List of assassinations and assassination attempts attributed to the Assassins (the Nizaris of Alamut), active in Western Asia, Central Asia, and Egypt, in the 11th through 13th centuries.
The Assassins were a group of Nizari Ismaili Shia Muslims that, by capturing or building impregnable forts, established a "state" of their own inside the hostile territories of the Seljuk Empire, a Sunni Muslim government, first in Persia and later in Iraq and the Levant. Lacking a conventional army, in order to survive, they started using unconventional tactics such as assassination of prominent enemy figures and psychological warfare.
The precise ideology that motivated the assassins are unclear. Most of the assassinations by the Nizaris took place during the first decades of their struggle, which helped them to create a local political power. Their first and boldest assassination was that of Nizam al-Mulk, the vizier and de facto ruler of the Seljuk Empire.
Those assassinated were usually the enemies of the Nizari Ismaili sect, but also sometimes people of political importance who were killed in exchange for money paid by some local ruler.[1] This tactic caused resentment against them, and there is a correlation between the assassinations and subsequent massacres of the Nizaris. This tactic gradually declined and the later attributed assassinations are probably of local origination.[2] It should be taken into account that medieval Arabic sources generally tend to attribute most of the assassinations of this period to the Ismailis.[3]
The assassins gained access to the victims through betrayal of confidence and carried out the attack in a ritual manner.[4] Some of the assassins were sleeper cells, notably by befriending or being employed by the victim, sometimes remaining unrecognized for years.[5]
The names of the assassin and their victims were written in a roll of honor kept in Alamut Castle, recorded by later Muslim authors.
| Victim(s) | Description | Result | Date | Location | Assassin(s) | Method | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nizam al-Mulk | Seljuq vizier and de facto ruler | killed | 1092, October 14 | Sahnah, Seljuq Empire | assassin disguised as dervish; killed or fled or survived | knife | Their first and most notable action.[6] [7] |
| Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Labbad (Arabic: أحمد بن محمد اللباد) | governor of Isfahan | killed | 1093 | Isfahan, Seljuq Empire | unknown | unknown | |
| Unar Malikshahi (Persian: انر ملکشاهی) | amir sipahdar | killed | 1096, January-February | unknown | Husayn Khwarezmi (Persian: حسین خوارزمی) | unknown | |
| Abd al-Rahman Qazwini | killed | 490 AH | unknown | a Khurasani rafiq | unknown | ||
| Abu Muslim | ra'is (prefect) of Ray | killed | 1095 | unknown | a friend | unknown | |
| Abd al-Rahman al-Simirumi (Arabic: عبد الرحمان السميرمي) | vizier of Seljuq sultan Barkayaruq | killed | 1097 | unknown | Abu Tahir al-Arrani (Arabic: أبو طاهر الأراني); fled | unknown | |
| Arghush al-Nizami (Arabic: أرغوش النظامي) | amir sipahdar, mamluk of Nizam al-Mulk with close relation to Barkayaruq | killed | 1095 or 1097 | Ray, Seljuq Empire | Abd al-Rahman al-Khurasani (Arabic: عبد الرحمان الخراساني); killed immediately | unknown | |
