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Nizārī Ismāʿīliyyah
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Stone ruins of the ancient fortress of Masyaf in Syria rise atop a rocky hill, with weathered walls and towers against a blue sky.
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Stone ruins of the ancient fortress of Masyaf in Syria rise atop a rocky hill, with weathered walls and towers against a blue sky.
Assassin summary
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Stone ruins of the ancient fortress of Masyaf in Syria rise atop a rocky hill, with weathered walls and towers against a blue sky.
Maṣyāf castle Remains of the castle of Maṣyāf, Syria.

Nizārī Ismāʿīliyyah

Islamic religio-political movement
Also known as: Assassins
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Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
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•History

Nizārī Ismāʿīliyyah, religio-political movement that arose between the 11th and the 13th century among the Ismāʿīliyyah, a branch of Shīʿite Islam. Dynastic strife among the Fāṭimids, who were the heads of the Shīʿite Ismāʿīlī movement, resulted in the establishment of a rival caliphate in Egypt in opposition to that of the ʿAbbāsids in Baghdad. After the death of the Fāṭimid caliph al-Mustanṣir (1094), Ḥasan-e Ṣabbāḥ and other Ismāʿīliyyah in Iran refused to recognize the new...

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