Assassins - a secret sectarian organization of neo-Ismaili-Nizari, formed in Iran at the end of the 11th century as a result of a split in Ismailism. Founder - Hasan ibn Sabbah. The ruling elite of the Assassins (large feudal lords) practiced them as a means of political struggle and the murder of their opponents. The center of the Assassins was Alamut Castle in Iran. The activities of the Assassins spread to Iran, Syria and Lebanon. A characteristic feature of the teachings of the Assassins from the middle of the 12th century was the deification of the imam, the head of their organization. The end of the existence of the Assassins in Iran was put by the Mongol army of Hulagu Khan in 1256. In Lebanon and Syria, the last blow of the Assassins was dealt by the Mamluks in 1273.

origins

After the death of the Prophet Muhammad in 632, a split occurred among his Muslim followers. One of the branches of Islam, which has undergone more than one transformation in history, was the Ismailis - those of the Shiites who recognized the legitimate heir of Imam Jafar, his eldest son Ismail. The core of the religious and political doctrine of the Ismailis was the doctrine of the imamate: obedience to the imam-primate from the Ali clan.

Ismaili propaganda was a great success: by the end of the 10th century, the Maghreb, Egypt, Syria, Palestine, Hijaz were under their rule. At the same time, rivalries and divisions within the Ismaili leadership intensified. At the end of the 11th century, the followers of one of the Ismaili groups - the Nizari, who operated in the mountainous regions of Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Iran, created an independent state with a center in the fortress of Alamut (Iran), which lasted until the middle of the 13th century. In the practice of political struggle, the Nizaris, who were subjected to severe persecution by the Arab Caliphate, themselves widely used terrorist methods.

There is a legend that the perpetrators of terrorist acts used drugs (hashish), for which they were sometimes called "hashishiyin". This name, in a distorted form, assassin, came into European languages ​​\u200b\u200bin the meaning of "murderer." The assassins were a secret society, whose members rendered unquestioning obedience to their master, usually called the "old man of the mountain" in European chronicles. The Assassins were gradually trained by their masters to fight and kill for their faith. He, claiming to be a new prophet, explained to them that there were seven links in the chain of the creation of the world, and divine wisdom is revealed at each point of articulation of the links as the initiate moves towards God. Initiates at every stage of knowledge received revelations that refute everything that was previously known. And only at the highest level was the last secret of the Assassins revealed: the kingdom of heaven and hell are one and the same.

Such initiates were called seekers. All the younger members of the society were accustomed to murder; they were stupefied with hashish, then led to a beautiful garden and seduced there heavenly delights, urging them to voluntarily sacrifice their lives in order to enjoy the same joys forever as martyrs. Such people were called fidairns (self-sacrificing); they often received instructions from the head of the order to hunt down this or that powerful enemy and, if necessary, defeat him. In addition, the head of the order could also do favors for his powerful friends and thereby oblige them; precisely when they needed to be freed from a personal enemy, he put his people at their disposal, who carried out the tasks entrusted to them as conscientiously as if they were acting against an enemy of the community.

"Mountain old man" or "Lord of the mountain" - that was the name of Hassan ibn Shabbat, the leader of the Muslim sect of the Assassins. Seventy thousand people, loyal to him and ready to die at one of his signs, made up a formidable power that many rulers from Iran to Scandinavia feared. No one could get away from Hassan's people. In white clothes, girded with red belts (the colors of innocence and blood), they overtook the victim, overcoming the most impregnable fortress walls and the most powerful guards.

And it all started with the fact that the vizier of the Sultan of the Seljuk state, Nizam al-Mulk, noticed the outstanding abilities of Hassan. He brought him closer to him and soon won for that post of minister. The "gratitude" of Hasan, who even became the favorite of the Sultan, was expressed in the fact that he began to weave intrigues against his patron. The wise vizier, having timely figured out his protege's lust for power and his desire to take the place of the vizier himself under the Sultan, skillfully "set up" Hassan, denouncing him in a lie.

Anyone else would have been executed for such an offense, but the great Sultan took pity on his former favorite. They left him life, but took away all the titles, sending him into a distant exile to the north. From that day, revenge became for Hassan the meaning of his whole life. He decided to create his own empire, without borders and limits. And created. From the mountain castle of Alamut, an order was given to execute the Sultan and Vizier Nizam. Assassins successfully coped with the task assigned.

For thirty-four years, until his death, the "mountain old man" did not leave his castle: his eyes, ears and long arms with daggers were everywhere. The number of supporters of the secret emperor did not decrease, more and more young people replaced the dead or executed by Hassan. He personally killed two of his sons, one because he killed the day, and the other because he tasted wine (perhaps they died because they badly concealed their desire to take his place).

Judging by the stories, he also wrote theological works and often engaged in religious rites. The "old man" made sure that after his death the order was headed by the "most worthy". It turned out to be Hassan the second, nicknamed the Hateful and soon declaring himself a god, and then transferring power to his son Muhammad the second.

Devotion of followers

Sometimes Hassan announced that he was dissatisfied with someone, and ordered to cut off the head of the guilty. Usually the victim was chosen from those closest to the lord. When everyone already knew that the execution had been completed, Hasan invited a group of newcomers to his place, preparing for initiation. On the carpet they saw a dish with a bloody dead head. "This man deceived me," said Hassan. "But by the will of Allah, his lie was revealed to me. But even dead, he remained in my power. Now I will revive his head." After the prayer, Hassan did magic signs, and to the horror of those present, the dead head opened its eyes. Hasan spoke to her, asked others to ask her questions, and they received answers from a person they knew. Fear of the great power of the "mountain old man" grew even more rapidly. When everyone left, Hasan pushed apart the dish, made up of two halves. The man, sitting in the pit so that only his head was above the floor, asked: "Did I say so, lord?" - "Yes. I'm pleased with you." And after an hour or two, the head of the executed, this time severed for real, impaled on a pike, was erected at the gates of the castle.

The obedience of the faithful did not end with the death of Hassan. One of his successors invited Henry, Count of Champagne, to the fortress. When they examined the towers, two "faithful" at the sign of the "Lord" hit themselves with daggers in the heart and fell at the feet of the guest. The owner, meanwhile, coolly remarked: "Say the word, and at my sign they will all fall to the ground in this way." When the Sultan sent an envoy to persuade the rebellious Assassins to submit, the Lord, in the presence of the envoy, said to one faithful: "Kill yourself," and he did it, and to another: "Jump from this tower!" - he jumped down. Then, turning to the messenger, the Lord said: "Seventy thousand followers obey me in exactly the same way. This is my answer to your master."

Victims and allies

According to one story, the Persian caliph set out to attack the Assassins' base and destroy it. Once he found a dagger at the head and a letter from Hasan-Saba: "What is put near your head can be stuck in your heart." The mighty ruler thought it best to leave the sect alone. It is believed that Richard Lion Heart attempted on the life of the French king through the Assassins, there were also rumors that it was Richard who incited the Assassins to kill Conrad of Montferrat.

Two assassins allowed themselves to be baptized, and when a favorable opportunity presented itself, they killed Conrad of Montferrat and one of them hid in the church. But, hearing that Conrad had been carried away while still alive, he again got to him and struck a second blow, then died without the slightest murmur under refined torture. Barbarossa's nephew Frederick II was excommunicated by Innocent II for teaching the Assassins to kill the Duke of Bavaria, and Frederick II himself, in a letter to the Bohemian king, accuses the Archduke of Austria of attempting to assassinate his own through such agents. There is also a mention of an Arab who, in 1158, was caught in the imperial camp during the siege of Milan, with the intention of killing the emperor.

