Assassins (Ismaili Nizari)

A Shiite sect that ruled from Alamut between 1090 and 1257, and also active in Lebanon in the 12th century. In the late 12th and early 13th century they proselytized in India, maintaining a nominal connection to Iran until the 16th century. The name is derived from their supposed ritual use of hashish. The modern word 'assassin' refers to the sect's tactics against Sunni Muslims.