The Assassins (aka Nizari Ismailis), were a heretical group of Shiite Muslims who were powerful in Persia and Syria from the 11th century CE until their defeat at the hands of the Mongols in the mid-13th century CE. Secure in their fortified hilltop castles, they became infamous for their strategy of singling out opposition figures and murdering them, usually in knife-wielding teams. The group was known as the Assassins by their enemies in reference to their use of hashish, 'assassin' being a corruption of the Arabic hasisi ('hashish-eater'), and so the name has since come to be associated with their chief modus operandi, the act of murder for political or religious purposes. The Nizari Ismailis continue to exist as a branch of Islam today.
More about: The Assassins7 days left
Server Costs Fundraiser 2024
Help our mission to provide free history education to the world! Please donate and contribute to covering our server costs in 2024. With your support, millions of people learn about history entirely for free every month.
$12729 / $18000
Definition
Timeline
-
c. 1090 - c. 1256The Assassins (aka Nizari Ismailis) occupy mountain castles in Syria, Iran and elsewhere.
-
1090The Assassins occupy Alamut castle in Iran.
-
14 Oct 1092The vizier of Baghdad, Nizam al-Mulk, is murdered by the Assassins.
-
2 Oct 1113Maudud, the atabeg of Mosul, is murdered in Damascus, most likely by the Assassins.
-
c. 1141The Assassins occupy Masyaf castle in Syria.
-
1152Raymond II, the Count of Tripoli, is murdered by the Assassins.
-
1169 - 1193Sheikh Rashid al-Din Sinan is leader of the Assassins.
-
1175An attempt by 13 members of the Assassins to murder Saladin, Sultan of Egypt and Syria, fails.
-
1176A second attempt by the Assassins on the life of Saladin, Sultan of Egypt and Syria, fails.
-
28 Apr 1192Conrad of Montferrat, king of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, is murdered by the Assassins.
-
1256The Mongols defeat the Ismailis (aka the Assassins) in Persia.