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The Order of Assassins or simply the Assassins (Arabic: ‫َح ّش اِش ین‬,
romanized: Ḥashshāshīyīn; Persian: ‫حشاشين‬, romanized: Ḥaššāšīn) were a Nizari Isma'ili
order that existed between 1090 and 1275 AD, founded by Hasan-i Sabbah.
During that time, they lived in the
mountains of Persia and the Levant,
and held a strict subterfuge policy
throughout the Middle East, posing
a substantial strategic threat to
Fatimid, Abbasid, and Seljuk
authority, and killing several
Assassins
Formation
1090 AD
Founder
Hassan-i Sabbah
Dissolved
1275 AD
Headquarters
Alamut Castle
(Persian Assassins)
Christian leaders. Over the course of
Masyaf Castle
nearly 200 years, they killed
(Levantine Assassins)
hundreds who were considered
enemies of the Nizari Isma'ili state.
Official language
The modern term assassination is
believed to stem from the tactics
used by the Assassins.[1]
languages
Imam
ibn al-Athir, and the Persian AtaMalik Juvayni. The first two referred
to the Assassins as batiniyya, an epithet
widely accepted by Isma'ilis
themselves.[2][3]
Contents
Hasan-i Sabbah
(first)
Contemporaneous historians
include Arabs ibn al-Qalanisi and Ali
Arabic, Persian, other
Muhammad II (last)
Affiliations
Nizari Ismaili state
Overview
Masyaf Castle in Hama. It was the headquarters of the
Assassins in the Levant.
The Assassins were founded by Hassani Sabbah. The state was formed in 1090
after the capture of Alamut Castle in
the Alborz mountain range of Persia,
which served as the Assassins'
headquarters. The Alamut and Lambsar
castles became the foundation of a
network of Isma'ili fortresses
throughout Persia and Syria that
formed the backbone of Assassin
power, and included Syrian strongholds
at Masyaf, Abu Qubays, al-Qadmus and
al-Kahf. The Western world was
introduced to the Assassins by the
works of Marco Polo[4] who understood
the name as deriving from the word
Edward I, King of England thwarts an attempt at his
hashish.[5][6][7]
life by an Assassin and kills the attacker. The assassin
likely was sent by the Mamluk Sultan Baibars, in order
While Assassins typically refers to the
to remove his opposition to a 10-year truce with the
Christian states at Jerusalem
entire group, only a group of disciples
known as the fida'i actually engaged in conflict. The preferred method of killing was by
dagger, nerve poison or arrows. The Assassins posed a substantial strategic threat to
Fatimid, Abbasid, and Seljuk authority. Over the course of nearly 200 years, they killed
hundreds – including three caliphs, a ruler of Jerusalem and several Muslim and
Christian leaders.[8]
Other notable victims of the Assassins include Janah ad-Dawla, emir of Homs, (1103),
Mawdud ibn Altuntash, atabeg of Mosul (1113), Fatimid vizier Al-Afdal Shahanshah
(1121), Seljuk atabeg Aqsunqur al-Bursuqi (1126), Fatimid caliph al-Amir bi-Ahkami’lLah (1130), Taj al-Mulk Buri, atabeg of Damascus (1132), and Abbasid caliphs alMustarshid (1135) and ar-Rashid (1138). Saladin, a major foe of the Assassins, escaped
assassination twice (1175–1176). The first Frank known to have been killed by the
Assassins was Raymond II, Count of Tripoli, in 1152. The Assassins were acknowledged
and feared by the Crusaders, losing the de facto King of Jerusalem, Conrad of
Montferrat, to an Assassin's blade in 1192 and Lord Philip of Montfort of Tyre in 1270.
Accounts of the Assassins were preserved within Western, Arabic, Syriac, and Persian
sources where they are depicted as trained killers, responsible for the systematic
elimination of opposing figures. European orientalists in the 19th and 20th centuries
also referred to the Isma'ili Assassins in their works, writing about them based on
accounts in seminal works by medieval Arab and Persian authors, particularly ibn alQalanisi's Mudhayyal Ta'rikh Dimashq (Continuation of the Chronicle of Damascus), ibn
al-Athir's al-Kāmil fit-Tārīkh (The Complete History), and Juvayni's Tarīkh-i Jahān-gushā
(History of the World Conqueror).
The Order would finally come to an end during the rule of Imam Rukn al-Din Khurshah
when the Isma'ili State was eventually destroyed as Khurshah surrendered the castles
after the Mongol invasion of Persia. Khurshah died in 1256 and, by 1275, the Mongols
had destroyed and eliminated the order of Assassins.[9]
Origins
Hassan-i Sabbah was born in Qom, ca. 1050, and
did his religious studies in Cairo with the Fatimids.
Sabbah's father was a Qahtanite Arab, said to be a
descendant of Himyaritic kings,[10] having emigrated
to Qom from Kufa. He made his way to Persia
where, through subterfuge, he and his followers
Map showing the Alamut area in
Tabaristan region, modern day
captured Alamut Castle in 1090. Sabbah adapted
northern Iran
the fortress to suit his needs not only for defense
from hostile forces, but also for indoctrination of his followers. After laying claim to the
fortress at Alamut, Sabbah began expanding his influence outwards to nearby towns
and districts, using his agents to gain political favour and to intimidate the local
populations. Spending most of his days at Alamut producing religious works and
developing doctrines for his order, Sabbah would never again leave his fortress.
Murder for religious purposes was not new to the region, as the strangler sects of
southern Iraq dating to the eighth century have shown. The strangler sects were
stopped by the Umayyads; the Assassins would not be by the later caliphates.[11]
Shortly after establishing their headquarters at Alamut Castle, the sect captured
Lambsar Castle, to be the largest of the Isma'ili fortresses and confirming the
Assassins' power in northern Persia. The estimated date of the capture of Lambsar
varies between 1096 and 1102. The castle was taken under the command of Kiya
Buzurg Ummid, later Sabbah's successor, who remained commandant of the fortress
for twenty years.[12] No interactions between the Christian forces of the First Crusade
and the Assassins have been noted, with the latter concentrating on the Muslim
enemies of the former. Other than a mention of Tancred's 1106 taking of Apamea (see
below) in Gesta Tancredi,[13] Western Europe likely first learned of the Assassins from
the chronicles of William of Tyre, A History of Deeds Done Beyond the Sea, published
much later.
One of Sabbah's disciples named Dihdar Bu-Ali from Qazvin rallied local supporters to
deflect the Seljuks.[14] Their attack on Alamut Castle and surrounding areas was
canceled upon the death of the sultan. The new sultan Barkiyaruq, son of Malik Shah I,
did not continue the direct attack on Alamut, concentrating on securing his position
against rivals, including his half-brother Muhammad I Tapar, who eventually settled for
a smaller role, becoming malik (translated as "king") in Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Sabbah is reputed to have remarked, "the killing of this devil is the beginning of bliss".
Of the 50 assassinations conducted during Sabbah's reign, more than half were Seljuk
officials, many of whom supported Muhammad I Tapar.[15]
The Assassins seized Persian castles of Rudkhan and Gerdkuh in 1096, before turning
to Syria. Gerdkuh was re-fortified by Mu'ayyad al-Din Muzaffar ibn Ahmad Mustawfi, a
Seljuk who was a secret Isma'ili convert, and his son Sharaf al-Din Muhammad.[16]
There they occupied the fortress at Shaizar held by the Banu Munqidh, using it to
spread terror to Isfahan, the heart of the Seljuk Empire. A rebellion by the local
population drove the Assassins out, but they continued to occupy a smaller fortress at
Khalinjan. In 1097, Barkiyaruq associate Bursuq was killed by Assassins.[17]
By 1100, Barkiyaruq had consolidated his power, and the Assassins increased their
presence by infiltrating the sultan's court and army. Day-to-day functions of the court
were frequently performed while armored and with weapons. The next year, he tasked
his brother Ahmad Sanjar, then ruler of Khorasan, to attack Assassin strongholds in
Quhistan. The siege at Tabas was at first successful, with the walls of the fortress
breached, but then was lifted, possibly because the Seljuk commander had been
bribed. The subsequent attack was devastating to the Assassins, but the terms granted
were generous and they were soon reestablished at both Quhistan and Tabas. In the
years following, the Assassins continued their mission against religious and secular
leaders. Given these successes, they began expanding their operations into Syria.
Expansion into Syria
The first da'i Hassan-i dispatched to Syria was al-Hakim al-Munajjim, a Persian known
as the physician-astrologer, establishing a cell in Aleppo in the early 12th century.
Ridwan, the emir of Aleppo, was in search of allies and worked closely with al-Hakim.
The alliance was first shown in the assassination in 1103 of Janah ad-Dawla, emir of
Homs and a key opponent of Ridwan. He was murdered by three Assassins at the
Great Mosque of al-Nuri in Homs. Al-Hakim died a few weeks later and was succeeded
by Abu Tahir al-Sa’igh, a Persian known as the goldsmith.
