14. From Somebody Else’s Political Arm to Independent Killers
From his mountain holdfasts, the Old Man of the Mountain sent suicide squads of killers known as fida’is (“self sacrificers”) against prominent leaders throughout the Middle East. Initially, the deadly campaign hewed to the goals of al Sabbah’s sponsors, and the targets were prominent Sunni opponents of the Fatimids. However, the Assassins soon asserted their independence. Although they retained a degree of Fatimid financial support, they began to kill on their own hook in order to further their own agenda and goals. The result was nearly two centuries of terror. Throughout that span, fear of the Assassins was an ever-present concern for medieval Middle Eastern leaders and prominent figures of all faiths and denominations thereof.