| Bursuq the Elder | senior commander (Amir Ispahsalar) under Barkiyaruq, newly appointed atabeg of Sanjar, shihna of Khurasan | killed | September 1097 | near Sarakhs, Seljuq Empire | a Quhistani rafiq (companion) | unknown | The Shiite Seljuk vizier Majd al-Mulk Balasani was murdered for being accused of involvement.[8] [9] |
| unnamed | qadi | killed | 1098 | unknown | his brother | unknown | |
| Unar and Siyah (Siyahpush?) | amir (senior commanders) | killed | 1099 | near Sawa, Seljuq Empire | team of 3; 2 killed, 1 survived [Husayn or Hasan Khwarezmi] | knife | |
| kjmš (Persian: کجمش) | deputy of Arghush al-Nizami | killed | Ibrahim Damawandi (Persian: ابراهیم دماوندی) | Killed together with his son-in-law. | |||
| Sarzan Malikshahi (Persian: سرزن ملکشاهی) | amir spiahsalar | killed | Ibrahim Khurashani (Persian: ابراهیم خوراشانی) | ||||
| Hadi Kiya (Persian: هادی کیا) the Alavid | Imam and missionary in Gilan | killed | Ibrahim and Muhammad Kuhi | ||||
| Abu al-Fath Durdanah Dihistani (Persian: ابوالفتح دردانه دهستانی) | vizier of Barkiyaruq | killed | a Rus'(?) ghulam | ||||
| Iskandar Sufi Qazwini (Persian: اسکندر صوفی قزوینی) | killed | a Quhistani rafiq | |||||
| Sunqurche (Persian: سنقرچه) (or Persian: منعورحه) | wali of Dihistan, Amul | killed | Muhammad Dihistani (Persian: محمد دهستانی) | ||||
| Balakabak Sarmuz (Persian: بلاكبك سرموز) or buklabk srmz (Persian: بیکلابک سرمز) | senior commander (amir) | killed | 1099 | entrance of Sultan Mahmud II's house in Isfahan, Seljuq Empire | team of 2; 1 killed, 1 fled | unknown | |
| Abu al-Muzaffar al-Khujandi (Arabic: أبو المظفر الخجندي) | chief preacher in Ray (mufti of Isfahan?) | killed | 1102/1103 | Rayy, Seljuq Empire; coming down from minbar | Abu al-Fath Sijzi (Persian: ابو الفتح سجزی); killed immediately | unknown | |
| Abu 'Amid (Persian: ابو عمید) (or Persian: ابو نیم) | mustawfi (accountant) of Rayy | killed | Rustam Damawandi (Persian: رستم دماوندی) | ||||
| Abu Ja'far Mashshati Razi (Persian: ابوجعقر مشاطی رازی) | mufti of Rayy | killed | Muhammad Damawandi (Persian: محمد دماوندی) | ||||
| Abu al-Qasim Mufti Karaji Qazwini (Persian: ابو القاسم مفتی کرجی قزوینی) | killed | Hasan Damawandi (Persian: حسن دماوندی) | |||||
| Abu al-Hasan (Persian: ابوالحسن) | ra'is of Bayhaq | killed | Fida'i (Haji?) Damawandi | He was marching against (?) Maymun-Diz. | |||
| Abu al-Faraj Qaratakin (Persian: ابو الفرج قراتکین) | 17 Ramadan 472 AH | killed | Rayy, Seljuk Empire | ||||
| Abd al-Jalil al-Dihistani (Arabic: أبو الجليل الدهستانی) | vizier of Seljuq Sultan Barkayaruq | died of wounds | 1102/1103 | Isfahan's gate, Seljuq Empire | a youth | unknown | |
| Janah ad-Dawla | emir of Homs | killed | 1103, May | Great Mosque of Homs, Emirate of Homs (Syria) | team of 3 | Apparently ordered by al-Hakim al-Munajjim | |
| Abu Ja'far al-Mashatt (Arabic: أبو جعفر المشط) | Shafi'i leader in Ray | killed | 1104 | Ray's mosque, Seljuq Empire | unknown | unknown | |
| Abu al-Ala Sa'id ibn Abi Muhammad al-Nisaburi (Arabic: أبو العلاء سعيد بن أبي محمد النيسابوري) | qadi of Isfahan | killed | 1105/1106 | Isfahan's mosque, Seljuq Empire | unknown | unknown | |
