Thousand years ago
Hassan Sabah (An Old Man of the Mountain) built many well hidden fortresses in the Albroz mountains of northern Iran. His
militant disciples were Shiite extremists of the Ismaili sect. Hassan would give selected men plenty of hashish, took them high to secret lush gardens that resembled the paradise, along with promises of eternal life in heaven should they have to sacrifice their own lives for the one of the victims (mainly Sunni men of note). The fictitious life of a young Fidai (the one ready to sacrifice) ibn Tahir is the core of the great Slovenian novel
Alamut written by Vladimir Bartol.
Inspired by a novel I first visited the castle of Alamut six years ago. It was completely ruined. Revisiting the site was amazing. Last four years of excavations gave remarkable results. I guess I’ll have to come back again in few years to see the castle unveiled.
On the way to Tehran through the mountains we caught sight of Damavand, at 5610 metres the highest mountain in Iran. Its base camp proved to be a nice but cold camping ground.
2 comments:
There are a lot of myths and inaccuracies about Hassan Sabah and the Ismailis that often get propagated unintentionally. Most of that is because Marco Polo visited the region about a decade after the Ismailis had been defeated by the Mongols, and as such, the history he authored was that conveyed by various (Sunni) enemies of the Ismailis. Marco Polo than shared in Europe, and it went from there. You have to keep in mind that the Sunnis were never able to defeat the Ismailis, and the stories they shared needed to have a face saving explanation of why this was.
First correction - the Ismailis of the time had castle strongholds in Northern Persia as well as the Syrian region, and Rashid al din Sinan of the Syrian region was the actual one known as the Old Man of the Mountain (so named by crusaders such as the Knights Templar). It is interesting to note that the Knights Templar also did not defeat the Ismailis, and ended up developing quite a respect for them.
Second, and more important correction - all this stuff about hashish and the like is a crock. More recent, and extremely well referenced scholarship, paints a clearer and more accurate history. Have a read of "The Assassin Legends: Myths of the Ismailis" if you are more interested in this:
The Assassin Legends: Myths of the Ismailis
http://www.iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=100539
An introduction to the book ...
http://www.iis.ac.uk/SiteAssets/pdf/assassins.pdf
Also, for more reading on the castles of the Ismailis during this period, including Alamut which was their headquarters, have a boo at the following:
Eagle’s Nest: Ismaili Castles of Iran and Syria
http://www.iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=106256
Intro
http://www.iis.ac.uk/SiteAssets/pdf/Peter%20Willey%20-%20Eagle's%20Nest.pdf
Interview with the author
http://www.iis.ac.uk/ContentLink.asp?type=cont.currentlang&id=108202
Sorry for the long comment. It is a complex subject, and I needed to provide at least some context, before loading you up with two books to read! Do take advantage of the links, as they provide more information in brief, even if you end up not getting the books!
Dear anonymous,
Your comment have been appreciated. Thank you for the web links.
I know about the Ismaeli branch in Syria, but unfortutelly we can not upload very long, detailed entries. The hashis part is included in the Alamut novel, which is fictious.
Post a Comment