While successful in cleaning the Assassins, they remained untouchable in their
strongholds in the north. An eight-year war of attrition was initiated by the son of the
first Assassin victim. The mission had some successes, negotiating a surrender of
Khalinjan with local Assassin leader Ahmad ibn 'Abd al-Malik ibn Attāsh, with the
occupants allowed to go to Tabas and Arrajan. During the siege of Alamut,[18] a famine
resulted and Hassan had his wife and daughters sent to the fortress at Gerdkuh. After
that time, Assassins never allowed their women to be at their fortresses during military
campaigns, both for protection and secrecy. In the end, ibn Attāsh did not fulfill his
commitment and was flayed alive, his head delivered to the sultan.[19]
In Syria, Abu Tahir al-Sa’igh, Ridwan and Abu'l Fath of Sarmin conspired in 1106 to
send a team of Assassins to murder Khalaf ibn Mula'ib, emir of Apamea (Qalaat alMadiq). Some of Khalaf's sons and guards were also killed and, after the murder,
Ridwan became overlord of Apamea and its fortress Qal'at al-Madiq, with Abu'l Fath as
emir. A surviving son of Khalaf escaped and turned to Tancred, who was at first content
to leave the city in the hands of the Isma'ilis and simply collect tribute. Later, he
returned and captured the city for Antioch, as the town's residents overwhelmingly
approved of Frankish rule. Abu'l Fath was tortured to death, while Abu Tahir ransomed
himself and returned to Aleppo. This encounter, the first between the Crusaders and
the Assassins, did not deter the latter from their prime mission against the Seljuks.[20]
Not so lucky were Ubayd Allah al-Khatib, qadi of Isfahan, and a qadi of Nishapur, both
of whom succumbed to the Assassins' blade.[21]
The Assassins wreaked havoc on the Syrian rulers, with their first major kill being that
of Mawdud, atabeg of Mosul, in 1113. Mawdud was felled by Assassins in Damascus
while a guest of Toghtekin, atabeg of Damascus. He was replaced at Mosul by alBursuqi, who himself would be a victim of the Assassins in 1126. Toghtekin's son, the
great Buri, founder of the Burid dynasty, would fall victim to the Assassins in 1131,
dying a year later due to his injuries.[22]
Ridwan died in 1113 and was succeeded as ruler of Aleppo by his son Alp Arslan alAkhras. Alp Arslan continued his father's conciliatory approach to the Assassins. A
warning from Muhammad I Tapar and a prior attempt of the assassination of Abu Harb
Isa ibn Zayd, a wealthy Persian merchant, led to a wholescale expulsion of the
Assassins from Aleppo in that same year. Led by militia commander Sāʿid ibn Badī, the
attack resulted in the execution of Abu Tahir al-Sa’igh and the brother of al-Hakim alMunajjim, with 200 other Assassins killed or imprisoned, some thrown from the top of
the citadel. Many took refuge with the Banu Munqidh at Shaizar. Revenge was slow
but sure, taken out on Sāʿid ibn Badī in 1119. The shiftless Arp Arslan had exiled Sāʿid
to Qalʿat Jaʿbar, where he was murdered along with two of his sons by Assassins.[23][24]
The Assassins struck again in Damascus in 1116. While a guest of Toghtekin's, Kurdish
emir Ahmad-Il ibn Ibrāhim ibn Wahsūdān was sitting next to his host when a grieving
man approached with a petition he wished be conveyed to Muhammad I Tapar. When
Ahmad-Il accepted the document, he was stuck with a dagger, then again and again
by a second and third accomplice. It was thought that the real target may have been
Toghtekin, but the attackers were discovered to be Assassins, likely after Ahmad-Il, the
foster brother of sultan.[25][26]
In 1118, Muhammad I Tapar died and his brother Ahmad Sanjar became Seljuk sultan,
and Hassan sent ambassadors to seek peace. When Sanjar rebuffed these
ambassadors, Hassan then sent his Assassins to the sultan. Sanjar woke up one
morning with a dagger stuck in the ground beside his bed. Alarmed, he kept the
matter a secret. A messenger from Hassan arrived and stated, "Did I not wish the
sultan well that the dagger which was struck in the hard ground would have been
planted on your soft breast". For the next several decades there ensued a ceasefire
between the Isma'ilis and the Seljuks. Sanjar himself pensioned the Assassins on taxes
collected from the lands they owned, gave them grants and licenses, and even allowed
them to collect tolls from travelers.[27]
By 1120, the Assassins' position in Aleppo had improved to the point that they
demanded the small citadel of Qal'at ash-Sharif from Ilghazi, then Artuqid emir of
Aleppo. Rather than refuse, he had the citadel demolished. The Assassins' influence in
Aleppo came to an end in 1124 when they were expelled by Belek Ghazi, a successor
to Ilghazi. Nevertheless, the qadi ibn al-Khashahab who had overseen the demolition
of Qal'at ash-Sharif was killed by Assassins in 1125.[28] At the same time, the Assassins
of Diyarbakir were set upon by the locals, resulting in hundreds killed.[29]
In 1121, Al-Afdal Shahanshah, the vizier of the Fatimid Caliphate, was murdered by
three Assassins from Aleppo, causing a seven-day celebration among the Isma'ilis and
no great mourning among the court of Fatimid caliph al-Amir bi-Ahkam Allah who
resented his growing boldness. Al-Afdal Shahanshah was replaced as vizier by alMa'mum al-Bata'ihi who was instructed to prepare a letter of rapprochement between
Cairo and Alamut. Upon learning of a plot to kill both al-Amir and al-Ma'mum, such
ideas were disbanded, and severe restrictions on dealing with the Assassins were
instead put in place.[30]
The next generation
In 1124, Hassan-i Sabbah died, leaving a legacy that reverberated throughout the
Middle East for centuries. He was succeeded at Alamut by Kiya Buzurg Ummid.
The appointment of a new da'i at Alamut may have led the Seljuks to believe the
Assassins were in a weakened position, and Ahmad Sanjar launched an attack on them
in 1126. Led by Sanjar's vizier Mu'in ad-Din Kashi, the Seljuks again struck at Quhistan
and also Nishapur in the east, and at Rudbar to the north. In the east, the Seljuks had
minor successes at a village near Sabzevar, where the population was destroyed, their
leader leaping from the mosque's minaret, and at Turaythirth in Nishapur, where the
attackers "killed many, took much booty, and then returned." At best, the results were
not decisive, but superior to the routing the Seljuks received in the north, with one
expedition driven back, losing their previous booty, and another having a Seljuk
commander captured. In the end, the Isma'ili position was better than before the
offensive. In the guise of a peace offering of two Arabian horses, Assassins gained the
confidence of Mu'in ad-Din Kashi and killed him in 1127.[31]
At the same time, in Syria, a Persian named Bahram al-Da'i, the successor to Abu Tahir
al-Sa’igh who had been executed in Aleppo in 1113, appeared in Damascus reflecting
cooperation between the Assassins and Toghtekin, including a joint operation against
the Crusaders. Bahram, a Persian from Asterabad (present-day Gorgan), had lived in
secrecy after the expulsion of the Assassins from Aleppo and was the nephew of the
Assassin Abu Ibrahim al-Asterbadi who had been executed by Barkiyaruq in 1101.[32]
Bahram was most likely behind the murder of al-Bursuqi in 1126, whose assassination
may have been ordered by the Seljuk sultan Mahmud II. He later established a
stronghold near Banias. During an attack on the Lebanese valley of Wadi al-Taym,
Bahram captured and tortured to death a local chieftain named Baraq ibn Jandal. In
retaliation, his brother Dahhak ibn Jandal killed Bahram in 1127.[33] So great was the
fear and hatred of the Assassins that the messenger delivering Bahram's head and
hands to Cairo was rewarded with a robe of honor. That fear was justified as caliph alAmir bi-Ahkam Allah was murdered at court in 1130 by ten Assassins.[34]
The Isma'ili response to the Seljuk invasion of 1126 was multi-faceted. In Rudbar, a
new and powerful fortress was built at Maymundiz and new territories acquired. To the
east, the Seljuk stronghold of Sistan was raided in 1129.[35] That same year, Mahmud II,
son of Muhammad I Tapar, and sultan of Isfahan, decided to sue for peace with
Alamut.[36] Unfortunately, the Isma'ili envoys to Mahmud II were lynched by an angry
mob following their audience with the sultan. The demand by Kiya Buzurg Ummid for
punishment of the perpetrators was refused. That prompted an Assassin attack on
Qazvin, resulting in the loss of 400 lives in addition to a Turkish emir. A counterattack
on Alamut was inconclusive.[37]
In Syria, Assassin leader Bahram was replaced by another mysterious Persian named
Isma'il al-'Ajami who, like Bahram, was supported by al-Mazdaghani, the pro-Isma'ili
vizier to Toghtekin. After the death of Toghtekin in 1128, his son and successor Taj aMulk Buri began working to free Damascus of the Assassins, supported by his military
commander Yusuf ibn Firuz. al-Mazdaghani was murdered and his head publicly
displayed. The Damascenes turned on the Assassins, leaving "dogs yelping and
quarreling over their limbs and corpses." At least 6000 Assassins died, and the rest,
including Isma'il (who had turned Banias over to the Franks), fled to Frankish territory.
Isma'il was killed in 1130, temporarily disabling the Assassins' Syrian mission.
Nevertheless, Alamut organized a counterstrike, with two Persian Assassins disguised
as Turkish soldiers striking down Buri in 1131. The Assassins were hacked to pieces by
Buri's guards, but Buri died of his wounds the following year.[38][39]
Mahmud II died in 1131 and his brother Ghiyath ad-Din Mas'ud (Mas'ud) was
recognized as successor by Abbasid caliph al-Mustarshid.[40] The succession was
contested by Mahmud's son and other brothers, and al-Mustarshid was drawn into the
conflict. The caliph al-Mustarshid was taken prisoner by Seljuk forces in 1135 near
Hamadan and pardoned with the proviso that he abdicate. Left in his tent studying the
Quran, he was murdered by a large group of Assassins. Some suspected Mas'ud and
even Ahmad Sanjar with complicity, but the chronicles of contemporaneous Arab
historians ibn al-Athir and ibn al-Jawzi do not bear that out. The Isma'ilis
commemorated the caliph's death with seven days and nights of celebration.[41]
The reign of Buzurg Ummid ended with his death in 1138, showing a relatively small
list of assassinations.[42] He was succeeded by his son Muhammad Buzurg Ummid,
sometimes referred to as Kiya Muhammad.[43]
The Abbasids' celebration of the death of the Assassin leader Buzurg Ummid was
short-lived. The son and successor of the last high-profile victim of the Assassins, alMustarshid, was ar-Rashid. Ar-Rashid was deposed by his uncle al-Muqtafi in 1136
and, while recovering from an illness in Isfahan, was murdered by Assassins. The
addition of a second caliph to the Assassins' so-called "role of honor" of victims again
resulted in a week of celebration at Alamut. Another significant success was the
assassination of the son of Mahmud II, Da'ud, who ruled in Azerbaijan and Jibal. Da'ud
was felled by four Assassins in Tabriz in 1143, rumored to have been dispatched by
Zengi, atabeg of Mosul.[44][45]
The decades after the assassination of al-Mustarshid showed an expansion of Assassin
castles in Jabal Bahrā', to the northwest of their Syrian fortresses in Jabal as-Summaq.
