In his Travels (1298), Marco Polo tells the story of the Old Man of the Mountain, the legendary leader of the Nizari sect of Shia Islam, who had their stronghold in the castle of Alamut located in the Elzbur mountain range to the south of the Caspian Sea. According to Marco Polo, the Old Man of the Mountain—whose real name was Hassan Ibn Sabbah—built in a valley between two mountains,
the largest and most beautiful garden that was ever seen. There grew all the finest fruits in the world, and it was adorned by the most beautiful houses and palaces, the interior being richly gilded, and furnished with finely coloured pictures of birds and beasts, and the most striking objects. It contained several conduits through which flowed respectively water, wine, honey and milk. Here were ladies and damsels unequalled in beauty and in the skill with which they sung and played on instruments of every description. Now the Old man made his people believe that this garden was paradise, and he formed it thus because Mohammed had given the Saracens to believe that those who went into that place would meet great numbers of beautiful women, and find rivers of water, wine, milk, and honey; hence the visitors were led to think that this really was paradise.1
Hassan Ibn Sabbah’s intention in building such a faithful imitation of the Islamic paradise was not well-meaning at all. The Old Man kept a court of young men whom he drugged with hashish and had them put in the garden, whereupon waking up believed themselves to be in the final abode of the righteous (6.5). This paradeisos, however, was a powerful tool of political manipulation. When Sabbah wanted to kill a rival he had his damsels give a soporific concoction to the chosen young man and take him to his palace.
When again, however, he fell asleep, he was brought out into the castle where he woke in great wonder, and felt deep regret at having left that delightful abode. He then went humbly to the Old Man, worshiping him as a prophet. Being asked whence he came, he told that he had been in the paradise described by Mohammed, relating all he had seen, and saying he desired to die and return thither. The chief the named to him a great lord whom he wished him to kill. The youth cheerfully obeyed, and if in the act he was taken and put to death, he suffered with exultation, believing that he was to go into the happy place.2
In Hassan Ibn Sabbah’s hands, the Islamic Paradise becomes a paradeisos: an enclosed place destined for hunting whose purpose was to manipulate young men who were little more than prey within a spurious version of Eden. With Sabbah and the Nizari Earthly Paradise reveals itself, for the first time, as a tool of economic and political terror. According to Polo their rivals called the Old Man’s mercenaries hash-shashiyun, “consumers of hashish,” expression which supposedly originated the word “assassin.” This etymology, however, has never been confirmed.
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