Steve's latest book on the Assassins and Templars
About 'Assassins and Templars: A Battle in Myth and Blood'
The story of the medieval world's most extraordinary organisations, the Assassins and the Templars.
The Assassins and the Templars are two of history's most legendary groups. One was a Shi'ite religious sect, the other a Christian military order created to defend the Holy Land. Violently opposed, they had vastly different reputations, followings, and ambitions. Yet they developed strikingly similar strategies–and their intertwined stories have, oddly enough, uncanny parallels.
In this engaging account, Steve Tibble traces the history of these two groups from their origins to their ultimate destruction. He shows how, outnumbered and surrounded, they survived only by perfecting "the promise of death," either in the form of a Templar charge or an Assassin's dagger. Death, for themselves or their enemies, was at the core of these extraordinary organisations.
Their fanaticism changed the medieval world–and, even up to the present day, in video games and countless conspiracy theories, they have become endlessly conjoined in myth and memory.
Latest reviews
"An explosive, fast-paced journey into complex politics that brings together two of history's greatest legends. Here is the real story of the Assassins and Templars, carefully researched and engagingly told." --Matt Lewis, author of Richard III
"What happens when groups dedicated to martyrdom come into conflict? Assassins and Templars shows how two corporate and cult-like groups divided by faith and methodology were united in their attempts to survive and their demise at the hands of the Mamluks and Mongols."--Jessalynn Bird, editor of Papacy, Crusade, and Christian-Muslim Relations
"Yes - truth is stranger than fiction! We have here a significant work of scholarship: bold, innovative, well written and thoroughly persuasive."--Peter W. Edbury, author of The Conquest of Jerusalem and the Third Crusade
"A gripping tale not just of ideological fanatics but also of the politicians who used them to do the slaughter then ruthlessly eliminated them when their usefulness was at an end."--Jonathan Harris, author of The Lost World of Byzantium
"An extremely readable narrative on an incredibly complex and ill understood relationship between a Muslim and a Christian group - filled with original insights and new interpretations."--Farhad Daftary, author of The Assassin Legends
Order here
Order your copy of Assassins and Templars here:
Also available in paperback and audio book!
Templars: The Knights Who Made Britain
Steve's book, 'Templars: The Knights Who Made Britain' is now out and will be available in paper back from July!
The book is a gripping account challenging received wisdom to show the Templars’ key role in making modern Britain and defending the crusader states.
Find out more about Steve's book and order yours here:
BBC History Magazine
'Crusader Criminals: The Knights Who Went Rogue in the Holy Land' in the August 2024 edition of BBC
The wonderful BBC History Magazine featured another of Steve's books on the front cover this year. It also gave it the lead article in the August 2024 issue.
BBC History Magazine
'Templars: The Knights Who Made Britain' in the October 2023 edition of BBC History Magazine
BBC History Magazine featured 'Templars: The Knights Who Made Britian' on the front cover of their October 2023 issue, and gave it the lead (six-page) article inside. Watch out between now and Christmas for a series of podcasts Steve has contributed to with BBC History about the First Crusade and the Templar mythologies.
Books
Articles & Reviews
Events
Steve is one of the foremost academics currently working in the field of the Templars and the crusades. Find all his books here.
Events
Articles & Reviews
Events
Interested in hearing more about the Crusades and the Templars? Find out where Steve is giving his next talk and join us!
Articles & Reviews
Articles & Reviews
Articles & Reviews
See Steve's books in the headlines! He also writes numerous articles in a wide variety of publications - find out more.
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