Alamut Castle

Alamut (, meaning "eagle's nest") is a ruined mountain fortress located in the Alamut region in the South Caspian, near the village of Gazor Khan in Qazvin Province in Iran, approximately 200 km (130 mi) from present-day Tehran.

In 1090 AD, the Alamut Castle, a mountain fortress in present-day Iran, came into the possession of Hassan-i Sabbah, a champion of the Nizari Ismaili cause. Until 1256, Alamut functioned as the headquarters of the Nizari Ismaili state, which included a series of strategic strongholds scattered throughout Persia and Syria, with each stronghold being surrounded by swathes of hostile territory.

Alamut, which is the most famous of these strongholds, was thought impregnable to any military attack and was fabled for its heavenly gardens, library, and laboratories where philosophers, scientists, and theologians could debate in intellectual freedom.

The stronghold survived adversaries including the Seljuq and Khwarezmian empires. In 1256, Rukn al-Din Khurshah surrendered the fortress to the invading Mongols, who dismantled it and destroyed its famous library holdings. Though commonly assumed that the Mongol conquest obliterated the Nizari Ismailis presence at Alamut, the fortress was recaptured in 1275 by Nizari forces, demonstrating that while the destruction and damage to the Ismailis in that region was extensive, it was not the complete annihilation attempted by the Mongols. However, the castle was seized once again and fell under the rule of Hulagu Khan’s eldest son in 1282. Afterward, the castle was of only regional significance, passing through the hands of various local powers.

Today, it lies in ruins.

Origins and name

The Alamut castle was built by the Justanid ruler of Daylam, Wahsūdān ibn Marzubān, a follower of Zaydi Shi'ism, around 840 AD. During a hunting trip, he witnessed a soaring eagle perch down high on a rock. Realizing the tactical advantage of this location, he chose the site for the construction of a fortress, which was called ''Aluh āmū h'' () by the natives, likely meaning "Eagle's Teaching" or "Nest of Punishment". The ''abjad'' numerical value of this word is 483, which is the date of the castle's capture by Hassan-i Sabbah (483 AH = 1090/91 AD). Alamut remained under Justanid control until the arrival of the Isma'ili chief '' da’i'' (missionary) Hassan-i Sabbah to the castle in 1090 AD, marking the start of the Alamut period in Nizari Isma'ili history.

List of Nizari Isma'ili rulers at Alamut (1090–1256)

;Nizari ''da'i''s who ruled at Alamut
# Hassan-i Sabbah () (1050–1124)
# Kiya Buzurg-Ummid () (1124–1138)
# Muhammad ibn Kiya Buzurg-Ummid () (1138–1162)

;Imams in occultation at Alamut
#Ali al-Hadi ibn Nizar ibn al-Mustansir
# Muhammad (I) al-Muhtadi
# Hasan (I) al-Qahir

;Imams who ruled at Alamut
# Hasan (II) Ala Dhikrihi al-Salam () (1162–1166)
# Nur al-Din Muhammad (II) () (1166–1210)
# Jalal al-Din Hasan (III) () (1210–1221)
# Al al-Din Muhammad (III) () (1221–1255)
# Rukn al-Din Khurshah () (1255–1256)

History

Following his expulsion from Egypt over his support for Nizar ibn al-Mustansir, Hassan-i Sabbah found that his co-religionists, the Isma'ilis, were scattered throughout Persia, with a strong presence in the northern and eastern regions, particularly in Daylaman, Khorasan and Quhistan. The Ismailis and other occupied peoples of Iran held shared resentment for the ruling Seljuqs, who had divided the country's farmland into '' iqtā’'' (fiefs) and levied heavy taxes upon the citizens living therein. The Seljuq '' amirs'' (independent rulers) usually held full jurisdiction and control over the districts they administered. Meanwhile, Persian artisans, craftsmen and lower classes grew increasingly dissatisfied with the Seljuq policies and heavy taxes. Hassan too, was appalled by the political and economic oppression imposed by the Sunni Seljuq ruling class on Shi'i Muslims living across Iran.

Capture of Alamut

By 1090 AD, the Seljuq vizier Nizam al-Mulk had already given orders for Hassan's arrest and therefore Hassan was living in hiding in the northern town of Qazvin, approximately 60 km from the Alamut castle. There, he made plans for the capture of the fortress, which was surrounded by a fertile valley whose inhabitants were mainly fellow Shi’i Muslims, the support of whom Hassan could easily gather for the revolt against the Seljuqs. The castle had never before been captured by military means and thus Hassan planned meticulously.

