Editing Eighth Crusade (section)

===The annihilation of the Assassins in Persia===
[[File:Khulug Khan's sige of Alamut.jpg|thumb|[[Hulagu|Hulagu's]] siege of [[Alamut]].]]
In 1257, the Mongol army was in Persia, and Hulagu moved against the murderous [[Nizari Isma'ili|Isma'ili]] sect known as the [[Order of Assassins|Assassins]]. Their ruler [[Rukn al-Din Khurshah|Rukn ad-Din Khurshah]] tried to avert disaster through diplomatic maneuvers. Hulagu moved deliberately through [[Damavand, Iran|Damavand]] and [[Abbas Abad (Tehran)|Abbass Abad]], into the Assassins' valleys. When the Mongol army approached [[Alamut Castle]], Rukn ad-Din surrendered. The governor of the castle refused the surrender order and it was taken by force within several days. Rukn ad-Din was sent to [[Karakorum]] to meet with Möngke, who refused to see him. The two Assassin fortresses that still remained unconquered were [[Gerdkuh]] and [[Lambsar Castle]] and Rukn ad-Din was directed to arrange for their surrender. En route, he was put to death and Hulagu was ordered to exterminated the entire sect. By the end of 1257, only a few of the storied Assassins were left in the Persian mountains.{{sfn|Runciman|1954|pp=300–302|loc=Annihilalation of the Assassins in Persia, 1257}}