Two mysterious, cloaked figures lurk in the shadows, sneaking along dirt roads
in 12th century Jerusalem. They’re following an influential politician, an Italian who had
just been named King of Jerusalem after a brief victory for the Christians during the crusades.
The king’s entourage rounds a corner, and the cloaked men jump out and attack. One of the men
is taken out by the guards, martyring himself. The other is captured, while the king eventually
succumbs to his injuries. If you think this sounds like something out of Assassin’s Creed, you’re
right. But it also comes straight from the history books. Welcome back to Nutty History. Today,
we’re looking at the Nizari Ismaili, the real-life assassin cult that nearly toppled empires.
At the height of their power in the 12th century, the Order of Assassins, otherwise known
as the Nizari Ismailis, were conducting covert operations across the Middle East and the Levant,
taking out influential leaders in stealth ambushes and long-game type infiltrations that would make
the modern intelligence agencies blush. It all started with a guy named Hasan-i Sabbah.
Sabah was an Ismaili, a sect of Shiite Islam. Ismailis were considered heretical by pretty
much all other Muslim schools of thought, Shiites and Sunnis alike. The core disagreement between
the Ismaili’s and the rest of Islam centered on a hereditary succession dispute from the 8th century
AD.. Fast forward to 1050 AD. Hasan-I Sabbah was born in Qom, a city in what’s now Iraq. He
went to study in Cairo, then part of the Fatimid Caliphate, an Ismaili state that stretched across
a good chunk of northern Africa. He converted to Ismailism while there, but eventually became
irritated and disappointed that the Fatimid Ismailis weren’t trying hard enough to dominate
the Muslim world. Sabbah split off and founded his own branch of Ismailism, called Nizari Ismailism
after Abu Mansur Nizar, the man Sabbah thought should’ve been the next Caliph but wasn’t. Sabbah
eventually took his followers from Egypt and set out north, towards modern day Iran and Syria.
The territory the newly formed Nizaris set out into was controlled by the powerful Seljuk Empire,
a vast Sunni Muslim state that stretched from modern-day Turkey in the west, through Syria
and Iran, south into Yemen, and north into the “Stans” – Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan,
and Kazakhstan. When Seljuk leaders caught wind that Sabbah and his followers were sneaking
around in their territory, they weren’t pleased. But Sabbah had his sights set on Alamut Castle,
a fortified stronghold in a remote part of Iran. From there, he thought, he could begin his divine
quest to conquer the Muslim world. In typical assassin fashion, Sabbah infiltrated the castle,
disguised as a school teacher. Many other Nizaris had either also infiltrated the castle,
or those already living there had been converted. The Nizaris were able to snatch Alamut from right
under the Seljuk’s noses. In 1090, it became their stronghold, from which they would expand further.
The Nizaris captured a string of other castles in the region, using sly conversion tactics to
persuade the local populations, who were growing restless under Seljuk rule, to let them come in
and make things better. The castles they took were also located in rough, mountainous terrain,
making them virtually impregnable. This kicked off what became known as the Nizari-Seljuk conflicts.
The de facto Sultan of the Seljuks at the time was Vizier Nizam al-Mulk. He was an influential
politician, philosopher, and all-around intellectual type, a man many historians consider
one of the most important statesmen in Islamic history. He led the Seljuks for twenty years
between 1072 and 1092. But to the Nizari, he was just in the way. In 1092, Sabbah sent one of his
assassins to take out the Seljuk leader. Disguised as a Sufi mystic, the Nizari agent met al-Mulk as
he was traveling to Baghdad, and in classic Nizari fashion, ended him by blade. With al-Mulk gone,
the Seljuk Empire descended into civil conflict. It was one of the most influential assassinations
in geopolitical history. The Nizari were able to snatch up more fortresses, and by the early 1100s
they had spread into Syria. Sabbah sent one of his most most trusted men, Al-Hakim al-Munajjim,
known as the “Physician-Astrologer”, to infiltrate Aleppo and the surrounding regions. The Nizari
cell in Aleppo grew more and more powerful as the years went by, all the while using targeted
assassinations taking out hundreds of targets and behind-the-scenes Game of Thrones type
scheming to exert a whole lot of influence while basically having no military. All the while, for
nearly 35 years, Hasan-I Sabbah played puppeteer, orchestrating covert operation after operation
from his stronghold in Alamut. It was said he rarely left the mountain fortress. He became known
as the Old Man in the Mountain. His was a cult of personality and religious devotion. He made sure
only the best, most devoted, most gifted, and courageous were chosen to be fidain, which was
the term for the actual assassins in the Order of Assassins. The Old Man in the Mountain was smart.
