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assassin bug
Assassin
Assassin , European name for the member of a secret order of the Ismaili sect of Islam . They are known as Nizaris after Nizar ibn al-Mustansir, whom they supported as caliph; the European term Assassin is derived from the Arabic for "users of hashish." The members of the order were distinguished by their blind obedience to their spiritual leader (known in the West as the Old Man of the Mountain) and by their use of murder to eliminate foes.
The order was founded by Hasan ibn al-Sabbah when he gained control (c.1090) of the mountain fortress of Alamut, located S of the Caspian Sea. The order spread over Persia and Syria, gaining control of many strongholds, and it soon inspired terror throughout the Muslim world. Members were organized into strict classes, according to degree of initiation into the secrets of the order. The most important of the classes were the devotees, who sought martyrdom and were the instruments of assassination.
Hasan and the grand masters who ruled the order after him wielded great political power until the coming of the Mongols. Hulagu Khan attacked and destroyed (1256) their fortresses and massacred most of the Persian branch of the sect. The Syrian branch, with which the Crusaders came in contact, suffered a similar fate at the hands of Baybars, the Mamluk sultan of Egypt. Only scattered groups of the order survived; they are said to persist today, particularly in N Syria. Tales of the Crusaders and the writings of Marco Polo brought the Assassins and the Old Man of the Mountain into European folklore. The term assassin came into English and is used today to mean murderer, particularly one who kills for political motives.
Bibliography: See B. Lewis, The Assassins (1967); E. Franzius, History of the Order of Assassins (1969).
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ASSASSIN BUGS LIVE UP TO THEIR NAME
Newspaper article from: Sun Publications (IL); 6/17/1998; 700+ words
; Q: We have some ugly bugs in our yard. They are...to look at. It is an assassin bug. In the insect world...that really are called bugs. The bugs are in the Order Hemiptera...and do not have the name bug. Most are plant eaters...
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THE HITMAN TAPES; EXCLUSIVE SPECIAL REPORT CRIME INC. Police bug caught two gangland assassins saying they would get away with murder.(News)
Newspaper article from: Sunday Mail (Glasgow, Scotland); 5/4/2008; 700+ words
; ...hitmen Raymond Anderson and James McDonald were caught by a police bug in their car boasting that they had got away with murder. A...involved in the hit and throw police off the scent. The police bug placed in Anderson's car showed how sure the hitmen were they...
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The last days of an assassin
Magazine article from: Natural History; 11/1/2001; ; 700+ words
; ...notoriously toxic, I expected the wheel bug to die. A wheel bug (Arilus cristatus) is both fearsome...that it belonged to the family of assassin bugs and could have stabbed me. My...looking as lively as a wheel bug gets. I wondered what else it...
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In search of back-stabbing assassins in the flower beds of Hyde Park.
Newspaper article from: Chicago Tribune (Chicago, IL); 2/18/2005; 700+ words
; ...charmed to find back-stabbing assassins lurking in flower beds, hordes...what most people would call bugs. He set boundaries. He would...among the more interesting bugs," said LaBarbera. "They...He has pictures of ambush bugs that hide in milkweed, ready...liquefy their insides, and ...
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New species of assassin spiders
Newspaper article from: Deseret News (Salt Lake City); 2/13/2006; ; 440 words
; ...Madagascar have found that tiny assassin spiders, grotesque-looking bugs that prey on other spiders...species could shed light on how assassin spiders evolved, and perhaps...including the nine new species of assassin spiders, during a four-year...
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Scientists Discover New Assassin Spiders
News Wire article from: AP Online; 2/13/2006; ; 391 words
; ...Madagascar have found that tiny assassin spiders, grotesque-looking bugs that prey on other spiders...species could shed light on how assassin spiders evolved, and perhaps...including the nine new species of assassin spiders, during a four-year...
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Madagascar yields 9 new types of assassin spiders
Newspaper article from: Chicago Sun-Times; 2/13/2006; ; 440 words
; ...Madagascar have found that tiny assassin spiders, grotesque-looking bugs that prey on other spiders...species could shed light on how assassin spiders evolved and perhaps...including the nine new species of assassin spiders, during a four-year...
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California scientists discover new species of assassin spiders in Madagascar
News Wire article from: AP Worldstream; 2/12/2006; ; 370 words
; ...Madagascar have found that tiny assassin spiders, grotesque-looking bugs that prey on other spiders...species could shed light on how assassin spiders evolved, and perhaps...including the nine new species of assassin spiders, during a four-year...
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summer garden; BUG WARS.(VARIETY)
Newspaper article from: Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN); 7/29/2009; ; 700+ words
; ...bugs. Knowing that beneficial bugs far outnumber bad ones is scant...strategies you can use to combat the bugs on the wrong side of the battlefield...using pesticides. Don't use a bug zapper for mosquitoes; they...pesticides in your garden. ASSASSIN BUGS Size: 1/2 to 3/4 inch ...
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Odd-looking wheel bug invading Central Illinois
Newspaper article from: The Pantagraph Bloomington, IL; 10/25/2008; ; 700+ words
; ...movie. It's the wheel bug, Arilus cristatus, sometimes...identification. Why wheel bugs have moved into our area...family of insects known as assassin bugs. They are 1-inches...from the victims. Wheel bugs are considered beneficial...these insects. Wheel bugs will not readily ...
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assassin bug
Book article from: The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition
assassin bug common name for members...Heteroptera). Assassin bugs are generally brownish...prey. Most assassin bugs are found on foliage...venom produced by the bug, the effect of which...name, the kissing bug. In the Southwest assassin bugs of the genus ...
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True Bugs
Encyclopedia entry from: The Gale Encyclopedia of Science
...include the tarnished plant bug ( Lygus lineolaris ), which...crop plants, the apple red bug ( Lygidea mendax ), the cotton...and the four-lined plant bug ( Poecilocapsus lineatus...causes significant damages. The assassin bugs (family Reduviidae) are mostly...
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bug
Book article from: The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition
...plant juices (e.g., the squash bug and chinch bug ); however, some suck the blood...insects and spiders (e.g., the assassin bug and backswimmer ). Others, such...g., the stinkbug ). The true bugs are classified in the phylum Arthropoda...
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wheel bug
Book article from: The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition
wheel bug see assassin bug .
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kissing bug
Book article from: The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition
kissing bug see assassin bug .
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