Download or read book The Untold Story of the Assassins The Real History of Hassan i Sabbah and His Followers written by Borna Ahadi and published by Borna Ahadi. This book was released on 2024-11-07 with total page 62 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Prepare to be captivated by the extraordinary tale of Hassan-i Sabbah, one of the most enigmatic and controversial figures in Islamic history. Born in the 11th century in the Persian city of Qom, Hassan-i Sabbah's life was a tapestry woven with threads of religious fervor, political intrigue, and strategic brilliance. As the founder of the Nizari Ismaili state and the legendary order of the Assassins, Hassan-i Sabbah left an indelible mark on the medieval Islamic world. From his impregnable fortress at Alamut, he challenged the might of the Seljuk Empire and the Abbasid Caliphate, defying their power with a combination of military prowess, covert operations, and ideological zeal. But Hassan-i Sabbah was more than just a master strategist and political operator. He was also a man of deep learning and piety, steeped in the esoteric teachings of Ismaili Shia Islam. His vision of a just and equitable society, guided by the wisdom of the Imam, inspired a devoted following that would endure for centuries after his death. In this meticulously researched and richly narrated biography, we delve into the complex and often contradictory world of Hassan-i Sabbah, exploring the many facets of his character and the profound impact of his legacy. From his early years as a promising scholar in Qom to his fateful encounter with the Ismaili da'i in Egypt, and from his audacious seizure of Alamut to his final days as the revered Old Man of the Mountain, we trace the remarkable journey of a man who shaped the course of history. Through a vivid and engaging narrative, we explore the social, political, and religious landscape of the 11th and 12th centuries, a time of great upheaval and transformation in the Islamic world. We meet the many remarkable figures who played a role in Hassan-i Sabbah's story, from his arch-nemesis Nizam al-Mulk to his devoted lieutenant Kiya Buzurg-Ummid, and from the Seljuk sultans and Abbasid caliphs to the Crusader knights and Byzantine emperors. At the heart of this book is a nuanced and compelling portrait of Hassan-i Sabbah himself, a man of brilliant intellect, iron will, and unwavering conviction. Neither a saint nor a devil, but a complex and fascinating human being, Hassan-i Sabbah emerges from these pages as a figure of enduring relevance and power, a man whose ideas and actions continue to resonate across the centuries. Whether you are a student of Islamic history, a lover of gripping historical narratives, or simply someone who is fascinated by the great personalities and events that have shaped our world, this book is sure to inform, entertain, and inspire. Join us on a journey into the heart of one of the most remarkable and consequential chapters in the history of the Middle East and beyond, and discover the extraordinary life and times of Hassan-i Sabbah, the enigmatic master of Alamut.
Download or read book The Assassins written by Bernard Lewis and published by Basic Books. This book was released on 2008-08-05 with total page 194 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From a master historian, the definitive account of history's first terrorists An offshoot of the Ismaili Shi'ite sect of Islam, the Assassins were the first group to make systematic use of murder as a political weapon. Established in Iran and Syria in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, they aimed to overthrow the existing Sunni order in Islam and replace it with their own. They terrorized their foes with a series of dramatic murders of Islamic leaders, as well as of some of the Crusaders, who brought their name and fame back to Europe. Professor Lewis traces the history of this radical group, studying its teachings and its influence on Muslim thought. Particularly insightful in light of the rise of the terrorist attacks in the U.S. and in Israel, this account of the Assassins -- whose name is now synonymous with politically motivated murderers -- places recent events in historical perspective and sheds new light on the fanatic mind.
