Masyaf

Castle Masyaf - General view from the south

Masyaf (Arabic مصياف, Masyaf DMG ) is a city in the province of Hama in western Syria. The town center is dominated by an Arab castle of the Crusaders time. The castle was in the 12th century headquarters of the " Old Man of the Mountain", the leader of the Ismailis.

Location

Masyaf is at the southeastern edge of the Jebel Ansariye about 40 kilometers west of Hama in the plane of the Orontes and 47 kilometers east of the coastal city of Baniyas on the road that connects the two places. The city has 38 161 inhabitants (calculated 2010). The center of the settlement of the Syrian Ismailis is Salamiyya on the edge of the Syrian desert; the greatest Ismaili groups in the highlands live in Qadmus and Masyaf.

History

A first castle was to the Byzantine period. But already the Seleucids and the Romans had used the castle hill for defensive purposes. For example, was the headquarters of the Fourth Scythian Legion in Masyaf.

When the Crusaders passed through the area in 1099, the castle was owned by the Mirdasiden. In 1103 it was occupied briefly by the Crusaders, but could not be maintained. 1109-1110 paid the owner, the Atabeg of Damascus, a tribute to the Count of Tripoli, so this ausnahm the rule of Masyaf raids. 1127 the rule was sold to the Banu Munqidh. From whose hands they got to the Assassins.

The Assassins, an Islamic sect, began to proselytize from 1102 in Syria. The emir of Aleppo, Ridwan, they performed in eliminating his rivals and help received in turn the possibility into Syria to gain followers. They began to settle in the rocky mountains of Jebel Ansariye. In 1132 they were able to buy the first castle Qadmus. In 1141 they occupied the castle Masyaf. Over time, they could make in the inaccessible mountains an autonomous region in the immediate vicinity of the Crusader states of Antioch and Tripoli. The castle was built in the 12th and 13th century and served as the headquarters of the sect in Syria. Since 1164 resided here the " Old Man of the Mountains", Rashid ad-Din Sinan. In response to two serious crimes committed by the Assassin attacks Saladin besieged the castle in 1176 unsuccessfully. According to legend, he ended the siege, when he found one morning a knife next to his pillow.

1270 could bring the castle during a long-term campaign ( since about 1260 to 1273 ) against the Assassins in his possession Sultan Baybars. With this success, the power of the Assassins in Syria was broken.

In the course of history, the castle served to protect the trade route from the Mediterranean to Hama. During the Middle Ages until the 20th century, there were frequent armed clashes between rival Ismaili families and attacks of Alawites, which led to the further impoverishment of the population in the backward region. 1808 conquered and sacked Alawite village. However, many inhabitants were killed, the rest had to flee. They could only return two years later with the help of Yusuf Pasha Kunj, the then ruler ( wali ) of Damascus, who drove the Alawites.

The castle was restored by the Aga Khan Foundation.

View over the ruins of the main castle

Outer gate

Reception

Masyaf is multiple Handlungsort in the video game series Assassin's Creed by Ubisoft. The protagonist of the first game of the series is the Assassin Altair Ibn la Ahad from Masyaf and also in Assassin's Creed: Revelations play parts of the plot here again.