Alamut

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ALAMUT by Vladimir Bartol (1903 – 1967)

1. Introduction:

The supreme Ismaili motto: Nothing is true, everything is permitted.

Alamut is an adventure novel set in north western Iran. It is centred round the deep tension between the indigenous Pahlavi-speaking Shiite Muslim inhabitants of the region and their Seljuk Turkish Sunni Muslim overlords. The author passes no judgement which characters to favour (admire) and which to condemn.

In 1938 Vladimir Bartol wrote:
“When I was writing it I had a feeling I was writing for a public who was going to live 50 years later…” This proved to be true.

His most important biographical data:
born in Trieste (a multiethnic society),
during the 1920’s he studied at the Universities of Paris and Ljubljana, his major subjects were philosophy, world religions, psychology and biology,
between 1940 and 1945 he participated in the resistance movement against the Nazi occupation of the former Yugoslavia,
in Alamut he expresses his ideas and experiences of totalitarianisms during the years before and after World War 2,
he did not experience the tremendous success of his novel Alamut, even though he predicted it,
he died virtually unknown among his countrymen,
the novel has been translated into English by Michael Biggins who is head of Slavic and East European Studies Sections at University of Kansas (The USA).
2. Read and compare the original first page to the English translation.
3. Synopsis of chapter 1 (obnova)
The novel starts with the travel of a caravan in 1092. They are heading towards the snow-covered cone (stožec) of Mount Demavens. Between the two humps of one of the camels there is a shelter resembling a cage, and from time to time a girl looks at the strangers surrounding her. Her eyes are red from crying because she does not know where she is being taken, neither what is to happen to her. An Arab has bought her form her master in Bukhara and she is scared because she does not know her fate.

One day a group of horsemen approaches them and takes over leadership. We find out that the girl’s name is Halima.  A new commander puts a kerchief (ruta) over her eyes. Halima is put on a horse of his new commander and they are approaching a torrent (hudournik), after a while they cross a bridge over the rapids (brzice), they dismount and someone else’s hands take hold of Halima. She is sure they are taking her to jail. Another man, a real giant takes her. Halima suddenly smells fresh vegetation and flowers. The man puts her into a boat, they reach land and suddenly Halima hears girlish laughter and she isn’t so frightened any more.

One of the girls takes off her blindfold (preveza za oči). The girls comment Halima is a thin child, slim as a cypress. Halima is astonished at what she sees: endless gardens, the first bloom of spring everywhere around her and beautiful girls. One of them tells her not to worry because she is among good people. Halima observes beautiful tulips, primroses (trobentice), hyacinths, irises, narcissuses and lilies. They take her through beautiful gardens with pomegranates (granatna jabolka), lemon, peach trees (breskve), almonds (mandeljni), quinces (kutine), apples and pears. Halima notices a castle and a mighty fortress in the sunlight. On all sides gardens are surrounded by high snow-covered mountains. Finally Halima feels no fear any more. The girls are beautifully dressed in silk. They lead her to a castle. An older dark woman and a leopard come out. Halima cries out in fear, but the animal is tame(udomačena). The old woman’s name is Apama. The girls take Halima into the most beautiful room Halima has ever seen.

The room has a glass ceiling composed of elements of different colours of the rainbow. There is also a pool and divans (ležišča) with beautiful pillows. Miriam tells other girls to go away, she undresses Halima, bathes her and gives her a silk blouse and trousers. Halima falls asleep, then they offer her food – milk and a variety of sweets made of flour, honey and fruit. Halima tells them she is from Bukhara, that her master was a good, old merchant who was forced to sell her and that she never knew her parents. Miriam names Sara and Zainab Halima’s companions. There are carpets on the floor and on the walls of their bedroom, beautiful dressing tables with a silver mirror.

The following day Halima realizes there are 24 girls in the beautiful gardens and that they all attend lessons but they are not allowed to ask any questions which are not related to their studies. Halima has her first lesson. Each girl has a slate and a pencil. The teacher is a giant Moor Adi, who brought Halima to the gardens. They study passages from the Koran in which the Prophet speaks of the joys of the afterlife and the delights of paradise.

After the lesson Sara washes Halima’s hair. Halima would like to know who their master is. Sara tells her it is Sayyiduna, which means Our Master, but the girls who have been in the gardens for a year have never seen him, only Miriam and Apama know him. Sara warns her that Apama is mean and that she hates the girls. Sara asks Miriam not to speak to anyone about it, because it is a secret. But there is so much Miraim is interested in. Sara tells her Adi is a eunich and Sara has to explain what a eunich is.

