The Ismaili assassins : a history of medieval murder

259 Pages·2008·2.13 MB·English

by  James Waterson

We are the puppets and the firmament is the puppet master,
In actual fact and not as a metaphor;
For a time we acted on this stage,
We went back one by one into the box of oblivion.
Early twelfth century, Persia.

For A&B&37
Frontline Books, London
The Ismaili Assassins This edition published in 2008 by Frontline Books, an
imprint of Pen and Sword Books Ltd, 47 Church Street, Barnsley, S. Yorkshire,
S70 2AS www.frontline-books.com
Copyright © James Waterson, 2008
Foreword © David Morgan, 2008
ISBN: 978-1-84832-505-0
eISBN: 9781783461509
The right of James Waterson to be identified as the author of this work has been
asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of
1988.
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C
ONTENTS
List of Maps and Illustrations
Acknowledgements
Foreword
Timeline of Key Events
Genealogical and Succession Tables
A Note on Transliteration, Titles and Dates
Maps
Introduction
1 A House Divided: The Origins of the Ismaili Assassins
2 Statehood and Separation: The Assassins are Born
3 Whetting the Blade: Assassination as War
4 New Blood in a New Land: The Assassins in Syria
5 The Gathering Tempest: New Enemies for the Persian Mission
6 The White Donkey and the War Charger: Sinan and Saladin
7 Destruction in the Homeland: The Mongol Conquest of Persia
8 Mamluks, Mongols and Crusading Kings: The End of the Syrian Mission
9 Both Forgotten and Remembered: The Meaning and The Myth of the
Assassins
Further Reading
M I
APS AND LLUSTRATIONS
M
APS
1 Persia, Iraq and Central Asia: The Assassin Castles and Major Cities
2 Syria and Palestine: The Major Centres, Battlefields and Assassin Castles
I (C )
LLUSTRATIONS OLOUR
1 Bukhara, which was sacked in 1220 by Chinggis Khan 2 Isfahan main
mosque compound
3 The classic novel Alamut by Vladimir Bartol 4 The caliph before Hulegu
5 Rustam slaying the White Div
6 Ala al-Din Muhammad drugging his disciples 7 The garden of the Old Man
of the Mountain 8 The siege of a Turanian stronghold
9 Bird-shaped vessel, twelfth century 10 The Prophet enthroned and four
orthodox caliphs 11 Kay Kavus and Kay Khusraw approach the Fire Temple
12 A Sufi riding a leopard, from a copy of the Bustan 13 Hulegu above the
gates of Alamut after its surender 14 An iwan of the city of Qazvin’s main
mosque 15 The mausoleum of Sultan Sanjar
16 The Assassins in modern culture
I (B W )
LLUSTRATIONS LACK AND HITE
1 Jerusalem, which fell to Saladin in 1187
2 Founder and first master of the Assassins, Hasan-i-Sabbah 3 Famous
mathematician and poet, Omar Khayyam 4 The tomb of Saladin
5 Sufis from the late Ottoman Empire 6 The Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem
7 The citadel of Aleppo