As for the man responsible for all this madness, Hasan bin Sabbah, he was something of a mystery. After securing Alamut, Hasan lived the remainder of his life holed up in his room. It is said that he left his living quarters only twice in this period. He was an ascetic, a mystic, who wrote a number of important theological treatises. This might seem counter-intuitive, but the reason Hasan was so ambitious (and resorted to such extreme measures) is because he was a deeply devoted believer in the Ismaili faith, not because of selfish greed or megalomania.

In fact, Hasan may well have been a direct descendant of the Imam genealogy, but he refused to use this to his advantage, saying "I would rather be the Imam's chosen servant than his unworthy son."

Within Alamut, convivialities like drinking and playing musical instruments were strictly forbidden. This was a vacuum tight operation, and Hasan demanded unwavering attention and devotion from his followers. He was so severe, in fact, that he had his only two sons executed: one for drinking, the other for committing a senseless murder.

Hasan died in 1124, at the age of 90. Having killed his only two potential heirs, he appointed two of his generals to succeed him. One took over the mystical elements of the order, while the other controlled the military and political affairs. During this time the Seljuq Dynasty once again took control in Persia. The new sultan made a pact with the Assassins, whereby the Assassins were given autonomy in exchange for reducing their military forces.

The Hashishins persisted for over 100 years after Sabbah's death, but Alamut was finally sieged and conquered in 1256 by Halaku Khan, son of Ghengis Khan. His chief minister was ordered to write a complete history of the Assassins (based on the records in the Alamut library) and this is where most of the historical data about the order comes from.

Though some have questioned the historical validity of the Assassin's hashish use, it is stated clearly as fact in this carefully researched history. Also, in this book, it is written that the Assassins did not eat hash to relax themselves before going on a murderous rampage, as is popularly believed, but rather would consume the drug before going to the garden one last time, just prior to their suicide mission.

After the fall of Alamut, most of the remaining Assassins were forced underground, where they would await word that the order was back in business. To this day, the Nizari Ismailis (who dropped the title "Hashishins") still persist. They are led by one Aga Khan, whose progressive, globalist rhetoric sounds strangely similar to the utopian worldview of Buckminster Fuller.

The secret order that Hasan bin Sabbah created had a significant impact on all subsequent cults and secret societies. During the Crusades, the Hashishins fought both for and against the Crusaders, whichever suited their agenda. As a result, the Crusaders brought back to Europe the Assassins' system, which would be passed down and mimicked by numerous secret societies in the West. The Templars, the Society of Jesus, Priory de Sion, the Freemasons, the Rosicrucians, etc. all owe their organizational efficiency to Hasan. In fact, the Illuminati had their origins in the mystical aspect of the Hashishin order, although most equate the Illuminati with the Bavarian Illuminati, which was a revised version of the Hashishin system¡¦ (Tim O'Neill analyzes, in-depth, the influence of the Assassins in Adam Parfrey's Apocalypse Culture)

Our modern day "assassination cults" (the FBI, the CIA, etc.) have incorporated many of the Hashishins' techniques into their methodologies. In a CIA training manual titled "A Study of Assassination", you find traces of the Assassins influence throughout. Hasan Sabbah is even mentioned in the document, which is a must read if there ever was one.

Hasan has also served as an inspiration in the artistic and literary realms. The Magick Realism of Hasan's world is particularly appealing to romanticists, both classic and modern.

In Samuel Taylor Coleridge's classic poem "Kubla Khan", he writes about a damsel with a dulcimer (an houri?) singing of the mythical Mount Abora. As everyone knows, Coleridge wrote "Kubla Khan" immediately after waking from an opium dream. The book he was reading when he fell asleep (Purchas his Pilgrimage) describes in detail the legend of Hasan and his earthly paradise. He calls Alamut "Amhara". Could Amhara = Abora? Could the Pleasure Dome be a metaphor for the legendary garden? Quite possibly. It should be noted that the poem's namesake, Kubla Khan, was Ghengis Khan's cousin, and the man who finally overtook Alamut was Ghengis' brother.

The Beatnik generation writers and artists considered the Hashishins a near revelation. The groundbreaking author/painter Brion Gysin, who mentions Hasan in many of his "cut-up" poems, was introduced to Sabbah by composer/novelist Paul Bowles. Gysin subsequently told friend and collaborator William S. Burroughs about the Hashishins. Burroughs went on to write a brilliant poem called "The Last Words of Hasan Sabbah", which condemns modern covert terrorist organizations (intelligence agencies and big businesses) for being dishonorable.

Ambient composer Bill Laswell released an album titled Hashisheen: End of the Law (1999), which features spoken word tales about the Assassins from the likes of Hakim Bey, Genesis P-Orridge, Iggy Pop and others. Laswell also collaborated with Coil on a track called "Assassins of Hakim Bey", a blend of Arabic ambiance looped over with a spoken word rendition (by Bey, I think) of Marco Polo's famous description of Alamut.