#20: The Nizari Ismailis — The “Assassins”
The medieval Nizari Ismailis controlled fortified communities in Persia and Syria while surrounded by much larger hostile powers. Lacking conventional military strength, they became famous for carefully targeted killings of important political enemies, including Seljuk officials and Crusader-era figures. Their enemies labeled them “Assassins,” and later European writers invented lurid stories involving hashish, secret gardens, and mind-controlled killers. Modern scholarship rejects much of that mythology. The real Nizaris were politically formidable—but considerably more sophisticated than their legendary reputation suggests.
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