The fortress of Girdkuh in Persia (Iran) surrendered to the Mongols on December 15, 1270.1 Girdkuh, acquired in 1096, was the last stronghold to surrender to the Mongols, who had invaded Persia, capturing Alamut and other strongholds in 1256, causing the collapse of the Nizari Ismaili state. Girdkuh resisted capture for 17 years, perhaps “one of the longest castle sieges in medieval history” (Willey). There had been an outbreak of cholera at the fortress, reducing the number of survivors who became too weak to continue the resistance, forcing them to surrender to the Mongols.
In 1090, Hasan-i Sabbah acquired Alamut, a remote mountain-fortress in the Rudbur region of Daylam in northern Persia, marking the founding of the Nizari Ismaili state. Once installed at Alamut, Hassan improved its fortifications and storage facilities to withstand long sieges.
Over the course of the next 150 years, the Ismailis acquired more than 200 fortresses in Iran and Syria including the settlements in the surrounding towns and villages, thus establishing autonomous states in these regions.
Despite having to defend against military attacks, the Nizari Ismailis of the Alamut period placed a high value on intellectual activities. Alamut and several of the Nizari strongholds became flourishing centres of intellectual activities with major libraries containing not only a significant collection of books and documents but also scientific tracts and equipment. The Ismailis extended their patronage of learning to everyone.
The renowned scholar, Nasir al-Din al-Tusi (1201-1274), spent three decades at Alamut writing works on astronomy, theology, philosophy, and other subjects. Historians agree that it is primarily through Al-Tusi’s extant works that they have an understanding of the Nizari Ismaili thought as it developed during the Alamut period.
Many of Nasir’s works became the standard in a variety of disciplines. His work on astronomy, al-Tadhkira fi ‘ilm al-hay’a (Memoir on the Science of Astronomy), had an enormous influence on the subsequent history of astronomy evidenced by the significant number of existing manuscript copies of this text as well as the large number of commentaries written on the Tadhkira.
Sources:
1Farhad Daftary, The Ismailis: Their history and doctrines, Cambridge University Press, 1990
Peter Willey, Eagle’s Nest: Ismaili Castles in Iran and Syria, I.B. Tauris in association with The IIS, 2005
Nadia Eboo Jamal, Surviving the Mongols: Nizari Quhistani and the Continuity of Ismaili Tradition in Persia, I.B Tauris in association with The Institute of Ismaili Studies, 2002
Al-Noor Merchant, Nasir al-Din al-Tusi and Astronomy , The Institute of Ismaili Studies (accessed December 2016)
Compiled by Nimira Dewji
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