Assassins For other uses, see Assassin (disambiguation). For the modern act of

Assassins For other uses, see Assassin (disambiguation). For the modern act of murder, see assassination. The Assassins (from Arabic: حشّاشينḤashshāshīn[1]) 14th-century painting of the assassination of Nizam al-Mulk by an assassin. is the name used to refer to the medieval Nizari Ismailis, particularly those of Persia and Syria. Often character- ized as a secret order led by a mysterious “Old Man of the Mountain,” the Nizari Ismailis were an Islamic sect that formed in the late 11th century from a split within Ismailism, itself a branch of Shia Islam. In time, the Nizaris began to pose a military threat to Sunni Seljuq authority within the Persian territories by capturing and inhabiting several mountain fortresses under the leader- ship of Hassan-i Sabbah, who is typically regarded as the founder of the Assassins. While “Assassins” typically refers to the entire medieval Nizari sect, in fact only a class of acolytes known as the fidai actually engaged in assassination work. Lacking their own army, the Nizari relied on these trained warriors to carry out espionage and assassinations, and over the course of 300 years suc- cessfully killed two caliphs, and many viziers, sultans and Crusader leaders.[2] The Nizari were feared by the Crusaders, who referred to them collectively as Assassins. The Crusader sto- ries of the Assassins were further embellished by Marco Polo. 19th-century European orientalist historians such as Joseph von Hammer-Purgstall also referred to the Nizari collectively as Assassins and tended to write works about them based on biased accounts by medieval Sunni Arab authors, which they often took at face value. The name “Assassin” is often said to derive from the Arabic word Hashishin or “users of hashish",[3] a term thought to have been derogatory and used by their adver- saries during the Middle Ages. Originally applied to the Nizari Ismaelis by the rival Mustali Ismailis during the fall of the Ismaili Fatimid Empire and the separation of the two Ismaili streams,[4] there is little evidence hashish was used to motivate the assassins, contrary to the be- liefs of their medieval enemies.[5] It is possible that the term hashishiyya or hashishi in Muslim sources was used metaphorically in its abusive sense (i.e. “social outcasts”, “low-class rabble”, etc.) Long after their near-eradication at the hands of the Mongol Empire, mentions of Assassins were preserved within European sources such as the writings of Marco Polo, where they are depicted as trained killers, respon- sible for the systematic elimination of opposing figures. Ever since, the word "assassin" has been used to describe a hired or professional killer, paving the way for the re- lated term "assassination", which denotes any action in- volving murder of a high-profile target for political rea- sons. 1 Origins The origins of the Assassins can be traced back to just before the First Crusade, around 1080. There has been great difficulty finding out much information about the origins of the Assassins because most early sources are written by enemies of the order, are based on legends, or both. Most sources dealing with the order’s inner work- ings were destroyed with the capture of Alamut, the As- sassins’ headquarters, by the Mongols in 1256. However, it is possible to trace the beginnings of the cult back to its first Grandmaster, Hassan-i Sabbah (1050s–1124). A passionate devotee of Isma'ili beliefs, Hassan-i Sab- bah was well-liked throughout Cairo, Syria and most of the Middle East by other Isma'ili, which led to a num- ber of people becoming his followers. Using his fame and popularity, Sabbah founded the Order of the Assas- sins. While his motives for founding this order are ulti- mately unknown, it was said to be all for his own political and personal gain and to also exact vengeance on his en- emies. Because of the unrest in the Holy Land caused by the Crusades, Hassan-i Sabbah found himself not only fighting for power with other Muslims, but also with the invading Christian forces.