11. Kicking Off a Reign of Terror
Initially, the Assassins’ killing campaign hewed to the goals of their sponsors, and the targets were prominent Sunni opponents of the Fatimids. However, it did not take long before the Assassins began asserting their independence. While retaining a degree of Fatimid financial backing, Sheik Hassan al Sabah and his followers went into the killing business on their own hook to further their own agenda and goals. The result was nearly two centuries of terror, during which Middle Eastern leaders and prominent figures of all faiths and denominations lived in constant dread of the Assassins.
The cult’s strength relied on the fanatical dedication of its followers. That dedication was secured by one of history’s most bizarre – yet most effective – recruitment strategies. As seen below, hashish played a key role in the Assassins’ recruitment and training. That earned the cult its Arabic name of Hashshashin, which became “Assassins” or variants thereof in various European languages.
