Havel wonders at the tremendous strength of an oppressed people who 'seemingly believed in nothing,' yet who cast off a totalitarian system within a few short weeks, 'in an entirely peaceful and dignified manner.' Text: On.![]() The Mysterious Secret Society of Assassins. Secret societies are mysterious enough, but sometimes they go beyond merely enigmatic, spooky organizations and gather a dark reputation as being a lethal force to be reckoned with, reaching out to deal death to those who oppose them. Such is the story of a shadowy secret order of assassins which was formed in ancient Persia and which kept the region under the grip of terror for over a century. Always lurking in the shadows, they could be anyone, and they were always ready to pounce, patiently waiting for word from their master to bloom outwards from the darkness and shadows to deliver death at a moment’s notice. Let us delve into some of the murky history of one of the most secretive and lethal secret orders of the ancient world and indeed history as a whole. The road to the formation of one of the most terrifying secret societies the world would ever know began in Egypt in the first millennium AD, which was then under the control of the Ismaili sect of Shiite Islam, which had long been a small minority group within the religion, who followed Ismail bin Jafar, an iman who was not recognized by the larger Shiite group, and practiced a faith marked by radical egalitarianism and shunning of the luxury in which the ruling Sunni Abbasid caliphs enjoyed. At the time, the Ismaili sect had long been despised and persecuted by both the Sunnis and other Shiites alike, and they were considered to be revolutionary heretics. Many popular experts suggest possibility that mysterious sites around the world were created with help of advanced knowledge and technology (possibly more advanced than our current one) possessed by lost civilizations. Heir of Voldemort Heir Of Voldemort - Chapter One The Need Notes: I thought I better add notes in here to inform any unsuspecting readers that this is a quazi-crossover, but more HP-centric and fairly dark. Mostly scattered and powerless, this sect had lived on the fringes of Islam for years, secretly preaching their ideology through missionaries known as da’is. It was one of these da’is by the name of Ubayd Allah who would launch a successful revolt to overthrow the local Sunni dynasty of what is now Tunisia and subsequently start the Fatimid caliphate in 9. AD, which quickly went on to conquer Egypt, Palestine, the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, and parts of Syriainto, from which they spread their brand of theology. Hassan- i Sabbah. It was in the base of Ismaili operations that Hassan- i Sabbah was born between 1. Ismaili sect as a young man. Charismatic, intelligent, and intense, Hassan quickly rose in prominence within the Ismaili community and garnered a reputation in western Persia as being a firebrand missionary, known for his fierce intelligence, debating skills, fanatical fervor, hot temper, and toughness. Mystery Case Files: MillionHeir Official Fan Page. Solve crimes on the go with your Nintendo DS. Try Mystery Case Files: MillionHeir for free today! Nothing will be the same at the end of this summer for Gelsomina and her three younger sisters. She is the designated heir of the strange, secluded kingdom that her father constructed around them to protect his. It was these qualities that would land him in trouble at times, as he was known to have intense religious arguments with his instructors and he was even arrested at one point to spend a stint in a political prison after offending the local Chief of the Army, Badr al- Jamal. He was subsequently kicked out of Cairo, where he had received advanced instruction in the ways of missionary work. Nevertheless, despite his exile from Cairo, Hassan went on to be one of Ismaili’s most valued missionaries, carrying out his work all over Persia. At the time, the Ismailis were somewhat in decline, which was brought about by internal disputes among its leaders, a schism in ideologies, with the group gradually dividing into the Mustali Ismailis and the Nizari Ismailis due to conflict over who should be the heir to the caliphate, and an increasing loss of territory to the intruding Sunni Abbasid caliphs. In his zealous drive to spread the word of his Ismaili sect, Hassan went about trying to create a stronghold, a base of operations from which he and his followers could continue their dangerous work and raise the prominence of their doctrine throughout the region in safety. After traversing the land looking for a suitable location, Sabbah found it in the mountains of northern Persia near the Shah River in the form of an impressive citadel by the name of Alamut, which was perched atop soaring cliffs high above a valley floor, making it virtually inaccessible to enemies. Easily defendable, with a clear view for miles over the landscape below, it was seen as the perfect spot from which to launch their operation. However, there was a problem. First of all, Alamut belonged to the the Seljuk Empire, who obviously were not just going to give it to them. Second, Hassan and his men were badly outnumbered, and considering that Alamut was well- defended and difficult to reach they had no chance at all of taking it by force. Most would have realized the futility of trying to gain the citadel, but for Hassan these were merely minor annoyances, and he went about an elaborate campaign to just