Alamut is a mountain fortress at an altitude of 2163 meters at the central Alborz, in the Iranian stanza of Qazvin, about 100 kilometers from Tehran.
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 Ismaili cause. Until 1256, Alamut functioned as the headquarters of the Nizari Ismaili state, which included a series of strategic strongholds scattered throughout Persia and Syria, with each stronghold being surrounded by swathes of hostile territory.
The rock of Alamut
Capture of the Alamut, 15th-century Persian miniature
Scaffolding by Iran's Cultural Heritage Organization.
The 26th Nizari Ismaili Imam Ala al-Din Muhammad depicted in The Travels of Marco Polo. (Bibliothèque nationale de France)
Alamut or Rudbar is a region in Iran including western and eastern parts on the western edge of the Alborz (Elburz) range, between the dry and barren plain of Qazvin in the south and the densely forested slopes of the Mazandaran province in the north. Starting from Qazvin toward Alamut, passing through the first range of hills, curvatures, forms, are significant themes in nature's composition of this area. The famous Ismaili castle of Alamut and numerous others are in this area, which served as the heartland of the state founded by Hassan-i Sabbah.
Hir, West Alamut
Alamut fortification in Iran and Ismailites Assassins stronghold
The 26th Nizārī Ismā'īlī Imām ‘Alā’ ad-Dīn Muḥammad III ibn Jalāl al-Dīn Hasan in The Travels of Marco Polo by Marco Polo. (Bibliothèque nationale de France)