A new Hollywood action movie "Assassin's Creed", based on the series of mega-popular computer games Assassin's Creed, has appeared on the wide Russian screen. However, now we are not talking about the artistic merits of this work, especially since they are, to put it mildly, rather controversial. The plot of the film focuses on the activities of the Brotherhood of Assassins - a secret organization of cold-blooded spies and assassins who are fighting the Spanish Inquisition and the Templars.
One gets the impression that the Western world, having eaten its fill of Far Eastern martial arts, has found a new toy, and now the mysterious ninja have been replaced by even more mysterious assassins. Moreover, on the Internet, you can even find a description of the special military equipment of the assassins, which, of course, never really existed. The image of the assassin that has developed in popular culture today has nothing to do with real history. Moreover, he is absolutely crazy and not true.
So how does popular culture today portray the assassins? During the Crusades in the Middle East, there was a secret sect of sophisticated and skillful assassins who easily sent kings, caliphs, princes and dukes to another world. These "Middle Eastern ninjas" were led by a certain Hasan ibn Sabbah, better known as the Old Man from the Mountain or the Mountain Old Man. He made the impregnable fortress of Alamut his residence.
The Old Man from the Mountain sent out his agents throughout the Middle East and Europe, where they ruthlessly destroyed the enemies of their teacher. Caliphs and kings trembled, for they knew that it was pointless to hide from assassins. Assassins were feared by everyone, from Germany to China. Well, then the Mongols came to the region, Alamut was taken, and the sect was completely destroyed.
Assassins in pop culture.
These bikes have been replicated in Europe for many hundreds of years, over the years they only acquire new details. Many famous European historians, politicians and travelers took part in the creation of the legend of the Assassins. For example, the myth of the Garden of Eden was launched by the notorious Marco Polo.
History
To understand who the Assassins are, you need to plunge into the history of the Muslim world and travel to the Middle East during the birth of this religion.
After the death of the Prophet Muhammad, a split occurred in the Islamic world (the first of many). The Muslim community has split into two large groups: Sunnis and Shiites. Moreover, the bone of contention was not religious dogmas, but a banal power struggle. The Sunnis believed that elected caliphs should lead the Muslim community, while the Shiites believed that power should be transferred only to the direct descendants of the prophet. However, there was no unity here either. Which of the descendants is worthy to lead the Muslims? This issue led to a further split in Islam. This is how the movement of Ismailis or followers of Ismail, who was the eldest son of the sixth Imam Jafar al-Sadyk, arose.
Muslim fresco.
In the 11th century, the Ismailis had yet another split. The Fatimid Caliph had two sons: the elder Nizar and the younger Al-Mustali. After the death of the ruler, strife began between the brothers, during which Nizar was killed, and Al-Mustali took the throne. However, a significant part of the Ismailis did not accept the new power and formed a new Muslim trend - the Nizari. It is they who play the main role in our story. At the same time, the key character of this story appears in the foreground - Hasan ibn Sabbah, the famous "Old Man from the Mountain", the owner of Alamut and the actual founder of the Nizari state in the Middle East.
In 1090, Sabbah, rallying a large number of companions around him, captured the fortress of Alamut, located in western Persia. Moreover, this mountain stronghold surrendered to the Nizari "without a single shot", Sabbah simply converted its garrison to his faith. Alamut was only "the first swallow", after which the Nizari captured several more fortresses in northern Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. Very quickly, a whole network of fortified points was created, which, in principle, was already quite "pulling" the state. And all this was done quickly and without bloodshed. Apparently, Hasan ibn Sabbah was not only an intelligent organizer, but also a very charismatic leader. And besides, this man was really a religious fanatic: he himself fervently believed in what he preached.
Monument to the leader of the Assassins.
However, Sabbah was not a primitive, narrow-minded fanatic. Nizari agents, on his orders, collected rare manuscripts and books from all over the world. Frequent guests in Alamut were the best minds of their time: physicians, philosophers, engineers, alchemists. The castle had the richest library. The Assassins managed to create one of the best fortification systems of that time, according to modern experts, they were several centuries ahead of their era. It was in Alamut that Hassan ibn Sabbah came up with the practice of using suicide bombers to destroy their opponents, but this did not happen immediately.
Who are the Assassins?
Before moving on to the further story, you should understand the very term "assassin". Where did it come from and what does it really mean? There are several hypotheses on this score.
Most researchers are inclined to think that "assassin" is a distorted version of the Arabic word "hashishiyya", which can be translated as "using hashish." However, this word has other interpretations.
The entrance to the secret hideout.
Of course, it can be assumed that al-Amir simply wanted to call his ideological enemies "stupid stubs", but he probably meant something else. Most modern researchers believe that the word "hashishiyya" at that time had another meaning, it meant "rabble, people of the low class." In other words, hicks.
The practice of eliminating one's political, ideological or personal opponents is as old as the world, it existed long before the appearance of the Alamut fortress and its inhabitants. However, in the Middle East, such methods of conducting "international relations" were associated with the Nizari. Having a relatively small number, the Nizari community was constantly under severe pressure from not peaceful neighbors: the crusaders, Ismailis, Sunnis. The old man from the Mountain did not have a large military force at his disposal, so he got out as best he could.
