Hasan Sabbah the Iranian	The Assassins	A Guide to Famous Assassinations	-	-
Dungeons & Dragons	-	Dragon magazine	-	The Dragon #22

Sultan Sanjar awoke from a deep untroubled sleep with a pervading
feeling of exultation. Each dawn brought his invincible army so much
closer to the mountainous lair of his relentless enemies the Assassins.
Within days, he mused, the Assassin citadel on the Rock of Alamut
would lay in smoking ruins and the Assassin leader Hasan, called by his
disciples the Master, would be writhing under the skilled knives of the
royal torturers.

As he was savoring these and less kindly thoughts his eyes focused
on the dagger: its long straight blade protruded from the pillow scant inches
from where his head lay, gleaming gently in the diffused morning
light. With a shriek he scrambled out of bed calling frantically for his
guards. After a thorough search of the pavilion had turned up no lurking
killers Sanjar ordered the puzzled guardsmen to depart and drew the
dagger from beneath the covers. With trembling fingers he removed the
scrap of parchment impaled on the needle-pointed blade. The note
contained but a single word, a command: "Negotiate!"
 

Under the single blazing eye of the merciless sun the sultan’s ambassadors
made their way up the slope towards the brooding hulk of Alamut.
The place was well named the “Eagles’ Guidance.” Its bulk rose six
hundred feet from the surrounding plain, a natural eyrie detached from
the mass of mountains behind it. Varying in width from thirty to one
hundred and twenty-five feet along its four hundred and fifty foot
length, it hovered like a titantic bird of prey over the sweating ambassadors.
Even without the massive man-made walls and towers the Rock of
Alamut was a natural fortress. As the ambassadors climbed closer to the
single gate they decided that the sultan had made a wise choice in attempting
a negotiated peace before beginning a seige.

The heavily timbered gates swung inward without a sound and the
ambassadors passed into the chill shadow of the gate-house. In the
blinding sunlight of the courtyard beyond they could make out row
upon row of tall hardy youths clothed alike in red tunics and white
trousers. On the steps leading to the main keep stood an old man whose
erect posture belied the white of his hair and the map of wrinkles that
made up his face.

Hasan, Master of the Rock of Alamutand leader and founder of the
Order of Assassins, motioned the ambassadors forward with a flick of
one thin hand. Gathering their courage the ambassadors strode forward
and stopped at the base of the steps. Their spokesman stepped forward
to deliver the magnanimous terms set forth by the Sultan: acknowledge
the Sultan: acknowledge the Sultan as rightful ruler, abandon Alamut,
and be thankful your life will be spared.

As the ambassador finished speaking the corners of Hasan’s mouth
drew upwards in the semblance of a smile. He nodded almost imperceptibly
to a young man standing next to the spokesman and while the ambassadors
lept back fearfully the youth drew his long dagger from his belt
and drew its razor edge across his own throat. The body flopped at the
feet of the horrified ambassadors in a spray of blood. Smiling openly
now Hasan turned and nodded at a man stationed on the fortress wall
who lept silently into space to meet his end on the jagged rocks more
than six hundred feet below. Satisfied, Hasan turned back to the
stupefied ambassadors and announced that he had sixty thousand more
followers not unlike the two that had just died.

The ambassadors were still struggling to regain their composure
when they rode back into the Sultan’s camp to finalize the terms of the
agreement. In exchange for a large amount of tribute and immediate
withdrawal the Assassins would agree to refrain from proselytizing in the
Sultan’s domains and put their unparalled intelligence service at his
disposal. Sanjar hurriedly agreed to the terms and departed for the
relative safety of his capital.

Hasan Sabbah the Iranian
In 1078 A.D. Hasan Sabbah the Iranian arrived at the House of
Wisdom in Cairo. The House, founded some seventy-four years earlier,
was the principal school for missionaries of the Ismaili branch of the
Shiite sect of Islam. Born Ca. 1050 in Ray, five miles north of Teheran in
the shadow of the Elburz Mountains, Hasan had been an early Ismaili
convert. By 1074 he was serving as a deputy dai under Attash, chief dai
of Irak and western Iran. The dais were the lsmaili teachers or “Summoners
to the Truth” and were found throughout the length and
breadth of the Islamic world. At the House of Wisdom Hasan hoped to
delve deeper into the mysteries of his religion aided by some of the greatest
religious minds of the day.

