IL MILIONE AND THE OLD MAN OF THE MOUNTAIN
IL MILIONE AND THE OLD MAN OF THE MOUNTAIN

Summary/Abstract: The Travels of Marco Polo, and, especially, his descriptions of China and the Mongol Empire were, for a long time a work that captured the imagination of the European public regarding the people and cultures of Asia and considered a reference for this geographical space. However, his writings also helped establish as truth legends such as the secret religious “Order of the Assassins” and their mysterious leader, “The Old Man of the Mountain”, myth that had already appeared during the Crusades. For many years the story went unchallenged as little information was available about who “The Assassins” really were. The current study focuses on Marco Polo’s travel to Persia, more exactly to Alamūt, the headquarter of the Nizārī state, founded by Ḥasan-i Ṣabbāḥ, and on his account as the main resource. In addition, based on the most recent research I proposed a few answers to questions regarding the origin of terms used by Marco Polo and to shed light on the legend of the Assassins.

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