Place · city
Masyaf
Masyaf is a town in western Syria, on the eastern slopes of the coastal mountains west of Hama, dominated by a medieval castle. The Nizari Ismailis acquired the castle in 1140–1141, and under Rashid al-Din Sinan it was the headquarters of their Syrian branch, the 'Assassins' of crusader sources; Saladin besieged it without success in 1176. It passed to the Mamluk sultan Baybars around 1270, and an Ismaili community still lives in the area.
Mentioned in 1 state history
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Cite this entry
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Masyaf. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/masyaf
- MLA
- “Masyaf.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/masyaf. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Masyaf.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/masyaf.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Masyaf’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/masyaf (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