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THE NETWORK OF ISMAʿILI CASTLES IN THE ALAMUT REGION: POWER AND GOVERNANCE

Publication Type  Article
Year of Publication  2017
Date Published  2017
Authors  Yeganehfarzand, Seyedhamed
Original Publication  ARTiculate Vol.2, Spring 2017, University of Victoria
Key Words  Alamut Castles; Hasan-i Sabbah; Nizari Ismaʿilis;
Full Text  

In 1090, Hasan-i Sabbah (1050s –1124), the mysterious leader of the Nizari Ismaʿilis in Persia, obtained control of Alamut Castle, one of the major existing castles in the northern part of Iran, and reinforced it as the headquarters of his activities against the Seljuq government. The Nizari Ismaʿilis gradually became a very influential community within the political and intellectual history of the Islamic world until the fall of Alamut in 1256. The principal strategy that helped them to resist their enemies and to survive in a hostile milieu was the establishment of networks of castles within inaccessible regions.


THE NETWORK OF ISMAʿILI CASTLES IN THE ALAMUT REGION: POWER AND GOVERNANCE

In 1090, Hasan-i Sabbah (1050s –1124), the mysterious leader of the Nizari Ismaʿilis in Persia, obtained control of Alamut Castle, one of the major existing castles in the northern part of Iran, and reinforced it as the headquarters of his activities against the Seljuq government. The Nizari Ismaʿilis gradually became a very influential community within the political and intellectual history of the Islamic world until the fall of Alamut in 1256. The principal strategy that helped them to resist their enemies and to survive in a hostile milieu was the establishment of networks of castles within inaccessible regions.

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