In 1132, Saif al-Mulk ibn Amrun, emir of al-Kahf, recovered the fortress of al-Qadmus
from the Franks, known to them as Bokabeis. He then sold the fortress to the Assassins
in 1133. This was followed by the ceding of al-Kahf Castle itself to Assassin control in
1138 by Saif's son Musa in the midst of a succession struggle. These were followed by
the acquisition of the castle at Masyaf in 1140 and of Qala'at al-Khawabi, known to the
Crusaders as La Coible, in 1141.[46]
Relatively little is recorded concerning Assassin activity during this period until the
Second Crusade. In 1149, an Assassin named Ali ibn-Wafa allied with Raymond of
Poitiers, son of William IX of Aquitaine, to defend the borders of the Principality of
Antioch against Zengid expansion. The forces met at the battle of Inab, with Zengi's
son and heir Nur ad-Din defeating the Franks, killing both Raymond and ibn-Wafa.[47]
Nur ad-Din would again foil the Assassins in 1158, incorporating a castle at Shaizar
that they had occupied after the 1157 earthquake into his territory. Two assassinations
are known from this period. In a revenge attack, Dahhak ibn Jandal, the Wadi al-Taym
chieftain who had killed Assassin da'i Bahram in 1127, died from an Assassin's blade in
1149. A few years later in 1152, possibly in retaliation to the establishment of the
Knights Templar at Tartus, Raymond II, count of Tripoli, was killed by Assassins. This
marked the first known Christian victim.[48]
Hassan II and Rashid ad-Din Sinan
The fourteen known assassinations during the reign of Kiya Muhammad was a far cry
from the tally of his predecessors, representing a significant decline in the power of
the Isma'ilis. This was exemplified by the governors of Mazandaran and of Rayy who
were said to have built towers out of Isma'ili skulls.
In the middle of Ramadan in 559 AH, Hassan II gathered his followers and announced
to "jinn, men and angels" that the Hidden Imam had freed them "from the burden of
the rules of Holy Law". With that, the assembled took part in a ritual violation of Sharia,
a banquet with wine, in violation of the Ramadan fast, with their backs turned towards
Medina.[49] Observance of Islamic rites (fasting, salat prayer, etc.) was punishable by
the utmost severity. (According to Shīʿa hadiths, when the Hidden Imam/mahdi
reappears, "he will bring a new religion, a new book and a new law").[50] Resistance was
nonetheless deep, and Hasan was stabbed to death by his own brother-in-law.[51]
Hassan II shifted the focus of his followers from the exoteric to the esoteric (batin). He
abrogated the exoteric practice of Sharia and stressed on the esoteric (batini) side of
the laws. And "while outwardly he was known as the grandson of Buzurgumid", in this
esoteric reality, Lewis writes, Hasan claimed "he was the Imam of the time" (the last
Imam of Shia Islam before the end of the world).[52] The impact of these changes on
Isma'ili life and politics were vast and continued after Hassan II's death in 1166 by his
son Nūr al-Dīn Muhammad, known as the Imam Muhammad II, who ruled from 1166
to 1210. It is in this context and the changes in the Muslim world brought about by the
disintegration of the Seljuk empire that a new chief da'i of the Assassins was thrust:
Rashid ad-Din Sinan, referred to as Sinān.[53]
Rashid ad-Din Sinan, an alchemist and schoolmaster, was dispatched to Syria by
Hassan II as a messenger of his Islamic views and to continue the Assassins' mission.
Known as the greatest of the Assassin chiefs, Sinān first made headquarters at al-Kahf
Castle and then the fortress of Masyaf. At al-Kahf, he worked with chief da'i AbuMuhammad who was succeeded at his death by Khwaja Ali ibn Mas'ud without
authority from Alamut. Khwaja was murdered by Abu-Muhammad's nephew Abu
Mansur, causing Alamut to reassert control.[54] After seven years at al-Kahf, Sinān
assumed that role, operating independently of and feared by Alamut, relocating the
capital to Masyaf. Among his first tasks were the refurbishing of the fortress of arRusafa and of Qala'at al-Khawabi, constructing a tower at the citadel of the latter.
Sinān also captured the castle of al-'Ullaiqah at Aleika, near Tartus.[55]
One of the first orders of business that Sinān confronted was the continuing threat
from Nur ad-Din as well as the Knights Templar's presence at Tartus. In 1173, Sinān
proposed to Amalric of Jerusalem an alliance against Nur ad-Din in exchange for
cancellation of the tribute imposed upon Assassin villages near Tartus. The Assassin
envoys to the king were ambushed and slain by a Templar knight named Walter du
Mesnil near Tripoli while returning from the negotiations, an act apparently sanctioned
by the Templar Grand Master Odo de Saint Amand. Amalric demanded the knight be
surrendered, but Odo refused, claiming only the pope had the authority to punish du
Mesnil. Amalric had du Mesnil kidnapped and imprisoned at Tyre. Sinān accepted the
king's apology, assured that justice had been done. The point of the alliance became
moot as both Nur ad-Din and Amalric died of natural causes soon thereafter.[56]
These developments could not have been better for Saladin who wished to expand
beyond Egypt into Jerusalem and Syria, first taking Damascus. With the Kingdom of
Jerusalem being led by the 13-year old leperous Baldwin IV and Syria by the 11-year
old as-Salih Ismail al-Malik, son of Nur ad-Din, he continued his campaign in Syria,
moving against Aleppo. While besieging Aleppo in late 1174 or early 1175, the camp
of Saladin was infiltrated by Assassins sent by Sinān and As-Salih's regent
Gümüshtigin. Nasih al-Din Khumartekin, emir of Abu Qubays, was killed in the attack
which left Saladin unscathed. The next year, after taking Azaz, Assassins again struck,
wounding Saladin. Gümüshtigin was again believed to be complicit in the
assassination attempt. Turning his attention to Aleppo, the city was soon conquered
and Saladin allowed as-Salih and Gümüshtigin to continue to rule, but under his
sovereignty.[57][58] Saladin then turned his attention back to the Assassins, besieging
Masyaf in 1176. Failing to capture the stronghold, he settled for a truce. Accounts of a
mystical encounter between Saladin and Sinān have been offered :
Saladin had his guards supplied with link lights and had chalk and cinders strewed
around his tent outside Masyaf—which he was besieging—to detect any footsteps by
the Assassins.[59] According to this version, one night Saladin's guards noticed a spark
glowing down the hill of Masyaf and then vanishing among the Ayyubid tents.
Presently, Saladin awoke to find a figure leaving the tent. He saw that the lamps were
displaced and beside his bed laid hot scones of the shape peculiar to the Assassins
with a note at the top pinned by a poisoned dagger. The note threatened that he
would be killed if he did not withdraw from his assault. Saladin gave a loud cry,
exclaiming that Sinan himself was the figure that had left the tent.[7][59]
Another version claims that Saladin hastily withdrew his troops from Masyaf because
they were urgently needed to fend off a Crusader force in the vicinity of Mount
Lebanon. In reality, Saladin sought to form an alliance with Sinan and his Assassins,
consequently depriving the Crusaders of a potent ally against him.[59] Viewing the
expulsion of the Crusaders as a mutual benefit and priority, Saladin and Sinan
maintained cooperative relations afterwards, the latter dispatching contingents of his
forces to bolster Saladin's army in a number of decisive subsequent battlefronts.[60]
By 1177, the conflict between Sinān and as-Salih continued with the assassination of
Shihab ad-Din abu-Salih, vizier to both as-Salih and Nur ad-Din. A letter from as-Salih
to Sinān requesting the murder was found to be a forgery by Gümüshtigin, causing his
removal. As-Salih seized the village of al-Hajira from the Assassins, and in response
Sinān's followers burned the marketplace in Aleppo.[61]
In 1190, Isabella I was Queen of Jerusalem and the Third Crusade had just begun. The
daughter of Amalric, she married her first husband Conrad of Montferrat, who became
king by virtue of marriage, not yet crowned. Conrad was of royal blood, the cousin of
Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa and Louis VII of France. Conrad had been in
charge of Tyre during the siege of Tyre in 1187 launched by Saladin, successfully
defending the city. Guy of Lusignan, married to Isabella's half-sister Sybilla of
Jerusalem, was king of Jerusalem by right of marriage and had been captured by
Saladin during the battle of Hattin in that same year, 1187. When Guy was released in
1188, he was denied entry to Tyre by Conrad and launched the siege of Acre in 1189.
Queen Sybilla died of an epidemic sweeping her husband's military camp in 1190,
negating Guy's claim to the throne and resulting in Isabella becoming queen.
