Abu Tahir al-Sa'igh ( ar, ابو طاهر الصائغ, "Abu Tahir the Goldsmith"), recorded as Botherus in Christian sources, was a Persian goldsmith and the chief

Nizari Isma'ili The Nizaris ( ar, النزاريون, al-Nizāriyyūn, fa, نزاریان, Nezāriyān) are the largest segment of the Ismaili Muslims, who are the second-largest branch of Shia Islam after the Twelvers. Nizari teachings emphasize independent ...

'' da'i'' of Syria, belonging to the

order of Assassins The Order of Assassins or simply the Assassins ( fa, حَشّاشین, Ḥaššāšīn, ) were a Nizārī Ismāʿīlī order and sect of Shīʿa Islam that existed between 1090 and 1275 CE. During that time, they lived in the mountains of P ...

Abu Tahir was the second Nizari ''da'i'' in Syria sent by Hassan-i Sabbah, replacing

al-Hakim al-Munajjim Al-Hakim al-Munajjim ( ar, الحكيم المنجم, literally "The Physician-Astrologer") (died 1103) was a Persian Nizari Isma'ili and the first Nizari missionary ('' da'i'') in Syria, belonging to the order of Assassins. Al-Hakim al-Munajji ...

, and enjoying alliance with Ridwan. He kept using the Nizari base in

Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...

, while continuing the Nizari strategy of seizing strongholds in pro-Isma'ili areas, focusing on the Jabal al-Summaq highlands located between the

Orontes River The Orontes (; from Ancient Greek , ) or Asi ( ar, العاصي, , ; tr, Asi) is a river with a length of in Western Asia that begins in Lebanon, flowing northwards through Syria before entering the Mediterranean Sea near Samandağ in Turkey. ...

and Aleppo. At this time, the authority over the upper Orontes valley was shared between

Janah al-Dawlah Janah ad-Dawla was the Seljuq Empire, Seljuq emir of Homs during the First Crusade. He was the atabeg of Fakhr al-Mulk Radwan, Ridwan who took control of Aleppo after the death of Ridwan's father Tutush I in 1095. He later joined Kerbogha's army du ...

Homs Homs ( , , , ; ar, حِمْص / ALA-LC: ; Levantine Arabic: / ''Ḥomṣ'' ), known in pre-Islamic Syria as Emesa ( ; grc, Ἔμεσα, Émesa), is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Homs Governorate. It is Metres above sea level ...

Munqidhites The Banu Munqidh ( ar, بنو منقذ, Banū Munqidh), also referred to as the Munqidhites, were an Arab family that ruled an emirate in the Orontes River, Orontes Valley in northern Bilad al-Sham, Syria from the mid-11th century until the fam ...

Shaizar Shaizar or Shayzar ( ar, شيزر; in modern Arabic Saijar; Hellenistic name: Larissa in Syria, Λάρισα εν Συρία in Greek) is a town in northern Syria, administratively part of the Hama Governorate, located northwest of Hama. Nearby l ...

, and

Khalaf ibn Mula'ib Sayf al-Dawla Khalaf ibn Mulāʿib al-Ashhabī al-Kilābī ( ar, سيف الدولة خلف بن ملاعب الأشهبي الكلابي; died 3 February 1106) was semi-independent emir of Homs and Apamea between 1082 and 1090. He was later resto ...

, the

Fatimid The Fatimid Caliphate was an Ismaili Shi'a caliphate extant from the tenth to the twelfth centuries AD. Spanning a large area of North Africa, it ranged from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Red Sea in the east. The Fatimids, a dyna ...

governor of Apamea based in its citadel

Qal'at al-Mudhiq Qalaat al-Madiq ( ar, قلعة المضيق also spelled Kal'at al-Mudik or Qal'at al-Mudiq; also known as Afamiyya or Famiyyah) is a town and medieval fortress in northwestern Syria, administratively part of the Hama Governorate, located northea ...

. Janah al-Dawlah had been murdered in 1103 by

, and

three years later. Khalaf ibn Mula'ib was probably a Musta'li Isma'ili that refused to cooperate with the Nizari Isma'ilis under Abu Tahir, was murdered in February 1106 with the help of

Abu'l Fath of Sarmin Abu’l Fath of Sarmin was a Nizari Ismaili missionary (''da'i'') and ''qadi'' from Sarmin, Syria. He enlisted help from Ridwan and fellow Assassin Abu Tahir al-Sa'igh to assassinate Khalaf ibn Mula’ib in 1106, after which he bcame emir of t ...

, an Ismaili ''da'i''. Abu Tahir and Abu'l Fath subsequently captured Qal'at al-Mudhiq and Apamea by an "ingenious" plan.

Tancred Tancred or Tankred is a masculine given name of Germanic origin that comes from ''thank-'' (thought) and ''-rath'' (counsel), meaning "well-thought advice". It was used in the High Middle Ages mainly by the Normans (see French Tancrède) and espe ...

, the Frankish regent of the

Principality of Antioch The Principality of Antioch was one of the crusader states created during the First Crusade which included parts of modern-day Turkey and Syria. The principality was much smaller than the County of Edessa or the Kingdom of Jerusalem. It extende ...

besieged Apamea, but was unsuccessful. A few months later he besieged the city again with the help of Mus'ab ibn Mula'ib, brother of the murdered Khalaf, and captured Apamea in September 1106. Abu'l Fath was executed, while Abu Tahir ransomed himself and went to Aleppo. In 1111, an abortive assassination attempt against Abu Harb Isa ibn Zayd, a wealthy Aleppine Persian, caused a general public resentment of the Nizari Ismailis in Aleppo. Ridwan nevertheless provided support for the Nizaris. Ridwan died in 1113 and the Nizaris of Aleppo were deprived of this important ally. During the short reign of his young son

Alp Arslan al-Akhras Tāj al-Dawla Alp Arslān ibn Riḍwān, nicknamed al-Akhras (the Mute), was the Seljuk sultan of Aleppo from AD 1113 ( AH 507) until his death in 1114 (508). According to Ibn al-Athīr, he was not actually mute but had only a speech impediment a ...

, who ceded the Balis fortress on the Aleppo–Baghdad road to Abu Tahir. During his anti-Nizari campaign, the Seljuq sultan

Muhammad I Tapar Abu Shuja Ghiyath al-Dunya wa'l-Din Muhammad ibn Malik-Shah ( fa, , Abū Shujāʿ Ghiyāth al-Dunyā wa ’l-Dīn Muḥammad ibn Malik-Šāh; 1082 – 1118), better known as Muhammad I Tapar (), was the sultan of the Seljuk Empire from 1105 to 111 ...

sent Sa'id ibn Badi', the '' rais'' of Aleppo, to turn Alp Arslan against the Nizaris. Abu Tahir and many other Nizaris in Aleppo were subsequently executed and others dispersed or went underground. Abu Tahir was succeeded by

Bahram al-Da'i Bahram al-Da'i ( ar, بهرام الداعي, "Bahram the '' da'i'' issionary) or Bahram of Astarabad was a 12th-century Persian Nizari Ismaili who was the Chief ''Da'i'' and leader of the Assassins in Syria from after 1113 through 1128. Although ...

References

{{Authority control Nizari da'is Nizari Ismaili state Iranian Ismailis Year of birth unknown 12th-century Iranian people People from Aleppo People of the Nizari–Seljuk wars Nizari Ismaili–Seljuk relations 12th-century Ismailis