Hashishins - The Order of Assassins

I came across an article a short while ago about the "Order of Assassins" (a fascinating subject and one that I've read an awful lot about) and found a titbit that I hadn't heard before:

The secret order that Hasan bin Sabbah created had a significant impact on all subsequent cults and secret societies. During the Crusades, the Hashishins fought both for and against the Crusaders, whichever suited their agenda. As a result, the Crusaders brought back to Europe the Assassins' system, which would be passed down and mimicked by numerous secret societies in the West. The Templars, the Society of Jesus, Priory de Sion, the Freemasons, the Rosicrucians, etc. all owe their organizational efficiency to Hasan. In fact, the Illuminati had their origins in the mystical aspect of the Hashishin order, although most equate the Illuminati with the Bavarian Illuminati, which was a revised version of the Hashishin system¡¦ (Tim O'Neill analyzes, in-depth, the influence of the Assassins in Adam Parfrey's Apocalypse Culture)

Now, I'd known that the Templars had links with them but it hadn't really occured to me that their influence was so wide ranging.

How come the Assassins don't tend to feature much on the conspiracy front when we know there are serious adherents still around today? After all, their current leader the Aga Khan is widely praised for his philanthropy and progressive, globalist rhetoric seems just the sort of decent honorable fellow that tends to get demonised into a shape shifting lizard, child sacrificing lunatic, etc.

I thought it could be interesting to have a thread where people could post their theories about the Order and what their long term goals may be, altruistic or something more sinister?

Can you provide links and sources, please? there is not much evidence to go on here.

This is the first time I have heard of the Hashashin linked to all these secret societies, that is, other than Dan brown's book, Angels and Demons.

From what I understand, they had alot of their roots in Zorastrianism, Sufi, and other middle eastern mystic schools.

Sorry about that, bit of an amateur when it comes to starting threads:

www.disinfo.com...

Page called "The Secret Doctrines of the Assassins"
www.alamut.com...
And The Assassins by Hakim Bey:
www.alamut.com...

Article called "Roots of terror: suicide, martyrdom, self-redemption and Islam" discusses the link that has been made between terrorists and the Assassins:
www.opendemocracy.net...

Loads of stuff about the Assassins and their origins, pretty heavy but interesting:
www.sacred-texts.com...

Wouldn't be the same without the fact-tastic:
en.wikipedia.org...


Books in which I know they feature; The Count of Monte Christo by Alexandre Dumas, the magnificent Templar conspiracy novel Foucaults Pendulum by Umberto Eco, The Monks of War: The Military Religious Orders by Desmond Seward, The Templars and the Assassins: The Militia of Heaven by Wassreman and of course The Assassins by Bernard Lewis.

I'm afraid that I haven't read Angels and Demons so I don't know what context they are in.

Also, I believe that much of the reason we ignore the influence of the Assassins is because we unsurprisingly have a Western-Centric view of things. We ignore their existence (which may be wholly innocent) simply because it doesn't fit into our NWOrld view of scheming bankers, masons, etc.

Originally posted by DenyAllKnowledge
I came across an article a short while ago about the "Order of Assassins" (a fascinating subject and one that I've read an awful lot about) and found a titbit that I hadn't heard before:

No they dont kill people they only influence them. Why would check your own checkpieces when you can use them for so much more.

[edit on 19-8-2006 by kinglizard]

I remember reading somewhere that the symbology for the order of Hashshashins incorporated a 360 degree circle. I didn't think much of it at the time, but now I believe that bit of information is significant.

Can anyone verfiy this?

Nothing is True, Everything is Permissible.
~~ Hasan bin Sabbah

Hasan bin Sabbah - (He founded the group the Hashshashins) businessman, scholar, heresiarch, mystic, murderer, ascetic, and political revolutionary - was born in Persia (Iran) around 1034. As a child, the man who would one day claim to be the incarnation of God on earth (probably just another way of saying he was Enlightened) was a diligent student of theology.

... Hasan's system, which was divided into seven degrees. The Hashishins combined both the exoteric (communicated, "God's Law") and esoteric (subjective, mystical) doctrines of Islam. Sabbah was a noted alchemist, and a student of Sufism, so part of the initiatic curriculum for the future Hashishins involved mastering occult methods for reaching higher planes of consciousness.

