The Order of Assassins or simply the Assassins (Persian: حَشّاشین Ḥaššāšīn) (Arabic: الحشَّاشين al-Ḥaššāšīn) were a Nizari Isma'ili order and sect of Shia Islam that existed between 1090 and 1275. During that time, they lived in the mountains of Persia and in Syria, and held a strict subterfuge policy throughout the Middle East through the covert murder of Muslim and Christian leaders who were considered enemies of the Nizari Isma'ili state. The modern term assassination is believed to stem from the tactics used by the Assassins