On the summit of a ragged peak in the Alborz Mountains there lies the ruins of one of history’s most fearsome secrets. Today, it towers above the sleepy village of Moallem Kalayeh in a secluded valley that has been all but forgotten by the outside world. But for centuries, the inhabitants of Alamut shaped the fate of empires and brought terror to the hearts of rulers from the British Isles to the Indian subcontinent.

The name Alamut came from an ancient Persian King, who, while on a hunting expedition in a remote valley, followed an enormous eagle and saw it land on a rock at the top of a hard to reach mountain. The King took this as a favorable omen, and, realizing the strategic value of the location, built a castle there, naming it ‘Alamut’, meaning ‘the Eagle’s Nest’.

Around two centuries later, a young man named Hassan Sabah stumbled upon this castle. Hassan was an Ismaeli Shia, an esoteric branch of Islam that was persecuted by the ruling Seljuk Empire, particularly during the time of the vehemently anti-Shia Grand Vizier Nizam al-Mulk. He spent the next two years hiding in the valley from the Vizier’s forces, converting local villagers and instructing the converts to seek employment in the castle. Once he had infiltrated almost the entire castle guard, he declared it his and took it over without spilling a drop of blood (and paid the former landlord as he was kicked out).

The Ismaeili stronghold of Alamut

By conquering the castle, Hassan declared open rebellion against the Seljuks. He then built more defenses for the castle and improved irrigation, so it could be self-sufficient in food production. A giant library and center of learning of mathematics, philosophy, astronomy, and alchemy was built inside. Within a few years, dozens of similar castles had been built in remote regions in Northern Iran, creating an independent state.

In October 1092 a pivotal event happened that brought Alamut into the spotlight of history. Faced with an overwhelming superior Seljuk army, Hassan sent one of his followers, a fidaaei, disguised as a traveling Dervish to the city of Nahavand, where the Grand Vizier Nizam al Mulk’s convey was resting, on its journey from Isfahan to Baghdad. The fidaaei stabbed Nizam while he was on his litter, killing him and driving the Seljuk state into chaos.

The assassination of Nizam al-Mulk

Hassan’s followers, who spread throughout Iran and the Levant became known as the ‘Hashshashin’, or ‘Assassins’ in the West. For centuries, they fought far stronger enemies, assassinating Viziers, Caliphs, Crusaders, and others in far off lands. Sir Conrad of Montferrat, Crusader King of Jerusalem was put to death by an Assassin blade. King Edward I of England and the legendary Sultan Saladin only narrowly escaped Assassin attackers.

The story of the Assassins was brought to prominence in the West by Marco Polo, who told stories of an “Old Man of the Mountain” who promised his drug crazed followers a place in heaven if they died following his orders. He would give warriors a powerful potion and then take them to a secret garden chamber where there were rivers of wine and honey, palm trees, and enchanting Huris, telling them this was the promised paradise and they could attain it forever if they followed his every command. Historians believe this was a gross exaggeration, but the stories have stuck in popular culture, most notably inspiring the Assassins Creed franchise and Prince of Persia movie.