Earlier this week I was reading about Hassan-i Sabbah and stumbled upon an interesting, relevant factoid.
Hassan-i Sabbah's militant group was known for taking drugs (hashish) as well as the targeted murdering (assassinations) of key figures during the Crusades. So they were referred to as hashishins (arabic for hashish-smokers) which was eventually turned into assassins and thats where the term comes from.
As explained in the etymology section of the dedicated Wikipedia page, the name of the sect was "Asāsiyyūn" (Meaning something like "men of principles). The name Hashishin (Hashish smokers) was a derogative misnomer by their enemies.
The whole story and legends related to it captured the imagination of modern scholars with an orientalist biais.
Among today scholars the question is settled: while the sect and assassinations are historical facts, they are surrounded by lots of myths.
This is probably my favorite novel of all time. It has a little bit of everything: romance, action, philosophy, religion, history.
The only thing I'll say is if you've read that Assassin's Creed is "based" on Alamut, you might be a bit disappointed. I would say it's more of a "heavy influence".
I have to assume with our recent years of advanced populism in politics, this wonderful book reads rather differently than in the 90s when I first read it.
Still, it is one of those books, you’ll select almost as random as a teenager in your local library and it stays with you.
I'll admit I only read this book after I heard Assassin's Creed was based on it. I remember it being a fantastic read, a lot of the philosophical notes of the first AC game come straight from the book. I still think about it occasionally, so you could say it stuck with me.
Ismailis are a real faction of muslims (they are extremely modern and a progressive sect). Alamut was a real place. The hashish and Garden part were allegations made in the old days. So I am not sure how much this book was the influence for the video game vs. the actual history.
