Hasan-i Sabbah also known as Hasan I of Alamut, was a military leader,

Alongside his role as a leader, Sabbah was a scholar of mathematics, most notably in geometry, as well as astronomy and philosophy, especially in epistemology. It is narrated that Hasan and the Persian polymath Omar Khayyam were close friends since their student years. He and each of the later Order of Assassins' leaders came to be known in the West as the "Old Man of the Mountain", a name given by Marco Polo that referenced the sect's possession of the commanding mountain fortress of Alamut Castle.

Sources

Hasan is thought to have written an autobiography, which did not survive but seems to underlie the first part of an anonymous Isma'ili biography entitled Sargudhasht-i Seyyidnā (). The latter is known only from quotations made by later Persian authors. Hasan also wrote a treatise, in Persian, on the doctrine of ta'līm, called, al-Fusul al-arba'a The text is no longer in existence, but fragments are cited or paraphrased by al-Shahrastānī and several Persian historians. one of the first centres of Arab settlement in Persia and a stronghold of Twelver Shia.

Early in his life, his family moved to Rayy. The Persian Isma'ilis supported the da'wa ("mission") directed by the Fatimid caliphate of Cairo and recognized the authority of the Imam-Caliph al-Mustansir (d. 1094), though Isfahan, rather than Cairo, may have functioned as their principal headquarters. as Elder or Old Man of the Mountain. Marco Polo's travelogue (ca. 1300) describes the Old Man of the Mountain as a charlatan who devised plots to convert young men to his sect. At his court "they were educated in various languages and customs, courtly etiquette, and trained in martial and other skills". At Alamut they had "impressive libraries whose collections included books on various religious traditions, philosophical and scientific texts, and scientific equipment".

Xishiji（Chinese: 西使記, a Chinese manuscript completed in 1263, relates a story similar to Marco Polo's. The sect leaders "ordered to send assassins to hide in those kingdoms which did not surrender. They stabbed their lords, and women as well, and they died".

Nizari doctrine

Historians and scholars identify Hasan-i Sabbah as the founder of the Nizari Assassins and their doctrine. It developed during the struggle for succession of Nizar to the Fatimid throne in Cairo that eventually laid the foundation of the Nizari branch of Shia Islam. Since then, as a basic element of conservative nature, the Ismaili Imamate includes a hidden imam, in addition to the visible (hazar, meaning apparent) imam of the time, acting as such in a community. An important task of the latter is the proliferation of the doctrine, and of the undisclosed imam's spiritual guidance, in learning centers having instructors proficient in teaching techniques.

Devotion of the "true believers" having "absolute faith" in the beliefs is another element originating from the times of Sabbah in Northern Iran, who reportedly "was so devout that he even had one of his sons executed after he was accused of drunkenness."

A Nizari assassin is identified as fida'i (devotee), "who offers his life for others or in the service of a particular cause."

Personal life

Hasan is known for his ascetic and austere religious lifestyle. At his modest living quarters in the Alamut Castle, he spent most of his time reading, writing, and administering. During his 45 years of residence in Alamut, he apparently left his quarters only twice to ascend the rooftop.

Hasan al-Sabbah probably had one wife, two daughters, and two sons.

  • A 1938 novel named Alamut by Vladimir Bartol is based on Hasan's rise to power.
  • The British space rock group Hawkwind recorded a song called "Hassan I Sahba" on its 1977 album, Quark, Strangeness and Charm. This song was also recorded by the Brain Surgeons on their album Malpractise.
  • Hasan al-Sabbāh is mentioned, often by his moniker 'The Old Man of the Mountain', in many of William S. Burroughs's novels, including Nova Express, Cities of the Red Night, The Place of Dead Roads and The Western Lands. According to Barry Miles book The Beat Hotel Burroughs was introduced to Hasan through Betty Bouthoul's book while staying in Paris, France. The full story of Burroughs' interest in Hassan al-Sabbah was told in the 2023 book, Two Assassins, by Oliver Harris and Farid Ghadami.
  • He is portrayed in the Turkish TV series Uyanış: Büyük Selçuklu by Gürkan Uygun.
  • He is portrayed in the Egyptian TV series Al-Hashashin by Karim Abdel Aziz.
  • In the Japanese mobile game Fate/Grand Order of the Fate franchise, he is portrayed as the past holder of the Grand Assassin title of the Assassin class, due to him being the source of the word "assassin".
  • The 1988 historical fiction novel Samarkand by Amin Maalouf depicts the relationship between Omar Khayyam, Nizaam al-Mulk, and Hassan al-Sabbah during the conquests of the Seljuk empire.

References

Citations

Sources

Secondary sources

  • Daftary, Farhad, A Short History of the Ismā'īlīs. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1998.
  • Daftary, Farhad, The Assassin Legends: Myths of the Ismā'īlīs. London: I.B. Tauris & Co. Ltd, 1994. Reviewed by Babak Nahid at Ismaili.net
  • Daftary, Farhad, "Hasan-i Sabbāh and the Origins of the Nizārī Ismā'īlī movement." In Mediaeval Ismā'īlī History and Thought, ed. Farhad Daftary. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996. 181–204.
  • Hodgson, Marshall, The Order of Assassins. The Struggle of the Early Nizārī Ismā'īlī Against the Islamic World. The Hague: Mouton, 1955.
  • Hodgson, Marshall, "The Ismā'īlī State." In The Cambridge History of Iran, vol. 5: The Saljuq and Mongol Periods, ed. J.A. Boyle. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1968. 422–82.
  • Lewis, Bernard, The Assassins. A Radical Sect in Islam. New York: Basic Books, 1968.
  • Madelung, Wilferd, Religious Trends in Early Islamic Iran. Albany: Bibliotheca Persica, 1988. 101–5.

Primary sources

  • Hasan-i Sabbah, al-Fuṣūl al-arba'a ("The Four Chapters"), tr. Marshall G.S. Hodgson, in Ismaili Literature Anthology. A Shi'i Vision of Islam, ed. Hermann Landolt, Samira Sheikh and Kutub Kassam. London, 2008. pp. 149–52. Persian treatise on the doctrine of ta'līm. The text is no longer extant, but fragments are cited or paraphrased by al-Shahrastānī and several Persian historians.
  • Sarguzasht-e Sayyidnā
  • HASAN BIN SABBAH AND NIZARI ISMAILI STATE IN ALAMUT
  • The life of Hasan-i-Sabbah as part of an online book on the Assassins of Alamut.
  • Arkon Daraul on Hasan-i-Sabbah.
  • An illustrated article on the Order of Assassins.
  • William S. Burrough's invocation of Hasan-i-Sabbah in Nova Express.
  • Assassins entry in the Encyclopedia of the Orient.
  • Review of the book, "The Assassin Legends: Myths of the Isma'ilis (I. B. Tauris & Co. Ltd: London, 1994), 213 pp." by Babak Nahid, Department of Comparative Literature, University of California, Los Angeles
  • Ismaili Imams and their Love for Knowledge. Islamic Publications Limited