actually believed that they were going into battle for a sacred cause (unlike the European crusades, which were clearly predatory in nature). As for preparation, this is a separate topic.

Well, one more thing?.. Narkomyths about the training of assassins.

There are plenty of different dogmas in conversations about assassin training. First of all, they are associated with the use of narcotic drugs: there is an opinion that assassins are murderers who go to their death under the influence of psychotropic substances. This is a misconception; in fact, the situation was different.

At first, those wishing to join the order gathered at the gates of the fortress, waiting for permission to enter the courtyard. Sometimes their wait lasted up to several weeks, but no one kept the young men, they could go home at any time. Under the same conditions, they waited in the courtyard for permission to enter the house. From those who did not go home, the most persistent were chosen (one of the legends says that Hassan ibn Sabbah adopted this system from Chinese monasteries - the similarities are obvious). They gave preference to orphans, because the future assassin had to devote his entire life to the order.

The initiation rite was extremely simple and ingenious: the recruit was drugged with opium, after he lost consciousness, he was transferred to a special “Garden of Eden”, where gourmet food, luxury and many beautiful women awaited him. A few hours later, they again gave him the drug and carried him back, informing him that he could return to heaven only by giving his life for the sake of a sacred cause. It is worth understanding that before this the young man lived in poverty, for wealth and luxury were prohibited by law, but the greatest luxury was women, for not every young man could afford a bride.

Here lies the mistake of most “experts” in the history of the order of assassins, since in later life, the killer will no longer touch alcohol, drugs, or women. So, in contrast, intensified by opium withdrawal, a member of the order began brutal training. He was taught not only the use of weapons and acrobatics, but least of all, the assassin had to master acting and the art of camouflage. All this made the student an almost ideal killer, for whom there was no need to think through an evacuation plan.

But the inventive Hasan ibn Sabbah did not stop at preparing killers. He understood that for the assassins to operate effectively, a developed network of informants and intelligence officers was needed. He created a special “agency”, whose responsibilities, in addition to intelligence, also included a new means of obtaining information - bribery. Thus, along with a huge number of preachers who reported to him about general events and moods in the cities, he also had his people in the palaces and fortresses of influential people of the east. After a series of murders, the entire political elite realized that neither armies nor bodyguards would help them in the fight against the assassins. It was with this that the “Old Man of the Mountain,” as members of the order called the ruler, achieved the absolute inviolability of mountainous Alamut.

Hassan ibn Sabbah himself was a very interesting person. In addition to the fact that he collected knowledge from all over the world, kidnapped learned doctors and alchemists throughout Europe and Asia, he was also an inveterate mystifier. In pursuit of the loyalty of his subjects and international prestige, he was very fond of various types of performances and tricks. For example, the trick with a severed head, which has been popular for a long time, according to legend, was invented by him. With the help of makeup, the correct placement of the background and a system of mirrors, he created a very talented performance with a “severed” head predicting paradise for all the dead assassins. There was only one difference from the modern trick - the ending. The actor's head was cut off and hanged for several days in the main square of the fortress. For the sake of realism. The self-immolation trick was also popular. Its essence was no less cruel - they really burned a man, a double of Hassan ibn Sabbah. Demonstrating the loyalty of his subjects to the ambassadors, the Alamut ruler, with a wave of his hand, ordered the guards on the walls to rush into the abyss.

In conclusion, we can reveal another myth - the opinion that all the killers died while carrying out the task. Often there was an order to return, since this task was only preparation for the transition to heaven. This was dictated by the fact that even in the commune of the order a hierarchy was necessary. After all, someone had to arrange a “paradise” for the students, play with a severed head, and teach the students.

Paid killers

Another misconception is that assassins are contract killers. Most likely, it began with the history of the alliance of crusaders and assassins. Such an alliance took place after the death of Hassan ibn Sabbah. The new rulers of Alamut were not so ascetic in their desires - there was an urgent need for finance, and the lords generously paid in Jerusalem gold for the services of the assassins directed against Salah ad-Din. But it is impossible to call the Hashish Order a society of hired killers, since the payment for the work was taken not by ordinary performers, but by their masters. In addition, the murders of these figures can be considered as loyalty to the concluded alliance.

But it was money that led to the order losing its influence. Seeing the strong stratification of society inside the fortress, there were fewer and fewer people willing to die for the sake of a dubious sacred cause. This necessitated a reorganization within the system, which led to virtually everything that Hassan ibn Sabbah denied when he built the state. The commune turned into a monarchical system with its own nobles and nobility. All this made the Alamut state an easy prey for the Mongols who invaded Persia.

On the origin of myths

In conclusion, I will try to explain some of the myths about the Assassin Order. These legends were born after the events in Alamut. The founders of the “first” wave of legends about assassins in the 14th century were the Venetian Marco Polo, who in his works writes about the country of Mulekt, where the Old Man of the Mountain lives, sending young men to their deaths by dousing them with narcotics. A new, stronger wave of myths took place in the mid-19th century in France. Hashish became a very fashionable drug at the time, along with the use of thujone from Egyptian wormwood. This is probably why novelists were sure that the assassins used hashish as a means of opening the gates to heaven.

