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In late 1256 Alamut, the mountain stronghold of the Nizari Ismailis in northern Iran, surrendered to the Mongol army of Hülegü after the Nizari ruler Rukn al-Din Khurshah had submitted. The Mongols then pulled down its walls; a few other Nizari castles held out for years.

Siege of Alamut, 1256

History

The story behind the card

Hülegü, a grandson of Genghis Khan, had been sent west by his brother, the Great Khan Möngke, with orders to destroy the Nizari fortresses and then Baghdad. Khurshah, the young Nizari imam, surrendered at the castle of Maymun-Diz in November 1256 and was made to order his other strongholds to give in. Alamut's commander obeyed in December, and the Mongols began demolishing it. Gerdkuh, near Damghan, held out until 1270. The Nizari state in Persia was finished, but the community survived: its line of imams continued in hiding and leads the Nizari Ismailis today as the Aga Khans.

Türkçe oku
Nizari İsmaililerin kuzey İran'daki dağ kalesi Alamut, hükümdarları Rükneddin Hurşah teslim olduktan sonra, 1256'nın sonunda Hülagü'nün Moğol ordusuna teslim oldu. Moğollar ardından kalenin surlarını yıktı; başka birkaç Nizari kalesi ise yıllarca direndi.

Cengiz Han'ın torunu Hülagü, kardeşi Büyük Han Möngke tarafından batıya gönderilmişti; görevi önce Nizari kalelerini, ardından Bağdat'ı yok etmekti. Genç Nizari imamı Hurşah, Kasım 1256'da Meymundiz Kalesi'nde teslim oldu ve öbür kalelerine de teslim olmalarını emretmek zorunda kaldı. Alamut'un komutanı aralıkta bu emre uydu ve Moğollar kaleyi yıkmaya başladı. Damgan yakınlarındaki Girdkuh ise 1270'e kadar direndi. İran'daki Nizari devleti sona erdi, ama topluluk yaşamayı sürdürdü: İmamlar soyu gizlilik içinde devam etti ve bugün Ağa Hanlar olarak Nizari İsmaililerin önderliğini yapıyor.

Sources and further reading

Background reading: Siege of Alamut (1256)
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