The Real Assassin's Creed: Deadliest Special Forces Of The Dark Ages | Ancient Black Ops | Chronicle

[Music] they are the deadliest special forces in the Medieval World their symbol is the dagger experts in Disguise masters of stealth they strike out of nowhere they made themselves appear like ghosts they would come in stabbed disappear terror is their greatest weapon psychological warfare um it's about the impact that you have this is the story of how a tiny Community takes on the most feared Warlords of their day they were a small marginalized persecuted sect they would become a legend the first true assassins [Music] 100 miles north north of Jerusalem lies the port of Ty in the 12th century it is a crusader stronghold its ruler Conrad of Monera is about to become the most powerful man in the Holy Land the Crusader King that night Conrad is returning home from dinner he's going along a particularly Narrow Street there's two men Sat one on either side he believes they are monks trusted members MERS of his household but Conrad is about to fall victim to the most feared Black Ops force of his time the legendary [Music] [Music] assassins the origins of the Assassins lie hundreds of miles away from the Holy Land in 11th century Persia the country we now know as [Music] Iran the Islamic world is torn apart by the age-old struggle between Sunni and Shiite [Music] Muslims it's a division about who follows the truest Islamic tradition the Sunni believe that they are the rightful preservers of that tradition they're the party of of the [Music] community their Rivals the Shiites support a different tradition that takes its Authority from the prophet Muhammad's Descendants the followers of Ali the son-in-law and the cousin of the Prophet say that the imams the political religious leaders of their faith should descend from him even today this rivalry within Islam fuels bitter religious [Applause] conflict in a remote area of Northern Persia is the mountain Fortress of alamont it is here that a particular Shiite community the ismaelis takes Refuge there were a small marginalized persecuted sect of Islam at a time when it was extremely unhealthy to be any of those things their base is known as the Eagle's Nest alamt itself is a natural Fortress it's not like a crusader castle that's built with a tremendous amount of science but it sits a top a natural redout that's 300 ft almost like a sheer cliff and at the bottom you got very deep Gorges it's very very difficult to approach the leader of this small remote Community is Hassan is saah a charismatic man who demands total devotion from his followers one wonders if he had a rather magnetic or perhaps hypnotic personality about him as well to draw these people to him despite the fact that he's actually asking them to submit to a very very harsh regime indeed Hassan's ismaelis are facing overwhelming odds his Sunni enemies have a vast Army of 300,000 men he will have to wage what we now call asymmetric Warfare he's not in a position to fight back he's not got large armies at his disposal to survive asan has to find something he can do even with limited Manpower finally he hits on a radical solution he will decapitate his Sunni enemies by murdering their leader they're not going to be able to defeat him in battle so they go in on a much narrower front they're going to take out the man himself at the top of the Persian hierarchy naam al- mul is a champion of Sunni Orthodoxy is basically a one-man government and he has made it his work to root out heresy right at the center of the Persian State Hassan's Isis are one of his prime targets he has described them as the puss of sedition he really thinks they should be expelled so if Hassan picks him out and if he removes him he really will be striking making a blow against the man who is the real cheerleader against his group Assan starts to train an Elite Squad to carry out the mission they're chosen from his most devoted followers the fiden the uh early fiding were almost certainly from that particular area of Iran so these are tough mountain men Hassan Begins by teaching them how to fight at Close Quarters their actual personal skills are in many ways much higher than you find in armies today so Commandos won't be so well trained in individual hand-to-hand combat because they have technology people today rely on technology then they had no technology it was just them they were the weapon the key question is how to make the hit to take out their target they could have killed people using poison but the victim could take an antidote and survive they could have killed people using arrows or or or projectile weapons but there's always the risk of missing the vital organs eventually the weapon they choose is the [Music] [Applause] dagger striking up close you can make sure of a kill a dagger gives you a greater chance of actually achieving your aim but using daggers in combat demands immense skill throughout history there's only three different types of weapons available in a dagger you have a stabbing you have a slashing and you have a slashing and stabbing now the first one we have is something like a stiletto the key point about the Stiletto is it's very strong thin blade for high penetration power so a stabbing of a stiletto goes straight through so in and stab through with a weapon concealed you