The Levantine Assassins, also known as Hashashin, were the Brotherhood of Assassins located along the Levant, and the leading branch of the Order during the High Middle Ages.

Primarily fighting their sworn enemies, the Knights Templar, during the Crusades, the Levantine Assassins were a more public organization than the other Assassin branches. Centering themselves in their fortress in the village of Masyaf, the Assassins quite often found their headquarters attacked by both Crusaders and Saracens alike.

Under the leadership of Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, the Assassin Order was rebuilt, with new techniques created and rules and restrictions undone. Using knowledge gained from an "Apple of Eden" to do so, the Levantine Assassins were eventually spread to different locations around the globe – an effort to make the Assassin Order a more global organization – with the Levantine Assassins becoming the forebearer to many other Assassin branches in the process. (read more...)