Source: The Mongol Warlords by David Nicolle




Destroying the Assassins

In 1251 Mongke, the new Great Khan, held a quriltay or gathering of Mongol leaders. This would decide the fate of almost half the known world and among its decisions was that of sending Mongke's younger brother Hulegu to be viceroy of the chaotic provinces of Iran. Mongke instructed him to:

"Establish the usages, customs and laws of Genghiz Khan from the banks of the Amu Darya river to the ends of the land of Egypt. Treat with kindness and good will every man who submits and is obedient to your orders. Whoever resists you, plunge him into humiliation."

First among Hulegu's tasks was the destruction of the Isma'ili Assassins. Secondly he must reduce the Caliphate of Baghdad to obedience, for the Mongol vision of world domination could not accept the existence of a leader who claimed allegiances other than that to the Great Khan himself. The Assassins would be shown no mercy: the Caliph, however, would be attacked only if he refused Mongol suzerainty.

Hulegu's army was given a splendid send-off. Mongke, Hulegu and the other senior Mongol princes each laid on great feasts with drinking, gambling and gifts of robes. The Great Khan then sent jewels, money, more robes and fine horses to Hukegu, his wives, sons and military commanders before the vast army set out on 19th Oct. 1253. Hulegu's second son, Jumghar, was placed in immediate military command as his father's deputy while Hulegu's other sons, Abaqa and Yeshmut, stayed by his side. Kit=Buqa, now with the ran of bavurchi or steward, has already set out with 12,000 men to harass the Assassins, while Hulegu's main army supposedly consisted of two out of every ten available Mongol soldiers. Khan Jagatai and Batu of the Golden Horde also sent contingents, while a thousand engineers and infantry skilled in siege warfare came from northern China.

This huge force split into four divisions, which traveled at a leisurely pace by different routes so that their animals had enough pasture as they marched. Hulegu himself reached Sarmarwand in the autumn of 1255 and was entertained for forty days in an enormous white felt tent presented by the regional governor. Not until the first day of 1256 did his army finally cross the Amu Dara (oxus river) over a series of enormous boatbridges into Khurasan. There Hulegu went hunting on Bactrian camels and bagged ten tigers. He also received the homage of most of the governors and rulers of Iran in yet another splendidly embroidered linen tent. It was at this time that the famous historian Ata-Malik al Jucayni entered Hulegu's service. The rest of that winter was spent in military preparation and seemingly endless drinking sessions before, as Juvayni put it:

"orders were given for the fastening of banners and standards (to the spears) and the massing of troops for Holy War and uprooting the castles of heresy."

The heretics in question were, of course, the Isma'ilis and during the spring and summer Hulegu continued his unhurried march, obliterating the rebellious town of Tun (modern Firdaus) on the Wat. But the Isma'ilis did not simply cower in terror. They sent their fida'i, or in modern terms 'fedayeen,' to harass Hulegu's army, although nothing could now stop the Mongol juggernaut. After being feasted in yet another tent (this supposedly making the sun dim and the moon wear a sulky expression in envy of its magnificence) Hulegu entered Isma'ili territory. His main force consisted of a center and two wings, each of which again took different routes. Meanwhile a Mongol army stationed in Iraq headed for Alamut, the chief Assassin castle.

The troops ranged against the Isma'ilis were not all of Mongol origin. In fact, local Iranian vassal forces played a major part, those of Kirman and Yazd being sent against outlaying fortresses. Some of these lesser castles resisted for a very long time. According to legend Girdkuh, over three hundred km to the east, surrendered only when the garrison's cloths wore out and the castle is still surrounded by the siege wall erected by the Mongols. The previous Isma'ili Grand Master had already been murdered by his own courtiers in a vain hope of averting Mongol wrath. Now the new Grand Master, Rukn al Din, evacuated five outlaying castles and attempted to buy time by negotiating. He also tried to spin things out until winter snows made a full-scale assault impossible, even sending one of his younger illegitimate sons as a hostage. But Hulegu was in no mood to be patient and send the child back as too young and of doubtful parentage. Instead he threw his full strength against the extraordinary cave fortress of Maymun-Diz where Rukn el Din had taken refuge.

Most of Hulegu's generals wanted to postpone the attack because winter was close at hand and it would become extremely difficult to supply a besieging army so high in the Albura mountains. A minority urged an immediate all-out attack and this was the course that Hulegu followed. The siege was hard fought, although it lasted only a fortnight. The size of the besieging army was enough to terrify the defenders and Rukn al Din surrendered. He was at first well treated by Hulegu - he still, of course, had his uses. In return the Grand Master send his own emissaries to the other fortresses, ordering them to open their gates to the Mongol invaders. Most obeyed the order and had their defenses razed. Lammasar, the Isma'ili capital of Alamut and Girdkuh to the east, Assassin bases in Afghanistan, and the Syrian branch of the Isma'ili sect, far away in the mountains overlooking the Mediterranean, ignored Rukn al Din's messengers.

The defenders of Alamut were promised safe conduct and, according to the historian Juvayni, 'all the inmates of that university of wickedness and nest of Satan came down with all their goods and belongings.' Alamut had been a center of considerable learning and Juvayni saved both the library and the scholars who worked there. Many, including the famous astrologer Nasir al Din Tusi, had been held in Alamut against their will for years, though they had been able to continue their scholarly work. While Hulegu's soldiers demolished the defense of Alamut, Juvayni got permission to salvage what he could from the famous library, keeping Korans, non-heretical religious books and those dealing with science and history. The rest he brined. Juvayni also collected an interesting array of scientific and astronomical instruments, including astrolabes and globes showing the positions of the stars. Some of this equipment probably ended up in the famous observatory near Maragha, where Nasir al Din Tusi would one day continue his scientific work for Hulegu.

For Rukn al Din himself the end was now near. While Hulegu directed the siege of stubborn Lammassar, the captive Grand Master was given a Mongol wife for company and teams of Bactrian fighting camels to watch. Eventually however it became obvious that even Ruken al Din's personal orders to surrender would have no effect on the garrisons of Lammassar and Girdkuh, so his usefulness was at an end. Instead the Grand Master was given permission to visit the Great Khan Mongke but once he reached the Imperial Capital of Qaraqorum he was humiliated and maltreated as his attendants deserted him one by one. On the return journey Rukn al Din was murdered in circumstances that remained unclear. Some say that this, the last Assassin Grand Master, was kicked to a pulp before being finished off with a sword.

Now the Mongols turned upon those Isma'ilis who had already surrendered. First of all Rukn al Din's family was wiped out, then all the garrisons who had surrendered, including their families. Over one hundred thousand people were probably slaughtered. The Isma'ili sect survived, though, both in Iran and elsewhere - in 1275, a decade after Hulehu's death, they even managed to retake Alamut for a short while. Many fled to Sind in what is now southern Pakistan. There they survived almost as an underground sect before emerging once again as a much more peaceful community, today similarly survived their apparent destruction by the Mamluks later in the 13th century and they still inhabit picturesque villages, dominated by crumbling castles, in the coastal mountains of Syria.