Although some exaggeration might be supposed to exist in the Venetian traveller’s recital; and although, instead of crediting the existence of these enchanted gardens, which is, however, attested by many other writers, we should still reduce all the wonders of that magnificent abode to a phantom, produced by the exalted imagination of the young men who were intoxicated with thehashish, and who, from their infancy, had been nursed with the idea of this happiness; it would not be the less true, that we here find the use of a liquor, destined to deaden the senses, and in which we cannot overlook, that its employment, or rather abuse, is spread throughout a great part of Asia and Africa. At the epoch of the Ismailitic power, these intoxicating preparations were not yet known in the Moslem countries. It was only at a later period, the knowledge of it was brought from the most eastern regions, probably even from India into the Persian provinces. Thence it was communicated to the Musulmans of Mesopotamia, Asia Minor, Syria, and Egypt. No doubt, the Ismailites, whose doctrines had several points of resemblance with those of the Indians, had acquired this knowledge earlier, and preserved it as a precious secret, and as one of the principal springs of their power. This conjecture is supported by the fact, that one of the most celebrated Arabian writers attributes the introduction amongst the Egyptians, of an electuary prepared from hemp, to a Persian Ismailite.
I shall conclude this memoir by observing, that it is not impossible that hemp, or some parts of that vegetable, mixed with other substances unknown to us, may have been sometimes employed to produce a state of phrenzy and violent madness. We know that opium, the effects of which are, in general, analogous to those of intoxicating preparations made with hemp, is, nevertheless, the means made use of by the Malays, to throw themselves into that state of fury, during which, being no longer masters of themselves, they murder every one they meet, and blindly precipitate themselves into the midst of swords and lances. The means employed thus to alter the effects of opium is, if travellers are to be believed, mixing it with citron juice, and to allow the two substances to incorporate for a few days.
To the Editor of the Moniteur.303
Paris, December, 23, 1809.
Sir,
You were kind enough to insert in your 210th number, of the 29th of July last, the memoir on the dynasty of the Assassins, and on the origin of their name; which I read at the public sitting of the Institute, on the 7th of the same month. That memoir has occasioned a letter, dated from Marseilles, the 16th of September, 1809, and signed “M. R., Old Residents in the Levant;” to be likewise inserted in your 269th number, of the 26th of September.
I do not know whether I am mistaken in suspecting, that the signature of that letter disguises a justly celebrated name, whose authority might have added great weight to the objections contained in the letter, had the writer of it been inclined to make himself known. However, as the author, or authors, of that letter, in attacking (although in the most gentlemanly manner, and with the most obliging expressions) the etymology of the wordAssassins, which I have proposed, display no common knowledge of the Arabic language, I think it becomes me to justify my opinion, and reply to their objections; the more so, as the paper which I read at the public sitting of the 1st of July, was but a very brief extract from a much more extended memoir; and that this memoir, as well as all the others that I have submitted to the judgment of the Ancient History and Literature Class of the Institute, will, perhaps, not be published during my life-time, owing to the caprice of circumstances, which neither I myself, nor that class of the Institute, have power to control.
The origin which I attributed to the wordAssassin, appears, to the authors of the letter in question, to betoo far fetched; consequently, they propose another; and affirm, that the name of the Assassins is nothing more than the plural ofHassas, “a word which,” they add, “is employed by the people of Syria, and even of Lower Egypt, to designatea thief of the night—a robber.”
These gentlemen might have supported their opinion by most respectable authorities; for their etymology is not new; and I did not fail to make mention of it, as well as of a host of others, which were, perhaps, unknown to them, in my memoir, read at the private sitting.This discussion was not admissible in a reading destined for a public meeting; I have, therefore, suppressed it entirely. Permit me to transcribe a few lines here:—
“Thomas Hyde, I remarked, who had, no doubt, never encountered the true denomination of theAssassins, in any Arabic writer, believed, that it must be the Arabic wordHassas, derived from the rootHassa, which signifies, amongst other things, tokill, toexterminate. This opinion has been adopted by Menage and the learned Falconet. M. Volney has likewise admitted it, but without citing any authority.”
