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assassin

A Dictionary of World History

assassin (from the Arabic hashishiyun, ‘smoker of hashish’) A member of a secret sect of the ISMAILI branch of Shiite Islam. It was founded by Hasan ibn al-Sabbah in 1078 to support the claim of Nizar to the FATIMID caliphate and a headquarters was established at Alamut in north-west Persia. The assassins wielded influence through suicide squads of political murderers, convinced that they would earn a place in paradise if they died while obeying orders.

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© A Dictionary of World History 2000, originally published by Oxford University Press 2000.

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