Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.  The unease of rulers may result from personal factors, constant worry, lack of sleep, and guilt for past odious actions, but also often from fear of assassination.  The list is long of the sad stories of the deaths of murdered kings.  The Bible tells the story of Joab, commander of King David's army, who killed the king's rebellious son and rival, Absalom. A quick survey of some of the well known victims illustrates the targeted killings.  Phillip II of Macedonia was assassinated in 336 B.C. and Julius Caesar on the Ides of March in 44 B.C.  For a number of centuries, the 8th through the 14th, an Islamic sect called the Assassins was active in the areas of what is now Iran and Syria, killing, often under influence of hashish, caliphs, viziers, sultans, and Crusaders for political and religious reasons. The Renaissance illuminates a catalogue of...(Read Full Article)