One of the most attractive historical tourist destinations in Iran is Alamut Castle. This is a place at the foot of the Alborz foot above one of the widest plateaus.
Alamut means eagle nest. Hassan Sabah, the leader of Ismailis, has lived there for 35 years and has led the community from there.
Alamut Castle is located in the northwest of Qazvin Province, next to the village of Gaza Khan. The fortress is known for its association with Hassan Sabbah, the preacher of the Ismaili religion during the Seljuk period.
After being expelled from the Seljuk court, he went to the Fatimid dynasty in Egypt to learn the principles of the Ismaili religion, and soon became a nobleman at school.
After returning to Iran, he traveled across the plateau to find a place to build his headquarters. Finally, he identified the Alamut region as a suitable place.
Sabbah died of illness after 35 years of living with his family in Qazvin's Alamut Castle.
The Importance of Alamut Castle
If you are a fan of computer games, you must have heard the names of "The Killers" and "The Prince of Persia" and the trilogy "Sands of Time". The main story of these games is taken from Hassan Sabbah's story and the historic castle Alamut, which is a popular theme among teenagers.
But why is Hassan Sabbah and Alamut Castle and the story so appealing to imaginative and creative teenagers and video game enthusiasts? In this article, we intend to answer this question more or less.
Alamut Castle is located in the northwest of Qazvin province, next to the village of Gaza khan. The fortress is known for its name associated with Hassan Sabbah, the preacher of the strange Ismaili religion in the Seljuk period. Hassan Sabbah, after being expelled from Khawaja Nizam Al-Mulk and Seljuk Shah, went to the Fatimid dynasty in Egypt to learn the principles of the Ismaili religion, and soon became a nobleman at this school. After returning to Iran, he traveled across the plateau to find a place to build his headquarters, eventually identifying the Alamut region as a suitable site for this purpose.
Some historians have different ideas about the year of construction of Alamut, but it is considered to belong to the early Seljuk period. Hassan Sabbah conquered this fort in 1049. He paid 2,000 gold dinars to the previous owner, who had been forced to sell the castle.
This castle is of special importance among climbers and tourists. They travel to see, take a picture and experience the breath in the castle's strange atmosphere.
Presumably, it was the main center of the Assassins until it was invaded by the Mongols. Eventually, most of the rooms, including the legendary Sabah Library, were set on fire. This is one of our great regrets; we lost many documents about the secret of Hassan Sabbah and the castle.
This castle is known as "Hassan Castle" among the locals. It may be a little surprising to tell some of the mysteries that have formed around this historic castle. But it's good to learn more about Assassin's hidden angles and how they were formed. They were frightening forces that wanted to take over the world.
Therefore, you must know, like many enemies, this begins with a friendship that at first seemed immortal. Where one side is Omar Khayyam, an Iranian poet and astronomer, and the other side is Hassan Sabah, or Nizam-Al-Mulk, the legend known as the fantastic story of three schoolmates.
The three made a promise at a young age that if each reached a position, they would help the other two. The three schoolmates were Khajeh Nizam, Omar Khayyam and Hassan Sabbah.
The story behind the castle
The story of Hassan Sabbah and Alamut Castle is a mysterious story. Above all, you may have heard the term schoolmates, but do not know who this term refers to, in what period of history?
One of those who wrote a beautiful account of the formation of the epic of the three schoolmates, is an English writer and nobleman named Edward Fitzgerald.
For the first time in 1859, he translated a large part of Khayyam's squares into English and wrote in the introduction to the book.
These three were all divided so that when one of them came to power, he would help the other two.
As a result, the apple of the pact tree of this trinity, when it fell, turned in such a way that the first eunuch of Nizam al-Mulk first sat on the service bench about Seljuks.
He gave Khayyam the opportunity to write in his spare time and continue his scientific work. Rumor has it that Hassan Sabbah also reached a position, but after making a dispute, he left the court and the position. He went to North Africa and formed a sect that later became known as the Assassins. The famous slogan is theirs was:"There is no truth and everything is allowed." So, by imprinting that there is no pure reality and that we live in a cold cosmic realm.
Hassan Sabbah instilled in his followers a state of self-awareness and unconsciousness in which they could use maximum violence against Hassan Sabbah's enemies.
The word hashish means botanist, which means that someone can guide people to the world of ecstasy, help with medicinal plants.
They soon became an extremist and irrational anti-social group. They tried to dominate the entire territory of Iran and the Middle East through repeated revenge. Then became known as Fedai during this period. So they went to the Rafi'i Hills and built a castle, which became known as Alamut Castle. The story later led to the writing of novels, movies and many video games today. Although there is disagreement about the usefulness of the teachings of these violent video games.
