Search Results: The assassins

The Assassins (aka Nizari Ismailis), were a heretical group of Shiite Muslims who were powerful in Persia and Syria from the 11th century CE until their defeat at the hands of the Mongols in the mid-13th century CE. Secure in their fortified...

The castle of Alamut, Qazvin, Iran, one-time castle of the Assassins (aka Nizari Ismailis) before their destruction at the hands of the Mongols in the 1250s CE.

Mongke Khan was ruler of the Mongol Empire (1206-1368 CE) from 1251 to 1259 CE. As the third Great Khan or 'universal ruler' of the Mongols, Mongke would oversee administrative reforms that continued to centralise government and ensure he...

Freya Stark (l. 1893-1993) was an English explorer, writer, and political influencer who chronicled world events, especially in the Near East, throughout the 20th century. Stark both reported on and made the news as her travels, described...

Saladin (1137-93) was the Muslim Sultan of Egypt and Syria (r. 1174-1193) who shocked the western world by defeating an army of the Christian Crusader states at the Battle of Hattin and then capturing Jerusalem in 1187. Saladin all but destroyed...

The Crusader States (aka the Latin East or Outremer) were created after the First Crusade (1095-1102 CE) in order to keep hold of the territorial gains made by Christian armies in the Middle East. The four small states were the Kingdom of...

Through the 13th and 14th century CE the Mongols forged the largest connected empire the world had ever seen and such figures as Genghis Khan and Kublai Khan were feared as the devil himself, their mounted warriors conquering for their leaders...

This high-definition gallery presents digital reconstructions of six iconic Asian castles, from Afghanistan to Japan. Many of these castles have taken damage since then due to wars, political instability, and even deliberate cultural destruction...

Masyaf castle, Orontes Valley, Syria, one-time castle of the Assassins (aka Nizari Ismailis) from c. 1141 CE to 1256 CE.

Reconstruction of Alamut Castle in present-day Iran, as it may have appeared in 1090 CE when it was captured by Imam Hassan-i Sabbāh, of the Assassins (aka Nizari Ismailis). The castle was built c. 865 CE, although it was expanded and fortified...