Editing Order of Assassins (section)

==In popular culture==
The Assassins were part of Medieval culture, and they were either demonized or romanticized. The Hashashin frequently appeared in the art and literature of the Middle Ages. Sometimes, they were portrayed as one of the knight's archenemies, and they were also portrayed as a quintessential villain during the crusades.<ref>Lewis (2003) p. 18</ref>

The word Assassin, in variant forms, had already passed into European usage as a term for a hired professional murderer in this general sense. The Italian chronicler [[Giovanni Villani]], who died in 1348, tells how the lord of Lucca sent 'his assassins' (i suoi assassini) to [[Pisa]] to kill a troublesome enemy there. Even earlier, [[Dante Alighieri|Dante]], in a passing reference in the 19th canto of the ''[[Dante's Inferno|Inferno]]'', completed in 1320, speaks of 'the treacherous assassin' (lo perfido assassin); his fourteenth-century commentator Francesco da Buti, explaining a term which for some readers at the time may still have been strange and obscure, remarks: 'Assassino è colui che uccide altrui per danari' (An assassin is one who kills others for money).<ref>Lewis (2003) p. 20</ref>

The most widespread awareness of the Assassins in modern Europe, and their incorporation into the [[Romanticism|Romantic tradition]], was created by the Austrian historian and [[Oriental studies|Orientalist]] [[Joseph von Hammer-Purgstall]] in his 1818 book, ''Die Geschichte der Assassinen aus morgenländischen Quellen''<ref>Stuttgart und Tübingen, 1818</ref> (translated into English in 1835 as ''The History of the Assassins''<ref>London, 1835; translated by O.C. Wood</ref>). This work was the standard one on the history of the Assassins in the West until the 1930s.

The Assassins appear in many [[role-playing game]]s and [[video game]]s, especially in [[massively multiplayer online game]]s, in addition to shows and books. The [[Assassin (character class)|assassin character class]] is a common feature of many such games, usually specializing in single combat and stealth skills, often combined in order to defeat an opponent without exposing the assassin to counter-attack.

