Etymology.

The term is derived from the Greek verb διασπείρω ("diaspeirō"), "I scatter", "I spread about" which in turn is composed of διά ("dia"), "between, through, across" and the verb σπείρω ("speirō"), "I sow, I scatter". In Ancient Greece the term διασπορά ("diaspora") hence meant "scattering" and was inter alia used to refer to citizens of a dominant city-state who emigrated to a conquered land with the purpose of colonization, to assimilate the territory into the empire. An example of a diaspora from classical antiquity is the century-long exile of the Messenians under Spartan rule and the Ageanites as described by Thucydides in his "history of the Peloponnesian wars."  Its use began to develop from this original sense when the Hebrew Bible was translated into Greek; the first mention of a diaspora created as a result of exile is found in the Septuagint, first in and secondly in  So after the Bible's translation into Greek, the word "diaspora" would then have been used to refer to the Northern Kingdom exiled between 740–722 BC from Israel by the Assyrians, as well as Jews, Benjaminites, and Levites exiled from the Southern Kingdom in 587 BC by the Babylonians, and from Roman Judea in 70 AD by the Roman Empire. It subsequently came to be used to refer to the historical movements and settlement patterns of the dispersed indigenous population of Israel. When relating to Judasim and capitalized without modifiers (that is simply, "the Diaspora"), the term refers specifically to the Jewish diaspora; when uncapitalized "diaspora" may refer to refugee or immigrant populations of other origins or ethnicities living "away from an indigenous or established homeland". The wider application of "diaspora" evolved from the Assyrian two-way mass deportation policy of conquered populations to deny future territorial claims on their part.

Definition.

According to the "Oxford English Dictionary Online", the first known recorded usage of the word "diaspora" in the English language was in 1876 referring "extensive "diaspora" work (as it is termed) of evangelizing among the National Protestant Churches on the continent". The term became more widely assimilated into English by the mid 1950s, with long-term expatriates in significant numbers from other particular countries or regions also being referred to as a diaspora. An academic field, diaspora studies, has become established relating to this sense of the word. In English, capitalized, and without modifiers (that is simply, "the Diaspora"), the term refers specifically to the Jewish diaspora in the context of Judaism.  In all cases, the term "diaspora" carries a sense of displacement. The population so described finds itself for whatever reason separated from its national territory, and usually its people have a hope, or at least a desire, to return to their homeland at some point, if the "homeland" still exists in any meaningful sense. Some writers have noted that diaspora may result in a loss of nostalgia for a single home as people "re-root" in a series of meaningful displacements. In this sense, individuals may have multiple homes throughout their diaspora, with different reasons for maintaining some form of attachment to each. Diasporic cultural development often assumes a different course from that of the population in the original place of settlement. Over time, remotely separated communities tend to vary in culture, traditions, language and other factors. The last vestiges of cultural affiliation in a diaspora is often found in community resistance to language change and in maintenance of traditional religious practice.

Scholarly work and expanding definition.

William Safran in an article published in 1991, set out six rules to distinguish diasporas from migrant communities. These included criteria that the group maintains a myth or collective memory of their homeland; they regard their ancestral homeland as their true home, to which they will eventually return; being committed to the restoration or maintenance of that homeland; and they relate "personally or vicariously" to the homeland to a point where it shapes their identity. While Safran's definitions were influenced by the idea of the Jewish diaspora, he recognised the expanding use of the term.  Rogers Brubaker (2005) also notes that use of the term diaspora has been widening. He suggests that one element of this expansion in use "involves the application of the term diaspora to an ever-broadening set of cases: essentially to any and every nameable population category that is to some extent dispersed in space". Brubaker has used the WorldCat database to show that 17 out of the 18 books on diaspora published between 1900 and 1910 were on the Jewish diaspora. The majority of works in the 1960s were also about the Jewish diaspora, but in 2002 only two out of 20 books sampled (out of a total of 253) were about the Jewish case, with a total of eight different diasporas covered.  Brubaker outlines the original use of the term diaspora as follows:  Most early discussions of diaspora were firmly rooted in a conceptual 'homeland'; they were concerned with a paradigmatic case, or a small number of core cases. The paradigmatic case was, of course, the Jewish diaspora; some dictionary definitions of diaspora, until recently, did not simply illustrate but defined the word with reference to that case.  Brubaker argues that the initial expansion of the use of the phrase extended it to other, similar cases, such as the Armenian and Greek diasporas. More recently, it has been applied to emigrant groups that continue their involvement in their homeland from overseas, such as the category of long-distance nationalists identified by Benedict Anderson. Brubaker notes that (as examples): Albanians, Basques, Hindu Indians, Irish, Japanese, Kashmiri, Koreans, Kurds, Palestinians, and Tamils have been conceptualised as diasporas in this sense. Furthermore, "labour migrants who maintain (to some degree) emotional and social ties with a homeland" have also been described as diasporas.  In further cases of the use of the term, "the reference to the conceptual homeland – to the 'classical' diasporas – has become more attenuated still, to the point of being lost altogether". Here, Brubaker cites "transethnic and transborder linguistic categories...such as Francophone, Anglophone and Lusophone 'communities'", along with Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Confucian, Huguenot, Muslim and Catholic 'diasporas'. Brubaker notes that,, there were also academic books or articles on the Dixie, white, liberal, gay, queer and digital diasporas.  Some observers have labeled evacuation from New Orleans and the Gulf Coast in the wake of Hurricane Katrina the New Orleans diaspora, since a significant number of evacuees have not been able to return, yet maintain aspirations to do so. Agnieszka Weinar (2010) notes the widening use of the term, arguing that recently, "a growing body of literature succeeded in reformulating the definition, framing diaspora as almost any "population" on the move and no longer referring to the specific "context" of their existence". It has even been noted that as charismatic Christianity becomes increasingly globalized, many Christians conceive of themselves as a diaspora, and form an imaginary that mimics salient features of ethnic diasporas.  Professional communities of individuals no longer in their homeland can also be considered diaspora. For example, science diasporas are communities of scientists who conduct their research away from their homeland. In an article published in 1996, Khachig Tölölyan argues that the media have used the term corporate diaspora in a rather arbitrary and inaccurate fashion, for example as applied to “mid-level, mid-career executives who have been forced to find new places at a time of corporate upheaval” (10) The use of corporate diaspora reflects the increasing popularity of the diaspora notion to describe a wide range of phenomena related to contemporary migration, displacement and transnational mobility. While corporate diaspora seems to avoid or contradict connotations of violence, coercion and unnatural uprooting historically associated to the notion of diaspora, its scholarly use may heuristically describe the ways in which corporations function alongside diasporas. In this way, corporate diaspora might foreground the racial histories of diasporic formations without losing sight of the cultural logic of late capitalism in which corporations orchestrate the transnational circulation of people, images, ideologies and capital.

African diasporas.

One of the largest diasporas of modern times is that of Sub-Saharan Africans, which dates back several centuries. During the Atlantic slave trade, 9.4 to 12 million people from West Africa survived transportation to the Americas and arrived there as slaves. This population and their descendants were major influences on the culture of British, French, Portuguese, and Spanish New World colonies. Prior to the trans-Atlantic slave trade, millions of Africans had moved and settled as merchants, seamen and slaves in different parts of Europe and Asia. From the 8th through the 19th centuries, an Arab-controlled slave trade dispersed millions of Africans to Asia and the islands of the Indian Ocean.  Currently, migrant Africans can only enter thirteen African countries without advanced visas. In pursuing a unified future, the African Union (AU) will allow people to move freely between the 54 countries of the AU under a visa free passport and encourage migrants to return to Africa.

Asian diasporas.

The largest Asian diaspora, and in the world, is the Indian diaspora. The overseas Indian community, estimated at over 17.5 million, is spread across many regions in the world, on every continent. It constitutes a diverse, heterogeneous and eclectic global community representing different regions, languages, cultures, and faiths (see Desi). Similarly, the Romani, numbering roughly 12 million in Europe trace their origins to the Indian subcontinent, and their presence in Europe is first attested to in the Middle Ages.  The earliest known Asian diaspora of note is the Jewish diaspora. With roots in the Babylonian Captivity and later migration under Hellenism, the majority of the diaspora can be attributed to the Roman conquest, expulsion, and enslavement of the Jewish population of Judea, whose descendants became the Ashkenazim, Sephardim, and Mizrahim of today, roughly numbering 15 million of which 8 million still live in the diaspora, though the number was much higher before Zionist immigration to what is now Israel and the murder of 6 million Jews in the Holocaust.  Chinese emigration (also known as the Chinese Diaspora; see also Overseas Chinese) first occurred thousands of years ago. The mass emigration that occurred from the 19th century to 1949 was caused mainly by wars and starvation in mainland China, as well as political corruption. Most migrants were illiterate or poorly educated peasants, called by the now-recognized racial slur coolies (Chinese: 苦力, literally "hard labor"), who migrated to developing countries in need of labor, such as the Americas, Australia, South Africa, Southeast Asia, Malaya and other places.  At least three waves of Nepalese diaspora can be identified. The earliest wave dates back to hundreds of years as early marriage and high birthrates propelled Hindu settlement eastward across Nepal, then into Sikkim and Bhutan. A backlash developed in the 1980s as Bhutan's political elites realized that Bhutanese Buddhists were at risk of becoming a minority in their own country. At least 60,000 ethnic Nepalese from Bhutan have been resettled in the United States. A second wave was driven by British recruitment of mercenary soldiers beginning around 1815 and resettlement after retirement in the British Isles and southeast Asia. The third wave began in the 1970s as land shortages intensified and the pool of educated labor greatly exceeded job openings in Nepal. Job-related emigration created Nepalese enclaves in India, the wealthier countries of the Middle East, Europe and North America. Current estimates of the number of Nepalese living outside Nepal range well up into the millions.  In Siam, regional power struggles among several kingdoms in the region led to a large diaspora of ethnic Lao between the 1700s–1800s by Siamese rulers to settle large areas of the Siamese kingdom's northeast region, where Lao ethnicity is still a major factor in 2012. During this period, Siam decimated the Lao capital, capturing, torturing and killing the Lao king Anuwongse.

European diasporas.

