حشاشين, Ḥaššāšīn | |
Formation | 1090 AD |
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Founder | Hasan-i Sabbah |
Dissolved | 1275 AD |
Headquarters |
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Official language | Persian |
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Affiliations | Nizari Ismaili state |
Part of a series on Islam Isma'ilism |
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The Order of Assassins or simply the Assassins (Persian: حشاشين, romanized: Ḥaššāšīn) were a Nizari Isma'ili order that existed between 1090 and 1275 AD, founded by Persian commander Hassan-i Sabbah.
During that time, they lived in the mountains of Iran and the Levant, and held a strict subterfuge policy throughout the Middle East, posing a substantial strategic threat to Fatimid, Abbasid, and Seljuk authority, and killing several Christian leaders. Over the course of nearly 200 years, they killed hundreds who were considered enemies of the Nizari Isma'ili state. The modern term assassination is believed to stem from the tactics used by the Assassins.[1]
Contemporaneous historians include Arabs ibn al-Qalanisi and Ali ibn al-Athir, and the Persian Ata-Malik Juvayni. The first two referred to the Assassins as batiniyya, an epithet widely accepted by Isma'ilis themselves.[2][3]