The Ismailis are a branch of the Shiite sect of Islam whose beliefs
combine elements of the Islamic faith with Greek, Persian, Syrian, and
Babylonian philosophy. It has attracted followers from all religions and
walks of life. The central Ismaili belief is that God is incomprehensible to
everyone. Only the imam, or leader, may interpret, ellucidate, and apply
the Koran. The office of imam is hereditary and he is considered omniscient
and infallible. The imam is fiercely obeyed by the faithful who
are guaranteed reincarnation until a heaven of perfect wisdom is attained.

Hasan studied at the House of Wisdom for several years mastering
the complex Ismaili religious and political policies. In the political arena
the Ismailis were very active. Banned by the Sunnite Abbassid Caliphate
the Ismailis operated underground in a continous attempt to replace the
Caliph with a member of their own faith. Ismailism served additionally as
a social movement seeking to improve the lot of the oppressed.

Around the year 1080 Hasan was suspected of interfering in the
schemes of the Mameluke General Badr al-Jamali, who held the true
reigns of power in Egypt. Cast into prison Hasan won a reprieve when
the tower in which he was held collapsed for no apparent reason. Many
attributed the occurrence to Hasan’s arcane powers and Badr became
determined to be rid of him. Unwilling to risk Ismaili wrath by having
Hasan executed, Badr placed him on a Latin ship sailing out of Alexandria
for western ports. An unseasonal tempest drove the ship north until
its captain managed to put ashore in Syria near Aleppo and disembark
his unwilling passenger.

By the end of 1081 Hasan had established his own network of dias
in Iran who wandered the land in disguise spreading the Ismaili Doctrine,
gaining converts, and organizing uprisings against the Abbassid
Caliph. The caliphs had been mere puppets in the mailed hands of the
Seljuk Turks who had conquered Bagdad in 1055 and dethroned the
old Buyid Caliph. Hasan’s abiding aim was the overthrow of the Abbassid
Caliphate and its Seljuk masters and the establishment of a united
Ismaili state. To this end he gathered about him a fanatically loyal band
of personal followers and prepared to act.

The Rock of Alamut lies to the south of the Caspian Sea on the
fringe of the Elburz Mountains. The castle of Alamut was a fief-hold of
Sultan Malik Shah and was impervious to ordinary siege and assault.
Hasan, as we have seen, was no ordinary man. In September of 1090
Ismaili members of the garrison smuggled Hasan inside. Within a few
short weeks Hasan had successfully undermined the authority of the
garrison commander and won the entire garrison to his cause. Early one
morning Hasan appeared before the startled commandant, handed him
a personal note for three thousand golden dinars (which was in fact 
survivors realize the full extent of the carnage and hastily withdraw. 

The tactical and strategic importance of Alamut made it a perfect
base from which to launch operations against the Abbassids and Hasan
set out immediately to strengthen the existing fortifications. While work
was progressing on the walls Hasan was busy establishing his own
special school whose graduates would soon play an important part in
the affairs of the Middle East.

Shocked by the news of the fall of Alamut, Malik Shah gathered his
vassals and marched against the rebels. Realizing the futility of direct
assaults on the Rock, Malik Shah blockaded the area and sought to
starve the rebels out. After several months of siege the castle showed no
signs of weakness and Malik Shah withdrew devastating the surrounding
countryside in anger.

Malik Shah’s army returned every year at harvest time and
destroyed the crops while investing the castle. The forays were to no
avail. Hasan’s following grew and he continued to send his dais into the
surrounding mountains to gain converts. During the siege of the Fall of
1092 Hasan, now acknowledged as the Master, and seventy handpicked
men descended the sheer cliffs to the rear of the fortress and crept
into the sultan’s camp. Plying their daggers with speed and silence they
decimated the besieging army. Not until the first light of dawn did the
survivors realize the full extent of the carnage and hastily withdraw.

Temporarily freed from the threat of siege Hasan found himself in a
position of fantastic power. He had unlimited access to the resources of
a secret organization that had flourished unabated throughout the entire
Islamic world for over three centuries; he was supported by the not inconsiderable
power of the three dais of Kuhistan, Khuzistan, and Syria
and their countless missionaries; and he was honing the ultimate
weapon to a razor edge at his school at Alamut: the fildais, the devotees,
who were destined to become the assassins of the foes of the Faith. In
the forge of Hasan’s incredible mind these three raw elements would be
united to form that weapon of skill and cunning that would become
known throughout history and legend as the Assassins.

The Assassins
The meaning of the word “Assassin” is a subject for academic
debate. It may be derived either from “users of hashish” or “followers of
Hasan” and proponents of either theory have been unable to provide irrefutable
arguments for either meaning. The “hashish” interpretation
stems from the stories of the “magic” garden located at Alamut that have
circulated since the eleventh century. These tales, related by European
travellers such as Marco Polo, who passed by Alamut in 1273, tell of
hashish eating fildais who awake to find themselves in Paradise. They
enjoy the company of beautiful houris and experience pleasures of
every description. Drugged once again, the fildais awake in their own
bed with a renewed dedication to the cause. Due to the extremely harsh
climate of Alamut the existence of a garden complete with fruit trees,
lush grasses, and bubling streams seems unlikely and unnecessary in the
light of the fildais’ already fanatic devotion to Hasan.

Each fildai was chosen personally by the Master from among the
hundreds of applicants who made the long pilgrimage to Alamut. The
ideal recruit was no older than twelve years and possessed a strong
mind, body, and character. Those chosen divided their time at first between
religious training and rigorous physical exercise. As their strength
and agility increased they received extensive instruction in the use of the
dagger and other weapons of assassination and combat. A great deal of
time was spent teaching the fildais the art of disguise by which means
they could approach their potential victims with relative ease. The curriculum
included the study of languages that would enable the fildai to
blend into any culture or segment of society. Court etiquette was also
taught as Hasan’s major opponents were oft times connected with the
Sultan’s court. As their training progressed the fidais were initiated into
the seven levels of achievement, each with accompanying secret rites
and oaths.

Between the years 1092 and 1109 Hasan used his fildais in a
relentless crusade against Seljuk rule. But while the Assassins were
Hasan’s most visible weapon he made use of several more. Castles and
cities in the highlands were seized by bloodless Ismaili coups and used to
control the important plains below. Crusaders who were willing to deal
with the “heathen” found Hasan willing to aide them. In 1103 Janah al-
Sawlah, Lord of Homs, fell prey to Assassin daggers on the eve of an important
battle with the Latins. Three years later Apamea fell into
Assassin hands after a successful coup. Later in the year the city was
delivered to the Crusader Tancred. At this time the chief dai of Syria, a
friend and supporter of Hasan, had extensive dealings with the Christians
who called him The Old Man of the Mountain. From his
strongholds of Kahf and Masyaf he dispatched fildais to work with the
Latins against his Sunnite Muslim enemies. Direct military action was
used by Hasan only as a last resort when his policy of conversion,
alliance, and assassination failed.

The first major political assassination. took place in 1092 when the
Grand Visir of Khurasan, Nizam al-Mulk, one of the most successful
anti-Ismaili leaders and implacable foe of the Assassins, was stabbed to
death by a fildai disguised as an ancient holy man presenting a petition.
In November of that same year Hasan settled an old debt by successfully
poisoning Malik Shah. Assassins struck at Abbassid regional rulers in
order to weaken Seljuk authority, and at teachers of opposing Islamic
sects who preached against the Ismaili creed.

In reprisal for Assassin attacks the Sunnite Muslims massacred anyone
suspected of being an Assassin or an Assassin sympathizer. The
reprisals had little effect on Assassin activities: their opponents lived in a
constant state of fear. No one knew where they would strike next or who
would be their target. Many of their less dangerous opponents awoke to
find a dagger implanted in the pillow next to their heads, its message
abundantly clear and seldom ignored.