European history contains numerous diaspora-like events. In ancient times, the trading and colonising activities of the Greek tribes from the Balkans and Asia Minor spread people of Greek culture, religion and language around the Mediterranean and Black Sea basins, establishing Greek city-states in Magna Graecia (Sicily, southern Italy), northern Libya, eastern Spain, the south of France, and the Black Sea coasts. Greeks founded more than 400 colonies. Tyre and Carthage also colonised the Mediterranean.  Alexander the Great's conquest of the Achaemenid Empire marked the beginning of the Hellenistic period, characterized by a new wave of Greek colonization in Asia and Africa, with Greek ruling-classes established in Egypt, southwest Asia and northwest India. Subsequent waves of colonization and migration during the Middle Ages added to the older settlements, or created new ones, thus replenishing the Greek diaspora and making it one of the most long-standing and widespread in the world.  The Migration-Period relocations, which included several phases, are just one set of many in history. The first phase Migration-Period displacement (between CE 300 and 500) included relocation of the Goths (Ostrogoths and Visigoths), Vandals, Franks, various other Germanic peoples (Burgundians, Lombards, Angles, Saxons, Jutes, Suebi, Alemanni, Varangians and Normans), Alans and numerous Slavic tribes. The second phase, between CE 500 and 900, saw Slavic, Turkic, and other tribes on the move, resettling in Eastern Europe and gradually leaving it predominantly Slavic, and affecting Anatolia and the Caucasus as the first Turkic tribes (Avars, Huns, Khazars, Pechenegs), as well as Bulgars, and possibly Magyars arrived. The last phase of the migrations saw the coming of the Hungarian Magyars. The Viking expansion out of Scandinavia into southern and eastern Europe, Iceland and Greenland. The recent application of the word "diaspora" to the Viking lexicon highlights their cultural profile distinct from their predatory reputation in the regions they settled, especially in the North Atlantic. The more positive connotations associated with the social science term helping to view the movement of the Scandinavian peoples in the Viking Age in a new way.  Such colonizing migrations cannot be considered indefinitely as diasporas; over very long periods, eventually the migrants assimilate into the settled area so completely that it becomes their new mental homeland. Thus the modern Magyars of Hungary do not feel that they belong in the Western Siberia that the Hungarian Magyars left 12 centuries ago; and the English descendants of the Angles, Saxons and Jutes do not yearn to reoccupy the plains of Northwest Germany.  In 1492 a Spanish-financed expedition headed by Christopher Columbus arrived in the Americas, after which European exploration and colonization rapidly expanded. Historian James Axtell estimates that 240,000 people left Europe for the Americas in the 16th century. Emigration continued. In the 19th century alone over 50 million Europeans migrated to North and South America. Other Europeans moved to Siberia, Africa, and Australasia.  A specific 19th-century example is the Irish diaspora, beginning in the mid-19th century and brought about by "An Gorta Mór" or "the Great Hunger" of the Irish Famine. An estimated 45% to 85% of Ireland's population emigrated to areas including Britain, the United States of America, Canada, Argentina, Australia and New Zealand. The size of the Irish diaspora is demonstrated by the number of people around the world who claim Irish ancestry; some sources put the figure at 80 to 100 million.  From the 1860s the Circassian people, originally from Europe, were dispersed through Anatolia, Australia, the Balkans, the Levant, North America and West Europe, leaving less than 10% of their population in the homeland – parts of historical Circassia (in the modern-day Russian portion of the Caucasus).  The Scottish Diaspora includes large populations of Highlanders moving to the United States and Canada after the Highland Clearances; aswell as the Lowlanders, becoming the Ulster Scots in Ireland and the Scotch-Irish in America.

Internal diasporas.

In the United States of America, approximately 4.3 million people moved outside their home states in 2010, according to IRS tax-exemption data. In a 2011 TEDx presentation, Detroit native Garlin Gilchrist referenced the formation of distinct "Detroit diaspora" communities in Seattle and in Washington, D.C., while layoffs in the auto industry also led to substantial blue-collar migration from Michigan to Wyoming 2005. In response to a statewide exodus of talent, the State of Michigan continues to host "MichAGAIN" career-recruiting events in places throughout the United States with significant Michigan-diaspora populations.  In the People's Republic of China, millions of migrant workers have sought greater opportunity in the country's booming coastal metropolises, though this trend has slowed with the further development of China's interior. Migrant social structures in Chinese megacities are often based on place of origin, such as a shared hometown or province, and recruiters and foremen commonly select entire work-crews from the same village. In two separate June 2011 incidents, Sichuanese migrant workers organized violent protests against alleged police misconduct and migrant-labor abuse near the southern manufacturing hub of Guangzhou.  Much of Siberia's population has its origins in internal migration – voluntary or otherwise – from European Russia since the 16th century.

Twentieth century.

The twentieth century saw huge population movements. Some involved large-scale transfers of people by government action. Some migrations occurred to avoid conflict and warfare. Other diasporas were created as a consequence of political decisions, such as the end of colonialism.

World War II and the end of colonial rule.

As World War II unfolded, Nazi Germany deported and killed millions of Jews. Millions of others were enslaved or murdered, including Ukrainians, Russians and other Slavs. Some Jews fled from persecution to unoccupied parts of western Europe and the Americas before borders closed. Later, other eastern European refugees moved west, away from Soviet annexation, and the Iron Curtain regimes after World War II. Hundreds of thousands of these anti-Soviet political refugees and displaced persons ended up in western Europe, Australia, Canada and the United States of America.  After World War II, the Soviet Union and Communist-controlled Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Yugoslavia expelled millions of ethnic Germans, most of whom were descendants of immigrants who had settled in those areas nearly two centuries before. This was allegedly in retaliation for the German Nazi invasion and their pan-German attempts at annexation. Most of the refugees moved to the West, including western Europe, and with tens of thousands seeking refuge in the United States.  Spain sent many political activists into exile during Franco's military regime from 1936 to his death in 1975.  Prior to World War II and the re-establishment of Israel, a series of anti-Jewish pogroms broke out in the Arab world and caused many to flee, mostly to Israel. The 1948 War of Independence likewise saw several hundred thousand Jews expelled from the West Bank, and at least 750,000 Palestinians expelled or forced to flee from Israel. Many Palestinians continue to live in refugee camps, while others have resettled in other countries.  The 1947 Partition resulted in the migration of millions of people between India and Pakistan. Millions were murdered in the religious violence of the period, with estimates of fatalities up to 2 million people. Thousands of former subjects of the British Raj went to the UK from the Indian subcontinent after India and Pakistan became independent in 1947.  From the late 19th century, and formally from 1910, Japan made Korea a colony. Millions of Chinese fled to western provinces not occupied by Japan (that is, in particular Ssuchuan/Szechwan and Yunnan in the Southwest and Shensi and Kansu in the Northwest) and to Southeast Asia. More than 100,000 Koreans moved across the Amur River into Eastern Russia (then the Soviet Union) away from the Japanese.

The Cold War and the formation of post-colonial states.

During and after the Cold War-era, huge populations of refugees migrated from conflict, especially from then-developing countries.  Upheaval in the Middle East and Central Asia, some of which was related to power struggles between the United States and the Soviet Union, created new refugee populations which developed into global diasporas.  In Southeast Asia, many Vietnamese people emigrated to France and later millions to the United States, Australia and Canada after the Cold War-related Vietnam War. Later, 30,000 French "colons" from Cambodia were displaced after being expelled by the Khmer Rouge regime under Pol Pot. A small, predominantly Muslim ethnic group, the Cham people long residing in Cambodia, were nearly eradicated. The mass exodus of Vietnamese people from Vietnam coined the term 'Boat people'.  In Southwest China, many Tibetan people emigrated to India, following the 14th Dalai Lama in 1959 after the failure of his Tibetan uprising. This wave lasted until the 1960s, and another wave followed when Tibet was opened up to trade and tourism in the 1980s. It is estimated that about 200,000 Tibetans live now dispersed worldwide, half of whom in are India, Nepal and Bhutan. In lieu of lost citizenship papers, the Central Tibetan Administration offers Green Book identity documents to Tibetan refugees.  Sri Lankan Tamils have historically migrated to find work, notably during the British colonial period. Since the beginning of the civil war in 1983, more than 800,000 Tamils have been displaced within Sri Lanka as local diaspora, and over a half million Tamils living as the Tamil diaspora in destinations such as India, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the UK and Europe.  The Afghan diaspora resulted from the 1979 invasion by the former Soviet Union; both official and unofficial records indicate that the war displaced over 6 million people, resulting in the creation of the second largest refugee population worldwide today (2,7 million in 2018)  Many Iranians fled the 1979 Iranian Revolution which culminated in the fall of the USA/British-ensconced Shah.  In Africa, a new series of diasporas formed following the end of colonial rule. In some cases as countries became independent, numerous minority descendants of Europeans emigrated; others stayed in the lands which had been family homes for generations. Uganda expelled 80,000 South Asians in 1972 and took over their businesses and properties. The 1990s Civil war in Rwanda between rival ethnic groups Hutu and Tutsi turned deadly and produced a mass efflux of refugees.  In Latin America, following the 1959 Cuban Revolution and the introduction of communism, over a million people have left Cuba.  There was a Jamaican diaspora around the start of the 21st century. More than 1 million Dominicans live abroad a majority living in the US.  A million Colombian refugees have left Colombia since 1965 to escape the country's violence and civil wars.  In Southern America, thousands of Argentine and Uruguayan refugees fled to Europe during periods of military rule in the 1970s and 1980s.  In Central America, Nicaraguans, Salvadorans, Guatemalans, and Hondurans fled conflict and poor economic conditions.  Hundreds of thousands of people fled from the Rwandan genocide in 1994 into neighboring countries. Thousands of refugees from deteriorating conditions in Zimbabwe have gone to South Africa. The long war in Congo, in which numerous nations have been involved, has also created millions of refugees.  The South Korean diaspora during the 1990s caused the fertility rate to drop when a large amount of the middle class emigrated, as the rest of the population continued to age. To counteract the change in these demographics, the South Korean government initiated a diaspora engagement policy in 1997.

Twenty-first century.

Middle Eastern conflicts.

Following the Iraq War, nearly 3 million Iraqis had been displaced as of 2011, with 1.3 million within Iraq and 1.6 million in neighboring countries, mainly Jordan and Syria. The Syrian Civil War has forced further migration, with at least 4 million displaced as per UN estimates.

Venezuelan refugee crisis.

Following the presidency of Hugo Chávez and the establishment of his Bolivarian Revolution, over 1.6 million Venezuelans emigrated from Venezuela in what has been called the Bolivarian diaspora. The analysis of a study by the Central University of Venezuela titled "Venezuelan Community Abroad. A New Method of Exile" by "El Universal" states that the Bolivarian diaspora in Venezuela has been caused by the "deterioration of both the economy and the social fabric, rampant crime, uncertainty and lack of hope for a change in leadership in the near future".

Diaspora populations on the Internet.

There are numerous web-based news portals and forum sites dedicated to specific diaspora communities, often organized on the basis of an origin characteristic and a current location characteristic. The location-based networking features of mobile applications such as China's WeChat have also created de facto online diaspora communities when used outside of their home markets. Now, large companies from the emerging countries are looking at leveraging diaspora communities to enter the more mature market.

