page_title: Nizari–Seljuk conflicts
section_title: Hassan-i Sabbah's establishment of the Alamut state
hierarchical_section_title: Nizari–Seljuk conflicts / Hassan-i Sabbah's establishment of the Alamut state
caption_attribution_description: فارسی: قلعه الموت -حسن صباح- خرداد1393
context_page_description: By the late 11th century, the Shi'a sect of Isma'ilism, propagated by the Fatimid Caliphate, had found many adherents in Persia, although the region was ruled by the staunchly Sunni Great Seljuk Empire. The bulk of the Persian Isma'ilis broke away from the declining Fatimids in 1095, forming the Nizari sect, under Hassan-i Sabbah. Based at Alamut Castle, Hassan revolted against the Seljuk order, and his followers captured many similar strongholds inside Seljuk territories. Socio-economic factors and the religious background of the population, as well as the politically decentralized nature of the Seljuk government, all facilitated the rapid spread of the revolt, while the Ismailis' effective use of strongholds, the selective removal of key enemies through assassination, and maintaining crucial alliances thwarted continuous Seljuk military efforts against their weaker opponent.
  The movement of the Nizaris soon lost its initial vigor and their territories were confined to isolated strongholds within the Seljuk Empire. However, the Seljuks failed to exterminate the Nizaris after prolonged wars, and tacitly accepted their existence.
context_section_description: By the final decades of the imamate of the Fatimid caliph al-Mustansir Billah, many in Persia (then under the Seljuk Empire) had converted to the Fatimid doctrine of Ismailism, while the Qarmatian doctrine was declining. Apparently, the Ismailis of Persia had already acknowledged the authority of a single Chief Da'i (missionary) based in a secret headquarters in the Seljuk capital, Isfahan. The Chief Da'i in the 1070s was Abd al-Malik ibn Attash, a Fatimid scholar who was respected even among Sunni elites. He led a revolt in 1080 provoked by the increasingly severe Seljuk repressions of the Ismailis.
  Among da'is active under Abd al-Malik was Hassan-i Sabbah. The Persian Ismailis were aware of the declining power of the Fatimids. Hassan, too, must have realized that the Fatimid Caliphate (now effectively under the control of da'i al-du'at Badr al-Jamali) was unwilling and incapable of supporting the Persian Ismailis in their struggle against the Seljuks; thus he designed an independent revolutionary strategy. During his nine years of activity in service of the Fatimid da'wah in different parts of Persia, Hassan had evaluated the strenghts and the weaknesses of the Seljuks. He concentrated his efforts in the northern mountainous region of Daylam, a traditional stronghold for Zaydi Shias which had been already penetrated by the Ismaili da'wa.
  By 1087, Hassan had chosen the inaccessible and remote castle of Alamut as his future base. From his base Damghan and later Shahriyarkuh (in Tabaristan), he dispatched several da'is to convert the locals of the settlements in the Alamut valley. Hassan was eventually appointed as the Fatimid Da'i of Daylam. Hassan's activities were noticed by the Seljuk vizier Nizam al-Mulk (the de facto Seljuk ruler), who ordered his son-on-law Abu Muslim, the governor of Rayy, to arrest the da'i. Hassan managed to remain hidden and secretly arrived at Daylam in time, temporarily settling in Qazvin.
  Hassan captured the Alamut Castle from its Zaydi ruler Mahdi through an ingenious plan. Some of Mahdi's guards had already been secretly converted to Ismailism by Hassan's da'is, notably Husayn Qa'ini. From Qazvin Hassan sent one further da'i to Alamut; meanwhile, Ismailis from elsewhere infiltrated the Alamut region. Hasan then moved to Ashkawar, and then Anjirud, becoming closer to the castle, and secretly entered the castle itself on the eve of September 4, 1090, living there for awhile disguised as a children's teacher. Mahdi eventually discovered Hassan's true identity but was powerless since most of the garrison and locals were now Ismaili converts. Hassan permitted Mahdi to leave peacefully and then paid him via Muzaffar, a Seljuk ra'is and a secret Ismaili, 500 dinars for the castle. The seizure marks the establishment of the Ismaili state in Persia and the beginning of the so-called Alamut Period in which the Ismaili mission unfolded as an open revolt against the Sunni authorities.
caption: The rock of Alamut was especially difficult to access, and the fortress was built to withstand long sieges.
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