The Assassins (25 page)

i Rashid al-Din, 97; Kashani, 120. Juvayni, 187/667, has Hasan born in Rayy to which, according to other sources, he was taken as a child. This difference would seem to be due to careless abridgement by Juvayni. According to Ibn al-Jawzi (d. 1201), Hasan came originally from Marv, and had served as secretary to the ra'is `Abd al-Razzaq ibn Bahram when he was a young man (A1-Munta~am, ix, Hyderabad 1359, 121; idem, Talbis Iblis, Cairo 1928, 110; English translation by D. S. Margoliouth, `The Devil's Delusion', in IC, ix, 1935, 555)• In the alleged letter from Hasan to Malikshah, he says that his father was a Shafi 'i Sunni, and that he was brought up as such. This is one of several details that throw doubt on the authenticity of the letter. See Hodgson, 43; Falsafi, 406.

2 Juvayni, 188-9/667-8; Rashid al-Din, 97-9; Kashani, 120-3; Hodgson, 44-5. On Ibn `Attash see EI(2) S.V. (by B. Lewis).

3 Rashid al-Din, 110-2. On the three schoolfellows story see E. G. Browne, `Yet more light on `Umar-i Khayyam', in JRAS (1899), 409-16; H. Bowen, article cited above; Browne, Lit. Kist., 190-3; M. Th. Houtsma, Recueil de textes relatifs a l'histoire des Seldjoucides, ii, Leiden 1889, preface, pp. xiv-xv, n. 2; Hodgson, 137-8. Falsafi (406-10) defends the authenticity of the story. A late Egyptian source (Ibn al-Dawadari, Kan{ al-durar, vi, ed. Salah. al-Din al-Munajjid, Cairo 1961, 494) says that Hasan-i Sabbah was a fellow-student of Ghazal!. This would seem to be due to a misunderstanding.

4 Ibn al-Athir, anno 494, x, 215-6/viii, 201; cf. idem, anno 427, ix, 304-5 /viii, 1 1, and anno 487, x, 161 /viii, 172-3. According to Ibn al-Athir, Hasan travelled to Egypt disguised as a merchant. See further Maqrizi, Mugaffa, s.v. al-Hasan ibn al-Sabbah.

Ilasan's own account of his journey to and from Egypt underlies the three versions of Juvayni, 189-91/668--9, Rashid al-Din, 99-103, and Kashani, 122-5. Cf. Hodgson, 45-7 (the error concerning the length of Ijasan's stay in Egypt is corrected in the same author's article in EI(2) ); Falsafi, 411-2. It is clear from Hasan's own account that he did not personally meet the Fatimid Caliph, and that Ibn al-Athir's story of such a meeting, and of the Caliph's deliberately ambiguous naming of his heir, is therefore untrue (see Asaf A. A. Fyzee, Al-Hiddyatu'1-Jnurzya, LondonCalcutta 1938, 15). The apocryphal letter of Hasan to Malikshah contains the curious assertion that the Commander of the Armies was incited against him by the Abbasid Caliph, and that he was saved from the plots of his enemies by the Imam himself.

6 Juvayni, 190/669.

7 Ibn al-Fagih, Mukhtasar Kitab al-Bulddn, ed. M. J. de Goeje, Leiden 1885, 283; cit. V. Minorsky, La domination des Dailamites, Paris 1932, 5.

8 Ibn al-Athir, anno 494, x, 215 viii, 201.

9 Juvayni, 193/669-7o-

10 Juvayni, 193-5/669-71; Rashid al-Din, 103-5; Kashani, 125-8; Ibn al-Athir, wino 494, x, 216/viii, 201-2; Hodgson, 48-50; Falsafi, 413-4-

ix Rashid al-Din, 134; variant versions in Kashani, 154 and Juvayni, 216/683. Characteristically, Juvayni changes da`vat (mission) to bid`at (heretical innovation).

12 Juvayni, 199/673-4; cf. Rashid al-Din, 1o7; Kashani, 130.

13 Juvayni, 2o8-9/679; Rashid al-Din, i 15-16; Kashani, 36-7.

14 Juvayni, 200/674; Rashid al-Din, 107-8; Kashani, 130-1; Ibn al-Athir, anno 494, x, 217/viii, 202; Hodgson, 74.

15 Ibn al-Athir, anno 494, x, 217/viii, 202; Hodgson, 76.

16 Ibn al-Jawzi, 41-MuntaTam, ix, Hyderabad 1359 A.H., I2o-I; idem, Talbis Iblis, Cairo 1928, I to (English translation by D. S. Margoliouth in IC, ix, 1935, 555), Ibn al-Athir, wino 494, x, 213/ Viii, 200-1; Hodgson, 47-8.

