This article was originally published under the title Dezkuh in Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. VI, p. 354, ed. 泭Ehsan Yarshater, Costa Mesa, California, 1996.
Dezkuh (or Sahdez), a medieval mountain fortress situated in central Persia on the summit of Mount Soffa, about 8 km south of Isfahan. No information is available on the construction date of this strategically situated fortress, which guarded the routes to Isfahan, but, like some other ruins in the same region, it may have been built as early as the Sasanian period (Minasian, pp. 17-18, 20,61-62, pls. 1-45).
Ibn al-Atir attributed (X, pp. 109-10) the construction of this fortress, which he called the “fortress (qala) of Isfahan,” to the泭Saljuq泭Sultan Maleksah (465-85/1072-92), but this attribution does not seem reliable. It is more likely that Maleksah merely rebuilt the fortress as a major military outpost of Isfahan, the chief泭Saljuq泭capital; it was from his time that the fortress became more generally designated as Sahdez, reflecting his reconstruction of the existing Dezkuh (Zahir-al-Din, p. 40: Ravandi, p. 156).
The historical importance of Dezkuh
The historical importance of Dezkuh is particularly related to the activities of the泭Nizari泭IsmailisAdherents of a branch of Shi’i Islam that considers Ismail, the eldest son of the Shi’i Imam Ja尪far al-廜〢diq (d. 765), as his successor. in Persia during the early泭Alamut泭period (487-654/ 1094-1256). Ismaili dais (missionaries) had been active in the region of Isfahan during the 11th century, and by the 460s/1170s Abd-al-Malek b. Attas, the chief泭dai泭of Persia and Iraq at the time, had established his headquarters at Isfahan. Hasan Sabbahs seizure of泭Alamut泭in 483/1090, which marked the effective foundation of the Nizari state in Persia, further encouraged the泭dawa, or missionary activities, of Ahmad b. Abd-al-Malek b. Attas who had succeeded his father as泭dai泭of Isfahan. Ahmad, posing as a schoolmaster, gradually succeeded in converting the garrison of Dezkuh, comprised mostly of Deylami soldiers with泭Shiite泭tendencies.
By 494/1100, or possibly a few years earlier, Ahmad had gained possession of Dezkuh, which he fortified like other Nizari mountain castles in Persia (Zahir-al-Din, pp. 40-41; Ravandi, pp. 155 ff.; Rasid-al-Din, 1338 S./1959, p. 120; idem, 1960, pp. 69-74; Kasani, p. 156; Mirkand, Tehran, IV, pp. 306 ff.; Hodgson, pp. 85-86; Daftary, pp. 354-55). The Nizari capture of Dezkuh was a serious blow to the Saljuqs, especially as soon afterward Ahmad b. Abd-al-Malek began to collect taxes in the districts around the fortress. Accordingly, the chief focus of the anti-Nizari campaign conducted by Sultan Mohammad b. Maleksah (498-51 1/1105-18) was Dezkuh.
The sultan with a large force besieged the fortress in 500/1107, but the tactics of Ahmad, who involved the Sunnite ulama of Isfahan in a long religious disputation, in which he argued that the Ismailis were also true Muslims, delayed the conquest for almost a year, until the ulama had rendered their judgment. Eventually battle was joined; Ahmad and his small band of nizar泭fought the Saljuqs gallantly from tower to tower. In the final assault, most of the Nizari defenders of Dezkuh were killed; Ahmad was captured and later executed in Isfahan (Zahir-al-Din, pp. 41-42; Ravandi, pp. 158-161; Bondari, pp. 90-91; Ibn al-Atir, X, pp. 151-52; Ibn al-Qalanesi, pp. 151-56, containing the text of the victory statement issued on the occasion; Rashid-al-Din, 1338 S./1959, pp. 121-22; Kasani, pp. 156-57; Hodgson, pp. 95-96; Lewis, pp. 53-55: Daftary, pp. 361-62). The conquest of Dezkuh is celebrated in one of the versions of the introduction to the Bahman-nama (Storey-de Blois, V, 564-65).
Dezkuh was demolished soon after on the Sultans orders, as he feared its recapture by the泭NizarisAdherents of a branch of the Ismailis who gave allegiance to Nizar, the eldest son of the Fatimid Imam-caliph al-Mustansir (d. 1094) as his successor.. The extensive ruins have been investigated and described by Caro O. Minasian (1897-1972), who was evidently the first person to identify and study the site in modern times (pp. 21-39, 52-54).
- Fath b. Ali Bondari,泭Zobdat al-nosra wa nokbat al-esra, in Houtsma, Recueil II.
- F. Daftary,泭The Ismailis: Their History and Doctrines,泭Cambridge, 1990.
- Ibn al-Atir,泭al-Kamel fil-tarik泭X, Cairo, 1303/ 1885.
- Ibn al-Qalanesi,泭Dayl tarik Demasq, ed. H.F. Amedroz, Leiden, 1908.
- M. G. S. Hodgson,泭The Order of Assassins, the Hague, 1955.
- Honarfar, Esfahan, pp. 63 ff. Abul-Qasem Abd-Allah Kasani,泭Zobdat al-tawarik. Bakr-e Fatemian wa Nizarian, ed. M.-T. Danespazuh, 2nd ed., Tehran, 1366S./1997.
- B. Lewis,泭The Assassins. A Radical Sect in Islam, London, 1967.
- M. Mehryar, “Sahdez kojast?”泭Nasriya-ye Daneskada-ye Adabiyat-e Esfahan泭1, 1343 S./1964, pp. 87-157.
- C. O. Minasian,泭Shah Diz of Ismaili Fame: Its Siege and Destruction, London, 1971.
- Rasid-al-Din Fazl Allah泭Jame al-tawarik. Qesmat-e Esma’ilian泭, ed M.-T. Danespazuh and M. Modarresi Zanjani, Tehran, 1338 S./1959.
- Idem,泭Jame al-tawarik. Tarik-e Al-e泭SaljuqMajor Muslim dynasty of Turkish origin in Persia and Iraq (10401194) and Syria (10781178)., ed. A. Ate, Ankara, 1960.
- Mohammad b. Ali Ravandi,泭Rahat al-sodur wa ayat al-sorur, ed. M. Eqbal, London, 1921.
- Zahiral-Din泭Nisapuri,泭Saljuq-nama, Tehran, 1332 S/ 1953.
Author
Dr Farhad Daftary
Co-Director and Head of the Department of Academic Research and Publications
An authority in Shi’i studies, with special reference to its Ismaili tradition, Dr. Daftary has published and lectured widely in these fields of Islamic studies. In 2011 a Festschrift entitled泭Fortresses of the Intellect泭was produced to honour Dr. Daftary by a number of his colleagues and peers.
