The Assassins (24 page)

io The book of Ser Marco Polo, trans. and ed. Sir Henry Yule, 3rd edn. revised by Henri Cordier, i, London 1903, chapters xxiii and xxiv, 139-43-

ii Ibn Muyassar, Annales d'Egypte, ed. H. Masse, Cairo 1919, 68; Al-Bondari, abridged from `Imad al-Din, Histoire des Seldjoucides de l'Iraq, ed. M. Th. Houtsma, Recueil de textes relatifs a l'histoire des Seldjoucides, i, Leiden 1889, 195; Kitdb al-Radd `ald'l- mulhidin, ed. Muh. Taqi Danishpazhuh in Revue de la Faculte des Lettres, Universite de Tabri{, xvii/3 (1344 s), 312. In some versions of Marco Polo's narrative the actual word Assassin does not appear at all.

12 'Memoire sur la dynastie des Assassins ...', in Memoires de l'Institut Royal, iv (1818), 1-85 (= Memoires d'histoire et de literature orientales, Paris 1818, 322-403)-

13 J. von Hammer, Geschichte der 4ssassinen aus morgenldndischen Quellen, Stuttgart 1818; English translation, The history of the Assassins, trans. O. C. Wood, London 1835, 1-2, 217-18.

14 'Memoire sur les Ismaelis et les Nosairis de la Syrie, addresse a M. Silvestre de Sacy par M. Rousseau ...' in Cahier xlii, Annales de Voyages, xiv, Paris 18o9--IO, 271 ff.; further details in Lewis, 'Sources ...', 477-9.

15 W. Monteith, `Journal of a journey through Azerbijan and the shores of the Caspian', in J.R.Geog.S., iii (1833) 15 ff.; J. Shiel, `Itinerary from Tehran to Alamfit and Khurramabad in May 1837', ibid., viii (1838), 430-4• See further L. Lockhart, `Hasan-i-Sabbah and the Assassins' in BSOAS, v (1928-30), 689-96; W. Ivanow, `Alamut', in Geographical journal, lxxvii (1931), 38-45; Freya Stark, The valleys of the Assassins, London 1934; W. Ivanow, `Some Ismaili strongholds in Persia', in IC, Xii (1938), 383-92; idem, Alamut and Lamasar, Tehran 1960; P. Willey, The castles of the Assassins, London 1963; L. Lockhart and M. G. S. Hodgson, article `Alamut', in EI(2); Manu6ehr Sutudah, `Qal`a-i Alamut', in Farhang-i Irdn {amin, iii (1334 s), 5-21.

x6 Annales des Voyages, xiv (x818), 279; cit. St Guyard, Un grand maitre des Assassins ... repr. from JA, Paris 1877, 57-8.

17 J. B. Fraser, Narrative of a journey into Khorassan, London 1825, 376--7•

18 A full account of these events is given in an unpublished London University M.A. thesis by Zawahir Noorally, The first Agha Khan and the British z838-z868 ... presented April 1964. The Arnould judgement, published in Bombay in 1867, was reprinted in A. S. Picklay, History of the Ismailis, Bombay 1940, 113-70-

19 E. Griffini, `Die jungste ambrosianische Sammlung arabischer Handschriften', in ZDMG, 69 (1915), 63 f.

20 W. Ivanow, `Notes sur 1'"Ummu'l-Kitab" des Ismaeliens de l'Asie Centrale', in REI (1932), 418 f.; V. Minorsky, article `Shughnan' in EI(z); A. Bobrinskoy, Sekta Isma`iliya v russkikh i bukharskikh predelakh, Moscow 1902. For a brief account of a recent Soviet expedition to the Pamir see A. E. Bertel's, `Ot6et o rabote pamirskoy ekspeditsii ...' in Itvestya Akad. Nauk Taddhikskoy SSR, 1962, 11-16.