I then discussed the various etymologies proposed by M. de Caseneuve, the prelate, J. S. Assemani, M. Falconet, the celebrated Reiske, M. Court de Gebelin, the Abbé S. Assemani, of Padua, and lastly, Le Moyne; and I showed that none of these writers had given the true etymology of the name, with the exception of Le Moyne, who had, indeed, perceived, that the denomination ofAssassinsorAssissins, was derived from the Arabic wordHaschisch(Hashish). “But,” I add, “M. Le Moyne did not know why the Ismailites bore the designation ofHaschischin(Hashishin), and he has given a very bad reason, which has caused the proscription of his etymology.”
Messrs. M. R. assuredly imagine, that it is merely conjecturally that I have maintained that the Ismailites were designated by the name ofHaschischin(Hashishin), by the Arabs: for they express themselves thus: “The oldest Italian and French authors commonly writeAssassini, sometimesHeissessini, andAssissini; Joinville wrote itHaussaci. On these grounds, M. de Sacydoubts not, that the Arabic which has served as the type, wasHaschisch(Hashish), signifyingherb, in general, and in one particular meaning,hemp. Now, because the Arabs have long known how to prepare a beverage from hemp, which intoxicates and maddens like opium; and because this beverage has sometimes been made use of to stimulate fanatics to the deed, which the Musulmans callthe holy war, namely,premeditated murder, M. de Sacy will have it, that the whole sect of the Ismailites, which supplied many of this kind of fanatics, was calledHachichiorHaschischi(Hashishi); that is, theherb people, but, in order to establish this, it is necessary, in the first place, to prove, that the use of this beverage was habitual and general among this sect; so much so, as to distinguish them from all other Arabs, who used it, but without becoming murderers like them. History teaches us nothing similar. It even appears, that this artificial means couldonly have been employed when their primitive zeal began to cool; but, moreover, the wordhaschisch(hashish), differs too strongly from the wordsAssassin,Heissessin, andHaussaci, to have served as their original root.”
These gentlemen will allow me to observe, that if they had read with attention my printed Memoir, and the report made by my esteemed colleague, M. Ginguené, of the labours of the Ancient History and Literature Class, since the 1st of July, 1808, they would have found that there was no conjecture in it at all on my part. In fact, it was in quoting different passages of Arabic authors, relating to the enterprises undertaken at different periods by the Syrian Ismailites against Saladin, that I proved to demonstration, that those writers employed indifferently, in the same work, the namesIsmailites,Batenites, andHaschischin(Hashishin), as synonymous; and that the chief of this horde of ruffians, was called the Possessor of theHaschischa(Hashisha). I even took occasion to observe, that the Byzantine writers called the AssassinsChasisioi; and that the Jew, Benjamin of Tudela, names them in Hebrew,Haschischin(Hashishin).
These facts being incontestable, I had to inquire what was thisHaschischorHaschischa(HashishorHashisha), possessed by the chief of the Ismailites, from which these latter derived their name ofHaschischin(Hashishin); and, certainly, it needed no great stretch of imagination, to discover thehaschisehaof the Ismailites in that of the Syrians and Egyptians of the present day. I afterwards showed, by very positive historical testimony, that, at the period when the Assassins signalized themselves by their atrocities and murders, the use of intoxicating preparations made with hemp had not yet been introduced among the Musulmans; lastly, I proved by a host of facts, and the testimony of Marco Polo, that thehashishwas not used among the Ismailites for the purpose of throwing those to whom it was administered, into a state of madness and frenzy, during the continuance of which they performed the most barbarous actions, almost consciously; but, that it was a secret known only to the chief of the sect, and which he employed, to deprive for a time of the use of their reason, those young men, whom he wished, by means of every kind of seduction, which could inflame the imagination and exalt the sense, to inspire with blind obedience to his behests.
