List of assassinations by the Assassins
List of assassination (attempt)s attributed to the Assassins (the Nizaris of the Alamut Period), active in Greater Iran, Egypt and the Levant, in the 11th through 13th centuries.
Background
The Assassins were a group of Nizari Ismaili Shia Muslims that, by capturing or building impregnable forts, established a "state" of their own inside the hostile territories of the Seljuk Empire, a Sunni Muslim government, first in Persia and later in Iraq and the Levant. Lacking a conventional army, in order to survive, they started using unconventional tactics such as assassination of prominent enemy figures and psychological warfare.
The precise ideology that motivated the assassins are unclear. They gained access to the victims through betrayal of confidence and carried out the attack in a ritual manner. The names of the assassin and their victims were written in a roll of honor kept in Alamut Castle, recorded by later Muslim authors.[1][2]
Most of the assassinations by the Nizaris took place during the first decades of their struggle, which helped them to create a local political power. This tactic caused resentment against them, and there is a correlation between the assassinations and subsequent massacres of the Nizaris; this tactic gradually declined and the later attributed assassinations are probably of local origination. [3][2] It should be taken into account that medieval Arabic sources generally tend to attribute most of the assassinations of this period to the Ismailis.[4]
Those assassinated were usually the enemies of the Nizari Ismaili sect, but also sometimes people of political importance who are killed in exchange for money paid by some local ruler.[5]
[The assassination of Nizam al-Mulk] was the first of a long series of such attacks which, in a calculated war of terror, brought sudden death to sovereigns, princes, generals, governors, and even divines who had condemned Ismaili doctrines and authorized the suppression of those who professed them.
List
Victim(s) | Description | Result | Date | Location | Assassin(s) | Method | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nizam al-Mulk | Seljuq vizier and de facto ruler | killed | 1092, October 14 | Sahnah, Seljuq Empire | assassin disguised as dervish; killed or fled or survived | knife | Their most famous action.[1][7] |
Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Labbad (أحمد بن محمد اللباد) | governor of Isfahan | killed | 1093 | Isfahan, Seljuq Empire | unknown | unknown | [1] |
Abu Muslim | prefect of Ray | killed | 1095 | unknown | a friend | unknown | [1] |
Abd al-Rahman al-Simirumi (عبد الرحمان السميرمي) | vizier of Seljuq sultan Barkayaruq | killed | 1097 | unknown | Abu Tahir al-Arrani (أبو طاهر الأراني); fled | unknown | [1] |
Arghush al-Nizami (أرغوش النظامي) | mamluk of Nizam al-Mulk with close relation to Barkayaruq | killed | 1095 or 1097 | Ray, Seljuq Empire | Abd al-Rahman al-Khurasani (عبد الرحمان الخراساني); killed immediately | unknown | [1] |
Amir Ispahsalar Bursuq the Elder | senior commander under Barkiyaruq, newly appointed atabeg of Sanjar | killed | September 1097 | near Sarakhs, Seljuq Empire | a Quhistani companion | unknown | The Shiiite Seljuk vizier Majd al-Mulk Balasani was murdered for being accused of involvement.[8][9][1] |
unnamed | qadi | killed | 1098 | unknown | his brother | unknown | [1] |
Utiz al-Amir and Amir Siyah | senior commander | killed | 1099 | near Sawa, Seljuq Empire | team of 3; 2 killed, 1 survived | knife | [1] |
Balakabak Sarmuz (بلاكبك سرموز) | senior commander | killed | 1099 | entrance of Sultan Mahmud II's house, Seljuq Empire | team of 2; 1 killed, 1 fled | unknown | [1] |