walk towards him pull out stab walk on the next type is a slashing blade from here they will just draw and slash as you can see in one motion it would be very hard to even see that it [Music] happened the third major design would be a slashing and stabbing weapon now this is a modern version so from here it's got sharp blade curves would also have a back blade so you can cut back if you miss very strong guard here this guard allows you to stab down very heavily so you have different options as to how you move and how to combine [Music] it the ismael's next step is familiar to Today's Special Forces to gather local Intelligence on their target it's a big operation it will require inside knowledge an ismaeli spy infiltrates the Sunni leader headquarters watching naam al- mul's every move how does he conduct his life what's the best opportunity we can get where is there a in that [Music] armor this information is fed back to base with a detailed profile of his Target Hassan identifies what he thinks is a weakness in al- mul's security that weakness is his religion this is the only way he's going to actually get that close to him and he calls on a man to represent a Sufi Mystic a holy man an athetic somebody who normally one would never suspect of misdeed a Sufi would be seen as a man of Peace anybody who has an air of Holiness about them is almost guaranteed a warm reception from a powerful leader of the secular State such as nul the opportunity to to be blessed by such an individual is not to be missed having worked out how to get close to him Hassan's next problem is how to kill him the trick is to use distraction the person must be distracted by an event so you trip or you drop something and this moment you exploit it [Music] The Chosen killer rehearses the technique after months of training he is [Music] [Applause] ready [Music] [Music] Hassan's trained killer infiltrates the Sunni base no one suspects a holy man in the quarters of nisam al- mul there is no no sense of any threat everything is routine at this time of the evening n is probably in High Spirits he has finished his work for the day this is perfect timing for mes he's much more difficult to actually get anywhere near during the normal working business day so no doubt any his own mind he's thinking of the pleasures of the evening among his [Music] women in the shadows the ismi killer waits for the moment to [Music] strike al- mul is about to be carried off to his harim on his litter but then he sees the Sufi holy man approaching he's quite prepared to let this guy in and give him a blessing on his way he stabs the man stabs nisam Alm and kills him the distraction has worked killing the leader of the sunnis is a massive Triumph for Hassan's ismis he was a great man no two ways about it and therefore to take him down was a real message if we can get him we can get anybody so you take on the ismaelis of alamut at your peril over the coming years Hassan presses home his Advantage he launches a range of Terror attacks which would be familiar to us today there's about 25 assassinations in this early period they really do anything enter quite a little golden patch or a Purple Patch where they have a number of successes they were prepare to do anything to win the way that the Assassins killed was absolutely amazing they made themselves appear like ghosts they would come in stab disappeared they changed their mode of operating every single time one thing stayed the same and that was that they killed by a dager their murder of alul triggers the collapse of his Sunni Empire they've proved that their tiny force can take on a vastly superior enemy and win they were one of the first groups who used deliberately small groups of highly trained men in asymmetric Warfare [Music] the success of Hassan's Elite Killers becomes a talking point on the streets they are celebrated across the middle east in a popular poem it says that with one lone Warrior on foot a king though he may have a 100,000 Troopers would be in fear soon the ismaelis Discover that like today's suicide bombers their strategy has a secondary effect they create an atmosphere of [Music] [Applause] dread with terrorism the fundamental thing you have to remember is that it's psychological warfare it's not really about how many people you kill um it's about the impact that you have it's all the more fearsome because Hassan's men aren't afraid to die the sunnis face a huge problem with the ismaelis because the men that are sent on these missions happily embraced death and that obviously makes them truly terrifying The Echoes today are very familiar but there is one key difference the fiden method is much more precise it doesn't have collateral damage it doesn't strike at innocence it strikes specifically cleanly and discriminately at the Target the ismi strike force is so successful their Sunni enemies try to discredit them they spread stories about a secret group of brainwashed Killers living up in the mountains they were painted as deviants as drug users as um crazy Fanatics and in much the same way that modern terrorist groups often get the same treatment that um you know they Fanatics um Psychopaths the myth becomes more and more exotic both Muslims and Western Christians retell the story of young Killers manipulated by an evil [Music] leader this talks of potions uh