The chief reason why the authors of the letter which I am controverting, have a difficulty in admitting that the wordAssassins, orAssissins, is actually derived fromHaschischin, is, that they cannot believe that western writers could have substituted the articulation of the ArabicSin, that is, of ans, for that ofSchin(Shin), which answers to ourch(sh.Eng.); but they have perhaps forgotten, that, at the epoch of the Crusades, the Latin language was the common idiom of writers throughout Europe; and that, in that language, the sound of the ArabicShin, cannot be expressed. We must also add, the ArabicShinis not in general pronounced so strongly as ourch, (sh, Eng.); and that the Arabians themselves have often used it for the Greek sigma, and the LatinS, of Latin names; such as Pontus, Orosius, Philippus, Busiris, &c., and lastly, that the Moors in Spain, in writing the Castilian in Arabic characters, made use of theShinto expresss; for example, in the wordslos cielos y las tierras. (See Notices et Extraits des Manuscrits, tome IV. page 631 & 642.) Perhaps, we have an example of the substitution of ours, for the Arabicshin, in the wordSarrasins(Saracens).
Here, again, I am at variance with the authors of the letter, who reject the etymologies which have been hitherto proposed, of the name of theSarrasins(Saracens), in order to derive it fromSarragorSarradj, a word, meaning, according to them, asaddle-man, and, consequently, ahorse-man. These gentlemen will not take it ill, if I deny the consequence, and if I remark, thatsarradj, or, as it is otherwise pronounced,sarrag, never did, and never could, according to the analogy of the Arabic language, signify any thing buta man who makes or sells saddles for horses, or a stable-boy who takes care of these animals’ harness. As I do not wish to be believed on my word alone, I shall quote Golius, who has not omitted the wordSarrag, as is asserted in the postscript to the letter, and who translates it thus:Qui confecit ephippia et ea quæ ad equi et currus apparatum spectans(one who makes saddles, and every thing belonging to the harness of horses and carriages). Menins, who translates it into Latin, byEphippiarius,qui Ephippia et quæ ad ea spectant conficit—qui curam equorum et apparatus eorum ephippii et phalerarum habet; in Italian, bysellaro,palfreniere; and in French, bysellier,palfrenier. Germanus de Silesia, who makes it correspond with the Italian sellaro: lastly, Father F. Cannes, who, in his Spanish and Arabic Dictionary, makes use of the Spanish wordSillero, to translate it. The objections which Messrs. M. R. make against one of the etymologies of the wordSarrasins(Saracens), which several learned men have derived from the wordSarikin, robbers, are destitute of weight. Itis not true, that we cannot admit this etymology, without, at the same time, supposing that the Arabs called themselvesrobbers; because, in fact, the Arabs known to the Greeks and Latins by the denomination ofSarrasins(Saracens), did not give themselves that name at all, but received it from the neighbouring tribes, who may very well have termed thembrigands. This objection has no more force against those who derive the name ofSarrasins,Saracens,Saraceni, fromsharki, orsharaki, that is,eastern. If this latter be the true origin of the name, it is beyond a doubt that it was first given to some Arabs, by nations inhabiting a more western country, and that it might afterwards have been applied to the greater part of the nation. As, according to either hypothesis, the wordSarrasins(Saracens), will have an Arabian origin, there will be some probability in supposing, that this denomination, which succeeded that of theScenites, was first given to the Nomade Arabs by the civilized tribes settled in the north-east of Arabia, and who recognised the Roman authority. In either case, if these etymologies appear too forced, I should prefer confessing, that we are ignorant of the origin of the word, than deriving it from an expression which is in no respect proper to characterize the Arabian nation.
I shall conclude, by observing, as I did in my Memoir, that, perhaps, the wordHashishin, orHashashin, for both are used, did not properly designate all the Ismailites, but was peculiarly applied to those who were destined to the Assassin service, and who were also known by the name of Fedawi (ordevoted). “I have not, up to this day,” I said, at the conclusion of my Memoir, “met with a sufficient number of passages in which this word is employed, to hazard a decided opinion on the subject; but I am led to believe, that among the Ismailites, those only were termedHashishin, who were specially educated to commit murder, and who were, by the use of theHashish, disposed to an absolute resignation to the will of their chief; this, however, may not have prevented the denomination from being applied to Ismailites collectively, especially among the Occidentals.”
Accept, &c. &c.
Sylvestre de Sacy.
THE END.
1Maracci Prodromus Alcorani Patavii, 1698.
1Maracci Prodromus Alcorani Patavii, 1698.
2Gagnier Vita Mohammedis ex Abulfeda Oxonii, 1723.
2Gagnier Vita Mohammedis ex Abulfeda Oxonii, 1723.
3Sale’s Koran, London, 1734.
3Sale’s Koran, London, 1734.
4Essai sur les Mœurs et l’Esprit des Nations, par Voltaire, tom. 2, Chap. 6.
4Essai sur les Mœurs et l’Esprit des Nations, par Voltaire, tom. 2, Chap. 6.
5The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, by Gibbon, chap. 50.
5The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, by Gibbon, chap. 50.
6Vier und Zwanzig Bücher Allgemeine Geschichten, durch Johannes von Müller, 12 buch, 2 kap.
6Vier und Zwanzig Bücher Allgemeine Geschichten, durch Johannes von Müller, 12 buch, 2 kap.
7Ikra-bi-ismi reblike,read in the name of the Lord. The commencement of the first published Sura, the 90th in the present arrangement.
7Ikra-bi-ismi reblike,read in the name of the Lord. The commencement of the first published Sura, the 90th in the present arrangement.
8This fact is not related by Aboulfaraj alone, but also by Macrisi and Ibn Khaledun, and after them by Hadji Khalfa.
8This fact is not related by Aboulfaraj alone, but also by Macrisi and Ibn Khaledun, and after them by Hadji Khalfa.
9Abulfeda, Annales Moslemici, I. 282.
9Abulfeda, Annales Moslemici, I. 282.
10Abulfeda, Annales Moslemici, I. 314.
10Abulfeda, Annales Moslemici, I. 314.
11A. D. 750; A. H. 132.
11A. D. 750; A. H. 132.
12A. D. 787; A. H. 172.
12A. D. 787; A. H. 172.
13Ibn Khaledun, Book l, c 3, § 25. Lari, Chapter of the Twelve Imams.
13Ibn Khaledun, Book l, c 3, § 25. Lari, Chapter of the Twelve Imams.
14A. D. 1011; A. H. 402.
14A. D. 1011; A. H. 402.
15A. D. 1058; A. H. 450.
15A. D. 1058; A. H. 450.
16Chap. XIII.
16Chap. XIII.
17Macrisi. Lari.
17Macrisi. Lari.
18VideHadji Khalfa, and Reiskii’s Notas ad Abulfeda, 2nd. p. B. 36.
18VideHadji Khalfa, and Reiskii’s Notas ad Abulfeda, 2nd. p. B. 36.
19A. D. 758; A. H. 141.
19A. D. 758; A. H. 141.
20A. D. 778; A. H. 162.
20A. D. 778; A. H. 162.
21See Herbelot, art. Mani, Erteng, Mokannaa, and Hakem Ben Hashem.
21See Herbelot, art. Mani, Erteng, Mokannaa, and Hakem Ben Hashem.
22A. D. 837; A. H. 223; according to Hadji Khala. A. D. 841; A. H. 227; according to Lari.
22A. D. 837; A. H. 223; according to Hadji Khala. A. D. 841; A. H. 227; according to Lari.
23See Lari. Herbelot, art. Babek.
23See Lari. Herbelot, art. Babek.
24Macrisi, in the beginning of the chapter of the Genealogy of the Fatimite Khalifs, and below, in the section on the Doctrines of the Dais; Art. beginning of the Missions of Ibtidai Dawet.
24Macrisi, in the beginning of the chapter of the Genealogy of the Fatimite Khalifs, and below, in the section on the Doctrines of the Dais; Art. beginning of the Missions of Ibtidai Dawet.
25Gulsheni Khalifa, the Khalif’s Bed of Roses, by Nasmisade, after the Jamius-seir (i. e.Collector of Memoirs), and the History of Nisam-ol-mulk, p. 20.
25Gulsheni Khalifa, the Khalif’s Bed of Roses, by Nasmisade, after the Jamius-seir (i. e.Collector of Memoirs), and the History of Nisam-ol-mulk, p. 20.
26Nasmisade ibid. See also the Magasin Encyclopédique.
26Nasmisade ibid. See also the Magasin Encyclopédique.
27A. D. 920; A. H. 308.
27A. D. 920; A. H. 308.
28A. D. 909; A. H. 297.
28A. D. 909; A. H. 297.
29A. D. 977; A. H. 335.
29A. D. 977; A. H. 335.
30A. D. 1004; A. H. 395.
30A. D. 1004; A. H. 395.
31Macrisi, art. Mohawal and Darol-hikmet.
31Macrisi, art. Mohawal and Darol-hikmet.
32A. D. 1004; A. H. 395.
32A. D. 1004; A. H. 395.
33A. D. 1122; A. H. 516.
33A. D. 1122; A. H. 516.
34A. D. 1123; A. H. 517.
34A. D. 1123; A. H. 517.
35Macrisi art. Mohaval, Darolilm and Darolilm-jedide.
35Macrisi art. Mohaval, Darolilm and Darolilm-jedide.
36A. D. 1058; A. H. 450.
36A. D. 1058; A. H. 450.
37Mirkhond and Devletshah; art. Shahfur of Nishabur.
37Mirkhond and Devletshah; art. Shahfur of Nishabur.
38A. D. 1078; A. H. 471.
38A. D. 1078; A. H. 471.
39Nokhbetet-tevarikh and Mirkhond.
39Nokhbetet-tevarikh and Mirkhond.
40A. D. 1078; A. H. 471.
40A. D. 1078; A. H. 471.
41A. D. 1079; A. H. 472.
41A. D. 1079; A. H. 472.
42A. D. 1085; A. H. 478.
42A. D. 1085; A. H. 478.
43A. D. 1072; A. H. 465.
43A. D. 1072; A. H. 465.
44A. D. 1077; A. H. 470.
44A. D. 1077; A. H. 470.
45A. D. 1084; A. H. 477.
45A. D. 1084; A. H. 477.
46A. D. 1077; A. H. 470.
46A. D. 1077; A. H. 470.
47A. D. 1079; A. H. 472.
47A. D. 1079; A. H. 472.
48A. D. 1084; A. H. 477.
48A. D. 1084; A. H. 477.
49Mirkhond and Takwimet-tevarikh.
49Mirkhond and Takwimet-tevarikh.
50Mirkhond.
50Mirkhond.
51Mirkhond.
51Mirkhond.
52Mirkhond.
52Mirkhond.
53A. D. 860; A. H. 246.
53A. D. 860; A. H. 246.
54Jehannuma, p. 296 and 304.
54Jehannuma, p. 296 and 304.
55Dealbati.
55Dealbati.
56Daniel, 7, 9.
56Daniel, 7, 9.
57Nassaih-ol-Moluk.
57Nassaih-ol-Moluk.
58Nassaih-ol-Moluk, after the Mevakit of the judge Asadeddin.
58Nassaih-ol-Moluk, after the Mevakit of the judge Asadeddin.
59A. D. 1092; A. H. 485.
59A. D. 1092; A. H. 485.
60Mirkhond.
60Mirkhond.
61The Hamakati ehli ilahat yeni Mulahide khaselehum Allah.
61The Hamakati ehli ilahat yeni Mulahide khaselehum Allah.
62Jevahitol Fetavi.
62Jevahitol Fetavi.
63See the Nassaih-ol-Moluk and the Mevakif.
63See the Nassaih-ol-Moluk and the Mevakif.
64Abulfeda Anno 494; Jihannuma, Mirkhond.
64Abulfeda Anno 494; Jihannuma, Mirkhond.
65A. D. 1096; A. H. 490.
65A. D. 1096; A. H. 490.
66A. D. 1100; A. H. 494.
66A. D. 1100; A. H. 494.
67Abulfeda Anno 494; Jihannumma, Mirkhond.
67Abulfeda Anno 494; Jihannumma, Mirkhond.
68Anno H. 490.
68Anno H. 490.
69Ibn Forat and Kemaleddin.
69Ibn Forat and Kemaleddin.
70Jihannumma, art: Sarmin.
70Jihannumma, art: Sarmin.
71A. D. 1107.
71A. D. 1107.
72Wilken, Geschichte der Kreuzzüge, II. p. 272, after Kemaleddin, and Albert of Aix. This latter constantly confounds names: he calls Riswan, Brodoan; Apamea, Femia; Abutaher, Botherus, and the Assassins, Azopart.VideGesta Dei per Francos, p. 350 and 375.
72Wilken, Geschichte der Kreuzzüge, II. p. 272, after Kemaleddin, and Albert of Aix. This latter constantly confounds names: he calls Riswan, Brodoan; Apamea, Femia; Abutaher, Botherus, and the Assassins, Azopart.VideGesta Dei per Francos, p. 350 and 375.
73A. D. 1110; A. H. 504.
73A. D. 1110; A. H. 504.
74Ibn Forat and Kemaleddin.
74Ibn Forat and Kemaleddin.
75A. D. 1108; A. H. 512.
75A. D. 1108; A. H. 512.
76Abulfeda, Takwimet tevarik, Mirkhond Abulfaradj.
76Abulfeda, Takwimet tevarik, Mirkhond Abulfaradj.
77A. D. 1113; A. H. 507.
77A. D. 1113; A. H. 507.
78A. D. 1115; A. H. 509.
78A. D. 1115; A. H. 509.
79A. D. 1119; A. H. 513.
79A. D. 1119; A. H. 513.
80A. D. 1120; A. H. 514.
80A. D. 1120; A. H. 514.
81Ibn Forat.
81Ibn Forat.
82A. D. 1114; A. H. 508.
82A. D. 1114; A. H. 508.
83Abulfeda, Takwimet-tevarikh Mirkhond Abulfaradj.
83Abulfeda, Takwimet-tevarikh Mirkhond Abulfaradj.
84A. D. 1117; A. H. 511.
84A. D. 1117; A. H. 511.
85A. D. 1104; A. H. 498.
85A. D. 1104; A. H. 498.
86Mirkhond.
86Mirkhond.
87A. D. 1124; A. H. 518.
87A. D. 1124; A. H. 518.
88A. D. 1126; A. H. 520.
88A. D. 1126; A. H. 520.
89Mirkhond.
89Mirkhond.
90A. D. 1127; A. H. 521.
90A. D. 1127; A. H. 521.
91Takwimet-tevarikh.
91Takwimet-tevarikh.
92Mirkhond.
92Mirkhond.
93A. D. 1128; A. H. 522.
93A. D. 1128; A. H. 522.
94Mirkhond.
94Mirkhond.
95A. D. 1129; A. H. 524.
95A. D. 1129; A. H. 524.
96Takwimet-tevarikh.
96Takwimet-tevarikh.
97A. D. 1131; A. H. 526.
97A. D. 1131; A. H. 526.
98Mirkhond.
98Mirkhond.
99Mirkhond.
99Mirkhond.
100Abulfeda, a. 523.
100Abulfeda, a. 523.
101Jehannumma, p. 559.
101Jehannumma, p. 559.
102A. D. 1128; A. H. 523.
102A. D. 1128; A. H. 523.
103Kemaleddin and Ibn Forat; the latter calls the vizier Mardeghani Mardekani; and the prince of Aleppo, Bure instead of Busi.
103Kemaleddin and Ibn Forat; the latter calls the vizier Mardeghani Mardekani; and the prince of Aleppo, Bure instead of Busi.
104Abulfeda, a. 523. Wilhel. Tyr. XIII. 25.
104Abulfeda, a. 523. Wilhel. Tyr. XIII. 25.
105A. D. 1118.
105A. D. 1118.
106Anton, Versuch einer Geschichte des Tempelherrenordens. p. 10-15
106Anton, Versuch einer Geschichte des Tempelherrenordens. p. 10-15
107A. D. 1129; A. H. 524.
107A. D. 1129; A. H. 524.
108Wilken, Geschichte der Kreuzzüge. II. p. 566.
108Wilken, Geschichte der Kreuzzüge. II. p. 566.
109The crown of kings.
109The crown of kings.
110Justini Epitome, l. xxiv. c. 8.
110Justini Epitome, l. xxiv. c. 8.
111A. D. 1129; A. H. 524.
111A. D. 1129; A. H. 524.
112A. D. 1132; A. H. 527.
112A. D. 1132; A. H. 527.