Examining the Relations Between the Nizari Ismailis of Northern Iran and the Rustamdar Paduspanids

Abstract

The Nizari Ismaili state in northern Iran was established by Hasan Sabbah in 1090 CE (483 AH) through the seizure of the Alamut fortress and came to an end in 1256 CE (654 AH) by the hand of Hulagu Khan, the Mongol ruler. Therefore, this study explores the interactions and conflicts between this dynasty and the Paduspanid branch of the Rustamdar line within that historical period, which spans approximately two centuries. This research, taking into account the contemporaneous rule of several dynasties—including the Seljuks, the Khwarazmshahs, the Mongols, the Marʿashis, and the Second and early Third Bavandid periods—and their mutual influences with the Nizari and Rustamdar regimes, investigates the nature and reasons behind the relationship between the two dynasties through a descriptive-analytical method. The analysis of these relations reveals that the interactions between the two dynasties depended largely on the political strategies of their respective rulers. At times, these relations were characterized by strategic cooperation, at other times by direct opposition, and occasionally by indifference. The most prominent instance of confrontational strategy occurred during the reign of Istandar Kaykavus, who was a contemporary of Spahbad Shah Ghazi Bavandi, a fierce enemy of the Ismailis. Ideological and sectarian divergences between the Shiʿi-oriented religious outlook of the Paduspanid Istandars and that of the Ismailis had a significant impact on the bilateral relations of these two dynasties. These religious contradictions became a central cause for the Paduspanids' aversion toward the Ismaili sect and their classification of the group as heretical and impure in the regions of Ruyan and Mazandaran during certain historical periods.