and India, and God protected the believers from their evil. Unfortunately, their teachings were secret, and all their traces were destroyed, leaving us nothing from which to deduce their true teachings. However, in any case, they believe in the Mahdi and Shi'ism, organize themselves in a Shi'a manner, and draw from the source of Fatimid teachings. The Franks gave the name "Assassins" to these assassins, taking it from the name of this group. This was not the extent of the matter, for these revolts, which we have mentioned, and others like them, revealed the weakness of the Muslims to the Christians, encouraging the Crusades. Similarly, the Egyptian campaign against the Ottomans and their defeat revealed the weakness of the Ottomans, making Europeans covetous of them. Indeed, historians attributed the Crusades to a number of reasons, including the persecution of Christian pilgrims to Jerusalem and their mistreatment. But I do not deny that among the most important reasons for the Crusades were the secret reports written by educated priests disguised as pilgrims, which revealed the weakness of the Muslims and encouraged the Crusaders to seize opportunities and attack the Muslims, and to take their lands. Had God not provided Islam with Mahmud Zengi, Saladin, and Baybars, and others like them, it would have been lost.