2RHPZ
05-28-2004, 03:29 PM
Just watching some series on TV about terrorism and they mentioned Hashasheens. Is this the first organized "terrorist" style organization?* Does anyone know of any earlier ones?
Here is small article that I have quickly found:
At the end of the first Crusades, the Hashashasheen was formed, a Moslem order founded by Hasan as'Sabah, with the headquaters in the mountain fortress of Alamut (Eagle's Nest) in Northern Persia.
The sect is a Shiite order (Shiites made up 14% of Moslems of the time and Sunnis made up 85%) and their primary focus is against the Sunnis.* They Hashasheens believe that all Moslems should share their wealth and live in a state of communism (or at least something very similar to what Marx wrote of as communism).* They believe to accomplish this, they need to put to death all Sunni Islamic leaders, the Turks (who are Sunnis), the Caliph in Baghdad (a Sunni also), and any Shiite leader who is on friendly terms with they Sunni.* They believe the Sunnis are a blight to Islam that needs to be purified.* Their preferred time to strike was also at a time and location where there would be large amounts of civilians around (better shock value I suppose).
The term Hashashasheen came from the fact that they drank a Hashish drink before carrying out their missions.* This term is also the birth of the term assassin (if you can't see the similarity, pull a couple of teeth, drink some whiskey, and try to say assassin* ).
The assassins are given a target, they eliminate it, and then kill themselves (how about that for a recruitment poster..."see the world, kill people, kill yourself...").* To accomplish getting these assassins, Hasan makes his fortress like the Prophet's Paradise, built around a perfumed garden where naked women cater to every whim of the chosen assassin candidates.* After a while, the assassins are given a hashish drink and then removed from this gerden of pleasure.* They are then told that in order to return to the garden of pleasure, they have to kill in the service of the grand master, at which time they will be admitted into the garden of pleasure forever (read the afterlife).
Surprisingly enough, they are so oppossed to the Sunni Moslems thay they become allies with the crusaders.* Richard the Lion Hear met with the grand master on many occasions and arranged assassinations with them, incluidng a hit on Saladin.
Here is small article that I have quickly found:
At the end of the first Crusades, the Hashashasheen was formed, a Moslem order founded by Hasan as'Sabah, with the headquaters in the mountain fortress of Alamut (Eagle's Nest) in Northern Persia.
The sect is a Shiite order (Shiites made up 14% of Moslems of the time and Sunnis made up 85%) and their primary focus is against the Sunnis.* They Hashasheens believe that all Moslems should share their wealth and live in a state of communism (or at least something very similar to what Marx wrote of as communism).* They believe to accomplish this, they need to put to death all Sunni Islamic leaders, the Turks (who are Sunnis), the Caliph in Baghdad (a Sunni also), and any Shiite leader who is on friendly terms with they Sunni.* They believe the Sunnis are a blight to Islam that needs to be purified.* Their preferred time to strike was also at a time and location where there would be large amounts of civilians around (better shock value I suppose).
The term Hashashasheen came from the fact that they drank a Hashish drink before carrying out their missions.* This term is also the birth of the term assassin (if you can't see the similarity, pull a couple of teeth, drink some whiskey, and try to say assassin* ).
The assassins are given a target, they eliminate it, and then kill themselves (how about that for a recruitment poster..."see the world, kill people, kill yourself...").* To accomplish getting these assassins, Hasan makes his fortress like the Prophet's Paradise, built around a perfumed garden where naked women cater to every whim of the chosen assassin candidates.* After a while, the assassins are given a hashish drink and then removed from this gerden of pleasure.* They are then told that in order to return to the garden of pleasure, they have to kill in the service of the grand master, at which time they will be admitted into the garden of pleasure forever (read the afterlife).
Surprisingly enough, they are so oppossed to the Sunni Moslems thay they become allies with the crusaders.* Richard the Lion Hear met with the grand master on many occasions and arranged assassinations with them, incluidng a hit on Saladin.