Draft:Hassan Sabbah
Template:جعبه اطلاعات شخصیت Hassan Sabbah was the founder of the Alamut Ismaili sect or the Lords of Alamut in Iran. Some have considered his origin to be from Qom, some from Ray, some from Khorasan, and some have traced his lineage to the Himyarite sultans. Around 464 AH, by the order of Ibn Attash, the great Ismaili Dai, he went to the court of Mustansir, the Fatimid Caliph of Egypt, and was honored and encouraged by him. After the split of the Ismailis into Nizaris and Mustalis, Hassan supported the Imamate of Nizar, who according to the explicit text (nass) should have been the successor of his father (al-Mustansir).
Hassan Sabbah is the founder of the Ismaili state in Iran and also the initiator of the independent Nizari Ismaili mission.
Hassan Sabbah was knowledgeable in various sciences including philosophy, geometry, astronomy, and politics. He was constantly engaged in writing the Ismaili doctrine, and Kitab Fusul al-Arba'ah as well as the introduction to Kitab Sayyidna are among Sabbah's writings. He established the new Ismaili mission against the Fatimids mission, known as the old mission. He passed away on 26 Rabi' al-Thani, 518 AH, while serving as a charismatic leader and role model for other Nizaris.
Childhood and Adolescence of Hassan Sabbah
There is little information about the beginning of his life and his youth. The story that Hassan Sabbah and Khwaja Nizam al-Mulk and Omar Khayyam studied together in a school in Nishapur during childhood is a legend and has no historical document.
Hassan Sabbah's Migration to Ray
Having migrated from Kufa to Qom, he moved to the city of Ray, which was another important center for Shia teachings and the activities of Ismaili Dais.
Hassan was educated in Ray as a Twelver Shia, but at the age of seventeen, through one of the Ismaili Dais named Amira Darrab, he became acquainted with Ismaili teachings.
Then he acquired more information from another Dai named Abu Nasr Sarraj and finally converted to the Ismaili sect and swore allegiance to the Ismaili Imam of the time, i.e., the Fatimid Caliph, Mustansir Billah.
Appointment of Hassan Sabbah
Shortly after, in 464, Hassan Sabbah attracted the attention of Ibn Attash (leader of the Ismailis of the Seljuk lands) who had come to Ray. Ibn Attash, noticing his talent and competence, gave him a position in the hierarchy of the Ismaili mission.
In 67, Hassan Sabbah went to Isfahan (the secret center of the Ismaili mission in Iran) along with Ibn Attash.
Hassan Sabbah's Journey to Cairo
In 469 AH, Hassan Sabbah, upon Ibn Attash's recommendation, departed for Cairo, the capital of the Fatimids, to receive further education there. He entered Cairo in the Safar month of 471. At that time, Badr al-Jamali, the commander of the army and vizier of the Fatimids, had become the Dai al-Duat successor to Mu'ayyad fi'l-Din Shirazi. There is not much information available about Hassan's three-year residence in Egypt. He resided first in Cairo and then in Alexandria and did not see Mustansir Billah.
It seems that Hassan got into a conflict with Badr al-Jamali in Egypt and went from Cairo to Alexandria, which was the base of Badr al-Jamali's opponents.
According to Nizari sources cited by Iranian historians, Hassan's dispute with Badr al-Jamali was over the succession of Mustansir Billah and that Hassan had expressed his support for his crown prince, i.e., Nizar. According to another narrative, Mustansir Billah had personally told Hassan that his successor would be Nizar. In any case, Hassan was eventually expelled from Egypt and returned to Isfahan in Dhu al-Hijjah 473 AH.
Sabbah's Travels as a Dai
After returning to Iran, Hassan traveled for nine years as an Ismaili Dai in Iran and during this period outlined his revolutionary policy and evaluated the military power of the Seljuqs in various regions. Until around 480 AH, he had focused his attention on the provinces of the Mazandaran Sea coast, particularly the mountainous region of Daylam.
This region had long been considered a refuge for Alavids and Shias and was distant from the Seljuk power centers in central and western Iran.
Furthermore, the Ismaili mission in Daylam, which was mainly a stronghold of Zaidi Shias, had spread to some extent.
At this time, Hassan Sabbah was plotting a revolt against the Seljuqs and was searching for a suitable location where he could establish his operational base. For this purpose, he finally chose Alamut Castle in the Rudbar region.
Alamut as the Center of the Uprising
At that time, the Ismaili mission in Iran was still under the leadership of Abd al-Malik ibn Attash, but Hassan, who had eventually become the Dai of Daylam, adopted an independent policy and focused on strengthening the mission in northern Iran. Hassan, to acquire Alamut, located near Qazvin, which was then in the hands of Seljuk agents, sent a number of his subordinate dais to that region to convert the locals to the Ismaili faith.
At the same time, he summoned Ismailis from other places and settled them in Alamut. Hassan-i Sabbah secretly entered the Alamut castle in Rajab 483 AH.
For a while, he concealed his identity and taught the children of the castle guards as a teacher named Dehkhoda, and many of the guards also converted to the Ismaili faith.
