now that we know a little about the black hand and it's relationship to Occult Masonry which in turn goes way back to the time of Solomon pbuh and the building of Al Aqsa Mosque, and it's influence on world politics after it's starting of the first world war, let's see if it only appeared in the early 20th century:
"Did I not wish the sultan well that the dagger which was struck in the hard ground would have been planted on your soft breast?"
note: the articles below have been edited for the sake of brevity with best attempts to avoid cutting too much information, for more details, click on the links to the original articles.
The*Italian*word "stiletto" comes from the*Latin*stilus, the thin pointed Roman writing instrument used to engrave wax or clay tablets in ancient times.
The stiletto began to gain fame during the late*Middle Ages, when it was the secondary weapon of*knights.
The stiletto was later adopted throughout Italy as the favored offensive thrusting knife (arma manesca) of the medieval assassin, so much so that it was invariably prohibited as a treacherous weapon (arma insidiosa) by the authorities of the day. The stiletto was preferred by assassins as it was silent, easily concealed inside a sleeve or jacket, and featured a blade capable of easily penetrating the heavy leather and fabric clothing of the day, while inflicting mortal wounds that tended to bleed less than those made by other types of knives.
The stiletto followed the first wave of Italian immigration to the city of*New Orleans, Louisiana*during the mid-19th century, where the knife became a popular weapon of gamblers, gang members, and assorted assassins.
The stiletto was involved in so many stabbings and murders in New Orleans that the city passed an ordinance in 1879 outlawing the sale or exhibition for sale of any stiletto within the city limits.
Italian immigrants to America frequently purchased or made such knives for self-defense,*and the stiletto was used by anarchists as well as by members of various*Black Hand (a method of extortion) organizations to assassinate Italian-Americans and others who either opposed the*Black Hand*or ignored its demands for blackmail.
The*Black Hand*even established schools for training its members in the use of the stiletto.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stiletto
Black Hand (extortion)
"La Mano Nera" redirects here. For other uses, see*Black Hand (disambiguation).
Black Hand*(Italian:*Mano Nera) was a type of*extortion*racket. It was a method of extortion, not a criminal organization as such, though*gangsters*of*Camorraand the*Mafia*practiced it. According to a newspaper report in the*New York Tribune*of June 1912, the Black Hand "...really exists only as a phrase.
As an organization such a thing never existed out of the minds of the police. It is a catch phrase made famlliar through the newspapers, and the quick witted criminal of Latin extraction lost no time in using it as a nom de crime, which he wrote at the bottom of his blackmailing letters, sometimes - in fact, generally - adding fanciful decorations of his own, such as daggers dripping blood, revolvers spitting fire and bullets, crudely drawn skulls and crossbones and the inevitable sketch of a human hand."
Origins
The roots of the Black Hand can be traced to the*Kingdom of Naples*as early as the 1750s.
However, the term as normally used in English specifically refers to the organization established by Italian*immigrants*in the United States during the 1880s who, though fluent in their Southern Italian*regional dialects, had no access to*Standard Italian*or even a grammar school education. A minority of the immigrants formed criminal syndicates, living alongside each other. By 1900, Black Hand operations were firmly established in the Italian-American communities of major cities including*New York,*Philadelphia,*Chicago,*New Orleans,*Scranton,*San Francisco,Olean, NY*and*Detroit. In 1907, a Black Hand headquarters was discovered in Hillsville, Pennsylvania, a village located a few miles west of*New Castle, Pennsylvania.
The Black Hand in Hillsville established a school designed to train members in the use of the*stiletto.
Although more successful immigrants were usually targeted, possibly as many as 90% of Italian immigrants and workmen in New York and other communities were threatened with extortion.
Typical Black Hand tactics involved sending a letter to a victim threatening bodily harm,*kidnapping,*arson, or*murder. The letter demanded a specified amount of money to be delivered to a specific place.
It was decorated with threatening symbols like a smoking gun, hangman's noose, skull, or knife dripping with blood or piercing a human heart, and was in many instances, signed with a hand, "held up in the universal gesture of warning", imprinted or drawn in thick black ink.
According to author/historian*Mike Dash, "it was this last feature that inspired a journalist writing for*The New York Herald*to refer to the communications as "Black Hand" letters—a name that stuck, and indeed, soon became synonymous with crime in Little Italy."
The term "Black Hand" (in Italian:*Mano Nera, and in Sicilian:*Manu Niura) was readily adopted by the American press and generalized to the idea of an organized criminal conspiracy, which came to be known as "The Black Hand Society".
The tenor*Enrico Caruso*received a Black Hand letter, on which a black hand and dagger were drawn, demanding $2,000. Caruso decided to pay, "and, when this fact became public knowledge, was rewarded for his capitulation with 'a stack of threatening letters a foot high,' including another from the same gang for $15,000."
