Rashid al-Din Sinan

### Position

The great elder of the mountains, one of the leaders of the Ismailists - Dark Guardians.

### Affiliation

 Dark Guardians
 Assasins

### Role

Antagonist ("Through the Cross and Blood")

## Physical data

### Era

12th century

**Rashid ad-Din Sinan**, or **Rashid ad-Din as-Sinan** also known as the **Elder of the Mountains** (1132 or 1135 - 1192) was the leader of the Ismaili religious sect (an offshoot of the Nizari) in Syria and was a historical figure of the Crusades. Latin sources from the Crusader State call him Vetulus de Montanis, which comes from the Arabic title Sheikh al-Jabal, meaning "wise man or elder of the mountain."

## Biography

Rashid ad-Din Sinan was born between 1132 and 1135 in Basra, in southern Iraq, into a prosperous family. According to his autobiography, of which only fragments survive, Rashid came to Alamut, the center of the Assassins, in his youth after a quarrel with his brothers and received typical Assassin training. In 1162, the leader of the sect, Hassan II, sent him to Syria, where he proclaimed Qiyamat, which in Nizari terminology meant the time of Qaim and the abolition of Islamic law. Based in the Nizari strongholds of al-Kaf and later in Masyaf, he controlled the northern Syrian regions of Jabal al-Summaq, Maarrat Misrin and Sarmin. Rashid enjoyed considerable independence from the Nizari center at Alamut, and some scriptures attribute to him the semi-divine status commonly accorded to Nizart-Isma'ili Imams. His main enemy, Sultan Saladin (1137/1138–1193), ruled Egypt and Syria from 1174 to 1193. Saladin managed twice to avoid assassination attempts ordered by Rashid, and as he marched against Aleppo, Saladin devastated the Nizari possessions. In 1176 Saladin laid siege to Masyaf, but he lifted the siege after two notable events believed to have taken place between him and the Elder of the Mountain. According to one version, one night, Saladin's guards noticed a luminous spark moving down the slope of Masyaf, and then disappearing among the Sultan's tents. Saladin awoke from his sleep and saw a figure emerging from the tent. He saw that the lamps in his tent were displaced, and next to his bed were hot cakes characteristic of the Assassins, with a note on top, attached with a poisoned dagger. The note threatened that he would die if he did not withdraw from the siege. Saladin yelled loudly, declaring that Sinan himself was the figure that left the tent. Thus, Saladin ordered his guards to negotiate with Sinan. Realizing that he could not subdue the Assassins, he sought to join them, thus preventing the crusaders from turning against him. Sinan's last known act was in 1191, when he ordered the successful assassination of the newly elected king of Jerusalem, Conrad of Montferrat. Whether this happened in agreement with King Richard I of England or with Saladin is unknown. In 1193, Sinan wrote a letter to Leopold V, Duke of Austria at the request of Richard I, claiming responsibility for ordering the assassination and subsequent death of Conrad, which Richard was accused of. He died in 1193 at Al-Kahf Castle in Masyaf, Syria and is buried at Salamiyah. His successor in 1192 or 1193 was the Persian da'i Abu Mansur ibn Muhammad or Nasr al-Ajami, appointed from Alamut, who restored closer surveillance of the Syrian Assassins.