End of the sect

In 1256, even more ruthless than the Assassins, the Mongol cavalry defeated the secret empire and its capital, Alamut. In Syria and Lebanon, the Mamluks finished off the remnants of the sect. For a long time It was believed that the Order of the Assassins ceased to exist. And yet, the order, professing not only the struggle for faith, but also the cult of the warrior, continued to exist underground.

One French researcher discovered that in a small village between Isfahan and Tehran, the leader of the Assassins lives surrounded by guards and adherents, and they all revere him and obey him as a god. Other information about the Assassins dates back to the 19th century. Legend has it that some of them managed to escape and fled to India, where they joined the worshipers of the Hindu goddess Kali. It was the Assassins who founded in India a caste of hereditary killers known as tags (deceivers, murderers) or fansigars (stranglers).

Assassins today

Traditions were most strongly preserved in the actions of terrorist Muslim sects such as "Jihad" and "Hezbollah" and especially in the units of fidai. people fighting with weapons in their hands for the sake of an idea and ready to give their lives for a "holy cause".

If in the Middle Ages killers were called assassins, then in the 20th century in Iran, some fearless members of the people's militia in the revolution of 1907-1911 were called fedayins, and after the Second World War - members of the terrorist religious and political organization Fedayane Eslam, who made attempts on life political and public figures of Iran and the Middle East. This organization, founded by the Iranian mullah Navvab Safavi, was dissolved in 1949, but illegal groups like it exist in Lebanon and Iran to this day. And today, occasionally, their members are called assassins.

The Assassins are members of a secret religious Shia sect, the Ismailis. In Europe, the earliest mention of the Assassins dates back to the time of the first crusades. In their intelligence reports, the crusaders reported on the Grand Master of the secret fanatical Muslim sect of the Assassins, Sheikh Hassan ibn Sabbah. They were cruel murderers who knew neither doubt nor pity. The secret organization, which consisted mainly of Persians, with a rigid internal hierarchy and discipline, fanatical devotion to its leaders, as a result of terrorist activities and the atmosphere of secrecy that enveloped it, acquired an influence that did not correspond at all to its numbers.

For almost three centuries, this sect of suicidal fanatics terrorized almost the entire early medieval world, bringing mystical horror to it. From the Far Eastern Celestial Empire to the Western European court of Charlemagne, there was not a single person who could escape the death sentence passed by the Assassins. Not one Arab and European prince fell from their dagger. Despite numerous guards and high impregnable walls, kings were killed right on their thrones, imams, sheikhs and sultans found death in their bedchambers. Since then, in many European languages, the word "assassin" means "assassin" or, "assassin". In order to understand the reasons that gave rise to this terrible sect, the conditions in which it was created, to understand as deeply as possible the features of its internal structure and the processes that took place within the Assassin sect from the day it was founded to the time of its death, it is necessary to make a brief digression to the origins of the formation of Islam. After the death of the Prophet Muhammad, when the question arose of who would become the head of the Muslim community, and therefore, a huge and very powerful state at that time, Islam underwent a significant split into two warring camps: Sunnis, adherents of the orthodox direction of Islam and Shiites, who were initially called Protestants in the Islamic world.

Part of the Muslims advocated that power should belong only to the direct descendants of the prophet Muhammad, that is, the direct descendants of Ali, the cousin of the prophet, married to Fatima, the most beloved daughter of Muhammad. Close kinship with the Prophet Muhammad makes his descendants the only worthy rulers of the Islamic state. Hence the name of the Shiites - "Shi" at Ali "or" Party of Ali ". Shiites, who are in the minority, were often persecuted by the Sunni ruling majority, therefore, as a rule, they were forced to remain underground. Scattered Shiite communities were isolated from each other from each other, contacts between them were fraught with the greatest difficulties, and often a threat to life.Often, members of individual communities, being close by, were unaware of the neighborhood of fellow Shiites, since their practice allowed Shiites to hide their true, posing as devout Sunnis.

We are talking about the widespread among the Shiites, the so-called practice of "taqiyya". Its principle was that outwardly it is necessary to adhere to the views of the society around you, but in fact, complete trust and submission must be expressed only to your leader. Probably, by the fact of centuries of isolation and forced isolation, you can try to explain a large number of the most diverse, sometimes ridiculous and reckless, sectarian offshoots of Shiism. The Shiites, by definition, were Imamis, who believed that sooner or later the world would be led by a direct descendant of the fourth caliph, Ali. The Imamis believed that someday one of the legal imams who had lived before would resurrect in order to restore justice trampled by the Sunnis. The main direction in Shiism was based on the belief that the twelfth imam, Muhammad abul Kasym, who appeared in Baghdad in the 9th century, would act as the resurrected imam and disappeared at the age of twelve. Most of the Shiites firmly believed that it was Mohammed abul Kasym who was the very "hidden imam" who in the future would return to the world and reveal himself in the form of the Mhadi messiah.

The followers of the twelfth imam later became known as "twelver". Modern Shiites belong to this branch of Shiism. Approximately according to the same principle, other branches in Shiism were formed. "Five" - ​​believed in the cult of the fifth Imam Zeyd ibn Ali, the grandson of the Shiite martyr Imam Hussein. In 740, Zayd ibn Ali launched a Shia rebellion against the Umayyad caliph and died in battle, fighting in the front ranks of the rebel army. Later, the Pyateriks were divided into three small branches, recognizing the right of the imamate for one or another direct descendant of Imam Zeid ibn Ali. In parallel with the Zaidids (Pyatirichs), the Ismaili movement was born, which subsequently received a wide response in the Islamic world. The dominant influence of this sect for several centuries extended to Syria, Lebanon, Sicily, North Africa, Palestine, and also, sacred to all Muslims, Mecca and Medina. The emergence of the Ismaili sect is primarily associated with a split in the Shia movement itself that occurred in 765. Jafar Sadiq, the sixth Shia imam, in 760 deprived his eldest son Ismail of the right of legitimate succession to the imamate. The formal reason for this decision was the excessive passion of the eldest son for alcohol, which is prohibited by Sharia law. However, the real reason why the succession of the imamate was transferred to the younger son was that Ismail took an extremely aggressive position towards the Sunni caliphs, which could upset the existing strategic balance between the two religious concessions, beneficial to both Shiites and Sunnis. In addition, an anti-feudal movement began to rally around Ismail, which unfolded against the backdrop of a sharp deterioration in the position of ordinary Shiites. The lower and middle strata of the population associated with the coming to power of Ismail hopes for significant changes in social political life Shiite communities.

