page_title: Nizari–Seljuk conflicts
section_title: Campaigns against Kiya Buzurg-Ummid
hierarchical_section_title: Nizari–Seljuk conflicts / After Sultan Muhammad Tapar: toward stalemate / Sultan Mahmud II and Sultan Sanjar / Campaigns against Kiya Buzurg-Ummid
caption_attribution_description: English: Castles in Alamut and Rudbar regions, Iran فارسی: قلعه‌های مناطق الموت و رودبار در ایران Català: Castells a les regions d'Alamut i Rudbar, Iran
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: In 1126, two years after Kiya Buzurg-Ummid succeeded Hasan Sabbah as the head of the Alamut state, Sultan Sanjar sent his vizier Mu'in al-Din Ahmad al-Kashi to attack the Nizaris of Quhistan with orders to massacre them and confiscate their properties. The casus belli is uncertain; it may have been motivated by a perceived weakness of the Nizaris after Hassan's death. The campaign ended with limited success. In Quhistan, a Seljuk victory in the village of Tarz (near Bayhaq) and a successful raid on Turaythith has been recorded. In the same year, Sultan Mahmud sent an army led by Shirgir's nephew, Asil, against Rudbar; this campaign was even less successful and was repelled. Another Seljuk campaign launched with local support against Rudbar was also defeated and a Seljuk emir, Tamurtughan, was captured. He was released later as requested by Sanjar. At the same time or shortly after the campaign in Quhistan, the Nizaris lost Arrajan; after this point, little is recorded about them in Arrajan, and therefore, in Khuzestan and Fars.
  The Nizaris were quick to take revenge—the commander of the Quhistan's campaign, vizier al-Kashi, was assassinated in March 1127 by two fida'is who had infiltrated into his household and gained his confidence. According to Ibn al-Athir, Sultan Sanjar launched a punitive expedition against Alamut in which 10,000 Nizaris were killed, but this is probably an invention.
  At the end of Buzurg-Ummid's reign, the Nizaris were stronger than before. Several fortresses (including Mansur) were captured in Taliqan, while several new ones were constructed, including Sa'adatkuh, and most famously the major stronghold Maymun-Diz in Rudbar. In 1129, a Nizari army (probably from Quhistan) raided Sistan.
  In May of the same year, Sultan Mahmud moved to make peace by inviting an envoy from Alamut. The envoy, Khwaja Muhammad Nasihi Shahrastani, and his colleague were lynched by the mobs in Isfahan after visiting the Sultan. The Sultan apologized but refused Buzurgummid's request to punish the murderers. In response, the Nizaris attacked Qazwin, killing some and taking much booty; when the Qazwinis fought back, the Nizaris assassinated a Turkish emir, resulting in their withdrawal. This conflict marked the beginning of a long-lasting feud between the Qazwinis and the Nizaris of Rudbar. Sultan Mahmud himself also attacked Alamut, but he failed. Another army sent from Iraq against Lamasar also fails to achieve much.
caption: The Nizari heartland of Rudbar featured numerous strongholds.
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