17 Juvayni, 201-2/674-5; cf. Rashid al-Din, xo8-9; Kashani, 131; Hodgson, 74-5.

18 Rashid al-Din, 11o; cf. Juvayni, 204/676-7 (and the editor's note on pp. 406-7 of the text); Kashani, 132-3; Ibn al-Athir, anno 485, x, 137-8/viii, 161-2; M. Th. Houtsma, `The death of Nizam al-Mulk and its consequences', in Journal of Indian History, iii (1924), i47-6o; Hodgson, 75.

19 Persian text edited by Mull. Taqi Danishpazhuh in Revue de la Faculte des Lettres, UniversitJ de Tabri.t, xvii/3, 1344 s., 329. In this and the following issues Dr Danishpazhuh has published a group of interesting sources, mostly polemical, concerning the Ismailis.

20 W. Ivanow, `An Ismaili poem in praise of fidawis', in JBBRAS, xiv (1938), 63-72.

21 W. Ivanow, `The organization of the Fatimid propaganda', in JBBRAS, xv (1939), 1-35; cf. the same author's remarks in the introductions to his editions of the Divan of Khaki Khorasani (Bombay 1933, 11) and of the Haft bab of Abu Ishaq Quhistani (Bombay 1959, 011-14). See further the articles `da`i' (by H. G. S. Hodgson) and `da`wa' (by M. Canard) in EI(2). The ranks are discussed by Nasir al-Din Tusi, The Rawdatu'l-Taslim, commonly called Tasawwurat, ed. and translated by W. Ivanow, Bombay 1950, text 96-7, translation 143-4. For a modern Ismaili account, based on some early material, see Mian Bhai Mulla Abdul Husain, Gulbari Daudi for the Bohras of India, Ahmedabad n.d. [? 1920].

22 Juvayni, 207-8/678-9; Rashid al-Din, 116-2o; Kashani, 137-41; Hodgson, 76 n. and 86-7. On the castle of Girdkuh see W. Ivanow, `Some Ismaili strongholds in Persia', in IC, xii (1938), 392-6, and Manu6ehr Sutudah, `Qal `a-i Girdkuh', in Mihr, viii (1331 s), 339-43 and 484-90.

23 The rise and fall of the Ismailis in Isfahan seem to have received little attention in the chronicle of Alamut. Juvayni has nothing to say on the subject; Rashid al-Din (120 f.) and Kashani (142 f.) give brief accounts, which may be based on other, non-Ismaili sources. The episode is discussed in the general sources for the period, e.g. Ibn ar-Rawandi, Rahat-us-Sudur, ed. Muh Igbal, London 1921, 155-61; Zahir al-Din Nishapuri, Sal ugndme, Tehran 1332s-, 39-42; Ibn al-Jawzi, Muntatam, ix, 15o-I. Al-Bundari, abridged from `Imad al-Din, Histoire des Seldjoucides de 1'Iraq, ed. M. Th. Houtsma, Leiden 1889, 90-2; Ibn al-Athir, anno 494, x, 215-17/viii, 201-4; anno 500, x, 299-302/viii, 242-3, etc. Modern studies: Hodgson, 85-6, 88-9, 95-6; Lewis, `Ibn `Attash' in EI(2) s.v.; Muh. Mihryar, `Shahdiz Kujast?', in Revue de la Faculte des Lettres d'Isfahan, i (1343 /1965), 87-157.

24 Ibn al-Athir, wino 494, x, 220/viii, 203.

25 Ibn al-Athir, anno 497, x, 260/viii, 223.

z6 Ihn al-Athir, wino 494, x, 221/viii, 204.

27 Ibn al-Athir, anno Soo, x, 299/viii, 242. Ibn al-Athir gives the fullest account of the siege.

28 Ibn al-Qalanisi, History of Damascus, ed. H. F. Amedroz, Beirut 19o8, 153; French translation by R. Le Tourneau, Damas de z o,75 a z z 54, Damascus 1952, 68-9.

