List of Nizari Ismaili strongholds
List of the strongholds ( "dār al-hijrah", literally "place of refuge") of the Nizari Ismaili state in Persia (Iran) and Syria. Most of the Persian Ismaili castles were in the Alborz mountains, in the regions of Daylaman (particularly, in Alamut and Rudbar; north of modern-day Qazvin) and Quhistan (south of Khurasan), as well as in Qumis. Most of the Syrian Ismaili castles were in Jabal Bahra' (Syrian Coastal Mountain Range). According to Juzjani, before the Mongol invasion the Nizaris possessed 70 forts in Quhistan and 35 in Alamut. Overall, they probably had 250 castles . The Ismaili fortresses in Rudbar of Alamut had been built on rocky heights and were equipped to withstand long sieges; they had storehouses with high capacities and elaborate water supply infrastructure such as cisterns, qanats, and canals. Syria. The strongholds in Jabal Bahra' were known as the "Castles of the "da'wa"" ( "qilāʿ al-daʿwah").