Assassins

Assassins, originally a Moslem sect with peculiar secret doctrines derived from the Koran, Judaism and Christianity. The name comes from its founder Hassan-ibn-Sabah. Their chief stronghold was in North Persia, at the Alamur (eagle's eyrie), near the Takht-i-Sulaiman Peak, in the Elburz range, which was taken in 1270 by the Mongols. The direct descendant of the head of the sect (the "Old Man of the Mountain") now resides in Bombay. All its enemies were regularly murdered by an organised band, which formed one division of the novices of the sect. Hence the modern use of the term.