Realizing the extortionists would continue to demand money, he reported the incident to the police who, arranging for Caruso to drop off the money at a prearranged spot, arrested two Italian-American businessmen who retrieved the money.
When law enforcement closed in, gangsters answered in their usual style—assassination.
Victims include*New Orleans*police chief*David Hennessyand*NYPD*lieutenant*Joseph Petrosino.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Hand_(extortion)
now let's see if traces of this organized group goes further back beyond the*Kingdom of Naples*as early as the 1750s
(before the crusades)
The*Assassins*(from*Arabic:*حشّاشين*Ḥashshāshīn) is the name used to refer to the*medieval*Nizari Ismailis, particularly those of*Persia*and*Syria.
Often characterized as a secret order led by a mysterious "Old Man of the Mountain," the Nizari Ismailis were an*Islamic*sect that formed in the late 11th century from a split within*Ismailism, itself a branch of*Shia Islam. In time, the Nizaris began to pose a military threat to*Sunni*Seljuq*authority within the*Persian*territories by capturing and inhabiting several mountain fortresses under the leadership of*Hassan-i Sabbah, who is typically regarded as the founder of the Assassins.
While "Assassins" typically refers to the entire medieval Nizari sect, in fact only a class of acolytes known as the*fidai*actually engaged in assassination work.
Lacking their own army, the Nizari relied on these trained warriors to carry out espionage and assassinations, and over the course of 300 years successfully killed two caliphs, and many viziers, sultans and Crusader leaders......
.....Long after their near-eradication at the hands of the*Mongol Empire, mentions of Assassins were preserved within European sources such as the writings of Marco Polo, where they are depicted as trained killers, responsible for the systematic elimination of opposing figures.
Ever since, the word "assassin" has been used to describe a hired or professional killer, paving the way for the related term "assassination", which denotes any action involving murder of a high-profile target for political reasons.
The origins of the Assassins can be traced back to just before the*First Crusade, around 1080. There has been great difficulty finding out much information about the origins of the Assassins because most early sources are written by enemies of the order, are based on legends, or both. Most sources dealing with the order's inner workings were destroyed with the capture of*Alamut, the Assassins' headquarters, by the*Mongols*in 1256.
However, it is possible to trace the beginnings of the cult back to its first Grandmaster,*Hassan-i Sabbah(1050s–1124).
A passionate devotee of Isma'ili beliefs, Hassan-i Sabbah was well-liked throughout*Cairo,*Syria*and most of the*Middle East*by other Isma'ili, which led to a number of people becoming his followers. Using his fame and popularity, Sabbah founded the Order of the Assassins.
While his motives for founding this order are ultimately unknown, it was said to be all for his own political and personal gain and to also exact vengeance on his enemies.
Because of the unrest in the Holy Land caused by the*Crusades, Hassan-i Sabbah found himself not only fighting for power with other Muslims, but also with the invading Christian forces.
After creating the Order, Sabbah searched for a location that would be fit for a sturdy headquarters and decided on*the fortress*at*Alamut*in what is now northwestern*Iran. It is still disputed whether Sabbah built the fortress himself or if it was already built at the time of his arrival.
In either case, Sabbah adapted the fortress to suit his needs not only for defense from hostile forces, but also for indoctrination of his followers. After laying claim to the fortress at Alamut, Sabbah began expanding his influence outwards to nearby towns and districts, using his agents to gain political favour and to intimidate the local populations.Spending most of his days at Alamut producing religious works and developing doctrines for his Order, Sabbah would never leave his fortress again in his lifetime. He had established a secret society of deadly assassins, which was built on a hierarchical structure.
Below Sabbah, the Grand Headmaster of the Order, were those known as "Greater Propagandists", followed by the normal "Propagandists", the Rafiqs ("Companions"), and the Lasiqs ("Adherents"). It was the Lasiqs who were trained to become some of the most feared assassins, or as they were called, "Fida'i" (self-sacrificing agent), in the known world.
It is, however, unknown how Hassan-i-Sabbah was able to get his "Fida'in" to perform with such fervent loyalty. One theory, possibly the best known but also the most criticized, comes from the reports of*Marco Polo*during his travels to the Orient. He recounts a story he heard, of the "Old Man of the Mountain" (Sabbah) who would drug his young followers with*hashish, lead them to a "paradise", and then claim that only he had the means to allow for their return. Perceiving that Sabbah was either a prophet or magician, his disciples, believing that only he could return them to "paradise", were fully committed to his cause and willing to carry out his every request.
*However, this story is disputed[by whom?]*due to the fact that Sabbah died in 1124 and*Sinan, who is frequently known as the "Old Man of the Mountain", died in 1192, whereas Marco Polo was not born until around 1254.
