authors. Vincent le Blanc names him, _Ségucmir_, a word compounded
of _sheikh_ and _emir_, and makes him reside in Arabia; but nothing
that such an author says is astonishing. The Arabic word _sheikh_,
which is equivalent to the Latin _Senior_, and which has its two
significations in the lower Latinity, has been ridiculously rendered
_Vetus_, _Vetulus_; _Senex_, instead of _Senior_, when _Dominus_ was
not meant. We read _Vetulus de Monte_, in the chronicle of Nicholas
of Treveth, A. D. 1236; _Vetulus de Montanis_, in that of William de
Nangis, of the same year; _Vetulus de Montibus_, several times in
Sanuto; and _Senex de Montanis_, in the Latin translation of Marco
Polo. In Haïton, _Sexmontius_ is but the contraction of _Senex montis_,
which Batilli, who translates it, _Prince of Six Mountains_, has not
understood: we have seen him called _Summus_ _Abbas_, _Prolatus_,
_Magister Cultellorum_, by James de Vitri: in the same author, we read
that this sovereign was commonly called _simplex_. He gives himself
the title of “_Simplicitas Nostra_,” in his letter to Philip Augustus,
handed down by William of Newbury: this is one of the two which have
been supposititiously attributed to him. This _simplicity_ consisted in
inhumanly putting to death those whom he deemed enemies of his sect,
or whom he regarded as extortioners, as William of Tyre expresses
himself. The Assassins exercised their enormities alike, against
both Mahommedans and Christians: we see in history the catalogue of
khalifs, princes, and viziers, slain by their emissaries.[300] I am
also convinced, that the sheikh, simple as he entitled himself, caused
assassinations to be committed at the solicitation of other princes,
from motives of interest, in which religion had no share. We are
justified in believing this, from what their commandant in Syria said
to Henry the Second, Count of Champagne, when he invited him to pass
through his domains: “_Si inimicum aut insidiatorem regni haberet, ab
hujus modi servis suis continuò interfici procuraret._” These are the
words given by Sanuto; so that, when the chief of the Assassins is made
to speak otherwise, in his letter, dated from Massiat, and inserted
by Nicholas of Treveth, in his chronicle (A. D. 1192): “_Sciatis quod
nullum hominem mercede aliqua vel pecuniá occidimus_,” it is a reason
why we should suspect it to be false. In fact, it is very probable
that the English fabricated the letter addressed to Leopold, Duke of
Austria, in order to procure the liberty of King Richard I., whom he
detained in prison; and that, at the same time, they addressed another
to Philip Augustus, to remove his suspicions about the murder of the
Marquess of Montferrat, and to obviate his acting hostilely against
them in their king’s absence. The best justification of Richard must
be derived from the generosity of his character, whatever ferocity his
valour may have possessed. This king, when mortally wounded at the
siege of Chaluz, in the Limousin, by a cross-bowman, not only pardoned
him after the town was taken, but also before his death ordered him to
have a hundred shillings given to him.
With regard to the true cause of the assassination of Conrad, Marquess
of Montferrat, there is great reason to believe that Humphrey, Lord
of Thoron, the first husband of Isabel, the daughter of Amalric, and
heiress to the kingdom of Jerusalem, seeing his wife, together with the
crown, fall into the possession of Conrad, employed the Assassins as
the ministers of his revenge.[301]
Note C, page 132.
The following is the supposititious letter, from the Old Man of the
Mountain, to Leopold Duke of Austria, as given in “Rymer’s Fœdera,”
vol. i. p. 23:—
“Limpoldo, Duci Austriæ, Vetus de Monte, salutem: Cum plurimi reges
et principes ultra mare Ricardum Regem Angliæ et Dominum de morte
Marchisi inculpant, juro per Deum qui in æternum regnat, et per legem
quam tenemus, quod in ejus morte culpam non habuit; est causa siquidem
mortis Marchisi talis.
“Unus ex fratribus nostris, in unam navem de Salteleya ad partes
nostras veniebat et tempestas forte illum apud Tyrum impulit, et
Marchisus fecit illum rapi et occidi, et magnum ejus pecuniam rapuit.
Nos vero Marchiso nuncios nostros misimus mandantes, ut pecuniam
fratris nostri nobis redderet, et de morte fratris nostri satisfaceret,
quam super Reginaldum Dominum Sidonis posuit. Et nos tamen fecimus
per amicos nostros quod in veritate scivimus, quod ipse fecit illum
occidere et pecuniam illius rapere.
“Et iterum alium nuncium nostrum, nomine Eurisum misimus ad eum, quem
in mari mergere voluit; sed amici nostri illum a Tiro festinanter
fecere recedere, qui ad nos cito pervenit et ista nobis nunciavit. Nos
quoque ex illa hora Marchisum desideravimus occidere. Tunc quoque duo
fratres misimus ad Tirum, qui eum apertè et ferè coram omni populo Tiri
occiderunt.
“Hæc itaque fuit causa mortis Marchisi, et bene dicimus vobis in
veritate, quod Dominus Ricardus Rex Angliæ in hac Marchisi morte nullam
culpam habuit: et qui, propter hoc Domino Regi Angliæ malum fecerunt,
injusté fecerunt et sine causa.
“Sciatis pro certo quod nullum hominem hujus mundi pro mercede aliqua,
vel pecunia occidimus, nisi prius malum nobis fecerit.
“Et sciatis quod literas istas fecimus in domo nostra ad castellum
nostrum Massiat, in dimidio Septembris, anno ab Alexandro millesimo
quingentesimo decimo quinto.”
Which may be rendered as follows:
“To Leopold, Duke of Austria, the Old Man of the Mountain sends,
greeting:
“Seeing that many kings and princes, beyond sea, accuse the Lord
Richard, King of England, of the death of the marquess, I swear, by
the God who reigns for ever, and by the laws which we observe, that he
had no share in his death: the cause of the marquess’s death was as
follows:—
“One of our brethren journeying in a ship, from Salteleya to our
parts, was driven by a tempest near to Tyre; and the marquess had him
seized and put to death, and laid hands on his money. Now, we sent our
messengers to the marquess, requiring him to restore our brother’s
money, and give us satisfaction for our brother’s death, of which he
accused Reginald, Lord of Sidon; but we ascertained the truth, by means
of our friends, that it was the marquess himself who caused him to be
slain, and his money to be seized.
“And again we sent another messenger to him, by name Eurisus, whom
he would have thrown into the sea, had not our friends caused him
to depart hastily from Tyre: he came quickly to us, and told us
these things. We, therefore, from that hour have desired to slay the
marquess; so, then, we sent two brethren to Tyre, who killed him
openly, and almost before the whole people of Tyre.
“This, therefore, was the cause of the marquess’s death; and we tell
you of a truth, that the Lord Richard, King of England, hath had no
share in this death of the marquess; and they who, on that account, ill
treat the king of England, do it unjustly, and without cause.
“Know ye for certain, that we slay no man in this world for any gain or
reward, unless he have first injured us.
“And know, that we have drawn up these present letters in our palace,
in our castle of Massiat, in the middle of September, in the fifteen
hundred and fifteenth year after Alexander.”
Note D, page 137.