Assassins disguised as Christian monks had infiltrated the bishopric of Tyre, gaining
the confidence of both the archbishop Joscius and Conrad of Montferrat. There in
1192, they stabbed Conrad to death. The surviving Assassin is reputed to have named
Richard I of England as the instigator, who had much to gain as demonstrated by the
rapidity at which the widow married Henry II of Champagne. That account is disputed
by ibn al-Athir[62] who names Saladin in a plot with Sinān to kill both Conrad and
Richard. Richard I was captured by Leopold V, Duke of Austria, and held by Henry VI,
who had become Holy Roman Emperor in 1191, accused of murder. Sinān wrote to
Leopold V absolving Richard I of complicity in the plot. Regardless, Richard I was
released in 1194 after England paid his ransom and the murder remains
unsolved.[63][64] Adding to the continued cold case is the belief by modern historians
that Sinan's letter to Leopold V is a forgery, written by members of Richard I's
administration.[65]
Conrad was Sinān's last assassination. The great Assassin Rashid ad-Din Sinan, the Old
Man of the Mountain, died in 1193, the same year that claimed Saladin. He died of
natural causes at al-Kahf Castle and was buried at Salamiyah, which had been a secret
hub of Isma'ili activity in the 9th and 10th centuries. His successor was Nasr al-'Ajami,
under the control of Alamut, who reportedly met with emperor Henry VI in 1194.[66]
Later successors through 1227 included Kamāl ad-Din al-Hasan and Majd ad-Din,
again under the control of Alamut.[67] Saladin left his Ayyubid dynasty under his sons
al-Aziz Uthman, sultan of Egypt, al-Afdal ibn Salah ad-Din, emir of Damascus, and azZahir Ghazi, emir of Aleppo. Al-Aziz died soon thereafter, replaced by Saladin's brother
al-Adil I.[68]
13th century
In 1210, Muhammad III died and his son Jalāl al-Din Hasan (known as Hassan III)
became Imam of the Isma'ili State. His first actions included the return to the Islamic
orthodoxy by practising Taqiyyah to ensure safety of the Ismailis in the hostile
environment. He claimed allegiance to the Sunnis to protect himself and his followers
from further persecution. He had a Sunni mother and four Sunni wives. Hassan III
recognized the Abbasid caliph al-Nasir who in turn granted a diploma of investiture.
The Alamuts had a previous history with al-Nasir, supplying Assassins to attack a
Kwarezm representative of shah Ala ad-Din Tekish, but that was more of an action of
convenience than formal alliance. Maintaining ties to western Christian influences, the
Alamuts became tributaries to the Knights Hospitaller beginning at the Isma'ili
stronghold Abu Qubays, near Margat.[69]
The count of Tripoli in 1213 was Bohemond IV, the fourth prince of Antioch of that
name. That year his 18-year-old son Raymond, namesake of his grandfather, was
murdered by the Assassins under Nasr al-'Ajami while at church in Tartus. Suspecting
both Assassin and Hospitaller involvement, Bohemond and the Knights Templar laid
siege to Qala'at al-Khawabi, an Isma'ili stronghold near Tartus, Appealing to the
Ayyubids for help, az-Zahir Ghazi dispatched a relief force from Aleppo. His forces
were nearly destroyed at Jabal Bahra. Az-Zahir's uncle al-Adil I, emir of Damascus,
responded and the Franks ended the siege by 1216.[70][71] Bohemond IV would again
fight the Ayyubids in the Fifth Crusade.
Majd ad-Din was the new chief da'i in Syria in 1220, assuming that role from Kamāl adDin al-Hasan of whom very little is known. At that time the Seljuk sultanate of Rûm
paid an annual tribute to Alamut, and Majd ad-Din notified the sultan Kayqubad I that
henceforth the tribute was to be paid to him. Kayqubad I requested clarification from
Hassan III who informed him that the monies had indeed been assigned to Syria.[72]
Hassan III died in 1221, likely from poisoning. He was succeeded by his 9-year-old son
Imam 'Alā ad-Din Muhammad, known as Muhammad III, and was the penultimate
Isma'ili ruler of Alamut before the Mongol conquest. Because of his age, Hassan's
vizier served as regent to the young Imam, and put Hassan's wives and sister to death
for the suspected poisoning. Muhammad III reversed the Sunni course his father had
set, returning to Shi'ite orthodoxy. His attempts to accommodate the advancing
Mongols failed.[73]
In 1225, Frederick II was Holy Roman Emperor, a position his father Henry VI had held
until 1197. He had committed to prosecuting the Sixth Crusade and married the
heiress to the Kingdom of Jerusalem, Isabella II. The next year, the once and future
king sent envoys to Majd ad-Din with significant gifts for the imam to ensure his safe
passage. Khwarezm had collapsed under the Mongols, but many of the Kwarezmians
still operated as mercenaries in northern Iraq. Under the pretense that the road to
Alamut was unsafe due to these mercenaries, Majd ad-Din kept the gifts for himself,
and provided the safe passage. As a precaution, Majd ad-Din informed al-Aziz
Muhammad, emir of Aleppo and son of az-Zahir Ghazi, of the emperor's embassy. In
the end, Frederick did not complete that trip to the Holy Land due to illness, being
excommunicated in 1227. The Knights Hospitaller were not as accommodating as
Alamut, demanding their share of the tribute. When Majd ad-Din refused, the
Hospitallers attacked and carried off the majority of the booty.[74][75] Majd ad-Din was
succeeded by Sirāj ad-Din Muzaffa ibn al-Husain in 1227, serving as chief da'i until
1239.[67]
Taj ad-Din Abu'l-Futūh ibn Muhammad was chief da'i in Syria in 1239, succeeding Sirāj
ad-Din Muzaffa. At this point, the Assassins were an integral part of Syrian politics. The
Arab historian Ibn Wasil[76] had a friendship with Taj ad-Din and writes of Badr ad-Din,
qadi of Sinjar, who sought refuge with Taj ad-Din to escape the wrath of Egyptian
Ayyubid ruler as-Salih Ayyub. Taj ad-Din served until at least 1249 when he was
replaced by Radi ad-Din Abu'l-Ma'āli.[72]
In that same year, Louis IX of France embarked on the Seventh Crusade in Egypt. He
captured the port of Damietta from the aging al-Salih Ayyub which he refused to turn
over to Conrad II, who had inherited the throne of Jerusalem from his parents
Frederick II and Isabella II. The Frankish Crusaders were soundly defeated by Abu
Futuh Baibars, then a commander in the Egyptian army, at the battle of al-Mansurah in
1250. Saint Louis, as Louis IX was known, was captured by the Egyptians and, after a
handsome reward was paid, spent four years in Acre, Caesarea and Jaffa. One of the
captives with Louis was Jean de Joinville,[77] biographer of the king, who reported the
interaction of the monarch with the Assassins. While at Acre, emissaries of Radi ad-Din
Abu'l-Ma'āli met with him, demanding a tribute be paid to their chief "as the emperor
of Germany, the king of Hungary, the sultan of Egypt and the others because they
know well they can only live as long as it please him." Alternately, the king could pay
the tribute the Assassins paid the Templars and Hospitallers. Later the king's Arabic
interpreter Yves the Breton met personally with Radi ad-Din and discussed the
respective beliefs. Afterwards, the chief da'i went riding, with his valet proclaiming:
"Make way before him who bears the death of kings in his hands!"[78][79]
The Egyptian victory at al-Mansurah led to the establishment of the Mamluk dynasty in
Egypt. Muhammad III was murdered in 1255 and replaced by his son Rukn al-Din
Khurshah, the last Imam to rule Alamut. Najm ad-Din later became chief da'i of the
Assassins in Syria, the last to be associated with Alamut. Louis IX returned to north
Africa during the Eighth Crusade where he died of natural causes in Tunis.[80]
Downfall and aftermath
The Assassins suffered a significant blow at the hands of
the Mongol Empire during the well-documented invasion
of Khwarazm. A decree was handed over to the Mongol
commander Kitbuqa who began to assault several Assassin
fortresses in 1253 before Hulagu's advance in 1256. During
the siege of Maymun-Diz, the last Ismaili Imam capitulated
to the Mongols. The Imam ordered his subordinates to
surrender and demolish their fortresses likewise. The
subsequent capitulation of the symbolic stronghold of
Alamut marked the end of the Nizari state in Persia.
Lambsar fell in 1257, Masyaf in 1267. The Assassins
recaptured and held Alamut for a few months in 1275, but
they were crushed and their political power was lost
View of Alamut besieged.
forever. Rukn al-Din Khurshah was put to death shortly
thereafter.[81] Some strongholds continued to resist for many years, notably Gerdkuh.
Though the Mongol massacre at Alamut was widely interpreted to be the end of
Isma'ili influence in the region, various sources say that the Isma'ilis' political influence
continued. In 674/1275, a son of Imam Rukn al-Din Khurshah managed to recapture
Alamut, though only for a few years. Isma'ili political activity in the region also seems
to have continued under the leadership of Sultan Muhammad b. Jahangir and his son,
until the latter's execution in 1006/1597.[82]
In Syria, the Assassins joined with other Muslim groups to oppose the Mongols and
courted the Mamluks and Baibars. Baibars entered into a truce with the Hospitallers in
1266 and stipulated that the tribute paid by the Assassins be halted. The tribute once
paid to the Franks was to come instead to Cairo. As early as 1260, Baibars' biographer
ibn Abd al-Zahir reported that he was granting Assassin lands in iqtâ' to his generals,
and in 1265 began to tax the "gifts" the Assassins received from various princes that
apparently included Louis IX of France, Rudolph I of Germany, Alphonso X of Castile,
and the Rasulid sultan of Yemen[83] al-Muzaffar Yusuf. The Syrian branch of the
Assassins was taken over by Baibars by 1270, recognizing the threat of an independent
force with his sultanate.[81]
Najm ad-Din was replaced by Baibars' son-in-law Sarim al-Din Mubarak, governor of
al-'Ullaiqah in 1270. Sarim was soon deposed and sent as a prisoner to Cairo, and
Najm ad-Din was restored at chief da'i at Masyaf. His son Shams ad-Din joined him in
service, but owing a tribute to the sultan. The next year, in the midst of the siege of
Tripoli, two Assassins were sent by Bohemond VI of Antioch, then Count of Tripoli, to
murder his attacker Baibars. Shams ad-Din was arrested in the plot, but released when
his father argued his case. The Isma'ili leaders were eventually implicated and agreed
to surrender their castles and live at Baibars' court. Najm ad-Din died in Cairo in
1274.[84]
In 1271, Baibars' forces seized al-'Ullaiqah and ar-Rusafa, after taking Masyaf the year
before. Later in the year, Shams ad-Din surrendered and was deported to Egypt.
