Most of the Persian Ismaili castles were in the Alborz mountains, in the regions of Daylaman (particularly, in Alamut and Rudbar; north of modern-day Qazvin) and Quhistan (south of Khurasan), as well as in Qumis. Most of the Syrian Ismaili castles were in Jabal Bahra' (Syrian Coastal Mountain Range).
According to Juzjani, before the Mongol invasion the Assassins possessed 70 forts in Quhistan and 35 in Alamut.[1] Overall, they probably had 250 castles.[2]
The Ismaili fortresses in Rudbar of Alamut had been built on rocky heights and were equipped to withstand long sieges; they had storehouses with high capacities and elaborate water supply infrastructure such as cisterns, qanats, and canals.[3]
Persia
Syria
The strongholds in Jabal Bahra' were known as the "Castles of the da'wa" (قلاع الدعوةqilāʿ al-daʿwah).[8]
^ a bVirani, Shafique N. (2003). "The Eagle Returns: Evidence of Continued Isma?ili Activity at Alamut and in the South Caspian Region Following the Mongol Conquests". Journal of the American Oriental Society. 123 (2): 351–370. doi:10.2307/3217688. ISSN 0003-0279. JSTOR 3217688.
^Willey, Peter. Eagle's Nest: Ismaili Castles in Iran and Syria. Bloomsbury Academic. p. 58. ISBN 978-1-85043-464-1.
^B. Hourcade, “ALAMŪT,” Encyclopædia Iranica, I/8, pp. 797-801; an updated version is available online at http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/alamut-valley-alborz-northeast-of-qazvin- (accessed on 17 May 2014).
^ a b c dDaftary 2007, pp. 320–321
^Daftary 2007, pp. 321–324
^"خولنجان(۱) یا خان لنجان". Retrieved 30 March 2023.
^"DEZKŪH – Encyclopaedia Iranica". www.iranicaonline.org. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
^ a bDaftary 2007, pp. 349–350, 352
^Daftary 2007, p. 334
^Gibb, N. A. R., Editor (1932),The Damascus Chronicle of the Crusades. Extracted and translated from the Chronicle of ibn al-Qalānisi, Luzac & Company, London, pp.174-177, 179-180, 187-191