_Memoir on the Dynasty of the Assassins, and on the Origin of their
Name, by M. Sylvestre de Sacy, read at the public meeting of the
Institute of France, July 7th, 1809._
Among the writers who have transmitted to us the history of those
memorable wars, which, for a space of nearly two centuries, unceasingly
depopulated Europe, in order to carry destruction and desolation
throughout the finest regions of Asia and Africa, there is scarcely
one who does not make mention of that barbarous horde, which,
established in a corner of Syria, and known by the name of Assassins,
rendered itself formidable both to the orientals and occidentals, and
exercised its atrocities indifferently against the Moslem sultan and
the Christian prince. If the historians of the Crusades have mingled
a few fables with the information which they have handed down to us,
regarding the tenets and manners of these sectarians, we ought not to
feel surprised; for the terror which they inspired, scarcely permitted
our warriors to search very deeply into their origin, or to procure
exact data concerning their religious and political constitution.
Even their name has been disfigured and presented under a multitude
of different forms, and it is to this that we must attribute the
uncertainty of modern critics as to its origin and etymology. Among all
the writers who have devoted their attention to historical and critical
researches into the subject of the Assassins, none has shed more light
upon it than M. Falconet. Nevertheless, as this learned gentleman had
not applied himself at all to the study of the languages of the east,
and could not, therefore, avail himself, in his inquiries, of the
assistance of the Persian and Arabian writers, whose works had never
been either published or translated, he has not been able to trace the
Assassins up to their true origin, nor to give the etymology of their
name. It is to supply this defect in his labours that I have decided
upon treating this subject anew. In a dissertation, which I submitted
to the judgment of the _classe_, and of which I shall present you with
a short analysis, I proposed to inquire, what was the doctrine of
this sect, and by what ties they were related to one of the principal
divisions of Mohammedanism; and, lastly, why they had received a name,
which, passing with a slight change into the west, has furnished
several modern languages with a term expressive of a cool premeditated
murder.
It is a most singular circumstance, which cannot fail to strike us in
studying the history of the religion and power of the Mohammedans, that
their empire, which, in a small number of years, subjected the whole of
Arabia, Syria, Egypt, Persia, and several other vast regions of Asia
and Africa, was, from the very first, torn by intestine divisions,
which seemed as though they would arrest its progress, and insure the
neighbouring potentates against the invasion which menaced them. It
is difficult to explain how the spirit of faction, which armed the
Musulmans against each other, should not have checked the rapidity
and extent of their conquests; but, without stopping to consider this
point, which forms no part of our subject, we shall content ourselves
with stating the fact, that the death of Mohammed was the signal of
discord amongst those who had embraced his doctrine, and hitherto
fought under his victorious standard. Ali, Mohammed’s cousin, and
husband of his daughter, Fatima, who, to an ardent zeal for the new
religion, added more instruction then the rest of the Musulmans,
seemed destined to supply the place of the legislator and pontiff of
Islamism, and to complete the work left still imperfect by him. But
Mohammed had not had the prudence to name his successor; or, if he had
done so, as Ali’s partisans generally maintain, he had not given his
nomination sufficient publicity to prevent its being contested; and he
had neglected to invest it with that divine sanction which he so well
knew how to give to all his determinations, even when the interests of
his household, and the altercations excited by his wife’s jealousy,
were the only matters in question. Ali, in consequence, saw the wise
Ebubekr, the fierce Omar, and the weak Othman, preferred before him;
and it was only after the violent death of the latter, that the
suffrages of the Musulmans seemed to unite in his favour. Scarcely had
he ascended the throne, ere an ambitious man, supported by a powerful
family, declared himself his rival; and succeeded, by treachery, and
availing himself of Ali’s faults, in stripping him of an authority,
whose legitimacy was irrefragable. Ali soon fell beneath the murderer’s
dagger. His two sons were not long in experiencing the same fate; and,
from that moment, were laid the immoveable foundations of that schism,
which, to this day, divides the disciples of Mohammed into two great
hostile factions, which, for several centuries, ceased not to steep
the eastern provinces of the empire in blood, and was felt in the most
southern parts of Arabia, and even on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean.
The partisans of Ali themselves soon split into several parties; and
though united in their veneration for the blood of the prophet, which
flowed in the veins of the descendant of Ali, they neither agreed
in the prerogatives they attached to this noble origin, nor on the
branch to which the right to the dignity of imam was transmitted. This
name, which comprises the idea of all temporal and spiritual power,
and which, in the opinion of some fanatics, was nearly co-equal with
that of divinity, was the watch-word of all the enemies of the khalifs
descended from the houses of Moawia and Abbas; but they did not all
recognise the same person as imam. One of the most powerful, among the
factions formed of the followers of Ali, was that of the Ismailians,
so called, because they maintained that the dignity of imam had been
transmitted, through an uninterrupted succession of descendants, from
Ali to a prince named Ismail; and that, since his time, this same
office had been filled by personages unknown to man, awaiting the
moment when the posterity of Ali should at length triumph over its
enemies. A character peculiar to this sect is, that it explains all
the precepts of the Musulman law allegorically; and this allegory
was pushed so far by some of the Ismailian doctors, that it tended
to nothing less than the abolition of all public worship, and the
foundation of a purely philosophical doctrine, and a very licentious
moral code, on the ruins of all revelation and divine authority. To
this sect belong the Karmathites, whose enormities we shall not here
mention, to whom the Wahabees, who, at this time, fill several of the
provinces of the Ottoman empire with the terror of their name, and
who, under the mask of reformers, appear destined to overthrow the
Mohammedan religion, seem to have succeeded. From this same sect issued
the Fatimite khalifs. These, after establishing themselves in Africa,
were not long in depriving the khalifs of Bagdad, of Egypt and Syria,
and they formed a potent empire, which lasted two centuries and a half,
until it was overthrown by Saladin. These Fatimite khalifs acknowledged
themselves to be Ismailians; but the interests of their policy obliged
them to disguise the secret doctrines of their sect, which were known
only to a small number of adepts, and the most intolerant of them
imposed no other obligation on their subjects, than the recognition of
Ali and his descendants’ right to the sovereignty, and to vow a mortal
hatred against the khalifs of Bagdad. In the person of the Fatimites,
the Ismailians had ascended the throne, and deprived the Abassides of
a considerable portion of their empire: but their ambition was not
satisfied. The race of the prophet ought not to share the sovereignty
with the descendants of usurpers, and even the honour of Islamism, and
of the doctrine taught and propagated by the imams, required that all
Musulmans should be united in the same faith, and pay obedience to a
single legitimate pontiff. To attain this end, missionaries, spread
throughout all the oriental provinces, secretly taught the dogmas of
the Ismailians, and laboured unceasingly to increase the number of
their proselytes, and to inspire them with the spirit of revolt against
the khalifs of Bagdad and the princes who acknowledged their authority.
About the middle of the sixth century of the Hegira, one of these
missionaries, named Hassan, son of Ali, having been gained over to
the Ismailians, afterwards signalized himself by his zeal in the
propagation of his adopted sect. This man, in other respects a good
Musulman, being persuaded that the Fatimite khalif, Mostanssur, at
that time reigning in Egypt, was the legitimate imam, resolved to
repair to his court, deeming himself happy in being able to proffer his
homage, and to revere in him the image and vice-gerent of the Deity.
