Secret Societies of the Middle Ages

The work traces medieval clandestine and semi-clandestine orders across the Islamic and Christian worlds, first charting the development of radical Isma'ilite movements, their theological origins within the early Khalifat, the rise of a fortified state at Alamut, their methods of recruitment and political assassination, and their suppression by Mongol conquests. It then examines the Christian military orders formed during the Crusades, explaining their foundation, hierarchical ranks, daily rules, provincial organization, martial and charitable functions, and internal culture, and concludes with an account of their moral decline, trials, and dissolution amidst royal and papal intervention. Interspersed material surveys relevant Persian lore and regional geography.