Editing Order of Assassins (section)

===13th century===

In 1210, Muhammad III died and his son [[Hassan III of Alamut|Jalāl al-Din Hasan]] (known as Hassan III) became Imam of the Isma'ili State. His first actions included the return to the Islamic orthodoxy by practising [[Taqiya|Taqiyyah]] to ensure safety of the Ismailis in the hostile environment. He claimed allegiance to the [[Sunni Islam|Sunnis]] to protect himself and his followers from further persecution. He had a Sunni mother and four Sunni wives. Hassan III recognized the Abbasid caliph [[al-Nasir]] who in turn granted a diploma of investiture. The Alamuts had a previous history with al-Nasir, supplying Assassins to attack a Kwarezm representative of shah [[Ala ad-Din Tekish]], but that was more of an action of convenience than formal alliance. Maintaining ties to western Christian influences, the Alamuts became tributaries to the [[Knights Hospitaller]] beginning at the Isma'ili stronghold [[Abu Qubays, Syria|Abu Qubays]], near [[Margat]].{{sfn|Lewis|1969|pp=127–128}}

The count of Tripoli in 1213 was [[Bohemond IV of Antioch|Bohemond IV]], the fourth [[prince of Antioch]] of that name. That year his 18-year-old son Raymond, namesake of his grandfather, was murdered by the Assassins under Nasr al-'Ajami while at church in [[Tartus]]. Suspecting both Assassin and Hospitaller involvement, Bohemond and the Knights Templar laid siege to [[Khawabi|Qala'at al-Khawabi]], an Isma'ili stronghold near Tartus, Appealing to the Ayyubids for help, az-Zahir Ghazi dispatched a relief force from Aleppo. His forces were nearly destroyed at Jabal Bahra. Az-Zahir's uncle al-Adil I, emir of Damascus, responded and the Franks ended the siege by 1216.<ref>{{Cite book|title=A History of the Crusades, Volume Three: The Kingdom of Acre and the Later Crusades|last=Runciman|first=Steven|year=1951|page=138}}</ref>{{sfn|Lewis|1969|p=128}} Bohemond IV would again fight the Ayyubids in the [[Fifth Crusade]].

Majd ad-Din was the new chief ''da'i'' in Syria in 1220, assuming that role from Kamāl ad-Din al-Hasan of whom very little is known. At that time the [[Sultanate of Rum|Seljuk sultanate of Rûm]] paid an annual tribute to Alamut, and Majd ad-Din notified the sultan [[Kayqubad I]] that henceforth the tribute was to be paid to him. Kayqubad I requested clarification from Hassan III who informed him that the monies had indeed been assigned to Syria.<ref name="The Assassins p. 120">Lewis (2003), p. 120</ref>

Hassan III died in 1221, likely from poisoning. He was succeeded by his 9-year-old son Imam [[Muhammad III of Alamut|'Alā ad-Din Muhammad]], known as Muhammad III, and was the penultimate Isma'ili ruler of Alamut before the Mongol conquest. Because of his age, Hassan's vizier served as regent to the young Imam, and put Hassan's wives and sister to death for the suspected poisoning. Muhammad III reversed the Sunni course his father had set, returning to Shi'ite orthodoxy. His attempts to accommodate the advancing Mongols failed.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/ismailism-iii-ismaili-history|title=Nezāri Isma'ilism of the Alamut Period, Encyclopedia Iranica|access-date=2020-01-27|archive-date=2020-01-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200130212229/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/ismailism-iii-ismaili-history|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1225, [[Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick II]] was Holy Roman Emperor, a position his father Henry VI had held until 1197. He had committed to prosecuting the [[Sixth Crusade]] and married the heiress to the Kingdom of Jerusalem, [[Isabella II of Jerusalem|Isabella II]]. The next year, the once and future king sent envoys to Majd ad-Din with significant gifts for the imam to ensure his safe passage. [[Mongol conquest of Khwarezmia|Khwarezm]] had collapsed under the Mongols, but many of the Kwarezmians still operated as mercenaries in northern Iraq. Under the pretense that the road to Alamut was unsafe due to these mercenaries, Majd ad-Din kept the gifts for himself, and provided the safe passage. As a precaution, Majd ad-Din informed [[al-Aziz Muhammad]], emir of Aleppo and son of az-Zahir Ghazi, of the emperor's embassy. In the end, Frederick did not complete that trip to the Holy Land due to illness, being excommunicated in 1227. The Knights Hospitaller were not as accommodating as Alamut, demanding their share of the tribute. When Majd ad-Din refused, the Hospitallers attacked and carried off the majority of the booty.{{sfn|Lewis|1969|pp=128–129}}<ref>''A History of the Crusades, Volume Three: The Kingdom of Acre and the Later Crusades''. pp. 175–178</ref> Majd ad-Din was succeeded by Sirāj ad-Din Muzaffa ibn al-Husain in 1227, serving as chief ''da'i'' until 1239.{{sfn|Lewis|1969|p=127}}