For this purpose, he left the northern provinces of Persia, where
he was exercising the secret and dangerous functions of missionary,
and proceeded to Egypt. His reputation had preceded him thither. The
reception which he met with from the khalif, rendered it beyond the
reach of doubt, that he would soon be called to the first offices. As
usual, favour excited jealousy, and Hassan’s enemies soon found an
opportunity of rendering him an object of the khalif’s suspicion. They
even wished to have him arrested; but Mostanssur acceding reluctantly
to their plans of revenge, they were satisfied with putting him on
board a vessel bound for the northern coast of Africa. After some
adventures, strongly tinged with the marvellous, Hassan returned to
Syria, and thence passing through Aleppo, Bagdad, and Ispahan, he
traversed the several provinces submitted to the Seljukide rule,
everywhere performing his missionary functions, and omitting no means
to effect the recognition of Mostanssur’s pontificate. After much
travelling about, he at length established himself in the fortress of
Alamut, situated in ancient Parthia, a short distance from Kaswin. The
predictions of Hassan and some other missionaries, had multiplied the
partisans of the Ismailites in these regions so considerably, that it
was far from difficult to him, to compel the governor of that fortress,
commanding in the of the Sultan Melekshah, to sell it to him for a
moderate sum of money. Having become master of the place, he was able
to maintain himself in its possession against all the sultan’s forces;
and, by the insinuations of the missionaries, whom he sent into the
environs, and by planned excursions, he subjected several places in
the immediate neighbourhood, and erected for himself an independent
sovereignty; in which, however, he only exercised his authority in the
name of the imam, whose minister he acknowledged himself to be. The
position of Alamut, situated as it is in the midst of a mountainous
region, caused its prince to receive the title of _Sheikh al Jebal_
(_i. e._ _Sheikh_, or _Prince of the Mountains_); and the double
sense of the word _Sheikh_, which means both prince and old man, has
occasioned the historians of the Crusades, and the celebrated Marco
Polo, to call him the “_Old Man of the Mountain_.”
Hassan and his successors, for nearly three centuries, were not
satisfied with having established their power in Persia: they soon
found means to possess themselves of several strong places in Syria.
Masyat, a place situated in the mountains of the Anti-Libanus, became
their chief seat, in that province; and also the residence of the
Prince of Alamut’s lieutenant. This branch of the Ismailites, which had
settled in Syria, is the one mentioned by the western historians of the
Crusades, and to which they have given the name of _Assassin_.
Before proceeding to the etymology of this name, we ought to observe,
that Hassan, and the two princes who succeeded him in the sovereignty
over the Ismailites of Persia and Syria, although attached to the
peculiar tenets of the sect, nevertheless observed all the laws of
Islamism; but, under the fourth prince of this dynasty, a great change
took place in the religion of the Ismailites. This prince, who was
named Hassan, son of Mohammed, pretended that he had received secret
orders from the imam, by virtue of which he abolished all the external
practices of Musulman worship; permitted his subjects to drink wine,
and gave them a dispensation from all the obligations which the law
of Mohammed imposes on its followers. He publicly announced, that the
knowledge of the allegorical sense of the precepts, dispenses with
the observation of the literal sense; and thus gained the Ismailites
the name of _Mulahid_, or the _Impious_; a title by which they are
most frequently designated by oriental writers. The example of this
prince was followed by his son; and, for about fifty years, the Persian
and Syrian Ismailites persisted in this doctrine. After this period,
the worship was restored and preserved among them, until the entire
destruction of their power.
The embassy which the Old Man of the Mountain, of the historians
of the Crusades, that is, the sovereign of the Ismailites, sent to
Amaury I. King of Jerusalem, falls under the reign of one of the two
apostate princes, whom we have just mentioned. It is true, then, as
William, Archbishop of Tyre, says, that the prince by whom this embassy
was sent, had suppressed all the practices of the Musulman religion,
destroyed the mosques, authorized incestuous unions, and allowed the
use of wine and pork. When we read the sacred book of the Druses, or
the fragments which we possess of those of the Ismailites, we have
little hesitation in believing, that this prince, as the same historian
asserts, was acquainted with the books of the Christians, and that he
had formed a wish not to embrace the Christian religion, but to study
more accurately its doctrines and observances.
Let us now pass to the name _Assassin_. This word, as I have already
said, has been written in a variety of ways; but to confine myself to
those possessing the best authority, I shall state, that it has been
pronounced _Assassini_, _Assissini_, and _Heississini_. Joinville has
written _Haussaci_. The limits which I have prescribed myself, forbid
my entering here into the discussion of the various etymologies of this
name, which have been proposed by different learned persons. Suffice it
for me to say, that they have all been mistaken, because they had, no
doubt, never met with the word in any Arabic author. The Assassins are
almost always called by oriental historians, _Ismailites_, _Mulahid_
(i. e. _the Impious_), or _Batenites_, signifying _partisans of the
allegorical sense_. Only one literary person, in a letter, preserved by
Menage, had a glimpse of the true etymology; but he had erected it on
bad foundations, as he had not the slightest suspicion of the motive
which led to the Ismailites being designated by this term.
One of the most illustrious, most certainly, of the victims to the
fury of the Ismailites, is Saladin. It is true, this great prince
escaped their attacks; but he was twice on the point of losing his
life by these wretches’ daggers, for which he afterwards reaped a
striking revenge. It is in perusing the account of these reiterated
attempts, in some Arabic authors, contemporaries of Saladin, and ocular
witnesses of what they relate, that I have been convinced that the
Ismailites, or, at least, the men whom they employed to execute their
horrible projects, were called, in Arabic, _Hashishin_ in the plural,
and _Hashishi_ in the singular; and this name, slightly altered by the
Latin writers, has been expressed as exactly as possible by several
Greek historians, and by the Jew, Benjamin, of Tudela.
As for the origin of the name in question, although I have not gleaned
it from any one of the oriental historians that I have consulted, I
have no doubt whatever that denomination was given to the Ismailites,
on account of their using an intoxicating liquid, or preparation,
still known in the east by the name of _Hashish_. Hemp leaves, and
some other parts of the same vegetable,[302] form the basis of this
preparation; which is employed in different ways, either in liquid,
or in the form of pastiles, mixed with saccharine substances; or even
in fumigation. The intoxication produced by the _hashish_, causes an
ecstasy similar to that which the orientals produce by the use of
opium; and, from the testimony of a great number of travellers, we may
affirm, that those who fall into this state of delirium, imagine they
enjoy the ordinary objects of their desires, and taste felicity at a
cheap rate; but the too frequent enjoyment changes the animal economy,
and produces, first, marasmus, and then, death. Some, even in this
state of temporary insanity, losing all knowledge of their debility,
commit the most brutal actions, so as to disturb the public peace. It
has not been forgotten, that when the French army was in Egypt, the
general-in-chief, Napoleon, was obliged to prohibit, under the severest
penalties, the sale and use of these pernicious substances; the habit
of which has made an imperious want in the inhabitants of Egypt,
particularly the lower orders. Those who indulge in this custom, are,
to this day, called _Hashishin_; and these two different expressions
explain why the Ismailites were called by the historians of the
Crusades, sometimes _Assissini_, and sometimes _Assassini_.
