Alamut (20 page)

“Speak, I’m listening,” he told the visitor, knitting his brow.

“In case you don’t yet know,” the reis began slowly, “I can tell you that your old enemy Nizam al-Mulk is no longer grand vizier.”

Hasan flinched, and his whole body shuddered.

“What did you say?” he asked, as though he couldn’t believe his ears.

“The sultan deposed Nizam al-Mulk and named the sultana’s secretary as interim vizier.”

“Taj al-Mulk?” Abu Ali asked, overjoyed. “He’s our ally.”

“Not now that the sultana expects her little son to be proclaimed heir to the throne, as the law states,” the reis explained.

“What treachery,” the grand dai murmured.

Hasan remained silent and pensive. He leaned forward and began drawing odd circles on the carpet with his finger.

The two old men also fell silent. They watched his movements and waited for him to say something.

“If the sultana’s secretary has replaced Nizam al-Mulk, then it’s clear that our situation at the court has fundamentally changed,” Hasan said at last. “That crosses my plans a bit. I had thought I’d have peace until next spring. By then I would have completed my preparations. Now, I’m just going to have to speed them up.”

“Oh yes, I almost forgot the most important thing,” the reis interrupted him. “Nizam al-Mulk may have lost the viziership, but he’s been given an order to eliminate the Ismailis as soon as possible.”

“Then it’s a struggle to the death,” Abu Ali said grimly. “For the grand vizier that’s the same thing as ordering a wolf to clear out the sheepfold.”

“No, we’re no sheepfold yet, that’s for sure,” Hasan laughed. He had silently come to some decision, and his previous cheerfulness had returned.

“We need to take quick action,” he concluded. “What does Muzaffar think? Is he ready to help us?”

“He and I discussed all the possibilities at length,” Abul Fazel replied. “He likes you and he’s ready to cover your retreat from the Turkish cavalry. But he’s also helpless against the main force of the emir’s army.”

“I understand, I understand,” Hasan said. The old mischievous smile played around his mouth and eyes. “So where does His Excellency advise me to retreat to?”

“That was precisely the subject of our most heated discussions,” the reis observed. He acted as though he hadn’t noticed Hasan’s devilishness. “There are only two routes open to you: a shorter one to the west, leading through the untamed Kurdish lands to Byzantium and from there to Egypt, and a longer one to the east. Muzaffar recommends the eastern route. At Merv, or even as soon as Nishapur, Husein Alkeini could join you with his army, and then the two of you could retreat toward Kabul and on to India, where any one of the local princes would be glad to give you asylum.”

“An excellent plan,” Hasan said, encouraged. “But what if my army isn’t able to hold out against the Turkish cavalry?”

“We talked about that possibility too,” the reis said, moving close to Hasan. “If a retreat with your full contingent seems out of the question, then Muzaffar offers you and those closest to you refuge with him. That’s why he sent me here.”

“Muzaffar has a sharp mind and I won’t forget his consideration for me by any means. But he can’t see into my mind or into my heart.”

Hasan’s voice abruptly turned dry and realistic.

“Alamut cannot be taken,” he continued. “So we stay. We’ll wipe out the Turkish cavalry, and by the time the sultan’s army reaches the fortress, we’ll be ready.”

Abu Ali looked at Hasan with shining eyes, eyes full of trust. But Abul Fazel was frightened.

“I’ve always seen you as a deft and capable man, my dear Hasan,” he said. “Lately your reputation has risen so much that you’re talked about throughout all of Iran. And with your intrigues at court you’ve proven that you’re a highly gifted statesman. But what you’re proposing now fills me with real concern and trepidation.”

“My work is only half completed,” Hasan replied. “Until now I’ve trusted to my statesmanship. But now I’m going to see what
faith
can accomplish.”

He gave that word particular stress. He turned toward the grand dai and spoke.

“Go call the commanders to council. All men should go to battle stations immediately. Tomorrow our novices are going to have to pass a test so they can be sworn in as fedayeen. They need to know everything.

“You will conduct the grand council in my absence. Tell the commanders that we have visitors approaching, and that I have ordained that we will wait for them here. Have each of them share his thoughts. Once you’ve heard them out, come back and report everything to me. Have the captain order his men to make all preparations for the defense of the castle.”

