Alcune note sui castelli degli "Assassini" in Siria (XI-XIII secolo)

Between the 11th and 12th centuries, the leaders of the Ismaili sect, known as the ‘Assassins,’ based in their impregnable fortress of Alamut in Iran, spread their Shiite doctrine throughout the Near East and Syria. A few years after their arrival, they settled on the peaks of the Gebel Ansariyeh mountain range, between the Principality of Antioch, the County of Tripoli and the vast Seljuk domain. The Ismaili strongholds, considered more as citadels than simple military structures, were generally surrounded by high walls with projecting towers built on sheer rocks and sometimes had a keep in the least defended area. The military garrisons, now reduced to little more than ruins, are mostly documented through partial, often hostile, accounts by Sunni Muslims or Christians terrified by their suicidal actions. This contribution aims to trace a picture of the complex historical events of the fortified settlements and, consequently, to define the boundaries of the Ismaili territory, whose role in the Crusades was fundamental, often influencing events that changed the course of history for both Muslims and Christians.