* The ''[[Exile (1988 video game series)|Exile]]'' series of [[action role-playing game]]s revolves around a time-traveling Syrian Assassin who assassinates various religious historical figures and modern world leaders.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/exile/exile.htm|title=Hardcore Gaming 101: Exile / XZR|last=Szczepaniak|first=John|date=April 11, 2009|publisher=Hardcore Gaming 101|access-date=August 10, 2009|archive-date=May 11, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190511104550/http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/exile/exile.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>Leo Chan, [http://www.neoseeker.com/news/12552-sunsoft-scores-telenet-japan-franchises/ Sunsoft scores Telenet Japan franchises] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160202100601/http://www.neoseeker.com/news/12552-sunsoft-scores-telenet-japan-franchises/ |date=2016-02-02 }}, Neoseeker, December 10, 2009</ref>
* The ''[[Assassin's Creed]]'' video game series portrays a heavily fictionalized Ḥashshāshīn order, which has expanded beyond its Levantine confines and is depicted as having existed throughout [[recorded history]] (along with their nemesis, the [[Knights Templar]]).<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.ign.com/articles/2011/11/12/the-history-of-assassins-creed| title = The History of Assassin's Creed by IGN| date = 12 November 2011| access-date = 14 April 2013| archive-date = 1 April 2013| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130401091857/http://www.ign.com/articles/2011/11/12/the-history-of-assassins-creed| url-status = live}}</ref> Both orders are portrayed as fundamentally philosophical orders, rather than religious orders, in nature, and they are expressly said to predate the faiths that their real-life counterparts arose from, thus allowing their respective "histories" to be expanded, both before and after their factual time-frames. In addition, ''Assassin's Creed'' draws much of its content from historical facts, and incorporates the purported last words of [[Hassan i Sabbah]] as the actual creed ("Nothing is true; everything is permitted"); the sources of that quote are largely unreliable. Since its release, the series has developed into a franchise which consists of novels, comic books, video games, manga, board games, short films and a [[Assassin's Creed (film)|theatrically released movie]].
* In the ''Sword of Islam'' [[Downloadable content|DLC]] for [[Paradox Interactive]]'s [[grand strategy]] game ''[[Crusader Kings II]]'', the Hashashin are a holy order associated with [[Shi'a Islam]]. Once established, Shi'ite rulers may hire the Hashashin to fight against non-Shi'a realms, and can potentially [[vassal]]ize them. The ''Monks and Mystics'' DLC expands their role, making the Assassins a unique secret society that Shi'a characters may join.
* In the [[Netflix]] series ''[[Marco Polo (2014 TV series)|Marco Polo]]'', the emperor [[Kublai Khan]] is attacked by a group of assassins, the Hashshashin, who are led by the Old Man of the Mountain, according to the [[Taoism|Taoist]] monk [[Hundred Eyes]], in the King's court. The Old Man of the Mountain is then pursued by Marco Polo and Byamba. The episode Hashshashin (2014) shows how the Old Man leads Marco Polo into a hallucinogenic state.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3798176/plotsummary| title = "Marco Polo" Hashshashin (TV Episode 2014) – Plot Summary | website = [[IMDb]]| access-date = 2018-07-21| archive-date = 2023-04-27| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230427105127/https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3798176/plotsummary/| url-status = live}}</ref>
* [[Louis L'Amour]], in his book ''[[The Walking Drum]]'', used the assassins and the stronghold of Alamut as the location of his main character's enslaved father. Mathurin Kerbouchard, who initially seeks his father in the 12th-century Moor-controlled Spain, then throughout Europe, must ultimately travel to the Stronghold of Alamut in order to rescue Jean Kerbouchard.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/walkingdrumthe00loui |title=The walking drum |last=L'Amour |first=Louis |date=1984 |publisher=Bantam Books |isbn=978-0553249231 |location=Toronto |oclc=12268583 |url-access=registration }}</ref>
* Many of [[Terry Pratchett]]'s [[Discworld]] series of [[Fantasy literature|fantasy novels]] are set in the fictional city of [[Ankh-Morpork]], where crime has become officially regulated by being organised into a number of [[guild]]s, including a Guild of Assassins. In most of the novels, the city is led by the [[Autocracy|autocrat]] [[Lord Vetinari|Patrician Lord Vetinari]], who began his career as a member of the Assassins Guild.
* The Faceless men, a guild of assassins in the book series ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]'' by [[George R. R. Martin]] and in the TV series ''[[Game of Thrones]]'' are inspired by the Order of Assassins.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.denofgeek.com/us/tv/game-of-thrones/256205/the-real-history-of-game-of-thrones-the-faceless-men|title=The real history of game of thrones the faceless men|last=Sokol|first=Tony|date=June 29, 2018|access-date=December 19, 2018|archive-date=December 20, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181220230725/https://www.denofgeek.com/us/tv/game-of-thrones/256205/the-real-history-of-game-of-thrones-the-faceless-men|url-status=live}}</ref>
* Dota 2, [[multiplayer online battle arena]] contains a character named ''Lanaya'', who is described as a "Templar Assassin".
*There are various Assassin class Servants who go by the name of "Hassan-i Sabbah" in the ''[[Fate/stay night]]'' anime-and-visual novel-franchise. It is established that "Hassan-i-Sabbah" is a title used by each of the nineteen leaders of the Hashshashin. The founder of the Order, identified as the "First Hassan", appears in ''[[Fate/Grand Order]]'' with the title of "Grand Assassin" due to being the origin of the word itself.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Eisenbeis |first1=Richard |title=Fate/Grand Order's New 'Memorial Movie' is Emotional Visual Storytelling at Its Best |url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/feature/2023-08-14/fate-grand-order-new-memorial-movie-is-emotional-visual-storytelling-at-its-best/200963 |access-date=25 September 2023 |work=Anime News Network |date=14 August 2023 |language=en}}</ref>
*In [[Batman]] comics and related media, the [[League of Assassins]] is a fictional offshoot of the Order of Assassins that has survived clandestinely into modern times under the immortal [[DC Comics]] [[supervillain]] [[Ra's al Ghul]].
*In the Turkish television series ''[[Uyanış: Büyük Selçuklu]]'', the Order of Assassins and Hassan-i Sabbah are shown as villains who are the enemies of the [[Seljuk Empire]] and [[Malik-Shah I]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Uyanış Büyük Selçuklu dizisi oyuncuları ve karakterleri açıklandı! İşte Uyanış Büyük Selçuklu oyuncu kadrosu|url=https://www.cnnturk.com/magazin/uyanis-buyuk-selcuklu-dizisi-oyunculari-ve-karakterleri-aciklandi-iste-uyanis-buyuk-selcuklu-oyuncu-kadrosu|access-date=2021-02-26|website=CNN Türk|language=tr|archive-date=2021-02-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210202234240/https://www.cnnturk.com/magazin/uyanis-buyuk-selcuklu-dizisi-oyunculari-ve-karakterleri-aciklandi-iste-uyanis-buyuk-selcuklu-oyuncu-kadrosu|url-status=live}}</ref>
*The book ''[[Angels & Demons]]'' by [[Dan Brown]] has a modern-day descendant of the Hassassin as a major character.
*In [[Umberto Eco]]'s ''[[Baudolino]]'', a group of adventurers at the centre of the story are enslaved by the Old Man of the Mountain, being drugged, shown paradise, and serving the order for years before escaping.
*In the Egyptian television series Ḥashāshīn <ref>{{Citation |title=The Assassins |date=2024-03-11 |type=Action, Adventure, Biography |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt21200366/ |access-date=2024-03-25 |others=Karim Abdel Aziz, Sammy Sheik, Fathi Abdulwahhab |publisher=Synergy, United Media Services}}</ref> (in English: The Assassins).