Clan Banu Haqim (Bah-new Ha-keem)

"If you meet one of those stuffy Assamites, do your best to stay on their good side. No callous feeding, no cocky claims of superiority, not even slight mentions of our darker dealings, oh and don't bleed in front of them unless you're looking to be the next meal."

--A certain Prince's lesson to her childe

Clan Banu Haqim, derogatorily called The Assamites for a long-lasting misinterpretation, are a clan of proud and honorable warriors, sorcerers, and sages who also act as divinely ordained judges of the more debaucherous Kindred and their murderous ways, often turning to frenzied executions in the process due to the influences of their blood.
To aid in their holy mission to judge and punish the morally bankrupt of their kind, the Banu Haqim have innate access to the following abilities:

• Blood Sorcery - While Sorcerers used to be able to wield Dur-An-Ki, their clan's particular brand of Sorcerery, and all could use the Blood-targeting art of Quietus, in the modern nights any new Banu Haqim are only able to grasp the basic secrets of the blood, and all disciplines outside of Rituals seem to be fading from the minds of those who used to wield them easily. But despite this seeming handicapping, they are still masters and deadly practitioners of the craft.
• Celerity - A staple of the Warrior caste, and now a base power for all new Banu Haqim, the blurring speed given to physical movements and reaction time help the Judges close in on their prey and seal the deal before they knew what truly hit them.
• Obfuscate - Originally a power only the Warrior caste utilized, all new Banu Haqim are more innately able to grasp it, and those who upkeep the Warrior mentality use it to hide their movements in the night, aided by their Celerity, to keep their holy work quieter than a whisper.

Non-canon Metaplot Justification

In the past of the Clan, each of the Castes had a different set of disciplines. Warriors had Celerity, Obfuscate, and Quietus, Sorcerers had Dur-An-Ki, Auspex, and Celerity, while Viziers had Auspex, Presence, and a specific path of Quietus. However, since the time of the Beckoning, any new Banu Haqim only has the one skill set mentioned above.
Older members of the clan still have their abilities, but those who used the clan-specific arts of Dur-An-Ki and Quietus have found themselves forgetting the methodology of the arts, and even if they keep the memory it's harder and harder to actually make them succeed. The one exception are any Rituals, but even those are likely to fail unless under ideal circumstances.
No one knows exactly why this is happening, as it's affected more than just this one clan, but those wise few in the clans theorize it has something to do with the Beckoning and the mysterious conflicts in the Middle East.

Structure

Common Structure

Traditionally, The Eldest among the Banu Haqim, also known as The Old Man of the Mountain or The Master, was the de facto head of Clan Banu Haqim in the absence of their Antediluvian. A title that existed since the clan's origin in The Second City, they rule the operations of the clan from Alamut, their hidden fortress, and receive counsel from a chosen member from each of the three Castes among their clan. Caliphs from the Warriors, Amr from the Sorcerers, and Viziers from the Viziers making up The Council of Du'at. In turn, the Council and The Eldest are served and protected by the Silsila, a group of elites who you can see as jacks-of-all-trades among the Castes, working as protective warriors, scholarly archivists, and tactical manipulators should the moment call for it.

Specific Ranks

The three Castes have also created organizational structures for themselves.
The Warriors rank themselves by:

• Fida'i - Neonates still in their training phases
• Rafiq - Standard warriors who have proved their training complete, also the general term for any Warrior Banu Haqim
• Da'i - Specific warriors who either take on the role of priest-warriors (mostly Islam but any religion is allowed) or have excelled to the point where they are trusted to train others in the specific paths of honor and morality.
• Ace - Accomplished warriors. The minimum requirement is having faced down at least five non-Banu Haqim Kindred equal or greater to you in strength. While it's mostly a western world term, it has caught on within the clan, and so has the trend of keeping a signifier of an Ace's kill count to display.

The Sorcerers of Viziers rank themselves by:

• Aspirant - Fledging students who have not performed any notable feats
• Associates - One who has achieved an advanced level of mastery of their magical or academic focus of study.
• Masters - One who has not just learned, but refined their talents to a high degree to create something new, such as a brand new ritual or published book of science
• Distinguished Masters - Masters who have trained in multiple magical paths or academic fields of study to the degree of Master. Doesn't require new creations for each one.
• Full Masters - Those who have reached the pinnacle of their magical/academic studies in at least three fields, with extensive knowledge of underlying systems. Second only to the venerated Elders of Kindred society.
• Emeritus - Sorcerers and Viziers who are not active in Banu Haqim society, but are still Masters who can be sought out for knowledge in their areas. Has also been used to refer to elders in Torpor or Sorcerers/Viziers who haven't chosen a side in the Schism.