Promises of of pleasure Gardens forever some of the ideas begin to blur a little that they must be perhaps drug induced to have this level of [Music] devotion in particular the sunnis label them hashian or users of hashish the name has stuck this morphed into the word that we use today for a political killer assassin and so a legend is born Hassan's Special Forces become known as the drug crazed assassins I don't personally believe that they would have been on drugs imagine the focus you need you need to confirm that Target the thing about drugs is it has an effect it suppresses or depresses or enlightens what it does is take away your focus but defeating naam al- mul is only the beginning in the future they will need to use all their fighting skills to defend their Community not only against their Muslim enemies but a new threat from Christian [Music] Crusaders some 50 years later in the mountains of Northern Syria the ismaeli Assassins establish a new base at masf they take over a network work of castles to protect their growing Community soon to be some 60,000 [Music] strong but here in the holy land they find themselves in the middle of an even more dangerous power [Music] struggle a religious war is Raging between Sunni Muslims and the Crusaders from the West at stake is control of the city of Jerusalem and its sacred places of [Music] worship The Grandmaster of the assassins in the holy land is Rashid Alin sinan a charismatic leader he's got a personality not dissimilar to that of Hassan is Sabah the first great Grandmaster again hypnotic also very engaging aidite highly intelligent very intellectual but also a paranormal feeling about him he's Supernatural he's more than this world there is enormous devotion and obedience to him if he tells one of his followers to go and take somebody out to kill them then they will certainly obey his commands caught between the Sunni Muslims and the Christian Crusaders San decides to Target the man he sees as his biggest threat the leader of the [Music] sunnis Saladin the great is the finest Warrior of his age [Music] he has won a string of Victories against the Crusaders he wants to draw the neares together Egypt Syria Northern Iraq under his rule he is also a fanatical champion of the sunnis he is incredibly Orthodox as a Sunni we know that he carried out crucifixions of what are unorthodox or heretical thinkers Saladin is a deadly menace to the ismaeli Assassins he is now number one on their Hit [Music] List in classic assassin fashion they begin by gathering information for their mission Syria's bustling cities are an ideal source of intelligence the first thing they would do is to start dispatching missionaries to recruit locals and build up a network and then this network would bring back information and and and um uh and intelligence and what was happening there they recruit agents most likely to give them local knowledge there's a constant flux and mix of merchants and we know that ismi penetration into the merchant class was very strong so there's a Grassroots intelligence available to San his real skill is that he Taps into that so well we hear stories of him using things like carrier pigeons for communication but I think what's more important is that in his own mind he Maps out the various pressure points and power plays that are occurring in Syria to Target a warlord of saladin's stature San has to find a way of dealing with his close Protection Team these leaders in a very very hostile and dangerous world will have had their very best bodyguards in the business the very best bodyguards because your life depended on selecting the right [Music] guys San's Network needs to provide detailed Intelligence on saladin's security it would be really important to find out how their bodyguards moved what they did what they were trained in how reactive they were but you would also learn when to exploit the bodyguards because it's the same for today no one can be 100% alert all the time that's where the intelligence network is key you would find out as much as you can about them armed with this information the Assassins can start training they need to learn how to tackle the [Music] bodyguards they have to know how to use this sworder why for a very simple reason if you want to beat your opponent it's not just what you do you need to understand them if they're going to draw their sword how do you defeat that the knife can even be used to take out an armed Sentry so as he goes with his SC you stop him pulling out you stab him [Music] in they practice how to take out a single centry first thing you must do is grab his head pull him in and then you finish with another step next how to tackle two bodyguards the weapon is hidden and you walk forward in a calm and composed and respectful manner pull out stabbing two shots one more shot to [Music] finish after weeks of training the Assassins have one final problem to solve how to infiltrate saladin's Camp it's likely they go in disguised as soldiers they were very very good at doing this I mean they were able to get people into the most trusted positions because they Blended in they did not seem like a tread they did not seem like an [Music] outsider 200 M north of the Assassin's Terr Saladin is on campaign he has no reason to fear a personal attack he is relaxing in his tent on the day chosen for