Kiyā Buzurg-Ummīd ( fa, کیا بزرگ امید; died 1138) was a '' dāʿī'' and the second ruler (''

da'i A da'i ( ar, داعي, dāʿī, inviter, caller, ) is generally someone who engages in Dawah, the act of inviting people to Islam. See also * Dawah * Da'i al-Mutlaq, "the absolute (unrestricted) missionary" (Arabic: الداعي المطلق) * ...

'') of the

Nizari Isma'ili 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 ...

, ruling

Alamut Castle Alamut ( fa, wikt:الموت, الموت, meaning "eagle's nest") is a ruined mountain fortress located in the Alamut region in the South Caspian Sea, Caspian province of Qazvin near the Masudabad, Qazvin, Masoudabad region in Iran, approximately ...

from 1124 to 1138 CE (or 518—532 AH). He was of

Daylami Daylami (20 April 1994– 6 June 2016) was a Thoroughbred Champion racehorse and sire who was bred in Ireland, but trained in France, Dubai and the United Kingdom. In a career which lasted from 1996 and 1999, he raced in five different countri ...

origin from the region of

Rudbar Rudbar ( fa, رودبار, Rudbār) ( Gilaki:, ''rubâr'') is a city and capital of Rudbar County, Gilan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 11,454, in 3,303 families. Rudbar is from Tehran and with a variable climate. It is ...

Career

Prior to ruling the Nizari Isma'ilis, Buzurg Ummid captured

Lambsar Castle Lambsar ( fa, لمبسر, also pronounced Lamsar), Lamasar, Lambasar, Lambesar () or Lomasar () was probably the largest and the most fortified of the Ismaili castles. The fortress is located in the central Alburz mountains, south of the Caspian ...

for the

Assassins An assassin is a person who commits targeted murder. Assassin may also refer to: Origin of term * Someone belonging to the medieval Persian Ismaili order of Assassins Animals and insects * Assassin bugs, a genus in the family ''Reduviida ...

and ruled it as commander for over twenty years.

As the ruler of Alamut

On 25 Rabīʿ II 518 (11 June 1124), a day before death of Ḥassan-i Ṣabbaḥ, Ḥassan appointed him his successor. He generally followed the policies of Ḥassan-i Ṣabbaḥ and enforced the

Sharia Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the H ...

strictly. In his early reign the Isma'ili hold was expanded in particular in Eshkevar and

Taleghan Taleqan ( fa, طالقان, also Romanized as Ṭâleqân) is a city in the capital of Taleqan County, Alborz Province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western ...

.BOZORG-OMĪD, KĪĀ
/ref> As opposed to Hassan Sabbah, who is depicted as a revolutionary leader, the Ismaili sources depict Buzurg-Ummid as an administrator and a chivalrous lord (e.g. the story of him protecting his old enemy, emir Yaran-Qush Bazdar of Qazvin and his followers, who had fled to Alamut). Another change in the Nizari government during his rule was the decrease in the number of

assassinations Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have a ...

; the list include the Abbasid caliph

Al-Mustarshid Abu Mansur al-Faḍl ibn Ahmad al-Mustazhir ( ar, أبو منصور الفضل بن أحمد المستظهر; 1092 – 29 August 1135) better known by his regnal name Al-Mustarshid Billah ( ar, المسترشد بالله) was the Abbasid calip ...

, a prefect of Isfahan, a governor of Maragha, a prefect of Tabriz, and a mufti of Qazvin. Kiya Buzurg Ummid died on 9 February 1138 and was succeeded by his son,

Muhammad Buzurg Ummid Muḥammad ibn Buzurg-Ummīd ( fa, محمد بن بزرگ امید) (died February 20, 1162) was the son of Kiyā Buzurg-Ummīd, and the third ruler of the Nizari Ismailis from 1138 until 1162 based in Alamut. Career Upon the demise of Kiyā B ...

, who was nominated as heir three days earlier.

Works

The text of a bedtime prayer, titled "Prayer in Bedtime" ( ''du'ā dar hingām-i khwāb'') in

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

attributed to Kiya Buzurg Ummid, is preserved in a manuscript of the Institute of Ismaili Studies in London.

References

1138 deaths Medieval legends Iranian missionaries Iranian Ismailis People from Alamut Year of birth unknown Daylamites 12th-century Iranian people Nizari da'is Nizari Ismaili–Seljuk relations People of the Nizari–Seljuk wars 12th-century Ismailis {{Iran-royal-stub