The Assassins (26 page)

17 Rashid al-Din, 169; cf. Juvayni, 238/696; Kashani, 188 (with some extracts from pious Ismaili eulogies of Hasan).

1 8 Juvayni, 239/697; cf. Rashid al-Din, 169-7o; Kashani, 191; Hodgson, 157-9.

19 Rashid al-Din, 17o-3; cf. Kashani, 192-4; Hodgson, 183.

20 P. Kraus, `Les "Controverses" de Fakhr al-Din Razi', in BIE, xix (1936-7), 206 if. (English version in IC, xii, 1938, 146 ff.).

21 Juvayni, 241-4/698-701; cf. Rashid al-Din, 174 ff.; Kashani, 198 ff.; Hodgson, 217 if.

22 Juvayni, 247/702-3; Kashani, 199; Hodgson, 224-5.

23 Juvayni, 248/703; cf. Rashid al-Din, 177-8; Kashani, 200-1.

24 Juvayni, 249/703-4; cf. Rashid al-Din, 178; Kashani, 2oi.

25 Hammer, History of the Assassins, 154-5.

26 Nasir al-Din Tusi, Rawdat al-taslim, text, 49, translation, 67-8; cf. Hodgson, 229-31-

27 Juvayni, 249-53/704-7; cf. Rashid al-Din, 179 ff.; Kashani, 201 if.

28 Mohammed en-Nesawi [Nasawi], Histoire du Sultan Djelal edDin Mankobirti, ed. 0. Houdas, Paris 1891, 132-4; French translation, Paris 1895, 220-3. A nearly contemporary Persian translation was edited by Prof. Mujtaba Minovi, Sirat-e Jelaloddin, Tehran 1965, 163-6.

29 Nasawi, Arabic text, 214-5; French translation, 358-9; Persian text, 232-3.

3o Rashid al-Din, 181; cf. Kashani, 205; Hodgson, 257.

31 Juvayni, 253-6/707-9; cf. Rashid al-Din, 182-4; Kashani, 205-6.

32 Minhaj-i Siraj Juzjani, Tabagdt-i Ndsiri, ed. Abdul Hai Habibi, 2nd edn., i, Kabul 1964, 182-3; English trans. H. G. Raverty, ii, I 197-8.

33 Juvayni, 26o/712-3; cf. Rashid al-Din, 185-6; Kashani, 207.

34 Juvayni, 265/716; cf. Rashid al-Din, 189; Kashani, 209.

35 Juvayni 267/717; cf. Rashid a]-Din, 19o; Kashani, 210.

36 Rashid al-Din, 192. Kashani, 213, calls her a Turk; Juvayni, 274/ 722 goes further, and makes her a low-class Turk. On this point see Prof. Boyle's note on p. 722 of his translation. On the camel story also Juvayni and Kashani agree on a version slightly different from that of Rashid al-Din (213)-

37 Juvayni, 136/6367.

38 Juvayni, 277/724-5; cf. Rashid al-Din, 194; Kashani, 215.

39 Juvayni, 139-42/639-40.

40 Juvayni, 278/725; cf. Rashid al-Din, i94-5; Kashani, 215. The final quotation is from the Qur'an, vi, ii6.

Chapter 5 (pages 9,- 124)

Much has been written about the history of the Assassins in Syria. The most recent general accounts will be found in the relevant sections of Hodgson's Assassins and in B. Lewis, `The Isma'ilites and the Assassins', Chapter 4 of K. M. Setton (editor-in-chief), A history of the Crusades, i, ed. M. W. Baldwin, The first hundred years, Philadelphia 1955, 99-132, where full references to sources are given. Earlier literature is surveyed in B. Lewis, `The sources for the history of the Syrian Assassins', in Speculum, xxvii (1952), 475-89. Among older studies, two articles by Ch. Defremery, `Nouvelles recherches sur les Ismaeliens ou Bathiniens de Syrie', in JA, 5e serie, iii (1854), 373-421 and v (1855), 5-76, still deserve attention. More recent work includes B. Lewis, `Saladin and the Assassins', in BSOAS, xv (1953), 239-45; J. J. Saunders, Aspects of the Crusades, Christchurch, New Zealand, 1962, Chapter iii (The role of the Assassins), 22-7; and an unpublished thesis, Nasseh Ahmad Mirza, The Syrian Ismd'dis at the time of the Crusades, Ph.D. Durham, 1963.