Speaking of the Schism-

Modern Nights

At the turn of the millennia, one of Haqim's first Childer, Ur-Shulgi, awoke and found the current state of the clan utterly disgusting. Slaying the former Elder for not denouncing his Islamic faith in favor of sole devotion to Haqim and his principles, his purging of the Clan has resulted in a mass schism of ideals, splitting into two main parties. Those who remained loyal to Ur-Shulgi and Haqim and take on a much more zealous and bloody interpretation of their clan ideals, and the Preservationists, who split from the Clan and mostly joined with the Camarilla.
A majority of Sorcerer and Vizier caste members were the ones who joined the Camarilla, leading it to become one of the official clans of the sect, with their Warrior cousins accepted, but looked on with suspicion for their varying levels of zeal and devotion to their particular brand of justice. Most loyalists, on the other hand, are Warriors and Sorcerers, especially those that follow the philosophies of The Path of Blood.
The loyalist's bloody zeal, as well as the increased presence and activity of the Sabbat in the middle east, has caused the Camarilla to make an official allegiance with the Ashirra, a specifically Muslim sect of Kindred that holds power over North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. This too has increased favor between the Banu Haqim and the Camarilla and was in part what made it possible to integrate the clans, as the Loyalist groups continue to increase in fervor.
As for the Council of Du'at in the final nights, the Vizier and Amr have fled, leading the Preservationists to the Camarilla, and the Caliph and Elder were slain by Ur-Shulgi, leaving the council dry and empty.
Spoilers/Meta-plot deviation

However, unbeknownst to many outside of Alamut, Ur-Shulgi himself has fallen victim to the widespread phenomenon known as The Beckoning, and many of the loyalists have found themselves slain, sacrificed, or dragged to their doom as they followed him to a battlefield unknown. In their place, a quiet council has begun to form in Alamut, with a strange yet rational and wise Vizier at the head. One by the name of Salah ad-Din Qadir.

Culture

Clan Relations

The Banu Haqim have often separated themselves from the rest of Kindred society. Part of this is due to the physical geographical difference between other concentrations of Kindred society, but also because they believe in a charge of justice and observance of their fellow Kindred, one that gives them a bit of a superiority complex in the face of the others. This was only heightened with the formation of the Camarilla, which also put the Banu Haqim at a disadvantage, as their isolation and superiority left them with few enemies or allies, as well as less experience or preparations for the full force of political and social machinations the Camarilla would have at their disposal.
Within the clan, along the three separations of the Caste system, there is a bit of an antagonistic relationship, but this is more like a sibling rivalry than anything else, as they all agree and recognize each other as Banu Haqim. Each of them also follows similar ideals and practices, such as borrowing the Kurdish concept of the Diwan'khane, the use of a particular room in the house to relax and exchange news and other conversation in the time before sunrise, and their adherence to The Laws of Haqim (see Laws).

Culture of their Blood

Banu Haqim culture also is very particular about the method of the Embrace. Like many other clans, they eye those who they feel will make worthy additions to the clan, and further their goals as well as be of use to the Sire. Warriors will look for the strong and devoted, Sorcerers will look for the enlightened and curious, and Viziers will look for the intelligent and practical. All Castes tend to choose people who are obsessive in one way or another, and therefore will throw themselves into their roles with great fervor and energy.
What's also consistent across all castes within the Clan is the concept of Judgement. Being one of the core rules in the Laws of Haqim, the Banu Haqim are always on a mission to judge the Kindred outside of their clan and to punish them for their transgressions. While the exact lines and history of that trait among them have shifted in the Clan's time, in the modern nights it is an intense Compulsion, one that derives from the very beast found within all Kindred, and in moments of frenzy or similar states of mindless abandon, locks any other option out of the mind of the Kindred, allowing them only to pursue bloody, violent Justice.
A notable departure from standard Camarilla culture, and one that painted the Banu Haqim in a harsher light for centuries, is the concept of Diablerie: the art of drinking another Kindreds blood until death, and absorbing their very soul along with it. In the Camarilla, it is a crime unless specifically allowed under a Blood Hunt, while in the Banu Haqim, it's a standard, if not extreme form of punishment, and the effect it has on increasing Blood Potency and reducing a Kindreds Gernation is seen as a holy act, getting the Kindred closer to their roots and, in theory, the state of Golconda. However, a curse laid on the Clan long ago forms the primary Bane of the clan, an addiction to Kindred vitae, making it difficult for a Banu Haqim to pull themselves away from a target even if Diablerie isn't their goal.
Due to their primary regions of power, most Banu Haqim will be from the SWANA (South-West Asian and North African) region, but they often find potential Childer from all regions, although European, American, and Far Eastern members of the clan are more uncommon. This area of selection also makes many members of the clan a part of the Islamic faith, especially since the existence of the Ashirra allows many Kindred to still practice Islam in unlife, but again it is not a strict rule of the clan.