In popular culture.

"Gran Torino", a 2008 drama starring Clint Eastwood, was the first mainstream American film to feature the Hmong American diaspora.

A diaspora () is a scattered population whose origin lies in a separate geographic locale. Historically, the word diaspora was used to refer to the involuntary mass dispersion of a population from its indigenous territories, in particular the dispersion of Jews. This has since changed, and today there is no set definition of the term because its modern meaning has evolved over time.

流散(英语:diaspora,源自)具有共同民族认同的人口群体由于游牧文化的入侵诸原因导致的迁徙,这与难民的出现密切相关。尽管如此,难民可能会或不会最终定居在新的地方,而流散一词指的是长期流离失所与集体搬迁。


Description.

Basic structure.

The structure is basically octagonal. It is capped at its centre by a dome, approximately in diameter, mounted on an elevated circular drum standing on 16 supports (4 tiers and 12 columns).  Surrounding this circle is an octagonal arcade of 24 piers and columns. The octagonal arcade and the inner circular drum create an inner ambulatorium that encircles the holy rock.  The outer walls are also octagonal. They each measure approximately wide and high. The outer and inner octagon create a second, outer ambulatorium surrounding the inner one.  Both the circular drum and the exterior walls contain many windows.

Interior decoration.

The interior of the dome is lavishly decorated with mosaic, faience and marble, much of which was added several centuries after its completion. It also contains Qur'anic inscriptions.  The dedicatory inscription in Kufic script placed around the dome contains the date believed to be the year the Dome was first completed, AH 72 (691/2 CE), while the name of the corresponding caliph and builder of the Dome, al-Malik, was deleted and replaced by the name of Abbasid caliph Al-Ma'mun (r. 813–833) during whose reign renovations took place.

Exterior decoration.

The decoration of the outer walls went through two major phases: the initial Umayyad scheme comprised marble and mosaics, much like the interior walls. 16th-century Ottoman sultan Suleyman the Magnificent replaced it with Turkish faience tiles. The Ottoman tile decoration was replaced in the 1960s with faithful copies produced in Italy.  Surah Ya Sin (the 'Heart of the Quran') is inscribed across the top of the tile work and was commissioned in the 16th century by Suleiman the Magnificent. Al-Isra, the Surah 17 which tells the story of the "Isra" or Night Journey, is inscribed above this.

History.

Pre-Islamic background.

The Dome of the Rock is situated in the center of the Temple Mount, the site of the Temple of Solomon and the Jewish Second Temple, which had been greatly expanded under Herod the Great in the 1st century BCE. Herod's Temple was destroyed in 70 CE by the Romans, and after the Bar Kokhba revolt in 135, a Roman temple to "Jupiter Capitolinus" was built at the site by Emperor Hadrian.  Jerusalem was ruled by the Christian Byzantine Empire throughout the 4th to 6th centuries. During this time, Christian pilgrimage to Jerusalem began to develop. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre was built under Constantine in the 320s, but the Temple Mount was left undeveloped after a failed project of restoration of the Jewish Temple under Julian the Apostate.

Original Umayyad construction.

The initial octagonal structure of the Dome of the Rock and its round wooden dome had basically the same shape as is does today. It was built by the order of the Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik (). According to Sibt ibn al-Jawzi (1185–1256), construction started in 685/86, while al-Suyuti (1445–1505) holds that its commencement year was 688. A dedicatory inscription in Kufic script is preserved inside the dome. The date is recorded as AH 72 (691/2 CE), the year most historians believe the construction of the original Dome was completed. In this inscription, the name of "al-Malik" was deleted and replaced by the name of the Abbasid caliph al-Ma'mun (). This alteration of the original inscription was first noted by Melchior de Vogüé in 1864. Construction cost was reportedly seven times the yearly tax income of Egypt. An alternative interpretation of the inscription claims that it indicates the year when construction started.  Some scholars have suggested that the dome was added to an existing building, built either by Muawiyah I (r. 661–680), or indeed a Byzantine building dating to before the Muslim conquest, built under Heraclius (r. 610–641).  Its architecture and mosaics were patterned after nearby Byzantine churches and palaces. The two engineers in charge of the project were Raja ibn Haywah, a Muslim theologian from Beisan and Yazid ibn Salam, a non-Arab Muslim native of Jerusalem.  Shelomo Dov Goitein of the Hebrew University has argued that the Dome of the Rock was intended to compete with the many fine buildings of worship of other religions: "The very form of a rotunda, given to the "Qubbat as-Sakhra", although it was foreign to Islam, was destined to rival the many Christian domes." K.A.C. Creswell in his book "The Origin of the Plan of the Dome of the Rock" notes that those who built the shrine used the measurements of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The diameter of the dome of the shrine is and its height, while the diameter of the dome of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is and its height.  Narratives by the medieval sources about Abd al-Malik's motivations in building the Dome of the Rock vary. At the time of its construction, the caliph was engaged in war with Christian Byzantium and its Syrian Christian allies on the one hand and with the rival caliph Ibn al-Zubayr, who controlled Mecca, the annual destination of Muslim pilgrimage, on the other hand. Thus, one series of explanations was that Abd al-Malik intended for the Dome of the Rock to be a religious monument of victory over the Christians that would distinguish Islam's uniqueness within the common Abrahamic religious setting of Jerusalem, home of the two older Abrahamic faiths, Judaism and Christianity. The other main explanation holds that Abd al-Malik, in the heat of the war with Ibn al-Zubayr, sought to build the structure to divert the focus of the Muslims in his realm from the Ka'aba in Mecca, where Ibn al-Zubayr would publicly condemn the Umayyads during the annual pilgrimage to the sanctuary. Though most modern historians dismiss the latter account as a product of anti-Umayyad propaganda in the traditional Muslim sources and doubt that Abd al-Malik would attempt to alter the sacred Muslim requirement of fulfilling the pilgrimage to the Ka'aba, other historians concede that this cannot be conclusively dismissed.

Abbasids and Fatimids.

The building was severely damaged by earthquakes in 808 and again in 846. The dome collapsed in an earthquake in 1015 and was rebuilt in 1022–23. The mosaics on the drum were repaired in 1027–28.

Crusaders.

For centuries Christian pilgrims were able to come and experience the Temple Mount, but escalating violence against pilgrims to Jerusalem (Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, who ordered the destruction of the Holy Sepulchre, was an example) resulted in the Crusades. The Crusaders captured Jerusalem in 1099 and the Dome of the Rock was given to the Augustinians, who turned it into a church, while the nearby Al-Aqsa Mosque first became a royal palace for a while, and then for much of the 12th century the headquarters of the Knights Templar. The Templars, active from c. 1119, identified the Dome of the Rock as the site of the Temple of Solomon. The "Templum Domini", as they called the Dome of the Rock, featured on the official seals of the Order's Grand Masters (such as Everard des Barres and Renaud de Vichiers), and soon became the architectural model for round Templar churches across Europe.

Ayyubids and Mamluks.

Jerusalem was recaptured by Saladin on 2 October 1187, and the Dome of the Rock was reconsecrated as a Muslim shrine. The cross on top of the dome was replaced by a crescent, and a wooden screen was placed around the rock below. Saladin's nephew al-Malik al-Mu'azzam Isa carried out other restorations within the building, and added the porch to the Al-Aqsa Mosque.  The Dome of the Rock was the focus of extensive royal patronage by the sultans during the Mamluk period, which lasted from 1250 until 1510.

Ottoman period (1517–1917).

During the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent (1520–1566), the exterior of the Dome of the Rock was covered with tiles. This work took seven years. Some of the interior decoration was added in the Ottoman period.  Adjacent to the Dome of the Rock, the Ottomans built the free-standing Dome of the Prophet in 1620.  Large-scale renovation was undertaken during the reign of Mahmud II in 1817. In a major restoration project undertaken in 1874–75 during the reign of the Ottoman Sultan Abdülaziz, all the tiles on the west and southwest walls of the octagonal part of the building were removed and replaced by copies that had been made in Turkey.

British Mandate.

Haj Amin al-Husseini, appointed Grand Mufti by the British in 1917, along with Yaqub al-Ghusayn, implemented the restoration of the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.  Parts of the Dome of the Rock collapsed during the 11 July 1927 earthquake, and the walls were left badly cracked, damaging many of the repairs that had taken place over previous years.

Jordanian rule.

In 1955, an extensive program of renovation was begun by the government of Jordan, with funds supplied by Arab governments and Turkey. The work included replacement of large numbers of tiles dating back to the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent, which had become dislodged by heavy rain. In 1965, as part of this restoration, the dome was covered with a durable aluminium bronze alloy made in Italy that replaced the lead exterior. Before 1959, the dome was covered in blackened lead. In the course of substantial restoration carried out from 1959 to 1962, the lead was replaced by aluminum-bronze plates covered with gold leaf.

Israeli rule.

A few hours after the Israeli flag was hoisted over the Dome of the Rock in 1967 during the Six-Day War, Israelis lowered it on the orders of Moshe Dayan and invested the Muslim "waqf" (religious trust) with the authority to manage the Temple Mount / Haram al-Sharif, in order to "keep the peace".  In 1993, the golden dome covering was refurbished following a donation of US$8.2 million by King Hussein of Jordan who sold one of his houses in London to fund the 80 kilograms of gold required.

Depictions in modern time.

The Dome of the Rock has been depicted on the Obverse and reverse of several Middle East currencies:

Accessibility.

The Dome is maintained by the Ministry of Awqaf in Amman, Jordan.  Until the mid-twentieth century, non-Muslims were not permitted in the area. Since 1967, non-Muslims have been permitted limited access; however non-Muslims are not permitted to pray on the Temple Mount, bring prayer books, or wear religious apparel. The Israeli police help enforce this. Israel restricted access for a short time during 2012 of Palestinian residents of the West Bank to the Temple Mount. West Bank Palestinian men had to be over 35 to be eligible for a permit. Palestinian residents of Jerusalem, who hold Israeli residency cards, and Palestinians with Israeli citizenship are permitted unrestricted access.  Some Orthodox rabbis encourage Jews to visit the site, while most forbid entry to the compound lest there be a violation of Jewish law. Even rabbis who encourage entrance to the Temple Mount prohibit entrance to the actual Dome of the Rock.

Religious significance.

