Alamut

14. Essay titles ( for 4 and 5) Choose one essay. You will be given two.

1. Describe Halima’s travel to the beautiful gardens. (chapter 1)
Focus on her feelings during the travel and her reaction to the things, the girls and the eunichs she meets in the gardens. Give also your opinion on the situation she finds herself in.

2. Describe Ibn Tahir’s decision to go to Alamut to serve the supreme commander of the
   Ismailis and the lessons the novices have to take before becoming fedayeen. (chapters 2
   and 4)
Focus on the novices’ devotion to the Ismlaili cause and give your opinion on the present situation. There are still many people who are prepared to sacrifice their life for a certain cause.

3. Describe life in the beautiful gardens. (chapter 3)
All roles are defined, everything has been carefully planned: the roles of Miriam, Apama, eunichs, the lessons… Give your opinion. Is it a paradise or a prison? How would you feel being part of it?

4.  Describe the events following the news that the Turkish cavalry (the sultan’s forces) is
    going to attack Alamut. (chapter 5, 6, 7)
Describe the preparations. What happens to the harems, novices’ initiation, what commands are given to Miriam and Apama..? What do you think of Hasan, his vision, abilities, his personal characteristics?

5.   Describe the battle between the Turkish vanguard and the fedayeen and Hasan’s
      concept of  rule and his decision to choose Abu Ali and Husein Alkeini as his heirs.   
     (chapter 9)
Focus on Hasan’s manipulation with his adherents and compare it to present world rulers, what similarities and differences do you see?

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LITERARY ESSAY

LIFE IN THE BEAUTIFUL GARDENS OF ALAMUT

The gardens of Alamut were the most important part of Hasan’s plan. Their purpose was to convince his fedayeen that he possessed the key to heaven’s door.

In the vast gardens there were various trees and beautiful flowers. Young girls were brought there to be educated about many things such as poetry, dancing, singing, music and seduction. Girls were taught by eunics and two women. The younger woman was Miriam and the girls liked her a lot, the older one was Apama, but she wasn’t popular among the girls. Apama taught them the most important thing how to seduce and serve a man.

When the novices would arrive, the gardens were supposed to be like heaven and the houris would completely subordinate themselves to the fedayeen. As I have already mentioned the most important part of Hasan’s plan was to make the fedayeen’s faith stronger. Hasan wanted warriors who were prepared to sacrifice their lives for him.

The supreme commander did what he had to do in order to lead his followers towards victory. Many would say that his actions were not moral and that he abused his fedayeen. The other side of the same story is that the fedayeen did not know they were being tricked. What they experienced made them feel the heaven was real. Perhaps this proves that sometimes people prefer a beautiful life to an ugly truth.



Aljaž Toman, 3.Ga