go ahead and steal it anyway. The first step to this plan involved sending out missionaries into the surrounding areas in order to fan out and win over converts from the local populace, especially village leaders and other people of prominence. The next step was more daring, with Sabbah and his men actually secretly infiltrating the citadel and converting members of the defending garrison. The commander of the fort began to suspect something suspicious was going on, but he was powerless to do anything about it because by that time most of the garrison and the local populace had already converted to the Ismaili cause and now followed Hassan. Outnumbered and outmaneuvered, the commander had no choice but to surrender the fort, and thus after nearly two years of patiently enacting his plan, Hassan had gained his prize without bloodshed or violence. ![]() The account of the taking of Alamut has often been romanticized. One popular legend concerning the acquisition of Alamut is that Hassan offered the owner of the fort 3,0. The owner accepted, thinking that this would turn him over a tidy profit, after which Hassan cut a buffalo hide into long, thin strips which he then linked together around the perimeter of the fort before paying the promised money and sending the outsmarted owner on his way. With Alamut secured, Hassan knew that it was only a matter of time before the Seljuks would come to take it back, and indeed an enraged Seljuk emir came rampaging through the valley in revenge, destroying towns, razing crops, and brutally slaughtering any Ismailis he could find, but Alamut proved to be just as impenetrable as Hassan had hoped, repelling the attack and sending the emir home in frustrated defeat. In the aftermath of this attack, with many of the crops and homes in the valley lying in smoking ruin, Hassan launched a campaign to increase his presence and capture other fortified positions within the region, sometimes through tact or propaganda and at other times through force, until he had created practically his own miniature state. As the Ismaili presence in the region spread, the Seljuks began to realize the threat they posed and decided on a more powerful response. Two armies were dispatched to the region to squash the Ismailis and Alamut was held under siege, yet Hassan in his impregnable fortress was able to ultimately thwart all such aggression. It was at around this time that he would turn to a new way to fight his enemies, and which would lead to the formation of his order of assassins. It came to Hassan’s attention that one of his worst enemies, a Vizier Nizam al- Mulk, was traveling from the Seljuk capital of Isfahan to the Abbasid caliph’s residence in Baghdad along with the Sultan Malik Shah. Hassan then sent one of his most trusted assistants, a young man named Bu- Tahir, to infiltrate the entourage dressed as a Sufi mystic and armed with a concealed dagger. On the morning of October of 1. Nizam had just finished having breakfast with the Sultan and was on his way back to his tent, the disguised Bu- Tahir approached with a paper in his hand, claiming it was a petition that he wanted the vizier to look at. When Nizam reached out for it, Bu- Tahir grabbed him and fatally stabbed him through the heart before being promptly subdued and killed by the vizier’s men. Although this operation had left its agent dead, it had fulfilled its purpose and had a powerful psychological effect on the Seljuks, and indeed any others who would oppose Hassan. The Ismailis had shown that they had the ability and the determination and fearlessness to silently reach out and deal death as they pleased, despite their inferior numbers and relatively small territory. Encouraged by the success of this first assassination, Hassan went about forging an elite group of individuals who could be called upon to undertake similar missions. Recruits for this new group were gathered from among Hassan’s own men, as well as the surrounding villages. The most prized traits in these potential recruits were resourcefulness, intelligence, ruthlessness, fearlessness, and religious zeal. In some cases, it is said that young boys were recruited, who could be more completely indoctrinated and trained in the ways of death. The recruits were trained in the use of various weapons, hand- to- hand combat, stealth, disguise, intelligence gathering, and psychological warfare, but the most important training they received was the the intense ideological commitment and fanaticism which was fostered within them through constant bombardment of propaganda and religiously fired up speeches. Hassan sought to make them totally obedient to him and the cause, going to great lengths to convince them that he was their one true savior, and that only by dying under his servitude would they achieve heavenly bliss. At the end of all of this training, ideally the recruit would have been transformed into a stealthy, deadly killer who was disciplined, fanatical, totally committed to his cause, not afraid to die, and ready to follow any orders given without question. Such newly forged human weapons of war were called the fidaiyn, which roughly translates to “sacrifice,” or more to the point “those who risk their lives voluntarily,” and which is typically spelled today as fedayeen. This group of assassins would then go on to be called the Hashashin, which means “followers of Hassan,” and is the word from which the English word “assassin” likely originates.
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