**The Hashishiyyin** Among these sects founded on Shi'ism and belief in the Mahdi was the sect of the Hashishiyyin, sometimes referred to as the Ismailis, and sometimes as the Batinis. They are attributed to the famous Hasan ibn al-Sabbah. They were named Hashishiyyin because they used to consume hashish. The use of intoxicants was widespread among them and among the Sufis, just as they used coffee to stay alert for worship, as they claim. Hashish served the purposes of these Ismailis because it numbed their nerves and increased their pleasant dreams, making them more obedient in carrying out the orders issued to them. The traveler Marco Polo, who traveled to their lands approximately two hundred years later, recounted that they used hashish in the fortress. When they were intoxicated, they would be taken to a spot in the castle courtyard filled with beautiful maidens, so they could imagine pleasures there until they envisioned paradise and its bliss. When an order was given, they would carry it out. If they were able to fight, they would; otherwise, the fortress was their refuge.