The historical
association and mutual influence on each other of these two essentially secret
associations was never particularly clear and this article pulls it together as
a plausible thesis. What killed them
both of course was their need for secrecy. Sheer ignorance is a poor defense against fear
and natural paranoia.
Yet it is
clear also that the inherent organizational strands reassembled and continued
on while losing its obvious symbolism.
The Masons are a powerful echo of all that. Secret societies were a clearing house for
information and protecting reputations when other means did not exist.
These informal
associations must always arise for just these reasons even today. There is no person setting out to take the
spotlight who does not shudder at been diminished through gratuitous
slander. Been an acquaintance with
other key players protects from all that.
It is also
obvious that the historians will have much to do to actually discover the level
of activity achieved. We have been
underestimating them in both worlds.
The
Templars and the Assassins: Angels and Demons?
May 17, 2014
By ROBERT BURATTI
—
Following the success
of The Da Vinci Code, Dan
Brown’s earlier work Angels and
Demons has been discovered by fans who are now fascinated by
references to the medieval secret society known as the Order of Assassins. This
group triggered exceptional public interest in the last few years, particularly
after the September 11 attacks when the media was rife with accounts of the
Assassin-like Al-Qaeda group. Public curiosity in the actual Assassins was at
an all-time high and interest has not yet abated.
While there have always
been people fascinated by secret societies, James Wasserman, author of The Templars and the Assassins: The Militia
of Heaven,1 believes
contemporary interest in this area has peaked under the effect of two main
social factors. The first is the breakdown of traditional religion prompting
people to look for alternative theology, or in Dan Brown’s case, alternative
re-readings of traditional religion. This is certainly a more popular option
for the majority of thinkers who would rather not step too far away from their
comfort zone. The second factor put forward by Wasserman is the increasing
power of separatist groups within the socio-political life of world affairs.
Political protocols are now limiting the actions of large governments who move
too slowly to compete with smaller, more dynamic groups. As these smaller
groups gain more ground, they trigger public interest and in some cases, public
fear.
Many influential groups
started in a similar fashion. The famous Templar Knights were at first a small
group of nine French knights who kept every action hidden under the radar of
the established authorities. Within the conditions of secrecy they built the
basis of a network that later extended across Europe. Wasserman believes the
Assassin Order was created through the same process and had a great deal in
common with the more well known Templars. Many scholars actually point to the
Assassins as a seminal forefather of the secret society model, and as more
evidence comes to light researchers are beginning to realise the Assassins
were more influential and innovative than they were ever given credit for.
The Assassins are infamous
for their political murders. They created the concept of the ‘sleeper agent’
and pioneered the practice of training and placing operatives who would lay
dormant within their environment, later spurred to action by a distant
commander.
The Old Man of the
Mountain
When the Prophet Muhammad
died in 632 without having designated a successor to lead the community he
founded, many Muslims believed his son-in-law and cousin Ali to be his
legitimate successor. Over time this group, known as the Shi’atu ‘Ali, or party of Ali,
divided from the majority Sunnis who followed Caliphs chosen by the consensus
of the community. Centuries later a breakaway from the Shias, the Ismailis,
founded the Fatimid dynasty in Egypt. A schism arose when the rightful Fatimid
leader Nizar was imprisoned and supplanted by his younger brother. Hence, the
followers of this subsect were called the Nizari Ismailis.
The Nizari Ismailis are
believed to have adopted elements of the Sufi tradition and its mystical
symbolism, best known through the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. Part of the
Nizari sect took on a proactive military function with the aim of ensuring the
survival of the Nizari as a whole and also working toward shifting the
political scales in their favour.
The founder of this
militant group was a Persian called Hasan-i-Sabbah, born of lower middle class
parents at Rayy, an old city a few kilometres to the south of modern Tehran in
approximately 1060. A dedicated Ismaili, in 1090 he united the entire movement and took possession of a
stronghold in Khorassan which became headquarters for the Order and known as
Alamut, ‘the eagle’s nest’. Once established in a secure and permanent base,
Hasan sent his agents out from Alamut in all directions, while at the same time
pursuing a policy of territorial expansion, taking surrounding camps by force.
Marco Polo claimed he
passed Alamut in 1271 and described the splendour in his travel diary:
In a beautiful valley,
enclosed between two lofty mountains, had formed a luxurious garden stored with
every delicious fruit and every fragrant shrub that could be procured. Palaces
of various sizes and forms were erected in different parts of the grounds,
ornamented with works of gold, with paintings and with furniture of rich silks.
By means of small conduits contained in these buildings, streams of wine, milk,
honey and some of pure water were seen to flow in every direction. The
inhabitants of these places were elegant and beautiful damsels, accomplished in
the arts of singing, playing upon all sorts of musical instruments, dancing,
and especially those of dalliance and amorous allurement. Clothed in rich
dresses, they were seen continually sporting and amusing themselves in the
garden and pavilions, their female guardians being confined within doors and
never allowed to appear.2
Polo also put forward his
explanation for the purpose behind such an impressive display.