By 1105 the war between Hasan and the Seljuks had reached a
stalemate and Sultan Muhammad Topor sought to end the Assassin
threat by destroying Alamut. After heavy fighting he was defeated by the
Assassins and their allies, four Jewish congregations that lived in the surrounding
mountains. In September of the next year Hasan struck back.
The son and successor of Nizam al-Mulk, Nishapur Fakhr al-Mulk, was
slain by a beggar presenting a petition. Under torture the “beggar”
revealed the names of twelve of his co-conspirators, all of whom were
important court officials. After the officials were executed it was discovered
that they had been entirely innocent.

In 1095 an unexpected visitor had arrived at Alamut after being
driven out of Egypt. He was Nizar, the son of the late Abbassid caliph,
and the inspiration for the subsect of Nizaris, the brainchild of Hasan.
The goal of the Nizaris was to place Nizar on the throne and by 1106 the
sect was flourishing in Iran, Irak, and Syria. Nizar himself remained at
Alamut and became a close friend of Hasan.

In 1108 Hasan banished his wife and daughter from Alamut never
to see them again and declared that henceforth no women were to be
allowed within the fortress walls. With his wife out of the way Hasan was
at last able to deal effectively with the problem of the succession. He had
two sons and was well aware of the weaknesses inherent in a hereditary
system of rule as opposed to one of ability. Positive that both sons would
create trouble if he chose neither one to rule after he died he solved the
probelm in a typical manner. When a dai was mysteriously murdered in
the fortress Hasan’s eldest son was implicated, judged guilty even
though the evidence was slight, and sentenced to death. A short time
later Hasan’s youngest son somehow stumbled onto a store of forbidden
wine in the fortress and paid for his resulting drunkenness with his life.

With his dynastic troubles behind him Hasan was free to turn his attention
once again to the Seljuks. Undaunted by his earlier defeat
Muhammad Topor returned to Alamut in the Fall of 1110 and
devastated the ripened crops. For the next eight years his riders systematically
destroyed the crops around Alamut in an effort to starve the
Assassins out. By 1118 the fortress was on the verge of capitulation
when Topor died, without the aid of the Assassins. His successor, Sanjar
(1118-1124), the son of Malik Shah, sought to take up where he had
left off and marched on Alamut with a large army. After the incident of
the dagger Sanjar’s campaign was aborted and a truce was at last declared
between the sultans and the Master.

In 1121 the long arm and unfailing memory of Hasan reached out
to slay Afdal, the Egyptian visir who had ousted Nizar twenty-seven
years earlier. The assassination of Afdal was the last major political
assassination of Hasan’s lifetime. He died in May, three years later, at
Alamut after naming Umid, one of the original Alamut garrison, as his
successor. With the death of Hasan the first long chapter in the history of
the Assassins drew to a close and while the Assassins would enjoy considerable
success for over a century after his death they would never
again be led by so brilliant a visionary.

A Guide to Famous Assassinations

1127	In March Sanjar’s Grand Visir, Kashi, who had led an unsuccessful attack on Alamut the preceding year, was slain by his two grooms.
1130	The Fatimid Amir of Cairo is assassinated.
1135	The Abbassid Caliph Mustarshid is murdered.
1152	Count Raymond II of Tripoli is murdered during a border dispute with the Assassins.
1174	Saladin invades Syria to face a coalition of Latins and Assassins. Several unsuccessful assassination attempts are made.
1176	May: An Assissin wearing the yellow tunic of Saladin’s bodyguards penetrates his tent but not his armor. In August an Assassin leaps on him from a tree but is slain. Saladin and the Assassin leader Sinan agree to a truce.
1187	At the battle of Hattin the Assassins ride with Saladin against their most hated foes, the Templars and Hospitallers.
1192	April: Conrad, Lord of Tyre, is slain by two monks, One of the “monks” under torture implicates Richard Lion-Heart.

Today the Assassins decendants are numbered among the three
million religious followers of the Aga Khan.