Over time, the Ismaili sect became so strong and expanded that it had all the signs of an independent religious movement with an Islamic bias. The Ismailis deployed in the territories of Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Persia, North Africa and Central Asia, which were not yet subject to them, a well-concealed ramified network of preachers of the new doctrine. At this initial stage of development, the Ismaili movement met all the requirements of a powerful medieval organization that had a clear hierarchical model of internal construction, its very complex philosophical and theological dogma, partially borrowed from Judaism, Christianity and small, sectarian cults common in the territories of the Islamic-Christian world. The Ismaili organization had nine degrees of initiation, each of which gave the initiate some access to being informed about the affairs of the sect. The transition to the next degree of initiation was furnished with inconceivable, very impressive mystical rituals. Promotion through the hierarchical ladder of the Ismailis was primarily associated with the degree of initiation. With the next period of initiation, a new truth was revealed to the Ismailis, with each step more and more moving away from the basic dogmas of the Koran. So, at the fifth step, the newly initiated was explained that the essence of the writings of the Koran should be understood not in the direct, but in the allegorical sense. The next stage of initiation after it revealed the ritual essence of the Islamic religion, which also boiled down to a rather allegorical understanding of rituals. At the last degree of initiation, all Islamic dogmas were actually rejected, even affecting the doctrine of the divine advent, etc. Excellent organization, strict hierarchical discipline allowed its leaders to easily and very effectively manage an organization that was huge at that time. One of the philosophical and theological dogmas, which the Ismailis vehemently adhered to, said that Allah from time to time instilled his divine essence into the flesh of the Natiq prophets sent down to him: Adam, Abraham, Noah, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad. The Ismailis claimed that Allah had sent down to our world the seventh Natiq prophet - Mohammed, the son of Ismail, from whom the name of the Ismailis came. Each of the Natiq prophets sent down was always accompanied by a so-called herald or "samit". Under Moses, Samit was Aaron, under Jesus - Peter, under Muhammad - Ali.

With each appearance of the prophet-natik, Allah revealed to the world the secrets of the universal mind of divine truth. With the advent of a new prophet, people accumulated new divine knowledge. According to the teachings of the Ismailis, seven Natiq prophets should come into the world. Between their appearances, the world is successively ruled by seven imams, through whom Allah explains the teachings of the prophets. The return of the last, seventh prophet-natik Muhammad, the son of Ismail, will be the last divine incarnation, after which the world divine mind should reign in the world, bringing universal justice and prosperity to the faithful Muslims. Inside the Ismaili sect, a secret teaching developed, access to which only the highest levels of initiation had , for the lower strata of the Ismaili community, only the philosophical and theological dogma was intended, which served as a universal weapon for the bearers of the secret teaching. Gradually, the Ismailis began to gain strength and influence, as a result of which, in the 10th century, they founded the Fatimit Caliphate. It is to this period that the aforementioned spread of Ismaili influence to the lands of North Africa, Palestine, Syria, Yemen and sacred to Muslims Mecca and Medina belongs. However, in the rest of the Islamic world, including the Shiites, the Ismailis were considered the most dangerous heretics and were severely persecuted at any opportunity. Around this historical period from among the militant Ismailis, even more radical and irreconcilable Nizarins, better known as the sect of the Assassins, emerged. The Fatimit caliph of Egypt, Mustansir, deprived his eldest son Nizar of the right to inherit the throne in favor of his younger brother Mustali. In order to avoid an internal struggle for power, by order of the caliph, his eldest son Nizar was imprisoned and soon executed, which led to major unrest within the Fatimit Caliphate. Nizar's death did not prevent his name from becoming a symbol of open opposition. The movement of the Nizarins so quickly gained strength and scope that it soon went far beyond the Caliphate and spread to the vast northwestern territories of the Seljuk state. Nizari uprisings constantly shook the Arab Caliphate. In response, the authorities were forced to apply severe repression against the Nizaris. Caliphs of Baghdad, Egyptian Caliphs, orthodox Sunni Seljuk sultans persecuted anyone suspected of heresy. So in the 10th century, after the capture of the city of Ray, by order of Mahmud of Gazanvi, a real bloody massacre was arranged. Nizari and other heretics were stoned to death, crucified on the walls of the city, hanged at the doorsteps of their own houses... In one day, thousands of Nizari Ismailis found their death. The survivors were put in chains and sold into slavery.

Severe persecution of the Ismailis-Nizaris led to the deployment of a large-scale wave of resistance. By going underground, the Nizari Ismailis responded with terror to terror. The creator of the Assassin sect and the founder of the Ismaili-Nizari state in the mountainous regions of Persia, Syria, Iraq and Lebanon, Sheikh Hassan I ibn Sabbah (1051-1124), appeared on the political scene. The Nizari expelled from Egypt actually seized the leadership of the Ismailis living in the regions of western Persia and Syria, headed by Hasan ibn Sabbah. Fled from Egypt in 1090, the leader of the Nizari Ismaili party, Hassan ibn Sabbah, settled in the mountains of northern Persia and began to recruit all the disaffected under the banner of the hidden imam of the Nizari dynasty. Very little is known about Hasan ibn Sabbah himself, as well as his life, hidden from prying eyes, which only strengthens the aura of mystery that, during his lifetime, shrouded everything connected with this name. A native of the South Arabian tribes, Hassan ibn Sabbah was born in 1050 into a fairly privileged family in the small town of Qom located in Northern Persia. He received an excellent education for that time and could, thanks to the position of his family, count on occupying high government posts. However, a Shiite by birth, Hasan ibn Sabbah from early childhood was drawn to all kinds of knowledge, which ultimately led him to the Ismaili camp. Already in adulthood, he moves to Cairo, the capital of the Ismaili Caliphate, hoping to find support there. However, the Fatimid Caliphate by that time was in complete decline,

His choice fell on an impregnable fortress erected on a high rock Alamut, hidden among the mountain ranges on the shores of the Caspian Sea. The Alamut rock itself, which means "Eagle's Nest" in the local dialect, against the backdrop of the mountains seemed like a natural fortress. The approaches to it were cut by deep gorges and raging mountain streams. The choice of Hasan ibn Sabbah justified itself in every respect. It was impossible to imagine a more strategically advantageous place for the creation of the capital, the symbol of a secret order of assassins. Hasan ibn Sabbah captured this impregnable fortress almost without a fight. Later, the Ismailis also captured a number of fortresses in the mountains of Kurdistan, Fars and Alburs. Having taken possession of several castles in the west - in the mountainous regions of Lebanon and Syria, the Ismailis invaded the "future" possessions of the crusaders. The Assassins were lucky to some extent. Shortly after the capture of the Alamut fortress, the Seljuk sultan Melik Shah died. After that, for twelve long years the state of the Seljukids was shaken by internecine strife for the throne. All this time, they were not up to the separatists, dug in in Alamut. Having united the mountainous regions of Persia, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq, Hasan ibn Sabbah created the powerful Ismaili state of Alamut, which existed for almost two centuries from 1090 to 1256. Hasan established a harsh lifestyle in Alamut, absolutely for everyone without exception. First of all, he defiantly, during the period of the great Muslim fasting of Ramadan, abolished all Sharia laws on the territory of his state. The slightest deviation was punishable by death. He imposed the strictest ban on any manifestation of luxury.

The restriction applied to everything: feasts, amusing hunting, interior decoration of houses, expensive outfits, etc. The bottom line was that all meaning in wealth was lost. Why do you need it if you can't waste it? In the first stages of the existence of the Alamut state, Hassan ibn Sabbah managed to create something similar to a medieval utopia, which the Islamic world did not know and which European thinkers of that time did not even think about. Thus, he effectively nullified the difference between the lower and upper strata of society. In my opinion, the state of the Nizari Ismailis strongly resembled a commune, with the difference that the management of the commune did not belong to the general council of free workers, but to the unlimitedly dominant spiritual leader-leader. extremely severe, ascetic way of life. In his decisions he was consistent and, if required, callously cruel. He ordered the execution of one of his sons only on suspicion of violating the law established by him. Having announced the creation of the state, Hasan ibn-Sabbah canceled all Seljuk taxes, and instead ordered all the inhabitants of Alamut to build roads, dig canals and build impregnable fortresses. All over the world, his agents-preachers bought up rare books and manuscripts containing secret knowledge. Hassan invited or kidnapped the best specialists in various fields of science, from civil engineers to doctors and alchemists, to his fortress. The Assassins were able to create a system of fortifications that was unparalleled, and the concept of defense in general was many centuries ahead of its era. In order to survive, the Ismailis created the most terrible special service at that time.

