Part 4 (2/2)
Designs against religion were, of course, not admitted by the Order; ”strict uniformity to Islam was demanded from all the lower rank of uninitiated, but the _adept_ was taught to see through the deception of 'faith and works.' He believed in nothing and recognized that all acts or means were indifferent and the (secular) end alone to be considered.”[133]
Thus the final object was domination by a few men consumed with the l.u.s.t of power ”under the cloak of religion and piety,” and the method by which this was to be established was the wholesale a.s.sa.s.sination of those who opposed them.
In order to stimulate the energy of the Fadais, who were required to carry out these crimes, the superiors of the Order had recourse to an ingenious system of delusion. Throughout the territory occupied by the a.s.sa.s.sins were exquisite gardens with fruit trees, bowers of roses, and sparkling streams. Here were arranged luxurious resting-places with Persian carpets and soft divans, around which hovered black-eyed ”houris” bearing wine in gold and silver drinking-vessels, whilst soft music mingled with the murmuring water and the song of birds. The young man whom the a.s.sa.s.sins desired to train for a career of crime was introduced to the Grand Master of the Order and intoxicated with haschisch--hence the name ”Has.h.i.+s.h.i.+yin” applied to the sect, from which the word a.s.sa.s.sin is derived. Under the brief spell of unconsciousness induced by this seductive drug the prospective Fadai was then carried into the garden, where on awaking he believed himself to be in Paradise. After enjoying all its delights he was given a fresh dose of the opiate, and, once more unconscious, was transported back to the presence of the Grand Master, who a.s.sured him that he had never left his side but had merely experienced a foretaste of the Paradise that awaited him if he obeyed the orders of his chiefs. The neophyte, thus spurred on by the belief that he was carrying out the commands of the Prophet, who would reward him with eternal bliss, eagerly entered into the schemes laid down for him and devoted his life to murder. Thus by the lure of Paradise the a.s.sa.s.sins enlisted instruments for their criminal work and established a system of organized murder on a basis of religious fervour. ”'Nothing is true and all is allowed' was the ground of their secret doctrine, which, however, being imparted but to few and concealed under the veil of the most austere religionism and piety, restrained the mind under the yoke of blind obedience.”[134] To the outside world all this remained a profound mystery; fidelity to Islam was proclaimed as the fundamental doctrine of the sect, and when the envoy of Sultan Sajar was sent to collect information on the religious beliefs of the Order he was met with the a.s.surance: ”We believe in the unity of G.o.d, and consider that only as true wisdom which accords with His word and the commands of the prophet.”
Von Hammer, answering the possible contention that, as in the case of the Templars and the Bavarian Illuminati, these methods of deception might be declared a calumny on the Order, points out that in the case of the a.s.sa.s.sins no possible doubt existed, for their secret doctrines were eventually revealed by the leaders themselves, first by Hasan II, the third successor of Hasan Saba, and later by Jalal-ud-din Hasan, who publicly anathematized the founders of the sect and ordered the burning of the books that contained their designs against religion--a proceeding which, however, appears to have been a strategical manoeuvre for restoring confidence in the Order and enabling him to continue the work of subversion and crime. A veritable Reign of Terror was thus established throughout the East; the Rafiqs and Fadais ”spread themselves in troops over the whole of Asia and darkened the face of the earth”; and ”in the annals of the a.s.sa.s.sins is found the chronological enumeration of celebrated men of all nations who have fallen the victims of the Ismailis, to the joy of their murderers and the sorrow of the world.”[135]
Inevitably this long and systematic indulgence in blood-l.u.s.t recoiled on the heads of the leaders, and the a.s.sa.s.sins, like the Terrorists of France, ended by turning on each other. The Old Man of the Mountain himself was murdered by his brother-in-law and his son Mohammed; Mohammed, in his turn, whilst ”aiming at the life of his son Jalal-ud-din, was antic.i.p.ated by him with poison, which murder was again avenged by poison,” so that from ”Hasan the Illuminator” down to the last of his line the Grand Masters fell by the hands of their next-of-kin, and ”poison and the dagger prepared the grave which the Order had opened for so many.”[136] Finally in 1250 the conquering hordes of the Mongol Mangu Khan swept away the dynasty of the a.s.sa.s.sins.
But, although as reigning powers the a.s.sa.s.sins and Fatimites ceased to exist, the sects from which they derived have continued up to the present day; still every year at the celebration of the Moharram the s.h.i.+ahs beat their b.r.e.a.s.t.s and besprinkle themselves with blood, calling aloud on the martyred heroes Hasan and Husain; the Druses of the Lebanon still await the return of Hakim, and in that inscrutable East, the cradle of all the mysteries, the profoundest European adept of secret society intrigue may find himself outdistanced by pastmasters in the art in which he believed himself proficient.
