Recent from talks
Hasan-i Sabbah
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Hasan-i Sabbah
Hasan-i Sabbah also known as Hasan I of Alamut, was a religious and military leader, founder of the Nizari Ismai'li sect, Order of Assassins, as well as the Nizari Ismaili state, ruling from 1090 to 1124 AD.
Alongside his role as a leader, Sabbah was a scholar of mathematics, most notably in geometry, as well as astronomy and philosophy, especially in epistemology. It is narrated that Hasan and the Persian polymath Omar Khayyam were close friends since their student years. He and each of the later Order of Assassins' leaders came to be known in the West as the Old Man of the Mountain, a name given by Marco Polo that referenced the sect's possession of the commanding mountain fortress of Alamut Castle.
Hasan is thought to have written an autobiography, which did not survive but seems to underlie the first part of an anonymous Isma'ili biography entitled Sargozasht-e Seyyednā (Persian: سرگذشت سیدنا). The latter is known only from quotations made by later Persian authors. Hasan also wrote a treatise, in Persian, on the doctrine of ta'līm, called, al-Fusul al-arba'a The text is no longer in existence, but fragments are cited or paraphrased by al-Shahrastānī and several Persian historians.
The possibly autobiographical information found in Sargozasht-i Seyyednā is the main source for Hasan's background and early life. According to this, Hasan al-Sabbāh was born in the city of Qom, Persia in the 1050s to a family of Twelver Shia. His father, a Kufan Arab reportedly of Yemenite origins, had left the Sawād of Kufa, Iraq, to settle in the town of Qom, one of the first centres of Arab settlement in Persia and a stronghold of Twelver Shia.
Early in his life, his family moved to Rayy. Rayy was a city that had a history of radical Islamic thought since the 9th century, with Hamdan Qarmaṭ as one of its teachers.
It was in this religious centre that Hasan developed a keen interest in metaphysical matters and adhered to the Twelver code of instruction. During the day he studied at home, and mastered palmistry, languages, philosophy, astronomy and mathematics (especially geometry).
Rayy was also the home of Isma'ili missionaries in the Jibal. At the time, Isma'ilism was a growing movement in Persia and other lands east of Egypt. The Persian Isma'ilis supported the da'wa ("mission") directed by the Fatimid caliphate of Cairo and recognized the authority of the Imam-Caliph al-Mustansir (d. 1094), though Isfahan, rather than Cairo, may have functioned as their principal headquarters. The Ismā'īlī mission worked on three layers: the lowest was the fida'i or foot soldier, followed by the rafīk or comrade, and finally the dā‘ī or missionary. It has been suggested that the popularity of the Ismā'īlī religion in Persia was due to the people's dissatisfaction with the Seljuk rulers, who had recently removed local rulers.
At the age of 17, Hasan converted and swore allegiance to the Fatimid caliph in Cairo. Hasan's studies did not end with his crossing over. He further studied under two other dā‘is, and as he proceeded on his path, he was looked upon with eyes of respect.
Hub AI
Hasan-i Sabbah AI simulator
(@Hasan-i Sabbah_simulator)
Hasan-i Sabbah
Hasan-i Sabbah also known as Hasan I of Alamut, was a religious and military leader, founder of the Nizari Ismai'li sect, Order of Assassins, as well as the Nizari Ismaili state, ruling from 1090 to 1124 AD.
Alongside his role as a leader, Sabbah was a scholar of mathematics, most notably in geometry, as well as astronomy and philosophy, especially in epistemology. It is narrated that Hasan and the Persian polymath Omar Khayyam were close friends since their student years. He and each of the later Order of Assassins' leaders came to be known in the West as the Old Man of the Mountain, a name given by Marco Polo that referenced the sect's possession of the commanding mountain fortress of Alamut Castle.
Hasan is thought to have written an autobiography, which did not survive but seems to underlie the first part of an anonymous Isma'ili biography entitled Sargozasht-e Seyyednā (Persian: سرگذشت سیدنا). The latter is known only from quotations made by later Persian authors. Hasan also wrote a treatise, in Persian, on the doctrine of ta'līm, called, al-Fusul al-arba'a The text is no longer in existence, but fragments are cited or paraphrased by al-Shahrastānī and several Persian historians.
The possibly autobiographical information found in Sargozasht-i Seyyednā is the main source for Hasan's background and early life. According to this, Hasan al-Sabbāh was born in the city of Qom, Persia in the 1050s to a family of Twelver Shia. His father, a Kufan Arab reportedly of Yemenite origins, had left the Sawād of Kufa, Iraq, to settle in the town of Qom, one of the first centres of Arab settlement in Persia and a stronghold of Twelver Shia.
Early in his life, his family moved to Rayy. Rayy was a city that had a history of radical Islamic thought since the 9th century, with Hamdan Qarmaṭ as one of its teachers.
It was in this religious centre that Hasan developed a keen interest in metaphysical matters and adhered to the Twelver code of instruction. During the day he studied at home, and mastered palmistry, languages, philosophy, astronomy and mathematics (especially geometry).
Rayy was also the home of Isma'ili missionaries in the Jibal. At the time, Isma'ilism was a growing movement in Persia and other lands east of Egypt. The Persian Isma'ilis supported the da'wa ("mission") directed by the Fatimid caliphate of Cairo and recognized the authority of the Imam-Caliph al-Mustansir (d. 1094), though Isfahan, rather than Cairo, may have functioned as their principal headquarters. The Ismā'īlī mission worked on three layers: the lowest was the fida'i or foot soldier, followed by the rafīk or comrade, and finally the dā‘ī or missionary. It has been suggested that the popularity of the Ismā'īlī religion in Persia was due to the people's dissatisfaction with the Seljuk rulers, who had recently removed local rulers.
At the age of 17, Hasan converted and swore allegiance to the Fatimid caliph in Cairo. Hasan's studies did not end with his crossing over. He further studied under two other dā‘is, and as he proceeded on his path, he was looked upon with eyes of respect.
Recent media