None of the caliphs, princes or sultans could have thought of going to open war against the Ismaili state of Alamut. Sitting in his impregnable mountain fortress, Hasan ibn-Sabbah sent suicide bombers throughout the Seljuk state. But Hassan ibn Sabbah did not immediately come to the tactics of suicide bombers. There is a legend according to which Hasan made such a decision due to chance. Numerous preachers of his teaching acted on behalf of Hasan, risking their own lives, in all parts of the Islamic world. In 1092, in the city of Sava, located on the territory of the Seljuk state, the preachers of Hasan ibn Sabbah killed the muezzin, fearing that he would betray them to the local authorities. In retaliation for this crime, on the orders of Nizam El-Mulk, the chief vizier of the Seljuk Sultan, the leader of the local Ismailis, was seized and put to a slow, painful death. After the execution, his body was demonstratively dragged through the streets of Sava and hung out for several days in the main market square.

This execution caused an explosion of indignation and indignation among the Assassins. Outraged crowds of Alamut residents moved to the house of their spiritual mentor and ruler of the state. Tradition says that Hassan ibn-Sabbah went up to the roof of his house and loudly uttered only one single phrase: "The murder of this shaitan will anticipate heavenly bliss!" The deed was done, before Hassan ibn Sabbah had time to go down to his house, a young man named Bu Tahir Arrani stood out from the crowd and, falling on his knees before Hasan ibn Sabbah, expressed a desire to carry out the death sentence, even if it was necessary pay with your own life. A small detachment of assassin fanatics, having received a blessing from Hassan ibn-Sabbah, broke into small groups and moved towards the capital of the Seljuk state. In the early morning of October 10, 1092, Bu Tahir Arrani, in some mysterious way, managed to enter the territory of the vizier's palace. Hiding in the winter garden, he began to patiently wait for the appearance of his victim, clutching a huge knife to his chest, the blade of which was prudently sprayed with poison. Toward noon, a man appeared in the alley, dressed in very rich robes. Arrani had never seen the vizier, but judging by the fact that a large number of bodyguards and slaves surrounded the man walking along the alley, the killer decided that it could only be the vizier. Behind the high, impregnable walls of the palace, the bodyguards felt too confident and guarding the vizier was perceived by them as nothing more than an everyday ritual duty. Having seized a convenient moment, Arrani jumped up to the vizier with lightning speed and inflicted at least three terrible blows on him with a poisoned knife. The guard arrived too late. Before the killer was captured, Grand Vizier Nizam El-Mulk was already writhing in his death throes, covering expensive dresses with blood and red dust.

In impotent rage, the distraught guards practically tore the killer of the vizier to pieces, however, the death of Nizam El-Mulk became a symbolic signal to storm the palace. The assassins surrounded and set fire to the palace of the Grand Vizier. The death of the chief vizier of the Seljuk state had such a strong resonance throughout the Islamic world that it involuntarily pushed Hassan ibn Sabbah to a very simple, but, nevertheless, ingenious conclusion: it is possible to build a very effective defensive doctrine of the state and, in particular, the Nizari Ismaili movement, without spending significant material resources on maintaining a huge regular army. It was necessary to create our own "special service", whose tasks would include intimidation and exemplary elimination of those on whom the adoption of important political decisions depended, against which neither the high walls of palaces and castles, nor a huge army, nor devoted bodyguards could oppose anything, so that protect potential victims.

First of all, it was necessary to establish a mechanism for collecting qualified information. By this time, Hasan ibn Sabbah had countless preachers in all corners of the Islamic world, who regularly informed Hasan about everything that happened in the remote regions of the Islamic world. However, new realities required the creation of an intelligence organization of a qualitatively different level, whose agents would have access to the highest echelons of power. The Assassins were among the first to introduce such a concept as "recruitment". The Imam - the leader of the Ismailis was deified, the devotion of fellow believers of Hasan ibn Sabbah made him infallible, his word was more than the law, his will was a manifestation of the divine mind. The Ismaili, who is part of the intelligence structure, revered the share that fell to him as a manifestation of the highest mercy of Allah descended to him through the Grand Master of the Order of the Assassins, Sheikh Hassan I ibn Sabbah. He believed that he was born only to fulfill his "great mission", before which all worldly temptations and fears fade. Thanks to the fanatical devotion of his agents, Hasan ibn Sabbah was perfectly informed about all the plans of the enemies of the Ismailis, the rulers of Shiraz, Bukhara, Balkh, Isfahan, Cairo and Samarkand. However, the organization of terror was unthinkable without the creation of a well-thought-out technology for training professional suicide killers, whose indifference to their own lives and neglect of death made them practically invulnerable. At his headquarters in the mountain fortress of Alamut, Hassan ibn-Sabbah created a real school for training intelligence and terrorist saboteurs. By the mid-90s of the XI century, the Alamut Fortress was the world's best academy for the training of secret agents of a highly specialized profile. She acted extremely simply, however, the results she achieved were very impressive. Hasan ibn Sabbah made the process of joining the order very difficult. Out of about two hundred candidates, a maximum of five to ten people were allowed to the final stage of selection.

Before getting into the inner part of the castle, the candidate was informed that, having joined the secret knowledge, he could not have a way back from the order, but this fact did not bother the young men, who passionately thirsted for adventure and another, in their opinion, more worthy life. One of the legends says that Hassan, being a versatile person with access to various kinds of knowledge, did not reject other people's experience, revering it as the most desirable acquisition. So, when selecting future terrorists, he used the method of ancient Chinese martial arts schools, in which the screening of candidates began long before the first tests. Young men who wanted to join the order were kept in front of closed gates from several days to several weeks. Only the most persistent were invited to the courtyard. There they were forced to sit starving for days on the cold stone floor, content with the meager remains of food, and wait, sometimes in icy torrential rain or snow, to be invited inside the house. From time to time, in the courtyard in front of the house of Hassan ibn-Sabbah, his close associates from among those who had passed the first degree of initiation appeared. They insulted in every way, even beat young people, wanting to test how strong and unshakable their desire to join the ranks of the dedicated assassins. At any moment, the young man was allowed to get up and go home. Only those who passed the first round of tests were admitted to the house of the Grand Master. They were fed, washed, dressed in good, warm clothes ... They began to open the "gates of another life" for them. The same legend says that the Assassins, having beaten off the corpse of their comrade, Bu Tahir Arrani, by force, buried him according to the Muslim rite. By order of Hasan ibn-Sabbah, a bronze tablet was nailed to the gates of the Alamut fortress, on which the name of Bu Tahir Arrani was engraved, and opposite him, the name of his victim, the chief vizier Nizam El-Mulk. Over the years, this bronze tablet had to be enlarged several times. Since the time of the first assassin-murderer, Arrani, this list has already included hundreds of names of viziers, princes, mullahs, sultans, shahs, marquises, dukes and kings, and opposite them, the names of their killers - fidayins, ordinary members of the order of Assassins. The Assassins selected physically strong young men for their battle groups. Preference was given to orphans, since the assassin had to forever break with the family.