In the summer of 1090 AD, Hassan set out from Qazvin towards Alamut on a mountainous route through Andej. He remained at Andej disguised as a schoolteacher named Dehkhoda until he was certain that a number of his supporters had settled directly below the castle in the village of Gazorkhan or had gained employment at the fortress itself. Still in disguise, Hassan made his way into the fortress, earning the trust and friendship of many of its soldiers. Careful not to attract the attention of the castle's Zaydi ‘Alid lord, Mahdi, Hassan began to attract prominent figures at Alamut to his mission. It has even been suggested that Mahdi's own deputy was a secret supporter of Hassan, waiting to demonstrate his loyalty on the day that Hassan would ultimately take the castle.

Earlier in the summer, Mahdi visited Qazvin, where he received strict orders from Nizam al-Mulk to find and arrest Hassan who was said to be hiding in the province of Daylaman. Upon his return to the Alamut fortress, Mahdi noticed several new servants and guards employed there. His deputy explained that illness had taken many of the castle's workers and it was fortunate that other labourers were found from the neighbouring villages. Worried about the associations of these workers, Mahdi ordered his deputy to arrest anyone with connections to the Ismailis.

Mahdi's suspicions were confirmed when Hassan finally approached the lord of the fortress, revealing his true identity and declared that the castle now belonged to him. Immediately, Mahdi called upon the guards to arrest and remove Hassan from the castle, only to find them prepared to follow Hassan's every command. Astounded, he realized he had been tricked and was allowed to exit the castle freely. Before leaving however, Mahdi was given a draft of 3000 gold dinars as payment for the fortress, payable by a Seljuq officer in service to the Isma'ili cause named Ra’is Muzaffar who honoured the payment in full. The Alamut fortress was captured from Mahdi and therefore from Seljuq control by Hassan and his supporters without resorting to any violence.

Construction and intellectual development

With Alamut now in his possession, Hassan swiftly embarked on a complete re-fortification of the complex. By enhancing the walls and structure of a series of storage facilities, the fortress was to act as a self-sustaining stronghold during major confrontations. The perimeters of the rooms were lined with limestone, so as to preserve provisions to be used in times of crisis. Indeed, when the Mongols invaded the fortress, Juvayni was astonished to see stored countless supplies in perfect condition to withstand a possible siege.

Next, Hassan took on the task of irrigating the surrounding villages of the Alamut valley. The land at valley's floor was arable land, allowing for the cultivation of dry crops including barley, wheat and rice. In order to make available the maximum amount of cultivable land, the ground was terraced under Hassan's direction.

The construction of Alamut's famous library likely occurred after Hassan's fortification of the castle and its surrounding valley. With its astronomical instruments and rare collection of works, the library attracted scholars and scientists of a variety of religious persuasions from around the world who visited it for many months at a time, hosted by the Isma'ilis. By and large the writings of the Persian Ismailis, both scientific and doctrinal, did not survive beyond the Alamut period. In addition to the rich literature they had already produced in Arabic, the relocation of the Ismaili center to Iran now prompted a surge in Persian Ismaili literature.

One of the earliest losses of the library came during the early years of the Imam Jalal al-Din Hasan’s leadership at Alamut. In keeping with his principles of bridging the gaping relations between the Persian Ismailis and the broader Sunni world, Imam Jalal al-Din Hasan invited a number of religious scholars from the town of Qazvin to visit the castle's library and burn any books they deemed heretical. However, it was not until under the direction of the Mongol ruler, Hulegu Khan, when the Mongols ascended to the fortress in December 1256 AD, that the Alamut library was lost. With the permission of Hulegu, Juvayni explored the library and selected a few works he deemed worthy of salvaging, before the remainder was set aflame. His choice items included copies of the Qur'an, a number of astronomical instruments and treatises, and a number of Ismaili works. An anti-Ismaili, Ata-Malik Juvayni's personal leanings were the sole measure of heretical content of the library's doctrinal works. Thus, some of the richest treatises regarding the tenets of Ismaili faith were lost with his destruction of the library. From his tour and survey of the castle, Juvayni compiled a description of Alamut that he incorporated into his chronicle of the Mongol invasions, entitled ''Tarikh-i Jahangushay-i Juvaini'' ("The History of the World Conqueror").

Concealment and emergence: Imamat at Alamut

With the death of Hassan-i Sabbah in 1124 AD, the Alamut fortress was now in the command of the ''da’i'' Kiya Buzurg Ummid, under whose direction Ismaili-Seljuq relations improved. However, this was not without a test of the strength of Buzurg Ummid's command, and consequently the Seljuks began an offensive in 1126 AD on the Isma'ili strongholds of Rudbar and Quhistan. Only after these assaults failed did the Seljuq sultan Ahmad Sanjar

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