Jalāl al-Dīn Ḥassan III () (1187–1221), son of Nūr al-Dīn Muḥammad II, was the 25th Nizāri Ismā‘ilī

Imām Imam (; ar, إمام '; plural: ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a worship leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic worship services, lead prayers, serve ...

. He ruled from 1210 to 1221.

His life

He was born to the 24th Imam and a Sunni mother. Jalal al-Din Hassan claimed to have converted to Sunni Islam, which was accepted by

Abbasid The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib ...

Caliph al-Nasir and other Muslim princes and he became known as ''naw-musalman'' ( fa, نومسلمان, "Muslim convert"). He repudiated the faith and policies associated with earlier Lords of Alamut and went so far as to curse his ancestors and burn the books of Hasan ibn Sabah. He invited many Sunni scholars and jurists from across Khurasan,

Qazvin Qazvin (; fa, قزوین, , also Romanization, Romanized as ''Qazvīn'', ''Qazwin'', ''Kazvin'', ''Kasvin'', ''Caspin'', ''Casbin'', ''Casbeen'', or ''Ghazvin'') is the largest city and capital of the Qazvin Province, Province of Qazvin in Iran. ...

and

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

to visit Alamut Castle, and even invited them to inspect the library and remove any books they found to be objectionable. He also instructed these scholars to teach his followers, whom he commanded to observe the Sunni Sharia. However, his conversion has been interpreted by some as an act of

taqiyya In Shi'ism, ''Taqiya'' or ''Taqiyya'' ( ar, تقیة ', literally "prudence, fear")R. STROTHMANN, MOKTAR DJEBLI. Encyclopedia of Islam, 2nd ed, Brill. "TAKIYYA", vol. 10, p. 134. Quote: "TAKIYYA "prudence, fear" ..denotes dispensing with th ...

. During his lifetime, he maintained friendly relations with the `

Caliph A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...

al-Nasir. An alliance with the caliph of

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon. I ...

meant greater resources for the self-defence of not only the

Nizārī Ismā'īlī state The Nizari state (the Alamut state) was a Shia Nizari Ismaili state founded by Hassan-i Sabbah after he took control of the Alamut Castle in 1090 AD, which marked the beginning of an era of Ismailism known as the "Alamut period". Their people wer ...

, but also the broader

Muslim world The terms Muslim world and Islamic world commonly refer to the Islamic community, which is also known as the Ummah. This consists of all those who adhere to the religious beliefs and laws of Islam or to societies in which Islam is practiced. I ...

.Alamut and Lamasar"> He also personally led his army to assist Uzbek, ruler of the

Eldiguzids The Ildegizids, EldiguzidsC.E. Bosworth, "Ildenizids or Eldiguzids", Encyclopaedia of Islam, Edited by P.J. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel and W.P. Heinrichs et al., Encyclopædia of Islam, 2nd Edition., 12 vols. with index ...

, against a rebel. He died in 1221, possibly the result of poisoning. He was married to four Sunni women from the daughters of the princes of Gilan, after he sought the princes' permission, who then asked the Abbasid Caliph, who approved. They, along with some of Ḥassan III's kinsfolk, including his sister, were executed by his son's vizier under allegations of poisoning Ḥassan III. His Sunni conformity was gradually reversed and his community increasingly regarded itself openly as Ismaili

Shiite Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, most ...

during the Imamate of his only surviving son and successor, ʻAlāʼ ad-Dīn Muḥammad III, who succeeded him at the age of 9 years old. However, his son upon succession was initially too young, so Ḥassan III's vizier controlled the state.

References

External links

Nizari imams Converts to Sunni Islam from Shia Islam 1187 births 1221 deaths 13th-century Ismailis 13th-century Islamic religious leaders {{Islam-bio-stub

His life

See also

Further reading

References

External links