According to some Islamic scholars, the rock is the spot from which the Islamic prophet Muhammad ascended to Heaven accompanied by the angel Gabriel. Further, Muhammad was taken here by Gabriel to pray with Abraham, Moses, and Jesus. Other Islamic scholars believe that the Prophet ascended to Heaven from the Al-Aqsa Mosque.  Muslims believe the location of the Dome of the Rock to be the site mentioned in Sura 17 of the Qur'an, which tells the story of the Isra and Mi'raj, the miraculous Night Journey of Prophet Muhammad from Mecca to "the farthest mosque", where he leads prayers and rises to heaven to receive instructions from Allah. The Night Journey is mentioned in the Qur'an in a very brief form and is further elaborated by the hadiths. Caliph Umar ibn Al-Khattab (579–644) was advised by Ka'ab al-Ahbar, a Jewish rabbi who converted to Islam, that "the farthest mosque" is identical with the site of the former Jewish Temples in Jerusalem. The Foundation Stone and its surroundings is the holiest site in Judaism. Though Muslims now pray towards the Kaaba at Mecca, they once faced the Temple Mount as the Jews do. Muhammad changed the direction of prayer for Muslims after a revelation from Allah. Jews traditionally regarded the location of the stone as the holiest spot on Earth, the site of the Holy of Holies during the Temple Period.  According to Jewish tradition, the stone is the site where Abraham prepared to sacrifice his son Isaac.  On the walls of the Dome of the Rock is an inscription in a mosaic frieze that includes an explicit rejection of the divinity of Christ, from Quran (19:33–35): 33. "So peace is upon me the day I was born, and the day I die, and the day I shall be raised alive!" 34. Such is Jesus, son of Mary. It is a statement of truth, about which they doubt. 35. It is not befitting to (the majesty of) Allah that He should take himself a child. Glory be to Him! when He determines a matter, He only says to it, "Be", and it is.  According to Goitein, the inscriptions decorating the interior clearly display a spirit of polemic against Christianity, whilst stressing at the same time the Qur'anic doctrine that Jesus was a true prophet. The formula "la sharika lahu" ("God has no companion") is repeated five times; the verses from Sura Maryam 19:35–37, which strongly reaffirm Jesus' prophethood to God, are quoted together with the prayer: "Allahumma salli ala rasulika wa'abdika 'Isa bin Maryam" – "O Lord, send your blessings to your Prophet and Servant Jesus son of Mary." He believes that this shows that rivalry with Christendom, together with the spirit of Muslim mission to the Christians, was at work at the time of construction.  The Temple Institute wishes to relocate the Dome to another site and replace it with a Third Temple. Many Israelis are ambivalent about the Movement's wishes. Some religious Jews, following rabbinic teaching, believe that the Temple should only be rebuilt in the messianic era, and that it would be presumptuous of people to force God's hand. However, some Evangelical Christians consider rebuilding of the Temple to be a prerequisite to Armageddon and the Second Coming. Jeremy Gimpel, a US-born candidate for Habayit Hayehudi in the 2013 Israeli elections, caused a controversy when he was recorded telling a Fellowship Church evangelical group in Florida in 2011 to imagine the incredible experience that would follow were the Dome to be destroyed. All Christians would be immediately transported to Israel, he opined.

Architectural homages.

The Dome of the Rock has inspired the architecture of a number of buildings. These include the octagonal Church of St. Giacomo in Italy, the Mausoleum of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent in Istanbul, the octagonal Moorish Revival style Rumbach Street Synagogue in Budapest, and the New Synagogue in Berlin, Germany. It was long believed by Christians that the Dome of the Rock echoed the architecture of the Temple in Jerusalem, as can be seen in Raphael's "The Marriage of the Virgin" and in Perugino's "Marriage of the Virgin".

References.

Citations

The Dome of the Rock ( "Qubbat al-Sakhrah", "Kippat ha-Sela") is an Islamic shrine located on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem. It was initially completed in 691–92 CE at the order of Umayyad Caliph Abd al-Malik during the Second Fitna on the site of the Second Jewish Temple, destroyed during the Roman Siege of Jerusalem in 70 CE. The original dome collapsed in 1015 and was rebuilt in 1022–23. The Dome of the Rock is in its core one of the oldest extant works of Islamic architecture.

圆顶清真寺(,拉丁化:"Qubbat As-Sakhrah";,拉丁化:"Kippat ha-Sela";;英语:The Dome of the Rock)是一个伊斯兰教圣地,穆斯林称为“al-Haram al-Qudsi al-Sharif”(,高贵的圣所);犹太人和基督徒称为「Har ha-Bayit」(,圣殿山);它一直是耶路撒冷最著名标志之一,覆有精美花纹跟古兰经文的蓝色系彩釉陶砖及金制穹顶。688年到691年,由第9任哈里发阿卜杜勒-马利克·本·马尔万·本·哈卡姆建造。数百年来,游客称之为「奥玛清真寺」。670年,高卢主教Arculf访问耶路撒冷,描述了Umar在征服耶路撒冷之后建造新的清真寺,是一个矩形的木建筑,建造在废墟上,有3000人参加礼拜。


Names.

The etymology of the word "Lao" is uncertain, although it may be related to tribes known as the "Ai Lao" (Lao:, Isan: อ้ายลาว,, Vietnamese: ai lao) who appear in Han Dynasty records in China and Vietnam as a people of what is now Yunnan Province. Tribes descended from the Ai Lao included the Tai tribes that migrated to Southeast Asia.  According to Michel Ferlus (2009), ethnonym and autonym of the Lao people (ລາວ); nationality of the inhabitants of Laos is formed by the monosyllabization of the Austroasiatic etymon for 'human being' *k.raw. The peoples named Lao (lǎo 獠), supposed to be the ancestors of Lao and some other Tai-Kadai populations, settled in the upper Tonkin and in parts of Yúnnán and Guìzhōu during the Táng times.  This reconstruction of the pronunciation for the phonogram 獠 confirms that ‘Lao’ originates in the etymon *k.raːw.  The English word "Laotian", used interchangeably with Lao in most contexts, comes from French "laotien/laotienne". The dominant ethnicity of Northeastern Thailand who descend from the Lao are differentiated from the Lao of Laos and by the Thais by the term Isan people or "Thai Isan" (Lao:, Isan: ไทยอีสาน, ), a Sanskrit-derived term meaning "northeast", but 'Lao' is still used.

Subdivisions of the Lao people.

In Laos, little distinction is made between the Lao and other closely related Tai peoples with mutually intelligible languages who are grouped together as "Lao Loum" or 'Lowland Lao' (Lao: "láːu lūm ", Thai: ลาวลุ่ม, IPA: laːw lum). Most of these groups share many common cultural traits and speak dialects or languages that are very similar, with only minor differences in tones, vocabulary, and pronunciation of certain words, but usually not enough to impede conversation, but many of these groups, such as the Nyaw and Phuthai consider themselves distinct, and often have differences in clothing that distinguish them.

History.

Tai Migration Period.

Early Chinese records used the term Yue to describe the non-Chinese people south of the Yangtze. In the spring and autumn period (770-475 BC) the term was applied to a state on the southeast coast which was destroyed in 334 BC as the Han Chinese moved across the Yangtze into the south. Subsequently, the term “Hundred Yue” was applied generically to the subjugated people's in the south, with modifiers to denote groups in different locations or with some other distinguishing characteristics (Phomphan 1988). The term Yue fades from usage around 0AD as the Chinese gained more knowledge of the southern people's and began using other descriptors (Barlow 2001, chs. 1–2; Taylor 1983, 41-4). None of the modern terms used for Tai groups can be detected in these descriptors except Lao or Ai Lao people, which was applied to a variety of groups, mostly Hill-dwellers (Taylor 1983, 172; Cholthira 2001, 22-4).  This indicates that the Lao are at the very least a Proto-Tai groups; perhaps even that all Tai groups are actually subgroups of these ancient Lao people, as there are no descriptors to indicate the existence of any group called Tai living south of the Yangtze, subsequently the first references of a group called Tai appeared in the 13th centuries, no such references of a groups called or calling themselves Tai seem to exist.  Other indicators that these early Proto-Tai groups called themselves Lao people can be seen in the Chronicles of the Tai Dam or Black Tai people, “Returning along Mae Nam Taav (The Red river) as promised, the expedition passed through near today’s boarder of Vietnam and China, To mark their arrival, they named the area Lao Cai, which means “where the Lao passed over.” Lao Cai is now a province in Northwest Vietnam. also, about 5 kilometers north of Lao Cai, there is a town still named “Lao Phan” which means “where the Lao passed through.” Some Tai people still live there” (G.E. Hall, A History of SEA (1981))  According to a shared legend amongst various Tai tribes, a possibly mythical king, Khun Borom Rachathiriat of Mueang Then (, เมืองแถน, ) begot several sons that settled and ruled other mueang, or city-states, across South-East Asia and southern China. Descended from ancient peoples known to the Chinese as the Yue and the Ai Lao, the Tai tribes began migrating into South-East Asia by the beginning of the 1st millennium, but large-scale migrations took place between the 7th and 13th centuries AD, especially from what is now Sipsongbanna, Yunnan Province and Guangxi. The possible reasons for Tai migration include pressures from Han Chinese expansion, Mongol invasions, suitable land for wet rice cultivation and the fall of states that the Tais inhabited. According to linguistic and other historical evidence, Tai-speaking tribes migrated southwestward to the modern territories of Laos and Thailand from Guangxi sometime between the 8th–10th centuries.  The Tai assimilated or pushed out indigenonus Austroasiatic Mon–Khmer peoples, and settled on the fringes of the Indianized kingdoms of the Mon and Khmer Empire. The blending of peoples and the influx of Indian philosophy, religion, language, culture and customs via and alongside some Austroasiatic element enriched the Tai peoples, but the Tais remained in contact with the other Tai mueang.

Lanxang.