the strike the Assassins make their move but the bodyguards prove too strong for San it's a setback not a complete disaster he's at least shown his enemy he is coming to get him it gives him the upper hand in the psychological battle with Saladin sign number one the great Sunni Champion starts wearing body armor 24 hours a day Saladin knows the Assassins never give up up in the mountains San bides his time his next move is to insert a Sleeper Cell the is mes are quite prepared to wait they're quite prepared to put in Sleepers as we might call them they're quite prepared to wait a great deal of time until it's politically [Music] required 2 years later Saladin is again on campaign in Northern Syria he's unaware the Assassins have secretly inserted an agent within his own [Music] [Music] bodyguard only saladin's body armor saves him the great warl Lord can no longer tolerate this threat he decides to take the attack to the Assassins Saladin lays Siege to San's castle at MF he is determined to eradicate the Assassins once and for all cut off and surrounded San is now in real trouble even killing Saladin might not save the ismaelis he needs to make the Sunni leader take his army away San has to come up with a completely different plan San has realized something at this stage what he can see is it's going to be more effective for him to engage just a little bit with this Sultan San is going to apply psychological pressure Legend has it that San himself creeps silently into saladin's camp and leaves him a note with the Assassin's calling card a dagger what you wanted to do ideally was intimidate them the message is very clear you know we can we can get you we can get you whenever we want the note reads death holds no fear for the fiden I will defeat you from within your own ranks the note is truly chilling because he's telling Saladin you may threaten us with death you may threaten us with extermination you're threatening us threatening us with the very thing that we actually embrace you're threatening us with something that holds absolutely no fear for us whatsoever San's scare tactic Works Saladin agrees to open negotiations San has made a huge psychological Dent into Saladin here now he sets up his final trick he briefs an emissary with a strong message for Saladin we're not going away we're indestructible you'll have to deal with us so man makes it clear this is a message for Saladin alone the Emissary makes his way to saladin's Camp he insists that he must speak to the Sultan in private negotiator says this is just for your ears not for anyone else and sladin dispatches everyone else except for his two most trusted bodyguards the Emissary again pushes him and says no this is just for you why do you allow these two men to stay zad replies I trust these men as my sons whatever you can tell me you can tell them they won't leave the Emissary then plays San's trump card he turns to the bodyguards and he says if I order you now to strike this man down will you do it for Saladin it's a shattering moment his most trusted bodyguards are revealed to be assassins they are sleeper agents who've been implanted in his Organization for years and right now if order they will kill him now that doesn't happen the negotiators is just making a point we can kill you you trust these people more than anyone else in your whole Entourage and they are actually the assassins and if these guys can be the Assassins who else might be the assassins [Music] the psychological warfare Works Saladin lifts The Siege and San's assassins are safe again but their Triumph is shortlived they still face another Major Force in the Middle East the Christian Crusaders [Applause] for the next 15 years the holy land is a bloody Battleground Muslim and crusader Warriors struggle for control of Palestine and the Sacred City of Jerusalem finally it falls to Saladin and his Sunni forces 100 miles to the north the Crusaders still hold the port of tire it is here that a new threat to the Assassins is [Music] emerging Ty's ruler is an ambitious and Ruth less Crusader Baron Conrad of Monera he's part of a crusading dynasty he's there for life and he's there to expand his lands he is a real problem there was every potential for Conrad to become to the Christians what salahadin had become to the Muslims he's clearly a powerful figure a dynamic figure somebody whom you would need to be aware of and Conrad has already made enemies of the Assassins there's a story that an assassin ship arrives at the Port of Ty and Conrad has the goods confiscated and the crew taken prisoner and sinan says you should return these things to me and release the people and twice Conrad says no saying no to senan is potentially quite dangerous I think it means that your card is [Music] [Applause] marked San is so concerned about Conrad's growing strength he decides to infiltrate his base entire his plan is to dispatch another Sleeper Cell intelligence agencies today when they are selecting operators look for people they call the gray man somebody who doesn't stand out from the crowd if you've got someone who's 2 m tall and built to match he stands out he's going to attract attention it's highly likely that the people the ismeli selected for this kind of mission they were people you wouldn't look twice at in fact it was very important that they were the kind