Over a few decades, the Fatimid Ismaili empire succombed to bitter infighting, intense factionalism, leadership crises and defeat at the hands of the Crusaders in the Middle East. Finally, in 1171 Cairo itself was conquered by Saladin and his Sunni warriors. The Ismaili empire was at an end.
Meanwhile, in the mountains of Iran, a shift was taking in place in the identity of Ismailism. With the Imam in hiding, it was the ascetic warrior Hasan-i Sabbah who took the reigns of leadership. Ismailism became a Persian, rather than Arabic-speaking religion, and morphed from theology and philosophy to a military endeavour in a bid to survive the threat from other Muslims, the Crusaders and, later, the Mongol hordes.
Beginning with the capture of the castle of Alamut (the Eagle's Nest) in the mountains of northeastern Iran in 1090, Hasan-i Sabbah initiated a period in history steeped in heroism and myth. His loyal group of self-sacrificing warriors who eliminated key political targets has spawned a whole games console series and given us the word 'assassin'. When the revolution spread to Syria, Crusaders and 'Saracens' alike were terrified by the legend of the Old Man of the Mountain.
Hasan-i Sabbah's open revolt against the Saljuq Turkish occupiers in Persia was as much a political as a religious effort. As in the Fatimid empire, Ismailism was adopted as a tool of nationalism, championing social justice for an oppressed and aggrieved people. Without a visible living Imam, it was leaders like Hasan-i Sabbah who gained the allegiance of Ismailis.
Originally published 2 years ago