The Hashishin Order was set up much like your traditional bureaucratic organization. At the top of the hierarchy sat Hasan, the Old Man of the Mountain, who preached absolute devotion to a transcendental God. Below him were the grand priories (enlightened mystics), the propagandists, and finally the fidais, who were the lowest ranking Hashishins. The fidais were self-sacrificers (called "the destroying angels") who were willing to commit any atrocity their master demanded of them, including suicide. They dressed in white tunics with red sashes: colours that represented innocence and blood.

Our modern day "assassination cults" (the FBI, the CIA, etc.) have incorporated many of the Hashishins' techniques into their methodologies. In a CIA training manual titled "A Study of Assassination", you find traces of the Assassins influence throughout. Hasan Sabbah is even mentioned in the document, which is a must read if there ever was one.

www.disinfo.com...

Can't verify that I'm afraid. There's so little scholarship on this most mysterious of secret societies (perhaps they're one of the only ones to successfully cover all their tracks?).

Came across a little bit on them in the "Illuminatus! Trilogy" by Robert Anton Wilson and Robert Shea (RAW wrote an series of non fiction books on the Illuminati and one on Quantum Psychology, RS wrote the fascinating Scaracen books). Anyway, this is the bit from "Illuminatus!":

Akron Darul, A History of Secret Societies (Citadel Press, New York, 1961). Darul traces the Illuminati back to the 11th Century also, but not to Joachim of fLORIS. He sees the origin in the Ishmaelian sect of Islam, also known as the Order of Assassins. They were vanquished in the 13th Century, but later made a comeback with a new, less violent philosophy and eventually became the Ishmaelian sect of today, led by the Aga Khan. However, in the 16th Century, in Afghanistan, the Illuminated ones (Roshinaya) picked up the origional tactics of the Order of Assassins. They were wiped out by an alliance of the Moghuls and Persians (pages 220-223). But, "The beginning of the seventeenthcentury saw the foundation of the Illuminated Ones of Spain - the Allumbrados, condemned by an edict of the Grand Inquisition in 1623. In 1654, the "illuminated" Guerinets came into public notice in France." And, finally - the part you're most interested in - the Bavarian Illuminati was founded on May Day, 1776, in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, by Adam Weishaupht, a former Jesuit. "Documents still extant show several points of resemblance between the German and Central Asian Illuminists: points that are hard to account for on grounds of pure coincidence" (page 225)

So, is Robert Anton Wilson exercising his "little grey cells" in conspiracy (as did Umberto Eco in Foucaults Pendulum, which got him in more than a little trouble)? The book by Akron Darul does indeed exist, however I have yet to get hold of a 1961 publication. Do the roots of the "Illuminati" (who are little more than a flight of fancy in my opinion) really lie in the east?

[edit on 20-8-2006 by DenyAllKnowledge]

Originally posted by Sonata

Originally posted by DenyAllKnowledge
I came across an article a short while ago about the "Order of Assassins" (a fascinating subject and one that I've read an awful lot about) and found a titbit that I hadn't heard before:

No they dont kill people they only influence them. Why would check your own checkpieces when you can use them for so much more.

[edit on 19-8-2006 by kinglizard]

What do you mean they didn't kill people? Wasn't that what they did, get high on Hashish(sp) then kill.

What about all the assassin gropus that pre-date middle eastern assassin groups.
Lin Kuei
Moshuh Nanren

I would think the silk road, and many of the cultures near east asia would have been the fore runners to anything western. Advanced metal making, Sun Tzu's art of war, and the I-ching may have had a much larger impact on assassins than we are normaly led to belive. Western mystics seem to borrow heavily from the east asian region, but lost alot of the knowledge the farther west they get.

Originally posted by DenyAllKnowledge
Now, I'd known that the Templars had links with them but it hadn't really occured to me that their influence was so wide ranging.

Well, assuming that the theory is true, then yes they are influential.

and progressive, globalist rhetoric seems just the sort of decent honorable fellow that tends to get demonised into a shape shifting lizard, child sacrificing lunatic, etc.

The shia get focused on as conspirators within teh muslim world, but not so much outside of it. Thats because people aren't really aware of them.

I thought it could be interesting to have a thread where people could post their theories about the Order and what their long term goals may be, altruistic or something more sinister?

There are very few assasins left, I don't think that the agha khan is their leader. THey don't have much influence these days.

Do the roots of the "Illuminati" (who are little more than a flight of fancy in my opinion) really lie in the east?

