Old Man of the Mountain (Assassin)



The Old Man of the Mountain (شيخ الجبل, Vetulus de Montanis), is the expression used by Marco Polo in a passage from Book of the Marvels of the World, to indicate Muhammad III of Alamut, the grand master of the Order of Assassins, who took refuge in Alamut Castle. It later became a common name used by the Crusaders.

Subsequently, this nickname was given to various Isma'ili successors of Hassan, in Syria, particularly, for example Rashid al-Din Sinan, the da'i (missionary) and a leader of the Syrian branch of the Nizari Isma'ili state.