Remains the most complete history of the Assassins. Beginning the story with the separation of Sunnis and Shi'ites and the rise of Ismâ'îlism, an offshoot of Shi'ism, Hodgson traces the long and complex history of power struggles within Islam that led ultimately to the separation of the Nizârî Ismâ'îlîs and their direct challenge to Muslim leadership.
Reporting new and never-before-published information about the assassination of John F. Kennedy, this investigation dives straight into the deep end, and seeks to prove the CIA’s involvement in one of the most controversial topics in American history. Featuring intelligence gathered from CIA agents who reported their involvement in the assassination, the case is broken wide open while covering unexplored ground. Gritty details about the assassination are interlaced throughout, while primary and secondary players to the murder are revealed in the in-depth analysis. Although a tremendous amount has been written in the nearly five decades since the assassination, there has never been, until now, a publication to explore the aspects of the case that seemed to defy explanation or logic.
• 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.
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.
"The term "Assassins" is employed in this book to identify those Ismailis who at the end of the eleventh century acknowledged Nizar as their Imam and who in the twelfth century accept the Aga Khan as such."--Foreword.
Despite the many important developments and innovations traceable to the Seljuq period (5th-7th/11th-13th centuries), the Seljuqs remain one of the understudied Muslim dynasties. This unique collaborative exploration of the Seljuqs' achievement contributes to the growing interest in this pivotal dynasty. The various chapters in this volume cover a representative geographical spectrum, from Central Asia and Persia to Iraq, Syria and Anatolia, and address novel questions such as the ideological foundations and ritual expressions of Seljuq power, the mutual attitudes of the learned classes and the Seljuq state, the organization of space, and the relationship between nomads and the settled peoples.The book is divided into three parts: the origins of the Seljuqs, their gradual transformation into a powerful dynasty, and their concepts of political legitimization (part one); the social history of the Seljuq period, particularly with regard to the 'ulama' and the urban populations (part two); developments in religious thought, jurisprudence, belles-lettres and architecture under the Seljuqs (part three).Key Features*Brings together the work of leading international experts in Seljuq studies including C. E. Bosworth, Massimo Campanini, Carole Hillenbrand, Robert Hillenbrand, Jurgen Paul, Andrew C. S. Peacock and Scott Redford*Critically engages with previous scholarly work on the Seljuqs*Addresses novel questions and challenges in the historiography of the Seljuq period*Pays particular attention to the Seljuqs' formative influence on later socio-political orders
Warning: Philosophical Content - Explicit Ideas - May offend those easily offended. The legend of the Hassan El Sabbah is not as famous as his garden. Sabbah was an entrepreneur of sorts using the assassin as a tool to gain political influence throughout the Middle East. He would use young men by making them smoke hash then allowing them to enter his Garden of Earthly Delights. The young men were told they had entered paradise and would be expelled if they did not carry out Sabbah's wishes, which were usually to kill someone of relative importance. This tale is not only a fictional look at Sabbah, but also a mind-altering look into America's drug culture and the idea of paradise. Told by a stoner, set over a thousand years ago with an Arabian Nights feel to it, the story centers around Emir Abdullah-Harazins (Sabbah) and his infamous garden. This is the story of how Abdullah found the garden and came to be Emir Abdullah-Harazins.
