List of the strongholds or
dar al-hijra of the
Nizari Ismaili 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 we ...
in
Persia
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
(Iran) and
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
.
Most of the Persian Ismaili castles were in the
Alborz
The Alborz ( fa, البرز) range, also spelled as Alburz, Elburz or Elborz, is a mountain range in northern Iran that stretches from the border of Azerbaijan along the western and entire southern coast of the Caspian Sea and finally runs nort ...
mountains, in the regions of
Daylam
Daylam, also known in the plural form Daylaman (and variants such as Dailam, Deylam, and Deilam), was the name of a mountainous region of inland Gilan, Iran. It was so named for its inhabitants, known as the Daylamites.
The Church of the East es ...
an (particularly, in
Alamut
Alamut ( fa, الموت) is a region in Iran including western and eastern parts in the western edge of the Alborz (Elburz) range, between the dry and barren plain of Qazvin in the south and the densely forested slopes of the Mazandaran provinc ...
and Rudbar; north of modern-day
Qazvin
Qazvin (; fa, قزوین, , also Romanized as ''Qazvīn'', ''Qazwin'', ''Kazvin'', ''Kasvin'', ''Caspin'', ''Casbin'', ''Casbeen'', or ''Ghazvin'') is the largest city and capital of the Province of Qazvin in Iran. Qazvin was a capital of the ...
) and
Quhistan
Quhistan ( fa, قهستان) or Kohistan (, "mountainous land") was a region of medieval Persia, essentially the southern part of Khurasan. Its boundaries appear to have been south of Khorasan to north, Yazd to West, Sistan to South, Afghanistan to ...
(south of
Khurasan
Greater Khorāsān,Dabeersiaghi, Commentary on Safarnâma-e Nâsir Khusraw, 6th Ed. Tehran, Zavvâr: 1375 (Solar Hijri Calendar) 235–236 or Khorāsān ( pal, Xwarāsān; fa, خراسان ), is a historical eastern region in the Iranian Plate ...
), 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 Mongol invasions and conquests took place during the 13th and 14th centuries, creating history's largest contiguous empire: the Mongol Empire (1206- 1368), which by 1300 covered large parts of Eurasia. Historians regard the Mongol devastati ...
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
cistern
A cistern (Middle English ', from Latin ', from ', "box", from Greek ', "basket") is a waterproof receptacle for holding liquids, usually water. Cisterns are often built to catch and store rainwater. Cisterns are distinguished from wells by t ...
s,
qanat
A qanat or kārīz is a system for transporting water from an aquifer or water well to the surface, through an underground aqueduct; the system originated approximately 3,000 BC in what is now Iran. The function is essentially the same across ...
s, and canals.
Persia
Syria
The strongholds in
Jabal Bahra' were known as the "Castles of the ''
da'wa
Dawah ( ar, دعوة, lit=invitation, ) is the act of inviting or calling people to embrace Islam. The plural is ''da‘wāt'' (دَعْوات) or ''da‘awāt'' (دَعَوات).
Etymology
The English term ''Dawah'' derives from the Arabic ...
''" ( ''qilāʿ al-daʿwah'').
See also
*
Nizari Ismaili 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 we ...
*
History of Nizari Ismailism
The History of Nizari Isma'ilism from the founding of Islam covers a period of over 1400 years. It begins with Muhammad's mission to restore to humanity the universality and knowledge of the oneness of the divine within the Abrahamic tradition, thr ...
*
List of castles in Iran
Throughout history, especially in prehistoric and early history, castles have played an important role in the fortification of Iran. They were usually maintained by officials on important routes or cities, and most of them were in unmarked heigh ...
*
List of castles in Syria
This is a list of castles in Syria.
Key
List of castles
See also
*List of castles
*List of Crusader castles
References
Sources
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
{{Castles in Syria
Syria
Castles
Castles
Syria
Castles
A castle is a type of fort ...
*
List of Crusader castles
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby union ...
*
Baltit Fort
Baltit Fort () is a fort in the Hunza valley, near the town of Karimabad, in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of northern Pakistan. Founded in the 8th century CE, it has been on the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative list since 2004.
The Mirs of Hunza ...
, used by Ismailis of the
Hunza princely state in Pakistan
*
Muhammad I Tapar's anti-Nizari campaign
*
Mongol campaign against the Nizaris
The Mongol campaign against the Nizaris of the Alamut period (the Assassins) began in 1253 after the Mongol conquest of the Khwarazmian Empire of Iran by the Mongol Empire and a series of Nizari–Mongol conflicts. The campaign was ordered by the ...
References
*
*
*
«دانشنامهٔ تاریخ معماری و شهرسازی ایرانشهر»� وزارت راه و شهرسازی (in Persian)
Further reading
*
External links
"Nizari Ismaili Concept of Castles" The Institute of Ismaili Studies
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ismaili castles
Nizari Ismaili state
Lists of castles in the Middle East
Castles in Syria
Castles in Iran
Iran–Syria relations
Syria history-related lists
Iran history-related lists
Isma'ilism-related lists