Abu al-Muzaffar al-Khujandi (أبو المظفر الخجندي) | chief preacher in Ray | killed | 1102/1103 | Ray, Seljuq Empire; coming down from minbar | killed immediately | unknown | [1] |
Abd al-Jalil al-Dihistani (أبو الجليل الدهستانی) | vizier of Seljuq Sultan Barkayaruq | died of wounds | 1102/1103 | Isfahan's gate, Seljuq Empire | a youth | unknown | [1] |
Janah ad-Dawla | emir of Homs | killed | 1103, May | Great Mosque of Homs, Emirate of Homs (Syria) | team of 3 | Apparently ordered by al-Hakim al-Munajjim | |
Abu Ja'far al-Mashatt (أبو جعفر المشط) | Shafi'i leader in Ray | killed | 1104 | Ray's mosque, Seljuq Empire | unknown | unknown | [1] |
Abu al-Ala Sa'id ibn Abi Muhammad al-Nisaburi (أبو العلاء سعيد بن أبي محمد النيسابوري) | qadi of Isfahan | killed | 1105/1106 | Isfahan's mosque, Seljuq Empire | unknown | unknown | [1] |
Khalaf ibn Mula'ib | Fatimid emir of Afamiyya | killed | 1106, February 3 | inside Qalaat al-Madiq (Afamiyya), Emirate of Apamea (under Fatimid Caliphate) | team; fled | dagger, struck in the abdomen; harba (حربة, "spear") per one source | [1] Planned by Abu Tahir al-Sa'igh, Ridwan, and a certain Abu'l Fath of Sarmin |
unnamed | lieutenant (amir) of Seljuq Sultan Muhammad I Tapar | wounded | 1107 | Shahdiz, Seljuq Empire | a fida'i | After a failed negotiation during the Siege of Shahdiz. The victim was a particularly anti-Nizari commander in the Seljuq camp. | |
Abu al-Fath Fakhr al-Mulk ibn Nizam al-Mulk | vizier of Seljuq Sultan Barkayaruq | killed | 1106/1107 | a petitioner; arrested, tried, executed | knife | [1] | |
Ubayd Allah ibn Ali al-Khatibi (عبيد الله بن علي الخطيبي) | qadi of Isfahan, leader of the anti-Ismaili reaction there | killed | 1108/1109, during Friday prayers | Hamadan's mosque | 1 assassin, got between him and his bodyguard | knife | [1][10][6] |
Abu al-Mahasin Abd al-Wahid al-Ruwayni (أبو المحاسن عبد الوحيد الرويني) | Shafi'i leader | killed | 1108/1109 | Amol's mosque | unknown | knife | Attributed only by some sources to the Nizaris.[1] |
Sa'id ibn Muhammad ibn Abd al-Rahman (سعيد بن محمد بن عبد الرحمان) | qadi of Nishapur | killed | 1108/1109, on Eid al-Fitr | killed | unknown | [1] | |
Ahmad ibn Nizam al-Mulk | vizier of Seljuq Sultan Barkayaruq | wounded | 1109/1110 | Baghdad | assassin arrested, confessed, his companions killed | knives | For his expedition against Alamut.[1][6] |
Abu Harb Isa ibn Zayd | a wealthy Persian merchant | mission aborted | 1111 | Aleppo, Emirate of Aleppo | [11] | ||
Sharaf al-Din Mawdud ibn Altuntash | atabeg of Mosul | killed | 1111/1112 or 1113 | Damascus, Emirate of Damascus | unknown | unknown | Both Sunni rulers Tughtigin and Ridwan may have been involved.[12][1] |
Ahmadil ibn Ibrahim al-Kurdi | emir of Maragheh | killed | 1114 or 1116 | in a large assembly in presence of Sultan Muhammad I | team of 3. 2 killed, the third's fate unknown | knives | [1] |
Ahmad Sanjar | Seljuq sultan | threatened | threat | [13] | |||
Al-Afdal Shahanshah | Fatimid vizier | killed | 1121, December 13 | Cairo, Fatimid Caliphate | team of 3; fate unknown | knives | [1] |
Al-Amir bi-Ahkam Allah and Al-Ma'mun al-Bata'ihi | Fatimid caliph and his vizier | plot discovered | Cairo, Fatimid Caliphate | Directed from Alamut.[6] Al-Amir was assassinated later (see below). | |||
Kamal al-Mulk Abu Talib al-Simirumi | vizier of Seljuq Sultan Mahmud II | killed | 1122 | a procession in Baghdad, Seljuq Empire | team of 4; one escaped, others killed | knives | [1] |
