The Assassin Legends: Myths of the Isma'ilis

The Assassin Legends: Myths of the Isma'ilis For centuries, the legend of the Assassins has captivated Western imagination, with tales of a mysterious leader and a remote stronghold in Northern Iran. These stories first emerged in the 12th and 13th centuries, when Crusaders in Syria encountered the Nazari Isma'ilis, a community of Shi'ite Islam who carried out perilous missions to kill their enemies. The myths have since evolved, with Marco Polo's account of the "Old Man of the Mountain" controlling his followers through hashish and a secret garden of paradise becoming an enduring part of the narrative. Farhad Daftary explores the origins and early development of these legends, examining the historical context in which they were fabricated and transmitted. He also provides the first English translation of French orientalist Silvestre de Sacy's famous 19th-century "Memoire" on the Assassins. This book offers a fascinating insight into the medieval Muslim world and the medieval European ignorance of it. By tracing the evolution of the legends, Daftary reveals an extraordinary programme of propaganda rooted in the medieval Muslim world and medieval Europe's limited understanding of it.