Rashid ad-Din Sinan

Rashid ad-Din Sinan (Arabic رشيد الدين سنان, DMG Rashid ad -Din Sinaan; Sinan ibn Salman ibn Muhammad also or Abu al -Hasan ibn Sinan ibn Sulayman Muhammad; * about 1133/1135, † 1192 ), known as The Old Man from the mountain, was a cult leader of the Ismaili Assassins in Syria before and during the Third Crusade.

He was probably born in southern Iraq.

He resided since 1164 in the castle of Masyaf. Later he made himself independent from Persian headquarters and Fida'i made ​​use of ( ready to die fanatical assassin ) to create his enemies out of the way. Persian Assassins took for his high-handedness at least two failed attacks on him.

He owned a seesaw policy between the Sunnis under Saladin and the Crusaders; with the Order of St. John, he was temporarily allied.

Saladin made ​​at least one attempt ( 1176 ) to take Masyaf, but failed and came to terms with the Assassins.

The chroniclers of the Crusades were fascinated by the very assassinischen practices. Rashid al -Din held later as The Old Man of the Mountain (Latin vetulus de Montanis ) entry into the European literature. Erroneously, this epithet is applied repeatedly to the progenitor of the Assassins, the earlier Persian Hasan -i Sabbah living. The name of the old man of the mountain derives from the Arabic title of the Assassin leader Sheikh al - Jabal, lord of the mountains ' from.

In Assassin's Creed Rashid ad-Din Sinan is also known as Al Mualim the leader of the Assassins and the mentor of the main character Altair.