| Khalaf ibn Mula'ib | Fatimid emir of Afamiyya | killed | 1106, February 3 | inside Qalaat al-Madiq (Afamiyya), Emirate of Apamea (under Fatimid Caliphate) | team; fled | dagger, struck in the abdomen; harba (Arabic: حربة, "spear") per one source | Planned by Abu Tahir al-Sa'igh, Ridwan, and a certain Abu'l Fath of Sarmin |
| unnamed | lieutenant (amir) of Seljuq Sultan Muhammad I Tapar | wounded | 1107 | Shahdiz, Seljuq Empire | a fida'i | After a failed negotiation during the Siege of Shahdiz. The victim was a particularly anti-Nizari commander in the Seljuq camp. | |
| Abu al-Fath Fakhr al-Mulk ibn Nizam al-Mulk | vizier of Seljuq sultan Barkiyaruq (Sanjar?) | killed | 1106/1107 | Nishapur, Seljuk Empire | dynmyn(?) Damghani (Persian: دینمین[?] دامغانی), a petitioner; arrested, tried, executed | knife | |
| Abu Ahmad Kaysan (Dawlatshahi?) Qazwini | killed | a Quhistani rafiq, accompanied by 10 other rafiqs | |||||
| Abdullah Isfahani | qadi | killed | Safar 493 AH | Abu al-Abbas Naqib Mashhadi (Persian: ابو العباس نقیب مشهدی) | |||
| Abu al-Ala' (Persian: ابو العلاء) | scholar and mufti of Isfahan | killed | 495 AH | Jameh Mosque of Isfahan, Isfahan, Seljuk Empire | a rafiq | ||
| Sultan al-Ulama' Abu al-Qasim Asfazari (Persian: سلطان العلماء ابو القاسم اسفزازی) | ra'is of Bayhaq | killed | Shawwal 495 AH | Muhammad Biyari (Persian: محمد بیاری) | |||
| Mahmashad (Persian: محمشاد) | Karramiyya leader | killed | 496 AH | Great Mosque of Nishapur, Seljuk Empire | Abd al-Malik Razi (Persian: عبد الملک رازی) | ||
| Sabbak al-Jurjani (Arabic: سباک الجرجاني) | scholar | killed | 496 AH | Hassan Siraj (Persian: حسن سراج) | For insulting the Shia Imam, Ali. | ||
| Abu al-Ala' (Persian: ابوالعلاء) | scholar in service of sultan Muhammad I Tapar | killed | Muhammad Sayyad (Persian: محمد صیاد) | For insulting the Shia Imam, Ali. | |||
| Ubayd Allah ibn Ali al-Khatibi (Arabic: عبيد الله بن علي الخطيبي) | qadi of Isfahan, leader of the anti-Ismaili reaction there | killed | 1108/1109, during Friday prayers | Hamadan's mosque | 1 assassin, got between him and his bodyguard | knife | [10] |
| Abu al-Mahasin Abd al-Wahid al-Ruwayni (Arabic: أبو المحاسن عبد الوحيد الرويني) | Shafi'i leader | killed | 1108/1109 | Amol's mosque | unknown | knife | Attributed only by some sources to the Nizaris. |
| Sa'id ibn Muhammad ibn Abd al-Rahman (Arabic: سعيد بن محمد بن عبد الرحمان) | qadi of Nishapur | killed | 1108/1109, on Eid al-Fitr | killed | unknown | ||
| Ahmad ibn Nizam al-Mulk | vizier of Seljuq Sultan Barkayaruq | wounded | 1109/1110 | Baghdad | Husayn Quhistani (Persian: حسین قهستانی); assassin arrested, confessed, his companions killed | knives | For his expedition against Alamut. |
| Abu Harb Isa ibn Zayd | a wealthy Persian merchant | mission failed | 1111 | Aleppo, Emirate of Aleppo | [11] | ||
| Sharaf al-Din Mawdud ibn Altuntash | atabeg of Mosul, amir ispahsalar, governor of Diyar Bakr and the Levant | killed | 1111/1112 or 1113 (Jumada al-Thani 492 AH) | Damascus, Emirate of Damascus | a fida'i | unknown | Both Sunni rulers Tughtigin and Ridwan may have been involved.[12] |
| Ahmadil ibn Ibrahim al-Kurdi | emir of Maragheh | killed | 1114 or 1116 (Muharram 510 AH) | in a large assembly in presence of Sultan Muhammad I | team of 3. 2 killed, the third's fate unknown (or Abd al-Malik Razi [عبدالملک رازی] or 4 Aleppine rafiqs) | knives | |
