 | Concise Dictionary of Religion |  |
ASSASSINS:
the European name for members of a minor branch of the ISMAILI branch of ISLAM who smoked hemp (canabis sativa) to gian a foretaste of paradise. they were associated with Syria and religious fanaticism, and were believed to specialize in t the murder, or assassination, of religious opponents. As a movement they were suppressed by teh Mongols between 1256 and 1272.
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