Of late, Syrian Ismaili authors have begun to publish both texts and studies. So far the texts have all been of primarily doctrinal content, and offer little of direct historical interest. Some information may be gathered from a modern biographical dictionary, based in part on traditional materials, by Mustafa Ghalib, 4'ldm al-Ismd`iliyya, Beirut 1964, and from a number of articles by 'Arif Tamir in Arabic journals, including some early evidence: `Sinan Rashid al-Din aw Shaykh al-jabal', in.41-Adib, May 1953, 43-s; `Al-Amir Mazyad al-Hilli al-Asadi, Sha'ir Sinan Shaykh al-jabal', in i11- 4dib, August 1953, 53-6; `Al-Sha'ir al-Maghmur: al-Amir Mazyad al-Hilli al-Asadi', in .41-Hikma, January 1954, 49-55; `Al-Firqa al-Isma'iliyya al-Batiniyya al-Suriyya', in A1-Hikma, February 1954, 37-40; `Al-Fatra al-mansiyya min ta'rikh al-Isma'iliyyin al-Suriyyin', in Al-Hikma, July 1954,10-13; `Safahat aghfalaha al-ta'r1ch `an al-firga al-Ism5'iliyya al-Suriyya', in Al-Hikma, September 1954, 39-41; `Fura' al-shajara al-Isma`iliyya al-imamiyya', in X41-Mashriq, (1957), 581-612 (including the text of a letter from Jalal al-Din Hasan, lord of Alamut, to the Ismailis in Syria - 601-3). Mr Tamir has also published an article in English, `Bahram b. Musa: the supreme Ismaili agent', in Ismaili News (Uganda), 21 March 1954, and an Arabic historical novel, Sindn wa-Saldh al-Din, Beirut 1956, as well as a considerable number of texts.

From what has come to light so far, it would seem that the Ismailis of Syria preserved no histories comparable with the chronicles of Alamut cited by Juvayni and other Persian historians. An Ismaili biography of Sinan, the most important of the Syrian chiefs, is late, hagiographic, and of limited historical value. The text was published, with French translation, by S. Guyard, 'Un grand maitre des Assassins au temps de Saladin', in J.4, 7° serie, ix (1877), 324-489, and republished by Mehmed $erefiiddin [Yaltkaya] in Darulfunun Ilahiyat Fakaltesi Mecmuast, ii/7 (Istanbul 1928), 45-71. Some evidence of Ismaili provenance is cited in the life of Sinan, included in Kamal al-Din Ibn al-'Adim's unpublished biographical dictionary of Aleppo; text, with translation and commentary, in B. Lewis, `Kamal al-Din's biography of Rashid al-Din Sinan', in Arabica, xiii (1966).

Apart from a few such fragmentary survivals, and the local inscriptions (on which see M. van Berchem, `Epigraphie des Assassins de Syrie', in JA, 9° serie, ix (1897), 453-501), the historian of the Syrian Assassins must rely on the general sources for the history of Syria in the period.

i Arabic text in B. Lewis, `Three biographies from Kamal al-Din', in Melanges Fuad Kopriilu, Istanbul 1953, 336.

2 Kamal al-Din Ibn al-'Adim, Zubdat al-halab min ta'rikh Halab, ed. Sami Dahan, ii, Damascus 1954, 532-3-

3 Ibn al-Qalanisi, History of Damascus, ed. H. F. Amedroz, Beirut 19o8, 215; English translation by H. A. R. Gibb, The Damascus chronicle of the Crusades, London 1932, 179.

4 Kamal al-Din, Zubda, ii, 235•

5 Ibn al-Qalanisi, 221; English trans., 187-8.

6 Ibn al-Qalanisi, 223; English trans., 193.

7 Rashid al-Din, 145; Kashani,167. Both give the date of the murder as 524 A.H. The Syrian sources agree that Buri was attacked in 525 and died in 526 A.H. According to one report his attackers used poisoned daggers. The use of poison is not confirmed by the contemporary sources, and seems very unlikely.

8 B. Lewis, `Kamal al-Din's biography of Rashid al-Din Sinan' 231-2.

9 B. Lewis, `Kamal al-Din's biography...', 230.

1o Kamal al-Din, Zubda, Ms. Paris, Arabe 1666, fol. 193b if.

ii Lewis, `Kamal al-Din's biography...', 231.

tz ibid., io-i i. The first of `the Bee' and the last of `Sad' are verses from the Qur'an. They read: `The decree of God has come, seek not to hasten it; glory be to Him and exalted be He away from all that they associate (with Him)' (xvi.t). `Ye shall surely know the story of it after a while' (xxxviii, 88).

13 ibid., 12-13-

14 Muhammad al-Hamawi, Al-Ta'rikh al-Mansuri, ed. P. A. Gryazneviit, Moscow 196o, fols. 1 64 a and b, i 66b-i 67a, 17ob.

1 5 Joinville, chapter lxxxix, 307.

16 Magrizi, Kitab al-Suluk, ed. M. M. Ziyada, i, Cairo 1943, 543; French translation E. Quatremere, Histoire des sultans mamlouks, i/2, Paris 1837, 245; `Ayni, in RHC, historiens orientaux, ii/a, Paris 1887, 223. See further. Defremery, `Nouvelles recherches .. ', 50-1.

17 Ibn Batttua, Voyages, ed. and French trans. by Ch. Defremery and B. R. Sanguinetti, i, Paris 1853, 166-7; cf. English translation by H. A. R. Gibb, The travels of Ibn Battuta, i, Cambridge 1958, io6.

