{"id":154925,"date":"2024-02-11T22:45:02","date_gmt":"2024-02-11T19:15:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.amordadnews.com\/?p=154925"},"modified":"2024-02-11T22:45:02","modified_gmt":"2024-02-11T19:15:02","slug":"alamut-fortress-the-nest-of-soaring-eagles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.amordadnews.com\/?p=154925","title":{"rendered":"Alamut fortress: the nest of soaring eagles"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Hassan Sabah, the leader of the Iran’s Ismaili group, made the heights of Alamut a refuge for himself and his people in the fifth century, it was known as a mysterious fortress. Many legends and true or false stories have been told about it. Even though a thousand years have passed since the time of Sabah and his followers, the secrets of Alamut fortress have not been fully revealed, though many archeological excavations have been carried out in this fortress.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Alamut fortress, in Qazvin, was inhabited until the 15th century AD. In the 15th century the Mongols, led by Holakukhan, captured the fortress and in no time turned it into ruins. During two centuries of its establishment and development, this fortress had experienced bloody and disastrous events, and was known as an important commanding base for the Ismailis. The fortress seemed impossible to conquer and many attempts had failed, until the Mongols captured it after bearing a huge number of casualties. A remnant of the Alamut fortress can now be seen in the northeast of Qazvin province, near Gozarkhan villae. Alamut means “eagle’s nest”, a name fitting for this stronghold. It is situated a little more than 100 km away from the city of Qazvin.\u00a0 Climbing it isn’t easy, due to the steep cliffs and scary valleys.<\/p>\n

Alamut fortress was built by one of the rulers of the Zeid family, by the name of Hassan Ebn Zeid. The Zeidis ruled in Gilan and Mazandaran in 1000 AD. They made the Alamut fortress in the first half of the same century. When Hassan Sabah thought of a place for his rulership, he acquired this fort in 483 lunar years. He made it into his base, that instilled fear and horror in the hearts of the rulers and kings of the time.<\/p>\n

Alamut, part of the Alborz range, extends from the northwest of Gilan to the southeast, and the Shahrud River divides it into two parts. The geographic situation of alamut is such that it has become an unattainable mountain. The Ismailis, hardworking and brave warriors, soon turned this fort into a center for themselves, built about 60 forts, watchtowers, and a large fortress in that mountain range, and expanded their territory. Moats were also added to the fortifications to make them more challenging to reach. However, the ecosystem of Alamut and its valleys and ravines, which are rich in trees and plants, have made it a beautiful and green place. The large number of trees in the valley has fueled the suspicion among the natives that Hassan Sabah planted the trees and that they are a relic of that turbulent era.<\/p>\n

The length of the residential part of Alamut reaches 140 meters. Its width is 9 meters in the tiniest part and 40 meters in the boarder section. The only way to enter the fort is on its northwest side. Hodka mountain throws its shadow on this section. A tunnel-like passage with a length of 6 meters and a height of 2 meters is a corridor leading to the fortress’s entrance. The tower is built on a stone slab with a steep slope. The moat we mentioned on the fort’s southern slope can be seen. It is 50 meters long and 2 meters wide. When the water was released into the moat, reaching the fort became much more difficult. The walls have been made so smooth and slanted that it is impossible to climb them. On the top part of the fortress, there are ruins of some rooms.\u00a0 It is believed that those rooms were Hassan Sabah’s quarters. One of the other wonders of the Alamut fortress is its complex water supply system and stone pond.<\/p>\n

In the 7th century, the Mongols, as soon as they captured the fortress, destroyed it spitefully until it was no longer usable. It is believed that during the Safavid dynasty, a prison was built from the remnants of Alamut Fortress, where politicians who rebelled were kept. However, after the destruction of the Mongols, Alamut Fortress was never rebuilt. This ancient and historical fortress is now known as one of the tourist attractions in Qazvin province.<\/p>\n

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When Hassan Sabah, the leader of the Iran’s Ismaili group, made the heights of Alamut a refuge for himself and his people in the fifth century, it was known as a mysterious fortress. Many legends and true or false stories have been told about it. Even though a thousand years have passed since the time […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":154950,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[549,550],"class_list":["post-154925","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-zoroastrians","tag-alamut-fortress","tag-hassan-sabah"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.amordadnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154925","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.amordadnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.amordadnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.amordadnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.amordadnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=154925"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/en.amordadnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154925\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.amordadnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/154950"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.amordadnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=154925"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.amordadnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=154925"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.amordadnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=154925"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}