Qala'at al-Khawabi fell that year and within two years Gerdkuh and all of the Assassin
fortresses were held by the sultan. With the Assassins under his control, Baibars was
able to use them to counter the forces arriving in the Ninth Crusade. The sultan
threatened Bohemond VI, and the Assassins attacked future king Edward I of England
unsuccessfully with Edward killing the Assasin.[85]
The last known victim of the Assassins was Philip of Montfort, lord of Tyre, long an
enemy of Baibars. Philip helped negotiate the truce following the capture of Damietta
by Louis IX and had lost the castle at Toron to Baibars in 1266. Despite his advanced
age, Philip was murdered by Baibars' Assassins in 1270.[85]
The last of the Assassin strongholds was al-Kahf in the Syrian coastal mountains in
1273. The Mamluks reportedly continued to use the services of the remaining
Assassins, and the 14th-century scholar ibn Battuta reported their fixed rate of pay per
murder, with his children getting the fee if the Assassin did not survive the attack.
There are, nevertheless, no recorded instances of Assassin activity after the later 13th
century. They unremarkably settled near Salamiyah, with a still-large Isma'ili population
that recognizes the Aga Khan as their Imam.[86]
Etymology
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The word asas in Arabic means "principle". The Asāsiyyūn (plural, from literary Arabic)
were, as defined in Arabic, the principle people. The term "assassin" likely has roots in
hashshāshīn ("hashish smokers or users"), a mispronunciation of the original Asāsiyyūn,
but not a mispronunciation of Assasiyeen (pronounced "Asāsiyyeen", the plural of
"Asasi"). Originally referring to the methods of political control exercised by the
Assasiyuun, one can see how it became "assassin" in several languages to describe
similar activities anywhere.
The Assassins were finally linked by the 19th-century orientalist Silvestre de Sacy to the
Arabic word hashish using their variant names assassin and assissini in the 19th
century. Citing the example of one of the first written applications of the Arabic term
hashish to the Ismailis by 13th-century historian Abu Shama, de Sacy demonstrated its
connection to the name given to the Ismailis throughout Western scholarship.[87]
Following de Sacy's account, various popularizers of the "Hashishi myth" -- including
self-proclaimed Sufi scholar Idries Shah (who, in fact, never belonged to any Sufi tariqa
nor even graduated from any university) -- continue to pejoratively describe the
Assassins (and, by extension, Ismailis in general) as 'druggers' who used hashish "in
stupefying candidates for the ephemeral visit to paradise".[88] However, the first known
usage of the term hashishi has been traced back to 1122 when the Fatimid caliph alAmir bi-Ahkami’l-Lah, himself later assassinated, employed it in derogatory reference
to the Syrian.[87] Used figuratively, the term hashishi connoted meanings such as
outcasts or rabble.[87] Without actually accusing the group of using the hashish drug,
the caliph used the term in a pejorative manner. This label was quickly adopted by
anti-Isma'ili historians and applied to the Isma'ilis of Syria and Persia. The spread of the
term was further facilitated through military encounters, whose chroniclers adopted
the term and disseminated it across Europe. To Crusaders, the Fedayeen concept of
valuing a principle above your own life was alien to them, so they rationalized it using
myths such as the 'paradise legend', the 'leap of faith' legend, and the 'hashish legend',
sewn together in the writings of Marco Polo.[89]
During the medieval period, Western scholarship on the Isma'ilis contributed to the
popular view of the community as a radical sect of assassins, believed to be trained for
the precise murder of their adversaries. By the 14th century, European scholarship on
the topic had not advanced much beyond the work and tales from the Crusaders.[87]
The origins of the word forgotten, across Europe the term assassin had taken the
meaning of "professional murderer".[87] In 1603, the first Western publication on the
topic of the Assassins was authored by a court official for King Henry IV of France and
was mainly based on the narratives of Marco Polo from his visits to the Near East.
While he assembled the accounts of many Western travellers, the author failed to
explain the etymology of the term Assassin.[90]
According to the Lebanese writer Amin Maalouf, based on texts from Alamut, Hassan-i
Sabbah tended to call his disciples Asāsīyūn (‫أساسيون‬, meaning "people who are
faithful to the foundation [of the faith]"), and derivation from the term hashish is a
misunderstanding by foreign travelers.[91]
Another modern author, Edward Burman, states that:
Many scholars have argued, and demonstrated convincingly, that the
attribution of the epithet "hashish eaters" or "hashish takers" is a misnomer
derived from enemies of the Isma'ilis and was never used by Muslim
chroniclers or sources. It was therefore used in a pejorative sense of
"enemies" or "disreputable people". This sense of the term survived into
modern times with the common Egyptian usage of the term Hashasheen in
the 1930s to mean simply "noisy or riotous". It is unlikely that the austere
Hassan-i Sabbah indulged personally in drug taking ... there is no mention of
that drug hashish in connection with the Persian Assassins – especially in the
library of Alamut ("the secret archives").[92]
The name "Assassin" is often said to derive from the Arabic word Hashishin or "users
of hashish",[5] which was originally applied to the Assassins Isma'ilis by the rival Mustali
Isma'ilis during the fall of the Isma'ili Fatimid Empire and the separation of the two
Isma'ili streams.[6] There is little evidence hashish was used to motivate the Assassins,
contrary to the beliefs of their Medieval enemies.[7] It is possible that the term
hashishiyya or hashishi in Arabic sources was used metaphorically in its abusive sense
relating to use of hashish, which due to its effects on the mind state is outlawed in
Islam. Modern versions of this word include Mahashish used in the same derogatory
sense, albeit less offensive nowadays, as the use of the substance is more widespread.
[citation needed]
The term hashashin was (and still is) used to describe absent minded
criminals and is used derogatorily in all the Muslim sources referring to the Assassins
as such.[93]
The Sunni Muslims also used the term mulhid to refer to the Assassins, which is also
recorded by the traveller and Franciscan William of Rubruck as mulidet.[94]
Military tactics
In pursuit of their
religious and political
goals, the Isma'ilis
adopted various
military strategies
popular in the Middle
Remains of the Alamut Castle in
Ages. One such
Qazvin, Iran
method was that of
assassination, the selective elimination of prominent rival
figures. The murders of political adversaries were usually
carried out in public spaces, creating resounding
intimidation for other possible enemies.[95] Throughout
"They call him Shaykhal-Hashishin. He is
their Elder, and upon
his command all of the
men of the mountain
come out or go in ...
they are believers of
the word of their elder
and everyone
everywhere fears
them, because they
history, many groups have resorted to assassination as a
even kill kings."
means of achieving political ends. The assassinations were
—Benjamin of Tudela
committed against those whose elimination would most
greatly reduce aggression against the Ismailis and, in
particular, against those who had perpetrated massacres against the community. A
single assassination was usually employed in contrast with the widespread bloodshed
which generally resulted from factional combat. Assassins are also said to have been
adept in furusiyya, or the Islamic warrior code, where they were trained in combat,
disguises, and equestrianism.[citation needed] Codes of conduct were followed, and the
Assassins were taught in the art of war, linguistics, and strategies. For about two
centuries, the Assassins specialized in assassinating their religious and political
enemies.[18]
While the Seljuks and Crusaders both employed murder as a military means of
disposing of factional enemies, during the Alamut period almost any murder of
political significance in the Islamic lands was attributed to the Isma'ilis.[95] So inflated
had this association grown that, in the work of orientalists such as Bernard Lewis, the
Isma'ilis were equated with the politically active fida'is and thus were regarded as a
radical and heretical sect known as the Assassins.[96]
The military approach of the Assassins Isma'ili state was largely a defensive one, with
strategically chosen sites that appeared to avoid confrontation wherever possible
without the loss of life.[97] But the defining characteristic of the Assassins Isma'ili state
was that it was scattered geographically throughout Persia and Syria. Alamut Castle
therefore was only one of a nexus of strongholds throughout the regions where
Isma'ilis could retreat to safety if necessary. West of Alamut in the Shahrud Valley, the
major fortress of Lambsar served as just one example of such a retreat. In the context
of their political uprising, the various spaces of Isma'ili military presence took on the
name dar al-hijra (‫ ;دار الهجرة‬land of migration, place of refuge). The notion of the dar
al-hijra originates from the time of Muhammad, who migrated with his followers from
persecution to a safe haven in Yathrib (Medina).[98] In this way, the Fatimids found their
dar al-hijra in North Africa. From 1101 to 1118, attacks and sieges were made on the
fortresses, conducted by combined forces of the Seljuks Barkiyaruq and Ahmad Sanjar.
Although with the cost of lives and the capture and execution of Assassin da'i Ahmad
ibn Attash, the Assassins managed to hold their ground and repel the attacks until the
Mongol invasion.[99] Likewise, during the revolt against the Seljuks, several fortresses
served as spaces of refuge for the Isma'ilis.