Chapter 2 (pages 20-3,7)

The most comprehensive book on the Assassins is M. G. S. Hodgson, The order of Assassins, The Hague 19 S 5. Though mainly concerned with the period after 1094, it includes some account of the earlier period. A shorter account of the religious development of the sect was written by W. Ivanow, Brief survey of the evolution of Ismailism, Leiden 1952. Mr Ivanow is the author of numerous books and articles dealing with particular aspects of Ismaili religion, literature and history. A history and description of the Ismailis, with special reference to India, are given in J. N. Hollister, The Shia of India, London 1953A. S. Picklay, History of the Ismailis, Bombay 1940, is a popular account written by an Ismaili author for Ismaili readers. Among modem Arabic works, mention may be made of two general books by a Syrian Ismaili author Mustafa Ghalib, a history, Ta'rikh al-da`wa al-Ismd'iliyya, Damascus n.d., and a biographical dictionary, A`ldm al-Ism5'iliyya, Beirut 1964, and of a general account by an Egyptian (non-Ismaili)scholar,MuhammadKamil Husayn,Td'ifatal-Ismd`iliyya, Cairo 1959. Aspects of the early history of the sect have been examined by B. Lewis, The origins of Ismii'ilism, Cambridge 1940; W. Ivanow, Ismaili tradition concerning the rise of the Fatimids, London-Calcutta 1942, idem, Studies in early Persian Ismailism, Bombay 1955; W. Madelung, `Fatimiden and Bahrainqarmaten', in Der Islam, xxxiv (1958), 34-88; idem, `Das Imamat in der friihen ismailitischen Lehre', ibid., xxxvii (1961), 43-135; P. J. Vatikiotis, The Fatimid theory of state, Lahore 1957, and in numerous articles by Ivanow, Corbin, and S. M. Stem, listed by Pearson. There are many studies on Nasir-i Khusraw; that of A. E. Bertel's, Nasir-i Khosrov i Ismail4m, Moscow 1959, includes an extensive discussion of the historical background and significance of Ismailism in his time. Ghazali's major polemic work against the Ismailis, written in 1094-95 for the Abbasid Caliph al-Mustahzir, was analysed by I. Goldziher, Streitschrift des GaTaligegen die Ifatin~ja-Sekte, Leiden 1916. Another anti-Ismaili tract by Ghazali was edited and translated into Turkish by Ahmed Ates, `Gazali'nin belini khan deliller'i. Kitab Kavasim al-Batiniya', in Ildhiyat Fakiiltesi Dergisi (Ankara), i-ii (1954), 23-54. Both of these are directed against the new doctrines of the Ismailis of his time. Ghazali's attitudes to Ismailism are discussed by W. Montgomery Watt, Muslim intellectual;a study of al-Ghaaali, Edinburgh 1963, 74-86.

On the place of the Ismailis within the larger framework of Islamic religion and history, reference may be made to H. Laoust, Les schismes dans l'Islam, Paris 1965; M. Guidi, `Storia della religione dell' Islam', in P. Tacchi-Venturi, Storia delle religioni, ii, Turin 1936; A. Bausani, Persia religiosa, Milan 1959; W. Montgomery Watt, Islam and the integration of society, London 1961; B. Lewis, The Arabs in history, revised edn., London 1966, and to the relevant chapters in L'Elabora- tion de l'Islam, Paris 1961, and The Cambridge Medieval History, iv/1, new edn., Cambridge 1966.

i H. Hamdani, `Some unknown Ismaili authors and their works', in JRAS (1933), 365•

Chapter 3 (pages 38-63)

The best account of Hasan-i Sabbah (Arabic form, Al-Hasan ibn al-Sabbah) is that given by Hodgson in The order of Assassins and, more briefly, in the article Hasan-i Sabbah in EI(2). There are earlier accounts in the general works on Ismailism, already mentioned, and in E. G. Browne, A literary history of Persia from Firdawsi to Sa`di, London 1906, 201 if. The struggle of Hasan-i Sabbah against the Seljuqs is discussed, within the larger framework of the events of the time, by Ibrahim Kafesoglu, in his book, in Turkish, on the Seljuq Empire in the time of Malikshah (Sultan Melikfah devrinde buyuk Selfuklu imparatorlugu, Istanbul 1953). A popular modern Ismaili presentation is given by Jawad al-Muscati, Hasan bin Sabbah, English translation by A. H. Hamdani, 2nd edn., Karachi 1958.

