This Group of Assassins Inspired Assassin’s Creed
“Nothing is true, everything is permitted.”
Assassin’s Creed is one of the highest-grossing video game franchises, grossing an estimated $4.6 billion in 2020. According to Richard Moss at Polygon, the Ubisoft franchise initially intended Assassin’s Creed to be a sequel to Prince of Persia, reimagined for a new generation of consoles — the PS3 and Xbox 360. The games offer unprecedented freedom in running, jumping, and climbing onto the buildings of cities like Damascus, Acre, and Jerusalem. The protagonist, an Assassin, fights against the rival group of Templars in a game rife with ideological and religious conflicts.
I didn’t know that Assassin’s Creed is based on real-life history, an ancient clan known as the Hashashins. The Hashashins originated in 1094 in Syria and northern Iran and would carry out political assassinations for about 150 years. Fredrich Nietzche once referred to the Hashashins as living a life “of which no monastic order has ever achieved,” which absolutely terrified the Christians of the Crusades.
This is the story of the Hashashins, the inspiration behind Assassin’s Creed.
Hassan-i-Sabbah
The man who started the Hashashins was named Hassan-i Sabbah, who was a well-known and respected Shia Muslim…