When Hassan's followers inside and outside the Alamut castle reached the necessary number, the castle easily fell into his hands in late autumn of the year 483 AH. The capture of Alamut castle marked the beginning of the stage of armed uprising of the Iranian Ismailis against the Seljuks and simultaneously heralded the establishment of what later became known as the independent Nizari Ismaili state.
Fortification of Alamut Castle
Hassan-i Sabbah had a complex set of religious-political motivations for his uprising against the Seljuks. Hassan-i Sabbah, confronting the anti-Shia policies of the Seljuks, who acted as the new patrons of Sunni, overthrew the Ismaili Fatimid state. He immediately after settling in Alamut proceeded to repair and develop the fortifications and food storages there, such that, in terms of defense and supplies, he made Alamut such an impregnable castle that it could withstand long sieges.
Then Hassan expanded his influence throughout Rudbar and its surrounding regions in Daylam, converted more people to the Ismaili religion, and captured or built other castles. He established an important library in Alamut, the collection of books and scientific instruments of which expanded until the time of the Mongol invasion and the destruction of Alamut in the year 654 AH.
Seljuk Attack on Alamut
It was not long before local Seljuk forces, led by Amir Yuruntash, to whom the Alamut regions were assigned as an iqta, attacked Alamut, and from this time, the Ismailis of Iran entered into long-term military conflicts with the Seljuks.
Establishment of the Ismaili State in Quhistan
In 484 AH, Hassan dispatched one of the dais named Husayn Qa'ini to Quhistan (Kuhistan) in the southeast of Khorasan to gather support for the movement there and establish that region as the second major land of the Ismailis.
Consolidation and Expansion of Position
In 485 AH, Malik Shah, at the discretion of Nizam al-Mulk, sent troops to fight the Ismailis in Rudbar and Quhistan, but this operation remained unsuccessful due to the death of Malik Shah and Nizam al-Mulk in the same year. With this event and the competition among Malik Shah's sons for succession, Hassan found a suitable opportunity to consolidate and expand his position. The Ismailis seized Gerdkuh castle and other castles around Damghan and the eastern parts of the Alborz mountains (in the Qumis region), and several castles in the Arrajan region, the border area between the provinces of Khuzestan and Fars.
In Rudbar as well, the Ismailis captured more castles, the most important of which was Lamasar (Lanbasar) in the upper region of Shahroud and to the west of Alamut.
Characteristics and Abilities of Hassan-i Sabbah
Hassan-i Sabbah succeeded in establishing the Nizari da'wa and state in Iran and leading it during that turbulent era. He was a theologian, astronomer, philosopher, statesman, and proficient in mathematics, particularly "geometry". Sabbah was knowledgeable about military and political affairs and carried them out well; he was considered a major rival in politics.
He was a knowledgeable scholar, a skilled researcher, an eloquent orator, and an influential leader; so much so that his ascetic life became a model for other Nizaris; the Nizaris were very fond of him and called Sabbah "Sayyidna". Sabbah was knowledgeable in the Latin and Greek languages.
He resided in Alamut for more than thirty years; it is said that he never left it and only went from his room to the roof twice, and was constantly engaged in study, administering the state, and writing Nizari Ismaili teachings. However, much doubt is cast on this seclusion, since Sabbah spread the Ismailis in Iran and Syria.
He built a large library in Alamut, which included subjects related to various religious traditions, scientific and philosophical texts, and scientific equipment, which remained intact until the Mongol invasion.
Sabbah declared the Persian language as the sacred language of the Nizaris; this decision caused all Nizari Ismaili texts in Iran, Afghanistan, Syria, and Central Asia to be transcribed in Persian for several centuries, and in addition to challenging the linguistic legitimacy of the Caliphate institution, created a suitable opportunity for expressing Iranian national sentiments; however, its background among the Ismailis of Iran dated back to the era of Nasir Khosrow Qobadiani.
Sabbah was very sensitive to Sharia commands and was strict with friend and foe alike. Thus, he put two of his sons to death; one was convicted of murdering the da'i Husayn Qa'ini, which later turned out to be a false claim and his son had no involvement in this matter, and the other, named Muhammad, was executed for the crime of drinking wine. He also expelled a person who had played the flute in the castle and thereafter never allowed him entry.
Sabbah placed great importance on Enjoining good and forbidding wrong. Despite various defeats he experienced, Sabbah never gave up striving and got closer every day to his goal, which was forming a state and fighting against Seljuk dominance. Marco Polo, in his Travelogue, uses the Syrian equivalent "Shaykh al-Jabal" to introduce Hassan-i Sabbah in Europe and considers him a deceitful man, who, by designing plans, drew young men to himself.
Death
When Hassan-i Sabbah saw the end of his life approaching, he summoned Kiya Buzurg-Ummid from Lamsar and made him the da'i of Daylam and his successor in Alamut. Hassan-i Sabbah died following a short illness, on 6 Rabi' al-Thani 518. He was buried near Alamut Castle. His tomb, where Kiya Buzurg-Ummid and other leaders of the Iranian Nizaris were later buried as well, was a pilgrimage site for Ismailis Nizari until it was destroyed by the Mongols.
See Also