The Assassins (also known as Nizaris) were a sect of the Ismailis in the
Middle Ages. They had castles in the north of Iran at Alamut and
elsewhere and also in Syria, where their chief was known to the
Crusaders as the Old Man of the Mountains. They are the first group in
history to have made systematic use of political murder (our word
"assassin" is a corruption of one of their nicknames) and their founder
Hasan-i-Sabbah has been compared to Osama bin Laden.
However, there is much more to their story than this. The Assassins had
an extraordinary philosophical and mystical system and there are
resemblances here to Sufism. The Aga Khan is a lineal descendant of the
Nizaris of Iran. Their remarkable story is presented here.
