For thirty-five years Mohammed II ruled

the Ismailis with a rod of iron;

the only law was that of obedience to the Assassin will.

The observances of ritual Islam were abolished.

A new star had arisen:

a power to stiffen resistance to Crusader penetration;

Saladin, who was to become an implacable foe of the Assassins.

The Syrian branch of the cult grew in power,

while the activities of the Eastern Assassins

were carried out much more quietly,

with missionaries being sent

to India, Afghanistan, even the remote Pamir mountains

which straddle China and Russia,

where even today adherents of the sect are to be found.

Saladin had overcome the other Ismaili branch

and original home of Assassinism - Egypt -

and restored the true faith to the people of the Nile.

He now had enough booty for ten years' war

against the Crusaders in Palestine,

and troops to spare.

His first task was to unify the forces of Islam;

and this he determined to do by force if necessary.

Sinan, Ancient of the Assassin cult in Syria,

decided to oppose this terrible enemy of the Fatimites.

Three assassins fell upon Saladin and nearly killed him.

This made the sect a priority target for the Saracen chief.

The Old Man of the Mountain, for his part,

now unleashed a succession of fanatics,

in every kind of disguise, upon Saladin.

By 1176, Saladin decided that an end must be put to the cult.

He invaded their territory and started to lay it waste,

when the Assassin chief offered him freedom of action

to fight the Crusaders,

and no further attempt upon his life,

if the cult were spared.

These terms were agreed to,

and henceforth no Assassin ever again attempted

to molest Sultan Saladin.