With his new weapons, Sabbah began to order assassinations, ranging from politicians to great generals.
Assassins would rarely attack ordinary citizens though, and tended not to be hostile towards them.Although the "Fida'yin" were the lowest rank in Sabbah's order and were only used as expendable pawns to do the Grandmaster's bidding, much time and many resources were put into training them.
The Assassins were generally young in age, giving them the physical strength and stamina which would be required to carry out these murders. However, physical prowess was not the only trait that was required to be a "Fida'i". To get to their targets, the Assassins had to be patient, cold, and calculating. They were generally intelligent and well-read because they were required to possess not only knowledge about their enemy, but his or her culture and their native language.
They were trained by their masters to disguise themselves and sneak into enemy territory to perform the assassinations, instead of simply attacking their target outright.
The first known usage of the term*hashishi*has been traced back to 1122 when the*Fatimid*caliph*al-Āmir*employed it in derogatory reference to the Syrian Nizaris.[Daftary 2]*Used figuratively, the term*hashishi*connoted meanings such as outcasts or rabble.[Daftary 3]*Without actually accusing the group of using the hashish drug, the*Caliph*used the term in a pejorative manner. This label was quickly adopted by anti-Ismaili historians and applied to the Ismailis of Syria and Persia. The spread of the term was further facilitated through military encounters between the Nizaris and the*Crusaders, whose chroniclers adopted the term and disseminated it across Europe.
According to Lebanese writer*Amin Maalouf:
Their contemporaries in the Muslim world would call them*hash-ishiyun, "hashish-smokers"; some orientalists thought that this was the origin of the word "assassin", which in many European languages was more terrifying yet*... The truth is different. According to texts that have come down to us from Alamut, Hassan-i Sabbah liked to call his disciples Asasiyun, meaning people who are faithful to the*Asās, meaning "foundation" of the faith. This is the word, misunderstood by foreign travellers, that seemed similar to "hashish".
"They call him Shaykh-al-Hashishim. He is their Elder, and upon his command all of the men of the mountain come out or go in*... they are believers of the word of their elder and everyone everywhere fears them, because they even kill kings."
—Benjamin of Tudela
For about two centuries, the hashashin specialized in assassinating their religious and political enemies.[Wasserman 2]*These killings were often conducted in full view of the public and often in broad daylight, so as to instill terror in their foes. Assassinations were primarily carried out with a*dagger, which was sometimes tipped with*poison.
Due to being immensely outnumbered in enemy territory, the hashashin tended to specialize in covert operations.
Hashashin would often assimilate themselves in the towns and regions of their targets and, over time, stealthily insert themselves into strategic positions.
They did not always kill their targets, however, preferring at times to try to threaten an enemy into submission. This could sometimes be accomplished with a dagger and a*threatening note*placed on an enemy's pillow.
The assassin group was indeed feared enough so that these threats were sometimes taken seriously, as in the case when*Saladin, the Muslim Sultan of Egypt and Syria, made an alliance with the rebel sect in order to avoid more attempts on his life. One of these attempts involved the Assassins placing a poisoned cake on Saladin's chest as he slept, with a warning note to desist from his military exploits. In the heat of battle, under no circumstances did Assassins commit*suicide*unless it was absolutely necessary, preferring to be killed by their captors.
Psychological warfare, and attacking the enemy's psyche was another often employed tactic of the hashashin, who would sometimes attempt to draw their opponents into submission rather than risk killing them.
During the Seljuk invasion after the death of*Muhammad Tapar, a new Seljuk sultan emerged with the coronation of Tapar's son*Sanjar.
When Sanjar rebuffed the hashashin ambassadors who were sent by Hassan for peace negotiations, Hassan sent his hashashin to the sultan.
Sanjar woke up one morning with a dagger stuck in the ground beside his bed. Alarmed, he kept the matter a secret.
A messenger from Hassan arrived and stated, "Did I not wish the sultan well that the dagger which was struck in the hard ground would have been planted on your soft breast".
For the next several decades there ensued a ceasefire between the Nizaris and the Seljuk. Sanjar himself pensioned the hashashin on taxes collected from the lands they owned, gave them grants and licenses, and even allowed them to collect tolls from travelers......
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassins
So we find, that a clandestine organized group leaving strong relative fingerprints through history and following an almost identical modus operandi has been popping up before and during major world events existing in the shadows of the followers of every major way of life dating at least to the time of Solomon pbuh.
other articles of interest in relation to the topic:
http://www.freemasonrytoday.com/ugle...ears-freemason
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freemasonry
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skull_and_Bones
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/DeMolay_International
---------- Post Merged at 03:51 AM ----------
takes me back full circle to jfk's speech and my first ever youtube video:
vice is not freedom.
interesting to note that he was killed in a very similar fashion to franz ferdinand, very public.
but were they also doing God's work as in playing the role of prosecutor? Allah knows best since His is the master planning.