Taj ad-Din Abu'l-Futūh ibn Muhammad was chief ''da'i'' in Syria in 1239, succeeding Sirāj ad-Din Muzaffa. At this point, the Assassins were an integral part of Syrian politics. The Arab historian [[Ibn Wasil]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/search?s.f.s2_parent=s.f.book.encyclopaedia-of-islam-1&search-go=&s.q=ibn+wasil|title=Encyclopedia of Islam, First Edition (1913–1936)|access-date=2020-01-28|archive-date=2020-03-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200314073252/https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/search?s.f.s2_parent=s.f.book.encyclopaedia-of-islam-1&search-go=&s.q=ibn+wasil|url-status=live}}</ref> had a friendship with Taj ad-Din and writes of Badr ad-Din, ''qadi'' of [[Sinjar]], who sought refuge with Taj ad-Din to escape the wrath of Egyptian Ayyubid ruler [[as-Salih Ayyub]]. Taj ad-Din served until at least 1249 when he was replaced by Radi ad-Din Abu'l-Ma'āli.<ref name="The Assassins p. 120"/>

In that same year, [[Louis IX of France]] embarked on the [[Seventh Crusade]] in Egypt. He captured the port of [[Damietta]] from the aging al-Salih Ayyub which he refused to turn over to [[Conrad IV of Germany|Conrad II]], who had inherited the throne of Jerusalem from his parents Frederick II and Isabella II. The Frankish Crusaders were soundly defeated by [[Baibars|Abu Futuh Baibars]], then a commander in the Egyptian army, at the [[Battle of Mansurah (1250)|battle of al-Mansurah]] in 1250. Saint Louis, as Louis IX was known, was captured by the Egyptians and, after a handsome reward was paid, spent four years in Acre, Caesarea and Jaffa. One of the captives with Louis was [[Jean de Joinville]],<ref>{{cite EB1911|wstitle=Joinville,_Jean,_Sire_de |volume=15 |short=x}}</ref> biographer of the king, who reported the interaction of the monarch with the Assassins. While at Acre, emissaries of Radi ad-Din Abu'l-Ma'āli met with him, demanding a tribute be paid to their chief "as the emperor of Germany, the king of Hungary, the sultan of Egypt and the others because they know well they can only live as long as it please him." Alternately, the king could pay the tribute the Assassins paid the Templars and Hospitallers. Later the king's Arabic interpreter Yves the Breton met personally with Radi ad-Din and discussed the respective beliefs. Afterwards, the chief ''da'i'' went riding, with his valet proclaiming: "Make way before him who bears the death of kings in his hands!"{{sfn|Lewis|1969|p=129}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/etcbin/toccer-new2?id=WedLord.sgm&images=images/modeng&data=/texts/english/modeng/parsed&tag=public&part=21&division=div2|title=Memoirs of the Lord of Joinville, Chapter III.4|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110214165119/http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/etcbin/toccer-new2?id=WedLord.sgm&images=images%2Fmodeng&data=%2Ftexts%2Fenglish%2Fmodeng%2Fparsed&tag=public&part=21&division=div2|archive-date=2011-02-14|access-date=2020-12-22}}</ref>

The Egyptian victory at al-Mansurah led to the establishment of the [[Mamluk|Mamluk dynasty]] in Egypt. Muhammad III was murdered in 1255 and replaced by his son [[Rukn al-Din Khurshah]], the last Imam to rule Alamut. Najm ad-Din later became chief ''da'i'' of the Assassins in Syria, the last to be associated with Alamut. Louis IX returned to north Africa during the [[Eighth Crusade]] where he died of natural causes in Tunis.<ref>''A History of the Crusades, Volume Two:  The Kingdom of Jerusalem and the Frankish East, 1100–1187'', p. 749</ref>