Poisoning Enemies

International Doctors have confirmed that Viktor Yushchenko, Ukraine’s opposition leader – who suffered a mysterious disfiguring disease, was poisoned with pure TCDD- one of the most toxic chemicals around.

Dutch forensic investigators have determined that Mr Munir, one of Indonesia’s outspoken opposition activists, had died of arsenic poisoning on a flight from Singapore to Amsterdam.

All these have left me wondering weather the tactic of poisoning enemies offers advantages that bullets, bombs and daggers don’t

If I remember correctly I read from some where that the lives of many Roman emperors were curtailed in this fashion, often by their own family members and the roman as someone called a master poisoner who knew how to mix otherwise innocuous ingredients into potions of death.

So I there really since a person and are there other empires that too used this art after the fall of Rome ? and are poisoning a better choice of assasination then guns and daggers ?

I've read sources that ninjas used poison sometimes. I also think poison was used alot in the Italian city-states of the medieval & Renneissance era.

I also think poison was used in the nordic kingdoms, as there were some mushrooms known to be lethal to eat.

Im fairly certain most European & Asian countries have used poison to remove certain individuals.

Don't forget Arafat being poisoned - or at least rumours that he was poisoned.

It seems that even the most primitive forms of murder are still used today.

The most primative ways to kill, are often the easiest, simplest, and most effencient ways. Posioning is usually quite effective.

Shadow,
there are several advantages of poison over other forms of assassination. unlike daggers and guns, where you know the victim was murdered, the death of a poisoned person could be attributed to choking, disease, food poisoning. it also can allow the assasing greater time to slip away, unlike a murder by more violent means, where the asassins might have only seconds or minutes to try to get away from the bodyguards.

Thanks for the information guys by the way is there really person called a master poisoner ?

probably more of a profession, although I havent heard about it