The Assassins

The so-called "Assassins"—men who had no fear of death and were trained to kill—are one of the most spectacular legends of medieval history. Since the tales of Marco Polo and others, the myths surrounding them have been fantastically embellished and the truth has become ever more obscure. Bartlett's popular history deftly traces the origins of the sect out of the schisms within the early Islamic religion and examines the impact of Hasan-i-Sabbah, its founder, and Sinan—the legendary "Old Man of