The Tai states took advantage of the waning Khmer Empire and emerged independent. The Lao reckon the beginnings of their national history to this time, as many important monuments, temples, artwork, and other aspects of classical Lao culture harken back to this time period. From this point, one can refer to the Tai states of the Chao Phraya River valley as Siam and, albeit quite anachronistically, Lan Xang as Laos.  The Kingdom of Lanxang, the "Land of One Million Elephants", began in 1354 AD, when Somdej Phra Chao Fa Ngum (1354 - 1373 AD) returned to Mueang Sua (, เมืองซวา), thence renamed "Xieng Thong" (, เชียงทอง) and now known as Luang Prabang. From this base Lan Xang extended its sphere of influence to all of modern-day Laos and the Khorat Plateau of Thailand as well as parts of Sipsongbanna in southern China, Sip Song Chau Tai in northwestern Vietnam, Kengtung in Myanmar, and Stung Treng in Cambodia.  The powerful Kingdom of Lan Xang had wealth and influence due to the location of its capital along the Silk Route and also serving as the center of Buddhism in Southeast Asia. The kingdom prospered with riverine traffic along the Mekong and overland caravan routes to the ports of Siam, which had emerged as a bustling entrepôt of sea-borne trade, and to southern China and other Tai mueang. The first Western visitors during the reign of Phra Chao Sourigna Vongsa (, พระเจ้าสุริยวงศาธรรมิกราช) (1634–1697 AD) noted how the kingdom prospered off exports of gold, benzoin resin, lac and lacquer ware, medicinal herbs, ivory, silk and silk clothing, and wood. Numerous temples, especially in Xieng Thong (now Luang Phrabang) and Vientiane, attest this.  During this time, the legends of Khun Borom were recorded on palm-leaf manuscripts and the Lao classical epic Sin Xay was composed. Therevada Buddhism was the state religion, and Vientiane was an important city of Buddhist learning. Cultural influences, besides Buddhism, included the Mon outposts later assimilated into the kingdom and the Khmer. A brief union of the crowns of Lannathai and Lanxang under Phra Chao Sai Sethathirath (, พระเจ้าไชยเชษฐาธิราช) (1548–1572 AD) introduced many architectural and artistic developments, in imitation of Lannathai style, but intellectual as well. The libraries of Lannathai were copied, including much religious literature. This may have led to the adoption, or possibly re-adoption, of the Mon-based Tua Tham, or 'dharma script' for religious writings.  The kingdom split into three rival factions, ruling from Luang Phra Bang, Vientiane, and Champasak (, จําปาศักดิ์). The kingdoms quickly fell under Siamese rule. The remnants of Lan Xang received their final blows in the 18th and 19th centuries, during the campaigns of Taksin, and retribution for the Laotian Rebellion of Chao Anouvong (, เจ้าอนุวงศ์) against Siamese rule during the reign of Rama III. During both these periods, Vientiane and other cities were looted and their Buddha images and artwork moved to Thailand. The cities and much of the population was forcibly removed and settled in the lesser populated regions of Isan and central Thailand and others were enslaved to do corvée projects, resulting in Lao arts and language finding their way into Central Thailand. By the time the French reached Laos in 1868, they had only found a depopulated region with even the great city of Vientiane disappearing into the forest.

Lao after Lanxang.

Lao in Laos.

The area of Laos, then annexed by Siam, was explored by the French and, under Auguste Pavie, the French were keen to control the Mekong. The French, as overlords of Vietnam, wanted all the tributaries of Vietnam, including the remnant territories of Lanxang. This led to French gunboat diplomacy and border skirmishes known as the Franco-Siamese War of 1893, which forced Siam to cede its claims to most of what constitutes modern-day Laos.  The French prevented and preserved the Lao from becoming a regional sub-category of the Thai nation, much like their brethren in Isan, also known as the 'North-Eastern Thai'. Like former historical rivalries between the kings of Luang Phrabang, Champasak and Vientiane, post-independence Laos was quickly divided between the royalists under Prince Boun Oum of Champasak (, เจ้าบุญอุ้ม ณ จําปาศักดิ์), the neutralists under Prince Souvanna Phouma (, เจ้าสุวรรณภูมา), and the communist Pathet Lao (, ประเทศลาว, pá thêːt lá:w) under his half-brother Prince Souphanouvong (, เจ้าสุภานุวงศ์). These internal divisions, with the Cold War and the region quickly being drawn into the Vietnam War, led to a protracted battle for government control that would not end until the communist victory in 1975.  The Laotian Civil War was disastrous for the country, however, over the years the country has since relaxed many of its restrictions, which has opened up the country to trade and business resulting in Laos notably having the second fastest growing economy in Asia in recent years.  Laos has garnered several famous tourism awards by successfully promoting its northern city, Luang Prabang, as the newest tourist destination including serving as a religious hub where tourists may participate in alms giving during morning procession of Lao Buddhist monks.

Lao in Thailand.

Although parts of Isan were settled and were part of Lanxang, many of the Lao were forcibly settled in the lesser populated southern and western regions or sent to boost the populations of Lao mueang loyal to the Siamese. The area was relatively isolated from the rest of Thailand by the Petchabun mountains until the beginning of the 20th century, when a direct rail link was built to Nakhon Ratchasima. The region's isolation from Central Thailand and the large population of people in Isan, who were still attached to their cultural heritage, helped preserve Lao culture.  Though Isan is a multi-ethnic region containing a mixture of Lao, Vietnamese, Cham, Mon, Khmer, and other Tai groups, Central Thais' perceived threat of Lao cultural and political dominance in the Isan region resulted in various Thaification policies being enacted to finally integrate the multi-ethnic Isan people into Thailand. Since Lao dominance was seen as the greatest threat in the region, 'Lao' was removed as a category in the census, and heavy-handed policies were enacted. References to Lao people or its past were removed and the language was banned from schools and books.  Although the region remains mainly agricultural and poorer compared to other regions of Thailand, and many leave the region to find work in Vientiane, Bangkok or abroad, the region has enjoyed a renewed interest in traditional culture which is quite distinct although similar to Thai culture. The region is becoming increasingly more urban, and many large cities have sprung up. Due to the large population and Isan's important function as a voting bloc in elections, more attention to improving the region's infrastructure, business and education has come from the national government although poverty and regionalism are still impediments to Isan's development.  In recent times, Lao popular media, including Lao music and television, has found its way back into the Isan region since Lao TV satellite signal is reachable in Isan. With the rediscovered interest in Lao pop music, Lao concerts are not only held in Laos, but also in Isan region of Thailand, thus, continually garnering new Thai fans of Lao pop music. Thailand's national channels have also broadcast Lao media throughout Thailand, as well as Thai media in Laos, resulting in Tai populations located in the other regions of Thailand (northern, central, and southern) discovering a renewed kinship with the people of Laos.

Geographical distribution.

There are around 3.6 million Laotians in Laos, constituting approximately 68% of the population (the remainder are largely hill tribe people). The ethnic Lao of Laos form the bulk of the "Lao Loum" ("Lowland Laotians") (Lao:, Thai: ลาวลุ่ม, IPA: laːw lum). Small Lao communities exist in Thailand and Cambodia, residing primarily in the former Lao territory of Stung Treng (Xieng Teng in Lao), and Vietnam.  There are a substantial number of Lao overseas, numbering over 500,000 people. Laotian migration outside of Indochina first occurred during French colonialism in Laos that started in the early 20th century. Lao students and workers came to France during this period, including members of the Lao Royal Family, and some resettled there permanently. However, most Lao migrants were refugees who fled Laos after the Laotian Civil War (part of the greater Vietnam War) and from the new communist Pathet Lao government. Primary places of asylum for the Lao refugees included the United States, France, Canada and Australia. Other countries such as Germany, Japan, Argentina, and Singapore also took in Laotian refugees.  The 2010 United States Census reported over 200,000 Americans of Lao descent in the country, a figure which excludes Hmong and Mien, but may include individuals of Tai Dam, Khmu, and other descent in addition to the Lao due to confusions between national and ethnic identity. A 2012 estimate counted about 140,000 ethnic Laotians living in France, with over half of the population living in Paris and the surrounding Île-de-France area.  There are approximately 20 million "Lao Isaan" in Thailand, residing mainly on the Khorat Plateau in northeastern Thailand and in and around Bangkok. The government of Thailand has historically discouraged the "Lao Isaan" from identifying as or being identified as "Lao".

Language.

The Lao language is a tonal, analytic, right-branching, pronoun pro-drop language of the Tai–Kadai language family, closely related to Thai and other languages of Tai peoples. Most of the vocabulary is of native Tai origin, although important contributions have come from Pali and Sanskrit as well as Mon–Khmer languages. The alphabet is an indic-based alphabet. Although the Lao have five major dialects, they are all mutually intelligible and Lao people believe they all speak variations of one language.

Lao in Laos.

The Lao language () is the official language of the Lao People's Democratic Republic and its official script is the Lao alphabet. As the dominant language of most of the Lao Loum and therefore most of the Lao population, the language is enshrined as the dominant language of education, government, and official use. Numerous minority languages are spoken by roughly half the population, and include languages of the Austroasiatic, Sino-Tibetan, Austronesian and Hmong–Mien language families. Although spelling is not fully uniform, despite several reforms to move the language closer to phonetical systems, it has helped stabilise the language. No official standard exists, but the dialect of Vientiane is considered de facto official.

Lao in Thailand.

The boundaries of Lao dialects also extend into the North-East of Thailand, known as Isan, but the Lao spoken in Thailand as a whole can be differentiated by adoption of much Thai vocabulary and code-switching. The language is not taught or used in schools, government, and most media outlets. Thaification policies removed the alphabet and now the language is written in the Thai alphabet, if at all, and the name changed to Isan to sever the political connection with Laos. Despite this, the Lao language is spoken by 20 million people, almost a third of the population of Thailand, and is the primary language of 88% of Isan households. It continues to serve as an important regional language and a badge of Isan (hence Lao) identity, but it is experiencing a decline in the advance of Thai

Religion.

Religion in Laos is highly syncretic, and has drawn from three primary sources, although most Lao people claim to be Theravada Buddhists, many traditions are derived from Hindu and Animist practices.

Buddhism.

Buddhism (, พระพุทธศาสนา, ) is the most popular and state religion in Laos, practised by 67% of the country, and nearly all of the ethnic Lao. The numbers may be much higher, as Buddhism has also influenced many other ethnic groups that are generally considered animist. It is also the predominant religion of Isan and most of the nations beyond Laos' frontiers. Of these, most are of the Therevada Sect (, เถรวาท, ) although historical influences of Mahayana Buddhism remain and it is the main sect of Vietnamese and Chinese minorities that have settled amongst the Lao and it has become syncretic with animistic practices.  The temple in a Lao community is the centre of community affairs, where villagers gather to discuss concerns or ask monks for their wisdom and guidance, and most men are expected to enter the monastery at some point to further their religious knowledge and make merit.  Paramount to religious living are the five Buddhist precepts (,, เบญจศีล, ), viz., to abstain from killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying and intoxication. Lao cultural and behavioural traits that stem from Buddhist belief include tolerance, respect for elders and family hierarchy, selflessness, detachment to worldly good and concerns, caring for younger siblings, politeness, self-negation, and modesty. Basic beliefs include re-incarnation and karma.  Important holidays related to Buddhism include Boun Phra Vet (, บุญพระเวส, ), Magha Puja (, มาฆบูชา), Songkhan (, สงกรานต์), Vesak (, วิสาขบูชา), Vassa (, วันเข้าพรรษา), Wan Awk Pansa ( วันออกพรรษา), Kathina, (, กฐิน). In addition to these days, the Buddhist sabbath days (, วันพระ, ), during the phases of the moon, and temple fairs are also regular times to visit the temples, pray, ask advice of the monks for spiritual concerns, and donate food, money, or help out with temple chores, known in Lao as "tambun" (, ทําบุญ, ).

