assassin Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...

is a person who commits targeted murder. The origin of the term is the medieval

Order of Assassins The Order of Assassins (; ) were a Nizari Isma'ilism, Nizari Isma'ili order that existed between 1090 and 1275 AD, founded by Hasan-i Sabbah, Hasan al-Sabbah. During that time, they lived in the mountains of Persia and the Levant, and held a ...

, a sect of Shia Islam 1090–1275 CE. Assassin, or variants, may also refer to:

Fictional characters

* Assassin, in the Japanese adult visual novel ''

Fate/stay night ''Fate/stay night'' is a Japanese visual novel game developed by Type-Moon. It was first released for Microsoft Windows, Windows on January 30, 2004. The story takes place over three distinct routes: ''Fate'', ''Unlimited Blade Works'' ...

'' * Assassin, in the Japanese light novel '' Fate/Zero'' * The Assassin, in the 2006 '' Noble Warriors'' book trilogy * The Hassassin, in ''

Angels & Demons ''Angels & Demons'' is a 2000 bestselling mystery- thriller novel written by American author Dan Brown and published by Pocket Books and then by Corgi Books. The novel introduces the character Robert Langdon, who recurs as the protagonist of ...

'', 2000 *

League of Assassins The League of Assassins (sometimes known as the League of Shadows or Society of Shadows in adapted works) is a group of supervillains appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The group is depicted as a collective of assassins who ...

, in DC Comics * Ankh-Morpork Assassins' Guild, in ''Discworld'' * Assassin, in the ''

Soulcalibur II is a 2002 fighting game developed and published by Namco. It is the third installment in the ''Soulcalibur'' series of weapon-based fighting games as the sequel to ''Soulcalibur'' (1998). Originally intended to be released on Sega's NAOMI arcad ...

'' game * Assassin (character class), in games ** Assassin (''Dungeons & Dragons'')

Film and television

Film

* ''Assassin'' (1969 film), a South Korean thriller * ''Assassin'' (1973 film), a British thriller * ''Assassin'', a 1986 TV movie starring

Robert Conrad Robert Conrad (born Conrad Robert Falk; March 1, 1935 – February 8, 2020) was an American film and television actor, singer, and stuntman. He is best known for his role in the 1965–1969 television series ''The Wild Wild West'', playin ...

* ''Assassins'' (1995 film), starring Sylvester Stallone and Antonio Banderas * ''Assassin'' (2015 film), starring Danny Dyer * ''Assassins'' (2020 film), an American documentary * ''Assassin'' (2023 film), starring Bruce Willis * '' Assassin(s)'', a 1997 French film * ''The Assassin'', British title for '' Gunfighters'', a 1947 American film * ''The Assassin'', American title for ''

Venetian Bird ''Venetian Bird'' (U.S. title ''The Assassin'') is a 1952 British thriller film directed by Ralph Thomas and starring Richard Todd, Eva Bartok and John Gregson. The screenplay was adapted by Victor Canning from his 1950 Venetian Bird (novel), no ...

'', a 1952 British film * ''The Assassin'' (1961 film), an Italian crime drama * ''The Assassin'', a 1967 Shaw Brothers film * ''The Assassin'', or ''Point of No Return'' (1993 film) * ''The Assassin'' (2015 film), a wuxia film *

The Assassin (2023 film) ''The Assassin'' () is a 2023 South Korean historical History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about wha ...

, a South Korean historical action-drama * ''The Assassins'' (film), a 2012 Chinese film

Television

* "Assassin" (''Law & Order: Criminal Intent'') * "Assassin", a 1981 episode of ''Blake's 7'' * "Assassins" (''Desperate Housewives'') * "The Assassin" (''The Borgias''), a 2011 episode * "The Assassin", an episode of ''MacGyver'' (1985 TV series) * "Assassin" (''Star Wars: The Clone Wars'')

Gaming

* ''Assassin'' (video game), 1992 * ''The Assassin'' (cancelled video game) *

Assassin (game) Assassin (also Killer) is a live-action game in which players try to eliminate one another using mock weapons, in an effort to become the last surviving player. Assassin is particularly popular on college campuses; several universities have a ...

, a live-action game * '' Assassin!'', a ''The Way of the Tiger'' gamebook

Literature

* ''Assassin'' (Cain novel), by Tom Cain, 2008 * ''Assassins'' (LaHaye novel), by Jerry B. Jenkins and Tim Lahaye, 1999 * "L'Assassin", an 1887 short story by Guy de Maupassant * '' The Assassini'', a 1990 novel by Thomas Gifford * ''The Assassins'', a 1972 novel by

Elia Kazan Elias Kazantzoglou (, ; September 7, 1909 – September 28, 2003), known as Elia Kazan ( ), was a Greek-American film and theatre director, producer, screenwriter and actor, described by ''The New York Times'' as "one of the most honored and inf ...

