An-Nusayriyah Mountains

The An-Nusayriyah Mountains is a mountain range in northwestern Syria running parallel to the Mediterranean coast from north to south.

In the eleventh and twelfth century, the Levantine Brotherhood of Assassins built nine of their citadels among these mountains, recognizing the formidable defense they offered. Among these castles was the one based in Masyaf, and these fortresses would remain unconquered by Saracens and Crusaders alike until they finally fell to the Mongol Empire in the thirteenth century.