Hasan-i Sabbah has also attracted the attention of modem Iranian and Arab scholars. Prof. Nasrullah Falsafi has included an account of his career, with an edition of some documents, in his Cand Magala, Tehran 1342 s., 403-44, and Karim Kashavarz has published a semipopular but documented biography, Hasan-i Sabbah, Tehran 1344 s. There are two books in Arabic by Syrian Ismaili authors, `Arif Tamir, 'Ala abwab Alamiit, Harisa [1959], and Mustaf i Ghalib, AI-Tha'ir al- Himyart al-Hasan ibn al-Sabbah, Beirut 1966. The first is an historical novel, the second a popular biography.

The most important single source for Hasan's life is his autobiography, known as Sargu~asht-i Sayyidnd (the adventures of our lord). No copy has so far come to light, but the book was available to Persian historians of the Mongol period, who had access to the spoils of Alamut and perhaps of other Ismaili fortresses and libraries. It was used, and in part quoted, by three Persian historians of that time, who wrote detailed accounts of Hasan-i Sabbah and his successors, based largely on captured Ismaili sources. The earliest and best known is `Ata Malik Juvayni (1226-83), whose history was edited by Mirza Muhammad Qazvini (Ta'rikh-i Jahan-gushd, 3 vols., London, 1912-37), and translated into English by J. A. Boyle (The history of the world-conqueror, 2 vols., Manchester 1958). The history of the Ismailis comes in the third volume of the text, second of the English translation. Part of the section dealing with the Ismailis was translated into French, from a Persian manuscript, by Charles Defremery (J,4, 5` serie, viii, 1856, 353-87; xv, 186o, 130-210). Juvayni describes how he found the Ismaili chronicles in the library of the captured fortress of Alamut, copied what he thought of interest, and then destroyed them. He seems to follow his sources closely, taking care only to invert praise and blame, and to add the pious imprecations appropriate to an orthodox historian of a heterodox sect.

The second major source is a slightly later historian, Rashid al-Din (c. 1247-1318), who included in his universal history a lengthy account of the Ismailis that is clearly based, directly or indirectly, on the same sources as were used by Juvayni. Rashid al-Din, however, obviously had fuller information available to him than appears in the extant text of Juvayni. Despite some omissions, Rashid al-Din seems to follow the text of the Ismaili sources more closely than did Juvayni, and preserves many details omitted by his predecessor. Rashid al-Din's history of the Ismailis has been known in manuscript for some time, and was used by Browne, Ivanow, Hodgson, and other scholars. The Persian text was published in 1958 (Fasli q Jami` al-tavarikh. . tarikh-i ftrga-i rafigan va Ismd `iliyyan-i Alamut, ed. Muhammad Dabir Siyaqi, Tehran 1337 s.) and republished, in another edition, in 1960 (Jami` al-tavarikh; gismat-i Ismd'iliyyan.. ed. Muhammad Tagi Danishpazhuh and Muh. Mudarrisi Zanjani, Tehran 1338 s.). References are to the second of these editions. For earlier discussions of Rashid al-Din see R. Levy, `The account of the Ismaili doctrines in the Jami` al-tawarikh of Rashid al-Din Fadlallah', in JRAS (1930), 509-36, and H. Bowen, `The sargudhasht-i sayyidna, the "Tale of the Three Schoolfellows", and the wasaya of the Nizam al-Mulk', ibid., (193i), 771-82. Scholars have been puzzled by the problem of how Rashid al-Din could give a fuller and closer rendering of sources which Juvayni alone had seen and then destroyed, and Bowen had suggested that Rashid al-Din may have used an earlier and fuller draft which Juvayni made and later discarded (cf. Hodgson, Assassins, 73 n. 34). The dilemma seems an artificial one; there were other Ismaili castles besides Alamut, and it is reasonable to assume that some of them had libraries with copies of the sectarian histories. In addition to Juvayni's work, which he obviously made use of, Rashid al-Din may thus also have had direct access to copies of some of the books which Juvaynihad used.

