Marco Polo
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
(Difference between revisions)
| Revision as of 21:19, 18 March 2009 Jahsonic (Talk | contribs) ← Previous diff |
Revision as of 21:20, 18 March 2009 Jahsonic (Talk | contribs) Next diff → |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
| {{Template}} | {{Template}} | ||
| - | '''Hassan-i Sabbāh''' ([[1034]]-[[1124]]) was a Persian [[Nizari|Nizārī]] [[Ismaili|Ismā'īlī]] missionary who converted a community in the late [[11th century]] in the heart of the [[Alborz]] Mountains of northern [[Iran]]. The place was called [[Alamut]] and was attributed to an ancient king of [[Daylam]]. He founded a group whose members are sometimes (originally derogatorily) referred to as the ''[[Hashshashin]]''. | ||
| - | ==Myths and Legends== | ||
| - | Not much is known about Hassan from first hand sources, but [[legend]]s abound as to the tactics used to induct members. They either stem from Sunni polemicists who were motivated to discredit the Nizari Isma'ili on political and religious grounds, and Crusaders returning to Europe, Marco Polo also claimed to have visited Alamut, although the timeframe he gives makes his assertion dubious at best. | + | '''Marco Polo''' ([[1254]] - [[January 8]] [[1324]]) was a [[Venice, Italy|Venetian]] merchant and [[explorer]] who, together with his father Matteo and uncle, was among the first Westerners to claim to travel the [[Silk Road]] all the way to [[China]]. They supposedly lived there for seventeen years before returning to Venice. During the wars of Venice in [[Italy]], Marco was captured and held prisoner. Then he dictated to [[Rusticello da Pisa]] a widely read book (''<b>[[Il Milione]]</b>'') about his travels. |
| - | + | ||
| - | According to polemical accounts which would evolve into legend; a future assassin was subjected to rites very similar to those of other [[mystery cult]]s in which the subject was made to believe that he was in imminent danger of death. But the twist of the assassins was that they drugged the person to simulate a "dying" to later have them awaken in a [[garden]] flowing with wine and served a sumptuous feast by [[virgin]]s. The supplicant was then convinced he was in [[Heaven]] and that Sabbah was a representative of the divinity and that all of his orders should be followed, even to death. This legend derives from [[Marco Polo]], who visited Alamut just after it fell to the [[Mongol]]s in the thirteenth century. | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | Other accounts of the indoctrination attest that the future assassins were brought to Alamut at a young age and, while they matured, inhabited the aforementioned paradisaical gardens and were kept drugged with hashish; as in the previous version, Hassan occupied this garden as a divine emissary. At a certain point (when their initiation could be said to have begun) the drug was withdrawn from them, and they were removed from the gardens and flung into a [[dungeon]]. There they were informed that, if they wished to return to the paradise they had so recently enjoyed it would be at Sabbah's discretion, and that they must therefore follow his directions exactly, up to and including murder and self-sacrifice. | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | Given the pillars of devoted adherence to the path of the faith, it is unlikely that the usually accepted "Assassin" postulate is accurate. Hassan had his son executed for drinking [[wine]] and another person was banished from Alamut for playing the [[flute]]. The theories of Hassan being associated with [[Hashish]] are, at best, debatable. Furthermore there have emerged traces that there was a name given to Alamut by the people with Nizarī leanings: ''al-Assas'' "the foundation". It was the base for all operations that Hassan wished to effect. Members of al-Assas were known as ''al-Assasīn''. | + | |
| {{GFDL}} | {{GFDL}} | ||
Revision as of 21:20, 18 March 2009
|
Related e |
|
Featured: |
Marco Polo (1254 - January 8 1324) was a Venetian merchant and explorer who, together with his father Matteo and uncle, was among the first Westerners to claim to travel the Silk Road all the way to China. They supposedly lived there for seventeen years before returning to Venice. During the wars of Venice in Italy, Marco was captured and held prisoner. Then he dictated to Rusticello da Pisa a widely read book (Il Milione) about his travels.
Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Marco Polo" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.
