Motives Behind the Assassins
At the end of which dynasty did the Ismailis set up new bases and continue to move?
Fatimid
Who was the first person that the assassins killed?
Nizamul Mulk, the prime minister of Sultan Saljuki.
In his writings, Marco Polo swayed the crusaders an later to believe that the Ismailis of Alamut were assassins because the used -------.
Hashish
When Marco Polo wrote of the Assassins he mentioned a story of beautiful damsels that were used to motivate the Fidais to commit assassinations, what was the name of this story.
The Garden of Paradise
Who is one of the historians that has some of the little information on the Alamut period?
Marco Polo
What two groups had the Ismailis been split into?
Mustalis and Nizari Ismailis
Why was Nizamul Mulk chosen to be killed?
He was the root cause of the problems that the Ismailis faced.
What does the term hasheen means in modern times?
Noisy or riotous
Which theology does not apply physical concepts to Paradise?
Ismaili
How many years after the destruction of Alamut did Marco Polo pass near this fort?
In his travelogue, Marco Polo fabricated many accounts against the Ismailis. He passed near Alamut 16 or 17 years after the fort had been destroyed.
For what reason did the Ismailis attack the larger armies of the Saljuks?
They found it necessary to build garrisons that would withstand attacks from the larger armies
In what cities did the Ismailis kill important political figures?
Esfahan, Qazvin, Hamadan, and Tabriz
Why was the word assassins applied to the Ismailis?
Because of their belief in "ASSASS" or the Imam.
For what reason did Hasan bin Sabbah have his two sons killed?
They had been accused of drinking alcohol
Where did Marco Polo write his rumors against the Ismailis which their enemies had been spreading?
He wrote his accounts in books.
Why did Hasan bin Sabbah engage in a scheme of assassinations?
To support hostile attempts aimed at annihilating the Ismaili movement.
Why were most of the assassinations that the Ismailis carrindout justified?
Who I the Old Man that Marco Polo refers to his writings about the Hashishis?
Hasan bin Sabbah
What did Marco Polo and other historians fail to see about the motive of the Fidais to kill others?
Their mission can be directly attributed to their love and devotion for their living Imam.
Marco Polo fabricated the accounts of paradise in Amalmut and we know this is pure fabrication because another historian was here at the time Alamut was destroyed. What was the name of this enemy of the Ismailis?
Ata Malik-i Juwayni
Why was Hasan sent to Alamut?
To build a small state that would be capable of providing Ismailis shelter from the Saljuks.
What do many historians say that the Ismailis did?
A bunch of barbaric heretics who used the weapon of assassination to strike fear in the hearts of local people.
Explain what Marco Polo wrote about the way that Hasan bin Sabbah made the fidais assassinate.
He sent the into the garden in groups of four, ten or twenty and gave them hashes to drink. They sept for three days and then were carried to the garden and awakened there. Then whichever man he wanted froth mission he would make them go to sleep with a drink and carried him away. They did it willingly in order to return to paradise.
Why were the historical accounts of Ismailis so shallow and incorrect?
It was because the historians knew little of the Ismaili practice of Taqiya.
The History of the World Conqueror