Persia (Post-Seljuk). Assassins at Alamut (Batinid). 'Ala' al-Din Muhammad III, AH 618-653 / AD 1221-1255. Fals (Bronze, 16 mm, 1.64 g, 6 h), no mint, no date. Within a central circle, in two lines: al-mawlā / al-aʿẓam (‘The supreme lord’ in Arabic). Rev. Stylized bird standing to right, formed out of the name: Muḥammad bin al-Ḥasan (‘Muḥammad son of al-Ḥasan’ in Arabic). Album 1921I. Extremely rare. Somewhat porous and flan faults on the edge, otherwise, nearly very fine.


Headquartered in the remote Alborz Mountains north of Qazwin, at a site known as Kursi al-Daylam (“the Throne of Daylam”), now called Alamut, the enigmatic Order of Assassins - derived from the Arabic term Hashshashin, meaning 'users of hashish' - instilled fear across the region for two centuries through targeted assassinations, allegedly carried out under the influence of hashish.

Their reign of terror came to an abrupt end with the Mongol invasion, when Hulagu Khan’s forces besieged Alamut in AD 1256, only two years after the death of ʿAlāʾ al-Dīn Muḥammad III. After a 15-day siege, the Order surrendered the fortress to Hulagu, the grandson of Genghis Khan.

The piece is also of great calligraphic interest, as the bird depicted on the reverse simultaneously forms the name 'Muḥammad bin al-Ḥasan' in Arabic.