Hassan II (Imam)

Not to be confused with Hassan II of Morocco.

Ḥasan ʿAlā Dhikrihi's Salām[1] (Persian/Arabic: حسن على ذكره السلام) or Hassan II was the leader of the Assassins of Nizari Ismaili state from 1162 until 1166. From his capital of Alamut he ruled parts of Persia and Syria. His chief subordinate in Syria was Rashid ad-Din Sinan, the Old Man of the Mountain.[2]

Biography

In 1164 Hassan, leading the Nizari sect of Ismaili Islam, proclaimed the Qiyamat, the abrogation of Sharia law. This violation of Islamic custom scandalized Sunnis and orthodox Shias, who retaliated with violence against Hassan's followers.[3]

Declaration of the qiyama

Only two years after his accession, the Imām Hasan ‘ala dhikri al-salam, apparently conducted a ceremony known as qiyama (resurrection) at the grounds of the Alamut Castle, whereby the Imām would once again become visible to his community of followers in and outside of the Nizārī Ismā'īlī state; while alive Hassan said he spoke on behalf of the Imām.[4] Given Juwayni's polemical aims, and the fact that he burned the Ismā'īlī libraries which may have offered much more reliable testimony about the history, scholars have been dubious about his narrative but are forced to rely on it given the absence of alternative sources. Fortunately, descriptions of this event are also preserved in Rashid al-Din’s narrative and recounted in the Haft Bab-i Abi Ishaq, an Ismaili book of the 15th century AD. However, these are either based on Juwayni, or don't go into great detail.[5]:149 No contemporary Ismaili account of the events has survived, and it is likely that scholars will never know the exact details of this time.

Death

The Imām Hasan ‘ala dhikrihi al-salam died a violent death[4] in 1166, only a year and a half after the declaration of the qiyama. According to Juwayni, he was stabbed in the Ismaili castle of Lambasar by his brother in law, Hasan Namwar. He was succeeded by his son Imām Nūr al-Dīn Muhammad who abandoned Hassan's schemes of world revolution.[3]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Also transliterated as Ḥasan ʿAlā Zikrihi's Salām, Ḥasan ʿAlā Dhikrihi al-Salām and Ḥasan ʿAlā Dhikrihi as-Salām.
  2. ↑ Slack, Corliss K. (2009). The A to Z of the Crusades. Scarecrow Press. p. 34. ISBN 9780810863316.
  3. 1 2 Hamilton, Bernard (2005). The Leper King and His Heirs: Baldwin IV and the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem. Cambridge University Press. p. 72. ISBN 9780521017473.
  4. 1 2 Wilson, Peter Lamborn (1993). Sacred Drift: Essays on the Margins of Islam. City Lights Books. pp. 63–64. ISBN 9780872862753.
  5. ↑ Hodgson, Marshall G.S. (2005). The Secret Order of Assassins: The Struggle of the Early Nizārī Ismā'īlīs Against the Islamic World. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 9780812219166.

External links

Succession

Hassan II (Imam)
of the Ahl al-Bayt
Clan of the Banu Quraish
Born: 1142/1145 C.E Died: 1166 C.E.
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Muḥammad ibn Kiyā Buzurg-Ummīd
(3rd Nizārī Ismā'īlī Da'i at Alamut)		 4th Ruler of Nizārī Ismā'īlī state
and Commander of Alamut Castle
1164–1166 		Succeeded by
Nūr al-Dīn Muḥammad II
(‘A'lā Muḥammad)
Shia Islam titles
Preceded by
Al-Qāhir ibn Al-Muḥammad
(Hassan I - 3rd concealed imām)		 Ḥasan ʿAlā Dhikrihi's Salām
23rd Imām of Nizārī Ismā'īlīs
1164–1166 		Succeeded by
Nūru-d-Dīn Muḥammad II
(‘A'lā Muḥammad)
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