In 1964 a third version came to light, by a contemporary of Rashid al-Din, called Abu'l-Qasim Kashani. The text has been published by Muh. Tagi Danishpazhuh (Tarikh-i Ismd`iliyya, Tabriz 1343 s.). Kashani's text is very similar to that of Rashid al-Din, and is probably related to it. It does, however, differ from it at some points, and contains details missing in both Rashid al-Din and juvayni.

In addition to his autobiography, Masan-i Sabbah also appears to have written theological works. None of these are extant in their original form. Fragments, however, survive, in more or less modified versions, in later Ismaili literature (on which see W. Ivanow, Ismaili literature: a bibliographical survey, 2nd edn., Tehran 1963), and an important passage is cited, in an Arabic adaptation, by the twelfthcentury Sunni theologian al-Shahrastani (Al-Milal wa'l-nihal, ed. W. Cureton, London 1846, 150-2; ed. A. Fahmi Muhammad, i, Cairo 1948, 339 ff; English trans. Hodgson, Assassins, 325-8).

Two documents, of disputed authenticity, are cited in later Persian collections, and purport to be an exchange of letters between Sultan Malikshah and Hasan-i Sabbah. In the first the Sultan accuses Hasan of starting a new religion, misleading some ignorant mountain dwellers and renouncing and abusing the rightful Abbasid Caliph of Islam. He is to abandon these evil ways and return to Islam, failing which his castle will be razed to the ground and he and his followers destroyed. In a polite and elegantly expressed reply, Hasan, writing in a strongly autobiographical vein, defends his faith as the true Islam; the Abbasids are usurpers and evil-doers; and the true Caliph is the Fatimid Imam. He warns the Sultan against the false claims of the Abbasids, the intrigues of Nizam al-Mulk, and the misdeeds of various oppressors, and urges him to take action against them; if he did not, another, more just ruler would arise and do it in his place. These texts, in slightly variant forms, were published by Mehmed ~erefuddin [Yaltkaya] in Darulfunun Ilahiyat Fukaltesi Mecmuast (Istanbul), vii/4 (1926), 3844, and again, independently, by Nasrullah Falsafiin Ittild`dt-iMdhdna (Tehran), 3/27, Khurdad 1329 s., 12-16 (reprinted in idem, Cand magala, Tehran 1342 s., 415-25). The authenticity of the letters is accepted by both editors and, more cautiously, by Osman Turan (Selcuklular tarihi ve Turk-Islam medeniyeti, Ankara 1965, 227-30), but is rejected by Kafesoglu (Sultan Melikrah ..., 134-5, nn.). A comparison of the letter ascribed to Hasan with the known facts of his life on the one hand, and with extant specimens of Ismaili letter-writing on the other, would seem to confirm Kafesoglu's doubts.

Accounts of Hasan-i Sabbah and his successors at Alamut by later Persian historians are based in the main on Juvayni and Rashid al-Din, with some additions of obviously legendary origin. There are however other sources of information. Much valuable information about the Ismailis can be gathered from the contemporary and near contemporary chronicles of the Seljuq Empire, including works in both Arabic and Persian, dealing with both general and local history. One of the best is the famous Arabic historian Ibn al-Athir (116o-1234), whose history (Al--Kamil fl-ta'rikh, 14 vols., ed. C. J. Tornberg, LeidenUpsala, 1851-76; reprinted Cairo, 9 vols., 1348 ff.: both editions are cited), besides much relevant information, includes a short biography of Hasan-i Sabbah, which is obviously independent of the Sargugaskt. A fuller version of this biography, the source of which is unknown, is given by a later Egyptian chronicler (Magrizi, al-Mugaf, Ms. Pertev Pasha 496, Istanbul). On the historians of this period in general see Claude Cahen, `The historiography of the Seljugid period', in B. Lewis and P. M. Holt, edd., Historians of the Middle East, London 1962, 5978. In addition to the literary sources, there is a growing body of archaeological evidence. Works dealing with the remains of the Ismaili castles in Iran are mentioned in n. 15 to ch. 1, above, and in n. 22 to ch. 3, below.