Assassins

They represented the order of the most notorious murderers in the world.

For almost two centuries, from 1090 to 1273, the Order of Assassins played a unique and gruesome role in the Middle East.

The Shiite sect known as the Ismailis was relatively small and geographically dispersed, but thanks to the Assassins, this very weak group in terms of conventional military power sowed fear among both Sunnis and Christian invaders. more precisely to the crusaders who at that time occupied and lost Jerusalem.

At the end of the 11th century, the charismatic and unscrupulous leader of the Ismailis, Hasan Sabah, turned this persecuted sect into one of the most effective - it can be freely said - terrorist organizations of all time.

Even the best-guarded and most powerful rulers of the age - the Caliphs of Abbasids and Fatimids, the Sultans and Viziers of Seljuk, the Emirs of Damascus, Homs and Mosul, and even the leader of Ayyubid, the great Saladin - trembled living in fear of the fearless Assassins who could always and everywhere strikes, which they did.

Known by the nickname Fidai (from the Arabic word that signified sacrifice, "one who voluntarily risks his life"), Assassin's agents spent months, sometimes years, infiltrating enemy ranks before finally stabbing the target in the heart.

The most frightening thing is that the Assassins usually did not flee the crime scene, but waited for certain death.

Their nickname Asasini came from the word "hashish", which means "enjoyers of hashish". This name was given to the Assassins by the enemies, due to the "relaxation" with which their agents performed their tasks. However, it is historically very unlikely that the Assassins actually consumed hashish, primarily because the delicate missions they performed required perfect concentration and sharpness of the senses.

The fanatical and disciplined leader of the Assassins, Hassan Sabah, as well as his successors, were brilliant in the use of so-called "asymmetric warfare". They developed attack tactics that bypassed enemy advantages such as numerical superiority.

The ability of the Assassins to remove hostile, both political and military and religious leaders, enabled them to survive among the great powers in the Middle East.

Unlike today's terrorist groups, Sabah's Assassins used terror for self-defense purposes, and their actions were very precise, aimed at a certain person, without collateral damage.

In the middle of the eighth century, the Ismailis separated from the Shiites and decided to follow Ismail bin Jafar, the seventh imam, who was not accepted by other Shiites. Their sect was against the luxury enjoyed by the Sunni Caliphs, the rulers of much of the Muslim world. As both Shiites and Sunnis rejected Ismailis as heretics, they became a secret, practically revolutionary group within Islam.

Hasan Sabah, who fled Cairo under Fatimid rule in 1076, moved to Isfahan where he met a mysterious man who would become his mentor. This teacher immediately recognized Sabah's potential and, with the help of rigid training, turned this physically and mentally brilliant man into a top agent and killer.

For several years, Sabah carried out secret tasks throughout Persia - from assassinations to converting other Muslims to Ismailis.

When he had gathered enough people, Sabah was given the task of finding a suitable place for the Ismaili base. He found it in the late 108-0s in the valley of the river Shah. Alamut Castle was located on top of a 250 meter high rock. The only way to reach the fortification was a narrow and steep road which enabled easy defense of the castle with very few people.

At the same time, the view was a great advantage because any approaching threat would be spotted in time.

Sabah then decided to "take over" the castle from Seljuk. The first step was to send missionaries to the surrounding villages to convert as many people as possible. When he consolidated his position in the area, his agents infiltrated the castle and began to carry out their agenda among the guards. When most of them converted to Ismailis, Sabah secretly entered the castle.

While the Seljuks saw what was happening, most of the soldiers responded directly to Sabah. The castle commander then surrendered, paying Sabah 3,000 gold coins to release him.

The Seljuks tried to regain the castle, however, it was almost impossible, so their efforts were reduced to burning the surrounding villages. The fight with the Seljuks lasted for some time, which Sabah used to expand his influence, establish several more fortifications and refresh his ranks.

By the time the Seljuks realized that Sabah was not a minor local problem, it was too late.

An agent named Bu Tahir had already been sent on a very dangerous mission - his goal was to infiltrate the Seljuk court and kill Vizier Nitam al-Mulk, Ismaili's greatest enemy. Disguised as a mystic, Tahir managed to approach the vizier and, in front of the guards, stabbed him in the heart.

This assassination was the beginning of the Assassin era. The Sunnis then realized that although few in number, the Ismailis were a very serious enemy. Soon, Sabah trained enough Assassins to turn this small group into the front force of his secretary.

Soon Caliphs, viziers, generals, emirs, religious leaders and Christian princes fell victim to the daggers of the Assassins.

Sabah developed a network of young people, ideologically motivated who were ready to lose their lives at any moment. The best of the Assassins combined the sacrifice of Japanese kamikazes, the skill of special forces and the ability of the best KGB or CIA agents. In addition, the Assassins most often attacked from close range, in public places, in front of a large number of witnesses, which underlined their readiness to sacrifice and further spread fear among both the masses and the rulers.

Among the victims of Assassin were many great people. The Vizier of Seljuk was killed by agents infiltrated as royal horsemen; the Turkish emir of Damascus was killed on the orders of "sleeping" agents who had been his bodyguard for years; the crusader leader Conrad of Monfer was killed by two agents who pretended to be Christians (which is why they had to seriously study the faith), and they were also his "close friends".

The list of great men killed by the Assassins goes on and on.

Until Sabah's death in 1124, more than 50 political, military and religious leaders in the Middle East were killed.

In the past, however, the Assassins used more subtle tactics. So the Seljuks were forced into a truce when their ruler woke up one morning with a typical Assassin dagger stuck in his bed. After Sabah's death, the Assassins continued to be very successful, until the beginning of the 13th century, when the Mongols literally overran the entire region. The Mongols were very aware of the reputation of the Ismailis and Assassins, which is why they decided to delete this order once and for all.

The last leader of the Assassins, Rukn ad Din Kur Kur Shah, was a pale shadow of Hasan Sabah, unworthy of the Mongol challenge. Soon, the Assassins became mere memories, and what was left of them in areas beyond Mongol control soon ceased to function in the way Sabah envisioned when he founded the Order.

History of this order make game publisher to create one of very popular video game with graphics, story, gameplay possibilities and history presentation as it happen.

In this video, enjoy great creativity and story of famous Assassins: