Old Man of the Mountain (Assassin)

The Old Man of the Mountain (Arabic: شيخ الجبل, romanized: Shaykh al-Jabal, Latin: Vetulus de Montanis),[1] is the expression used by Marco Polo in a passage from Book of the Marvels of the World, to indicate Muhammad III of Alamut,[2] the grand master of the Order of Assassins, who took refuge in Alamut Castle.

It later became a common name used by the Crusaders.

[3] Subsequently, this nickname was given to various Isma'ili successors of Hassan, in Syria, particularly,[4] for example Rashid al-Din Sinan, the da'i (missionary)[5] and a leader of the Syrian branch of the Nizari Isma'ili state.

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