The object which the
chief had in view in forming a garden of this fascinating kind was this: that
Mahomet having promised to those who should obey his will the enjoyments of
Paradise, where every species of sensual gratification should be found, in the
society of beautiful nymphs, he was desirous of it being understood by his
followers that he also was a prophet and a compeer of Mahomet, and had the
power of admitting to Paradise such as he should choose to favour.
Hasan had an excellent
knowledge of theology, and the energy and allure needed to influence the minds
of his contemporaries. He patiently prodded a potential candidate’s religious
doubts until they were weak enough to admit the possibility of an alternative.
Over time he managed to create a vast group and a powerful sectarian sense of
community based on secrecy and conspiracy.
According to the legend
popularised by Marco Polo, the fortress court held boys as young as twelve
years old who Hasan thought destined to become courageous men. When he sent
them into the garden in groups of four, ten or twenty, he gave them hashish to
drink where they slept for three days. It is thought they were carried sleeping
into the garden where he had them awakened.
Marco Polo, based on what
he had heard about the Assassins, wrote:
When these young men
woke, and found themselves in the garden with all these marvelous things, they
truly believed themselves to be in paradise. And these damsels were always with
them in songs and great entertainments; they received everything they asked
for, so that they would never have left that garden of their own will.
And when the Old Man
wished to kill someone, he would take him and say: ‘Go and do this thing. I do
this because I want to make you return to paradise’. And the assassins go and
perform the deed willingly.
The strongest source of
information on the Assassins came long after the Order fell from influence.
Following the eventual demise of their headquarter stronghold in Alamut,
volumes from their amazingly extensive library were examined by the Persian
scholar Jawani, who later wrote a careful book in which he detailed the
organisation of the Order. Their name has been attributed to the Arabic hashshashin meaning “consumer of
hashish,” which they were said to use in the Initiation ritual. This is one of
numerous explanations for the name of the sect, none of which can be
confirmed. Assasseen in
Arabic signifies ‘guardians’, and some scholars have considered this to be the
true origin of the word: ‘guardians of the secrets’. There is no mention of
hashish in connection with the Assassins in the library of Alamut. Even the
most hostile Islamic writers of the time, both Sunni and Shia, nowhere accused
the Assassins of drug use.
Jawani’s account of the
library of Alamut became the main reference for study of the Assassin Order.
The only other sources are the few sparse accounts of the day, one of which
came from a visit by Count Henry of Champagne to the stronghold of the
Assassins in 1194. Following the murder of the Latin King of Jerusalem at the
hands of the Assassins in 1192, Henry was appointed his successor and as a
result was eager to negotiate a truce with the Assassins to avoid a similar
fate. At a palace in the Nosairi Mountains Henry met the Assassin Master. Also
popularly known as the Sheikh or ‘Old Man’ of the Mountain, he claimed that he
did not believe Christians were as loyal to their leaders as his disciples were
to him. He demonstrated his point by signalling to two young men standing high
above on the palace towers. Immediately they leapt to their deaths on the
mountain rocks below. It was written that Henry arrived from his visit “visibly
shaken” by the ordeal of this contact.
Influence on the Templars
Dr. F.W. Bussel in Religious Thought and Heresy in the Middle
Ages writes that it cannot be disputed the Templars had “long and
important dealings” with the Assassins “and were therefore suspected (not
unfairly) of imbibing their precepts and following their principles.”3
Islamic culture of the
day was a great deal more refined than that of Europe during the Dark Ages. The
Templars along with all Europeans in the area were greatly affected by their
contact with the Muslim East. They learnt the daily customs, the languages and
business practices, discussed philosophy, and lived amongst what must have
seemed an almost alien culture. In time, Templar ranks contained people who had
spent more time in the Middle East than in Europe, and some who had little or
no memory of European life, custom and philosophy.
Under these conditions,
the initial contact between the Templars and the Assassins occurred. “As the
systematic overturning of Muslim Shariah took place among the Syrian Nizaris,
some sense of the subtlety of their beliefs may have been communicated to their
new acquaintances,” observes James Wasserman.4
By this time, the
Assassins had already rejected Islamic dogma and acquired the heretic tag.
Later the Templars would also find themselves denounced as ‘vile heretics’.
Assassins became known to the Muslim world as Ta’limiyyah or “people of the secret teaching.” The idea
that they were the guardians of a secret or inner doctrine had always been
promoted by Hasan, and they were feared and revered for this very reason.
Branded as heretics, the
Templars met their end in the 14th century. One of the charges
levelled against the Templars was they kept “secret liaisons with Muslims,” and
were accused of “being closer to the Islamic faith than to the Christian.”
In reality, the Templars had found a mirror image of themselves in the
mysterious Order of Assassins, and held the Western face of the same esoteric
doctrine. It was even written that a number of Templar Knights were
initiated by the Assassin Master, while others were given standing rank, so
close was their secret teaching considered.