Now his life entirely belonged to the Elder of the Mountain, as Grand Master Sheikh Hassan I ibn Sabbah called himself. True, in the Assassin sect they did not find solutions to problems social injustice, but the Elder of the Mountain guaranteed them eternal bliss in the Gardens of Eden in return for the real life. He came up with a rather simple, but extremely effective method for preparing the so-called fidais. The elder of the mountain declared his house "the temple of the first step on the way to paradise." Young man invited to the house of Hasan ibn-Sabbah and drugged with hashish. Then, immersed in a deep narcotic sleep, the future fidayin was transferred to an artificially created "Garden of Eden", where pretty maidens, rivers of wine and plentiful refreshments were already waiting for him. Enveloping the bewildered young man with lustful caresses, the beautiful maidens pretended to be heavenly virgin houris, whispering to the future assassin-suicide bomber that he would be able to return here only if he died in battle with the infidels. A few hours later he was again given the drug and, after he Once again fell asleep, was transferred back to the house of the Elder of the Mountain - Sheikh Hassan ibn Sabbah. Waking up, the young man sincerely believed that he had been to paradise. From now on, from the first moment of awakening, this real world lost any value for him. All his dreams, hopes, thoughts were subordinated to one single desire, to be again in the "Garden of Eden" among the beautiful maidens so distant and inaccessible now. It is worth noting that we are talking about the XI century, whose morals were so severe that for adultery they could simply be stoned to death. And for many poor young people, in view of the inability to pay bride price, women were simply an unattainable luxury. The elder of the mountain declared himself almost a prophet. For the Assassins, he was the protege of Allah on earth, the herald of his sacred will. Hasan ibn-Sabbah inspired the Assassins that they could once again return to the Gardens of Eden, immediately, bypassing purgatory, on only one condition: accepting death, but only on his orders. He did not stop repeating a saying in the spirit of the prophet Muhammad: "Paradise rests in the shadow of swords."

Death for the Islamic idea is a direct path to paradise. Thus, the Assassins not only did not fear death, but passionately desired it, associating it with the gates of paradise. In general, Hasan ibn-Sabbah was a "great master" of falsification. Sometimes he used at least effective reception persuasion or, as it is now called, "brainwashing".

In one of the halls of the Alamut fortress, over a hidden pit in the stone floor, a large copper dish was installed, with a circle neatly carved in the center. At the behest of Hassan, one of his assassins hid in a pit, sticking his head through a hole cut in the dish, so that from the side it seemed, thanks to skillful makeup, as if it had been cut off. Young people were invited into the hall and they were shown a "cut off head". Suddenly, Hasan ibn-Sabbah himself appeared from the darkness and began to make magical gestures over the "cut off head" and to pronounce mysterious spells in an "incomprehensible, otherworldly language". Suddenly, the "dead head" opened its eyes and began to speak. Hasan and the rest of those present asked questions about paradise, to which the "severed head" gave more than optimistic exhaustive answers. After the guests left the hall, Hasan's assistant was beheaded and the next day paraded in front of the gates of Alamut. Or another episode: it is known for certain that Hasan ibn-Sabbah had several doubles. In front of hundreds of ordinary assassins, the doppelganger, intoxicated with a narcotic potion, committed a demonstrative self-immolation. In this way, Hassan ibn-Sabbah allegedly ascended to heaven. What a surprise it was when the next day Hasan ibn Sabbah appeared before the admiring crowd unharmed. One of the European ambassadors, after visiting Alamut, the headquarters of the Elder of the Mountain, recalled: “Hasan had just the same mystical power over his subjects. Wanting to demonstrate their fanatical devotion, Hassan made a barely noticeable wave of his hand and, several guards standing on the fortress walls, on his order, they immediately threw themselves into a deep gorge ... ". In the mountains of Western Persia, a real industry for the training of professional assassins was established, which today would be the envy of modern "special schools". In addition to the "ideological training" assassins spent a lot of time in everyday grueling training. The future assassin-suicide bomber was obliged to be proficient in all types of weapons: shoot accurately from a bow, fencing with sabers, throw knives and fight with bare hands. He must have had an excellent knowledge of various poisons.

The “cadets” of the killer school were forced for many hours in the heat and in the bitter cold to squat or stand motionless, with their backs pressed against the fortress wall, in order to develop patience and willpower in the future “carrier of retribution”. Each suicide assassin was trained to "work" in a strictly defined region. His curriculum also included the study of foreign language of the state in which it could be used. Considerable attention was paid to acting skills. The talent of reincarnation among the Assassins was valued no less than combat skills. If desired, the assassins could change beyond recognition. Posing as a wandering circus troupe, monks of a medieval Christian order, healers, dervishes, oriental traders or local combatants, the assassins made their way into the very lair of the enemy in order to kill their victim. (The same technique is widely used by some modern Israeli anti-terrorist special forces). As a rule, the assassins, after the execution of the sentence pronounced by the Elder of the Mountain, did not even try to escape from the scene of the assassination, accepting death as a well-deserved reward. Sabbahits, or "people of mountain fortresses", as the Assassins, supporters of Hassan ibn-Sabbah from among the Ismailis-Nizaris, even being in the hands of the executioner, subjected to savage medieval tortures, tried to keep smiles on their faces.

"Let the infidels see how great is the power of the Elder of the Mountain," the assassins thought, dying in cruel torment. Rumors about the Elder of the Mountain quickly spread far beyond the Islamic world. Many of the European rulers paid tribute to the Elder of the Mountain, wanting to avoid his wrath. Hassan ibn Sabbah sent his killers throughout the medieval world, never leaving, however, like his followers, his mountain refuge. In Europe, the leaders of the Assassins, in superstitious fear, were called "mountain sheikhs", often without even suspecting who exactly now occupies this post. Almost immediately after the formation of the Order of the Assassins, the Elder of the mountain, Hassan ibn Sabbah, was able to inspire all the rulers that it was impossible to hide from his wrath. An "act of vengeance" is only a matter of time. An example of a "delayed act of retribution" is a characteristic case that has come down to us thanks to the numerous traditions passed from mouth to mouth by the surviving Assassins. (From the time of the first suicide assassin, Bu Tahir Arrani, the memory of those who died for the "holy cause" was carefully preserved and revered by subsequent generations of assassins.)

The Assassins hunted for one of the most powerful European princes for a long time and to no avail. The protection of the European nobleman was so thorough and scrupulous that all attempts by the assassins to approach the victim invariably failed. In order to avoid poisoning or other "insidious Eastern tricks", not a single mortal could not only approach him, but also approach everything that his hand could touch. The food that the prince took was previously tested by a special person. Armed bodyguards were near him day and night. Even for great wealth, the assassins could not bribe any of the guards.

Then Hasan ibn Sabbah did something else. Knowing that the European nobleman was reputed to be an ardent Catholic, the Elder of the Mountain sent two young people to Europe who, on his orders, converted to the Christian faith, since the so-called practice of taqiyya, common among Shiites, allowed them to perform the rite of baptism, to achieve a sacred goal. In the eyes of everyone around them, they became "true Catholics" who vehemently observed all Catholic fasts. For two years, they visited the local Catholic cathedral every day, spending long hours in prayer, kneeling. Leading a strictly canonical lifestyle, young people regularly gave generous donations to the cathedral. Their house was open round the clock for any suffering person. The Assassins understood that the only narrow gap in the protection of the nobles can be found during his Sunday visit to the local Catholic cathedral. Having convinced everyone around them of their "true Christian virtue," the newly converted Catholics became something taken for granted, an integral part of the cathedral.