| Muntahi Alawi (Persian: منتهی علوی) | mufti of Jurjan | killed | 494 AH | Hasan Daranbari (Persian: حسن دارانباری) | |||
| Ahmad Sanjar | Seljuq sultan | threatened | knife | [13] | |||
| al-Afdal Shahanshah | Fatimid vizier | killed | 1121, December 13 | Cairo, Fatimid Caliphate | team of 3 Aleppine rafiqs; fate unknown | knives | |
| Al-Amir bi-Ahkam Allah and Al-Ma'mun al-Bata'ihi | Fatimid caliph and his vizier | plot discovered | Cairo, Fatimid Caliphate | Directed from Alamut. Al-Amir was assassinated later (see below). | |||
| Kamal al-Mulk Abu Talib al-Simirumi | vizier of Seljuq Sultan Mahmud II | killed | 1122 | a procession in Baghdad, Seljuq Empire | team of 4; one escaped, others killed | knives | For pillaging the shrine of Ali. |
| Garshasaf Jurbadaqani (Persian: گرشاسف جربادقانی) (or Karshasb [{{lang|ar|کرشاسب}}]) | killed | November–December 1121 | a fida'i | ||||
| Unar (Persian: انر) | amir of Khurasan | killed | December 1121 - January 1122 | Marw, Seljuk Empire | Abu al-Hayyan (Persian: ابو الحیان) or Isfandiyar Damawandi (Persian: اسفندیار دماوندی) | ||
| Tughrul Mahalli(?) (Persian: طغرل محلی) | wali of Damghan | killed | Isfandiyar Damawandi (Persian: اسفندیار دماوندی) | ||||
| Abu Nasr Muhammad ibn Nasr ibn Mansur al-Harawi (Arabic: آبو نصر محمد بن نصر بن منصور الهروي) | Hanafi qadi of Hamadan | killed | 1125 | Hamadan's mosque, Seljuq Empire | Muhammad Razi (Persian: محمد رازی) and Umar Damghani (Persian: عمر دامغانی) | unknown | |
| Ibn al-Khashshab | qadi and rais of Aleppo | killed | 1125, at night | near his house in al-Zajjajin quarter, Aleppo, while leaving the Great Mosque | unknown | stabbed | After a massacre of the Nizaris.[14] [15] [16] |
| Aqsunqur al-Bursuqi | atabeg of Aleppo | killed | 1127 (or November 26, 1126) | Mosul's Great Mosque, Seljuq Empire | team of 10; fate unknown, he wounded 3 | knives | |
| Mu'in al-Mulk Abu Nasr ibn Fazl | Seljuq vizier of Ahmad Sanjar | killed | 1127, March 20 | Seljuq Empire | his horseman, betrayed; fate unknown | unknown | |
| Mu'in al-Din al-Kashi (Arabic: معین الدین مختص الملوک ابونصر احمد الکاشانی) | Seljuq vizier of Ahmad Sanjar | killed | 1127, March 20 or 16 or Rabi' I 525 AH | Marw, Seljuq Empire, en route from the Sultan's palace to the mosque | by 2 fida'is who had gained his confidence (Muhammad Kuhaj [محمد کوهج] named) | knives | [17] |
| Abd al-Latif al-Khujandi (Arabic: عبد اللطيف الخجندي) | Shafi'i leader in Isfahan | killed | 1129 | Isfahan, Seljuk Empire | a fida'i | unknown | Killed by treachery. |
| Al-Amir bi-Ahkami'l-Lah | Fatimid Caliph in Cairo | killed | October 7, 1130 | Cairo, Fatimid Caliphate | team of 7 rafiqs | ||
| Sayyid Abu Hashim Zaydi | Zaydi Imam in Tabaristan | killed | Jamadi II 526 AH | ||||
| Taj al-Muluk Buri | atabeg of Damascus | died of wounds a year later | May 7, 1131 (died June 9, 1132) | Damascus, Emirate of Damascus (Syria) | two of his guards who were secretly fida'is probably from Alamut; both killed | knives, wounding him in two places | [18] |
