Were there assassins?
They can often be found in the media, in computer games they fearlessly fight Templars and other opponents. But did these assassins really exist? Do you also wonder why they are so legendary? Why were they fearless and radical? To understand this, one has to know the genesis of this particular sect. Assassins stayed for approx. Very active for 200 years, today they are a myth.
There were assassins in the Middle Ages
In the Middle Ages in the 11th Century a legendary political group to this day, whose headquarters were in the mountains of Syria and Persia. This Ismaili group lived in strict asceticism and served the purpose of restoring the basic Islamic order - the state of God.
- Hassan-i Sabbahs was one of the founders of this sect, he split off from the Imamites and made a pilgrimage to the east towards Persia. His destination was Mount Alamut, where he had his staunch supporters build the large and for many years impregnable castle Alamut. He specifically sent out his assassins for you in his Names killed certain people.
- The "old man from the mountain", the counterpart to Hassen-i Sabbah, lived in Syria. You have probably heard of him too, because he is often wrongly named as the founder of the sect. Its headquarters were in Masyaf Castle. He was much more aggressive than Sabbah. He was able to break away from Syria through his rocking policy, which he pursued with crusaders and Hospitallers. Masyaf became independent from Alamut.
- In the 13th In the 19th century, the Mamluk Sultan Baibar ended the existence of the independent sect of the Assassins. He feared they might turn against him. He used his generals as liege lords in the assassin areas and thus consolidated his position until the assassin leaders finally had to hand over their castles.
This is what the assassins did
- Out of their strict faith and out of conviction, they murdered on behalf of their head, without taking their own survival into account. Their murder weapon was always a dagger, they killed face to face and named their client. They were aware that there was a high probability that they would be caught and also executed. They are considered to be the forerunners of today's suicide bombers.
- As a civilian, should you have been afraid of the assassins? The answer is no. Assassins never killed civilians; their victims were always religious leaders. The aim was to hit the "brain" of the enemy, not his arm. The number of their victims remained relatively small, as they were only killed consciously and deliberately.
- The Fida-i - as the assassins trained for the assassination were called - were able to mingle with the people completely undetected. They acted as "sleepers" there until the right moment came. They killed their victim and accepted their own death.
The Assassins were a legendary band of assassins, who at the time of the ...
There are many myths about the assassins
- Do you also associate the consumption of hashish with the term assassins? It is often said that Hassan-i Sabbah first stunned his future assassins with a sleeping potion. They should then be awakened again in a paradise garden, in which all the joys of earthly life are offered to them. In order to be able to re-enter this paradise, they would have to sacrifice themselves for their conviction, to commit a political murder. Hassan-i Sabbah is also said to have regularly intoxicated his assassins with hashish and thus made them submissive. However, none of this is proven.
- However, there is evidence of the strict asceticism that all his followers had to live by, and he did not tolerate any missteps. Hassan-i Sabbah had his own sons executed for misconduct.
There were assassins, for 200 years they caused fear and horror among high-ranking politicians in Syria and Persia, Christians were largely spared from them. Today you meet assassins in computer games, they fight fearlessly and mostly very successfully.
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