The Mysterious Hassan Sabbah
There are many anecdotes around Hassan Sabbah. He was originally a religious preacher who, with the help of his mystical techniques, created an extremist sect to conquer the world from the mysticism of his knowledge in the worlds of metapsychology and the occult.
He was the founder of the Ismaili government on the plateau in Iran, located at the height between Qazvin and Gillan. With the help of his close allies, he pulled the castle of Alamut out of the hands of the original owner and fortified it.
Hassan had brought his allies from North Africa to take revenge on Seljuks, more specifically on Khawaja Nizam Al-Mulk. He was born in Qom, but some believe he was of Kufa descent. In Rey he studied. Then he converted to an unknown religion.
One of the great deceivers in history, who created a lot of terror in society by inciting the young people in their time.
His main goal was to fight alongside the poles of power in the Middle East. Including Seljuks in Iran, the Abbasid Caliphate in Iraq and the Fatimid regime in Egypt. He formed an extremist group of young people known as Fadais, and began murdering and terrorizing throughout the territory, ignoring any means to achieve his goals.
Sabbah carried out the attacks in a dramatic way in front of the people. Which seemed scary.
Hassan Sabbah is basically one of the founders of guerrilla and sectarian thinking in history. He never launched major attacks and always prescribed retaliatory attacks on Fadaiyan.
One of the important characteristics of Sabbah's personality was his great dependence on reading. He collected a large library of important books and manuscripts at the Palace, and spent most of the day reading.
Architecture and Ecology
The word Alamut itself means the eagle's nest. Many British tourists, who have mentioned visiting the castle in their travel descriptions, see the castle as a castle of the gods. They describe it as small as a small village on the outskirts of London or Sheffield.
Alamut Castle covers an area of 20,000 square meters. At an altitude of 2100 meters above sea level.
Some archaeologists first thought that the castle was a prison. However, they discovered traces of the lives of important officials in the building.
In the eastern part of the castle there are ruins that were once animal stalls, reservoirs and rooms.
The fortress has two upper and lower parts. In both, a different opening has been made from the other part, and the reason is the condition of the ground and the stones on which that part lies.
Surprisingly, this castle, high up on Alamut mountain, has only one entrance. It is located on the east side of the castle.
The path to the castle offers you a zigzag mountain hike, which in itself is a complete nature and mountain tourism.
The architecture of the castle, which is divided into two parts and has an east-west organization. With strong walls, whose curvature and truth inevitably follow the topography of the red rocky rocks in the rock in red and burnt brown. In addition, Alamut Castle originally had four towers, but now has three towers.
The water was supplied from rock sources and was reached into the castle room from sources such as the Calder spring with a ceramic pipe system.
The castle has only one entrance in the eastern part. In this part, a tunnel with a length of 6 meters has been dug into the heart of the stones. Through which you can see the south tower and the south wall of the castle.
The materials used in the construction of this castle are stone and plaster mortar. It comes with bricks and tiles. Interestingly, pottery has existed in some parts of this castle.
Alamut Village
The Alamut region itself consists of two parts, western Alamut and eastern Alamut. The climate in this region is mountainous and in some seasons it rains.
The city of Razmian is one of the most important residential centers in western Alamut. It has its own sights, and another fortress Hassan Sabbah is located in it.
The Lambser building is an important fort of Hassan Sabbah, located 3 km northeast of the village of Razmian. The deep valleys of Nineh-rood have taken this fort out of reach. Today, this castle is one of the tourist attractions in Qazvin and the village of Alamut.
When crowded, it is a dynamic space for photos and discussions and historical debates about Hassan Sabbah. In many stories and tales that have been left about him.
Souvenirs in this area include local bread and cherry jam. You can buy either walnuts or packets of dried cherries.
There are also a number of local dairy products. Here, pickles have many properties for the treatment of chronic diseases. Crafts such as Jajim and handicrafts are other good souvenirs in the region.
Among the local dishes we can mention walnut chops, turnip soup and pickle soup. It's a pleasure for tourists to try.
Alamut and Sabbah in Modern Literature
The Hashashin's stories have become so popular. Writers such as William Burroughs were interested in the adventures of Hassan Sabbah. Because they sought the roots of totalitarian and violent military ideas in his mind. In addition, Jorge Luis Borges has also retold this fascinating and mysterious story in a fiction called Secret.
Last words
As a final point, in the loneliness of this region, there is the emptiness of the mountains and the silence.
Good weather, healthy food and a historical background invite you to form unforgettable memories in this beautiful place.
If you are interested in historical, archeological tourism with a rich anthropological background, Alamut is an ideal tourist destination for you.
You can safely cross the secluded corner of the inhabited world in the middle of this stunning mountain without anyone disturbing you. From this place you can take a historical journey into the fantasy world, where some buildings stood on plains and hills, regardless of a daily routine.