Let us hasten to meet an objection, which cannot fail to be made
against the motive on which we found the origin of the denomination of
Assassins, as applied to the Ismailites. If the use of intoxicating
substances, prepared from hemp leaves, is able to disturb the reason;
if it throws a man into a sort of delirium, and makes him take dreams
to be realities; how could it be proper for people who had need of
all their _sang-froid_ and mental calmness, in order to execute the
murders with which they were charged, and who were seen to proceed to
countries most remote from their own residence, to watch many days for
an opportunity favourable to the execution of their designs; to mix
among the soldiers of the prince whom they were about to immolate to
the will of their chieftain; to fight under his colours, and skilfully
to seize the instant which fortune offered for their purpose? This,
certainly, is not the conduct of delirious beings, nor of madmen,
carried away by a fury which they are no longer able to control; such
as travellers describe those who _ran a muck_, so much dreaded among
the Malays and Indians. One word will suffice, in answer to this
objection; and with this, Marco Polo’s account will supply us. This
traveller, whose veracity is now generally acknowledged, informs us,
that the Old Man of the Mountain educated young men, selected from
the most robust inhabitants of the places under his sway, in order to
make them the executioners of his barbarous decrees. The whole object
of their education went to convince them, that, by blindly obeying
the orders of their chief, they insured to themselves, after death,
the enjoyment of every pleasure that can flatter the senses. For this
purpose, the prince had delightful gardens laid out near his palace;
there, in pavilions, decorated with every thing rich and brilliant that
Asiatic luxury can devise, dwelt young beauties, dedicated solely to
the pleasures of those for whom these enchanting regions were destined.
Thither, from time to time, the princes of the Ismailites caused the
young people, whom they wished to make the blind instruments of their
will, to be transported. After administering to them a beverage which
threw them into a deep sleep, and deprived them, for some time, of the
use of their faculties, they were carried into those pavilions, which
were fully worthy of the gardens of Armida; on their awaking, every
thing which met their eyes, or struck their ears, threw them into a
rapture, which deprived reason of all control over their minds; and
uncertain whether they were still on earth, or whether they had already
entered upon the enjoyment of that felicity, the picture of which had
so often been presented to their imagination, they yielded in transport
to all the kinds of seduction, by which they were surrounded. After
they had passed some days in these gardens, the same means which had
been adopted to introduce them, without their being conscious of it,
were again made use of to remove them. Advantage was carefully taken
of the first moments of an awakening, which had broken the charm of
so much enjoyment, to make them relate to their young companions,
the wonders of which they had been the witnesses; and they remained
themselves convinced, that the happiness which they had experienced in
the few days which had so soon elapsed, was but the prelude, and, as
it were, the foretaste of that of which they might secure the eternal
possession, by their submission to the orders of their prince.
Although some exaggeration might be supposed to exist in the Venetian
traveller’s recital; and although, instead of crediting the existence
of these enchanted gardens, which is, however, attested by many other
writers, we should still reduce all the wonders of that magnificent
abode to a phantom, produced by the exalted imagination of the young
men who were intoxicated with the _hashish_, and who, from their
infancy, had been nursed with the idea of this happiness; it would
not be the less true, that we here find the use of a liquor, destined
to deaden the senses, and in which we cannot overlook, that its
employment, or rather abuse, is spread throughout a great part of Asia
and Africa. At the epoch of the Ismailitic power, these intoxicating
preparations were not yet known in the Moslem countries. It was only at
a later period, the knowledge of it was brought from the most eastern
regions, probably even from India into the Persian provinces. Thence it
was communicated to the Musulmans of Mesopotamia, Asia Minor, Syria,
and Egypt. No doubt, the Ismailites, whose doctrines had several points
of resemblance with those of the Indians, had acquired this knowledge
earlier, and preserved it as a precious secret, and as one of the
principal springs of their power. This conjecture is supported by the
fact, that one of the most celebrated Arabian writers attributes the
introduction amongst the Egyptians, of an electuary prepared from hemp,
to a Persian Ismailite.
I shall conclude this memoir by observing, that it is not impossible
that hemp, or some parts of that vegetable, mixed with other substances
unknown to us, may have been sometimes employed to produce a state of
phrenzy and violent madness. We know that opium, the effects of which
are, in general, analogous to those of intoxicating preparations made
with hemp, is, nevertheless, the means made use of by the Malays, to
throw themselves into that state of fury, during which, being no longer
masters of themselves, they murder every one they meet, and blindly
precipitate themselves into the midst of swords and lances. The means
employed thus to alter the effects of opium is, if travellers are to be
believed, mixing it with citron juice, and to allow the two substances
to incorporate for a few days.
Note E, p. 137.
_To the Editor of the Moniteur._[303]
Paris, December, 23, 1809.
SIR,
You were kind enough to insert in your 210th number, of the 29th
of July last, the memoir on the dynasty of the Assassins, and on
the origin of their name; which I read at the public sitting of the
Institute, on the 7th of the same month. That memoir has occasioned a
letter, dated from Marseilles, the 16th of September, 1809, and signed
“M. R., Old Residents in the Levant;” to be likewise inserted in your
269th number, of the 26th of September.
I do not know whether I am mistaken in suspecting, that the signature
of that letter disguises a justly celebrated name, whose authority
might have added great weight to the objections contained in the
letter, had the writer of it been inclined to make himself known.
However, as the author, or authors, of that letter, in attacking
(although in the most gentlemanly manner, and with the most obliging
expressions) the etymology of the word _Assassins_, which I have
proposed, display no common knowledge of the Arabic language, I think
it becomes me to justify my opinion, and reply to their objections; the
more so, as the paper which I read at the public sitting of the 1st of
July, was but a very brief extract from a much more extended memoir;
and that this memoir, as well as all the others that I have submitted
to the judgment of the Ancient History and Literature Class of the
Institute, will, perhaps, not be published during my life-time, owing
to the caprice of circumstances, which neither I myself, nor that class
of the Institute, have power to control.
The origin which I attributed to the word _Assassin_, appears, to
the authors of the letter in question, to be _too far fetched_;
consequently, they propose another; and affirm, that the name of the
Assassins is nothing more than the plural of _Hassas_, “a word which,”
they add, “is employed by the people of Syria, and even of Lower Egypt,
to designate _a thief of the night—a robber_.”
These gentlemen might have supported their opinion by most respectable
authorities; for their etymology is not new; and I did not fail to make
mention of it, as well as of a host of others, which were, perhaps,
unknown to them, in my memoir, read at the private sitting.
This discussion was not admissible in a reading destined for a public
meeting; I have, therefore, suppressed it entirely. Permit me to
transcribe a few lines here:—
“Thomas Hyde, I remarked, who had, no doubt, never encountered the true
denomination of the _Assassins_, in any Arabic writer, believed, that
it must be the Arabic word _Hassas_, derived from the root _Hassa_,
which signifies, amongst other things, to _kill_, to _exterminate_.
This opinion has been adopted by Menage and the learned Falconet. M.
Volney has likewise admitted it, but without citing any authority.”
I then discussed the various etymologies proposed by M. de Caseneuve,
the prelate, J. S. Assemani, M. Falconet, the celebrated Reiske, M.
Court de Gebelin, the Abbé S. Assemani, of Padua, and lastly, Le Moyne;
and I showed that none of these writers had given the true etymology of
the name, with the exception of Le Moyne, who had, indeed, perceived,
that the denomination of _Assassins_ or _Assissins_, was derived from
the Arabic word _Haschisch_ (Hashish). “But,” I add, “M. Le Moyne did
not know why the Ismailites bore the designation of _Haschischin_
(_Hashishin_), and he has given a very bad reason, which has caused the
proscription of his etymology.”
Messrs. M. R. assuredly imagine, that it is merely conjecturally
that I have maintained that the Ismailites were designated by the
name of _Haschischin_ (_Hashishin_), by the Arabs: for they express
themselves thus: “The oldest Italian and French authors commonly write
_Assassini_, sometimes _Heissessini_, and _Assissini_; Joinville wrote
it _Haussaci_. On these grounds, M. de Sacy _doubts not_, that the
Arabic which has served as the type, was _Haschisch_ (_Hashish_),
signifying _herb_, in general, and in one particular meaning, _hemp_.
