Muhammad I Tapar's anti-Nizari campaign
Sultan Muhammad I Tapar of the Seljuk Empire began a campaign against the Assassins of the Nizari Isma'ili state (a series of strongholds inside the Seljuk territory) soon after gaining power and putting an end to internal strifes of the empire.[1] Being heavily outnumbered, the Nizari Isma'ilis initially suffered setbacks, losing their influence in the Zagros Mountains, Isfahan, Iraq, and northern Syria. However, resistance in the main Nizari strongholds of Alamut and Lambsar was fierce, and despite being continually reinforced and waging a prolonged war of attrition for years, the Seljuks failed to capture these castles. Muhammad had systematically destroyed Nizari crops and their castles in Rudbar region were afflicted by famine. In 1117, the Sultan commenced a joint offensive under Anushtegin Shirgir against Alamut and Lambsar. Muhammad I Tapar died in March-April 1118 in Isfahan, and the Seljuk forces immediately abandoned the region, and the campaign ended as a stalemate, with the Seljuks failing to reduce the Nizari strongholds and the Nizari Ismaili anti-Seljuk revolt losing its initial effectiveness.[2][3][4]
| Muhammad Tapar's anti-Nizari campaign | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Ismaili–Seljuq relations | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
| Seljuq Empire | Nizari Ismailis | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
|
Sultan Muhammad Tapar Anushtegin Shirgir |
Hassan-i Sabbah Ahmad ibn Abd al-Malik ibn Attash  Abu Tahir al-Sa'igh | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| Unknown | Heavily outnumbered | ||||||||
See also
- Siege of Shahdiz
References
- Lewis, Bernard (2003). The Assassins: A Radical Sect in Islam. New York: Perseus Books Group, pgs. 53-57
- Daftary, Farhad (2001). Mediaeval Isma'ili History and Thought. Cambridge University Press. p. 199. ISBN 9780521003100.
- Boyle, J. A., Editor, The Cambridge History of Iran, Volume 5: The Saljuq and Mongol Periods, Cambridge University Press, 1968, pgs. 118-119
- Willey, Peter (2005). Eagle's Nest: Ismaili Castles in Iran and Syria. Bloomsbury Academic. p. 129. ISBN 978-1-85043-464-1.