The Horrible Dreamer from Hell: Hassan-i Sabbāh in the Novel Alamut by Vladimir Bartol

Abstract

This paper deals with the intellectual dimension of the character of Hassan-i Sabbāh in the novel Alamut by the Slovenian author Vladimir Bartol. Attention is drawn to the transdisciplinary and encyclopaedic nature of his knowledge, to his attitude towards reason and truth, as well as to other features that make him a true intellectual. In addition, attention is paid to the creative and manipulative aspects of the practical application of his knowledge, in particular to the specific educational system Sabbāh designed and managed. A conclusion is reached that Alamut, in terms of its genre/subgenre label, is a novel on education.
Furthermore, the paper provides a discussion about Sabbāh’s attitude towards religion, especially towards Isma’ilism, within which he gained the bulk of his most important spiritual comprehension, and within which he made his most important project come true. With regard to this issue, the present author concludes that Sabbāh used the pattern of Ismailite cosmology in order to create, in a mimetic and manipulative manner, the Alamut microcosmos, in which he served as ‘the one next to Allah’, and as the universal intellect on top of hierarchy and creation. In the end, Hassan-i Sabbāh is referred to as an ambivalent philosopher, who initiated and masterminded a series of assassinations of certain members of the elite, with others being politically eliminated or intimidated.