Download or read book Iran Make Love Not War written by Mary Jane Walker and published by . This book was released on 2019 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Templars and the Assassins written by James Wasserman and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2001-04-01 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: • An examination of the interactions of the Christian Knights Templar and their Muslim counterparts, the Assassins, and of the profound changes in Western society that resulted. • Restores the reputation of the secret Muslim order of the Assassins, disparaged as the world's first terrorist group. • Dispels many myths about the Knights Templar and provides the most incisive portrait of them to date. A thousand years ago Christian battled Muslim for possession of a strip of land upon which both their religions were founded. These Crusades changed the course of Western history, but less known is the fact that they also were the meeting ground for two legendary secret societies: The Knights Templar and their Muslim counterparts, the Assassins. In The Templars and the Assassins: The Militia of Heaven, occult scholar and secret society member James Wasserman provides compelling evidence that the interaction of the Knights Templar and the Assassins in the Holy Land transformed the Templars from the Pope's private army into a true occult society, from which they would sow the seeds of the Renaissance and the Western Mystery Tradition. Both orders were destroyed as heretical some seven hundred years ago, but Templar survivors are believed to have carried the secret teachings of the East into an occult underground, from which sprang both Rosicrucianism and Masonry. Assassin survivors, known as Nizari Ismailis, flourish to this day under the spiritual leadership of the Aga Khan. Wasserman strips the myths from both groups and penetrates to the heart of their enlightened beliefs and rigorous practices, delivering the most probing picture yet of these holy warriors.
Download or read book The Assassin Legends written by Farhad Daftary and published by I. B. Tauris. This book was released on 1995-07-15 with total page 200 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For hundreds of years Westerners have been fascinated by stories of the Assassins, their mysterious leader and their remote mountain stronghold at Alamut in Northern Iran. The legends first emerged in the 12th and 13th centuries, when Crusaders in Syria came into contact with the Nazari Isma'ilis, one of the communities of Shi'ite Islam who, at the behest of their leader Hassan Sabaa (mythologized as the "Old Man of the Mountain"), engaged in dangerous missions to kill their enemies. Elaborated over the years, the tales culminated in Marco Polo's claim that the "Old Man" controlled the behaviour of his self-sacrificing devotees through the use of hashish and a secret garden of paradise. So influential were these tales that the word "assassin" entered European languages as a common noun meaning "murderer". Daftary traces the origins and early development of the legends - as well as investigating the historical context in which they were fabricated and transmitted. As such, this book reveals an extraordinary programme of propaganda rooted in the medieval Muslim world and medieval Europe's ignorance of this world. This book also provides the first English translation of French orientalist Silvestre de Sacy's famous 19th-century "Memoire" on the Assassins.
Download or read book Alamut written by Vladimir Bartol and published by North Atlantic Books. This book was released on 2012-12-18 with total page 401 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Alamut takes place in 11th Century Persia, in the fortress of Alamut, where self-proclaimed prophet Hasan ibn Sabbah is setting up his mad but brilliant plan to rule the region with a handful of elite fighters who are to become his "living daggers." By creating a virtual paradise at Alamut, filled with beautiful women, lush gardens, wine and hashish, Sabbah is able to convince his young fighters that they can reach paradise if they follow his commands. With parallels to Osama bin Laden, Alamut tells the story of how Sabbah was able to instill fear into the ruling class by creating a small army of devotees who were willing to kill, and be killed, in order to achieve paradise. Believing in the supreme Ismaili motto “Nothing is true, everything is permitted,” Sabbah wanted to “experiment” with how far he could manipulate religious devotion for his own political gain through appealing to what he called the stupidity and gullibility of people and their passion for pleasure and selfish desires. The novel focuses on Sabbah as he unveils his plan to his inner circle, and on two of his young followers — the beautiful slave girl Halima, who has come to Alamut to join Sabbah's paradise on earth, and young ibn Tahir, Sabbah's most gifted fighter. As both Halima and ibn Tahir become disillusioned with Sabbah's vision, their lives take unexpected turns. Alamut was originally written in 1938 as an allegory to Mussolini's fascist state. In the 1960's it became a cult favorite throughout Tito's Yugoslavia, and in the 1990s, during the Balkan's War, it was read as an allegory of the region's strife and became a bestseller in Germany, France and Spain. Following the attacks of September 11, 2001, the book once again took on a new life, selling more than 20,000 copies in a new Slovenian edition, and being translated around the world in more than 19 languages. This edition, translated by Michael Biggins, in the first-ever English translation.