The sect of Hasan Saba was the supreme model on which all systems of organized murder working through fanaticism, such as the Carbonari and the Irish Republican Brotherhood, were based, and the signs, the symbols, the initiations, of the Grand Lodge of Cairo formed the groundwork for the great secret societies of Europe.
How came this system to be transported to the West? By what channel did the ideas of these succeeding Eastern sects penetrate to the Christian world? In order to answer this question we must turn to the history of the Crusades.
3
THE TEMPLERS
In the year 1118--nineteen years after the first crusade had ended with the defeat of the Moslems, the capture of Antioch and Jerusalem, and the instalment of G.o.defroi de Bouillon as king of the latter city--a band of nine French _gentilshommes_, led by Hugues de Payens and G.o.defroi de Saint-Omer, formed themselves into an Order for the protection of pilgrims to the Holy Sepulchre. Baldwin II, who at this moment succeeded to the throne of Jerusalem, presented them with a house near the site of the Temple of Solomon--hence the name of Knights Templar under which they were to become famous. In 1128 the Order was sanctioned by the Council of Troyes and by the Pope, and a rule was drawn up by St.
Bernard under which the Knights Templar were bound by the vows of poverty, chast.i.ty, and obedience.
But although the Templars distinguished themselves by many deeds of valour, the regulation that they were to live solely on alms led to donations so enormous that, abandoning their vow of poverty, they spread themselves over Europe, and by the end of the twelfth century had become a rich and powerful body. The motto that the Order had inscribed upon its banner, ”_Non n.o.bis, Domine, sed nomini tuo da gloriam_,” was likewise forgotten, for, their faith waxing cold, they gave themselves up to pride and ostentation. Thus, as an eighteenth-century masonic writer has expressed it:
The war, which for the greater number of warriors of good faith proved the source of weariness, of losses and misfortunes, became for them (the Templars) only the opportunity for booty and aggrandizement, and if they distinguished themselves by a few brilliant actions, their motive soon ceased to be a matter of doubt when they were seen to enrich themselves even with the spoils of the confederates, to increase their credit by the extent of the new possessions they had acquired, to carry arrogance to the point of rivalling crowned princes in pomp and grandeur, to refuse their aid against the enemies of the faith, as the history of Saladin testifies, and finally to ally themselves with that horrible and sanguinary prince named the Old Man of the Mountain, Prince of the a.s.sa.s.sins.[137]
The truth of the last accusation is, however, open to question. For a time, at any rate, the Templars had been at war with the a.s.sa.s.sins. When in 1152 the a.s.sa.s.sins murdered Raymond, Comte de Tripoli, the Templars entered their territory and forced them to sign a treaty by which they were to pay a yearly tribute of 12,000 gold pieces in expiation of the crime. Some years later the Old Man of the Mountain sent an amba.s.sador to Amaury, King of Jerusalem, to tell him privately that if the Templars would forgo the payment of this tribute he and his followers would embrace the Christian faith. Amaury accepted, offering at the same time to compensate the Templars, but some of the Knights a.s.sa.s.sinated the amba.s.sador before he could return to his master. When asked for reparations the Grand Master threw the blame on an evil one-eyed Knight named Gautier de Maisnil.[138]
It is evident, therefore, that the relations between the Templars and the a.s.sa.s.sins were at first far from amicable; nevertheless, it appears probable that later on an understanding was brought about between them.
Both on this charge and on that of treachery towards the Christian armies, Dr. Bussell's impartial view of the question may be quoted:
When in 1149 the Emperor Conrad III failed before Damascus, the Templars were believed to have a secret understanding with the garrison of that city; ... in 1154 they were said to have sold, for 60,000 gold pieces, a prince of Egypt who had wished to become a Christian; he was taken home to suffer certain death at the hands of his fanatical family. In 1166 Amaury, King of Jerusalem, hanged twelve members of the Order for betraying a fortress to Nureddin.
And Dr. Bussell goes on to say that it cannot be disputed that they had ”long and important dealings” with the a.s.sa.s.sins ”and were therefore suspected (not unfairly) of imbibing their precepts and following their principles.”[139]
By the end of the thirteenth century the Templars had become suspect, not only in the eyes of the clergy, but of the general public. ”Amongst the common people,” one of their latest apologists admits, ”vague rumours circulated. They talked of the covetousness and want of scruple of the Knights, of their pa.s.sion for aggrandizement and their rapacity.
Their haughty insolence was proverbial. Drinking habits were attributed to them; the saying was already in use 'to drink like a Templar.' The old German word _Tempelhaus_ indicated a house of ill-fame.”[140]
The same rumours had reached Clement V even before his accession to the papal throne in 1305,[141] and in this same year he summoned the Grand Master of the Order, Jacques du Molay, to return to France from the island of Cyprus, where he was a.s.sembling fresh forces to avenge the recent reverses of the Christian armies.
Du Molay arrived in France with sixty other Knights Templar and 150,000 gold florins, as well as a large quant.i.ty of silver that the Order had ama.s.sed in the East.[142]
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