Marco Polo recounts the following method how the Hashashin were recruited for jihad
and assassinations on behalf of their master in Alamut:
“He was named Alo−eddin, and his religion was that of Mahomet. In a beautiful valley
enclosed between two lofty mountains, he had formed a luxurious garden, stored with
every delicious fruit and every fragrant shrub that could be procured. Palaces of
various sizes and forms were erected in different parts of the grounds, ornamented
with works in gold, with paintings, and with furniture of rich silks. By means of small
conduits contrived in these buildings, streams of wine, milk, honey, and some of pure
water, were seen to flow in every direction. The inhabitants of these palaces were
elegant and beautiful damsels, accomplished in the arts of singing, playing upon all
sorts of musical instruments, dancing, and especially those of dalliance and amorous
allurement. Clothed in rich dresses they were seen continually sporting and amusing
themselves in the garden and pavilions, their female guardians being confined within
doors and never suffered to appear. The object which the chief had in view in forming
a garden of this fascinating kind, was this: that Mahomet having promised to those
who should obey his will the enjoyments of Paradise, where every species of sensual
gratification should be found, in the society of beautiful nymphs, he was desirous of its
being understood by his followers that he also was a prophet and the compeer of
Mahomet, and had the power of admitting to Paradise such as he should choose to
favor. In order that none without his licence might find their way into this delicious
valley, he caused a strong and inexpugnable castle to be erected at the opening of it,
through which the entry was by a secret passage. At his court, likewise, this chief
entertained a number of youths, from the age of twelve to twenty years, selected from
the inhabitants of the surrounding mountains, who showed a disposition for martial
exercises, and appeared to possess the quality of daring courage. To them he was in
the daily practice of discoursing on the subject of the paradise announced by the
prophet, and of his own power of granting admission; and at certain times he caused
opium to be administered to ten or a dozen of the youths; and when half dead with
sleep he had them conveyed to the several apartments of the palaces in the garden.
Upon awakening from this state of lethargy, their senses were struck with all the
delightful objects that have been described, and each perceived himself surrounded by
lovely damsels, singing, playing, and attracting his regards by the most fascinating
caresses, serving him also with delicate viands and exquisite wines; until intoxicated
with excess of enjoyment amidst actual rivulets of milk and wine, he believed himself
assuredly in Paradise, and felt an unwillingness to relinquish its delights. When four or
five days had thus been passed, they were thrown once more into a state of
somnolency, and carried out of the garden. Upon their being introduced to his
presence, and questioned by him as to where they had been, their answer was, “In
Paradise, through the favor of your highness:” and then before the whole court, who
listened to them with eager curiosity and astonishment, they gave a circumstantial
account of the scenes to which they had been witnesses. The chief thereupon
addressing them, said: “We have the assurances of our prophet that he who defends
his lord shall inherit Paradise, and if you show yourselves devoted to the obedience of
my orders, that happy lot awaits you.” Animated to enthusiasm by words of this
nature, all deemed themselves happy to receive the commands of their master, and
were forward to die in his service. 5 The consequence of this system was, that when
any of the neighboring princes, or others, gave umbrage to this chief, they were put to
death by these his disciplined assassins; none of whom felt terror at the risk of losing
their own lives, which they held in little estimation, provided they could execute their
master's will.”[100]
During the mid-12th century the Assassins captured or acquired several fortresses in
the Nusayriyah Mountain Range in coastal Syria, including Masyaf, Rusafa, al-Kahf, alQadmus, Khawabi, Sarmin, Quliya, Ulayqa, Maniqa, and Abu Qubays. For the most part,
the Assassins maintained full control over these fortresses until 1270–1273 when the
Mamluk sultan Baibars annexed them. Most were dismantled afterwards, while those
at Masyaf and Ulayqa were later rebuilt.[101] From then on, the Ismailis maintained
limited autonomy over those former strongholds as loyal subjects of the Mamluks.[102]
Their subjection and obedience to him [Old Man of the Mountain] is such
that they regard nothing as too harsh or difficult and eagerly undertake even
the most dangerous tasks at his command. ... if there happens to be a prince
who has incurred the hatred or distrust of this people, the chief places a
dagger in the hand of one or several of his followers; those thus designated
hasten away at once, regardless of the consequences of the deed or the
probability of personal escape.
— William of Tyre, A history of deeds done beyond the sea, edited
by Austin P. Evans, Volume II, Book XX, XXIX
Legends and folklore
The legends of the Assassins had much to do with the training and instruction of
Assassins fida'is, famed for their public missions during which they often gave their
lives to eliminate adversaries. Some historians have contributed to the tales of fida'is
being fed with hashish as part of their training, but these are only, in reference, to the
travels of Marco Polo and polemics by enemies.[103] Scholars including Vladimir Ivanov
purport that the assassinations of key figures including Seljuk vizier al-Mulk likely
provided encouraging impetus to others in the community who sought to secure the
Assassins' protection from political aggression.[103] Originally a "local and popular
term" first applied to the Isma'ilis of Syria, the label was orally transmitted to Western
historians and thus found itself in their histories of the Assassins.[98]
It is unknown how Hassan-i-Sabbah was able to get the Assassins to perform with
such fervent loyalty. One theory, possibly the best known but also the most criticized,
comes from the reports of Marco Polo during his travels to the Orient. He recounts a
story he heard of a man who would drug his young followers with hashish, lead them
to a "paradise", and then claim that only he had the means to allow for their return.
Perceiving that Sabbah was either a prophet or magician, his disciples, believing that
only he could return them to "paradise", were fully committed to his cause and willing
to carry out his every request.[104] However, this story is disputed [105] because Sabbah
died in 1124 and Rashid ad-Din Sinan, who is frequently known as the "Old Man of the
Mountain", died in 1192, whereas Marco Polo was not born until around 1254.[106][107]
The tales of the fida'is ' training collected from anti-Ismaili historians and orientalist
writers were compounded and compiled in Marco Polo's account, in which he
described a "secret garden of paradise".[108] After being drugged, the Ismaili devotees
were said to be taken to a paradise-like garden filled with attractive young maidens
and beautiful plants in which these fida'is would awaken. Here, they were told by an
"old" man that they were witnessing their place in Paradise and that should they wish
to return to this garden permanently, they must serve the Assassins cause.[98] So went
the tale of the "Old Man in the Mountain", assembled by Marco Polo and accepted by
Joseph von Hammer-Purgstall, an 18th-century Austrian orientalist writer responsible
for much of the spread of this legend. Until the 1930s, von Hammer's retelling of the
Assassin legends served as the standard account of the Assassins across Europe.[108]
A well-known legend tells how Count Henry II of Champagne, returning from Armenia,
spoke with Grand Master Rashid ad-Din Sinan at al-Kahf. The count claimed to have
the most powerful army and at any moment he claimed he could defeat the
Hashashin, because his army was 10 times larger. Rashid replied that his army was
instead the most powerful, and to prove it he told one of his men to jump off from the
top of the castle in which they were staying. The man did. Surprised, the count
immediately recognized that Rashid's army was indeed the strongest, because it did
everything at his command, and Rashid further gained the count's respect.[109]
The Ismaili were part of the Durbar of the Great Mogul (emperor), with high-ranking
members of their community possibly called Khoja. Their community including the
other communities of Islam in South Asia had become leaderless after the year 1857
when the Mughal Empire was abolished.
The Ismaili began settling in Bombay when the British Raj had established itself.
Modern works on the Assassins have elucidated their history and, in doing so,
dispelled popular histories from the past as mere legends. In 1933, under the direction
of the Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah, Aga Khan III, the Islamic Research Association
was developed. Historian Vladimir Ivanov was central to both this institution and the
1946 Ismaili Society of Bombay. Cataloguing a number of Ismaili texts, Ivanov provided
the ground for great strides in modern Isma'ili scholarship.[110]
Ismaili leaders would later support the cause of Pakistan during the partition and have
a considerable presence in that country.
In recent years, Peter Willey has provided interesting evidence that goes against the
Assassin folklore of earlier scholars. Drawing on its established esoteric doctrine, Willey
asserts that the Ismaili understanding of Paradise is a deeply symbolic one. While the
Qur'anic description of Heaven includes natural imagery, Willey argues that no
Assassins fida'i would seriously believe that he was witnessing Paradise simply by
awakening in a beauteous garden.[111] The Assassins' symbolic interpretation of the
Qur'anic description of Paradise serves as evidence against the possibility of such an
exotic garden used as motivation for the devotees to carry out their armed missions.
Furthermore, Willey points out that a courtier of Hulagu Khan, Juvayni, surveyed the
Alamut castle just before the Mongol invasion. In his reports about the fortress, there
are elaborate descriptions of sophisticated storage facilities and the famous Alamut
library. However, even this anti-Ismaili historian makes no mention of the gardens on
the Alamut grounds.[111] Having destroyed a number of texts in the library's collection
which he deemed to be heretical, it would be expected that Juvayni would pay
significant attention to the Assassins' gardens, particularly if they were the site of drug
use and temptation. Having not once mentioned such gardens, Willey concludes that
there is no sound evidence in favor of these legends.[60]
According to the historian Yaqut al-Hamawi, the Böszörmény, (Izmaleita or
Ismaili/Assassins) denomination of Muslims who lived in the Kingdom of Hungary from
the 10th to the 13th centuries, were employed as mercenaries by the kings of Hungary.
However, following the establishment of the Christian Kingdom of Hungary, their
community was vanquished by the end of the 13th century due to the Inquisitions
ordered by the Catholic Church during the reign of Coloman, King of Hungary. It is
said that the Assassins are the ancestors of those given the surname Hajaly, derived
from the word "hajal", a rare species of bird found in the mountains of Syria near
Masyaf. The hajal (bird) was often used as a symbol of the Assassin's order.
