Alamut

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For other uses, see Alamut (disambiguation).

Alamut (Persian: دژ الموت‎) was once a mountain fortress in the arid hills by the Elburz mountains, south of the Caspian Sea, close to Gazor Khan, near Qazvin, about 100 km from present-day Tehran in Iran. Only ruins remain of this fortress today.

According to Hamdollah Mostowfi, the fortress was built in 840 at an elevation of 2,100 m. It was built in a way that had only one passable artificial entrance that wound its way around the cliff face (the one natural approach, a steep gravel slope, was too dangerous to use); thus making conquering the fortress extremely difficult. The fort has an unusual system of water supply. The top was extremely narrow and long—perhaps 400 meters long, and no more than 30 meters wide in any place, and usually less.

In 1090 the fortress was invaded and occupied by the powerful Hashshashin (Assassins), and was then fabled for its gardens and libraries. The ruins of 23 other fortresses remain in the vicinity.

The fortress was destroyed on December 15, 1256 by Hulagu Khan as part of the Mongol offensive on Islamic southwest Asia. The fortress itself was impregnable, but Ruknuddin Khor-shah surrendered it without a real fight, in the vain hope that Hulagu would be merciful.

In 2004, an earthquake further damaged the already crumbling walls of the fort.