The first Assassin leader in Aleppo was al-Ḥakīm al-Munajjim, or “the physician-astrologer.” His first target was Janāḥ al-Dawla, an enemy of Riḍwān, who was killed on May 1, 1103. Little is known behind the motive of this murder, but it could have been that as allies of Riḍwān, the Assassins were also under his service. Two or three weeks after the assassination, al-Ḥakīm al-Munajjim died and was succeeded by Abū Ṭāhir al-Ṣā’igh.

 

Beyond Aleppo, Abū Ṭāhir sought to expand the sect south to Afāmiya, a city that had been taken from Riḍwān in 1096 by Khalaf ibn Mulā’ib, a Fāṭimid, not Nizārī, Ismā’īlī. Khalaf fell victim to the Assassins on Feb. 3, 1106, killed by six fidā’ī and sufficient local support. After the successful murder, Abū Ṭāhir himself led his men to Afāmiya, but the entire operation was dissolved by a crusader prince named Tancred, who forced Abū Ṭāhir’s men into surrender.

 

The Assassins were allowed to retreat back to Aleppo, where they remained for the next few years. In 1113, the sect took the life of Mawdūd, the Seljūk emir of Mosul, marking another huge success. However, later that year, on Dec. 10, Riḍwān died and was succeeded by his son, Alp Arslan.

 

During the existence of the Nizārī Ismā’īlīs in Aleppo, the townspeople became dissatisfied with their presence. With the death of Riḍwān, their support held on by a thread, as the still-impressionable Alp Arslan became more and more convinced by other Seljūk rulers that the Assassins were a threat, that thread began to unwind.

 

Ibn Badī’, the emir in Aleppo, slowly chiseled his way into the mind of the ruler, eventually convincing him to take his side against the Nizārīs. Ibn Badī’ himself arrested and slaughtered the leaders of the sect and their relatives. This included Abū Ṭāhir. The rest of the sect was killed and scattered, the survivors fleeing to Persia. At this point, the Assassins had only been in Syria for a little more than a decade.

 

Nevertheless, some of the sect stayed in Syria. In 1119, when Ibn Badī’ was exiled from Aleppo and was on his way to Mardin, he never suspected to have company awaiting him at the Euphrates River. Several Assassins executed ibn Badī and his two sons where they stood. This was just one of their many revenge coups.

 

The second time the Assassins attempted to infiltrate Syria, they looked to Damascus, and they were led by a Persian named Bahrām, the nephew of Abu Ibrahim Asadabadi, who was a secret Ismā’īlī killed by the men of a Seljūk sultan. Asadabadi was famed for his last words, “Very well, you have killed me - but can you kill those in the castles?”

 

It was Bahrām who brought new light to the sect when his cooperation with Tughtigin, the ruler of Damascus. After showing impressive credentials, the Damascene ruler not only granted him the castle of Bānyās on the border of Latin-owned Jerusalem, but he also gave them a palace in Damascus.

 

Bahrām’s most impressive assassination was in 1121 of al-Afḍal, a vizier in Cairo and one of the players in the death of Nizār. From the now-restored castle of Bānyās, Bahrām set out on a mission to convert the surrounding countries. Little did he know this would lead to his demise.

 

For unknown reasons, Baraq ibn Jandal, the chief of one of the heretical sects living in the land near Bānyās, was killed by the Nizārīs. When they arrived at Wādi al-Taym, the brother of Baraq, Ḍaḥḥāk ibn Jandal, awaited them with his people, ready for revenge. The two sects clashed, and the Assassins were left defeated, and Bahrām was slaughtered.

 

Bahrām was succeeded by Ismā’īl al-’Ajamī, another Persian. Of the few assassinations ordered under Ismā’īl was al-Āmir, the caliph of Cairo, in 1030. After this great blow to the Fāṭimid enemy, the Nizārī grip on Syria started to slip away.

