The Nizarians, Nizârites, Nizaris are a mystical Muslim community (Shî`ite Ismaili) active since the 11th century.
In 1094, following a major split in Fatimid Ismaili Shiism, a new preaching (da'wa al-jadîda) was organized by Hasan-i Sabbah, from the fort erected on Mount Alamut, to the south-west of the Caspian Sea. At the end of the Middle Ages, the development of the Ismaili community continued clandestinely under the guise of Sufism and coincided with the rise of Eastern Ismailism (twenty-five million faithful today), headed by the 'Agha Khan.
Origin of Nizarian Ismailism
Originally, those who are called Nizarians are only the followers of Ismailism in Iran, that is to say a minority Shiite community in a region under the tutelage of Sunni viziers. Under the leadership of their charismatic leader Hassan ibn al-Sabbah, the Ismailis took control of the fort of Alamût in 1090 and extended their influence in Iran as well as in Syria.
After the death of the Fatimid Caliph Mustansir Billah, a serious split occurred in the Ismaili community over the succession to the Imam. Al-Mustansir had designated his son Nizâr as heir; on the other hand his young son Ahmad gained the support of his father-in-law, the vizier al-Afdal who placed him on the throne with the title of al-Musta‘lî.
Hasan-i Sabbah and the Ismailis of Persia gave allegiance to Nizâr and his descendants. The Ismailis seized the fortress of Qadmûs in the region of Jabal Bahrâ‘ in 1132; Masyaf, the most important stronghold was taken in 1140-1141. Thus the Nizarian Ismailis of Syria were led by delegates sent by the Lords of Alamût; the most famous of these was Rashid al-Din Sinan (1162-1192) who led the Ismaili preaching (da‘wa) in Syria.
According to the Ismaili version, Imam Nizar, after taking refuge in Alexandria, was repeatedly attacked by the vizier Malik al-Afdal. Eventually al-Afdal's army arrested Nizâr and his governor, and they were brought before al-Musta'lî. The governor was killed on the spot and Imâm Nizâr died imprisoned in 1096. Before dying, Nizâr designated his son al-Hâdî to succeed him to the throne of the Imâmat and the latter joined Hasan-i Sabbah in Alamût. The Fatimid Empire was greatly weakened by the economic crisis and the lack of unity among the Ismailis. Moreover, the military power in the hands of the vizier Badr al-Jamâlî, a former Armenian slave, began to decline, while the power in Alamût would remain until the 13th century.
According to Wladimir Ivanow and Henry Corbin, Nizâr's grandson (al-Muhtadî?) was brought to the fortress of Alamût by Hasan-i Sabbah, who led the Nizâr campaign in the name of the Imam. The situation was analogous to the period of clandestinity (dawr al-satr), which prevailed before the rise of the Fatimids, because the Imams remained hidden (mastûr) from public view to avoid the persecutions to which they were subjected. This period of history is very confusing, because we have very few Ismaili historical sources, the majority of the documents available are those written by Sunni historians, the most bitter opponents of the Nizarian Ismailis. The latter believe that the descendants of Nizâr survived but remained hidden from the public to avoid persecution. During this period of uncertainty Hasan-i Sabbah was the official representative who maintained a privileged relationship with the Imam to lead the community through this turbulent period. Thus the Sunni historians, 'Atâ-Malik Juwaynî (governor of Baghdad), Rashid al-din Fadl Allah and the author of the book entitled Sargudhasht-i Sayyidnâ have reported to us a partial and non-objective version of Ismailism which is developed in Alamût. Hasan-i Sabbah was both a politician and a religious man. According to Christian Jambet, "he created a network of fortresses, allowing control of the surrounding territory, a network which, consolidated from 1124 by his successor Kiyâ Buzurg-Ummîd, included areas such as Rudbar with Alamût, center of the new convocation, Daylam and the region of Qazvin, the stronghold of Girdkuh further east, not far from Damghan, the region of Ray, a few positions in Khuzestan, a strong presence in Quhistan, between Nichapur and Qâ'in. » [1]. The regions belonging to the Nizarian Ismailis faced various attacks from the Saljûqs army, and the Abbasids wanted to isolate the Nizarians in order to make them disappear from the region. The Nizarian Ismailis were accused of all the evils of the earth by their enemies which gave rise to the legend of the "murderers" consuming hashish, etc. The term "assassin" and the legend surrounding it was conveyed by Marco Polo in his travelogues, based on the fantastic stories he had heard in prison. It is a fictionalized account intended to please the fertile imagination of the French people, not a historical document, and the documents of the time from Iranian sources, now available in translation, make it possible to invalidate its validity.
