The Assassins were an Asiatic order or society having the practice of assassination as its most distinctive feature. The Assassins were founded by Hassan Ben Sabbah, a dai or missionary of the heterodox Muslim sect the Ismaelites. The society grew rapidly in numbers, and in 1090 the Persian fortress of Alamut fell into their hands. Other territories were added, and the order became a recognized military power. Its organization comprised seven ranks, at its head being the Sheikh-al-Jebal or Old man of the mountains. Upon a select band fell the work of assassination, to which they were stimulated by the intoxicating influence of hashish. From the epithet Hashishim (hemp-eaters) which was applied to the order, the European word assassin has been derived. For nearly two centuries they maintained their power under nine sheiks. Hassan, after a long and prosperous reigm, died in 1124. Most of his successors died violent deaths at the hands of relatives or dependents. After proving themselves strong enough to withstand the powerful sultans Noureddin and Saladin, and making themselves feared by the Crusaders, the Assassins were overcome by the Tatar leader Hulaku. The last chief, Rokneddin, was killed for an act of treachery subsequent to his capture, and his death was followed by a general massacre of the assassins, in which 12,000 perished. Dispersed bands led a roving life in the Syrian mountains, and it is alleged that in the Druses and other small existing tribes their descendants are still to be found. Research Assassins
Abbreviations
People
Research Assassins