Sinan

Rashid al-din Sinan -Leader of the Syrian Assassins

Additional Information to Wikipedia article.

Sinan appears in the game [Assassin’s Creed] as the Master of Masyaf, [Al Mualim].

Born Sinan ibn Salman ibn Muhammad in the early 12th century at Basra, he came to be known as Rashid al-din Sinan in about 1162, until his death in 1192. Like Hasan-i-Sabah, who founded the Nizari Ismaili Assassins order at Alamut in the  in , Sinan was a legend in his own time. He was said to be a master of astrology and alchemy; an adept at illusion, clairvoyant and telepathic; as well as having great healing powers. He used no personal body-guard and ruled by the force of his personality. Legends and stories of his prodigious abilities as a speaker/debater, a master of illusion and his formidable psychic powers abounded during his lifetime. Sinan was never seen to eat or drink before others. He was a perfect and given choice for the model of Al Mualim, in the game Assassin’s Creed.

Sinan fled to Alamut in his youth after a quarrel with his brothers. There he met and befriended Hasan II, the son of Hasan-i-Sabah. After the death of the older Hasan, Hasan II became the Imam of the Nizari Ismailis, who were a splinter-faction of Shiites with their own Imam. Hasan II sent his friend Sinan to. At Kahf, Sinan began the process of making converts. When Abu Muhammad, the dai of the Syrian Assassins died, Sinan became the leader of the Syrian Assassins. He had his work cut out for him, with the onslaught of the European Crusaders upon the and maintaining a delicate balance in diplomatic relations and truces between various regional and military leaders.

At the time Sinan assumed leadership of the Syrian Assassins, they were paying a tribute to the Knights Templar. Sinan sent an ambassador to King Amalric I of Jerusalem in 1173, asking for the tribute to be reduced. Amalric agreed but it seems the Templars sent their own assassin after the ambassador. He was killed on his return to Sinan, rendering Amalric's agreement to the reduction of tribute null and void. Upon learning of what had happened Amalric sent apologies and had the guilty knight imprisoned. Further talks on the matter were negated by Amalric's death in 1174.

It was also in 1174 that the great military leader Nur al-din died. He'd been planning an attack on the Syrian Assassins for their reputed part in the burning of a mosque in. At the news of Nur al-din's death, his general Salah al-din (Saladin) declared his independence from the Zangid dynasty and himself as the first ruler of the Ayyubid dynasty - the sultan. This was seen as a threat to Nur al-din's heir and son, al-Malik al-Salih. The boy's regent asked Sinan to aid him in getting rid of this threat. Sinan complied because the Assassins had their own reasons to hate Sala al-din:

''In 1174-1175, Nubuwwiyya vigilantes had raided two Ismaiili centers, killing some thirteen-thousand people. Saladin was passing by at the time. He learned of the massacres and took advantage of the situation to attack other Nizari strongholds before moving on.'' [1]

The Assassins made two attempts on Saladin's life. The first was thwarted because they were recognized by the local ruler Saladin was visiting. He was wounded in the second attempt, but escaped death because of quick reflexes and the chain mail he always wore. In 1176, Saladin attacked Masyaf, laying siege to the fortress. Then suddenly, he ended the siege and left. There is a story that is telling of Sinan's power attached to this event - one of those legends spoken of earlier:

''One day a messenger from Sinan approached Saladin. He stated that the message was personal and must be delivered only in privacy. Saladin progressively emptied his court until only two Mameluke attendants were left. Sinan's messenger asked Saladin why he would not order the Mamelukes to depart so he could deliver his message in private. Saladin replied, "I regard these two as my own sons. They and I are one." The messenger then turned to the Mamlukes and said, "If I ordered you in the name of my Master to kill this Sultan, would you do so?" They drew their swords together and replied, "Command us as you wish."'' [2]

History records no more conflicts between Sinan and Sala al-din. They may have formed a loose alliance and been responsible for the assassination of Conrad of Montferrat in 1192 (son of William V of Montferrat - one of Altair's targets in AC), who was the King of Jerusalem at the time. Rumor had it that Richard the Lionhearted (who also appears in AC as the leader of the Third Crusade) may have arranged this assassination. The Assassins however had their own reasons for wanting Conrad out of the way. He'd seized a Nizari cargo ship and put the entire crew to the sword. The assassination of Conrad enabled Sala al-din to finally make a truce with Richard, which included the Nizari Ismailis.

When Hasan II died and his son Muhammad II took the leadership of Alamut, Sinan broke from the Assassins at Alamut and the Syrian Assassins became their own entity. It is said that while Sinan had great respect and admiration for Hasan II and his proclamations and teachings, he could never agree with the son’s ideas and ways of doing things. Chances are (and this is speculative) that Muhammad did not possess the finesse or cunning displayed by the elder and younger Hasan, from whom Sinan learned his skills as a negotiator and leader. He was a leader whose messages left no room for doubt about his power and influence to carry out any threat he made – or to become an invaluable ally.

Sinan and Sala al-din are said to have died within months of one another in 1192.

== Metempsychosis

==

There is an interesting aside to the history of Rashid al-din Sinan reported that is significant to the game Assassin's Creed.

Sinan was known to have expressed a belief in the transmigration of souls several times throughout his life. This was in fact a tenet of the Nizari faith, and may have been helpful in converting others of wavering faith, who also believed in the reincarnation of the soul. The idea is that the soul is continuously reborn in a succession of lives, wherein it is the duty of the one who possesses this soul to refine and improve the soul, so that the following incarnations will be of a higher station in life and of a wiser intellect. All faults and failures are to be understood and overcome, until the soul is perfected.

In some societies it is believed that the soul is reborn into a genetic family group - that the soul is descended from a blood ancestor. This is clearly the belief exhibited in the story in Assassin's Creed - that the memories of the ancestor are encoded in the DNA of the descendants. Others believe that the soul may reincarnate anywhere in any family or form at the discretion of the individual soul. This idea may have been a later development from the ancestral reincarnation concept, which falls in line with early ancestor worship from Neolithic and shamanic times. The ability of the soul to chose where and when it is born, rather than continuously inhabiting the lineage of one genetic family would be granted to those souls who had come nearer to perfection and guided their own destinies, rather than accepting those of fate or chance.

== References:

==

[1] "The Templars and the Assassins - The Militia of Heaven" by James Wasserman, Destiny Books -, copyright 2001, page 135.

[2] "The Templars and the Assassins - The Militia of Heaven" by James Wasserman, Destiny Books -, copyright 2001, page 135.