Laotian folk religion.

Laotian folk religion is the indigenous religion of most of the Mon–Khmer and more recent Hmong–Mien and Tibeto-Burman minorities, as well as the traditional religion of the Tais before Buddhism, although some Tai tribes to this day are still folk religious. For the ethnic Lao, animism has become interwoven with Buddhism and some Hindu elements. Despite suppression at various points in time, it continues to be a large part of Lao religious tradition. A variety of gods ( ผี, ) are worshiped as tutelary deities of buildings or territories, of natural places, things or phenomena; they are also ancestral spirits and other spirits that protect people, and include malevolent spirits. Guardian deities of places, such as the "phi wat" (, ผีวัด) of temples and the "lak mueang" (, หลักเมือง, ) of towns are celebrated with communal gatherings and offerings of food. Gods of Hindu derivation are included in the pantheon. Gods are ubiquitous, and some of them are connected with the universal elements: heaven, earth, fire, and water. Lao people also believe in thirty-two spirits known as "khwan" (, ขวัญ, ) that protect the body, and "baci" (, บายศรี, ) ceremonies are undertaken during momentous occasions or times of anxiety to bind the spirits to the body, as their absence is believed to invite illness or harm.  In daily life, most people pay respect to the deities that reside in spirit houses, who are thought to protect the vicinity from harm. Offerings of flowers, incense, and candles are given, and the spirits are consulted during changes or times of hardness for protection and assistance. Natural deities include those that reside in trees, mountains, or forests. Guardian spirits of people often include ancestors or angelic-beings who arrive at various points in life, better known as "thewada". Malevolent spirits include those of people who were bad in past lives or died of tragic deaths, such as the ghastly "phi pob" (, ผีปอบ) and the vampirical "phi dip" (, ผีดิบ). The "phi" also include the indigenous, non-Hindu gods, the "phi thaen" (, ผีแถน).  "Mophi" (mo-phi หมอผี), "tellers", are locally trained shamans, specialists in the rituals and in communication with their personal spirits and gods in general. Using trances, sacred objects imbued with supernatural power, or "saksit", possessions, and rituals like "lam phi fa" (, ลําผีฟ้า, ) or "baci", the shaman is often consulted during times of trouble, hauntings, and illness or other misfortune that might be caused by malevolent or unhappy spirits. They are also usually present during religious festivals.

Hinduism.

Hinduism was the primary influence over much of the Khmer Empire, and examples of Hindu themes can be found on their temples from that era such as Vat Phou. Temples were often built over the sites of ancient Hindu shrines, and statues or motifs of Hindu gods are commonly found outside temples. Although important influences can be traced to Hindu rituals, the Lao people are not as overtly influenced by Hinduism as their neighbours the Tai Thai.  The Lao have adopted and adapted the Ramayana into the local version, known as Phra Lak Phra Ram (, พระลักษมณ์พระราม, ). The Lao version was interwoven with the Lao creation myth and is also, mistakenly, thought of as a Jataka story so is held in high esteem. Many court dances were based on the events of the story. Hinduism blended easily into both animism and Buddhism, so many Hindu gods are considered "phi thaen" and Buddhist monks have incorporated much of Brahmanic rituals. Peculiar to Lao people are reverence for Nāgas, snake-like demigods that rule the waterways.

Culture.

Lao cuisine.

The cuisine of Laos is similar to other regional cuisines such as Thai and Cambodian cuisines, but has several unique distinguishing traits. Lao cuisine's most famous dishes are larb and green "Papaya salad", both originated in Laos. The cuisines of the Lao in Laos and Isan have diverged only minutely, with the key differences is that Lao cuisine lacks the influences of Thai cuisine and Isan cuisine lacks many of the French influences in Laos. Rice is the staple, and the main variety is glutinous rice or "khao nio" (, ข้าวเหนียว, ), which is also a feature on Isan and Northern Thai tables since both have been influenced by Lao cuisine. Although sometimes replaced by noodles or other, less popular varieties of rice, it is commonly served with an accompaniment of various dips and sauces, raw vegetables, and several dishes that are shared together. Many dishes are very spicy, fiered by the numerous varieties of chili peppers and made pungent by the strong herbs and fermented fish sauces.  The tropical climate and mountainous areas gives Laos a wide variety of climates and also a rich bounty of edibles, so much of traditional Lao cuisine is composed of vegetables and herbs gathered from the wild, weeds from the rice fields, as well as vegetable plots. A rich plethora of vegetable and fruit varieties are grown, including cucumbers, gourds, cabbage, snakebeans, winged beans, yams, water spinach, mangoes, pomelos, papayas, and sugarcane. Raw vegetables often accompany a meal to help cool the tongue. The most popular meat is freshwater fish, which is also used to make two flavourings, fish sauce (, ; "Nampla") and padaek (, ; "Pla ra"). Other common meats include pork, chicken, duck, beef, eggs, water buffalo. Protein intake includes a wide range of delicacies, including lizards, insects, frogs, and wild deer that also come from the forests. Common beverages are tea, coffee, and alcohol, including the native rice wine, "lao lao" (, เหล้าลาว, ). The cuisine is noted for its use of mint and dill, relatively rare in surrounding cuisines. Laos has been generally a very rural country, and most of the people support themselves by agriculture, with rice being the most important crop. As inhabitants of river valleys and lowlands that have been long-settled, ethnic Lao do not practise swidden agriculture like upland peoples. The traditional folk music is "lam lao" (, ลําลาว, ), although it is also known as morlam (Lao:, หมอลํา, ) which is the preferred term in Isan language. Artists from Thailand are also popular in Laos and vice versa, which has re-enforced Lao culture in Isan despite heavy Thaification. The music is noted for the use of the khene (Lao:, Isan: แคน, ) instrument.

The Lao people or Laotians are a Tai ethnic group native to Southeast Asia, who speak the eponymous language of the Kra–Dai languages, originating from present-day southern China. They are the majority ethnic group of Laos, making up 53.2% of the total population. The majority of Lao people adhere to Theravada Buddhism. They are closely related to other Tai peoples, especially (or synonymous) with the Isan people, who are also speakers of Lao language, but native to neighboring Thailand.

佬族,又称寮族、僚人,是东南亚的一个泰语民族。大部分居住于老挝(约400万)和泰国(约2200万)。泰国的佬族大部分聚居于东北地区,但也有很多出外打工者在其他地区,如曼谷工作。佬族使用老挝语或者是伊森语的各种方言。很多人认为这两种语言实际上是一种语言。但是由于20世纪的泰化运动,在泰国东北地区的人更愿意使用“伊森人”这个词。但实际上佬族作为一个整体,仍有很多文化上的共通之处。


Overview.

The Nizari Isma'ili State, to become known as the Assassins, was founded by Hassan-i Sabbah who called his disciples Asāsiyyūn (أساسيون, meaning "people who are faithful to the foundation [of the faith]"). The state was formed in 1090 after the capture of Alamut Castle in modern Iran, a site to be the headquarters of the Assassins. Alamut and Lambsar castles became the foundation of a network of Isma'ili fortresses throughout Persia and Syria that formed the backbone of Assassin power, and included Syrian strongholds at Masyaf, Abu Qubays, al-Qadmus and al-Kahf. The Nizari Isma'ili State was ruled by Hassan-i Sabbath until his death in 1124. The Western world was introduced to the Assassins by the works of Marco Polo who understood the name as deriving from the term hashish. The rulers of the Nizari Isma'ili State were religious leaders, at first "da'i" and later Imams"." Prominent Assassin leaders operating in Syria included al-Hakim al-Munajjim, the physician-astrologer (d. 1103), Abu Tahir al-Sa’igh, the goldsmith (d. 1113), Bahram al-Da'i (d. 1127), and Rashid ad-Din Sinan, renown as the greatest Assassin chief (d. 1193).  While Assassins typically refers to the entire sect, only a group of disciples known as the "fida'i" actually engaged in conflict. Lacking their own army, the Nizari relied on these warriors to carry out espionage and

Origins.

Hassan-i Sabbah was born in Qom, ca. 1050, who did his religious studies in Cairo with the Fatimids. Sabbah's father was a Qahtanite, said to be a descendant of Himyaritic kings. His support of Nizar ibn al-Mustansir in the succession crisis resulted in his imprisonment and deportation. He made his way to Persia where through subterfuge, he and his followers captured Alamut Castle in 1090. This was the beginning of the Nizari Isma'ili State and the Assassins. Hassan-i Sabbah was not a direct descendant of Nizar and so a "da'i" rather than an Imam. It was Isma'ili doctrine that he kept Nizar's lineage intact through the so-called concealed Imams. Sabbah adapted the fortress to suit his needs not only for defense from hostile forces, but also for indoctrination of his followers. After laying claim to the fortress at Alamut, Sabbah began expanding his influence outwards to nearby towns and districts, using his agents to gain political favour and to intimidate the local populations. Spending most of his days at Alamut producing religious works and developing doctrines for his order, Sabbah would never again leave his fortress. Murder for religious purposes was not new to the region, as the strangler sects of southern Iraq dating to the eighth century have shown. The strangler sects were stopped by the Umayyads; the Assassins would not be by the later caliphates.  Shortly after establishing their headquarters at Alamut Castle, the sect captured Lambsar Castle, to be the largest of the Isma'ili fortresses and confirming the Assassins' power in northern Persia. The estimated date of the capture of Lambsar varies between 1096 and 1102. The castle was taken under the command of Kiya Buzurg Ummid, later Sabbah's successor, who remained commandant of the fortress for twenty years. No interactions between the Christian forces of the First Crusade and the Assassins have been noted, with the latter

Expansion into Syria.

