History of Iran - Part 17 — Parks, Presidents and Parks

The current situation in the Middle East has focused attention on Iran — a country whose history rivals that of any on earth, stretching back over 5,000 years and encompassing 29 UNESCO World Heritage sites. UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) defines a World Heritage Site as a landmark or area recognized for its outstanding cultural, historical, or natural significance and protected under an international treaty for the benefit of all humanity.

This is part 17 of a multi-part series examining that history.

Click here for a list of the articles in this series.

Three Schoolfellows

Once upon a time, according to a legend known as the Three Schoolfellows, three boys grew up together in Nishapur, located in Northeastern Iran. They studied under the same teacher and swore an oath: whoever achieved power first would help the other two rise alongside him. One became the most powerful administrator in the Seljuk Empire. Another became a celebrated court astronomer and poet. The third built a mountain fortress and founded an order of trained killers — who would eventually murder the first of the three, leading to the downfall of the Seljuk Empire.

Although the schoolfellows did live at the same time, most modern scholars consider the story folklore because of the age differences among the three protagonists and their different places of residence during their youth. But the three men are real and important in Iran's history.

Nizam al-Mulk

The first, Nizam al-Mulk, as mentioned in part 16 of this series, was the powerful Vizier of the Seljuk Empire during its peak. He served for almost thirty years. He wrote a guide to good governance called the Siyasatnama ("Book of Government"). In this book, he emphasized justice for all of society, especially the weak; avoiding corruption; and appointments based on merit. A leader should avoid vices and use experienced advisors. He also advised support for Sunni religious education and scholarship through the network of madrasas he created.

Omar Khayyam

Omar Khayyam, the second schoolboy, was a Persian poet and scholar who contributed to astronomy, mathematics, and Persian literature. Already known as a brilliant scholar, Nizam al-Mulk brought Omar Khayyam to Sultan Malik-Shah's court at Isfahan, where he was placed in charge of a new observatory and tasked with reforming the calendar. At the time, the empire used a mix of lunar and Zoroastrian calendars, both of which were inaccurate. Using detailed astronomical measurements, the resulting ‘Jalali calendar,’ named after the Sultan, is more accurate than the Gregorian calendar introduced by Pope Gregory XIII almost 500 years later, in 1582. While most of the world uses the Gregorian calendar, Iran and Afghanistan still use the Jalali calendar today.

And finally, he was a poet. He wrote the Rubaiyat, which means four-line verses. In 1859, British poet Edward Fitzgerald translated it into English, and it became quite popular at the time. One sample from the book,

The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ,
Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit
Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,
Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it.

My interpretation – what’s done is done.

For you mathematics geeks, he created solutions to third-degree (cubic) polynomials in algebra. No, I don’t know what that means, but here is a video explaining it:. He wrote several other mathematical works, including reviews of Euclidean geometry.

We’ll explore the Rubaiyat further in a future essay.

Hassan-i Sabbah

Hassan-i Sabbah became a military leader within the Nizari Isma'ili of Islam. As discussed in a prior essay, Islam has two main branches, Sunni and Shia. The largest group within Shia Islam is known as Twelver Shia, believing there were twelve divinely appointed Imams. The second-largest group is the Ismaili Shia, who trace leadership through Isma‘il ibn Ja‘far, the son of the sixth Imam.

Hassan was a missionary dedicated to converting people to Nizari Ismailism. In 1090, he captured the mountain fortress of Alamut without bloodshed. He founded a small state known as the Nizari Ismaili state. It was based in Alamut and several other fortresses. Enemies from the surrounding Sunni areas surrounded him, and Hasan couldn’t match the Seljuk military capacity. He used a strategy of targeted killings using fida'in, meaning "those who sacrifice themselves.” That word lives on today in the Palestinian fighters known as fedayeen.

The people who did the killings were called assassins, derived from the Arabic word hashshashin, debatably linked to the alleged use of hashish by the killers. But it made a good story that drugs were used as motivation. The assassins are mentioned in Polo’s book, The Travels of Marco Polo.

Assassination of Nizam al-Mulk

*Nizam al-Mulk's assassination, depicted in a 14th-century miniature from the* Jami' al-tawarikh *("Compendium of Chronicles") — a landmark work of medieval Persian history this series will return to in a future essay. (Public Domain) - CLICK TO EXPAND*

The Sunni Seljuk Turks were enemies of the Nizari Isma'ili led by Hassan-i Sabbah. The final chapters of Nizam al-Mulk’s Siyasatnama deal with the growing threat of the Ismailis. He was murdered in 1092 by a man disguised as a Sufi mystic.

The Nizari Ismaili state lasted over 150 years, and during that time, hundreds were killed by these assassins.

The Assassination of the Assassins

The Alamut castle fell in 1256 to the Mongols, who proceeded to massacre the Nizari Ismailis. Details on the Mongol invasion from the east will be the subject of a future essay.