Now, because the Arabs have long known how to prepare a beverage from
hemp, which intoxicates and maddens like opium; and because this
beverage has sometimes been made use of to stimulate fanatics to the
deed, which the Musulmans call _the holy war_, namely, _premeditated
murder_, M. de Sacy will have it, that the whole sect of the
Ismailites, which supplied many of this kind of fanatics, was called
_Hachichi_ or _Haschischi_ (_Hashishi_); that is, the _herb people_,
but, in order to establish this, it is necessary, in the first place,
to prove, that the use of this beverage was habitual and general among
this sect; so much so, as to distinguish them from all other Arabs,
who used it, but without becoming murderers like them. History teaches
us nothing similar. It even appears, that this artificial means could
only have been employed when their primitive zeal began to cool; but,
moreover, the word _haschisch_ (_hashish_), differs too strongly from
the words _Assassin_, _Heissessin_, and _Haussaci_, to have served as
their original root.”
These gentlemen will allow me to observe, that if they had read with
attention my printed Memoir, and the report made by my esteemed
colleague, M. Ginguené, of the labours of the Ancient History and
Literature Class, since the 1st of July, 1808, they would have found
that there was no conjecture in it at all on my part. In fact, it
was in quoting different passages of Arabic authors, relating to the
enterprises undertaken at different periods by the Syrian Ismailites
against Saladin, that I proved to demonstration, that those writers
employed indifferently, in the same work, the names _Ismailites_,
_Batenites_, and _Haschischin_ (_Hashishin_), as synonymous; and that
the chief of this horde of ruffians, was called the Possessor of the
_Haschischa_ (_Hashisha_). I even took occasion to observe, that the
Byzantine writers called the Assassins _Chasisioi_; and that the Jew,
Benjamin of Tudela, names them in Hebrew, _Haschischin_ (_Hashishin_).
These facts being incontestable, I had to inquire what was this
_Haschisch_ or _Haschischa_ (_Hashish_ or _Hashisha_), possessed by
the chief of the Ismailites, from which these latter derived their
name of _Haschischin_ (_Hashishin_); and, certainly, it needed no
great stretch of imagination, to discover the _haschiseha_ of the
Ismailites in that of the Syrians and Egyptians of the present day. I
afterwards showed, by very positive historical testimony, that, at the
period when the Assassins signalized themselves by their atrocities and
murders, the use of intoxicating preparations made with hemp had not
yet been introduced among the Musulmans; lastly, I proved by a host
of facts, and the testimony of Marco Polo, that the _hashish_ was not
used among the Ismailites for the purpose of throwing those to whom
it was administered, into a state of madness and frenzy, during the
continuance of which they performed the most barbarous actions, almost
consciously; but, that it was a secret known only to the chief of the
sect, and which he employed, to deprive for a time of the use of their
reason, those young men, whom he wished, by means of every kind of
seduction, which could inflame the imagination and exalt the sense, to
inspire with blind obedience to his behests.
The chief reason why the authors of the letter which I am
controverting, have a difficulty in admitting that the word
_Assassins_, or _Assissins_, is actually derived from _Haschischin_,
is, that they cannot believe that western writers could have
substituted the articulation of the Arabic _Sin_, that is, of an _s_,
for that of _Schin_ (_Shin_), which answers to our _ch_ (_sh._ Eng.);
but they have perhaps forgotten, that, at the epoch of the Crusades,
the Latin language was the common idiom of writers throughout Europe;
and that, in that language, the sound of the Arabic _Shin_, cannot
be expressed. We must also add, the Arabic _Shin_ is not in general
pronounced so strongly as our _ch_, (_sh_, Eng.); and that the Arabians
themselves have often used it for the Greek sigma, and the Latin _S_,
of Latin names; such as Pontus, Orosius, Philippus, Busiris, &c., and
lastly, that the Moors in Spain, in writing the Castilian in Arabic
characters, made use of the _Shin_ to express _s_; for example, in
the words _los cielos y las tierras_. (See Notices et Extraits des
Manuscrits, tome IV. page 631 & 642.) Perhaps, we have an example
of the substitution of our _s_, for the Arabic _shin_, in the word
_Sarrasins_ (_Saracens_).
Here, again, I am at variance with the authors of the letter, who
reject the etymologies which have been hitherto proposed, of the name
of the _Sarrasins_ (_Saracens_), in order to derive it from _Sarrag_
or _Sarradj_, a word, meaning, according to them, a _saddle-man_,
and, consequently, a _horse-man_. These gentlemen will not take it
ill, if I deny the consequence, and if I remark, that _sarradj_, or,
as it is otherwise pronounced, _sarrag_, never did, and never could,
according to the analogy of the Arabic language, signify any thing
but _a man who makes or sells saddles for horses, or a stable-boy who
takes care of these animals’ harness_. As I do not wish to be believed
on my word alone, I shall quote Golius, who has not omitted the word
_Sarrag_, as is asserted in the postscript to the letter, and who
translates it thus: _Qui confecit ephippia et ea quæ ad equi et currus
apparatum spectans_ (one who makes saddles, and every thing belonging
to the harness of horses and carriages). Menins, who translates it
into Latin, by _Ephippiarius_, _qui Ephippia et quæ ad ea spectant
conficit—qui curam equorum et apparatus eorum ephippii et phalerarum
habet_; in Italian, by _sellaro_, _palfreniere_; and in French, by
_sellier_, _palfrenier_. Germanus de Silesia, who makes it correspond
with the Italian sellaro: lastly, Father F. Cannes, who, in his Spanish
and Arabic Dictionary, makes use of the Spanish word _Sillero_,
to translate it. The objections which Messrs. M. R. make against
one of the etymologies of the word _Sarrasins_ (Saracens), which
several learned men have derived from the word _Sarikin_, robbers,
are destitute of weight. It is not true, that we cannot admit this
etymology, without, at the same time, supposing that the Arabs called
themselves _robbers_; because, in fact, the Arabs known to the Greeks
and Latins by the denomination of _Sarrasins_ (Saracens), did not give
themselves that name at all, but received it from the neighbouring
tribes, who may very well have termed them _brigands_. This objection
has no more force against those who derive the name of _Sarrasins_,
_Saracens_, _Saraceni_, from _sharki_, or _sharaki_, that is,
_eastern_. If this latter be the true origin of the name, it is beyond
a doubt that it was first given to some Arabs, by nations inhabiting a
more western country, and that it might afterwards have been applied
to the greater part of the nation. As, according to either hypothesis,
the word _Sarrasins_ (_Saracens_), will have an Arabian origin, there
will be some probability in supposing, that this denomination, which
succeeded that of the _Scenites_, was first given to the Nomade Arabs
by the civilized tribes settled in the north-east of Arabia, and who
recognised the Roman authority. In either case, if these etymologies
appear too forced, I should prefer confessing, that we are ignorant of
the origin of the word, than deriving it from an expression which is in
no respect proper to characterize the Arabian nation.
I shall conclude, by observing, as I did in my Memoir, that, perhaps,
the word _Hashishin_, or _Hashashin_, for both are used, did not
properly designate all the Ismailites, but was peculiarly applied to
those who were destined to the Assassin service, and who were also
known by the name of Fedawi (or _devoted_). “I have not, up to this
day,” I said, at the conclusion of my Memoir, “met with a sufficient
number of passages in which this word is employed, to hazard a decided
opinion on the subject; but I am led to believe, that among the
Ismailites, those only were termed _Hashishin_, who were specially
educated to commit murder, and who were, by the use of the _Hashish_,
disposed to an absolute resignation to the will of their chief; this,
however, may not have prevented the denomination from being applied to
Ismailites collectively, especially among the Occidentals.”
