AlamutFortress of the Nizari Ismailis in northern Iran, which fell to the Mongols in 654 AH/1256 CE.:聽Name of a mountain fortress in northern Iran. Situated about forty-five kilometres northeast of the city of Qazwin,聽Alamut聽was built on the summit of an inaccessible rock in the central Alborz mountains. According to legend, an eagle indicated the site to a Daylami ruler, which its name in the Daylami dialect, derived from聽aloh聽(eagle) and聽补尘耻办丑迟听(taught). The fortress was constructed by a聽Justanid聽ruler of聽Daylam聽in 860. Subsequently the area came under the influence of Zaydi Alid rulers. The Ismaili leader聽Hasan-i Sabbah聽seized the fortress in 1090 and made it the headquarters of his聽Nizari聽Ismaili state.
The fortress became the focal point of Sabbah’s challenge to聽Seljuk聽authority in Iran. It became famous for its assassins. The Mongols took聽Alamut聽in 1256 and partially demolished it, also burning its famous library. It was restored under the聽SafavidsA major Shi’i dynasty which ruled Persia (1501-1732 CE), and was succeeded by the Afsharids. (See also Qizilbash, Safawiyya.), who used it as a prison until the seventeenth century. After that,聽Alamut聽was abandoned, and it was gradually destroyed by the elements and local inhabitants searching for treasures.
This article by was originally published in The Oxford Dictionary of Islam, 2004.
Author
Dr Farhad Daftary
Co-Director and Head of the Department of Academic Research and Publications
An authority in Shi’i studies, with special reference to its Ismaili tradition, Dr. Daftary has published and lectured widely in these fields of Islamic studies. In 2011 a Festschrift entitled聽Fortresses of the Intellect聽was produced to honour Dr. Daftary by a number of his colleagues and peers.
