Certain Moslems in the time of the Crusades, who were sent forth by their sheikh, the 'Old Man of the Mountains,' to murder the Christian leaders. Now used chiefly of the murderer of a public personage, who is generally hired or devoted to the deed, and aims purely at the death of the victim (OED).
"It was easier to move the hearts of the multitude than to avoid the single assassin."
Tacitus, Histories (100 AD).
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