Accept, &c. &c.
SYLVESTRE DE SACY.
THE END.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Maracci Prodromus Alcorani Patavii, 1698.
[2] Gagnier Vita Mohammedis ex Abulfeda Oxonii, 1723.
[3] Sale’s Koran, London, 1734.
[4] Essai sur les Mœurs et l’Esprit des Nations, par Voltaire, tom. 2,
Chap. 6.
[5] The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, by Gibbon,
chap. 50.
[6] Vier und Zwanzig Bücher Allgemeine Geschichten, durch Johannes von
Müller, 12 buch, 2 kap.
[7] Ikra-bi-ismi reblike, _read in the name of the Lord_. The
commencement of the first published Sura, the 90th in the present
arrangement.
[8] This fact is not related by Aboulfaraj alone, but also by Macrisi
and Ibn Khaledun, and after them by Hadji Khalfa.
[9] Abulfeda, Annales Moslemici, I. 282.
[10] Abulfeda, Annales Moslemici, I. 314.
[11] A. D. 750; A. H. 132.
[12] A. D. 787; A. H. 172.
[13] Ibn Khaledun, Book l, c 3, § 25. Lari, Chapter of the Twelve Imams.
[14] A. D. 1011; A. H. 402.
[15] A. D. 1058; A. H. 450.
[16] Chap. XIII.
[17] Macrisi. Lari.
[18] _Vide_ Hadji Khalfa, and Reiskii’s Notas ad Abulfeda, 2nd. p. B. 36.
[19] A. D. 758; A. H. 141.
[20] A. D. 778; A. H. 162.
[21] See Herbelot, art. Mani, Erteng, Mokannaa, and Hakem Ben Hashem.
[22] A. D. 837; A. H. 223; according to Hadji Khala. A. D. 841; A. H.
227; according to Lari.
[23] See Lari. Herbelot, art. Babek.
[24] Macrisi, in the beginning of the chapter of the Genealogy of the
Fatimite Khalifs, and below, in the section on the Doctrines of the
Dais; Art. beginning of the Missions of Ibtidai Dawet.
[25] Gulsheni Khalifa, the Khalif’s Bed of Roses, by Nasmisade, after
the Jamius-seir (_i. e._ Collector of Memoirs), and the History of
Nisam-ol-mulk, p. 20.
[26] Nasmisade ibid. See also the Magasin Encyclopédique.
[27] A. D. 920; A. H. 308.
[28] A. D. 909; A. H. 297.
[29] A. D. 977; A. H. 335.
[30] A. D. 1004; A. H. 395.
[31] Macrisi, art. Mohawal and Darol-hikmet.
[32] A. D. 1004; A. H. 395.
[33] A. D. 1122; A. H. 516.
[34] A. D. 1123; A. H. 517.
[35] Macrisi art. Mohaval, Darolilm and Darolilm-jedide.
[36] A. D. 1058; A. H. 450.
[37] Mirkhond and Devletshah; art. Shahfur of Nishabur.
[38] A. D. 1078; A. H. 471.
[39] Nokhbetet-tevarikh and Mirkhond.
[40] A. D. 1078; A. H. 471.
[41] A. D. 1079; A. H. 472.
[42] A. D. 1085; A. H. 478.
[43] A. D. 1072; A. H. 465.
[44] A. D. 1077; A. H. 470.
[45] A. D. 1084; A. H. 477.
[46] A. D. 1077; A. H. 470.
[47] A. D. 1079; A. H. 472.
[48] A. D. 1084; A. H. 477.
[49] Mirkhond and Takwimet-tevarikh.
[50] Mirkhond.
[51] Mirkhond.
[52] Mirkhond.
[53] A. D. 860; A. H. 246.
[54] Jehannuma, p. 296 and 304.
[55] Dealbati.
[56] Daniel, 7, 9.
[57] Nassaih-ol-Moluk.
[58] Nassaih-ol-Moluk, after the Mevakit of the judge Asadeddin.
[59] A. D. 1092; A. H. 485.
[60] Mirkhond.
[61] The Hamakati ehli ilahat yeni Mulahide khaselehum Allah.
[62] Jevahitol Fetavi.
[63] See the Nassaih-ol-Moluk and the Mevakif.
[64] Abulfeda Anno 494; Jihannuma, Mirkhond.
[65] A. D. 1096; A. H. 490.
[66] A. D. 1100; A. H. 494.
[67] Abulfeda Anno 494; Jihannumma, Mirkhond.
[68] Anno H. 490.
[69] Ibn Forat and Kemaleddin.
[70] Jihannumma, art: Sarmin.
[71] A. D. 1107.
[72] Wilken, Geschichte der Kreuzzüge, II. p. 272, after Kemaleddin,
and Albert of Aix. This latter constantly confounds names: he calls
Riswan, Brodoan; Apamea, Femia; Abutaher, Botherus, and the Assassins,
Azopart. _Vide_ Gesta Dei per Francos, p. 350 and 375.
[73] A. D. 1110; A. H. 504.
[74] Ibn Forat and Kemaleddin.
[75] A. D. 1108; A. H. 512.
[76] Abulfeda, Takwimet tevarik, Mirkhond Abulfaradj.
[77] A. D. 1113; A. H. 507.
[78] A. D. 1115; A. H. 509.
[79] A. D. 1119; A. H. 513.
[80] A. D. 1120; A. H. 514.
[81] Ibn Forat.
[82] A. D. 1114; A. H. 508.
[83] Abulfeda, Takwimet-tevarikh Mirkhond Abulfaradj.
[84] A. D. 1117; A. H. 511.
[85] A. D. 1104; A. H. 498.
[86] Mirkhond.
[87] A. D. 1124; A. H. 518.
[88] A. D. 1126; A. H. 520.
[89] Mirkhond.
[90] A. D. 1127; A. H. 521.
[91] Takwimet-tevarikh.
[92] Mirkhond.
[93] A. D. 1128; A. H. 522.
[94] Mirkhond.
[95] A. D. 1129; A. H. 524.
[96] Takwimet-tevarikh.
[97] A. D. 1131; A. H. 526.
[98] Mirkhond.
[99] Mirkhond.
[100] Abulfeda, a. 523.
[101] Jehannumma, p. 559.
[102] A. D. 1128; A. H. 523.
[103] Kemaleddin and Ibn Forat; the latter calls the vizier Mardeghani
Mardekani; and the prince of Aleppo, Bure instead of Busi.
[104] Abulfeda, a. 523. Wilhel. Tyr. XIII. 25.
[105] A. D. 1118.
[106] Anton, Versuch einer Geschichte des Tempelherrenordens. p. 10-15
[107] A. D. 1129; A. H. 524.
[108] Wilken, Geschichte der Kreuzzüge. II. p. 566.
[109] The crown of kings.
[110] Justini Epitome, l. xxiv. c. 8.
[111] A. D. 1129; A. H. 524.
[112] A. D. 1132; A. H. 527.
[113] Wilken Geschichte der Kreuzzüge, II. p. 612.
[114] Dispenser of fortune.
[115] Abulfeda, ad an. 520.
[116] A. D. 1126; A. H. 520.
[117] Wilken, II. p. 531; after Kemaleddin.
[118] A. D. 1127; A. H. 521.