The guards stopped paying due attention to them, which the killers immediately took advantage of. Once, during another Sunday service, one of the hidden assassins managed to approach the nobleman and unexpectedly deliver several blows with a dagger. Fortunately for the victim, the guards reacted with lightning speed and the blows inflicted by the assassin hit the arm and shoulder without causing serious injuries to the nobleman. However, the second assassin, located at the opposite end of the hall, taking advantage of the turmoil and the general panic caused by the first attempt, ran up to the unfortunate victim and delivered a fatal blow with a poisoned dagger to the very heart. The organization created by Hassan ibn-Sabbah had a strict hierarchical structure. At the very bottom were the privates - "fidayins" - the executioners of death sentences. They acted in blind obedience and, if they managed to survive a few years, they were promoted to the next rank - senior private or "rafik". The next in the hierarchical pyramid of assassins was the rank of sergeant or "dai". Directly, through dais, the will of the Elder of the Mountain was transmitted. Continuing to move up the hierarchical ladder, it was theoretically possible to rise to the highest officer rank "day el kirbal", which obeys only, hidden from prying eyes, the mysterious "sheikh el jabal", the Elder of the mountain himself - the Grand Master of the Order of the Assassins, the head of the Ismaili state of Alamut - Sheikh Hassan I ibn Sabbah.

It is impossible not to notice that the Assassins inspired many secret societies of East and West by their example. European orders imitated the Assassins, adopting from them the technique of strict discipline, the principle of appointing officers, the introduction of insignia, emblems and symbols. The hierarchical structure within the order of the Assassins was inherently associated with various "degrees of initiation", which is very typical for all Ismaili communities of that period. Each new stage of initiation moved farther and farther away from Islamic dogmas, acquiring more and more purely political overtones. The highest degree of initiation had almost nothing to do with religion. At this stage, such basic concepts as "sacred goal" or "holy war" acquired a completely different, diametrically opposed meaning. It turns out that you can drink alcohol, violate Islamic laws, question the holiness of the Prophet Muhammad and perceive his life as a beautiful instructive fairy tale legend. From all of the above, we can conclude that the leadership of the fanatical Islamic sect of the Assassins adhered to "religious nihilism" or, to be more precise, "religious pragmatism", which was carefully hidden both from the outside world and from ordinary members of the sect, through which those or other pressing political issues. From my point of view, such polar views and assessments of certain social and religious and political norms are characteristic not only of the early Shiite sects, but also of other secret societies, religious concessions and political movements, an integral part of which, in one form or another, is the so-called " degree of dedication.

After 1099, the invasion of the crusaders and their capture of Jerusalem, the situation of the Alamut state became somewhat more complicated. Now the Assassins had to fight not only with Muslim rulers, but also with European conquerors. On November 26, 1095, Pope Urban II at the church cathedral in Klimond called for the start of a crusade to liberate Jerusalem and Palestine from the rule of the Seljuk Muslims. In August 1096, four columns of crusader knights moved in the direction of the Middle East from different parts of Europe. From southern France - under the leadership of Raymond of Toulouse, from Italy - under the leadership of the Norman prince Bohemond of Tarentum, from Normandy - under the leadership of the Duke of Normandy Robert, from Lorraine - led by Godefroy of Bouillon, better known as Gottfried of Bouillon.

Having united in Constantinople, the troops of the crusaders crossed into Asia Minor and captured the cities of Nicaea, Edessa and Antioch. On July 15, 1099, after a bloody siege, Jerusalem was taken. Thus, as a result of the First Crusade, which lasted three years, several Christian states were formed in the Middle East: the kingdom of Jerusalem, headed by Godfrid of Bouillon, the principality of Antioch, the counties of Tripoli and Edessa. The Roman Catholic Church promised the participants of the holy campaign remission of all sins. Nevertheless, the crusader army looked more like a rabble of bandits than the noble liberators of the Holy Sepulcher. The passage of the crusader army was accompanied by unprecedented robbery and looting. The invasion of the crusaders could be compared, perhaps with the plague. There was never unity in the ranks of the crusader knights, which Hasan ibn Sabbah invariably took advantage of. The impoverished European barons, adventurers and robbers of various sorts, attracted by the innumerable treasures of the rich east, created temporary alliances and coalitions that were never very strong. Crusader knights, trying to resolve internal problems, quite often used the services of assassins. Among the "customers" of the Assassins, there were also such knightly orders as the Hospitallers and the Templars. It was during this period that the word "assassin" entered many European languages, which acquired the meaning "murderer". Many crusader leaders found death from the daggers of the assassins.

Hasan ibn Sabbah died in 1124 at the age of 74. He left behind a rich legacy, a tightly knit network of well-fortified mountain fortresses ruled by fanatical adepts. His state was destined to exist for another one hundred and thirty-two years... The finest hour of the Assassins falls at the end of the 11th century. This is due to the rise of the state of the Mamluk Turks, headed by Sultan Yusuf ibn Ayub, nicknamed Salah ad-din, or Saladin, as the Europeans called him. Easily capturing the rotten Fatimit Caliphate, with which the Crusaders had signed a lengthy peace treaty, Salah ad-Din declared himself the only true defender of Islam. From now on, the Christian states of the crusaders in the Middle East were threatened from the south. Protracted negotiations with Salah ad-Din, who saw his highest destiny in throwing Christians out of the East, did not lead to significant results. From 1171, the most difficult period of wars with Salah ad-din began for the crusaders. This time, an imminent threat looms over Jerusalem, the stronghold of Christianity in the Middle East...

Small in number, actually cut off from the rest of the Christian world, weakened by internecine strife, the crusaders did not even think about further expansion to the Muslim East. The Kingdom of Jerusalem withstood one attack after another. It is quite natural that in such a hopeless situation they had no choice but to make an alliance with the Assassins. It was somewhat strange and unusual to see a Muslim-Crusader squad acting as a joint militia. By and large, the Assassins did not care with whom to fight and on whose side to act. For them, everyone was an enemy - both Christians and Muslims. Wealthy crusader princes, as always, generously paid for the services of hired assassins. Many Arab princes and military leaders fell from the daggers of the Assassins. Even Salah ad-din himself had to endure several unsuccessful assassination attempts, after which he survived only by a lucky chance. However, the alliance between the Crusaders and the Assassins did not last long. Having robbed Ismaili merchants, the king of the Jerusalem kingdom, Conrad of Montferrat, signed his own death warrant. From now on, the Assassins sent assassins to both camps.

It is known for certain that six viziers, three caliphs, dozens of city rulers and clerics, several European rulers, such as Raymond the First, Conrad of Montferrat, the Duke of Bavaria, as well as a prominent public figure, a Persian scholar of antiquity Abul-Mahasin, died at the hands of the Assassins, which provoked the wrath of the Elder of the Mountain, sharply criticizing the Assassins. When the Ismaili state reached its highest power, it was already very different from what Hasan ibn Sabbah laid down. From a medieval commune, the state of Alamut actually turned into a hereditary monarchy with a legalized tribal transfer of power. From among the highest ranks of the Order of the Assassins, their own feudal nobility stood out, which gravitated more towards Sunni liberties than Shiite asceticism. The new nobility preferred a social order in which luxury and wealth were not considered a vice. The gulf between the simple strata of the population of Alamut and the feudal nobility increased more and more. It is for this reason that there were fewer and fewer people willing to sacrifice themselves. After the death of Hassan I ibn Sabbah, his successors were unable to expand the possessions of the state. The slogans proclaimed by Hasan remained unfulfilled. The state of the Assassins was torn apart by acute internal crises. The former power of the Assassins was fading away. Although the Assassins survived the state of the Seljukids, the rise and fall of the great Khorezm power, the founding and collapse of the Middle Eastern states of the crusaders, the Ismaili state of Alamut was inevitably approaching its decline.

