N
The Global Insight

Who was the first assassin in history?

Author

Christopher Davis

Updated on March 20, 2026

The first group of assassins to be found in the historical record is that of the Hashshashin who operated in Persia, Syria, and Turkey, eventually spreading throughout the Middle East. They assassinated their political and financial foes until the organization met its own demise in the middle of the 13th century.

What is the meaning of Assassin’s?

: a person who kills someone (such as a famous or important person) usually for political reasons or for money : a person who assassinates someone. See the full definition for assassin in the English Language Learners Dictionary.

Is it an assassin or a assassin?

The word assassin, pronounced “uh-SASS-in,” describes a person who murders a prominent person, like a political or religious leader. Often, this person is hired to kill, though he or she might act on personal motivations. To correctly spell assassin, remember that it has two double s’s.

What is an example of an assassin?

The definition of an assassin is a murderer who strikes by surprise, usually the killer of someone famous or is hired to commit murder. An example of an assassin is James Earl Ray, who killed Martin Luther King Jr. An example of an assassin is a person who is hired by the mafia to kill their enemies.

Who is the world’s deadliest assassin?

Meet Julio Santana, the world’s deadliest hitman — with 500 kills.

Who is the greatest assassin in history?

The Most Famous Assassins in History

  1. Lee Harvey Oswald. Its strange to out this man so high on the list when so many people believe he wasn’t an assassin at all.
  2. Logan Giacomo-Damiano Ronco.
  3. John Wilkes Booth.
  4. Jack Ruby.
  5. Sirhan Sirhan.
  6. Marcus Julius Brutus.
  7. Gavrilo Princip.
  8. Mark David Chapman.

What is a smiling assassin?

The Smiling Assassin is a so-called friend who is really an enemy whose main weapons are inconsistency and unpredictability. They use rumour to undermine colleagues and adopt a passive-aggressive, indirect, dishonest style of dealing with people and issues.

Is assassin a bad word?

The name for these Isma’ili seems to have been given to them in a derogatory sense, not unlike similar terms today such as “pot heads”, “stoners”, “junky”, “crack head”, and the like. Basically, it was a name given to them as a way to refer to them as “rabble”, “outcasts”, or “disreputable people”.

What do you call a female assassin?

Noun. hitwoman (plural hitwomen) The female equivalent of a hitman; a female assassin.

Why do assassins have 3 names?

The three most famous political assassins in U.S. history used their middle names, but many others did not. It’s often assumed that three names are used to identify an infamous killer so as to avoid cases of mistaken identity—so other guys named Lee Oswald wouldn’t have their reputations besmirched, for example.