Fall of Masyaf
The fall of Masyaf was an event during the late 13th century where the grandson of Genghis Khan, Hülegü Khan, led an assault on the fortress of Masyaf in an attempt to annihilate the Assassin Order for their part in his grandfather's death in 1227.
The event caused the ultimate disbandment of the Assassins from Masyaf, which was completely deserted before the Mongols could claim their victory. Alongside Masyaf, most of the Assassins' fortresses in the Levant were already destroyed by the Mongols in 1256.
Cause
To stop the major threat of the Mongols, who were unstoppably moving from East towards West, Altaïr, Maria, Darim and Qulan Gal headed to the Xia province in Mongolia, visiting a camp set up by Mongolians, in which Genghis Khan supposedly was. There, Altaïr and his son, together with Qulan, sneaked into the camp and accidentally raised the alarm for Genghis Khan, who then fled on horseback. A few moments later, Khan was hit by an arrow from Qulan's crossbow, and was then finished by Darim.
Disbandment
Attack
- "The main force is not far away. In the meantime the skirmishing party seems to want to make a name for itself and has been launching small but fierce attacks."
- ―Niccolò Polo on the Mongol attack in his journal, The Secret Crusade.[src]
During 1257, the Mongol army travelled across the Levant, destroying all the Assassin fortresses situated there. As the army travelled towards Masyaf, the Mentor of the Levantine Assassins, Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, was interviewed by Niccolò Polo and his brother Maffeo Polo in order to document the stories of his life and the Order. Eventually in August of 1257, the Mongols neared Masyaf and sent a small skirmishing party to attack the Assassins, with the main force not far away.
Though most of the Assassins left the fortress to increase their numbers throughout the world, enough remained to hold off the Mongolians temporarily. During the assault the Mongols attacked the walls of village and fought on the ramparts before retreating. During the battle Altaïr had the two Polo brothers meet him in the main courtyard of the fortress. Once there Altaïr passed on his life's work to the Polos; his Codex.
Altaïr then escorted brothers out of Masyaf using his Apple of Eden to fend off the Mongols before giving the Polos his Memory Seals, which acted as the keys to his library. He instructing them to hide each of them if necessary. As the Polo brothers escaped Masyaf, Altaïr led the remaining Assassins to fight the Mongolians.
The library
With the Polo brothers able to escape successfully, Altaïr had the remaining Assassins and villagers of Masyaf evacuated, before the main Mongol army arrived to destroy the citadel. However, Altaïr stayed behind in Masyaf, intending to seal himself inside the library. Before entering his library Altaïr told his son to leave before the Mongols return and the library must stay hidden. After hugging his son and bidding him goodbye, Altaïr then entered his library and sealed away Apple of Eden.
Altaïr subsequently imprinted this final memory on his sixth and last Memory Seals before finally passing away at age 92.
Aftermath
Masyaf
After the Mongolian attack, Masyaf was completely abadoned by the Assassins. Now the Assassins were spread across world in Guilds, operating among the people.
Polo brothers
Having fled from Masyaf, the Polos were on their way back to Italy, stopping by Constantinople to first complete their task. Two days on their way to the city, a Mongol attacking party had stolen the Codex from the Polo brothers, leaving them only with the keys.
Guided by their knowledge and the importance of their task, Maffeo and Niccolò Polo arrived in Constantinople, hiding the Seals throughout the city as to make sure of their secrecy. The two brothers had also set up a trading post, somewhere northwest of Hagia Sophia, and an Assassins Guild, writing the end of their journal on the day they locked away the last key.
Source