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Watch Denis and Francis reach the Valley of the Assassins in northern Iran, the home of ancient Muslim extremists until their decimation at the hands of the Mongol empire in the thirteenth century.
December 1st, 2008
From the Director’s Cut: The Valley of the Assassins
5 Responses to “From the Director’s Cut: The Valley of the Assassins”
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This was a great little segment until — LOL — Fran reaches out for a bear hug with Denis. What’s the matter Fran, wasn’t that handshake “manly enough” for you, LOL, ya big lug you? Lookout Denis!
Wow Iran , it’s a place I’ve wanted to go my whole life , I love the ancient history of this magnificent country , but it’s the current Geo political situation that has scared me off , until now ! These guys have really insired me , as they said at the end of their film ” there are more good people in the world than bad , don’t believe the media , don’t believe the state department.” Persian culture is so rich and full of great art , music and poetry it’s hard to know where to begin ! Thanks Guys !!
FYI: Hashashin has nothing to do with assasins, simply it means Medecin sellers, they knew the plants that could cure illnesses and were selling them and were known for it and yes they were secret agents. Since history of Europeans is history of barbarism, they tend to depict our gloryest humanistic past as Terrorist and such.
Abbas – You are so Defensive, why is that ? It is true that the meaning of the word Assassin and the history around it is long , mixed up and very convoluted – it’s clear that the filmmakers are referring to a legend – myth – story . So you’ve brought nothing to the conversation ! & next time please check your spelling – Thanks
According to texts that have come down to us from Alamut, Hassan-i Sabbah liked to call his disciples Asasiyun, meaning people who are faithful to the Asās, meaning ‘foundation’ of the faith. This is the word, misunderstood by foreign travelers, that seemed similar to ‘hashish.’ Because of this, Marco Polo used this as an explanation in his diary for the immense dedication the assassins had to their leader. He couldn’t just leave it talking about these people giving up their lives for a religious leader. People would think it made no sense and his books wouldn’t have selled. And he didn’t know the real reason, which was simply that followers have an immense love and dedication to their leader (in this sect of Islam, the Imam is the religious leader. Back then, religion and politics mixed, unlike today where religion is a set of beliefs people around the world follow, back then if you were a Christian you fought for Christianity, a Sunni Muslim , you fought for Sunnis, etc) What is the proof that the reason for their dedication was not the common western belief of drugs, but true dedication? Look at Ismailis today. Whenever the current imam (Aga Khan IV) comes to give a religious speech, there is notice barely a few weeks prior. And each speech is a huge event because every Ismaili Muslim in the area and from many cities around go to hear the speech, large areas are rented out, security is hired, decorations and food required, etc. A setup that would take Hindus or Christians months or years to set up because of the contacts they need to get things done, the volunteers they need, and the fact that although there are many dedicated, a majority wouldn’t immediately jump up, buy a flight ticket across the country, to another country, or to the other side of the world, at a moments notice for an event. And yet, when there is an Ismaili event, especially one involving the Imam, A simple announcement in each Khane(short for Jamat Khana, the place of prayer) has everyone jumping up to go to the speech and volunteer to help with it in anyway they can. The dedication has been going on since Hazarat Ali became the first Imam. They were not hash smokers, this was a ill-conceived explanation by Marco Polo. The Assaassins were not extremists at all. They were a force of an empire. Is the U.S. army a group of extremists? No. They are a country’s military force. And because the Ismaili’s numbers are small compared to Sunni Muslims and Christians, they couldn’t use armies and barge in. Their force was a stealthy one of tactics and strategy. Back then, it was a time of violence in the middle east AND Europe. Their religious leader, the Imam had one of his men establish a group of men to assassinate threats to their empire as the shia ismaili nizari’s numbers were small compared to other muslims so they couldn’t just barge in. Strategy and stealth was required. The entire world was against the Ismailis. The Sunnis, the Christians, etc. So they couldn’t just form an army and fight like the high numbered Sunnis and Christian could. The amount of dedication to the Imam was and is to this day so immense that it is unexplainable to anyone not part of the religion. Just like the Sunnis and Christians sent armies to eradicate enemies to expand their territory or protect their own, the Ismaili Nizari Muslims did the same, except instead of armies, they sent assassins to stealthily eradicate the leaders of the enemy, and in addition to territory protection, they also had to get rid of kings who they knew were against them because if they didn’t, innocent people who just wanted to follow the religion would have been killed. I assure you, the assassins (official name: fidais) were not extremists. Is the U.S. army a group of extremists? No. Same with the Assassins. They were the Ismailis method of expanding territory in their empire.