| Sayyid Dawlatshah Alawi (Persian: سید دولتشاه علوی) | prefect (either ra'is or naqib) of Isfahan | killed | Jamadi I 525 AH | Abu Abdallah Mughani (Persian: ابو عبدالله موغانی) | |||
| Aqsunqur Ahmadili | governor of Maragha | killed | Dhil-Qa'da 525 AH | Ali (Persian: علی) and Abu Ubaydah Muhammad Dihistani (Persian: ابو عبیده محمد دهستانی) | |||
| Shams Tabrizi | ra'is (prefect) of Tabriz | killed | Dhilhajja 525 AH | Abu Sa'id Qa'ini (Persian: ابو سعید قائنی) and ابو الحسن قرمانی or فراهانی | |||
| Al-Mustarshid | Abbasid caliph | killed | 1135 or 1134 | in royal tentage at Maragheh's gates or near Hamadan, Seljuq Empire | team of 14 or 17 or 24; fled or killed by the guards | knives, stabbed many times | Some sources suspect that the Seljuq Sultan Mas'ud was involved. Some attendants were killed, too.[19] [20] [21] [22] [23] |
| Hasan ibn Abi al-Qasim Karkhi (Karaji?) (Persian: حسن بن ابي القاسم كرخي) | mufti of Qazvin | killed | Dhilhajja 529 AH | Muhmmad Karkhi (Karaji?) (Persian: محمد کرخی) and Sulayman Qazwini (Persian: سليمان قزوینی) | knives, stabbed | ||
| Al-Rashid | Abbasid caliph | killed | 1135/1136 or June 1138 | Mosul or Isfahan, Seljuq Empire | team of 2 or 4 (Balqāsim Darikī named) of Khurasanis in his service; fate unknown | knives, by stabbing | [24] |
| Muqarrab al-Din Jawhar (Persian: مقرب الدين جوهر) | chamberlain, master of the Seljuq governor of Ray, Abbas | killed | 1139/1140 | Sultan Sanjar's camp in Marw | petitioners in women's garb | knives | Many Nizaris were killed in revenge by Abbas. |
| Girdbazu (Persian: گردبازو) | heir of Bavandid ruler Shah Ghazi Rustam | killed | 1142 | Sarakhs, Seljuq Empire | Many Nizaris were killed in revenge by Shah Ghazi Rustam. | ||
| Da'ud, son of Mahmud II | Seljuq sultan | killed | 1143 | Tabriz, Seljuq Empire | team of 4 Syrian rafiqs | ambushed | He had persecuted the Nizaris of Adharbayjan. |
| unnamed | vizier of Seljuq sultan Toghrul II | killed | unknown | unknown | unknown | knives, ambushed | |
| unnamed | mamluk lord of Masyaf | killed | unknown | team | unknown | Killed by treachery. | |
| به اَموی | qadi of Quhistan | killed | 1138/1139 | Sultan Sanjar's camp | Ibrahim Hanafiyyah al-Damghani (Arabic: إبراهيم حنفية الدامغاني); fate unknown | unknown | For authorizing the execution of Nizaris. |
| qadi of Tiflis | killed | 1138/1139 | Ibrahim Buyah Damghani (Persian: ابراهیم بویه دامغانی) | unknown | For issuing fatwa regarding the execution of Nizaris. | ||
| Unnamed | qadi of Hamadan | killed | 1139/1140 | Hamadan's mosque, Seljuq Empire | Ismail al-Khwarazmi (Arabic: إسمعيل الخوارزمي), several of whose companions had been killed and burned | unknown | For authorizing the execution of Nizaris. |
| Yamin al-Dawla Khwarazmshah (Persian: يمين الدولة خوارزمشاه) (Ayn al-Dawla?) | Seljuq vizier | killed | 1139/1140 | an army camp of Sultan Sanjar in Khwarezmia | unknown | unknown | |
| Nasir al-Dawla ibn al-Muhalhil (Arabic: ناصر الدولة بن المهلهل) | Seljuq vizier | killed | 1140/1141 | Kerman, Seljuq Empire | al-Husayn al-Kirmani (Arabic: الحسين الكرماني) | unknown | |
| Garshasaf | senior commander (emir) (a ruler in Georgia) | killed | 1143, June–July | unknown | a soldier | unknown | (Killed in action?) |