18 Registers for the district of Masyaf, in the province of Hama, and for the group of districts called Qila' al-da`wa (Castles of the mission) in the province of Tripoli. These consist of Khawabi, Kahf, 'Ulayqa, Qadmus, and Maniga. A study of these registers is in progress. On more recent history see N. N. Lewis, `The Isma'ilis of Syria today', in RCASJ, xxxix (1952), 69-77.

Chapter G (pages 725--140)

Some discussion of the methods, purposes, and significance of the Ismailis will be found in the works already cited, especially those of Hodgson and Bertel's. Briefer characterizations are given in articles by D. S. Margoliouth ('Assassins' in Hastings Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics) and, more recently, by R. Gelpke ('Der Geheimbund von Alamut - Legende and Wirklichkeit', in Antaios, viii, 1966, 269-93)An important aspect of the religious evolution of Ismailism is discussed by Henry Corbin, `De la gnose antique a la gnose ismaelienne', in Convegno di scienge morali storiche e filologiche z956: Oriente ed Occidente nel medio evo, Rome 1957, 105-46.

Muslim views on the problems of authority and of tyranny have been discussed by Miss Ann K. S. Lambton ('The problem of the unrighteous ruler', in International Islamic Colloquium, Lahore 1960, 61-3; eadem, `Quis custodiet custodes: some reflections on the Persian theory of government', in SI, v, 1956, 125-48; vi, 1956, 125-46; `Justice in the medieval Persian theory of kingship', in SI, xvii, 1962, 91-119); by H. A. R. Gibb (Studies on the civilization of Islam, London 1962, 141 ff.); by G. E. von Grunebaum (Islam: essays in the nature and growth of a cultural tradition, London 1955, 127-4o, and Medieval Islam, 2nd edn., Chicago 1953, 142-69). There appears to be no study of assassination as such, but it may be noted that aninth-century author in Baghdad wrote a history of the murders and assassinations of prominent people (Muhammad ibn Habib, Asmd' al-mughtalin min alashraf, ed. `Abd al-Salam Harun, in Nawadir al-makhtutdt, 6-7, Cairo 1954-5). The Muslim law on killing - both as a crime and as a punishment - is discussed by J. Schacht, article `Katl' in EI(z).

The most recent treatment of Muslim messianism is that of Emanuel Sarkisyanz (Russland and der Messianismus des Orients, Tubingen 1955, 223 ff.). Earlier discussions include: J. Darmesteter, Le Mahdi, Paris 1885; E. Blochet, Le Messianisme dans l'heterodoxie musulmane, Paris 1903; D. S. Margoliouth, `Mahdi', in Hastings Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics; C. Snouck Hurgronje, `Der Mahdi', in Verspreide Geschriften, i, Bonn 1923, 147-81; D. B. MacDonald, `Al-Mahdi', in EI(z ).

The men's societies in Islam - guilds, train-bands, religious orders, etc. - have formed the subject of an extensive literature, of which a few examples, dealing with different aspects, must suffice: Cl. Cahen, `Mouvements populaires et autonomisme urbain dans I'Asie musul- mane du moyen age', in Arabica, v (1958), 225-50; vi (1959), 25-56, 223-65; H. J. Kissling, `Die islamischen Derwischorden', in Zeitschrift fur Religions - and Geistesgeschichte, xii (1960), 1-16; EI(2), articles "Ayyar' (by F. Taeschner), `Darwish' (by D. B. MacDonald) and `Futuwwa' by C. Cahen and F. Taeschner).

i For the evidence in support of this interpretation of the first civil war in Islam, see Laura Veccia Vaglieri, `I1 conflitto 'Ali- Mu`awiya e la secessione kharigita ...', in Annali dell' Istituto Universitario Orientale di Napoli, n.s. iv (1952), 1-94.

2 On an apparent exception, see Hodgson, 114, n. 43•

3 Above p. 4.

4 G. van Vloten, `Worgers in Islam', in Feestbundel van TaalLetter-, Geschied- en Aardr4kskundige B~dragen ... aan Dr P. J. Meth ... Leiden, 1894, 57-63; I. Friedlaender, `The heterodoxies of the Shi'ites', in JAOS, xxviii (1907), 62-4; xxix (1908), 92-5; Laoust, Schismes, 33-4.

5 W. Ivanow, `An Ismaili poem in praise of Fidawis', in JBBR.4S, xiv (1938), 71.

6 J. B. S. Hardman, `Terrorism', in Encyclopaedia of the Social Sciences.

7 Joinville, Chapter lxxxix, 307.

8 Hamdullah Mustawfi, Tdrikh-i Gu~ida, ed. E. G. Browne, London-Leiden 1910, 455--6; French trans. by Ch. Defremery, in JA, 4e ser., xii (1848), 275.

9 These various economic interpretations are critically examined by A. E. Bertel's, Nasir-i Khosrov i Ismaili7m, especially 142 ff., where the Russian literature is cited. A more recent view is given in Mme Stroeya's article, already mentioned. Barthold gave a brief statement of his views in an article published in German, `Die persische Su`ubija and die moderne Wissenschaft', in Zeitschrift fur Assyriologie, xxvi (1911), 249-66.

The Assassins