“Everything will be done as you command,” the grand dai said, and hurried out.

The rumble of drums and a blast from the horn called the men to arms and the commanders to assembly. With a serious mien, Abu Ali awaited them in the great hall. The dais and the officers filed in.

When they were assembled, the grand dai looked them over and spoke.

“The sultan has deposed the grand vizier and ordered him to crush the Ismailis. The emir of Hamadan, Arslan Tash, has set out for Alamut with thirty thousand men. A vanguard of Turkish cavalry will reach Rudbar today or tomorrow. Within a few days black flags could be waving outside our castle. The mayor of Rai, Muzaffar, has promised us help. But our own preparedness
is an even surer thing. Sayyiduna has sent me to find out how you think we can best resist an attack. Once he hears your recommendations he will take the necessary steps.”

Sitting on their pillows, the commanders exchanged surprised glances with each other. Here and there some of them whispered remarks to their neighbors, but for a long time none of them rose to speak.

“Captain, you’re an experienced soldier,” Abu Ali finally said to Manuchehr. “What do you think is our first priority?”

“We don’t have anything to fear from the Turkish cavalry,” the captain replied. “The fortress is ready for an attack, and anyone who takes it on will be badly burned. But how long we can hold out under siege against thirty thousand men with machines and assault equipment—that’s a difficult question.”

“How long will our food stores last?” the Greek asked.

“A good half year,” the captain replied. “But if we can dispatch a caravan to Rai, then Muzaffar will supply us for another half year.”

“That’s important,” Abu Ali commented, noting something down on his tablet.

Abdul Malik spoke next.

“Here’s what I think,” he said. “We mustn’t let ourselves get locked up in the fortress too soon. We can wallop the Turks on an open battlefield, especially if Muzaffar really does send help. The core of the sultan’s army is still a long way off.”

The young officers who were present enthusiastically supported his plan.

“We mustn’t rush into things,” Abu Soraka commented. “We have to bear in mind that we have our wives and our children with us in the castle. They’d be finished if we were foolhardy enough to risk a battle in the open.”

“Haven’t I always said,” Ibrahim said, losing his temper, “that women and children don’t belong in the fortress with warriors?”

“I’m not the only one who has his family here,” Abu Soraka countered. By this he was referring to Hasan’s two daughters.

Dai Ibrahim angrily compressed his lips.

“I have the perfect suggestion,” al-Hakim said, laughing. “Let’s put our wives and children on the camels and donkeys and send them to Muzaffar. We can use that same caravan to bring needed foodstuffs back to the castle. There you’d accomplish three things at one blow. We’d reduce the number of mouths to feed, we’d rid ourselves of painful concerns for our families, and the caravan wouldn’t make half its trip for no purpose.”

“Good idea,” Abu Ali acknowledged, making some more notes on his tablet.

The discussion grew more and more impassioned. They tallied all the things they would need at the castle, argued about the rightful duties of various commanders, and recommended first one thing, then its opposite.

At last Abu Ali gave a sign that the assembly was over. He told the commanders to wait for their precise instructions and returned to join Hasan at the top of the tower.

In the meantime Hasan had learned from the former mayor of Isfahan what recent changes at the court had caused the sultan to move so suddenly. Up until that point he had had very good connections to court circles, considering that Taj al-Mulk, vizier to the young sultana Turkan Khatun, had been his confidant.

Sultan Malik Shah had legally designated his first-born son, Barkiarok, heir to the throne. He was the sultan’s son by his first wife. Just then the twenty-year-old heir apparent was conducting a military campaign against a number of rebellious princes on the border with India. The young sultana used this absence to secure the Iranian throne for her four-year-old son Mohammed. Most strongly opposed to this plan was Nizam al-Mulk. The sovereign vacillated, submitting first to the influence of his old vizier, then to the charms of his young wife. The grand vizier had powerful support, primarily in the caliph of Baghdad and the entire Sunni clergy. The sultana had the support of Nizam’s numerous enemies and the many individuals whom his power had reduced to insignificance. But so that her side could gain a counterweight against the Sunni clergy as well, the sultana’s vizier sought out contacts with the Shia, among whom Hasan’s Ismaili sect had the greatest influence. This court intrigue was practically made to order for the master of Alamut. He assured the sultana that his adherents throughout Iran would support her cause. Taj al-Mulk promised him that he and Turkan Khatun would try to prevail on the sultan not be too concerned about Hasan’s exploits in the north of Iran.

