The Role of Qumes in the Nazari Ismaili State of Iran

After the time of Rudbar-e Alamut and Quhestan, the state of Qumes was the third district in which Nazari bases were extensively built. The Ismailis’ strategy in dominating a region was to capture the castles of that area and use those castles as a base to occupy the entire area. In line with this strategy, Nazaris led by Hasan-e Sabbah in 489 AH through the internal disputes between the Seljuqs, were able to win the castle of Gerdkouh and several other castles in the province of Qumes; they then gradually annexed the Qumes to their territory. Through collection of data from historical sources, utilization of an inferential analytical method, and reliance on the results of archaeological explorations of Ismaili’s castles of Qumes, this article presents the search for answers to the following questions: what are the reasons for the importance of Qumes to the Ismailis, and what is the role of Qumes in legitimizing the Nazari Ismailis’ presence in Iran? The results of this study indicated that Qumes was important for the Nazaris in two key ways: first, its location between the two strategic centers, Rudbar-e Alamut and Quhestan; and its functioning as a bridge between the two regions; secondly, the location of the Khorasan commercial highway leading out from this region. On one hand, these features were responsible for greater integration of the Ismailis’ realm, and on the other hand, the domination of the castles of this area, especially Gerdkouh, led to dominance of the Khorasan highway and its branches. All of these factors clearly contributed to the Nazaris’ political and economic power.