The first "da'i" Hassan-i dispatched to Syria was al-Hakim al-Munajjim, a Persian known as the physician-astrologer, establishing a cell in Aleppo in the early 12th century. Ridwan, the emir of Aleppo, was in search of allies and worked closely with al-Hakim leading to speculation that Ridwan himself was a Nizari. The alliance was first shown in the assassination in 1103 of Janah ad-Dawla, emir of Homs and a key opponent of Ridwan. He was murdered by three Assassins at the Great Mosque of al-Nuri in Homs. Al-Hakim died a few weeks later and was succeeded by Abu Tahir al-Sa’igh, a Persian known as the goldsmith.  After the death of Barkiyaruq in 1105, his successor Muhammad I Tapar began his anti-Nizari campaign. While successful in cleaning the Assassins out of parts of Persia, they remained untouchable in their strongholds in the north. An eight-year war of attrition was initiated under the command of Ahmad ibn Nizam al-Mulk, the son of the first Assassin victim. The mission had some successes, negotiating a surrender of Khalinjan with local Assassin leader Ahmad ibn 'Abd al-Malik ibn Attāsh, with the occupants allowed to go to Tabas and Arrajan. But ibn Nizam al-Mulk was unable to take Alamut Castle and avenge the deaths of his father and brother Fakhr al-Mulk. During the siege of Alamut, a famine resulted and Hassan had his wife and daughters sent to the fortress at Gerdkuh. After that time, Assassins never allowed their women to be at their fortresses during military campaigns, both for protection and secrecy. In the end, ibn Attāsh did not fulfill his commitment and was flayed alive, his head delivered to the sultan.  In Syria, Abu Tahir al-Sa’igh, Ridwan and Abu'l Fath of Sarmin conspired in 1106 to send a team of Assassins to murder Khalaf ibn Mula'ib, emir of Apamea (Qalaat al-Madiq). Some of Khalaf's sons and guards were also killed and, after the murder, Ridwan became overlord of Apamea and its fortress Qal'at al-Madiq, with Abu'l Fath as emir. A surviving son of Khalaf escaped and turned to Tancred, who was at first content to leave the city in the hands of the Isma'ilis and simply collect tribute. Later, he returned and captured the city for Antioch, as the town's residents overwhelmingly approved of Frankish rule. Abu'l Fath was tortured to death, while Abu Tahir ransomed himself and returned to Aleppo. This encounter, the first between the Crusaders and the Assassins, did not deter the latter from their prime mission against the Seljuks.  Some time later, after 1108, Ahmad ibn Nizam al-Mulk himself was attacked by Assassins for revenge but survived. Not so lucky were Ubayd Allah al-Khatib, "qadi"

The Next Generation.

In 1124, Hassan-i Sabbah died, leaving a legacy that reverberated throughout the Middle East for centuries. He was succeeded at Alamut by Kiya Buzurg Ummid.  The appointment of a new "da'i" at Alamut may have led the Seljuks to believe the Assassins were in a weakened position, and Ahmad Sanjar launched an attack on them in 1126. Led by Sanjar's vizier Mu'in ad-Din Kashi, the Seljuks again struck at Quhistan and also Nishapur in the east, and at Rudbar to the north. In the east, the Seljuks had minor successes at a village near Sabzevar, where the population was destroyed, their leader leaping from the mosque's minaret, and at Turaythirth in Nishapur, where the attackers "killed many, took much booty, and then returned." At best, the results were not decisive, but superior to the routing the Seljuks received in the north, with one expedition driven back, losing their previous booty, and another having a Seljuk commander captured. In the end, the Isma'ili position was better than before the offensive. In the guise of a peace offering of two Arabian horses, Assassins gained the confidence of Mu'in ad-Din Kashi and killed him in 1127.  At the same time, in Syria, a Persian named Bahram al-Da'i, the successor to Abu Tahir al-Sa’igh who had been executed in Aleppo in 1113, appeared in Damascus reflecting cooperation between the Assassins and Toghtekin, including a joint operation against the Crusaders. Bahram, a Persian from Asterabad (present-day Gorgan), had lived in secrecy after the expulsion of the Assassins from Aleppo and was the nephew of an Assassin Abu Ibrahim al-Asterbadi who had been executed by Barkiyaruq in 1101. Bahram was most likely behind the murder of al-Bursuqi in 1126, whose assassination may have been ordered by the Seljuk sultan Mahmud II. He later established a stronghold near Banias. During an attack on the Lebanese valley of Wadi al-Taym, Bahram captured and tortured to death a local chieftain named Baraq ibn Jandal. In retaliation, his brother Dahhak ibn Jandal killed Bahram in 1127. So great was the fear and hatred of the Assassins that the messenger delivering Bahram's head and hands to Cairo was rewarded with a robe of honor. That fear was justified as caliph al-Amir bi-Ahkam Allah was murdered at court in 1130 by ten Assassins.  The Isma'ili response to the Seljuk invasion of 1126 was multi-faceted. In Rudbar, a new and powerful fortress was built at Maymundiz and new territories acquired. To the east, the Seljuk stronghold of Sistan was raided in 1129. That same year, Mahmud II, son of Muhammad I Tapar, and sultan of Isfahan, decided to sue for peace with Alamut. Unfortunately, the Isma'ili envoys to Mahmud II were lynched by an angry mob following their audience with the sultan. The demand by Kiya Buzurg Ummid for punishment of the perpetrators

Hassan II and Rashid ad-Din Sinan.

The fourteen known assassinations during the reign of Kiya Muhammad was a far cry from the tally of his predecessors, representing a significant decline in the power of the Isma'ilis. This was exemplified by the governors of Mazandaran and of Rayy who were said to have built towers out of Isma'ili skulls. That was to change with the ascension in 1162 of Kiya Muhammad's son Ḥasan ʿAlā Zikrihi's Salām, known as Hassan II, the first to be recognized as Imam.  Hassan II radically changed the view of Islam with the Nizari Isma'ilis in two ways. First, by asserting descendance from Nizar ibn al-Mustansir and the concealed Imams, and therefore an himself an Imam. Second, by embracing a religious concept known as the Qiyamat, a form of Islamic eschatology dealing with the end of days, at odds with Sharia law, and erecting a pulpit facing west, not east as prescribed by Islamic law. The impact of these changes on Isma'ili life and politics were vast and continued after Hassan II's death in 1166 by his son Nūr al-Dīn Muhammad, known as the Imam Muhammad II, who ruled from 1166–1210. It is in this context and the changes in the Muslim world brought about by the disintegration of the Seljuk empire that a new chief "da'i" of the Assassins was thrust: Rashid ad-Din Sinan, referred to as Sinān.  Rashid ad-Din Sinan, an alchemist and schoolmaster, was dispatched to Syria by Hassan II as a messenger of his Islamic views and the continue the Assassins' mission. Known as the greatest of the Assassin chiefs, Sinān first made headquarters at al-Kahf Castle and then the fortress of Masyaf. At al-Kahf, he worked with chief "da'i" Abu-Muhammad who was succeeded at his death by Khwaja Ali ibn Mas'ud without authority from Alamut. Khwaja was murdered by Abu-Muhammad's nephew Abu Mansur, causing Alamut to reassert control. After seven years at al-Kahf, Sinān assumed that role"," operating independently of and feared by Alamut, relocating the capital to Masyaf. Among his first tasks were the refurbishing of the fortress of ar-Rusafa and of Qala'at al-Khawabi, constructing a tower at the citadel of the latter. Sinān also captured the castle of al-'Ullaiqah at Aleika, near Tartus.  One of the first orders of business that Sinān confronted was the continuing threat from Nur ad-Din as well as the Knights Templar's presence at Tartus. In 1173, Sinān proposed to Amalric of Jerusalem an alliance against Nur ad-Din in exchange for cancellation of the tribute imposed upon Assassin villages near Tartus. The Assassin envoys to the king were ambushed and slain returning from their negotiations near Tripoli by a Templar knight named Walter du Mesnil, an act apparently sanctioned by the Grand Master Odo de Saint Amand. Amalric demanded the knight be surrendered, but Odo refused, claiming only the pope had the authority to punish du Mesnil. Amalric had du Mesnil kidnapped and imprisoned at Tyre. Sinān accepted the king's apology, assured that justice had been done. The point of the alliance became moot as both Nur ad-Din and Amalric died of natural causes soon thereafter.  These developments could not have been better for Saladin who wished to

The Thirteenth Century.

In 1210, Muhammad III died and his son Jalāl al-Din Hasan (known as Hassan III) became Imam of the Nizari Isma'ili State. His first actions included the return to the Islamic orthodoxy that his father and grandfather, causing the writings of the latter to be burned. He claimed allegiance to the Sunnis, having a Sunni mother and four Sunni wives. Hassan III recognized the Abbasid caliph al-Nasir who in turn granted a diploma of investiture. The Alamuts had a previous history with al-Nasir, supplying Assassins to attack a Kwarezm representative of shah Ala ad-Din Tekish, but that more of an action of convenience than formal alliance. Maintaining ties to western Christian influences, the Alamuts became tributaries to the Knights Hospitaller beginning at the Isma'ili stronghold Abu Qubays, near Margat.  The count of Tripoli in 1213 was Bohemond IV, the fourth prince of Antioch of that name. That year his 18-year-old son Raymond, namesake of his grandfather, was murdered by the Assassins under Nasr al-'Ajami while at church in Tartus. Suspecting both Assassin and Hospitaller involvement, Bohemond and the Knights Templar laid siege to Qala'at al-Khawabi, an Isma'ili stronghold near Tartus, Appealing to the Ayyubids for help, az-Zahir Ghazi dispatched a relief force from Aleppo. His forces were nearly destroyed at Jabal Bahra. Az-Zahir's uncle al-Adil I, emir of Damascus, responded and the Franks ended the siege by 1216. Bohemond IV would again fight the Ayyudibs in the Fifth Crusade.  Majd ad-Din was the new chief "da'i" in Syria in 1220, assuming that role from Kamāl ad-Din al-Hasan of whom very little is known. At that time the Seljuk sultanate of Rûm paid an annual tribute to Alamut, and Majd ad-Din notified the sultan Kayqubad I that henceforth the tribute was to be paid to him. Kayqubad I requested clarification from Hassan III who informed him that the monies had indeed been assigned to Syria.  Hassan III died in 1221, likely from poisoning. He was succeeded by his 9-year-old son Imam 'Alā ad-Din Muhammad, known as Muhammad III, and was the penultimate Isma'ili ruler of Alamut before the Mongol conquest. Because of his age, Hassan's vizier served as regent to the young Imam, and put Hassan's wives and sister to death for the suspected poisoning. Muhammad III reversed the Sunni course his father had set, returning to Shi'ite

Downfall and Aftermath.

The Assassins were eradicated by the Mongol Empire during the well-documented invasion of Khwarazm. A decree was handed over to the Mongol commander Kitbuqa who began to assault several Assassin fortresses in 1253 before Hulagu's advance in 1256, seizing Alamut late that year. Lambsar fell in 1257, Masyaf in 1260. The Assassins recaptured and held Alamut for a few months in 1275, but they were crushed and their political power was lost forever. Rukn al-Din Khurshah was put to death shortly thereafter.  In Syria, the Assassins joined with other Muslim groups to oppose the Mongols and courted the Malmuks and Baibars. Baibars entered into a truce with the Hospitallers in 1266 and stipulated that the tribute paid by the Assassins be halted. The tribute once paid to the Franks was to come instead to Cairo. As early as 1260, Baibars' biographer ibn Abd al-Zahir reported that he was granting Assassin lands in "iqtâ"' to his generals, and in 1265 began to tax the "gifts" the Assassins received from various princes that apparently included Louis IX of France, Rudolph I of Germany, Alphonso X of Castile, and the Rasulid sultan of Yemen al-Muzaffar Yusuf. The Syrian branch of the Assassins was taken over by Baibars by 1270, recognizing the threat of an independent force with his sultanate.  Najm ad-Din was replaced by Baibars'

Etymology.