Hasan ibn Sabbah departed to a better world in 1124. After his death, the Nizari state existed for another 132 years. The peak of his influence came in the 13th century - the era of Salah ad-Din, Richard the Lionheart and the general decline of Christian states in the Holy Land.
Storming the fortress. Arabian painting.
Assassin myths and their exposure
The myth of selection and preparation
There are many legends regarding the selection and training of future assassin warriors. It is believed that for his operations, Sabbah used young men from 12 to 20 years old, some sources speak of children who were taught the art of killing from a young age. Allegedly, getting into the assassins was not very easy, for this the candidate had to show remarkable patience. Those wishing to join the ranks of the elite "mokrushniki" gathered near the castle gates (for days and weeks), and they were not allowed inside for a long time, thus sifting out those who were insecure or cowardly. During training, senior comrades arranged fierce hazing for the recruits, mocking and humiliating them in every possible way. At the same time, the recruits could freely leave the walls of Alamut and return to normal life at any time. Using such methods, the assassins allegedly selected the most persistent and ideological.
There are even more legends about the training of assassins. To reach the heights of his art, the assassin allegedly had to train for years, perfectly wield all types of weapons and be an unsurpassed master of hand-to-hand combat. The list of subjects also included acting, the art of reincarnation, making poisons, and much more. Well, in addition, each member of the sect had his own specialization in the region and had to know the necessary languages, customs of residents, etc.
No information about the training of assassins has survived either, so all of the above is nothing more than a beautiful legend. Most likely, the Old Man from the Mountain's fighters resembled modern Islamic martyrs more than highly trained special forces fighters. Naturally, they were eager to give their lives for their ideals, but the success of their actions depended more on luck than on professionalism and skill. And why waste time and resources on a one-time fighter, if you can always send a new one. The effectiveness of the assassins has more to do with the suicidal tactics they chose.
As a rule, the murders were committed demonstratively, and usually the assassin did not even try to hide. This achieved an even greater psychological effect.
Fortress in the mountains.
The hashish myth
Most likely, the idea that the assassins practiced frequent use of hashish is due to a misinterpretation of the word hashishiyya. By naming their opponents that way, the opponents of the Assassins wanted to emphasize their low origin, and not addiction to drugs. The peoples of the Middle East were well aware of hashish and its destructive effect on the human body and mind. For Muslims, a drug addict is a complete man.
And given the severity of morals that prevailed in Alamut, it is difficult to assume that someone there seriously abused psychoactive substances. Here it can be recalled that for drinking wine, Sabbah executed his own son, it is unlikely that such a person can be imagined as the head of a huge drug addict den.
The Garden of Eden myth
This story was first described by Marco Polo. He did travel in Asia and probably met the Nizari. According to the famous Venetian, before completing the assignment, the assassin was euthanized and transferred to a special place that was very reminiscent of the Garden of Eden, as it is described in the Koran. It was full of wine, fruit, and the warrior was pleased by the seductive houris. After awakening, the warrior only thought how to find himself in the palaces again, but for this he had to fulfill the will of the Elder. The Italian claimed that before this action the person was drugged, however, in his work the Italian did not specify which ones.
Assassin assassin.
The fact is that Alamut (like other Nizari castles) were too small to create such an illusion, and no traces of such premises were found. Most likely, this legend was invented to explain the devotion that the followers of the Sabbah showed to their leader. To understand it, one does not need to invent gardens and houris, the answer lies in the very doctrine of Islam, and especially in its Shiite interpretation. For Shiites, an imam is a messenger of God, a person who will intercede for him during the Last Judgment and give him a pass to Paradise. After all, modern martyrs are trained without any drugs, and ISIS and other radical groups use them on an industrial scale.
The origins of the legend
The legend of the Assassins began with the crusaders who returned to Europe after the unsuccessful Crusades. Mention of the terrible Muslim murderers can be found in the works of Burchard of Strasbourg, Bishop of Acre Jacques de Vitry, German historian Arnold of Lubeck. In the texts of the latter, one can read for the first time about the use of hashish.
After the end of the Crusades, contacts between Europeans and the Muslim world practically ceased, and the time has come for fantasies about the mysterious and magical East, where anything can be.
The most famous medieval traveler Marco Polo added fuel to the fire. However, compared to modern figures of mass culture, he is just a child, honest and sincere. Most of the current fantasy assassins have nothing to do with reality.
Medallion, swords and turban.
Outcome
By the way, another myth about the Assassins is the idea of their ubiquity. In fact, they operated mainly in their region, so they were hardly feared in China or Germany. And the reason is very simple: in these countries they simply did not know about the existence of such an organization. But in the Middle East they knew very well about the Nizari sect.
During the existence of Alamut, one hundred and eighteen fedayin killed seventy-three people. The soldiers of the Elder of the Mountain have three caliphs, six viziers, several dozen regional leaders and spiritual leaders who, one way or another, crossed the road of Sabbah. The famous Iranian scholar Abu al-Mahasin was killed by the Nizarites, who especially actively criticized them. Famous Europeans who fell at the hands of the Assassins include the Marquis Conrad of Montferrat and the King of Jerusalem. The Nizari set up a real hunt for the legendary Saladin: after three assassination attempts, the famous commander nevertheless decided to leave Alamut alone.