 

Support from the court of Tughtigin continued until his death in 1128. Like Aleppo, the people of Damascus were not pleased with the Assassins, and after a bit of political conflict, the Assassins were massacred. While still at Bānyās, Ismā’īl surrendered the castle to the Franks of Jerusalem and fled to their territory where he died in 1130.

 

After this time, some important events are highlighted by chroniclers, but the overall presence of the Assassins is so insignificant that it is unknown who the leader or leaders were between the time of 1130 and 1164. One name, ‘Alī ibn Wafā’, who fought with Raymond of Antioch and was slain in battle in 1149, was noted as an Assassin leader. Two assassinations were highlighted: the murders of Ḍaḥḥāk ibn Jandal in 1149 and Count Raymond II of Tripoli sometime in 1150/1.

 

In addition, the Assassins also acquired several important castles during this time. First came Qadmus, which was sold to the Assassins. Al-Kahf was also given to them after the leader was unable to find a suitable heir. Maṣyāf was captured in 1140/1, and it became the most successful of the Nizārī strongholds in Syria. Rusafa and other smaller castles were also acquired during this time.

 

Sinān ibn Salmān ibn Muḥammad (aka Rashīd al-Dīn Sinān) was sent to Syria in 1164 by Ḥasan II, the current ruler of Alamūt, as a dā’ī. His mission was to spread the new teaching of Ḥasan II and his qiyāma, or Resurrection. Through unknown circumstances, he gathered a following in Syria and became the Nizārī leader there.

 

Under Sinān, the Syrian Assassins no longer took orders from Alamūt and they did not abide for long under the new theological rule of Ḥasan II. While the Nizārīs in Syria did not regard Sinān as the imām, they still believed he had divine influence, and some stories even speak of his “super powers.” Eventually, the Syrian leader gained the title of Old Man on the Mountain, and was called that by several outsiders, including Marco Polo.

 

The career of Sinān was prosperous and successful, something the Syrian Assassins hadn’t ever seen before. He began by fortifying and even constructing fortresses, stretching the Nizārī territory to new lengths and establishing dominance within the lands of his adversaries. One of his most notable enemies was Saladin, a sultan from Egypt and an individual whose tongue lashed in the direction of the Nizārīs.

 

Two assassination attempts on Saladin proved unsuccessful, after which he launched an attack on Maṣyāf. All accounts of this battle say Saladin retreated, but each account had different reasons. Nevertheless, Saladin and Sinān eventually became friendly after his assassins were able to infiltrate Saladin’s closest companions. He was never murdered; instead the two enemies assumed a truce.

 

The most impressive assassination during the rule of Sinān was of Conrad of Monterrat, the would-be Latin king of Jerusalem. He was slain on the day of his crowning by two Assassins disguised as Christian monks. There was controversy within the event, as one Assassin reportedly claimed he was sent by King Richard, but the story behind it was unlikely.

 

After one of the most successful reigns of any Assassin leader, Sinān, the Old Man of the Mountain, died sometime between 1192-94. He was succeeded by Naṣr al-’Ajamī, another Persian. Under Naṣr, the Syrian half of the sect was once more placed under the rule of Alamūt and very few assassinations were performed outside of a few murdered crusaders.

 

In the mid-13th century, the Mongolians devastated the Persian Assassins, and the Syrian half of the sect aligned with their Sunnī contemporaries to fight back. However, a new power rose from the west: Baybars, the Mamluk sultan of Egypt.

 

Several assassination plots were organized against Baybars and his emirs by Shams al-Dīn, an Assassin leader at the time. However, none of the plans came into fruition before Baybars stopped him. Oddly, Baybars never had Shams killed; instead, he kept relocating him, his final destination being Egypt.

​

The Assassins found themselves paying tribute to Baybars who eventually released them, letting them scatter across the region. According to several sources, Baybars had the Assassins work under his delegation. This lasted for a very short period, but it the assassination attempt on Prince Edward I was issued by him.

 

Some Assassin castles resisted the armies of Baybars, but they all eventually fell by 1273.

 

For the next article, click here.