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Assassins and Templars
A Battle in Myth and Blood
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Steve Tibble
Language:
English
Published/Copyright:
2026
About this book
The story of the medieval world’s most extraordinary organisations, the Assassins and the Templars
The Assassins and the Templars are two of history’s most legendary groups. One was a Shi’ite religious sect, the other a Christian military order created to defend the Holy Land. Violently opposed, they had vastly different reputations, followings, and ambitions. Yet they developed strikingly similar strategies—and their intertwined stories have, oddly enough, uncanny parallels.
In this engaging account, Steve Tibble traces the history of these two groups from their origins to their ultimate destruction. He shows how, outnumbered and surrounded, they survived only by perfecting “the promise of death,” either in the form of a Templar charge or an Assassin’s dagger. Death, for themselves or their enemies, was at the core of these extraordinary organisations.
Their fanaticism changed the medieval world—and, even up to the present day, in video games and countless conspiracy theories, they have become endlessly conjoined in myth and memory.
The Assassins and the Templars are two of history’s most legendary groups. One was a Shi’ite religious sect, the other a Christian military order created to defend the Holy Land. Violently opposed, they had vastly different reputations, followings, and ambitions. Yet they developed strikingly similar strategies—and their intertwined stories have, oddly enough, uncanny parallels.
In this engaging account, Steve Tibble traces the history of these two groups from their origins to their ultimate destruction. He shows how, outnumbered and surrounded, they survived only by perfecting “the promise of death,” either in the form of a Templar charge or an Assassin’s dagger. Death, for themselves or their enemies, was at the core of these extraordinary organisations.
Their fanaticism changed the medieval world—and, even up to the present day, in video games and countless conspiracy theories, they have become endlessly conjoined in myth and memory.
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Frontmatter
i -
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Contents
vii -
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Plates and Maps
ix -
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1 The Promise of Death
1 -
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2 Assassins: Birth of a Legend
9 -
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3 A Beginning and a Blueprint: Persia (1090–1100)
18 -
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4 Assassins and Syria: In Search of a Home (1100–1113)
27 -
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5 Assault on Shaizar: Mum’s Army (1114)
50 -
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6 Assassins: A State within a State (1115–1126)
61 -
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7 Templars: The Ideology of Love and Death (1095–1129)
71 -
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8 Templars: ‘A Living Sacrifice’ (1119–1129)
82 -
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9 So It Begins: The Strangest Partnership (1126–1130)
97 -
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10 Assassins: Home Sweet Home (1130–1162)
109 -
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11 Templars: The Little Castle on the Prairie (1130–1169)
122 -
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12 Fear and Loathing in Lebanon (1130–1162)
143 -
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13 Sinan: The Old Man of the Mountain (1162–1170)
151 -
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14 Ambushes and Ambassadors (1170–1174)
168 -
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15 Saladin Must Die: Assassins Take the Lead (1175–1176)
179 -
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16 Saladin Must Die: The Templars’ Turn (1177–1191)
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17 The Death of Heroes (1192–1193)
209 -
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18 Contest for the Holy Land (1194–1248)
221 -
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19 Egypt, Saints and Sinners (1248–1254)
229 -
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20 Assassins: Holocaust and horror (1255–1291)
246 -
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21 Templars: Death in the East (1255–1291)
265 -
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22 Afterlife: From Intimidation to Entertainment
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23 Ending and Beginning
292 -
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Acknowledgements
294 -
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Notes
297 -
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References and Further Reading
317 -
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Index
326
Publishing information
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
eBook published on:
January 12, 2026
eBook ISBN:
9780300286151
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
