Assassination of Genghis Khan

"[Me] and Qulan Gal had planned to infiltrate the Mongolian camp. It was said that Khan was there, too."

―Altaïr, reporting on the assassination.^[src]

The assassination of Genghis Khan was an event during the High Middle Ages in which the Levantine Assassin Darim Ibn-La'Ahad, with the help of his family and the Mongolian Assassin Qulan Gal, brought down and killed Genghis Khan.

Journey to Mongolia[edit | edit source]

"Altaïr suspected that Genghis Khan's progress might have been helped by another artifact, similar to the Apple. Perhaps the Sword. He needed to establish whether this was the case, as well as to stop Khan's inexorable march."

―Niccolò Polo explaining Altaïr's motives to his brother Maffeo, 1257.^[src]

Preparing for his trip to the East, the Levantine Assassins' Mentor Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad left the leadership of the Assassins in the joint hands of his son Sef and close friend Malik Al-Sayf to fend off any affairs. From there, he journeyed with his wife Maria and his son Darim from Masyaf, traveling through Persia, India, and Mongolia, eventually arriving at the Mongolian camp near Xingqing, Western Xia.^[1]

Throughout this journey, the Ibn-La'Ahad family had liaised with the Assassin Qulan Gal, with whom they eventually broke into the Mongolian camp where Khan was supposedly situated.^[2] During this time, Altaïr correctly suspected that Genghis Khan possessed a Piece of Eden,^[3] possibly a Sword, which he used to power his unstoppable march of the Mongol army.^[1]^[2]

The assassination[edit | edit source]

Genghis: "You have made the worst enemy possible, Assassin. You know not what plague you have brought down upon your kind! I will be reincarnated in the blood of my descendants. Your arrows may puncture my flesh but I will rise anew. My name... my legacy are immortal."

Darim: "Then they shall suffer the same fate."

—Darim, moments before shooting Genghis Khan.^[src]^-[m]

While Altaïr and Qulan made their way through the Mongol tents, Darim located a vantage point not far from the camp, where he watched over the other Assassins. Moving through the heavily guarded area, the two relied on Darim to dispose of any guards that were about to raise the alarm, so that they could safely reach the Khan. However, Altaïr almost alerted the Mongols to their presence; becoming unwary and clumsy with age, he let an enemy soldier sneak up on and wound him before Qulan Gal killed the guard.^[2]

Taking refuge inside a camp, they found another soldier guarding the Assassin initiate Nergüi, who had been captured while scouting the Mongol camp alone. After dealing with the guard, Qulan freed Nergüi and, as he did so, reprimanded the young Assassin for his recklessness, but also admitted that he was brave and honorable and that it was good to see him alive.^[2]

With Nergüi's help, Qulan escorted the injured Altaïr out of the camp, bringing the Levantine Mentor to safety. Afterwards, while Maria tended to her husband, Qulan formulated a plan with Darim to flush the Khan out of his tent and create an assassination opportunity. Together with Altaïr, Maria, and Nergüi, they loosed flaming arrows into the camp, agitating the animals and creating a commotion. This prompted the Khan to leave his tent and, upon seeing his camp aflame, he decided to flee on horseback, accompanied by a few soldiers while the rest stayed to extinguish the flames.^[2]

Seizing this opportunity, Qulan and Darim gave chase on their own horses, catching up with the Khan's convoy. Qulan promptly dealt with the escorts and shot the Khan's horse with his bow, causing it to fall and crush its rider under its weight. With Genghis Khan immobilized, Darim approached his target and ended his life with a crossbow bolt to the eye after declaring that all of his successors would suffer the same fate. The two Assassins then tried to recover the Sword of Eden, which had fallen from the horse, but had no time due to the arrival of Mongol reinforcements.^[2]

Aftermath[edit | edit source]

"I always felt an Assassin's strength lay in independence and self-reliance. Yet seeing how you and your family work together causes me to revise my opinion."

―Qulan Gal to Altaïr and his family, prior to parting ways.^[src]^-[m]

Escaping empty-handed, Darim and Qulan returned to the others, whereupon the Ibn-La'Ahad family prepared for the long journey back home. As they bid their farewells, Qulan expressed admiration for how well Altaïr and his family had worked in tandem, which made him revise his opinion that Assassins operated at their best when they were by their lonesome. To this, Altaïr suggested that Qulan take on an apprentice, and the Mongolian Assassin agreed, taking Nergüi under his wing.^[2]

Their mission complete, Altaïr, Maria, and Darim proceeded to head back to Masyaf. After several months, they arrived back home, only to find that many things had changed during their years-long absence and that the Levantine Brotherhood was in decline under the leadership of Abbas Sofian.^[1]

Just like Genghis Khan had hinted during his final moments, his murder at the hands of the Assassins did not go unnoticed, and his grandson Hülegü Khan would eventually vent his fury upon the Brotherhood in the late 1250s, decimating their strongholds in Masyaf and Alamut and erasing the Levantine Assassins' power.^[4] However, the Brotherhood survived this assault and was merely driven underground, continuing to operate in the shadows as it had centuries prior.^[1]