Download or read book Assassin and Other Stories written by Steven Barnes and published by Isfic Press. This book was released on 2010-01-01 with total page 351 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The History of Terrorism written by Gérard Chaliand and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2016-08-23 with total page 536 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: First published in English in 2007 under title: The history of terrorism: from antiquity to al Qaeda.
Download or read book The Deserter of Alamut written by Omid Banyasad and published by Omid Banyasad. This book was released on 2013-05-31 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dara, a young shepherd from a remote village in the Seljuq Empire, is about to marry his love, Golnar, when the unthinkable happens: Golnar is kidnapped on their wedding day. With his sworn brother Borzoo at his side, Dara embarks on a journey to avenge Golnar by joining the Alamut fortress, the stronghold of Hassan Sabbah and his lethal feda'i assassins. Dara soon makes a startling discovery that tests his devotion to Alamut and brings his greatest vice to the forefront. Overcoming his vice puts him at odds with Alamut, and Dara faces a daunting decision: fulfill his sworn destiny with the feda'is or desert Alamut-something no feda'i has dared do before. His decision ultimately leads to more astounding discoveries for Dara and his brother Borzoo, yet can Dara continue to conceal the shocking secret about his brother's true identity? The Deserter of Alamut takes readers on an epic adventure full of twists and turns that test the loyalty of two brothers as they seek to fulfill their destinies.
Download or read book The Nation written by and published by . This book was released on 1905 with total page 552 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book American Gurus written by Arthur Versluis and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2014 with total page 321 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: By the early twenty-first century, a phenomenon that once was inconceivable had become nearly commonplace in American society: the public spiritual teacher who neither belongs to, nor is authorized by a major religious tradition. From the Oprah Winfrey-endorsed Eckhart Tolle to figures like Gangaji and Adhyashanti, there are now countless spiritual teachers who claim and teach variants of instant or immediate enlightenment. American Gurus tells the story of how this phenomenon emerged. Through an examination of the broader literary and religious context of the subject, Arthur Versluis shows that a characteristic feature of the Western esoteric tradition is the claim that every person can achieve "spontaneous, direct, unmediated spiritual insight." This claim was articulated with special clarity by the New England Transcendentalists Bronson Alcott and Ralph Waldo Emerson. Versluis explores Transcendentalism, Walt Whitman, the Beat movement, Timothy Leary, and the New Age movement to shed light on the emergence of the contemporary American guru. This insightful study is the first to show how Asian religions and Western mysticism converged to produce the phenomenon of "spontaneously enlightened" American gurus.
Download or read book Militant Islam written by Stephen Vertigans and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2008-10-30 with total page 220 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Militant Islam provides a sociological framework for understanding the rise and character of recent Islamic militancy. It takes a systematic approach to the phenomenon and includes analysis of cases from around the world, comparisons with militancy in other religions, and their causes and consequences. The sociological concepts and theories examined in the book include those associated with social closure, social movements, nationalism, risk, fear and ‘de-civilising’. These are applied within three main themes; characteristics of militant Islam, multi-layered causes and the consequences of militancy, in particular Western reactions within the ‘war on terror’. Interrelationships between religious and secular behaviour, ‘terrorism’ and ‘counter-terrorism’, popular support and opposition are explored. Through the examination of examples from across Muslim societies and communities, the analysis challenges the popular tendency to concentrate upon ‘al-Qa’ida’ and the Middle East. This book will be of interest to students of Sociology, Political Science and International Relations, in particular those taking courses on Islam, religion, terrorism, political violence and related regional studies.