[119] Ibn Forat.
[120] A. D. 1130; A. H. 525.
[121] Abulfeda, ad ann. 525.
[122] Abulfeda, ad ann. 529.
[123] Mirkhond.
[124] The command according to the command of God.
[125] Abulfeda, ann. 524.
[126] Wilken Geschichte der Kreuzzüge, 11, p. 593; after Renandot.
[127] A. D. 1134; A. H. 529.
[128] Abulfeda, ann. 529.
[129] A. D. 1134; A. H. 529. A. D. 1138; A. H. 533.
[130] A. D. 1140; A. H. 535.
[131] Mirkhond and Abulfeda.
[132] Mirkhond.
[133] Mirkhond.
[134] A. D. 1092; A. H. 485.
[135] A. D. 1107; A. H. 501.
[136] D’Herbelot, after Ghaffari and others.
[137] A. D. 1150; A. H. 545.
[138] A. D. 1151; A. H. 546. Devletshah art. Enweri, Ferideddin Katib,
and Sabir.
[139] The Atabegs of Aserbijan, A. D. 1145; A. H. 540; those of Fars,
A. D. 1148; A. H. 543; those of Loristan, A. D. 1150; A. H. 545.
(Takwimet tevarikh.)
[140] A. D. 1142; A. H. 537.
[141] A. D. 1154; A. H. 549.
[142] A. D. 1158; A. H. 553.
[143] A. D. 1160; A. H. 555.
[144] A. D. 1154; A. H. 549.
[145] Gesta Dei per Francos, p. 893.
[146] A. D. 1148; A. H. 543. Nepa, p. 915.
[147] Nokhbetet-tevarikh.
[148] A. D. 1151; A. H. 546. Turbessel, Hamtab, Hazart, Rarendel, Gesta
Dei, &c. p. 920.
[149] Mejereddin, G. D. p. 893.
[150] Miheneddin Ainardus (ibidem).
[151] Jihad ol assghar.
[152] Jihad ol ekbar.
[153] From the Nokhbetet-tevarikh of Mohammed Effendi, after the
Akdol-jemen, (i. e. _coral necklace_); the Kamil (i. e. _the
complete_) of Ibn Essir, and the Miret-ol-edvar, or _mirror of ages_.
[154] A. D. 1162; A. H. 558.
[155] According to the Nokhbetet-tevarikh; according to the Gesta Dei,
two hundred thousand paid down, and as much promised.
[156] According to the Nokhbetet-tevarikh; according to the Gesta Dei,
two hundred thousand ready money, and as much promised.
[157] Gesta Dei, p. 978.
[158] A. D. 1168; A. H. 564.
[159] Nokhbetet-tevarikh.
[160] Here again the Nokhbetet-tevarikh gives exactly half the sum
mentioned by William of Tyre, according to whom, the khalif promised
two millions, and paid one hundred thousand ducats. Gesta Dei, p. 979.
[161] A. D. 1171; A. H. 567.
[162] A.D. 1163.
[163] Hafez, letter Alif.
[164] According to Mirkhond and Wassah; according to the Nokhbetet
tevarikh, the seventh.
[165] Mirkhond.
[166] Devletshah. Heerens Geschichte der Classischen Litteratur.
Bouterwek Geschichte der französischen Dichtkunst.
[167] A. D. 1175; A. H. 569.
[168] A. D. 1177; A. H. 573.
[169] A. D. 1186; A. H. 582.
[170] A. D. 1201; A. H. 598.
[171] A. D. 1180; A. H. 576.
[172] A. D. 1190; A. H. 586.
[173] A. D. 1180; A. H. 576.
[174] A. D. 1170; A. H. 566.
[175] A. D. 1196; A. H. 593.
[176] A. D. 1196; A. H. 593.
[177] A. D. 1200; A. H. 597.
[178] A. D. 1209; A. H. 606.
[179] A. D. 1172; A. H. 568.
[180] A. D. 1209; A. H. 606.
[181] Mirkhond. Devletshah. Ghaffari.
[182] Western Africa. T.
[183] From the Okdet-ol-jeman in the Nokhbetet-tevarikh.
[184] A. D. 1173; A. H. 569.
[185] A. D. 1174; A. H. 570.
[186] Nokhbetet-tevarikh.
[187] Nokhbetet-tevarikh. Jehannuma.
[188] Rousseau, Mémoire sur les Ismailis, p. 13.
[189] Ibid. Ibid, p. 1.
[190] William of Tyre, p. 994.
[191] Jehannuma, pp. 591, 592.
[192] Macrisi. Abulfeda.
[193] Nokhbetet-tevarikh.
[194] Ibn Forat.
[195] A. D. 1175; A. H. 571.
[196] Nokhbetet-tevarikh.
[197] Abulfeda, ad ann. 571.
[198] A. D. 1176; A. H. 572.
[199] William of Tyre, Gesta Dei per Francos, p. 994. Jacobi de
Vitriaco Historia Hierosolymæ, p. 1062.
[200] Extraits d’un Livre des Ismailis, par M. Rousseau, tiré du 52
Cahier des Annales des Voyages.
[201] Mémoire sur les Ismailis, par la même, tiré du 42 Cahier des
Annales des Voyages, p. 13. See note (A) at the end of this volume.
[202] Extraits d’un Livre des Ismailis, p. 10.
[203] A. D. 1157; A. H. 552.
[204] Ibn Forat.
[205] Hadji Khalfa, in the Jehannuma, and Abulfeda, ad. ann. 588.
[206] Gesta Dei per Francos, p. 994 and 1143.
[207] Ibid., p. 978.
[208] Gesta Dei per Francos, p. 1215.
[209] A. D. 1173; A. H. 569.
[210] A. D. 1178; A. H. 574.
[211] A. D. 1149; A. H. 544.
[212] Eclaircissement sur quelques circonstances de l’histoire du vieux
de la Montagne. Mem: Acad. des Inscriptions, XVI., 155. Note (B) at the
end of this volume.
[213] Abulfeda, ad ann. 588. Nokhbetet-tevarikh.
[214] Chron: Alberic itrium fontium, ann. 1192.
[215] Enis-ol-jelil ji kuda vel khalil. See Mines de l’Orient, vol. IV.
[216] See note (C) at the end.
[217] Wilhelmus Neobrigensis; vide Dissertation sur les Assassins, par
M. Falconet, dans les Mémoires de l’Acad. XVII., p. 167.
[218] Rigord in du Chesne, V., p. 35.
[219] Mém. de l’Acad. des Inscriptions, XVI., p. 161.
[220] Radevicus Frisingensis, l. II., c. 37. Sigonius Guntherus.
[221] Franciscus Pagus Breviarum hist. chron. crit. ad ann. 1244.
[222] Epistolæ Petri de Vineis, l. III. cap. 5.
[223] A. D. 1194.
[224] Marinus Sanutus, l. III., part X., c. 8.
[225] Elmacini Hist. Saracencia, l. III., p. 286.
[226] Marco Polo, De Regionibus Orientalibus, lib. I. c. 28.
[227] Siret Hakem biemrillah in Mines de l’Orient, Part III., p. 201,
Arabic and French.
[228] This appears to be a mistake, as the _hashishe_ is found to
consist chiefly of hemp; see notes D and E, at the end of this vol. _T._
[229] See the circumstantial proof of this indubitable genealogy, in
the Mémoire sur la Dynastie des Assassins, et sur l’Origine de leur
Nom; by M. Silvestre de Sacy; read at the Institute, 7th July, 1809.