The word "asas" in Arabic means principle. The "Asāsiyyūn" (plural, from literary Arabic) were, as defined in Arabic, people of principle. The term "assassin" likely has roots in "hashshāshīn" (hashish smokers or users), a mispronunciation of the original Asāsiyyūn, but not a mispronunciation of "Assasiyeen" (pronounced "Asāsiyyeen", the plural of Asasi). Originally referring to the methods of political control exercised by the Assasiyuun, one can see how it became "assassin" in several languages to describe similar activities anywhere.  The Assassins were finally linked by the 19th-century orientalist Silvestre de Sacy to the Arabic word "hashish" using their variant names "assassin" and "assissini" in the 19th century. Citing the example of one of the first written applications of the Arabic term "hashish" to the Ismailis by 13th-century historian Abu Shama, de Sacy demonstrated its connection to the name given to the Ismailis throughout Western scholarship. The first known usage of the term "hashishi" has been traced back to 1122 when the Fatimid caliph al-Amir bi-Ahkami’l-Lah, himself later assassinated, employed it in derogatory reference to the Syrian Nizaris. Used figuratively, the term "hashishi" connoted meanings such as outcasts or rabble. Without actually accusing the group of using the hashish drug, the caliph used the term in a pejorative manner. This label was quickly adopted by anti-Isma'ili historians and applied to the Isma'ilis of Syria and Persia. The spread of the term was further facilitated through military encounters between the Nizaris and the Crusaders, whose chroniclers adopted the term and disseminated it

Military tactics.

In pursuit of their religious and political goals, the Isma'ilis adopted various military strategies popular in the Middle Ages. One such method was that of assassination, the selective elimination of prominent rival figures. The murders of political adversaries were usually carried out in public spaces, creating resounding intimidation for other possible enemies. Throughout history, many groups have resorted to assassination as a means of achieving political ends. The assassinations were committed against those whose elimination would most greatly reduce aggression against the Ismailis and, in particular, against those who had perpetrated massacres against the community. A single assassination was usually employed in contrast with the widespread bloodshed which generally resulted from factional combat. Assassins are also said to be have been adept in "furusiyya", or the Islamic warrior code, where they were trained in combat, disguises, and equestrianism. Codes of conduct were followed, and the Assassins were taught in the art of war, linguistics, and strategies. For about two centuries, the Assassins specialized in assassinating their religious and political enemies.  While the Seljuks and Crusaders both employed murder as a military means of disposing of factional enemies, during the Alamut period almost any murder of political significance in the Islamic lands was attributed to the Isma'ilis. So inflated had this association grown that, in the work of orientalists such as Bernard Lewis, the Isma'ilis were equated with the politically active "fida'is" and thus were regarded as a radical and heretical sect known as the Assassins.  The military approach of the Nizari Isma'ili state was largely a defensive one, with strategically chosen sites that appeared to avoid confrontation wherever possible without the loss of life. But the defining characteristic of the Nizari Isma'ili state was that it was scattered geographically throughout Persia and Syria. Alamut Castle therefore was only one of a nexus of strongholds throughout the regions where Isma'ilis could retreat to safety if necessary. West of Alamut in the Shahrud Valley, the major fortress of Lambsar served as just one example of such a retreat. In the context of their political uprising, the various spaces of Isma'ili military presence took on the name "dar al-hijra" (; land of migration, place of refuge). The notion of the "dar al-hijra" originates from the time of Muhammad, who migrated with his followers from persecution to a safe haven in "Yathrib" (Medina). In this way, the Fatimids found their "dar al-hijra" in North Africa. From 1101 to 1118, attacks and sieges were made on the fortresses, conducted by combined forces of the Seljuks Barkiyaruq and Ahmad Sanjar. Although with the cost of lives and the capture and execution of Assassin "da'i" Ahmad ibn Attash, the Assassins managed to hold their ground and repel the attacks until the Mongol invasion. Likewise, during the revolt against the Seljuks, several fortresses served as spaces of refuge for the Isma'ilis. Marco Polo recounts the following method how the Hashashin were recruited for jihad and assassinations on behalf of their master in Alamut:  “He

Legends and folklore.

The legends of the Assassins had much to do with the training and instruction of Nizari "fida'is", famed for their public missions during which they often gave their lives to eliminate adversaries. Historians have contributed to the tales of "fida'is" being fed with hashish as part of their training. Whether "fida'is" were actually trained or dispatched by Nizari leaders is unconfirmed, but scholars including Vladimir Ivanov purport that the assassinations of key figures including Seljuk vizier Nizam al-Mulk likely provided encouraging impetus to others in the community who sought to secure the Nizaris protection from political aggression. Originally, a "local and popular term" first applied to the Isma'ilis of Syria, the label was orally transmitted to Western historians and thus found itself in their histories of the Nizaris.  It is unknown how Hassan-i-Sabbah was able to get the Assassins to perform with such fervent loyalty. One theory, possibly the best known but also the most criticized, comes from the reports of Marco Polo during his travels to the Orient. He recounts a story he heard of a man who would drug his young followers with hashish, lead them to a "paradise", and then claim that only he had the means to allow for their return. Perceiving that Sabbah was either a prophet or magician, his disciples, believing that only he could return them to "paradise", were fully committed to his cause and willing to carry out his every request. However, this story is disputed because Sabbah died in 1124 and Rashid ad-Din Sinan, who is frequently known as the "Old Man of the Mountain", died in 1192, whereas Marco Polo was not born until around 1254.  The tales of the "fida'is" training collected from anti-Ismaili historians and orientalist writers were compounded and compiled in Marco Polo's account, in which he described a "secret garden of paradise". After being drugged, the Ismaili devotees were said to be taken to a paradise-like garden filled with attractive young maidens and beautiful plants in which these "fida'is" would awaken. Here, they were told by an "old" man that they were witnessing their place in Paradise and that should they wish to return to this garden permanently, they must serve the Nizari cause. So went the tale of the "Old Man in the Mountain", assembled by Marco Polo and accepted by Joseph von Hammer-Purgstall, an 18th-century Austrian orientalist writer responsible for much of the spread of this legend. Until the 1930s, von Hammer's retelling of the Assassin legends served as the standard account of the Nizaris across Europe.  Another one of Hassan's recorded methods includes causing the Assassins to be vilified by their contemporaries. One story goes that Hassan al-Sabah set up a trick to make it appear as if he had decapitated one of his Assassins

In popular culture.

The Assassins were part of Medieval culture, and they were either demonized or romanticized. The Hashashin appeared frequently in the art and literature of the Middle Ages, sometimes illustrated as one of the knight's archenemies and as a quintessential villain during the crusades.  The word Assassin, in variant forms, had already passed into European usage in this general sense as a term for a hired professional murderer. The Italian chronicler Giovanni Villani, who died in 1348, tells how the lord of Lucca sent 'his assassins' (i suoi assassini) to Pisa to kill a troublesome enemy there. Even earlier, Dante, in a passing reference in the 19th canto of the "Inferno", speaks of 'the treacherous assassin' (lo perfido assassin); his fourteenth-century commentator Francesco da Buti, explaining a term which for some readers at the time may still have been strange and obscure, remarks: 'Assassino è colui che uccide altrui per danari' (An assassin is one who kills others for money).  The most widespread awareness of the Assassins in modern Europe, and their incorporation into the Romantic tradition, was created by Austrian historian and Orientalist Joseph von Hammer-Purgstall through his 1818 book, "Die Geschichte der Assassinen aus morgenländischen Quellen" (translated into English in 1835 as "The History of the Assassins"). This work was the standard one on the history of the Assassins in the West until the 1930s.  The Assassins appear in many role-playing games and video games, especially in massively multiplayer online games. The assassin character class is a common feature of many such games, usually specializing in single combat and stealth skills, often combined in order to defeat an opponent without exposing the assassin to counter-attack.

The Assassins (Persian "Ḥashashiyan", Arabic "Ḥashīshiyya" or "Ḥashīshiyyīn", singular "Ḥashīshī") were a Nizari Isma'ili sect who lived in the mountains of Persia and in Syria between 1090 and 1275. During that time, they held a strict subterfuge policy throughout the Middle East through the covert murder of first Muslim and later Christian leaders that were considered enemies of their state. The modern term assassination is based on the tactics used by the Assassins. Nizari Isma'ilism formed in the late 11th century after a succession crisis within the Fatimid Caliphate between Nizar ibn al-Mustansir and his half-brother, caliph al-Musta'li. Contemporaneous historians include Arabs ibn al-Qalanisi and Ali ibn al-Athir and the Persian Ata-Malik Juvayni. The first two referred to the Assassins as "batiniyya", an epithet widely accepted by Isma'ilis themselves.

阿萨辛派(、)是中古时期活跃于阿富汗至叙利亚山区的一个穆斯林“异端”教派,以秘密的暗杀组织闻名。以里海南岸山区为根据地,中心设在阿剌模忒堡(意为“鹰窠”)。“阿萨辛派”在中国古籍中被称为木剌夷,木罗夷或木乃奚,可能源自阿拉伯语(),意指无神论者。该词语有另一种说法。即“阿萨辛”一词,源于印地语“哈沙辛”(Hashashin)或称曼苏尔(Mansur),是指罂粟花果割出的浆汁的物质,也就是我们所说的“鸦片”。因为,被称为“阿萨辛”的创始人,就是向他的崇拜者发放鸦片,使其上瘾后,在操纵训练他成为他的杀手。而“哈沙辛”“曼苏尔”词语,与蒙古语似乎有关联,蒙古语称“苦的味道”为“嘎辛”(gashuun),应该是指罂粟的苦味。而“曼苏尔”一词,原本就是蒙古语(Manshuurakh)意指人迷糊或昏沉状态。而人吸食鸦片后,就会产生这样的状态。而从英国东印度公司殖民印度时,大量制造售卖鸦片的历史,可以确定其词源源于印度的可能性。同时,也可以印证蒙古高原的蒙古裔游牧民族古代迁徙侵入南亚西亚地区,建立政权的历史。被称为突厥人的民族,很可能就是这些迁徙的蒙古人与南亚,西亚族裔融合,语言发生变异的结果。这一点在公元四世纪崛起的突厥人政权,在今蒙古国树立的记述民族历史的石碑碑文中看到端倪。