29 135-6Ibn Kashani, al-Qalanisi, 162 (= Le Tourneau, 83-4); al-Bundari,98-ioo; 124-5; al-Din, Rashid cf. 211/680; Juvayni, Ibn al-Athir, anno 503, x, 335 /viii, 259; Hodgson, 97.

30 Juvayni, 207/678-

31 Juvayni, 212/681; Rashid al-Din, 126-32; Kashani, 141 ff.; Ibn al-Athir, anno 511, x, 369~o/ix, 278.

32 Al-Bundari, 147.

33 Juvayni, 213-5/681-2; cf. Rashid al-Din, 123; Kashani, 144. A Syrian Ismaili author tells the story of the dagger and the message in relation to Saladin.

34 Ibn al-Qalanisi, 203; English translation by H. A. R. Gibb, The Damascus chronicle of the Crusades, London 1932, 163-

35 Rashid al-Din, 133, 137; cf. Kashani, 1 S 3, 156.

36 Ibn Muyassar, Annales d'Egypte, 65-6; cf. ibid. 68-9; Ibn al-~ ayrafi, Al-Ishara ila man nala'l-w4ara, ed. Ali Mukhlis, in BIFAO, xxv (1925), 49; S. M. Stem, `The epistle of the Fatimid Caliph al-Amir (al-Hidaya al-Amiriyya) - its date and purpose', in JRAS, (195o), 20-31; Hodgson, 1o8-9.

37 Juvayni, 215/682-3; cf. Rashid al-Din, 133-4; Kashani, 153-4-

38 Ibn al-Athir, anno 494, x, 216/viii, 201; Maqrizi, Muga. , s.v. al-Hasan ibn al-Sabbah.

39 Juvayni, 210680; cf. Rashid al-Din, 124; Kashani, 145.

4o ibid.

41 On the autobiography, see the bibliographical note to this chapter, above. The abridgement of his treatise, called the four chapters, is given in an Arabic version by the twelfth-century heresiographer al-Shahrastani, in his work Al-Milal wa'l-nihal, cited above; English translation in Hodgson, 325-8.

Chapter 4 (pages 64--96)

Much of what was said above concerning the sources for the career of Hasan-i Sabbah also applies to the history of the Ismailis in Persia in the period between his death and the Mongol conquest. Our main source is still the chronicles of Alamut, as cited by Juvayni, Rashid al-Din, and Kashani. The extant literature of the Nizari Ismailis is mainly religious in content, but preserves some passages of historical interest. Additional information may be gathered from the general historical and other literature relating to the Seljuq, Khorazmian and Mongol periods, in Arabic and Persian. Very few of these works have as yet been translated into a European language. Apart from Professor Boyle's translation of Juvayni, mention may be made of the following: Ch. Defremery, `Histoire des Seldjoucides' [the Tartkh-i Gu ida of Hamdullah Mustawfi], in J,4, xi (1848), 417-62; Xii (1848), 259-79, 334-70; H. G. Raverty, Tabakat-i-Nasiri [by Minhaj-i Siraj Juzjani], 2 vols., London 1881; O. Houdas, Histoire du Sultan Djelal ed-Din Mankobirti [by Muhammad al-Nasawi], Paris 1895; E. G. Browne, History of Tabaristan [by Ibn Isfandiyar], London i 905. A group of coins from the Ismaili mint, struck in 542/1147-8, 548/ 1153-4, 551/1156-7, and 555/116o--1, was examined by P. Casanova, `Monnaie des Assassins de Perse', in Revue Numismatique, 3° serie, xi (1893), 343-52. A small Ismaili gold coin is preserved in the Istanbul Museum of Antiquities (E 175).

The basic monograph on the history of the Ismailis is that of Professor Hodgson, where earlier work by other scholars, notably W. Ivanow, is discussed. Briefer accounts will be found in the articles, `Alami t', `Buzurg-ummid', etc. in EI(2). Particular aspects of Ismaili history have been discussed by Mme L. V. Stroyeva, ` "Den' voskresenya iz mertvikh" i ego sotsial'naya sush~nost", in Kratkiye Soobskceniya Instituta Vostokovedeniya, xxxviii (1960), 19-25, and `Poslednii Khorezmshah i Ismailiti Alamuta', in Issledovaniya po istorii kul'turt narodov vostoka: sbornik v test' Akademika I. A Orbeli, MoscowLeningrad 1960, 451-63. Some account of the Ismailis and their place in local history is given by H. L. Rabino di Borgomale, `Les dynasties locales du Gilan et du Daylam', in JA, ccxxxvii (1949), 301 if, especially 314-6.