He knew the best way to preserve and grow his faith was through targeting the people at the top
of the pyramid, the movers and shakers. And the fidain played the long game. They would often be
embedded for months or even years, gaining access to the inner circles of whoever they were assigned
to take out. It’s often assumed that the word “assassin” comes from hashish, and the original
term “hashashin” comes from the fact that these fidain would indulge in a bit of debauchery. To
Sabbah and his successors, by showing the fidain a good time in this life - a paradise on earth
that involved days on end of partying and women – they could convince them that a similar paradise
awaited them in the afterlife once they had completed their mission. It’s a theory that was
popularized by Marco Polo in his writings about the Nizari, and one that seems to be corroborated
by the Chinese traveler and writer Chang-de. The most succinct account comes from Chang-de,
who wrote: “The intoxicated [the fidain], escorted him to a basement and entertained him with music
and beauty. They let him indulge in sensual pleasure…At the time he woke up…they taught
him that if he could die as an assassin, he would live in joy and comfort like that”. The Nizari
continued to exert their influence after Hasan-i Sabbah’s death in 1024. But when Hassan II rose
to power as leader of the Nizaris in 1162, things picked up steam again. Hassan II was a bit of a
rebel when it came to Islam. He turned his back on sharia law, and was said to have literally turned
his back to Mecca in a banquet, which later led to his death carried out by his brother.
Hassan II’s son, Muhammed II, succeeded him in 1166. But at this point, another man,
considered the greatest assassin chief in Nizari history, started to make association great again.
Rashid ad-Din Sinan was an alchemist and a schoolmaster who rose through the ranks. Under
his rule from the Masyaf fortress in Syria, he took up the puppeteering mastery that the
founder of the Nizar Ismaili’s, Hasan-i Sabbah, started. He grew so powerful that he basically
split the Nizaris in two, and Muhammed II, whose base was in Alamut, actually feared
Sinan. Sinan became another iteration of the Old Man in the Mountain. And he trained his
assassins well. A string of hits went out across the Middle East and northern Africa, including
the assassination of the King of Jerusalem in 1192 we mentioned at the top of the video.
Sinan and his fidain even tried to take out the great Ayyubid King Saladin…twice. Although
they were unsuccessful, Saladin apparently started wearing chainmail everywhere he went.
Sinan died in 1193 and In 1210, Hassan III rose to power as leader of the Nizaris. Hassan III had
more Sunni sympathies, and he returned the Nizaris to more traditionally Islamic practices. But then,
the Mongols came. In 1253, the Mongol general Kitbuqa began a campaign against the Assassin
fortresses in Iran and Syria. The Nizaris were no match for the Mongol military strategy and
gunpowder, and by 1273, the last of their fortresses fell. The Assassins were no more.
Their covert politicking and targeted hits were the reason they were able to gain such a strong
foothold in the region, but their lack of numbers and lack of a standing army ultimately did them
in. They built a state almost purely through targeted attacks and strategic alliances. And
they managed it all by ending way less lives than pretty much every other state in the history of
the world. There are two sides to every coin though. The subterfuge and promise of paradise
for sacrificing yourself in a very high risk line of work is something that persists to this
day. What else do you want to know about the real life inspiration behind Assassins Creed?
Let us know in the comments. And don’t forget to like and subscribe for more Nutty History!