The World's First Assassins

You wake up. There's a dagger on your pillow. You have a hundred guards. Locked doors. A fortress built to keep people out. And somehow — someone got in, left a message, and disappeared without a single person seeing them. The message was clear. We could have killed you. We chose not to. This time. This wasn't a legend. This was a documented tactic used by one of the most sophisticated and terrifying organizations in medieval history. An organization so feared that kings, sultans, and crusader lords didn't fight them. They paid them. Not for a service. Just to be left off the list. In this video we go deep into the real story of the Assassins — the Nizari Ismaili State. Who they were. How they trained. Why they killed in public on purpose. What happened when the Mongols came. And why the word assassin exists in almost every language on earth today because of one medieval organization. This is not the video game version. This is the real thing. 🔔 Subscribe for a new video every week covering the hidden history and forgotten powers that shaped the world we live in today. #assassinscreed #medievalhistory #darkhistory #hiddenhistory #forgottenhistory #historyexplained #NizariIsmaili #HassanISabbah #alamut #medievalwarfare #historyfacts #didyouknow #mindblowing #AncientSecretSocieties #SecretSocieties #MedievalIslam #CrusaderHistory #mongolempire #hulagukhan #historylovers #learnhistory #educationalvideo #animatedhistory #doodleanimation #explainervideo #youtubehistory #historychannel #politicalviolence #MedievalPower #assassincreed 00:00 A Dagger on Your Pillow 00:29 This Was Not a Legend 00:47 This Is the Story of the Assassins 00:58 Let's Start With the Name 01:07 Hashishin — Where the Word Came From 01:28 The Nizari Ismaili State 01:34 Hasan-i Sabbah 01:44 He Had No Army 01:54 The Fortress of Alamut 02:00 Not an Army — A System 02:28 Sleeper Agents Across the Islamic World 02:38 The Training of a Fedayeen 02:48 It Began With Ideology 03:06 They Did Not Kill for Money 03:12 The Practical Training 03:36 Almost Never Poison 03:41 Their Signature Method 03:45 A Public Killing in Broad Daylight 03:51 Why a Death in the Night Could Be Explained Away 04:03 Not Just an Assassination — A Demonstration 04:18 The Psychological Impact 04:26 Guards Could Be Converted 04:36 The Paranoia Was the Weapon 04:41 Nizam al-Mulk 04:49 Killed in 1092 04:59 The Message Spread Across the Region 05:02 No Title. No Rank. No Protection. 05:06 The Crusaders Arrived 05:16 When That Proved Impossible 05:22 They Negotiated. They Paid. 05:36 William of Tyre 05:43 The Old Man of the Mountain 05:53 European Rulers Feared Him 06:00 That Fear Crossed an Ocean 06:03 Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II 06:17 A Persistent Story 06:24 The Paradise Garden at Alamut 06:42 Then They Were Taken Out 06:50 True or Fabricated? 07:16 The Real Answer Was Simpler 07:20 They Believed. Completely. 07:31 The End Came From the East 07:34 The Mongol Armies Under Hulagu Khan 07:45 They Besieged Alamut. 1256. 07:56 He Was Killed on the Journey 08:00 The Libraries Were Burned 08:17 But the Network Did Not Disappear 08:28 The Aga Khan 08:37 The Descendants Are Still Here 08:43 The Dagger Became a Dynasty 08:46 And the Word They Left Behind