On the Seljuqs and their successors, reference may be made to the chapters by Claude Cahen in K. M. Setton (editor-in-chief), fl history of the Crusades, vol. i, ed. M. W. Baldwin, Philadelphia 195 5, chapter 5, and vol. ii, edd. R. L. Wolff and H. W. Hazard, 1962, chapters 19 and 21, and to relevant articles in EI(z) and EI(2). Detailed works by Turkish, Persian and Arab scholars include: Osman Turan, Selfuklular tarihi ve Turk-Isldm medeniyeti, Ankara 1965 ; Mehmed Altay Koymen, Biiyi k Selfuklu Imparatorlugu tarihi, ii, Ikinci Imparatorluk devri, Ankara 1954; Husayn Amin, Ta'rikh al-`Iraq fi'l-`asr al-Sa jugi, Baghdad 1965; Ibrahim Kafesoglu, Harermcahler devleti tarihi, Ankara 1956; `Abbas Eghbal, Tarikh-i mufassal--i Iran ..., i, Tehran 1341S.

i Ibn al-Athir, anno 520, x, 445/viii, 319; cf. Ibn Funduq Bayhaqi, Tarikh-i Bayhaq, ed. Ahmad Bahmanyar, Tehran, n.d., 271, 276; Koymen, 151-6; Hodgson, 101-2.

2 Ibn al-Athir, anno 521, x, 456/viii, 325; cf. Khwandamir, Dastur al-vugard, Tehran 1317, 198; Nasir al-Din Munshi Kirmani, Nasa'im al-ashar, ed. Jalal al-Din Muhaddith, Tehran 1959, 64-9; `Abbas Eghbal, Va{drat dar `ahd--i salatin-i bururg-i Sal uqt, Tehran 1338 s., 254-60.

3 Rashid al-Din, 138; Kashani, 158. The construction of Maymundiz is not mentioned by Juvayni. For a detailed description of the site see Willey, The castles of the Assassins, 15 8 ff.

4 Tdrikh-i Ststdn, ed. Bahar, Tehran 1935, 391•

5 Rashid al-Din, 140; Kashani, i 59.

6 Juvayni, 220-1/685; cf. Rashid al-Din, 141-2; Kashani, 164-5 Hodgson, 104.

7 Rashid al-Din, 142; Kashani, 165; Hodgson, 103.

8 Rashid al-Din, 141; Kashani, 160-4 (a very full account); Hodgson, 103-

9 Juvayni, 221/685.

lo Rashid al-Din, 146; Kashani, 168.

ii Rashid al-Din, 146-7; Kashani, 168-9; Ibn al-Athir, anno 532, xi, 4o-1/viii, 362; Koymen, 304; Kafesoglu, 26; Hodgson, 143-4-

12 Rashid al-Din, 155; Kashani, 176; Ibn al-Athir, wino 541, xi, 76-7/ix, 15; Hodgson, 145-6.

13 Juvayni, 222-4/686-7; cf. Rashid al-Din, 162-4; Kashani, 183-4.

14 Abu Ishaq Quhistani, Haft bdb, ed. and trans. by W. Ivanow, Bombay 1959, 41; cf. W. Ivanow, Kaldm-i Pir, Bombay 1935, 6o-1 and 11S7; Juvayni, 226-3o/668--91; Rashid al-Din, 164 ff.; Kashani, 184 ff.; other Ismaili accounts in the Haft bdb-i Bdba Sayyidna (ed. Ivanow in Two early Ismaili treatises, Bombay 1933, English translation, with commentary, in Hodgson, Assassins, 279-324) and in Tusi's Rawdat al-taslim (index). Discussions in Hodgson, 148-57; Bausani, Persia religiosa, 211-2; H. Corbin and Mob. Mo'in, edd., Nasir-i Khosrow, Kitab-e Jami` al-hikmatain, Tehran-Paris 1953, introduction, 22-5; Stroyeva, `Den' voskresenya...', loc.cit. (in bibliographical note above).

15 Juvayni, 230/691; cf. Rashid al-Din, x66; Kashani, 186.

16 Juvayni, 237-8/695-6; cf. Rashid al-Din, 168-9; Kashani, 188. Similar doctrines are attributed to the strangler sects in the eighth century. See above pp. 26 and 128.