In the course of two years the sultana and her secretary had kept their word. Whenever Nizam al-Mulk pressed the sultan to move against the Ismailis, the two of them would downplay Hasan’s exploits and point out that the grand vizier’s efforts were no more than the result of his personal hatred for Hasan ibn Sabbah. The sultan was glad to believe this. Since he was more inclined to Nizam’s side in the choice of an heir, he was all the more willing to concede to the sultana and her vizier when it came to the Ismailis.

Now reis Abul Fazel told Hasan what Muzaffar’s messenger from the court at Isfahan had told him. When Nizam al-Mulk learned that Husein Alkeini had become ensconced in the fortress of Gonbadan and was rousing all of Khuzestan against the sultan in Hasan’s name, he was nearly frightened
to death. He knew that he and Hasan still had a grim score to settle, and this led him to resort to extreme measures with the sultan. Years before he had manipulated Hasan’s disgrace in the sultan’s eyes by using a trick to portray him as a flippant jokester who had tried to deprive him, the vizier, of his position at court. The sultan grew angry, and Hasan was forced to flee Isfahan overnight. Since then the sultan had been unable to view Hasan’s exploits as a serious matter. Now the grand vizier confessed to him that he had tricked Hasan back then, and that the Ismaili leader was in fact a dangerously capable man. The sultan went pale with insult and rage. He shoved the old man, who was abjectly bent down on his knees before him, and withdrew to his chambers. From there he issued a decree that Nizam had ceased to be grand vizier and that the sultana’s secretary would fill that position in the interim. Simultaneously, Nizam was issued an order in the strictest terms to defeat Hasan and eliminate the Ismailis immediately. It goes without saying that the sultana and her secretary could now abandon their ally of convenience since her worst opponent had been eliminated and the two of them now had unlimited influence over the sultan.

After these tumultuous events, the sultan and his entire court set out to travel to Baghdad, so he could visit his sister and her husband, the caliph. He wanted to persuade the latter to designate the son he had had by his sister as his heir.

By the time Abu Ali returned with his report, Hasan had been fully informed of the intrigues at the court in Isfahan. He now listened carefully to the advice of his commanders. When the grand dai had finished, he got up and started pacing back and forth across the room. In his mind he was surveying the situation and deciding what to do.

Finally he said to Abu Ali, “Take the tablet and write.”

The grand dai sat down, crossed his legs, set the tablet on his left knee, and reached for his pencil.

“I’m ready, ibn Sabbah,” he said.

Hasan stopped beside him so he could see over his shoulder and began half-dictating, half-explaining his instructions.

“Concerning the Turkish cavalry,” he said, “Abdul Malik is right. We mustn’t let ourselves become surrounded in the castle too soon. We’ll wait for them out in the open and defeat them there. We have to be sure that Muzaffar gets his units here to help us in time. Abu Ali, you will have command of the force that meets the sultan’s vanguard. Manuchehr will be responsible for the defense of the fortress. This will put his nose out of joint, because he loves the smell of battle, but we need his skills to make sure the castle is ready for any eventuality.

“Next, and this is very important, we need to get rid of all unnecessary mouths to feed and other appurtenances. By tonight after last prayers Abdul
Malik is to load the harems, both wives and children, on our pack animals and set out with his caravan. Muzaffar is a kind soul and will have no choice but to take on responsibility for our live cargo. Send a messenger to Rai immediately, so that he’s informed in advance. He’s to have foodstuffs ready for our caravan to transport back, and he should immediately dispatch as many of his men to Alamut as he can spare. Tell him he can put the women and children straight to work, so that he doesn’t incur too much of a loss … And what are your plans, my dear Abul Fazel?”

Smiling, he cast a stinging glance at the reis.

“I’ll be taking off with Abdul Malik’s caravan,” the former mayor replied. “I wouldn’t be caught in this mousetrap when the sultan’s army arrives for anything in the world. Muzaffar’s and my advice has not been in vain. I’ve done my duty, and now the only thing remaining for me is to make a quick exit.”