The Assassins by Bernard Lewis

Asqalan, and to remove all but those who were known to the local population. He instructed him to make a thorough examination of all merchants and other persons who arrived there, and not to take on trust what they themselves said as to their names, by-names and countries ... but to question them about one another and to deal with them separately and to devote the greatest care to all this. If anyone came who was not in the habit of coming, he was to stop him at the border, and investigate his circumstances and the goods he was carrying. He was to deal in the same way with the camel-drivers, and to deny entry to the country to all save those who were known and regular visitors. He was not to allow any caravan to proceed until after he had sent a report in writing to the divan, stating the number of merchants, their names, the names of their servants, the names of the cameldrivers, and a list of their merchandise, to be checked at the city of Bilbays and on their arrival at the gate. At the same time he was to show honour to the merchants and refrain from vexing them.
`Then orders came from al-Ma'mun to the governors of old and new Cairo to register the names of all the inhabitants, street by street and quarter by quarter, and not to permit anyone to move from one house to another without his express authorization.

`When he had taken note of the registers, and the names of the people of old and new Cairo, and their by-names and circumstances and livelihoods, and of whatever strangers came to each inhabitant of the quarters, then he sent out women to enter these houses and to pursue enquiries about the affairs of the Ismailis, so that there was nothing concerning the affairs of anyone in old or new Cairo that was hidden from him ... then one day he sent out a number of soldiers and scattered them, and ordered them to arrest those whom he indicated ...'36 Many such agents were arrested, including the tutor of the Caliph's children; some of them had money in their possession, which Hasan-i Sabbah had given them for use in Egypt. So successful were the vizier's policemen and spies, says the Egyptian chronicler, that from the very moment when an assassin left Alamut his movements were known and reported. A letter of pardon, inviting the Nizari leaders by name to return to the fold without fear of punishment, was apparently never sent, and relations between Cairo and Alamut deteriorated rapidly.
In May 1124 Hasan-i Sabbah fell ill. Feeling that his end was near, he made arrangements for his succession. His chosen heir was Buzurgumid, for 20 years commandant of Lammasar. `He sent someone to Lamasar to fetch Buzurgumid, and appointed him his successor. And he made Dihdar Abu-Ali of Ardistan [sit] on his right and entrusted him in particular with the propaganda chancery; Hasan son of Adam of Qasran he made [sit] on his left and Kya Ba-Ja`far, who was the commander of his forces, in front of him. And he charged them, until such time as the Imam came to take possession of his kingdom, to act all four in concert and agreement. And in the night of Wednesday the 6th of Rabi' 11, 518 [Friday, 23 May 1124], he hastened off to the fire of God and His hell.'37
It was the end of a remarkable career. An Arabic biographer, by no means friendly, describes him as `perspicacious, capable, learned in geometry, arithmetic, astronomy, magic, and other things'.3$ The Ismaili biography cited by the Persian chroniclers stresses his asceticism and abstinence - `during the 35 years that he dwelt in Alamut nobody drank wine openly or put it in jars.'39 His severity was not confined to his opponents. One of his sons was executed for drinking wine; another was put to death on a charge, subsequently proved false, of having procured the murder of the da'i Husayn Qa`ini. `And he used to point to the execution of both his sons as a reason against any one's imagining that he had conducted propaganda on their behalf and had had that object in mind.'4°

Hasan-i