of people you wouldn't look twice at San transforms his men into people Conrad will trust they take on the identity of Christian monks recent converts to the [Music] faith after centuries of persecution the Assassins know how to live under cover in enemy territory if necessary even denying their Shiite Faith according to the principle of TAA teia allows the follower of the faith to deny their faith in order to guarantee their own Survival or to obtain an advantage over the [Music] unbeliever but the Assassins have to play their role carefully to avoid raising [Music] suspicion they would need to know the rituals of day-to-day life within that Community they would need seamlessly to fit in to the routines of the day it's a highrisk operation one slip and San men could find themselves in a torture chamber eventually they earn Conrad's trust relying on the the usual assassin tricks of being you know charming and reliable and capable and all the rest of it you can worm your way into positions of trust and and and and security that's exactly what they [Music] [Applause] achieved over the next 6 months they keep a watchful eye on Conrad at this stage their orders are to spy on him not kill him but then their plans change news reaches TI that Conrad has been elected the next Crusader King it will make him the most powerful Christian leader in the region it's disastrous news for the Assassins San has to act fast that week he sends his own Messenger to Ty it's time to activate his sleepers Conrad Must Die secretly the two assassins begin training for the mission their weapon is the tried and trusted dagger but they know they only have one chance if you're going to kill an opponent you want to make sure he's dead you need to confirm the kill so one day if you shoot him you would then shoot him in the head to make sure absolutely he's dead well with the dagger what they're going to do is they're going to make sure that they Target more than one area only when they've perfected their moves do the Assassins go for the [Music] [Music] kill Conrad the future king of jerus Jalem is waiting to go out to dinner while it's pretty common for medieval chroniclers to always blame women uh there has been a suggestion that his wife was taking too long in the bath and so he left alone Conrad walks out into the streets to D in with a friend things are coming to a head we know that sinan has to get a result that Conrad must die because the coronation is coming up soon so The Sleeper Cell decides to take its chance at this [Music] point while Conrad's at his friend's house the Assassins take up their positions ready to catch him on his return the last moments would be key be checking to make sure you have absolutely everything and it's working the right way so for instance in your robes you'd be checking you can pull out and cut straight away they knew just what they were going to do and that was what their whole life had been geared up to was that moment later that evening Conrad begins to make his way back from dinner I think we can imagine a man who's not really looking for immediate threats that are posed to him he's going along a particularly Narrow Street there's two men Sat one on either side and when he sees these two figures by the side of the road figures whom we hear that he's apparently reasonably familiar with I think his guard would certainly have been down and then they strike Conrad of moner is dead the murder of Conrad of Murat represents the most high-profile assassination carried out by the group at the Crusader age so it really had a powerful impact it's a story that would have got across Europe and across the near East as [Music] well it's not long before rumors begin to spread it said that one of the Assassins was captured and claimed they were working for Conrad's rivals some point the finger of the Crusader warlord Richard the lionart others say it was Saladin this was a very convenient guy to kill and there were a lot of people who benefited from it but exactly who instigated it who wanted it who endorsed it we don't know what we do know is that the Assassins would not have killed them if they felt it went their against their interests [Music] San tells no one the true story it only enhances the myth of the Assassins the assassination of Conrad of Monera will be his greatest Triumph within a year San is dead the Assassins exploits in Persia and the Holy Land ensure the survival of the ismaeli [Music] faith this is a community and an idea that survives for nearly two centuries against overwhelming odds after many setbacks ismaelis continue to thrive around the world this is the legacy of the Assassins who resisted their most powerful enemies for so long

Channel: Chronicle - Medieval History Documentaries

Views: 949,480

Keywords: Ancient Espionage Methods, Ancient Warfare Tactics, Assassinating Key Figures, Chronicle - Medieval History Documentaries, Dark Ages Politics, Hastings, Historical Hitmen Chronicles, Medieval Armies, Medieval Life Exploration, Medieval Society, Medieval Weapons, Middle East History, Mysterious Killings, Order of Assassins, Psychological Warfare, Renaissance Beginnings, Roman Empire Collapse, Secret Societies Revealed, Secrets of the Assassins, Stealth Warfare, Sunni Leaders

Id: qZyROOYq4LI

Length: 48min 2sec (2882 seconds)

Published: Wed Mar 20 2024