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In 1090 Hassan-i Sabbah took the mountain fortress of Alamut without a battle — Persian chronicles say he handed its owner a draft for 3,000 gold dinars.

Alamut, 1090

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Why it matters

The idea in context

Alamut stands on a rock ridge in the Elburz mountains of northern Persia, approachable by one narrow path. Hassan had spent years quietly winning over the people of the surrounding valleys before he ever addressed the castle itself, so by the time he arrived the garrison was already half his. A state that would outlast him by well over a century began as a property transaction. Patience had already done the work a siege could not.

Türkçe

Aynı kart, başka bir dilde.

Hasan Sabbah 1090'da Alamut dağ kalesini savaşmadan aldı; Fars kroniklerine göre kalenin sahibine 3.000 altın dinarlık bir senet verdi.
Alamut, 1090

Alamut, Kuzey İran'da Elburz dağlarında tek bir dar yoldan çıkılan kaya sırtında durur. Hasan, kaleyle ilgilenmeden çok önce yıllarını çevredeki vadi halkını kazanmakla geçirmişti; oraya vardığında garnizonun yarısı zaten onundu. Kendisinden bir yüzyıldan fazla süre yaşayacak bir devlet, bir mülk devri olarak başladı. Kuşatmanın yapamayacağı işi sabır çoktan görmüştü.

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Background reading: Hasan-i SabbahAttribution and context are revised when stronger evidence appears. Corrections are welcome through the editorial page.
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Next in the open archiveThe Nizaris carved lined cisterns into the mountain, channelled water from distant springs and terraced the valley below, so Alamut could simply ignore a blockade.Q2124