Saladin vs the Hashishin: The Assassins of Masyaf

In Episode 177, Lucas and Luna explore Saladin's forgotten enemy: the Nizari Ismaili state, better known as the Assassins. Based in their fortress of Masyaf under the legendary Rashid al-Din Sinan, the Old Man of the Mountain, these agents of political murder twice confronted Saladin. In 1174–75, Sinan's envoys forced a truce after a tense standoff; in 1176, Saladin's siege of Masyaf was broken by a mysterious threat—perhaps an assassin's knife left on his pillow. Drawing on Baha ad-Din ibn Shaddad, Kamal al-Din, and Western chroniclers like William of Tyre, we untangle fact from legend. Did Sinan actually command his followers from afar? Was there a secret contract between the Assassins and the Franks? And why did Saladin, the great unifier of Sunni Islam, leave the heretical Nizaris alone? Join us for a tale of dagger diplomacy, mountain fortresses, and the limits of jihad. #Saladin #Assassins #NizariIsmaili #Masyaf #RashidalDinSinan #OldManoftheMountain #BahaadDin #KamalalDin #WilliamofTyre #Hashishin #SalahadDin #Ayyubids #Crusades #MedievalMiddleEast #Syria #Fortress #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo