What Were the Earliest Forms of Terrorism

The mass media has made the term "terrorism" bring up images of falling towers and wars for the safety of our country. As if it were some sort of new concept, finding it's beginning in a catalyst for American support on 9-11. However terrorism has been around long before planes, and New York for that matter existed.

First off, what is terrorism? Honestly, no hype or misconceptions. The United Nations defines terrorism as;

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So who were world's first terrorists?

Sicarii Zealots.

The Sicarii were led by descendants of Judas of Galilee, who helped foster revolt against Rome in 6 CE, when they attempted to carry out a census of the Jews so that they could tax them. Judas famously proclaimed that the Jews should be ruled by God alone. Their goal was to end direct Roman rule over the Jews of Palestine, which is also called ancient Israel. The Sicariis most notable tactic was the use of short daggers to kill people. This method of murdering people in crowded places before slipping away caused extreme anxiety among surrounding onlookers, and thus terrorize them.

The Sicarii were not the only ancient terrorists.

The Hashhashin, whose name gave us the English word "assassins," were a secretive Islamic sect active in Iran and Syria from the 11th to the 13th century.They dramatically executed assassinations on Abbasid and Seljuk political figures terrifing their contemporaries.

In the 16th century a group of conspirators attempted to destroy the English Parliament, by detonating a large quantity of gunpowder secretly placed beneath the building. The design was to kill King James I and the members of both houses of Parliament. In the resulting anarchy, the conspirators planned to implement a coup and restore the Catholic faith to England. Of course, the plan was betrayed and then thwarted.

Modern terrorism, more close to what we think of today, didn't find it's beginning until the 17th century with the reign of terror. The Reign of Terror was instigated by Maxmilien Robespierre in 1793, following the French revolution. Robespierre had enemies of the revolution killed, and installed a dictatorship to stabilize the country. This tactic laid the foundations for modern terrorists, who believe violence will usher in a better system.

Coming into the 19th century terrorism escalates and begins becoming more and more common. So much so as to require a list, and only brief explanations to keep this article from turning into a book.

Tsarist Russia- Anarchy blooms: The intelligentsia of Russia grew impatient with the slow pace of Tsarist reforms. Radicals sought instead to transform peasant discontent into open revolution, feeling that progress was impossible without destruction. Their objective was nothing less than complete destruction of the state.

Irish Republican Brotherhood: a revolutionary nationalist group with support from Irish-Americans, carried out attacks in England. These were the first acts of "republican terrorism" and the father's a nationalist terrorism. This group coined the expression that "one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter".

John Brown- America finds her first terrorist: He was an abolitionist who advocated armed opposition to slavery. He committed several terrorist attacks and was also involved in the illegal smuggling of slaves.

The KKK- The Klan has advocated what is generally perceived as white supremacy, antisemitism, racism, anti-Catholicism, homophobia, and nativism. They have often used terrorism, violence and acts of intimidation such as cross burning to oppress African Americans and other groups.

The list triples as we enter the 20th century, and become simply a list to remember to the forgotten terrorism and terrorists of the past.
Suffragette, Assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, Irgun, The British Special Operations Executive (SOE) of WW2, Viet Cong, NATO's Operation Gladio, Irish Republican Army (IRA), Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA, Umkhonto we Sizwe, Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), Ejrcito de Liberacin Nacional (ELN), the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC), Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (AUC), The Munich Massacre, Aum Shinrikyo, Achille Lauro Hijacking, Lockerbie bombing, Matsumoto incident, Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway, and the Oklahoma City bombing.

And then finally, welcome to 9-11-2001. When America realizes the threat of terrorism. So as you can see, terrorism grew up and evolved just like you and me, and had it's birth in ancient times. Unfortunately, until our society evolves beyond violence, terrorism will evolve with us.

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