The son of Kiyâ Buzurg-Ummîd, Muhammad II, undertook in 1138 to consolidate the small Nizarian territory, until his death in 1162. Subsequently, as the period was more favorable and more peaceful, Imam Hasan 'Ala Dhikrihi al-Salâm, the legitimate descendant of Nizâr, assumed full responsibility for the administration of the Nizâr state.
The “Great Resurrection”
In 1162, Hasan II succeeded his father (al-Qahir). It will totally upset Nizarian religious conceptions. On August 8, 1164, he proclaimed the “Resurrection of Resurrections” (Qiyâmât al-Qiyâmât) before an assembly of believers gathered in Alamût. This proclamation initiated believers into the hidden meaning (bâtin) of revelation in order to unveil the truth (haqîqat), it resulted in the lifting of religious law (sharî`a), not by abolishing it but by considering it as a preliminary step before completing it with the inner meaning. The prophetic cycle of Muhammad now complete, the Imams had the mission of unveiling the hidden meaning, by explaining the interior dimension of the Qur’ân, by going to the primary meaning, that is to say to the source of revelation. The Nizarian Ismaili Abû Ishâq-i Quhistânî of the end of the 15th century relates an extract from the Great Resurrection:
“O you beings who populate the universes! You geniuses, men and angels! Know that Mawlâ-nâ (our Lord) is the Resurrector (Qâ’im al-Qiyâma). He is the Lord of beings, he is the Lord who is absolute existence (wujûd mutlaq), thus excluding all existential determination, because he transcends them all. He opens the door of his mercy, and by the light of his knowledge he makes every being see, hear, speak, live for eternity. »
The reign of Hasan 'Alâ Dhikrihi al-Salâm was brief, he was killed by wounds in 1166[3]. His successor Imam Nûr al-dîn Muhammad continued this spiritual mission until 1210. The next Imâm Jalâl al-dîn Hasan proclaimed that the community was once again entering a period of secrecy (satr). Hasan III put more emphasis on the sharî‘a in order to establish good relations with the Sunnis, which allowed him to acquire new territories. His son Muhammad III gave a little less importance to the sharî'a, he restructured the doctrine and the practice of dissimulation of the faith (taqiyya) was restored to enter again in a period of clandestinity (satr).
The Nizarians and the Crusaders in Syria
According to Isabelle Baudron, the relations between the Templars and the Ismailis of Alamût are attested in the chronicle of Jean de Joinville, biographer of Saint Louis. The author relates the visit of the Elder of the Mountain, leader of the Nizarians, to Acre. He was then received by King Louis IX. Beyond this meeting, there is an exchange of gifts between the two sovereigns, made possible by a Breton preacher brother who spoke Arabic. Several times, the Nizarians visited the crusaders in Acre and in particular the Hospitallers. The Old Man of the Mountain had asked for help from St. Louis against the Mongols who were invading Persia (and who eventually took Alamût) (See the colorful account of the meeting between the emissaries of Alamût and St. Louis) .
The Templars acted as intermediaries with the Muslim world. Like the Ismailis, they were knights who believed in the same God, and fought the invading Mongols. They undertook to work together at the cultural and religious levels:the Templars learned the use of Arabic numerals, astronomy, etc., and acquired a level of evolution superior to that of their contemporaries, hence the economic development of the Order and its independence from the authorities[4].
The Decline
The Ismaili state in Alamût ended in the 13th century with the invasion of the Mongols led by the conqueror Hulagou Khan; Rukh al-Din Khurshah was assassinated during this invasion around 1257. Then Nizarian Ismailism continued in Persia, hidden under the cloak of Sufism; a beginning of emigration to India began.
Descendants
Little is known about the history of the Nizarians in the period following the destruction and massacres of the Mongols. What remains of the community disperses into isolated groups and tries to survive as discreetly as possible, still under the threat of persecution from Sunni Muslims. The movement experienced a certain resurgence in the 15th century. The small Iranian town of Anjudan is chosen as the seat of the community and missionaries are sent to India and Central Asia.
In the 19th century, Hasan 'Alî Shâh, Imam heir to the long succession of Nizarian Ismaili Imams, received the title of Aga Khan from the hands of the Shah of Iran. Forced to leave Iran for political reasons, Hasan ‘Alî Shâh settled in India. The British administration requires the Khôjas to recognize him as their Imam, many refused. Nowadays, it is Prince Shâh Karîm al-Husaynî Aga Khan IV who leads the Ismaili community.
