Rashid ad-Din Sinan

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Rashid ad-Din Sinan the Grand Master of the Assassins at Masyaf successfully alarmed Saladin not to assault the realms of their sect

Rashid ad-Din Sinan, also known as The Old Man of the Mountain (c. 1132/1135 - 1192) was one of the leaders of the Syrian wing of the Hashshashin sect and a figure in the history of the Crusades. Latin sources from the crusader states call him Vetulus de Montanis, derived from the Arabic title Shaykh al Jabal, which means prince or elder of the mountain. According to his autobiography, of which only fragments survive, Rashid came to Alamut, the centre of the Hashshashins, as a youth and received the typical Hashshashin training. In 1162, the sect's leader Hassan II sent him to Syria, where he proclaimed Qiyamah, which in Nizari terminology meant the time of the Qa'im and the removal of Islamic law. Based on the Nizari stronghold Masyaf, he controlled various districts in northern Syria, namely Jabal as-Summaq, Ma'arrat Masrin and Sarmin.

His chief enemy was Sultan Saladin, who ruled over Egypt and Syria. Saladin managed twice to elude assassination attempts ordered by Rashid and as he was marching against Aleppo, Saladin devastated the Nizari possessions. In 1176, Saladin laid siege to Masyaf but he lifted the siege after two notable events that reputedly transpired between him and the Old Man of the Mountain. According to one version, one night, Saladin's guards noticed a spark glowing down the hill of Masyaf and then vanishing among the Ayyubid tents. Presently, Saladin awoke from his sleep to find a figure leaving the tent. He then saw that the lamps were displaced and beside his bed laid hot scones of the shape peculiar to the Assassins with a note at the top pinned by a poisoned dagger. The note threatened that he would be killed if he didn't withdraw from his assault. Saladin gave a loud cry, exclaiming that Sinan himself was the figure that left the tent. As such, Saladin told his guards to settle an agreement with Sinan. Realizing he was unable to subdue the Assassins, he sought to align himself with them, consequently depriving the Crusaders of aligning themselves against him.

Rashid's last notable act occurred in 1192, when he ordered the assassination of the newly elected King of Jerusalem Conrad of Montferrat. Whether this happened in coordination with King Richard I of England or Saladin remains speculation. Rashid enjoyed considerable independence from the Nizari centre in Alamut and some writings attribute him with a semi-divine status. He died in 1192 in Al-Kahf Castle.^[1] Rashid and was succeeded by men appointed from Alamut, which regained a closer supervision over Masyaf.

Appearances in fiction

• Knight Crusader by Ronald Welch
• Lionheart: Legacy of the Crusader video game
• Blaze of Silver by K M Grant
• The Brethren by H Rider Haggard
• Lion's Bride by Iris Johansen
• The Treasure by Iris Johansen
• The Walking Drum by Louis L'Amour
• Standard of Honor by Jack Whyte
• Devil's Bargain by Judith Tarr
• The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco
• Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco
• Fate/stay night by Type-Moon
• Bones of the Hills by Conn Iggulden
• The Walking Drum by Louis L'Amour
• Milczące Psy\Silent Dogs by Waldemar Łysiak
• MACE video game from 1990s'
• Assassin's Creed, video game (referred to as "Al Mualim," The Teacher)
  • Assassin's Creed: Revelations, another video game in the series
• Die Templerin by Wolfgang Hohlbein
• The Place of Dead Roads by William S. Burroughs

References

1. ^ Willey, Peter (2005), Eagle's Nest: Ismaili Castles in Iran and Syria, Institute of Ismaili Studies, I.B.Tauris, p. 234, ISBN 9781850434641 

• Halm, Heinz, Die Schia, Darmstadt 1988, pp. 228f.
• Runciman, Steven: A history of the Crussades Volume 2: The kingdom of Jerusalem and the Frankish East pp. 410

External links

• The Crusades Wiki

Persondata
Name	Rashid ad-Din Sinan
Alternative names
Short description	A leader of the Syrian wing of the Hashshashin sect and a figure in the history of the Crusades
Date of birth
Place of birth
Date of death	1192
Place of death