And some people believe that the order of assassins exists to this day, and its members remove unwanted people. Such thoughts are quite understandable, because many people want to see the world as more complex than it actually is. Many people see secrets, riddles, mysticism... Are they right? Who knows?..

The Middle East, Central Asia, as well as medieval Europe, experienced an acute political crisis in the 9th-11th centuries. In this region of the planet, the mass migration of peoples was on a much greater scale than on the European continent. The political map was being redrawn at kaleidoscopic speed. Following the Arabs, who managed to conquer vast territories, Turkic tribes came to these lands. Some empires and states disappeared, and in their place much more powerful state formations appeared. The political struggle had clear religious overtones and sometimes took the most unexpected forms - conspiracies and coups d'etat alternated with endless wars.

Political assassination is becoming a favorite tool of Eastern politics. The word assassin is firmly established in the everyday life of the political elite, personifying a merciless and tough hired killer. Not a single ruler of the East or politician could guarantee complete security for himself. At any moment you could become a victim of an insidious killer. It was during this historical period that the most mysterious and closed religious-state formation - the Order of Assassins - flourished.

The order was a small state formation that became the most radical branch of Islam and was distinguished by extremely radical views. Over the next century, the assassins kept the entire Middle East in fear, personifying the most brutal methods of political pressure.

Assassin - who is it? A brief excursion into history

It has already been said above that the Middle East in the 10th-11th centuries was a simmering socio-political cauldron, in which acute political, social and religious contradictions were combined.

Egypt became the epicenter of an acute socio-political crisis, where the political struggle reached its highest boiling point. The ruling Fatimid dynasty could not cope with other political opponents. The country was plunging into civil armed conflict. The aggressive neighbors did not sit idly by either. The Ismailis - the Shiite branch of Islam - in such conditions found themselves between a rock and a hard place, risking becoming a victim of an acute social and religious conflict. One of the branches of the Ismailis, the Nizari, was led by Hasan ibn Sabbah. It was under his leadership that a large group of Nizari were forced to leave Egypt, going to seek refuge. The final destination of long wanderings was the central, inaccessible mountainous regions of Persia, which at that time was part of the Seljuk state. Here Hasan ibn Sabbah, together with his companions, decided to found a new Ismaili state of the Nizari.

The stronghold and center of the new power was the fortress of Alamut, captured by the Ismailis in 1090. Following Alamut, other neighboring cities and fortresses of the Iranian Highlands quickly conquered the new masters. The birth of the new state coincided with the beginning of the Crusades, which plunged the entire Middle East into a long, bloody confrontation. Using his influence, Hassan ibn Sabbah managed to introduce a new form into the structure of government - a religious order, which was based on the religious cult, rituals and traditions of the Nazarites. The order was headed by Hassan ibn Sabbah, who received the title of sheikh, and the symbol of the new order was the Alamut fortress.

The rulers of neighboring principalities and the central government of the Seljuk state were disdainful of the newcomers and looked at them as rebels and rebels. The ruling Seljuk and Syrian elite casually called the companions of Hassan ibn Sabbah, the population of the new state and the Nazarites in general, the rabble - the Hashshashins. Subsequently, with the light hand of the crusaders, the Sunni name assassin came into use, which no longer meant a person’s class affiliation, but his professional qualities, social status and religious and ideological worldview.

Sheikh Hassan I, thanks to his personal qualities, was well versed in the political situation. As a result of his foreign policy, the Ismaili state and the Order of Assassins not only managed to withstand the confrontation with the central government. The internal political strife that gripped the Seljuk state after the death of Sultan Malik Shah contributed to the rise of the order and the political influence of the Assassins on the politics of the world order. The Order became an unspoken political subject of foreign policy, and the assassins themselves began to be considered religious fanatics who were capable of taking the most extreme measures for the sake of ideological motives, naturally, for material and political gain.

The Nizari state lasted for a century and a half, until 1256, managing during this period to unite under its control the vast territories of modern Lebanon, Iraq, Syria and Iran. This was facilitated by a fairly strict management system, built on unquestioning obedience to Sharia law, and a communal system of social and public relations. There was no division into classes in the state, and the entire population was united into communities. The supreme power belonged to the supreme spiritual and religious mentor - the leader.

The centralized state of the Assassins was defeated by the Mongols, who came to Iran from the east. The Middle Eastern possessions were the longest under the rule of the Assassins, which were lost in 1272 as a result of the military campaign of the Egyptian Sultan Baybars I. However, the loss of statehood did not mean the end of the existence of the Order of the Assassins. From this time on, a new stage in the life of this organization began, which completely switched to conducting subversive, sabotage and espionage activities.