The Organisational Model
The Christian Order of
the Knights of Templars, who came into contact with some of Ben Sabbah’s
commanders during the Crusades… were reputed to have adopted Ben Sabbah’s
system of military organisation.5
The organisation of the
Assassin Order called for missionaries and teachers known as da’is, the disciples and spiritual
followers known as the rafiqs,
and the fidais or
devotees who in practice were the trained killers. The fidais were not part of the
original Ismaili model, but were later added by Hasan. The Templar hierarchy is
said to be derived from this model and can be easily compared, where the
Assassin offices of da’is, rafiqs, and fidais correspond to the Templar
degrees of Novice, Professed, and Knight.
The Templars assimilated
the system but adjusted the core symbolism to their own purposes. Where the
levels used in the Assassin model denoted particular functions and duties, the
Templar levels further developed the concept of progressive learning and
acquired skill, similar to the modern military ideas of private, corporal, and
general. Every Templar Knight was, at one point, a novice, and a professed
member, but not every Assassin was a da’is or a rafiq.
In fact it was said that Hasan would never let a candidate become a fidais who had sufficient
intellect to become a missionary. The spiritual man stood above all others in
the Order.
The Assassins believed
they held the secret or inner Islam, a completely esoteric component
unavailable to those uninitiated in their philosophies. Their system of
organisation was developed to both guard the secret doctrine and strictly
control the continuance of the teaching. A number of schools were established
practicing this organisational model, including secret rites and rituals.
Members were enrolled on the understanding they were to receive hidden power
and timeless wisdom that would enable them to become as important in life as
some of the great teachers.
Hasan enlisted young men
between the ages of twelve and twenty from the surrounding countryside. Each
day he held court where he spoke of the delights of Paradise. It was said that
Hasan would often buy unwanted children from their parents, and train them in
line with his purposes. The Order was an organisation of the common people of
the land, far removed from the typical aristocratic blueblood that petitioned
for the Knights Templar mantle.
Another regular activity
of the Assassins was the kidnapping of useful, rare and distinguished
personages who could be of value to them in educational, military or other
spheres and holding them captive in Alamut. These prisoners were respected
physicians, astronomers, mathematicians and painters. Assassins coveted
knowledge the way the Templars seemed to covet spirituality, although they were
separated by the Assassin’s willingness to take knowledge indiscriminate of context,
at any cost and by whatever means.
It is true that both the
Templars and the Assassins shared a policy of secrecy. Their teachings were
kept for the eyes and ears of initiates only. Comparisons with the Essenes,
Cathars, and Sufis spring to mind as similar attempts to release the esoteric
heritage of the soul. In the past, these enlightened groups existed without
knowledge of each other, but the Crusades caused two of these groups to meet,
comparing doctrines and making alliances.
The Legacy
Following the destruction
of Alamut by Hulegu in 1256, members of the Order are thought to have fled to
Afghanistan and the Himalayas. Many of them journeyed to India where the
Nizari Ismaili community flourished under the leadership of the Aga Khans.
Other groups have been put forward as possible candidates for the legacy of the
Assassins, but the true legacy of
Hasan-i-Sabbah is his seamless creation, both religious and political. In
this wider sense the thought and doctrines of the inventor of the Assassins may
be said to have an enduring influence in the religious and political life of
the Middle East.
The Templar Order is
believed to have refined their approaches under the direct influence of Eastern
philosophy, and in confronting another group on the opposite side which existed
to safeguard the same ancient teachings. According to Julius Evola, the
Crusades, in many respects, created a “supratraditional bridge between West and
East” where the Templars were the “Christian equivalent of the Arab Order of
the Ishmaelites (Ismailis).”6
Unfortunately, the
Templars and the Assassins did not write the history books, and thus they have
fallen to the state of Demons rather than Angels, while the authorities of the
day are remembered in glowing terms. Yet, despite this, as James Wasserman
concludes:
The legends of the
Templars and the Assassins are indeed very much alive to this day. The
long-term survival of the memory of these two rather obscure groups points to
various archetypal levels at which they affect the psyche. Meditation on
certain concepts may help us better to understand this. Despite the best
efforts and tenacity of the modern secular campaign to disparage traditional
beliefs and ideals as either outdated or based on erroneous assumptions like
God – traditional values somehow survive. The “innate knowledge of the Gods”
described by Iamblichus demands of us that we aspire to honor, chivalry,
self-sacrifice, redemption, patriotism, courage, and integrity. What better
words could be used to describe the ideology shared by the Templars and
Assassins of yore?7
Footnotes
1. Wasserman,
James, The Templars and the
Assassins, 2001, Destiny Books, USA.
2. Polo, Marco, Travels in Asia, 1938, G. Routledge,
London.
3. Bussel, F.W., Religious Thought and Heresy in the Middle
Ages, 1918, R. Scott, London.
4. Wasserman,
James, The Templars and the
Assassins, 2001, Destiny Books, USA.
5. O’Ballance E, Language of Violence: The Blood Politics of
Terrorism, 1979, San Rafael, CA: Presidio Press, p. 4.
6. Evola, Julius, The Mystery of the Grail: Initiation and
Magic in the Quest for the Spirit, 1996, Inner Traditions, USA.
7. Wasserman,
James, The Templars and the
Assassins, 2001, Destiny Books, USA.
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