The fortress was surrendered by ImamRukn al-Din Khurshah, who was residing there, to theinvading Mongols underHulagu Khan and was subsequently demolished. This was followed by surrender of Alamut and almost all other strongholds and the disestablishment of the Nizari state.
The date of the (beginning of the) construction by the Nizari Ismailis is variously given as 1097 (perJami' al-tawarikh), 1103 (perZubdat al-Tawarikh), and during the Imamate ofAla al-Din Muhammad (1211–1255) (perTarikh-i Jahangushay).[6][7][8] The fortress was on a great spur of rock rising almost vertically from the valley.[9] Its ramparts were made of plaster and gravel.[7] Elsewhere it has been described as an "extraordinary cave-fortress".[9]
After theMongol invasion of Iran and the subsequent death of the last Khwarezmian emperor,Hulagu Khan began to conquer the strongholds of theNizari Ismailis as the main objective. He demanded the Nizari ImamRukn al-Din Khurshah dismantle theNizari fortresses, includingAlamut, and surrender himself to Hulagu Khan, who had reachedRudbar. Khurshah was residing in Maymun-Diz, and soon found the fortress encircled by Hulagu Khan and his eighttümens (80,000 fighters).[10][11] Teams of hand-picked Mongol fighters were distributed at around 250 meters intervals from the hilltop down to the valley.[9]
Apparently, the Mongols were hesitant to push the siege of Maymun-Diz, and were persuaded to accept some sort of compromise.[10] As winter was approaching, the besieging Mongols faced supply problems due to the difficulty of finding fodder for their horses.[12] On 19 November 1256, Khurshah with a group of notables left the fortress and surrendered to Hulagu Khan. Considering how well-fortified and well-provisioned Alamut was, the Mongols welcomed the surrender.[10][11] A group of Nizaris kept fighting in alast stand in the"qubba" (a supposedly high domed structure within the fort) and were killed.[13] Maymun-Diz was subsequently destroyed and its inhabitants were massacred. This is traditionally considered the date of the disestablishment of theNizari Ismaili state.[11][10]
^Persian pronunciation:[mei̯mʊnˈdez]; alsoمیمون دژ[mei̯mʊnˈdeʒ]. The first component means both "monkey" and "blessed", and is variously transliterated asmaymun (maymūn),meymun (meymūn),maimun (maimūn),meimun (meimūn),meymoon,meimoon. The second component means "fortress", and is variously transliterated asdez,diz,dezh,dizh,dej,dij.
^abLevi, Scott Cameron; Sela, Ron (2010).Islamic Central Asia: An Anthology of Historical Sources. Indiana University Press. p. 145.ISBN978-0-253-35385-6.
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