Abu Nasr Muhammad ibn Nasr ibn Mansur al-Harawi (آبو نصر محمد بن نصر بن منصور الهروي) | Hanafi qadi of Hamadan | killed | 1125 | Hamadan's mosque, Seljuq Empire | Muhammad Razi (محمد رازی) and Umar Damghani (عمر دامغانی) | unknown | [1][14] |
Ibn al-Khashshab | qadi and rais of Aleppo | killed | 1125, at night | near his house in al-Zajjajin quarter, Aleppo, while leaving the Great Mosque | unknown | stabbed | After a massacre of the Nizaris.[15][16][17] |
Aqsunqur al-Bursuqi | atabeg of Aleppo | killed | 1127 (or November 26, 1126) | Mosul's Great Mosque, Seljuq Empire | team of 10; fate unknown, he wounded 3 | knives | [1][17] |
Mu'in al-Mulk Abu Nasr ibn Fazl | Seljuq vizier of Ahmad Sanjar | killed | 1127, March 20 | Seljuq Empire | his horseman, betrayed; fate unknown | unknown | [1] |
Mu'in (Muizz?) al-Din al-Kashi | Seljuq vizier of Ahmad Sanjar | killed | 1127, March 20 or 16 | Marw, Seljuq Empire, en route from the Sultan's palace to the mosque | by 2 fida'is who had gained his confidence | knives | [1][6] |
Abd al-Latif al-Khujandi (عبد الطيف الخجندي) | Shafi'i leader in Isfahan | killed | 1129 | unknown | unknown | unknown | Killed by treachery.[1] |
Al-Amir bi-Ahkami'l-Lah | Fatimid Caliph in Cairo | killed | October 7, 1130 | Cairo, Fatimid Caliphate | team of 7 rafiqs | ||
Taj al-Muluk Buri | atabeg of Damascus | died of wounds a year later | May 7, 1131 (died June 9, 1132) | Damascus, Emirate of Damascus (Syria) | two of his guards who were secretly fida'is probably from Alamut; both killed | knives, wounding him in two places | [1][18] |
Sayyid Dawlatshah Alawi (سید دولتشاه علوی) | prefect (either ra'is or naqib) of Isfahan | killed | Abu Abdallah (ابو عبدالله) | [6][19] | |||
Aqsunqur | governor of Maragha | killed | Ali (علی) and Abu Ubaydah Muhammad Dihistani (ابو عبیده محمد دهستانی) | [6][20] | |||
Shams Tabrizi | prefect of Tabriz | killed | Abu Sa'id Qa'ini (ابو سعید قائنی) and ابو الحسن قرمانی | [6][21] | |||
Al-Mustarshid | Abbasid caliph | killed | 1135 or 1134 | in royal tentage at Maragheh's gates or near Hamadan, Seljuq Empire | team of 14 or 17 or 24; fled or killed by the guards | knives, stabbed many times | Some sources suspect that the Seljuq Sultan Mas'ud was involved. Some attendants were killed, too.[1][22][23][24][25][26] |
Hasan ibn Abi al-Qasim Karkhi (حسن بن ابي القاسم كرخي) | mufti of Qazvin | killed | Muhmmad Karkhi (محمد کرخی) and Sulayman Qazwini (سليمان قزوینی) | knives, stabbed | [6][27] | ||
Al-Rashid | Abbasid caliph | killed | 1135/1136 or June 1138 | Mosul or Isfahan, Seljuq Empire | team of 2 or 4 (Balqāsim Darikī named) of Khurasanis in his service; fate unknown | knives, by stabbing | [28][1][6][26] |
Muqarrab al-Din Jawhar (مقرب الدين جوهر) | chamberlain, master of the Seljuq governor of Ray, Abbas | killed | 1139/1140 | Sultan Sanjar's camp in Marw | petitioners in women's garb | knives | Many Nizaris were killed in revenge by Abbas.[28][1] |
Girdbazu (گردبازو) | heir of Bavandid ruler Shah Ghazi Rustam | killed | 1142 | Sarakhs, Seljuq Empire | Many Nizaris were killed in revenge by Shah Ghazi Rustam.[28] | ||
Da'ud, son of Mahmud II | Seljuq sultan | killed | 1143 | Tabriz, Seljuq Empire | team of 4 Syrian 'rafiqs | ambushed | He had persecuted the Nizaris of Adharbayjan.[1][28][29] |
a Georgian ruler | killed | [28] | |||||
unnamed | vizier of Seljuq sultan Toghrul II | killed | unknown | unknown | unknown | knives, ambushed | [1] |
unnamed | mamluk lord of Masyaf | killed | unknown | team | unknown | Killed by treachery.[1] | |
به اَموی | qadi of Quhistan | killed | 1138/1139 | Sultan Sanjar's camp | Ibrahim Hanafiyyah al-Damghani (إبراهيم حنفية الدامغاني); fate unknown | unknown | For authorizing the execution of Nizaris.[28][1][30] |
