Rashid ad-Din Sinan (18 August 1132 - 14 September 1191), more commonly called Al Mualim (Arabic: The Teacher) was the leader of the Ismaili religious sect and the leader of the Hashshashin at the time of the Third Crusade. He sought to use the power of the Apples of Eden, so he had his apprentice Altair Ibn-La'Ahad kill nine targets who threatened him.
Biography[]
Rashid ad-Din Sinan was born in Basra in the Seljuk Empire, present-day Iraq. As a youth he came to Alamut and learned the Hashshashin ways and in 1162 Hassan II of Alamut sent him to Syria, where he controlled the fortress of Masyaf. During his reign he was revered by the order and gained the affectionate nickname "Al Mualim", which means "The Teacher" in Arabic; he was always buried in his books in his library in the Masyaf tower. His archenemy was Salah ad-Din, who was a Kurdish warlord who failed to capture Masyaf from him in 1176, and he failed to assassinate him twice.
During this time, he began to search for the Apples of Eden, which controlled humanity, as a rival of the Knights Templar. In 1191 he procured the Ark of the Covenant through a search of Solomon's Temple's underground levels that left the recipient Malik al-Sayf without a left arm, his comrade Altair Ibn-La'Ahad disgraced and demoted, and his brother Kadar al-Sayf dead. He personally demoted Altair and stabbed him in the waist, but when Altair woke up from a dead sleep, Al Mualim told him that he wanted to make him start anew and carry out nine murders against the Templars:
- Tamir Daraiseh
- Garnier de Naplouse
- Talal Eberle
- William V of Montferrat
- Abu'l Nuqoud
- Majd ad-Din
- Meister Sibrand
- Jubair al Hakim
- Robert de Sable
Al Mualim withheld the truth from Altair on many occasions, believing that Altair should be the one to break the veil, not himself. Altair was maddened but finally got Al Mualim to tell him that all of the assassination targets that he were to carry out were all Templars searching for the apples. As he killed more and more of the list, Al Mualim gave him some of his equipment and skills back to mark his re-promotion.
When Altair finished the final target De Sable at the Battle of Arsuf, De Sable revealed that Al Mualim was a tenth Templar, as the only difference between himslef and Al Mualim was that the latter did not want to share. Al Mualim enthralled many Assassins, and could harness the power of the Piece of Eden. He brainwashed the people of Masyaf, and only Altair, Malik, and a few others remained uncontrolled.
Death[]
Al Mualim dies
Altair returned to Masyaf, entering the tower, and when he entered the terrace behind the tower staircase, he was confronted by Al Mualim. Al Mualim created illusions of The Nine, and Altair killed all of them, and their bodies were sucked back into the Apple. Al Mualim then copied himself nine times, and Altair killed all of these as well. The real one then confronted Altair, asking him for his last words. Altair told him that he lied, and Al Mualim said that as long as men maintained free will, there would not be peace. Al Mualim told him that the Red Sea was never parted, water never turned to wine, and Ares never started the Trojan War, but the Apple created only illusions. Altair and Al Mualim finally decided to duel, and although Al Mualim teleported to many places, Altair slashed Al Mualim across the chest and stabbed him in the throat with his hidden blades.
Altair found the Apple shining into a globe of the Earth, showing the borders of present-day countries as of 2012. Malik and the others arrived and observed, and Altair was left as the new leader of the Assassins.
| Leader of the Hashshashin | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by: ? |
1162-1192 | Succeeded by: Altair Ibn-La'Ahad |