[6] After creating the Order, Sabbah searched for a location that would be fit for a sturdy headquarters and decided on the fortress at Alamut in what is now northwestern Iran. 1 2 2 ETYMOLOGY Artistic rendering of Hassan-i Sabbah. It is still disputed whether Sabbah built the fortress him- self or if it was already built at the time of his arrival. In either case, Sabbah adapted the fortress to suit his needs not only for defense from hostile forces, but also for in- doctrination of his followers. After laying claim to the fortress at Alamut, Sabbah began expanding his influence outwards to nearby towns and districts, using his agents to gain political favour and to intimidate the local popu- lations. Spending most of his days at Alamut producing religious works and developing doctrines for his Order, Sabbah would never leave his fortress again in his lifetime. He had established a secret society of deadly assassins, which was built on a hierarchical structure. Below Sabbah, the Grand Headmaster of the Order, were those known as “Greater Propagandists”, followed by the normal “Pro- pagandists”, the Rafiqs (“Companions”), and the Lasiqs (“Adherents”). It was the Lasiqs who were trained to become some of the most feared assassins, or as they were called, “Fida'i” (self-sacrificing agent), in the known world.[7] It is, however, unknown how Hassan-i-Sabbah was able to get his “Fida'in” to perform with such fervent loyalty. One theory, possibly the best known but also the most criticized, comes from the reports of Marco Polo during his travels to the Orient. He recounts a story he heard, of the “Old Man of the Mountain” (Sabbah) who would drug his young followers with hashish, lead them to a “par- adise”, and then claim that only he had the means to al- low for their return. Perceiving that Sabbah was either a prophet or magician, his disciples, believing that only he could return them to “paradise”, were fully committed to his cause and willing to carry out his every request.[8] However, this story is disputed due to the fact that Sab- bah died in 1124 and Sinan, who is frequently known as the “Old Man of the Mountain”, died in 1192, whereas Marco Polo was not born until around 1254.[9][10] With his new weapons, Sabbah began to order assassi- nations, ranging from politicians to great generals. As- sassins would rarely attack ordinary citizens though, and tended not to be hostile towards them. Although the “Fida'yin” were the lowest rank in Sabbah’s order and were only used as expendable pawns to do the Grandmaster’s bidding, much time and many resources were put into training them. The Assassins were gener- ally young in age, giving them the physical strength and stamina which would be required to carry out these mur- ders. However, physical prowess was not the only trait that was required to be a “Fida'i”. To get to their tar- gets, the Assassins had to be patient, cold, and calculat- ing. They were generally intelligent and well-read be- cause they were required to possess not only knowledge about their enemy, but his or her culture and their na- tive language. They were trained by their masters to dis- guise themselves and sneak into enemy territory to per- form the assassinations, instead of simply attacking their target outright.[7] 2 Etymology Rashid ad-Din Sinan the Grand Master of the Assassins at Masyaf successfully kept Saladin offhis territory. The Assassins were finally linked by the 19th century orientalist scholar Silvestre de Sacy to the Arabic word hashish using their variant names assassin and assissini in the 19th century. Citing the example of one of the first written applications of the Arabic term hashish to the Ismailis by 13th century historian Abu Shama, de Sacy demonstrated its connection to the name given to the Is- mailis throughout Western scholarship.[Daftary 1] The first known usage of the term hashishi has been traced back to 1122 when the Fatimid caliph al-Āmir employed it in derogatory reference to the Syrian Nizaris.[Daftary 2] Used 3 figuratively, the term hashishi connoted meanings such as outcasts or rabble.[Daftary 3] Without actually accusing the group of using the hashish drug, the Caliph used the term in a pejorative manner. This label was quickly adopted by anti-Ismaili historians and applied to the Ismailis of Syria and Persia. The spread of the term was further fa- cilitated through military encounters between the Nizaris and the Crusaders, whose chroniclers adopted the term and disseminated it across Europe. During the medieval period, Western scholarship on the Ismailis contributed to the popular view of the com- munity as a radical sect of assassins, believed to be trained for the precise murder of their adversaries. By the 14th century, European scholarship on the topic had not advanced much beyond the work and tales from the Crusaders.[Daftary 4] The origins of the word forgotten, across Europe the term Assassin had taken the mean- ing of “professional murderer”.[Daftary 5] In 1603 the first Western publication on the topic of the Assassins was au- thored by a court official for King Henry uploads/Voyage/ assassins.pdf

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• Publié le Fev 01, 2022
• Catégorie Travel / Voayage
• Langue French
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