[citation needed]
In popular culture
The Assassins were part of Medieval culture, and they were either demonized or
romanticized. The Hashashin frequently appeared in the art and literature of the
Middle Ages. Sometimes, they were portrayed as one of the knight's archenemies, and
they were also portrayed as a quintessential villain during the crusades.[112]
The word Assassin, in variant forms, had already passed into European usage as a term
for a hired professional murderer in this general sense. The Italian chronicler Giovanni
Villani, who died in 1348, tells how the lord of Lucca sent 'his assassins' (i suoi
assassini) to Pisa to kill a troublesome enemy there. Even earlier, Dante, in a passing
reference in the 19th canto of the Inferno, completed in 1320, speaks of 'the
treacherous assassin' (lo perfido assassin); his fourteenth-century commentator
Francesco da Buti, explaining a term which for some readers at the time may still have
been strange and obscure, remarks: 'Assassino è colui che uccide altrui per danari' (An
assassin is one who kills others for money).[113]
The most widespread awareness of the Assassins in modern Europe, and their
incorporation into the Romantic tradition, was created by the Austrian historian and
Orientalist Joseph von Hammer-Purgstall in his 1818 book, Die Geschichte der
Assassinen aus morgenländischen Quellen[114] (translated into English in 1835 as The
History of the Assassins[115]). This work was the standard one on the history of the
Assassins in the West until the 1930s.
The Assassins appear in many role-playing games and video games, especially in
massively multiplayer online games, in addition to shows and books. The assassin
character class is a common feature of many such games, usually specializing in single
combat and stealth skills, often combined in order to defeat an opponent without
exposing the assassin to counter-attack.
The Exile series of action role-playing games revolves around a time-traveling Syrian
Assassin who assassinates various religious historical figures and modern world
leaders.[116][117]
The Assassin's Creed video game series portrays a heavily fictionalized Ḥashshāshīn
order, which has expanded beyond its Levantine confines and is depicted as having
existed throughout recorded history (along with their nemesis, the Knights
Templar).[118] Both orders are portrayed as fundamentally philosophical orders,
rather than religious orders, in nature, and they are expressly said to predate the
faiths that their real-life counterparts arose from, thus allowing their respective
"histories" to be expanded, both before and after their factual time-frames. In
addition, Assassin's Creed draws much of its content from historical facts, and
incorporates the purported last words of Hassan i Sabbah as the actual creed
("Nothing is true; everything is permitted"); the sources of that quote are largely
unreliable. Since its release, the series has developed into a franchise which consists
of novels, comic books, video games, manga, board games, short films and a
theatrically released movie.
In the Sword of Islam DLC for Paradox Interactive's grand strategy game Crusader
Kings II, the Hashashin are a holy order associated with Shi'a Islam. Once
established, Shi'ite rulers may hire the Hashashin to fight against non-Shi'a realms,
and can potentially vassalize them. The Monks and Mystics DLC expands their role,
making the Assassins a unique secret society that Shi'a characters may join.
In the Netflix series Marco Polo, the emperor Kublai Khan is attacked by a group of
assassins, the Hashshashin, who are led by the Old Man of the Mountain, according
to the Taoist monk Hundred Eyes, in the King's court. The Old Man of the Mountain
is then pursued by Marco Polo and Byamba. The episode Hashshashin (2014) shows
how the Old Man leads Marco Polo into a hallucinogenic state.[119]
Louis L'Amour, in his book The Walking Drum, used the assassins and the
stronghold of Alamut as the location of his main character's enslaved father.
Mathurin Kerbouchard, who initially seeks his father in the 12th-century Moorcontrolled Spain, then throughout Europe, must ultimately travel to the Stronghold
of Alamut in order to rescue Jean Kerbouchard.[120]
The Faceless men, a guild of assassins in the book series A Song of Ice and Fire by
George R. R. Martin and in the TV series Game of Thrones are inspired by the Order
of Assassins.[121]
Dota 2, multiplayer online battle arena contains a character named Lanaya, who is
described as a "Templar Assassin".
The Fate franchise of visual novels features the sect quite prominently with Hassan-isabbah, also known as the "Old Man of the Mountain" (Japanese: 山の翁, Yama no
Okina), being a pseudonym of 19 wraiths able to be summoned into the assassin
class. Their Noble Phantasm is called Zabaniya (in Japanese: ザバーニーヤ), from
Arabic (Az-zabānīya: ‫)الزبانية‬, named after the 19 Angels that guard Hell in the
Islamic faith. In both Fate/Zero and Fate/stay night: Heaven's Feel, 'Assassin' is a
character (servant of Kotomine Kirei and Matō Zouken respectively) that portrays a
leader of Hashashins. Hassan-i Sabbah himself features in Fate/Grand Order.
In Batman comics and related media, the League of Assassins is a fictional offshoot
of the Order of Assassins that has survived clandestinely into modern times under
the immortal DC Comics supervillain Ra's al Ghul.
In the Turkish television series Uyanış: Büyük Selçuklu, the Order of Assassins and
Hassan-i Sabbah are shown as villains who are the enemies of the Seljuk Empire and
Malik-Shah I.[122]
The book Angels & Demons by Dan Brown has a modern day descendant of the
Hassassin as a major character.
In Umberto Eco's Baudolino, a group of adventurers at the centre of the story are
enslaved by the Old Man of the Mountain, being drugged, shown paradise, and
serving the order for years before escaping.
In the Egyptian television series Ḥashāshīn [123] (in English: The Assassins).
See also
Assassin's Creed
Knights Templar
List of the Order of Assassins
List of the Knights Templar
Notes
1. ^ Lewis 1969.
2. ^ Edwards, D. S., ed. (2010). The Chronicle of Ibn al-Athir for the Crusading Period from alKamil fi'l-Ta'rikh. Part 1, 1097–1146.
3. ^ Gibb, N. A. R., ed. (1932). The Damascus Chronicle of the Crusades. Extracted and
translated from the Chronicle of ibn al-Qalānisi.
4. ^ Komroff, Manuel (2013). The Travels of Marco Polo . Read Books Ltd. ISBN 9781446545997. Archived
from the original on 2023-12-04. Retrieved 2018-11-15.
5. ^ a b Lewis (2003), pp. 59–61
6. ^ a b Daftary, Farhad (1990). The Ismailis: Their history and doctrines. Cambridge, England:
Cambridge University Press. p. 12.
7. ^ a b c Daftary, Farhad (1990). The Ismailis: Their history and doctrines. Cambridge, England:
Cambridge University Press. pp. 13, 353. Quote p. 13 "The tale of how the Assassins chiefs
secretly administered hashish to the fidaeen in order to control and motivate them has
been accepted by many scholars since Arnold of Lueback. But the fact remains that neither
the Isma'ili texts which have come to light in modern times nor any serious ..." Quote p.353
"However, contrary to the medieval legends fabricated by uninformed writers and the
enemies of the sect, there is no evidence that hashish was used in any way for motivating
the fidaeen who displayed an intensive groups sentiment and solidarity."
8. ^ Acosta, Benjamin (2012). "Assassins" . In Stanton, Andrea L.; Ramsamy, Edward (eds.).
Cultural Sociology of the Middle East, Asia, and Africa: An Encyclopedia. Sage. p. 21.
ISBN 978-1412981767. Archived
from the original on December 4, 2023. Retrieved
October 13, 2015.
9. ^ Wasserman, James (2001). The Templars and the Assassins: The Militia of Heaven . Simon
and Schuster. p. 115. ISBN 978-1-59477-873-5. Archived
from the original on 2023-12-
04. Retrieved 2021-10-10.
10. ^ Lewis (2003), pg. 38
11. ^ Lewis 1969, p. 108-109.
12. ^ Lewis (2003), pg. 44
13. ^ The Gesta Tancredi of Ralph of Caen (Crusade Texts in Translation), pg. 172. Translated by
Bernard S. Bachrach and David S. Bachrach. Ashgate Publishing. 2010. ISBN 9781409400325.
14. ^ Ata-Malik Juvayni (1997). History of the World Conqueror . Manchester University Press.
ISBN 9780719051456. Archived
from the original on 2023-12-04. Retrieved 2020-10-19.
15. ^ Lewis (2003), pgs. 47, 51, 134
16. ^ Daftary, Farhad. "Gerdkūh, in Encyclopedia of Iranica, Volume X, Fasc. 5, pg. 499" .
Archived
from the original on 2012-11-17. Retrieved 2020-04-21.
17. ^ Richards, D. S., Editor (2002). The Annals of the Saljuq Turks: Selections from al-Kamil fi’lTarikh of ibn al-Athir. Routledge Publishing. p. 295.
18. ^ a b Wasserman, p. 102
19. ^ Boyle, J. A., Editor, The Cambridge History of Iran, Volume 5: The Saljuq and Mongol
Periods, Cambridge University Press, 1968, pp. 443–444
20. ^ Lewis (2003), pp. 102–103
21. ^ Lewis (2003), pp. 57–58
22. ^ Lewis 1969, p. 113–118.
23. ^ Richards, D. S., ed. (2005). The Annals of the Saljuq Turks: Selections from al-Kamil fi'lTarikh ibn al-Athir, 1097–1146. Routledge Publishing. p. 164.
24. ^ Lewis 1969, p. 113–114.
25. ^ D. S. Edwards, Editor (2010). The Chronicle of Ibn al-Athir for the Crusading Period from
al-Kamil fi’l-Ta’rikh. Part 1, 1097–1146, p. 177
26. ^ Lewis (2003), p. 58
27. ^ Wasserman, p. 105
28. ^ Lewis 1969, p. 115.
29. ^ The Annals of the Saljuq Turks: Selections from al-Kamil fi’l-Tarikh ibn al-Athir, p. 255
30. ^ Lewis (2003), pp. 59, 108
31. ^ Lewis (2003), pp. 64–65
32. ^ Lewis (2003), pp. 52–53
33. ^ Runciman, Steven (1952). A History of the Crusades, Volume Two: The Kingdom of
Jerusalem and the Frankish East, 1100–1187. Cambridge University Press. pp. 178–179.