Download or read book The History of the Assassins written by Joseph Freiherr von Hammer-Purgstall and published by . This book was released on 1835 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Cults Conspiracies and Secret Societies written by Arthur Goldwag and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2009-08-11 with total page 386 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Did you know? • Freemasonry's first American lodge included a young Benjamin Franklin among its members. • The Knights Templar began as impoverished warrior monks then evolved into bankers. • Groom Lake, Dreamland, Homey Airport, Paradise Ranch, The Farm, Watertown Strip, Red Square, “The Box,” are all names for Area 51. An indispensable guide, Cults, Conspiracies, and Secret Societies connects the dots and sets the record straight on a host of greedy gurus and murderous messiahs, crepuscular cabals and suspicious coincidences. Some topics are familiar—the Kennedy assassinations, the Bilderberg Group, the Illuminati, the People's Temple and Heaven's Gate—and some surprising, like Oulipo, a select group of intellectuals who created wild formulas for creating literary masterpieces, and the Chauffeurs, an eighteenth-century society of French home invaders, who set fire to their victims' feet.
Download or read book Warriors of God written by James Reston, Jr. and published by Anchor. This book was released on 2007-12-18 with total page 450 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Acclaimed author James Reston, Jr.'s Warriors of God is the rich and engaging account of the Third Crusade (1187-1192), a conflict that would shape world history for centuries and which can still be felt in the Middle East and throughout the world today. James Reston, Jr. offers a gripping narrative of the epic battle that left Jerusalem in Muslim hands until the twentieth century, bringing an objective perspective to the gallantry, greed, and religious fervor that fueled the bloody clash between Christians and Muslims. As he recounts this rousing story, Reston brings to life the two legendary figures who led their armies against each other. He offers compelling portraits of Saladin, the wise and highly cultured leader who created a united empire, and Richard the Lionheart, the romantic personification of chivalry who emerges here in his full complexity and contradictions. From its riveting scenes of blood-soaked battles to its pageant of fascinating, larger-than-life characters, Warriors of God is essential history, history that helps us understand today's world.
Download or read book World Beats written by Jimmy Fazzino and published by Dartmouth College Press. This book was released on 2016-04-05 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This fascinating book explores Beat Generation writing from a transnational perspective, using the concept of worlding to place Beat literature in conversation with a far-reaching network of cultural and political formations. Countering the charge that the Beats abroad were at best nave tourists seeking exoticism for exoticism's sake, World Beats finds that these writers propelled a highly politicized agenda that sought to use the tools of the earlier avant-garde to undermine Cold War and postcolonial ideologies and offer a new vision of engaged literature. With fresh interpretations of central Beat authors Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and William Burroughs - as well as usually marginalized writers like Philip Lamantia, Ted Joans, and Brion Gysin - World Beats moves beyond national, continental, or hemispheric frames to show that embedded within Beat writing is an essential universality that brought America to the world and the world to American literature. This book presents an original treatment that will attract a broad spectrum of scholars.
Download or read book The Ismaili Assassins written by James Waterson and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2008-10-30 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “A fascinating history . . . The Medieval conflict between Christians and Muslims has many similarities to the Middle East today.”—Firetrench The Ismaili Assassins were an underground group of political killers who were ready to kill Christians and Muslims alike with complete disregard for their own lives. Under the powerful control of an enigmatic grand master, these devoted murderers often slayed their victims in public, cultivating their terrifying reputation. They assumed disguises and their weapon of choice was a dagger. The dagger was blessed by the grand master and killing with it was a holy and sanctified act; poison or other methods of murder were forbidden to the followers of the sect. Surviving a mission was considered a deep dishonor and mothers rejoiced when they heard that their Assassin sons had died having completed their deadly acts. Unsurprisingly, their formidable reputation spread far and wide. In 1253, the Mongol chiefs were so fearful of them that they massacred and enslaved the Assassins’ women and children in an attempt to liquidate the sect. The English monarch, Edward I, was nearly dispatched by their blades and Richard the Lionheart’s reputation was sullied by his association with the Assassins’ murder of Conrad of Montferrat. The Ismaili Assassins explores the origins, actions and legacy of this notorious sect. Enriched with eyewitness accounts from Islamic and Western sources, this important book unlocks the history of the Crusades and the early Islamic period, giving the reader entry into a historical epoch that is thrilling and pertinent. “An inherently fascinating, deftly written, and impressively informative read from beginning to end.”—Midwest Book Review