The Nizarian Imams from the 11th to the 12th century
Nizarian Imams in Persia and Syria Reign Imam Representative of the Imam Region(s)
1094 - 1095 Nizâr Hassan ibn al-Sabbah Persia
1095 - 1096? al-Hadi? Hassan ibn al-Sabbah Persia and Syria
1096? - 1124 al-Muhtadi? Hassan ibn al-Sabbah Persia and Syria
1124 - 1138 Qahir? Kiya Buzurg-Ummîd Persia and Syria
1138 - 1162 Qahir? Muhammad Buzurg-Ummîd Persia and Syria
1162 - 1166 Hasan II Persia and Syria
1166 - 1210 Muhammad II Persia and Syria
1210 - 1221 Hasan III Persia and Syria
1221 - 1255 Muhammad III Persia and Syria
1255 - 1257 Rukn ad-Din Khurshâh Persia and Syria
Notes on the Nizari[edit]
Ta‘lim Doctrine
Often defined as the teaching of the Imam, the doctrine of ta'lim was developed more particularly by Hasan-i Sabbah. Al-Ghazali used the word ta'lîmiyya to designate the Ismailis in order to attack them with especially violent hostility in his treatise Kitâb al-Mustazhirî. The Ismailis in general do not follow the literal meaning of the Qur'ân, but much more the esoteric meaning (batin) which is given by the Imam; this teaching is commonly called (ta'lîm). Thus the Ismailis attach great importance to spiritual exegesis (ta’wîl) which consists in discovering the meaning hidden behind the zâhir. The ta'wîl given by the Imam clarifies the allegorical verses of the Koran and gives the esoteric meaning of the transcendental realities (haqâ'iq). Thanks to this teaching ta'lîm the believer (murîd) has the opportunity to know and to unite with the Deity. The Sharia|sharî`a in the sense of literal religion is nevertheless useful in Ismailism it constitutes the first stage of initiation. As the Imâm is Sâmit (Silent) it is not he who teaches the mustajîbs (neophytes), it is the Hujja which transmits the ta'lîm of the Imâm. Thanks to his divine inspiration (ta'yîd) and his pure reasoning ('aqlânî) the Hujja is able to transmit the teaching of the Imam to the follower. Man left to himself is incapable of perceiving spiritual realities, for he tends to associate anthropomorphic qualities with Deity.
During the Epiphany Cycle (Dawr al-kashf) where the Imam manifests himself integrally; the zahir and the batin are concomitant; the followers know the frame of the zâhir, the presence of the Hujja is therefore no longer necessary. So there is no more ta'lîm.
Etymology of assassin
According to Henry Corbin, "it is a 'black novel' which has long obscured the name of Ismailism in the absence of authentic texts. "Those responsible are undoubtedly, in the first place, the imagination of the Crusaders and that of Marco Polo. But still in the 19th century, an Austrian man of letters and orientalist von Hammer-Purgstall, projecting... his obsession with "secret societies", suspected them of all the crimes which in Europe some attributed to the Freemasons, others to the Jesuits; the result was this Geschichte der Assassinen of 1818, which was long considered serious. In turn, S. de Sacy, in his Exposé de la religion des Druzes of 1838, passionately supports his etymological explanation of the word "Assassins" by the Hashshâshîn (those who use hashîsh). [...] The strangest thing is that Orientalists have made themselves like this, in the company of an avid author of sensationalism who is found to be the accomplices, until our days, of this anti-Ismaili rumor which would have for origin the Abbasid caliphate from Baghdad. W. Ivanow and the Ismaili Society of Karachi (formerly in Bombay), deny this etymology. Bernard Lewis in his book translated and prefaced in 1984 by Maxime Rodinson, makes this same criticism by excluding the possibility that the word assassin comes from the Arabic Hashshâshîn[5] but he does not offer a solution.
Amin Maalouf, in his novel Samarcande (featuring, among others, Hassan ibn al-Sabbah), gives a different etymology. The word comes from asâs[6], which means “base, foundation”. "According to the texts that have reached us from Alamout, Hassan liked to call his followers "Assassiyoun", those who are faithful to the Assas, to the "Foundation" of the faith, and it is this word, misunderstood by foreign travelers , which seemed to have hints of hash."