Banu Haqim in Tacoma

Clan Banu Haqim has not had a major presence in the United States until very recently, and Tacoma is no different. Even Seattle, which is a multicultural landscape, is not as much of a melting pot of cultures and histories as the Bay Area or New York, leaving it with very few of the less common Kindred Clans as well.
That being said, it's not like there aren't any of the clan within the city, with Baron Gervais Wen of University Place being one such member, but there isn't enough for there to be a major impact or cultural presence within the city. But, that could change with the times, especially if the united South Sound Barons achieve their goal of turning the area into more of a safe haven for Anarch Kindred overall.

Public Agenda

The Banu Haqim exist to judge and punish the Kindred to ensure they do not go too far in their actions against the Kine and to reach a state of power and enlightenment themselves.

Assets

Due to having little competition, the Banu Haqim are the primary Kindred of power in the SWANA region, giving those inundated in the clan access to plenty of resources, if they are able/allowed to grasp it.
Outside of their region, however, it really depends on who you know. After their official acceptance into the Camarilla, many Banu Haqim have been able to enjoy the prestige and opportunities Camarilla life gives them, but with just as many conditions and potentials for failure.

History

Early Eras

The origins of Kindred are a messy and unknown tale lost to ages, with few concrete sources remaining. The most collected tales from the Book of Nod speak of the children of Cain, and the city of Enoch.
After the failures of Enoch and the Second City, the Antediluvian Haqim took his bloodline and left, centering his clan in Alamut in a secret middle eastern location. In the beginning, the clan thrived on its own, as the presence of their Antediluvian and his more inward-focused mentality stopped them from stretching too far beyond their means. The existence of the three Castes also aided the burgeoning clan in their rise to power, as they could delineate multiple lines of work within one clan, rather than have to ally with others due to overspecialization, which with Kindred would invariably lead to betrayal.
While the clan rarely interacted with other Kindred, they did lend assistance to Clan Salubri during their conflicts with the Baali and openly paid respect to the Brujah city of Carthage. But, as his childer grew into cabals that, despite everything, entangled themselves with messy, pointless, irrelevant political struggles with the vampiric Jyhad, Haqim left the mountain fortress, only returning occasionally before he disappeared for good.
As the widespread Roman Empire butted up against the land of the Banu Haqim, they grew more interested in the city, and couldn't separate from Kindred society nearly as much. Members of all three castes found enjoyment in the wealth of the empire, especially as Warriors took on deeds as mercenaries and bodyguards for wealthy members of the High Clans. But, as the empire grew past its means and started to actually pose a threat, especially after the destruction of Carthage, the Banu Haqim ran from the empire back to the Middle East.
Instead, the rising Parthian Empire had some assistance from the Banu Haqim, and as the Roman Empire and their Kindred grew ever hungrier, they saw it as their one hope for true defense against them.

Middle Ages

While the interim between the Parthian Empire and the Middle Ages held a schism for the Clan, dividing those who wished to practice Islam and those who didn't, the Middle Ages begin with the Clan being more unified once more after striking back against the Baali, although the entire Clan got cursed with an insatiable thirst for not blood, but specifically Kindred vitae, an obsession that persists to this day.
During the official middle ages, the Banu Haqim had to deal with western Kindred and their clans encroaching more and more on the Middle East, especially through The Crusades, which greatly affected their territories, settlements, and mortal herds. This leads to the long-waged War of Princes and also marked when the clan was less selective in regards to embracing women. These conflicts also marked the Banu Haqim (under the incorrect name of Assamites) as a Low Clan, as the Europeans marked them as diablerie-obsessed assassins and nothing more.
During these conflicts, the clan saw greater unity with the Ashirra, the sect of Islamic Kindred, due to the faith having a large demographic in the clan, and the two of them kept the European Kindred at bay.
While The Inquisition did not touch the Banu Haqim or the Holy Land in general, many of the childer that the European elders threw at them sure did, as they tried their chances under the Banu Haqim than dying at the Inquisition's blades. When the sentiments of The Anarch Movement began to burn, the Banu Haqim burned with them, acting as the Judges and Warriors they were meant to be. Unfortunately, their difference in values with the western Kindred wouldn't help the whole 'diablerie-obsessed assassins' line, but fortunately, the Warriors used the fear and panic of their clan to their advantage in the fights to come!
But when the First Anarch Revolt was reaching its end, the Banu Haqim were furious at the Anarchs who chose to become a part of the newly formed Camarilla, believing that they would've won the fight if they hadn't surrendered. They turned their sights onto the unified grasp of the Camarilla and continued to fight against them where others had stopped, but when the secret location of Alamut was discovered, exposing their home to danger, they realized they had to back down and agree to the demands of the new sect.
First, they were forbidden to commit Diablerie against a member of the Camarilla, enforced by a curse enacted by the Tremere that made vitae nigh-poisonous to the entire clan, forbidden from working as assassins, and forced to dismantle the defenses of Alamut. In return, all hostilities against the Banu Haqim were to be called off, and they would not try to hire the Banu Haqim as assassins as well.
This would shape the clan for many years to come, as the Sorcerers and Viziers attempted to find a solution or loophole for the curse, with the Warriors needing to work as mercenaries and (wherever outside the Camarilla's watch) assassination jobs to get the required materials, which sealed the negative image of the clan even further.