.Sicarii
"Sicarius" redirects here. For other meanings of the word, see*Sicarius (disambiguation). For the*Haredi*gang named after the Sicarii, see*Sikrikim.
Sicarii*(Latin*plural form of*Sicarius*"dagger-man"; in*Modern Hebrewrendered*siqariqim*סיקריקים) is a term applied, in the decades immediately preceding the*destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE, to an extremist splinter group[1]*of the*Jewish*Zealots, who attempted to expel the*Romans*and their partisans from the*Roman province*of*Judea.
The Sicarii carried*sicae, or small daggers, concealed in their cloaks, hence their name.
At public gatherings, they pulled out these daggers to attack Romans or Roman sympathizers, blending into the crowd after the deed to escape detection.
They were one of the earliest forms of an organized*assassination*society or*cloak and daggers, predating the Middle Eastern*assassins*and Japanese*ninjas by centuries.
Etymology
The Latin word*sicarii*translates to "dagger-wielders", from the root*secare*Latin for "to slice"; in Roman legal Latin it is the standard plural form of the term for a murderer, or for putting a murderer on trial (see e.g. the*Lex Cornelia de Sicariis et Veneficiis)*during that period of legal Latin.
History
See also:*Siege of Jerusalem (AD 70)*and*Zealot Temple Siege
Victims of the Sicarii included Jonathan the High Priest, although it is possible that his murder was orchestrated by the Roman governor*Antonius Felix.
Some murders were met with severe retaliation by the Romans on the entire Jewish population of the country. On some occasions, the Sicarii could be bribed to spare their intended victims. Once,*Josephus*relates, after kidnapping the secretary of Eleazar, governor of the Temple precincts, they agreed to release him in exchange for the release of ten of their captured*assassins.
At the beginning of the*First Jewish–Roman War, the Sicarii, and (possibly) Zealot helpers (Josephus differentiated between the two but did not explain the main differences in depth), gained access to Jerusalem and committed a series of atrocities in order to force the population to war.
In one account, given in the*Talmud, they destroyed the city's food supply so that the people would be forced to fight against the Roman siege instead of negotiating peace.
Their leaders, including*Menahem ben Yehuda*and*Eleazar ben Ya'ir, were important figures in the war, and the group fought in many battles against the Romans as soldiers. Together with a small group of followers, Menahem made his way to the fortress of*Masada, took over a Roman garrison and slaughtered all 700 soldiers there. He also trained them to conduct various guerrilla operations on Roman convoys and legions stationed around Judea.
Josephus also wrote that the Sicarii raided nearby Jewish villages including*Ein Gedi, where they massacred 700 women and children.
The Zealots, Sicarii and other prominent revolutionaries finally joined forces to attack and successfully liberate Jerusalem in 66 AD, where they took control of the Temple in Jerusalem, executing anyone who tried to usurp their power. The local populace grew tired of their control and launched as*series of sieges and raids*to remove the radical factions. The radicals eventually silenced the uprising and Jerusalem stayed in their hands for the duration of the war.[12]*The Romans finally came to take back the city, and they led counter-attacks and sieges to starve the rebels inside. The rebels held for a considerable amount of time, but the constant bickering and the lack of leadership led the groups to disintegrate.[11]*The war soon ended when the Romans finally took over and destroyed the whole city in 70 AD.Eleazar and his followers returned to Masada and continued their resistance to the Romans until 73 CE. The Romans eventually took the fortress and, according to Josephus, found that most of its defenders had committed suicide rather than surrender.
*In Josephus'*The Jewish War*(vii), after the fall of the Temple in 70 CE, the*sicariibecame the dominant revolutionary Jewish party, scattered abroad. Josephus particularly associates them with the mass suicide at Masada in 73 CE and to the subsequent refusal "to submit to the taxation census when Cyrenius was sent to Judea to make one" (Josephus) as part of their religious and political scheme as resistance fighters.
Judas Iscariot, one of the*Twelve Apostles*of Jesus according to the New Testament, was believed to be a sicarius.*This opinion is objected to by modern historians, mainly because Josephus in*The War of the Jews*(2:254–7) mentions the appearance of the Sicarii as a new phenomenon during the*procuratorships*of Felix (52–60 CE), having no apparent relation with the group called Sicarii by Romans at times of Quirinius.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicarii
it's also possible that there were genuine revolutionary groups and also shadow subversive groups following the method described by frank kitsen in low intensity operations.
ultimately Allah knows best.
Bookmarks