The fall of the Fatimit Caliphate had an acute effect on the stability of Alamut. Salah ad-din, having turned the Fatimit caliphate into a state of faithful Mamluk Muslims, began to inflict crushing blows not only on the crusaders. At the end of the XII century, the Mamluk Turks, led by the famous Salah ad-Din, began to invade the Syrian possessions of the Assassins, and with far east countless hordes of the Tatar-Mongol were already stretching. The assassins continued to act, despite the pressure exerted on them by the powerful Salah ad-Din. Sheikh Rashid al-Din Sinan, who at that time held the post of the Elder of the Mountain, was a fairly smart and strong politician who managed to maintain the sovereignty of the Ismaili state of the Assassins through deft maneuvering between Catholics and Sunnis. In the 50s of the XIII century, after the destruction of Khorezm, the troops of Hulagu Khan, the grandson of Genghis Khan, invaded the regions of Western Persia. The weakened Ismaili state fell almost without a fight. The only ones who tried to offer fierce resistance to the invader were the defenders of the mountain fortress of Alamut.

The Tatar-Mongols continuously attacked the Alamut mountain peak for days, until they were able to climb the piles of their corpses to the walls of the mountain fortress. By order of Hulagu Khan, the Tatar-Mongols razed to the ground the mountain fortress of Alamut, the headquarters of the "mountain sheikhs", the rulers of the Assassins, which once inspired terror in the entire civilized world. In 1256, the mountain fortress of Alamut disappeared forever from the face of the earth. Later, in 1273, the Egyptian sultan Baibars destroyed the last refuge of the Assassins in the mountainous regions of Syria. With the fall of the main fortress of the Assassins, the secret knowledge of the Assassins, which they had been accumulating for almost three centuries, was lost forever.

Seven centuries have passed since the fall of the Assassins. Much that is connected with their activities is fanned by legends and rumors. Was it the so-called "secret teachings of the Assassins"? It is difficult to answer now, but other questions arise along the way. How, for example, were suicide assassins trained? One promise of paradise is clearly not enough for a person to lose fear, interest in the world around him and cease to be aware of his actions. The terrorist organization "Islamic Jihad" also promises martyrs a direct path to paradise, but I witnessed how a suicide bomber at the last moment was afraid to set off an explosive device hidden on his body. No, mere brainwashing is not enough to prepare a fail-safe fedayin. What was "initiation"? There must have been something very terrible, the possession of which was too dangerous to keep until today. Probably, we are talking about some kind of synthesis of medieval studies of Jewish cabalism and Islamic mysticism, the possession of which gives unlimited power over other people. Officially, the bloody sect of the Assassins ceased to exist in 1256, after the fortresses of Alamut and Memmudiz fell. Assassins, as before, at the origins of their origin, were forced to disperse over the mountains and go underground. Five years later, the Egyptian Sultan Baibars was able to stop and expel the Tatar-Mongol, but the Assassins never regained their former power.

Under the blows of the Tatar-Mongol, the history of the formidable sect of the Assassins ceased, but the existence of the Ismaili movement continued. The Ismailis lost the state, but kept the faith. In the 18th century, the Shah of Iran officially recognized Ismailism as a branch of Shiism. The current, direct descendant of the last Elder of the Mountain, Prince Aga Khan IV, took over the leadership of the Ismailis in 1957. However, the current Ismailis bear little resemblance to the formidable Assassins who have gone into oblivion.

Medieval Islamic authors disparagingly referred to sectarians as Nizari sectarians as assassins (more precisely, “Hashishiya” - “lower classes, mob”). Members of this religious community, which appeared in the 11th century, considered Abu Mansur Nizar as the legitimate imam. The Nizari subjugated several fortresses in the mountains of Syria and Iran, the first and main of which was the citadel of Alamut, 100 km northwest of Tehran.

Alamut was occupied in 1090, which almost coincided with the arrival of the Crusaders in the Middle East (the first Crusade began in 1096). This period includes the first diplomatic and military clashes between the Nizari and the European knights. At the same time, the word "assassin" entered the European languages, which the crusaders adopted from the Sunni Muslims. Europe learned about the cult of the Assassins, their rituals and way of life, but all the information reached the historiographers in a highly distorted form. An embellished description of the inhabitants of Alamut and their leader Rashid ad-Din Sinan can be found, in particular, in the work of the famous traveler Marco Polo. In the country of Mulect in the old days lived a mountain elder. He divorced big garden in a valley between two mountains. There were the best fruits in the world. He set up there the best houses, the most beautiful palaces; they were gilded. The most beautiful women and maidens in the world were here; they knew how to play all the instruments, sing and dance. The elder ordered to bring young men into this paradise by four, ten, twenty, and this is how: first they would give them a drink, take them sleepy and take them into the garden; there they were awakened. The young man will wake up and, as he sees everything that I described to you, and believes that he is in paradise. If the elder wants to send one of his friends somewhere to kill someone, he orders the young men to drink, and when they fall asleep, he orders them to be transferred to his palace. The young men will wake up in the palace, they will be amazed, but they will not rejoice, because they would never leave paradise of their own free will. They go to the elder and, revering him as a prophet, humbly bow to him. ... he will choose from among his assassins and, wherever he wishes, he sends him there. And he tells him that he wants to send him to paradise, and therefore he would go there and kill such and such, and if he himself is killed, he will immediately go to paradise. Whoever the elder so orders, willingly did everything he could; He went and did everything that the elder ordered him to do. I will tell you the truth, many kings and barons, out of fear, paid tribute to the elder and were friends with him.. Sectarians resorted to assassination as an effective method of political pressure. One of the victims of the Assassins was the vizier of the Seljuk Empire, Nizam al-Mulk, who was killed on the road from Isfahan to Baghdad on October 14, 1092. The assassin, disguised as a mendicant monk - a dervish, was able to get close to the vizier's palanquin and strike with a dagger.

Europeans also became victims of cultists. On April 28, 1192, Conrad of Montferrat, the Italian margrave, was returning to his home in Tire (Lebanese territory) from a friend, Bishop Philip de Dreux. On the road, two disguised Nizari were waiting for the knight. The murder of Conrad was not accidental: a few days later he was to take the throne of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Assassin order would lose its influence after the Mongol conquest in the middle of the 13th century. From the examples available to us, it follows that the Assassins used a variety of disguises, but there is nothing to indicate that the Nizari hid their faces under hoods, as the characters in the film and the Assassin's Creed game series do. The fabric that falls in symmetrical folds over the shoulders of Michael Fassbender's character Aguilar is the work of costume designer Sammy Sheldon Differ. The Russian premiere of "Assassin's Creed" will take place on January 5. On the territory of the Russian Federation, the film by Justin Kurzel will be presented by the film studio 20th Century Fox.

Photo: 20th Century Fox CIS

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  Photo: 20th Century Fox CIS

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  Photo: 20th Century Fox CIS

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  Photo: 20th Century Fox CIS

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  Photo: 20th Century Fox CIS

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Near East, middle Asia, like medieval Europe, in the IX-XI centuries experienced an acute political crisis. In this region of the planet, the mass migration of peoples was much larger than on the European continent. political map redrawn at kaleidoscopic speed. Following the Arabs, who managed to conquer vast territories, Turkic tribes came to these lands. Some empires and states disappeared, and much more powerful state formations appeared in their place. The political struggle had a clear religious connotation and sometimes took the most unexpected forms - conspiracies and coup d'état alternated with endless wars.

