History of The Assassins (Hashshashin) - Persia

History of the Assassins (Hashshashin) | Persia
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Ruins of the Assassins' Castle at Alamut, Iran. The Persian
Assassins were based out of this mountain-top fortress until the
mid-13th century, when the Mongols destroyed it. Hulivili on
Flickr.com
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In the modern world, the word

"assassin" denotes a
mysterious figure in the
shadows, bent on murder for
purely political reasons rather
than for love or money.
Amazingly enough, that
usage hasn't changed too
much since the eleventh,
twelfth and thirteenth
centuries, when the
Assassins of Persia struck
fear (and daggers) into the
hearts of the region's political
and religious leaders.
Hasan Sabbah
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History
History of Islam
Ancient
Persian
Assassins
The Assassins' library was destroyed when

their fortress fell, so we do not have any
original sources on their history from their
own perspective. Most of what survives
comes from their enemies, or from fanciful
second- or third-hand European accounts.
However, we know that the Assassins were a
branch of the Ismaili sect of Shia Islam. The
founder of the Assassins was a Nizari Ismaili
missionary called Hasan-i Sabbah, who
infiltrated the castle at Alamut with his
followers, and bloodlessly ousted the
resident king of Daylam in 1090.
Culture, War and Events in

Asia
From this mountaintop fortress, Sabbah and

his faithful followers established a network
of strongholds and challenged the ruling
Seljuk Turks, Sunni Muslims who controlled Persia at the time.
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Nobody knows with certainty where the name "Assassins" came from. The most
commonly-repeated theory holds that the word comes from the Arabic hashishi, meaning
"hashish users." Chroniclers including Marco Polo claimed that the followers of Sabbah
committed their political murders while under the influence of drugs, hence the
derogatory nickname.
However, this etymology may well have arisen after the name itself, as a creative attempt
to explain its origins. In any case, Hasan-i Sabbah strictly interpreted the Koran's
injunction against intoxicants.
A more convincing explanation cites the Egyptian Arabic word hashasheen, meaning
"noisy people" or "troublemakers."
Assassin Tactics:
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court or inner circle of the intended victim, sometimes serving for years as an advisor or
servant. At an opportune moment, the Assassin would stab the sultan, vizier or mullah
with a dagger in a surprise attack. Assassins were promised a place in Paradise following
their martyrdom, which generally took place shortly after the attack.
Officials throughout the Middle East were terrified of these surprise attacks; many took to
wearing armor or chain-mail shirts under their clothes, just in case.
The Assassins' Victims:

For the most part, the Assassins' victims were Seljuk Turks or their allies. The first and
one of the best-known was Nizam al-Mulk, a Persian who served as vizier to the Seljuk
court. He was killed in October of 1092 by an Assassin disguised as a Sufi mystic.
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A Sunni caliph, Mustarshid, fell to Assassin daggers in 1131 during a succession dispute.
In 1213, the sharif of the holy city of Mecca lost his cousin to an Assassin. He was
particularly upset about the attack because this cousin closely resembled him. Convinced
that he was the real target, he took all Persian and Syrian pilgrims hostage until a rich
lady from Alamut paid their ransom.
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Assassins vs. Seljuks:

Why did the Assassins attack the Seljuks? As Shi'ites, many Persians had long felt
mistreated by the Arabic Sunni Muslims who controlled the Caliphate for centuries. When
the power of the caliphs faltered in the 10th-11th centuries, and Christian Crusaders
began to harry them in the eastern Mediterranean, the Shi'a thought their moment had
come.
However, a new menace arose to the east, in the form of the newly-converted Turks.
Fervent in their beliefs, and militarily powerful, the Sunni Seljuks took control of a vast
region including Persia. Outnumbered, the Nizari Shi'a could not defeat them in open
battle. From a series of mountaintop fortresses in Persia and Syria, however, they could
assassinate Seljuk leaders - and strike fear into their allies.
Advance of the Mongols:
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and led his army into Central Asia to punish Khwarezm. Prudently, the leader of the
Assassins pledged loyalty to the Mongols at that time.
By 1237, the Mongols had conquered most of Central Asia. All of Persia had fallen except
for the strongholds of the Assassins - perhaps as many as 100 mountain fortresses.
The Assassins had enjoyed a relatively free hand in the region between the Mongols'
1219 conquest of Kwarezm and the 1250s. The Mongols were focusing elsewhere, and
ruled lightly. However, Genghis Khan's grandson Mongke Khan grew determined to
conquer the Islamic lands by taking Baghdad, seat of the caliphate.
Fearful of this renewed interest in his region, the Assassin leader sent a team to kill
Mongke. They were supposed to pretend to offer submission to the Mongol khan, and
then stab him. Mongke's guards suspected treachery and turned the Assassins away, but
the damage was done. Mongke was determined to end the threat of the Assassins once
and for all.
Downfall of the Assassins:

Mongke Khan's brother Hulagu set out to besiege the Assassins in their primary fortress
at Alamut. The sect leader who ordered the attack on Mongke had been killed by his own
followers for drunkenness, and his rather useless son now held power.
The Mongols threw all of their military might against Alamut, while also offering clemency
if the Assassin leader would surrender. On November 19, 1256, he did so. Hulagu
paraded the captured leader in front of all the remaining strongholds, and one by one
they capitulated. The Mongols tore down the castles at Alamut and other places, so that
the Assassins could not take refuge and regroup there.
The following year, the former Assassin leader asked permission to travel to Karakoram,
the Mongol capital, in order to offer his submission to Mongke Khan in person. After the
arduous journey, he arrived but was denied an audience. Instead, he and his followers
were taken out into the surrounding mountains and killed. It was the end of the
Assassins.
Sources:
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Hodgson, Marshall. The Order of Assassins: The Struggle of the Early Nizari Ismailis
against the Islamic World, 's-Gravenhage: Mouton & Co., 1955.
Lewis, Bernard. The Assassins: A Radical Sect in Islam, New York: Octogon Books, 1980.
Weatherford, Jack. Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World, New York: Three
Rivers Press, 2004.
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