This history of the AlamutFortress of the Nizari Ismailis in northern Iran, which fell to the Mongols in 654 AH/1256 CE. era of the Nizari Ismaili community concentrates on the local politics of the remote mountainous Caspian region of northern Iran. This is where the prominent religious and military leader Hasan-i Sabbah (1050s鈥1124) famously founded the medieval Nizari Ismaili state in 1090, before it ultimately collapsed at the hands of the Mongols in 1256.
Mikl贸s S谩rk枚zy presents here a fresh investigation of this turbulent period through a detailed examination of the contemporary regional Caspian histories. His analysis provides an important contribution to our understanding of the development of the early Nizari IsmailisAdherents of a branch of Shi’i Islam that considers Ismail, the eldest son of the Shi’i Imam Ja士far al-峁⒛乨iq (d. 765), as his successor. and their Imams in Iran. The book considers the effects of neighbouring regional powers on the formation and adaptions of the Nizari state whilst it was continuously subjected to the assaults of the SaljuqMajor Muslim dynasty of Turkish origin in Persia and Iraq (1040鈥1194) and Syria (1078鈥1178). Turks. The result is a new perspective on how the Nizari Ismailis were able to survive and flourish through difficult times and to establish themselves as a significant polity of the Muslim world.
The Nizaris鈥攁lso known pejoratively as 鈥渢he Assassins鈥 in western literature鈥攈ave attracted considerable interest among both scholars and the general public. This book is a much-needed analysis of a neglected area of their vital history.
Preface and Acknowledgements
List of Abbreviations
Chapter 1: Introduction: Sources and Studies
Chapter 2: The Political Relations of the Niz膩r墨 Ismaili State in the Caspian Provinces under 岣san-i 峁bb膩岣
Chapter 3: The Development of Local Powers in the Caspian Region during Salj奴q Decline
Chapter 4: Niz膩r墨 B膩wandid Competition for Hegemony, 534鈥565/1140鈥1170
Chapter 5: Niz膩r墨 B膩wandid Confrontation in the Late 6th/12th Century
Chapter 6: The Last Decades of the Niz膩r墨 Ismaili State
Chapter 7: 士Al膩示 al-D墨n Mu岣mmad III and the End of the Niz膩r墨 Ismaili State in the Caspian Provinces
Chapter 8: The Economy and Social Structure of the Niz膩r墨 Ismaili State
Conclusion
Appendix I Maps of the Caspian Provinces
Appendix II The D墨w膩n-i Q膩示imiyyat, Extracts in Translation
Appendix III Dynastic Tables
Notes
Select Bibliography
Index
Mikl贸s S谩rk枚zy is Assistant Professor in the Institute of History, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at K谩roli G谩sp谩r University of the Hungarian Reformed Church, Hungary. He is the author of many journal articles and chapters, most recently contributing to Texts, Scribes and Transmission: Manuscript Cultures of the Ismaili Communities and Beyond (2022) and the Catalogue of the Persian Manuscripts in the Library of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (2018). His research interests include Ismaili studies, early Islamic and medieval Iran and Central Asia.