sciam.com — Nestled at the foot of Syria's coastal mountains, an ancient citadel has been put on the tourist map by restoration and excavation that revealed mysteries of the medieval Assassins sect, once based here. "Anyone who tried to take the Assassins' castle would be dead the next day," said Haytham Ali Hasan, an archaeologist involved in the restoration
Jul 14, 2007 View in Crawl 4
roflcawpterJul 15, 2007
This is some pretty kick-ass guerilla marketing by Ubisoft.
nwoantibodyJul 15, 2007
Yeah, the s**t doesn't get any better and obvious than this.It's like suddenly I feel like knowing more about this article...So I'm going to go find out first person by killing some medieval folks in Assassin's Creed.
marbitJul 15, 2007
If you are interested in the Assassins sect I recommend that you read a wonderful novel ALAMUT by Vladimir Bartol.First published sixty years ago, Alamut is a literary classic by Slovenian writer Vladimir Bartol, a deftly researched and presented historical novel about one of the world's first political terrorists, 11th century Ismaili leader Hasan ibn Sabbah, whose machinations with drugs and carnal pleasures deceived his followers into believing that he would deliver them to a paradise in the afterlife, so that they would destroy themselves in suicide missions for him. Flawless translated into English (and also published in eighteen other languages), Alamut portrays even the most Machiavellian individuals as human - ruthless or murderous, but also subject to human virtues, vices, and tragedies. An afterword by Michael Biggins offering context on the author's life, the juxtaposition of his writing to the rise of dictatorial conquest that would erupt into World War II, and the medly of reactions to its publication, both in the author's native Slovenia and worldwide, round out this superb masterpiece. An absolute must-have for East European literature shelves, and quite simply a thoroughly compelling novel cover to cover. <a class="user" href="http://www.amazon.com/Alamut-Vladimir-Bartol/dp/0972028730">http://www.amazon.com/Alamut-Vladimir-Bartol/dp/0972028730</a>
vertinoxJul 15, 2007
Versus Barbary pirates?
thevigilanteJul 15, 2007
It's not really a fact, it's a theory. If you go to Wikipedia's page on "Hashshashin" you can read about other theories.
woozieJul 15, 2007
"Anyone who tried to take the Assassins' castle would be dead the next day"Yeah, until the Mongols knocked on their door.
madsquirrelJul 15, 2007
"The Walking Drum", by Louis Lamour has a section covering this sect, and it is a very enjoyable book to read.<a class="user" href="http://www.amazon.com/Walking-Drum-Louis-LAmour/dp/0553280406">http://www.amazon.com/Walking-Drum-Louis-LAmour/dp/0553280406</a>