Victorian Era to Modern Nights

Clan Banu Haqim did not have much movement during the Victorian Age, as they mainly kept to their guaranteed holdings, especially Alamut, and tried to gather their strength and solve the problem of their curse while the western world marched on. While the clan itself wasn't affected by colonialism, the humans they fed from absolutely were, especially when the British took control of Egypt.
However, that at least allowed for a greater selection of vengeful and zealous Kine to potentially Embrace. It also didn't hurt that Prince Mukktar Bey of Cairo maintained the Khitta's of the city, including Banu Yashkur, the khitta of the Banu Haqim. But, all in all, this stretch of time was not kind to the Banu Haqim, and throughout the decades, it never got that much better.
However, it got simultaneously much better and oh so much worse in the late 1990s!
One of the first Sorcerers of the clan, childe of Haqim himself, Ur-Shulgi awoke at the turn of the millennia. Outraged at the state of his clan, he used his tremendous power, fitting of a Methuselah, and broke the arcane blood curse, succeeding where hundreds of years did not. However, he was also outraged at how far the Clan let the world develop, and the vices they themselves indulged in, and began to test the members of the clan, slaying them remorselessly if they didn't have pure faith in Haqim and his teachings.
A schism rocked the Banu Haqim between the Loyalists, those that remained faithful to Haqim and the bloody intent of Ur-Shulgi, and the Preservationists, who wanted to be a bit more reasonable and copacetic with the rest of the Kindred world, while still enacting justice on those who went too far.
This schism, along with the increasing tensions in the Middle East that were very present and visible at the start of the 2000s, not to mention the Sabbat's increased presence, led to the Camarilla making allegiance with not only clan Banu Haqim but the Ashirra overall, with the Banu Haqim listed as an official member of the Camarilla, who takes in all the Preservationists that can make it to them.
Non-canon Metaplot junk

But the schism is all but dead in the water now, as the elder Kindred, including Ur-Shulgi, have been called by the Beckoning to the mysterious conflict in the deserts, one that no one has ever returned from yet. Alamut sits mostly in silence, as many of the Loyalists that remained were forced to charge with their elders. But, that has made it possible for new minds to step into the shadowed halls of the mountain, and begin to shift and formulate the future for the Banu Haqim who didn't cut and run. Only time will tell what their machinations truly hold.

Territories

The Banu Haqim are immensely prevalent in the SWANA (South West Asian and North African) region and amongst the ranks of the Ashirra. However outside of the region, and their khitta in Cairo, Banu Yashkur, they haven't held much concrete power since the time of the Crusades, especially with the growing prevalence of the Camarilla. But they still defend and bolster the areas they do have influence over, and their increased presence in Camarilla and Anarch areas alike increases their chances, especially if they truly wish to act out their ideals of justice on a larger scale.

Laws

The Banu Haqim traditionally follow the Laws of Haqim, their substitute for the Camarilla's traditions.

1. The Law of Leadership - The Eldest is the one who rules the house in the absence of Haqim.
2. The Law of Protection - Kine are to be defended from Cainites, and to be treated with nothing but honor.
3. The Law of Destruction - Do not kill a fellow Banu Haqim, for that is The Eldest's judgment alone.
4. The Law of the Word - Do not lie to a fellow Banu Haqim, for the clan is founded on Truth.
5. The Law of Judgement - Judge the Cainites and punish them if they are found guilty.

Founding Date

~5000 BCE

Type

Geopolitical, Clan

Alternative Names

Assassins, Mediators, Lawmen, Judges

Demonym

Banu Haqim

Ruling Organization

The Camarilla

Leader Title

The Eldest {Banu Haqim}

Government System

Meritocracy

Related Ranks & Titles

• The Eldest {Banu Haqim}

Related Species

• Kindred Vampire