And a letter of M. Silvestre de Sacy to the Editor of the Moniteur, on
the Etymology of the name of the Assassins.—Moniteur, No. 359, year
1809. The reader will find both translated, in notes D and E, at the
end of the volume.
[230] Abulfeda, ad. ann. 607. Mirkhond. Wassaf.
[231] Ibid.
[232] Trumpet of the holy war, from the mouth of the prophet Mohammed,
son of Abdallah. Vienna, 1813.
[233] Gulsheni’s Khulifa.
[234] A. D. 1214; A. H. 611.
[235] Mirkhond.
[236] History of Thaberistan and Mazanderan, by Sahereddin, in the
Imperial Library, at Vienna, No. 117.
[237] Jehannuma, p. 442.
[238] Sehareddin’s History of Mazanderan and Thaberistan.
[239] Sehareddin’s History of Mazanderan and Thaberistan.
[240] Sehareddin, op. cit.
[241] Mirkhond.
[242] Mohammed Nisawi, Biography of Jelaleddin Mankberni.
[243] A. D. 1226; A. H. 624.
[244] Mohammed Nissawi’s Biography of Sultan Mankberni, and Hassan
ben Ibrahim, both extracted in Quatremère’s Notice Historique sur les
Ismaéliens, in vol. IV. Mines de l’Orient.
[245] Wassaf.
[246] A. D. 1255; A. H. 653.
[247] A. D. 1186.
[248] Takwimet-tevarikh, ann. 489 and 582. A. D. 1095.
[249] Mirkhond, fifth Part, History of the Mongols.
[250] See Mines de l’Orient, part I. p. 248.
[251] A. D. 1253; A. H. 651.
[252] Ali Effendi’s Historical Writings. Imperial Library at Vienna,
No. 125.
[253] A. D. 1256.
[254]
Besal areb sheshsad u panchah u chehar shud
Yek shumbah awal meh Silkide bamdad.
In the six hundred and fifty-fourth year, it was
Early on Sunday, on the first of Silkide.
Mirkhond.
[255] A. D. 1257.
[256] Bengertus. Joachimus Camerarius, Arnoldus Lubecensis. Haithon
Armenensis, quoted in Withof’s Meuchelmörderischen Reich. der
Assassinen, p. 168, et seq. Bengertus, by mistake, places Tigado in
Syria.
[257] Tarikhi Masenderan. Imperial Library, Vienna. No. 117.
[258] Mines de l’Orient. vol. III.
[259] Mémoire Historique sur la Vie et les Ouvrages d’Alaeddin Atamelik
Djovaini, par M Quatremère. Mines de l’Orient, II. p. 220.
[260] View of the Sciences of the East. Encyclopedie.
[261] Mémoires Géographiques et Historiques sur l’Egypte, par
Quatremère, II. p. 506.
[262] Macrisi. Ibn Khaledun, Ibn Forat, Abulfaradj.
[263] Takwimet-tevarikh.
[264] Mirkhond. Wassaf. Gulsheni Khulifa.
[265] Aali’s Historical Sketches. Imp. Lib. Vienna. No. 115.
[266] Dar-es-selam, the house of peace. Wadi-es-selam, the valley of
peace. Medenet-es-selam, the city of peace. Burj ol evlia, castle of
the holy. Sevra, oblique.
[267] Jehannuma, p. 459.
[268] Ibid, p. 479, 480.
[269] Dar-es-shedshret.
[270] A. D. 918; A. H. 306.
[271] There is a more circumstantial detail in Abulfeda, Part II. p.
332, and Jehannuma, pp. 459 and 478, and in the Gulsheni Khulifa and
Lari, than in Gibbon, c. LII.
[272] The Persian Damdama, as well as the Arabic Thanthana, and the
Latin Tinnitus, are onomatopœias of this musical sound.
[273] Mirkhond, Wassaf, Gulsheni Khulifa.
[274] Deguignes, Part II. p. 197, and Abulfeda, ad. ann. 449.
[275] Continuator Theophanis. Gibbon, c. LIII.
[276] Mirkhond, Wassaf, Gulsheni Khulifa.
[277] A. D. 1165; A. H. 664.
[278] Macrisi, in the Book of the Sects. Ibn Forat.
[279] A. D. 1269; A. H. 668.
[280] Macrisi. Ibn Forat.
[281] A. D. 1270; A. H. 669.
[282] Jehannuma.
[283] Ibid, p. 590.
[284] About A. D. 790; A. H. 109.
[285] Jehannuma, p. 642.
[286] Eclaircissemens sur quelques circonstances de l’Histoire du
Vieux de la Montagne, Prince des Assassins. Histoire de l’Académie des
Inscriptions, XVI. p. 163.
[287] Nassaih-ol-Moluk, by Jelali. Imp. Library Vienna, No. 163.
[288] Ibid.
[289] A. D. 1326; A. H. 720.
[290] Macrisi, in the Book of Sects. Abulfeda.
[291] Mémoires sur les Ismaelis et Nossairis de Syrie, adressé à M.
Silv. de Sacy, par M. Rousseau. Annales des Voyages. Cahier XLII.
[292] Extrait d’un livre des Ismailis, pour faire suite au Mémoire sur
les Ismailis et Nossairis. Annales des Voyages, LII.
[293] A topographical Memoir on Persia.
[294] De Tenvil et Tensil autore Silvestre de Sacy, in novis
Commentariis Societatis Göttingensis.
[295] Volney Voyages.
[296] Jehannuma, p. 419.
[297] Livy. l. XXXIX. c. 8.
[298] Kopp, Ueber die Verfassung der heimlichen Gerichte in Westphalen.
[299] Annales des Voyages, cahier XLII. p. 13 of the article, and 283 of
the collection.
[300] Two khalifs; one of Bagdad, the other of Egypt; Herbelot, art.
Bathania. Tapares, Sultan of Khorassan, Ann.: Comnen. Alexiad. Book VI.
A king of Mossul and Seljukide prince; Extracts from the History of
Abulfeda, by Deguignes. The celebrated Vizier Nisam-ol-mulk, Herbelot,
art. Melekshah:—without reckoning many other assassinations recounted
by Abulfaradj, in different parts of his ninth dynasty.
[301] Mémoires de l’Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, tom
XVII. p. 168. Falconet; Dissertation sur les Assassins Peuple d’Asie,
2e partie.
[302] The following is an extract from a late work on Botany, published
by Professor Burnett, of King’s College, which is strongly confirmatory
of De Sacy’s views; the same is likewise stated by Dr. Ainslie. _T._
“In India, hemp is cultivated as a luxury, and used solely as an
excitant. It possesses several peculiar intoxicating powers, and
produces luxurious dreams and trances. The leaves are sometimes chewed,
and sometimes smoked as tobacco. A stupifying liquor is also prepared
from them; and they enter with opium, betel nut, sugar, &c. into
various narcotic preparations. Prepared hemp is called by the Arabs
_hashish_, &c. &c.”—Burnett’s Botany, p. 560.
[303] Vol. XLI. No. 359, Monday, 25th December, 1809.
VIZETELLY, BRANSTON AND CO. PRINTERS, 76 FLEET STREET, LONDON.
* * * * * *
Transcriber's note:
English transliterations of Arabic, Persian, and Turkish names
are often inconsistent. Alternate spellings of these names occur
troughout this book, as is the case in similar books.
To avoid errors which can be introduced, to assure consistency, and
to be faithful to the original edition, only typographical and some
other obvious errors have been corrected.