Editing Alamut Castle (section)

{{Short description|9th-century fortress in Qazvin Province, Iran}}
{{Infobox building
| image            = 2008iran. Iran, Alamut Castle (2573255326).jpg
| image_size       = 
| caption          = View from Alamut Castle ruins, 2008
| map_type         = Iran
| map_alt          = 
| relief           = yes
| map_caption      = Location within Iran
| altitude         = 
| building_type    = Castle
| architectural_style = [[Iranian architecture|Iranian]]
| structural_system = 
| cost             = 
| ren_cost         = 
| client           = 
| owner            = 
| current_tenants  = 
| landlord         = 
| location         = [[Alamut]] region, [[Qazvin Province]] of [[Iran]] <br /> {{small|(Historically also: [[Tabaristan]])}}
| address          = 
| location_town    = [[Moallem Kalayeh]]
| location_country = [[Iran]]
| coordinates      = {{coord|36|26|41|N|50|35|10|E|display=inline,title}}
| completion_date  = 865
| destruction_date = 1256
}}
'''Alamut''' ({{langx|fa|[[wikt:الموت|الموت]]}}, meaning "eagle's nest") is a ruined mountain fortress located in the [[Alamut]] region in the South [[Caspian Sea|Caspian]], near the village of [[Gazor Khan]] in [[Qazvin Province]] in [[Iran]], approximately 200&nbsp;km (130&nbsp;mi) from present-day [[Tehran]].<ref name="Eagle's Nest">{{cite book |last=Willey |first=Peter |title=Eagle's Nest: Ismaili Castles in Iran and Syria |year=2005 |publisher=I.B. Tauris |location=London |isbn=978-1-85043-464-1}}</ref>{{rp|22&ndash;23}}

In 1090 AD, the Alamut Castle, a mountain fortress in present-day Iran, came into the possession of [[Hassan-i Sabbah]], a champion of the [[Nizari Isma'ilism|Nizari Ismaili]] cause. Until 1256, Alamut functioned as the headquarters of the [[Nizari Ismaili state]], which included a series of [[List of Ismaili strongholds|strategic strongholds]] scattered throughout Persia and Syria, with each stronghold being surrounded by swathes of hostile territory.

Alamut, which is the most famous of these strongholds, was thought impregnable to any military attack and was fabled for its heavenly gardens, library, and laboratories where philosophers, scientists, and theologians could debate in intellectual freedom.<ref name="Daftary">{{cite book |last=Daftary |first=Farhad |title=The Ismailis|year=1998 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge, UK |isbn=0-521-42974-9}}</ref>

The stronghold survived adversaries including the [[Seljuq Empire|Seljuq]] and [[Khwarezmian Empire|Khwarezmian]] empires. In 1256, [[Rukn al-Din Khurshah]] surrendered the fortress to the [[Mongol conquest of Khwarezmia|invading Mongols]], who dismantled it and destroyed its famous library holdings. Though commonly assumed that the Mongol conquest obliterated the Nizari Ismailis presence at Alamut, the fortress was recaptured in 1275 by Nizari forces, demonstrating that while the destruction and damage to the Ismailis in that region was extensive, it was not the complete annihilation attempted by the Mongols. However, the castle was seized once again and fell under the rule of [[Hulagu Khan]]’s eldest son in 1282. Afterward, the castle was of only regional significance, passing through the hands of various local powers.

Today, it lies in ruins.