The Shocking History of Assassins

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Thoughty2 (Arran) is a British YouTuber and gatekeeper of useless facts. Thoughty2 creates mind-blowing factual videos about science, tech, history, opinion and just about everything else.
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Writing: Steven Rix
Editing: Jack Stevens

[ipuya]

I am from iran and so know the story of Hassan Sabbah and the assasins. I have been to the castle of Alamut and indeed it is a very long trek up a VERY narrow path, at some points only wide enough for one person to pass. If you want to read a fascinating story on this you can check out a book called Samarkand by Amin Maalouf. By the way the Fadai is pronounced fadayee (fadayin being the plural).

[corneliusvaginus]

Seeing Corvo's mask and Ezio's Hood together is something I didn't know I needed in life.... Best Assassin based games out there.

[amitjodha]

People working at Ubisoft are super smart.

To be able to define alternative histories for both Templers and Assassins is amazing.

[misamisaa]

Fun fact: there's a book called Alamut by Vladimir Bartol that follows Hassan I Sabbah, some of the first assassins he trained & the girls in the 'paradise'. I had to read it for my final high school exams so I didn't enjoy it until the very end when Hassan's plans started to show results. It's a fascinating book (if you're not forced to read it & do so at 6:30 am outside in the cold while waiting for your drivers license lessons)

[Miss-Anne-Thrope]

Yes, but the assassins didn't actually jump to their death but always landed in conveniently placed piles of hay and stayed there until their enemies stopped looking for them. 😉
Seriously though, the AC franchise did ignite a fascination with the real assassins and the Templars. This then lead to an obsession with the middle ages in general! A video on the Templars may be next, perhaps? 😊

[mahastihassas]

As for the origin of the name, another hypothesis is that it comes from the word "اساسیون" which is pronounced "Asasiyun" (from the root word "اساس" pronounced "asas", which in its plural form means "a set of principles") therefore "Asasiyun or Asasin" means "those who are bound to a creed" or "followers/believers of principles" which would suggest that maybe those who took this name believed their beliefs are grounded in a truer set of principles.
It is also hypothesized that the belief surrounding the use of hashish was popularized by those explorers who did not know the language very well and confused the origin of the word, thinking it was related to the word "Hashashiyun" (meaning users of hashish, which is said to be a popular drug at the time) instead of "Asasiyun", therefore relating two unrelated things and creating a whole myth surrounding the origin of the name! Personally, I think this hypothesis makes more sense in a military/politics/religious scenario than a cult of hashish users!

p.s. And therefore, Assassin's Creed basically means "the creed of believers of a creed"!

[EyeTech]

I'm an Iranian and my father was an archeologist which made me learn much about our history but this channel mind boggles me. So accurate, so precise and I learn new things which make me do some research. 10/10

[meshackkekana]

Rumour has it, Thoughty2 assassinated Thoughty1

[ten-dimension]

So Hassan Isabbah is basically Al Mualim from Assassins Creed 1. "The old man from the mountains" was also Al Mualim's name. I have played all Assassins Creeds except the latest three. And I can say the way it presents history is unmatched. My knowledge has increased a lot just by playing Assassins Creed and when you meet people like George Washington, Leonardo Da Vinci, Charles Dickens and Darwin and Napoleon Bonaparte. That feeling is on a whole new level. I wish games like Assassins Creed should be made. It's so effective in teaching history.

[Servant]

Correction: the word assassins came from their own self given arabic name Al Assassiyoon which means The Main Ones, but as they had many enemies in the land, many writers of said enemies would call them Al Hashashiyoon which means The Weed Users as a tweak to their name out of spite and hatred to the group, and yes Hashish actually means weed in arabic not drugs. The assassins group would never associate themselves with drugs, alcohol or sex as you have mentioned because they were deeply religious muslims and islam dictates all of the previous things are haram (forbidden), I wish people would do more research on such things before smearing the reputation of god fearing cold blooded warriors.

[TxCstevo]

"They were basically calling them crack heads" love the content and how you tell it, always makes me chuckle, the animations are on point too 😀

[DrBarbequeSauce]

The tactics used by these assassins are very similar to those used by ninjas in Japan: Using stealth to hide amongst a much more powerful enemy

[Gemini]

Easily the most consistently brilliant channel on YouTube! Thanks for giving me a better education than school ever did! Long live Thoughty2 ;)

[kamalashah]

As a member of the religious group mentioned in the video, I appreciate the channel for its unbiased representation of the Assasins or as we call them Fidayin; literally means devout followers ready to sacrifice. A brief history of the Hassan sabah would have helped the viewers understand his character more. Hashashins, a negative connotation, you were fair to indicate was due to the writings about the creed from the lands of the enemies of Nizaris. Have the libraries not been destroyed by the Mongols we would have had a much clearer view of the myths. Those interested in the history of the sect I would recommend some Books by the writer Dr. Farhad Daftary.
What I want to put in perspective to the modern viewers is the understanding behind the motivation of the Fidayin; it wasn’t mere intoxication but rather a powerful feeling and emotions to help the survival of the Ismaili Faith and it’s Imams(the spiritual leader). Instead of waging large wars killing hundreds a formidable move was the removal of the head of an enemy state.

[Tim_the_Enchanter]

What I like about Aran is that, when you see a thumbnail about "surprising history, " you know that when you click on it, it will be both surprising and historical. Much of the internet is not this way.

[cuddlemeheywoodu]

That bird of prey cry at the "leap of faith" at 14:30, love it.

[peacepoet]

The assassin knew that he probably would be killed after carrying out one or more killings. You get into a fight you know that you'll probably end up with a few bruises.

[zulimi]

This is the first time I have been able to finally understand the history of assassins. Excellent job, Thoughty 2 and team!

[chiantiprice]

I love it when he says @3:21 “I’m getting ahead of myself”. That’s when you know the good stuff is coming

[gilvinzalsos]

In Assassin’s Creed: Unity flashback on the fall of the Templars with Jacque De Molay. One of the templars mentioned the Mongol Khans broke the assassin’s power decades ago. I love that historical detail. Checks out, Ubisoft really does their research