Introducing...'tis but a scratch: fact and fiction about the Middle Ages

On April 28, 1192 the newly elected king of Jerusalem Conrad of Montferrat was assassinated in the streets of the city of Tyre by two Assassins, the name by which the Crusaders knew the Nizari Isma'ili Shi'a sect in Syria. The killers had acted in obedience to the leader of the Assassins, the Old Man of the Mountain Rashid al-Din Sinan. That much is known. On whose behalf the Old Man of the Mountain acted, however, was and remains an open question. Was it Guy of Lusignan, who had ruled the Kingdom of Jerusalem as consort of Princess Sibylla until her death and was the man that Conrad defeated in the disputed election? Or was it Guy's main supporter for the throne, Richard the Lionheart of England? Or perhaps it was Saladin to create confusion and dissension among the leaders of the Third Crusade? Or maybe it was Rashid al-Din Sinan himself to avenge Conrad's actions against the sect of Assassins?

In this episode Richard and Ellen discuss the murder of Conrad of Montferrat, the Assassins as revealed in history and videogames, and the turbulent politics that nearly destroyed the Kingdom of Jerusalem and threatened to fragment the Third Crusade. Please join us!

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