unnamed | qadi of Tiflis | killed | 1138/1139 | Ibrahim Buyah Damghani (ابراهیم بویه دامغانی) | unknown | For issuing fatwa regarding the execution of Nizaris.[28][1][31] | |
unnamed | qadi of Hamadan | killed | 1139/1140 | Hamadan's mosque, Seljuq Empire | Ismail al-Khwarazmi (إسمعيل الخوارزمي), several of whose companions had been killed and burned | unknown | For authorizing the execution of Nizaris.[28][1][32] |
Yamin al-Dawla Khwarazmshah (يمين الدولة خوارزمشاه) (Ayn al-Dawla?) | Seljuq vizier | killed | 1139/1140 | an army camp of Sultan Sanjar in Khwarezmia | unknown | unknown | [1][33] |
Nasir al-Dawla ibn al-Muhalhil (ناصر الدولة بن المهلهل) | Seljuq vizier | killed | 1140/1141 | Kerman, Seljuq Empire | al-Husayn al-Kirmani (الحسين الكرماني) | unknown | [1][34] |
Garashasaf (گرشاسف) | senior commander (emir) and wāli of Kirman | killed | 1143 | unknown | a soldier | unknown | [1] |
Aqsunqur (آق سنقر) | mamluk of Sultan Sanjar and governor of Turshiz | killed | 1146 | team of 2 rafiqs: Sulayman and Yusuf | unknown | Killed as a rebel against the sultan.[1][35] | |
Abbas (امیر پیر عباس) | governor of Rayy | killed | 1147 | Ray or Baghdad, Seljuq Empire | unknown | unknown | Killed with armor on.[1] |
Raymond II | Count of Tripoli | killed | 1152 | Tripoli's southern city gate, County of Tripoli | Motivation uncertain. Killed along with two of his knights (including Ralph of Merle). | ||
Saladin | Ayyubid sultan | mission failed | 1175, May 11 | Saladin's camp | 13 | ||
Saladin | Ayyubid sultan | threatened only | 1176 | near Masyaf Castle | threat | According to some traditions.[36] | |
Adud al-Din Abu al-Faraj Muhmmad | vizier of the Abbasid caliph al-Mustadi | killed | 1177/1178 | leaving Baghdad for pilgrimage to Mecca | fida'is from Jabal al-Summaq, Syria | [26] | |
Conrad of Montferrat | de facto King of Jerusalem | killed | 1192, April 28 | en route to his house in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem | team of 2; 1 killed, 1 captured | stabbed at least twice in the side and back | It is uncertain who actually instigated the attack. |
Muhammad of Ghor | Ghurid sultan | killed | 1206, March 15 | Dhamiak, near Sohawa, Ghurid Empire | One source attributes it to the Assassins. | ||
Möngke Khan | Mongol khagan | plot or rumor | 1253 | Karakorum, Mongol Empire | team of 40+ | Alleged mission ordered by Imam Ala' al-Din Muhammad.[6][37][38][39] | |
Raymond, son of Bohemond IV of Antioch | heir to the throne of Antioch and Tripoli | killed | 1213 | outside the door of the Cathedral of Our Lady of Tortosa, Tortosa (Tartus), County of Tripoli | Bohemond IV unsuccessfuly besieged Khawabi in response.[40][36][41] | ||
Orkhan/Orghan | senior commander of Jalal ad-Din Mingburnu | killed | Ganja, Khwarezmian Empire | a team of petitioners; fled / 3 assassins, killed | concealed swords, stabbed | [42] As a reprisal for raids against Quhistan.[6] | |
Philip of Montfort | Lord of Tyre | killed | 1270, March 17 or August 17 | in his church in Tyre, Lordship of Tyre, Kingdom of Jerusalem | assassin disguised as a Christian; captured | dagger | [43] |
Ata-Malik Juvayni | Ilkhanate elite | survived | 1270 | Ilkhanate | Unsuccessful assassination attempt attributed to the Nizaris.[44] | ||
Lord Edward | Duke of Gascony | wounded | 1271 | Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem | a Syrian Assassin; killed | dagger, possibly poisoned; struck in the arm | Supposedly by a Syrian Assassin under Baibars during the Ninth Crusade.[45] Edward abandoned further campaigns afterwards. |
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