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Samarkand Manuscript:
‘Three friends were taking a walk on the high plateaus of Persia. A panther
sprang out at them with all the fierceness in the world.
‘The panther looked at the three men for a long while and then ran toward
them.
‘The first was the oldest, the richest and the most powerful. He cried out: “I
am the master of these districts. I shall never allow a beast to ravage the lands
which belong to me.” He had with him two hunting dogs and set them on to the
panther. They managed to bite it but the panther only became stronger,
overwhelmed them, jumped on their master and ripped out his intestines.
‘Thus was the fate of Nizam al-Mulk.
‘The second man wondered: “I am a man of knowledge, everyone honours
and respects me. Why should my fate be decided by dogs and a panther?” He
turned tail and fled without waiting for the outcome of the fight. Since then he
has wandered from cave to cave, from hut to hut, convinced that the wild beast
was always at his heels.
‘Thus was the fate of Omar Khayyam.
‘The third was a man of belief. He walked toward the panther with his hands
open, with a dominating demeanour and an eloquent words. “You are welcome
to these lands,” he said to the panther. “My companions were richer than I and
you despoiled them. They were prouder than I and you have laid them low.” The
beast listened, seduced and subdued. The man had the advantage over the
panther, and managed to train it. Since then no panther has dared to approach
him and men keep away.’
The 
Manuscript
concludes: ‘When the time of upheavals arrived, no one
could stop its course, no one could flee it but some managed to use it. Hassan
Sabbah, more than anyone, knew how to tame the ferocity of the world. He
sowed fear all around him in order to make a tiny piece of calm for himself in

---

his redoubt of Alamut.’
No sooner had he gained control of the fortress than Hassan Sabbah
undertook actions to assure that he was sealed off from any contact with the
outside world. His first priority was to render impossible any enemy penetration.
With the help of some clever building he thus improved the already exceptional
quality of the site by blocking off the slightest passageway between two hills.
However these fortifications were not enough for Hassan. Even if an assault
was impossible, the besiegers would still hope to starve him out or cut off his
water. It is thus that most sieges end. And it was on this point that Alamut was