"Unprepossessing to our eyes, but designed to make an impact, he turned up at Kahf wearing self-sewn shoes and a striped headdress made of Yemeni wool. He flamboyantly rode a white donkey. There was an undeniable theatricality about the man - the drama was perhaps intuitive but possibly more self-conscious than he would have cared to admit. He was called Sinan. But he became better known by a nickname: 'The Old Man of the Mountain'."
"The Assassins were facing increasing intimidation by the military orders, and ever more hatred from their Sunni enemies. But they were fortunate in one vital regard - the highly capable Rashid al-Din Sinan, their most famous leader, became ruler of the de facto Nizari Ismaili state in Syria in 1162. Under his guidance, the Assassins were able to stabilise their new network of mountain fortresses and perfect their unique way of dealing with far bigger and more powerful neighbours."
"Persecuted in Aleppo and Damascus, they turned in on themselves. Their setbacks, and the hatred which had been directed towards them by their fellow Muslims, confirmed their natural instincts: that they should become ever more separate from those who clearly detested them. Sinan, decisive as ever, guided this change. He concluded that they should rather make their mark on the world by perfecting the art of fear"
A bedraggled, theatrically dressed stranger arrived at the Nizari village beneath Kahf castle, attracting local attention. The stranger had been travelling clandestinely across the Middle East, hiding and sleeping rough for safety. The man, Sinan, became known as 'The Old Man of the Mountain' and assumed de facto rule of the Nizari Ismaili state in Syria in 1162. Sinan stabilised a network of mountain fortresses and refined the group's tactics. Persecution in Aleppo and Damascus propelled the community inward and reinforced separation from hostile Sunni neighbours. Sinan directed the movement toward using fear and secrecy as strategic tools.
Read at Medievalists.net
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