Political assassination is becoming a favorite tool of Eastern politics. The word assassin is firmly included in the everyday life of the political elite, personifying a merciless and tough hired killer. Not a single ruler of the East, political figure could not guarantee complete security. At any moment, one could become a victim of an insidious killer. It was during this historical period that the most mysterious and closed religious-state formation, the Order of the Assassins, flourished.

The Order was a small state formation, which became the most radical branch of Islam and was distinguished by extremely radical views. For the next whole century, the Assassins kept the entire Middle East at bay, personifying the most brutal methods of political pressure.

Assassin - who is it? A brief excursion into history

It has already been said above that the Middle East in the 10th-11th centuries was a boiling socio-political cauldron, in which sharp political, social, social and religious contradictions were combined.

Egypt became the epicenter of the acute socio-political crisis, where the political struggle reached its highest boiling point. The ruling Fatimid dynasty could not cope with other political opponents. The country plunged into civil armed confrontation. Do not sit idly by, and aggressive neighbors. The Ismailis, the Shiite branch of Islam, found themselves between a rock and a hard place under such conditions, risking becoming a victim of an acute social, social and religious conflict. One of the branches of the Ismailis, the Nizari, was headed by Hassan ibn Sabbah. It was under his leadership that a large group of Nizari was forced to leave Egypt, going to seek refuge. The end point of long wanderings was the central, hard-to-reach mountainous regions of Persia, which at that time was part of the Seljuk state. Here Hassan ibn Sabbah, together with his companions, decided to found a new Ismaili Nizari state.

The fortress of Alamut, captured by the Ismailis in 1090, became the stronghold and center of the new power. Following Alamut, other neighboring cities and fortresses of the Iranian Highlands quickly submitted to the new owners. The birth of a new state coincided with the beginning of the Crusades, which plunged the entire Middle East into a long bloody confrontation. Using his influence, Hasan-ibn-Sabbah managed to introduce a new form into the structure of state administration - a religious order, which was based on the religious cult, rituals and traditions of the Nazarites. Hasan-ibn-Sabbah headed the order, who received the title of sheikh, and the Alamut fortress became the symbol of the new order.

The rulers of the neighboring principalities and the central government of the Seljuk state treated the newcomers with disdain and looked at them as rebels and rebels. Companions of Hasan-ibn-Sabbah, the population of the new state and the Nazarites in general, were casually called by the ruling Seljuk and Syrian elite the mob - hashshashins. Subsequently, with the light hand of the crusaders, the Sunni name assassin came into use, which no longer meant a person’s class affiliation, but his professional qualities, social and social status, and religious and ideological worldview.

Sheikh Hassan I, thanks to his personal qualities, was well versed in the political situation. As a result of his foreign policy, the Ismaili state and the Order of the Assassins not only managed to withstand the confrontation with the central government. The internal political strife that engulfed the Seljuk state after the death of Sultan Malik Shah contributed to the rise of the order and the political influence of the Assassins on the politics of the world order. The Order became an unspoken political subject of foreign policy, and the Assassins themselves began to be considered religious fanatics who were capable of taking the most extreme measures for ideological motives, of course, for material and political gain.

The state of the Nizari existed for a century and a half, until 1256, having managed during this period to unite under its command the vast territories of modern Lebanon, Iraq, Syria and Iran. This was facilitated by a fairly rigid system of governance, built on unquestioning obedience to Sharia law, and a communal system of social and public relations. There was no division into classes in the state, and the entire population was united in communities. The supreme power belonged to the supreme spiritual and religious mentor - the leader.

The centralized state of the Assassins was defeated by the Mongols who came to Iran from the east. The Middle Eastern possessions were under the rule of the Assassins for the longest time, which were lost in 1272 as a result of the military campaign of the Egyptian Sultan Baybars I. However, the loss of statehood did not mean the end of the existence of the Assassin order. Since that time, a new stage in the life of this organization begins, which completely and completely switched to conducting subversive, sabotage and espionage activities.

The origins of the real strength and power of the Assassins

At the peak of their power, the state and the order represented a real political force in the Muslim world. Assassin is not just a name for radical religious fanatics. Just one mention of them terrified the ruling and political elite. The Assassins, not without reason, were considered masters of political terror, professional killers and, in general, a criminal organization. The influence of the order was not limited to the borders of the Muslim world. The Europeans also faced the cunning and power of the order to the fullest extent.

Such a policy was the result of a well-thought-out ideological and political move. Hassan I, being the supreme leader of the Nazarites, realized that without a powerful army, any defense strategy is doomed to failure. An ingenious way out of this situation was found. Unlike neighboring states and principalities, which invest huge amounts of money and resources to maintain the army, Hassan created an order - a secret and closed organization, a kind of special forces of that time.

The task of the new intelligence service was to eliminate political opponents and opponents, whose decisions could negatively affect the existence of the state of the Nazarites. Political terror was put at the forefront of the politics of the Assassin Order. The methods and methods used to achieve results were chosen as the most radical - political blackmail and the physical elimination of the enemy. The main driving force of the order was the fanatical devotion of the members of the organization to their spiritual and religious mentor. This was facilitated by the technology of vocational training, which was mandatory for every member of the order.

The main conditions for membership in the order were the following aspects:

• complete indifference to one's own life, disregard for death;
• fostering a sense of self-sacrifice and devotion to religious ideals;
• unquestioning obedience to the will of the leader of the order;
• high moral and physical qualities.

In the order, as in the whole state, heavenly rewards were promoted in exchange for unquestioning obedience to the will of the religious leader. In the usual view of that time, an assassin is a young man of strong physique, selflessly devoted to the ideas of Sharia and sacredly believing in the high divine position of his patron. Teenagers of 12-14 years old were recruited into the order, who underwent the most severe competitive selection. From day one, recruits were instilled with a sense of being chosen to achieve lofty goals.

It is generally accepted that the ideological and religious aspects are the main aspects of the solid structure of the order. However, its real strength rested not only on the high moral qualities of its members. Professional training, which the assassins were engaged in from morning to evening, during breaks for prayer, gave excellent results. The warriors of the medieval special forces were fluent in any weapon and hand-to-hand combat techniques. The assassin was excellent at riding, could accurately shoot a bow, was distinguished by endurance and good physical strength.

In addition, the training program included practical and theoretical knowledge in the field of chemistry and medicine. The art of the Assassins in the use of poisons has reached perfection. There is a theory that Catherine de Medici, being skilled craftsman on poisoning with poisons, she received lessons in this craft from the Assassins.

Finally

In a word, the training of spies and professional assassins from Sheikh Hassan I was put on stream. The results of such a thorough and comprehensive preparation were not long in coming. Notoriety about the power of the order quickly spread throughout the world. Thanks to his servants, Hassan I, nicknamed in the Islamic world and far beyond the Mountain Elder, managed not only to achieve his goals, but also to put political terror on stream. The Nizari state managed to exist for quite a long period, successfully playing on the political contradictions of its stronger neighbors.

As for the Order of the Assassins, this organization has become not only an instrument of Nizari foreign policy, but also a significant source of income. The rulers and politicians of different countries and states did not disdain to use the services of professional assassins and spies, solving their political issues in order to achieve certain goals.