34. ^ Lewis 1969, p. 118–119.
35. ^ Lewis (2003), p. 65
36. ^ Baldwin, Marshall W., and Setton, Kenneth M (1969). A History of the Crusades: Volume
One, The First Hundred Years. The University of Wisconsin Press. p. 175.
37. ^ Lewis (2003), pp. 65–66
38. ^ A History of the Crusades, Volume Two: The Kingdom of Jerusalem and the Frankish East,
1100–1187, p. 179
39. ^ Lewis (2003), pp. 106–107
40. ^ A History of the Crusades: The First Hundred Years, pg. 456
41. ^ Lewis (2003), p. 66
42. ^ Lewis 1969, p. 108.
43. ^ Lewis (2003), pp. 67–68
44. ^ Lewis (2003), p. 68
45. ^ A History of the Crusades: The First Hundred Years, pp. 168–169
46. ^ Lewis 1969, p. 119.
47. ^ Tyerman, Christopher (2006). God's War: A New History of the Crusades. Harvard
University Press. p. 344.
48. ^ Lewis 1969, p. 120.
49. ^ Lewis, Bernard (1967). The Assassins : A Radical Sect in Islam. Oxford University Press.
p. 72.
50. ^ Mahmoud Pargoo (April 2019). "Who is Ahmad al-Hassan al-Yamani, and why do so
many Shīʿas think he is the promised messiah?" . ABC. Archived
from the original on 1
June 2022. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
51. ^ Filiu, Apocalypse in Islam , 2011: p.53
52. ^ Lewis, Bernard (1967). The Assassins : A Radical Sect in Islam. Oxford University Press.
p. 74.
53. ^ Lewis (2003), pp. 71–76.
54. ^ Lewis (2003), pp. 110–111
55. ^ Lewis 1969, p. 120–121.
56. ^ A History of the Crusades, Volume Two: The Kingdom of Jerusalem and the Frankish East,
1100–1187, p. 397
57. ^ Lewis 1969, p. 123.
58. ^ A History of the Crusades, Volume Two: The Kingdom of Jerusalem and the Frankish East,
1100–1187, p. 407
59. ^ a b c Lane-Poole, Stanley (1906). Saladin and the Fall of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.
London.
60. ^ a b Willy, Peter (2001). The Castles of the Assassins. Craven Street Books.
61. ^ Lewis (2003), p. 117
62. ^ Richards, D. S., Editor (2007). The Annals of the Saljuq Turks: Selections from al-Kamil fi’lTarikh ibn al-Athir, 1146–1193. Routledge Publishing. pp. 396–397.
63. ^ Lewis 1969, p. 126–127.
64. ^ Wolff, Robert L., and Hazard, H. W. (1977). A History of the Crusades: Volume Two, The
Later Crusades 1187–1311, The University of Wisconsin Press, Madison. University of
Wisconsin Press. p. 80.
65. ^ Letters from the East : Crusaders, Pilgrims and Settlers in the 12th–13th centuries . Barber,
Malcolm., Bate, Keith. Farnham, Surrey: Ashgate. 2013. p. 92. ISBN 978-1-4724-1395-6.
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66. ^ A History of the Crusades: Volume Two, The Later Crusades 1187–1311, p. 528
67. ^ a b Lewis 1969, p. 127.
68. ^ Bosworth, Clifford E. (1996). The New Islamic Dynasties: A Chronological and Genealogical
Manual. Columbia University Press. pp. 71–75.
69. ^ Lewis 1969, p. 127–128.
70. ^ Runciman, Steven (1951). A History of the Crusades, Volume Three: The Kingdom of Acre
and the Later Crusades. p. 138.
71. ^ Lewis 1969, p. 128.
72. ^ a b Lewis (2003), p. 120
73. ^ "Nezāri Isma'ilism of the Alamut Period, Encyclopedia Iranica" . Archived
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74. ^ Lewis 1969, p. 128–129.
75. ^ A History of the Crusades, Volume Three: The Kingdom of Acre and the Later Crusades. pp.
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77. ^ "Joinville, Jean, Sire de"
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78. ^ Lewis 1969, p. 129.
79. ^ "Memoirs of the Lord of Joinville, Chapter III.4" . Archived
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80. ^ A History of the Crusades, Volume Two: The Kingdom of Jerusalem and the Frankish East,
1100–1187, p. 749
81. ^ a b Lewis (2003), pp. 121–122
82. ^ Virani, Shafique (2003). "The Eagle Returns: Evidence of Continued Isma'ili Activity at
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83. ^ The New Islamic Dynasties: A Chronological and Genealogical Manual, p. 108
84. ^ Lewis (2003), p. 122
85. ^ a b Lewis (2003), p. 123
86. ^ Lewis (2003), pp. 123–124
87. ^ a b c d e Daftary 1998, p. 14
88. ^ Daraul, Arkon (1961). A History of Secret Societies . Citadel Press. pp. 13, 29..
89. ^ Daftary, 2007, p. 12
90. ^ Daftary 1998, p. 15
91. ^ Maalouf, Amin (1998). Samarkand. New York: Interlink Publishing Group.
92. ^ Burman, Edward (1987). The Assassins – Holy Killers of Islam. Wellingborough: Crucible. p.
70.
93. ^ Daftary, 2007, p. 10
94. ^ Waterson, James (2008). The Ismaili Assassins: A History of Medieval Murder . Pen and
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95. ^ a b Daftary 1998, p. 129
96. ^ Lewis, Bernard (2003). The Assassins: A Radical Sect in Islam . Phoenix. ISBN 978-184212-451-2. Archived
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97. ^ Willey, p. 58
98. ^ a b c Hodgson, Marshall G. S. (2005). The Secret Order of Assassins: The Struggle of the
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99. ^ Wasserman, p. 104
100. ^ Wright, Thomas. "The Travels of Marco Polo, the Venetian"
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101. ^ Raphael, 2011, p. 106.
102. ^ Daftary, 2007, p. 402.
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108. ^ a b Daftary 1998, p. 16
109. ^ Lewis (2003), p. 25
110. ^ Daftary 1998, p. 17
111. ^ a b Willey, p. 55
112. ^ Lewis (2003) p. 18
113. ^ Lewis (2003) p. 20
114. ^ Stuttgart und Tübingen, 1818
115. ^ London, 1835; translated by O.C. Wood
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References
Thatcher, Griffithes Wheeler (1911). Assassins. Encyclopædia Britannica, 11th Edition,
Volume 2, pp. 774–775.
Boyle, John Andrew, Editor (1958), History of the World Conqueror by Ala Ad Din Ata
Malik Juvaini, Harvard University Press.
Burman, Edward (1987). The Assassins. Wellingborough: Crucible. ISBN 1-85274-0272.
Daftary, Farhad (2007). The Ismāʿı̄lı̄s: Their History and Doctrines
(Second ed.).
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-61636-2.
Daftary, Farhad (1998). A Short History of the Ismailis: Traditions of a Muslim
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Daftary, Farhad (2012). Isma'ili History . Encyclopedia Iranica, Vol. XIV, Fasc. 2, pp.
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Early Assassins Ismâʻîlîs Against the Islamic World . Philadelphia: University of
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September 15, 2010.
Lewis, Bernard (1969) [1955]. "The Ismailites and the Assassins"
(PDF). In Setton,
Kenneth M.; Baldwin, Marshall W. (eds.). A History of the Crusades, Volume I: The First
Hundred Years
(Second ed.). Madison, Milwaukee, and London: University of
Wisconsin Press. pp. 99–133. ISBN 0-299-04834-9.
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available online with
registration)
Lockhart, Laurence (1930). Hasan-i-Sabbah and the Assassins. London: University of
London.
Maalouf, Amin (1998). Samarkand. New York: Interlink Publishing Group.
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519. doi:10.2307/2853134 . JSTOR 2853134 . S2CID 162344752 .
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Mongols . Taylor & Francis US. ISBN 978-0-415-56925-5.
Richards, D. S., Editor (2010). The Chronicle of Ibn al-Athir for the Crusading Period
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Richards, D. S., Editor (2007), The Chronicle of Ibn al-Athir for the Crusading Period
from al-Kamil fi’l-Ta’rikh. Part 2, 1146–1193, Ashgate Publishing, Farnham, UK.
Runciman, Steven (1952). A History of the Crusades, Volume II: The Kingdom of
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Runciman, Steven (1954). A History of the Crusades, Volume III: The Kingdom of Acre
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Willey, Peter (2005). Eagle's Nest: Ismaili Castles in Iran and Syria . New York: I.B.
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Further reading
Daftary, Farhad (1995). The Assassin Legends: Myths of the Ismailis. London: I.B. Tauris.
pp. 88–127. ISBN 1-85043-950-8. Review .
Daftary, Farhad (2007). "Assassins" . In Fleet, Kate; Krämer, Gudrun; Matringe, Denis;
Nawas, John; Rowson, Everett (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam (3rd ed.). Brill Online.
ISSN 1873-9830 .
Filiu, Jean-Pierre (2011). Apocalypse in Islam . Translated by DeBevoise, M. B.
Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-26431-1.
Franzius, Enno (1969). History of the Order of Assassins. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.
Maalouf, Amin (1989). The Crusades Through Arab Eyes (translated by Jon
Rothschild ed.). New York: Schocken Books. ISBN 0-8052-0898-4.
Polo, Marco (1903). H. Cordier (ed.). The Book of Ser Marco Polo, volume 1
(3rd
revised translated by H. Yule ed.). London: J. Murray. pp. 139 –146.
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