I don't think that there is anything that actually connects them with the east in general nor the assasins in particular. The esoteric islamic sects, they certainly were influential, but the illuminati don't, to my knowledge, bear any realistic resemblence to them.
St. Francis of Assisi, for example, is thought to have been in contact with Sufis, or sufi work, and even is credited with starting the greeting "THe Peace of God be with You" in the west, which is an islamic greeting. But th ebavarian illuminati? RAWS explanation in the book merely states that they were nearly wiped out, then says that the Roshinaya were 'really them', and then that the illuminati of spain must've also been the assasins, because Roshinaya means illumination, and then that the bavarian illuminati must be the descendants of the spanish illuminati. I don't think anyone actually accepts any of those links.

corsig
Wasn't that what they did, get high on Hashish(sp) then kill

Thats sort of like saying 'didn't the knights templar ride around on horses and kill people'? Yes, they did, but that was only part of their work. The assasins were assasins, they were also part of an esoteric tradition within shia islam, they were a theology and a philosophy, in addition to having military duties.

Wow. Thanks for providing link. Alot of interesting stuff there.

In the Dan Brown Book, angels and demons, they were conspiring with the Illuminati to destroy the Catholic Church.

The only thing I ever knew for sure about the Hashishins is that they smoked alot of hashish and gave us the English word, assasin.

dictionary.reference.com...

as·sas·sin ( P ) Pronunciation Key (-ssn)
n.
1)One who murders by surprise attack, especially one who carries out a plot to kill a prominent person.
2)Assassin A member of a secret order of Muslims who terrorized and killed Christian Crusaders and others.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[French, from Medieval Latin assassnus, from Arabic an, pl. of a, hashish user, from a, hashish. See hashish.]
Word History: At first glance, one would be hard-pressed to find a link between pleasure and the acts of assassins. Such was not the case, however, with those who gave us the word assassin. They were members of a secret Islamic order originating in the 11th century who believed it was a religious duty to harass and murder their enemies. The most important members of the order were those who actually did the killing. Having been promised paradise in return for dying in action, the killers, it is said, were made to yearn for paradise by being given a life of pleasure that included the use of hashish. From this came the name for the secret order as a whole, an, “hashish users.” After passing through French or Italian, the word came into English and is recorded in 1603 with reference to the Muslim Assassins.

I think you could say, that this type of secrect sect. is the ideology that started what we now call "the terrorists".

From what I can find, these were an early 9/11 type organization that went after Christian leaders, instead of civilians.

.... Oh yea, and the name comes from their smoking habits, as in, a hashish user. See above for reasons why.

[edit on 21-8-2006 by JbT]

reply to post by DenyAllKnowledge


Hey buddy. It is crazy how all the secret societies copy from the assassins. i had a feeling they were the root. i got a good link about the assassins and templars. www.liveleak.com. type in William Cooper. there you will see all his radio shows the hour of the time. He know so much about the assassins and templars. just look for assassins and listen to him. you will not be dissapointed. this is my email if you want to ask me anything go ahead

Mod note : Please don't post personal ID info such as an email address on the boards .

oh sorry i forgot to say denyall knowledge is there anywhere i can contact you for questions.

With this new game assassins creed from ubisoft. do you guys think it would make a few people want to study the assassins cult. i honestly think that they play a huge role in history. i also want to know what do you guys think of the japanese ninja and the assassins. i think they have a few things in common. I think that maybe ninjas came from the assasssins.

"'Assasseen' in Arabic signifies 'guardians', and some commentators have considered this to be the true origin of the word: 'guardians of the secrets'."

- Arkon Daraul, Secret Societies

reply to post by altair8


"I think that maybe ninjas came from the assasssins."

Well that would explain their war with the Samuri. The Samuri were horseman just like the Knights Templar.

wow i did not think of that . the knights templar with their horses and the samurai had horses and armor and the ninja like the assassins lived in mountains . the ninjas were in the iga and koga mountains of japan and the assassins in alamut the eagles nest. the assassins castle was on a mountain.

I think someone has been playing a certain XBOX360 game abit too much

There was a similar group in India, when it was under control of British Raj

From what I can find, these were an early 9/11 type organization that went after Christian leaders, instead of civilians.

AS the Templars did with Islamic leaders. AS our spec ops forces do today.
As the Sicarri did in the time of Rabbi Jeshoua. The only thing that sets the
hashishim apart is their use of opium. And that is only because the use of
drugs has not been established in the other cases.

reply to post by corsig


No, supposedly they'd get high alot and then when they had their hashish or opium (can't remember which, but opium is actually addictive) taken away from them they'd go kill someone to get it back. I'm guessing stuff like that may have occured in those days, but not now. It is even more likely that it's disinformation spread by templars.