The origins of the real strength and power of the assassins

At the peak of their power, the state and the order represented a real political force in the Muslim world. Assassin is not just a name for radical religious fanatics. Just the mere mention of them terrified the ruling and political elite. The Assassins, not without reason, were considered masters of political terror, professional killers and generally a criminal organization. The influence of the order was not limited to the borders of the Muslim world. The Europeans also encountered the full extent of the cunning and power of the order.

This policy was the result of a thoughtful ideological and political move. Hassan I, as the supreme leader of the Nazarites, realized that without a powerful army, any defense strategy was doomed to failure. A brilliant way out of this situation was found. Unlike neighboring states and principalities, which invest huge amounts of money and resources into maintaining the army, Hassan created an order - a secret and closed organization, a kind of special forces of that time.

The task of the new intelligence service was to eliminate political opponents and opponents, whose decisions could negatively affect the existence of the Nazarite state. Political terror was placed at the forefront of the policy of the Assassin Order. The most radical methods and methods used to achieve results were chosen - political blackmail and physical elimination of the enemy. The main driving force of the order was the fanatical devotion of the organization's members to their spiritual and religious mentor. This was facilitated by the technology of professional training, which was mandatory for every member of the order.

The main conditions for membership in the order were the following aspects:

complete indifference to one’s own life, disregard for death;
fostering a sense of self-sacrifice and devotion to religious ideals;
unquestioning submission to the will of the leader of the order;
high moral and physical qualities.

The order, as well as throughout the state, promoted heavenly rewards in exchange for unquestioning obedience to the will of the religious leader. In the usual view of that time, an assassin was a young man of strong physique, selflessly devoted to the ideas of Sharia and a sacred believer in the high divine position of his patron. Teenagers aged 12-14 years old were recruited into the order and went through a rigorous competitive selection process. From the first day, recruits were instilled with a sense of being chosen to achieve high goals.

It is generally accepted that the ideological and religious aspects are the main aspects of the strong structure of the order. However, its real strength rested not only on the high moral qualities of its members. The professional training that the assassins did from morning to evening, during breaks for prayer, gave excellent results. Warriors of medieval special forces were fluent in any weapon and hand-to-hand combat techniques. The Assassin had excellent horsemanship, could shoot accurately with a bow, and was distinguished by endurance and good physical strength.

In addition, the training program included practical and theoretical knowledge in the field of chemistry and medicine. The assassins' art of using poisons has reached perfection. There is a theory that Catherine de Medici, being a skilled master of poisoning, received lessons in this craft from the assassins.

Finally

In a word, the training of spies and professional killers by Sheikh Hassan I was put on stream. The results of such thorough and comprehensive preparation were not long in coming. The notoriety of the order's power quickly spread throughout the world. Thanks to his servants, Hassan I, nicknamed in the Islamic world and far beyond the Mountain Elder, managed not only to achieve his goals, but also to put political terror on stream. The Nizari state managed to exist for quite a long period, successfully playing on the political contradictions of its stronger neighbors.

As for the Order of Assassins, this organization became not only an instrument of Nizari foreign policy, but also a significant source of income. Rulers and politicians of different countries and states did not disdain to use the services of professional killers and spies when solving their political issues in achieving certain goals.

Medium, Humanoid, Any alignment other than good
Armor class: 15 (riveted leather)
Hits: 78 (12 d8 + 24)
Speed: 30 ft.
Damage Resistance: I
Saving Throws: VOC +6 , INT +4
Skills: Acrobatics +6 , Attentiveness +3 , Deception +3 , Stealth +9
Feelings: Passive mindfulness 13
Languages: That's it, Thieves' jargon
Danger: 8 - 3900 op.
Source: « Monster manual»
Capabilities
Languages. The assassin knows up to two languages besides Thieves' Jargon.
Murder. On the assassin's first turn, he has advantage on attack rolls against creatures that have not yet taken a turn. All of the assassin's hits against units caught by surprise are critical hits.
Dodge. If the bounty hunter is subject to an effect that allows him to make a Dexterity saving throw to take only half damage, the bounty hunter instead takes no damage if he succeeds on the saving throw, and takes only half damage if he fails the saving throw.
Sneak Attack (1/turn). The bounty hunter deals an extra 14 (4d6) damage if he hits a target with a weapon attack made with advantage on the attack roll or if the target is within 5 feet of him. from a capable ally of the bounty hunter, and the bounty hunter makes the attack roll without disadvantage.
Actions
Multiattack. The assassin makes two attacks with his short sword.
Short sword. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d6 + 3) piercing damage, and the target must make a DC 15 Constitution saving throw, taking 24 (7d6) poison damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.
Light crossbow. Ranged Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, range 80/320 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d8 + 3) piercing damage, and the target must make a DC 15 Constitution saving throw, taking 24 (7d6) poison damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.
Description
Hired killers who know how to use poisons work mercilessly for the nobility, heads of guilds, rulers, and, indeed, anyone who can pay for their services.
- Material taken from the pdf version of the translation "Monster Manual" from the studio "