* ''The Assassins'', a 2005 novel by

Oliver North Oliver Laurence North (born October 7, 1943) is an American political commentator, television host, military historian, author, and retired United States Marine Corps lieutenant colonel. A veteran of the Vietnam War, North was a National Sec ...

and Joe Musser * '' The Assassins: A Radical Sect in Islam'', a 1967 non-fiction book by Bernard Lewis * '' Krondor: The Assassins'', a 1999 novel by Raymond E. Feist

Music

Groups

* Assassin (band), an American heavy metal band * Assassin (German band), a German thrash metal band * Assassin (deejay) (born 1982), Jamaican dancehall deejay * Assassin (group), a French hardcore rap group

Albums

* ''Assassin'' (album), by Assassin, 1984 * ''Assassins'', by Into a Circle, 1984 * '' Assassins: Black Meddle, Part I'', by Nachtmystium, 2008 * '' I, Assassin'', by Gary Numan, 1982 * ''The Assassin'' (album), by Big Ed, 1998

Songs

* "Assassin" (The Orb song), 1992 * "Assassin", a song by John Mayer from the 2009 album ''

Battle Studies ''Battle Studies'' is a book by Ardant du Picq, a colonel in the French Army who was killed in 1870 in the Franco-Prussian War. The work was never completed, but Du Picq had written many chapters completely and left sufficient notes behind to co ...

'' * "Assassin", a song by Morbid Saint from the 1989 album '' Spectrum of Death'' * "Assassin", a song by Motörhead from the 1998 album '' Snake Bite Love'' * "Assassin", a song by Muse from the 2006 album ''

Black Holes and Revelations ''Black Holes and Revelations'' is the fourth studio album by the English rock band Muse, first released on 3 July 2006 through Warner Bros. Records and Muse's Helium-3 imprint. It was produced by Rich Costey over four months in New York Cit ...

'' * "Assassing", a song by Marillion from the 1994 album ''

Fugazi Fugazi (; ) is an American post-hardcore band formed in Washington, D.C., in 1986. The band consists of guitarists and vocalists Ian MacKaye and Guy Picciotto, bassist Joe Lally, and drummer Brendan Canty. They were noted for their style-transc ...

'' * "Assassins", a song by Lightning Bolt from the 2003 album '' Wonderful Rainbow'' * "Assassins", a song by The Insane Clown Posse from the 1999 album '' The Amazing Jeckel Brothers'' * "The Assassin", a song by Iron Maiden from the 1990 album ''

No Prayer for the Dying ''No Prayer for the Dying'' is the eighth studio album by English heavy metal music, heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It is their first album to feature Janick Gers on guitar, who replaced Adrian Smith (musician) , Adrian Smith. Smith left the ban ...

Sport

* Assassin (horse) (1779 – c. 1794), Thoroughbred racehorse that won the 1782 Epsom Derby * The Assassin, a nickname for former American football defensive back

Jack Tatum John David Tatum (November 18, 1948 – July 27, 2010) was an American professional American football, football Safety (gridiron football position), safety who played 10 seasons from 1971 through 1980 with the Oakland Raiders and the Houston Oi ...

* The Assassin, a nickname for streetball player Brandon Durham * The Assassin, a ring name of professional wrestler

Jody Hamilton Joseph Hamilton (August 28, 1938 – August 3, 2021) was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, promoter, and trainer. He was best known as one half of the tag team The Assassins (professional wrestling), The Assassins where ...

Assassins (professional wrestling) The Assassins were a masked professional wrestling tag team from the 1960s to the 1980s. Jody Hamilton, the original Assassin, was a member throughout the various incarnations of the team, teaming with Tom Renesto, Roger Smith, Randy Colley, Her ...

, a wrestling tag team

Other uses

* ''Assassins'' (musical), 1990, music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim * ''The Assassin'' (play), by Irwin Shaw, 1945 * ''Assassin'', a 2005 tour and comedy album by

Margaret Cho Margaret Moran Cho (born December 5, 1968) is an American stand-up comedian, actress and musician. In her Stand-up comedy, stand-up routines she critiques social and political problems, especially about race and sexuality. She starred in the Ame ...