| Aqsunqur (Persian: آق سنقر) | mamluk of Sultan Sanjar and governor of Turshiz | killed | 1146 | team of 2 rafiqs: Sulayman and Yusuf | unknown | Killed as a rebel against the sultan. | |
| Abbas (Persian: امیر پیر عباس) | shihna (governor) of Rayy | killed | 1147 | Ray or Baghdad, Seljuq Empire | unknown | unknown | Killed with armor on. |
| Raymond II | Count of Tripoli | killed | 1152 | Tripoli's southern city gate, County of Tripoli | Motivation uncertain. Killed along with two of his knights (including Ralph of Merle). | ||
| Saladin | Ayyubid sultan | mission failed | 1175, May 11 | Saladin's camp | 13 | ||
| Saladin | Ayyubid sultan | threatened only | 1176 | near Masyaf Castle | knife | According to some traditions. | |
| Adud al-Din Abu al-Faraj Muhmmad ibn Abdallah | vizier of the Abbasid caliph al-Mustadi | killed | 1177/1178 | leaving Baghdad for pilgrimage to Mecca | fida'is from Jabal al-Summaq, Syria | ||
| Conrad of Montferrat | de facto King of Jerusalem | killed | 1192, April 28 | en route to his house in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem | team of 2; 1 killed, 1 captured | stabbed at least twice in the side and back | It is uncertain who actually instigated the attack, possibly Richard I of England, Humphrey IV of Toron, Henry II of Champagne or Saladin. |
| Muhammad of Ghor | Ghurid sultan | killed | 1206, March 15 | Dhamiak, near Sohawa, Ghurid Empire | One source attributes it to the Assassins. | ||
| Möngke Khan | Mongol khagan | plot or rumor | 1253 | Karakorum, Mongol Empire | team of 40+ | Alleged mission ordered by Imam Ala' al-Din Muhammad.[25] [26] [27] | |
| Raymond, son of Bohemond IV of Antioch | heir to the throne of Antioch and Tripoli | killed | 1213 | outside the door of the Cathedral of Our Lady of Tortosa, Tortosa (Tartus), County of Tripoli | Bohemond IV unsuccessfully besieged Khawabi in response.[28] [29] [30] | ||
| Adam of Baghras | Regent of Isabella, Queen of Armenia | killed | 1220 | Sis, Cilician Armenia | [31] | ||
| Orkhan/Orghan | senior commander of Jalal ad-Din Mingburnu | killed | Ganja, Khwarezmian Empire | a team of petitioners; fled / 3 assassins, killed | concealed swords, stabbed | [32] As a reprisal for raids against Quhistan. | |
| Chagatai the Elder | Mongol noyan (commander) | killed | c.1249? | knife | Nizaris were massacred by his daughter Bulghan Khatun or his son Bulghan or Qara-Bulghan after the fall of the Nizari state.[33] | ||
| Philip of Montfort | Lord of Tyre | killed | 1270, March 17 or August 17 | in his church in Tyre, Lordship of Tyre, Kingdom of Jerusalem | assassin disguised as a Christian; captured | dagger | [34] |
| Ata-Malik Juvayni | Ilkhanate elite | survived | 1270 | Ilkhanate | Unsuccessful assassination attempt attributed to the Nizaris.[35] | ||
| Lord Edward | Duke of Gascony | wounded | 1271 | Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem | a Syrian Assassin; killed | dagger, possibly poisoned; struck in the arm | Supposedly by a Syrian Assassin under Baibars during the Ninth Crusade.[36] Edward abandoned further campaigns afterwards. |
| Sokollu Mehmed Pasha | Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire | killed | 1579, 11 October | Constantinople, Ottoman Empire | Controversial attribution to the Assassins. | ||