Then Miriam is left alone to dry her hair in the sun. She likes being in a fairy-tale world. She has forgotten her miserable former life and the tiring journey. She admires the beauty of plants and animals. A gazelle approaches her. When Miriam notices Ahriman, the leopard she freezes with fear, but he simply starts playing with the gazelle. Then the girls call Miriam to join a dance lesson. The teacher is a eunich, too. Dancing lesson is followed by verse making lesson. Adi is their poetry teacher. They speak about the verse system of the ghazel. The girls not only recite verse, they also compete in making verses.

Then eunichs serve them breakfast. There are seven eunichs in the gardens and they live in their own building. They look after the gardens, do the housekeeping and teach and serve the girls. For the first time in her life Halima drinks wine.

When Sara and Halima are in the bedroom Sara starts kissing her, Halima first ignores her, then she pushes her away. Halima keeps asking her which country they are in, where  Sayyiduna lives… But Sara doesn’t know the answers.

The next lesson is on love and the teacher is Apama. Halima finds out that Apama comes from India where girls are given love instruction at a very young age. Apama’s duty is to teach the girls how to satisfy their master and lover. She tells them a man is like a sensitive harp on which a woman must play hundreds of different melodies. Halima is red with shame and embarrassment. She much more enjoyed singing and music lesson.
4. Vocabulary of chapter 1 – translate the words into English!
stožec- ____________________
dvogrba kamela- _______________________
ruta - ______________________
hudournik - _________________
brzice - _____________________
zajahati konja/razjahati - ____________________
preveza za oči - _______________________
trobentice - ___________________________
hiacinte - _____________________
narcise - ________________________
lilije - ________________________
granatna jabolka - _____________________
breskve - ____________________
mandeljni - __________________
kutine - _______________________
utrdba - _____________________
udomačena žival - _____________________
strop - ________________________
raznolikost - ______________________
moka - _______________
tablica za pisanje - ____________________
harfa - ________________
zadrega - _______________________

5. Synopsis of chapter 2
At about the same time as Halima arrives at the beautiful gardens, a young man on a small, black donkey is riding towards the same destination, only from the opposite direction, from the west. He comes from the town of Sava, where his grandfather Tahir established a circle of the Ismaili brotherhood whose purpose was to proclaim veneration of the martyr Ali. In fact this brotherhood was dedicated to the subversion of Seljuk rule. The authorities raided their secret meeting and their leader – the boy’s grandfather was beheaded. We find out hat the boy’s name is Avani Tahir and that when he was 20 his father told him to go to Alamut and to offer himself in service and to avenge his grandfather’s death.

After a long journey Avani notices Alamut – a mighty cliff with fortifications. The fortress itself is a small settlement which was built by the kings of Daylam and is said to be impregnable. When Avani approaches Alamut he is surrounded by a group of soldiers who take him to captain Manuchehr. Avani tells the captain why he has come and who his grandfather was.

The captain sends him to dai Abu Sokara. Avani is taken to the rooftop where about twenty youths kneel on the rugs. Each of them has a tablet because they are having a lesson. Avani tells their teacher who he is and why he has come. The teacher embraces him and tells his students that Avani is the grandson of the first martyr of the Ismailis’ cause in Iran. The teacher promises Avani to announce his arrival to the supreme commander and tells one of the novices to take him to their bedroom to get ready for evening prayers.

In the bedroom there are twenty beds, linen is stuffed with dried grass and covered with horsehair blankets and a horse saddle is a pillow. Everything is clean and in perfect order. Avani bathes himself and puts on a white cloak, white trousers and a white fez. Sulejman, the novice who takes Avani to the bedroom, tells him he will never see the supreme commander even though he lives in the castle. Avani realizes that Sulejman has a sharp, hard face as though he was 30 even though Avani is sure he is only 20. Sulejman laughs at him and tells him he will soon look the same because of tough tests they have to pass before they become fedayeen. Avani doesn’t know what a feday is. He is told a feday is someone who is ready to sacrifice himself without hesitation at the order of the supreme commander and that fedayeen who die in service become martyrs. A feday who completes the assignment and lives is promoted to dai.

All novices introduce themselves and tell him they have to work from dawn to dusk and that they have to learn a lot. Then the time for prayers comes. Each novice grabs his rug and hurries up to the roof. Then supper time – each novice gets a large piece of bread and some milk. Avani admires the fortress in night time. The fortress is illuminated and Avani is told no one is allowed to go to the tower of the supreme commander, only giant Moors who guard him and that Sayyiduna studies the Koran all day, prays and writes instructions and commandments for the ones who serve him.

The next morning starts with washing, saying morning prayers and breakfast. Then each novice takes his saddle and weapons, mounts a horse and rides into the canyon. Their captain divides them into two groups and for the first time in his life Avani experiences a massive assault. They return to the castle for their second prayer.

Then the lesson on Arabic grammar comes. Then another task comes, novices have to climb a steep wall. Sulejman helps Avani. The captain notices his help and tells Sulejman to hold his breath. Sulejman does it for such a long time that he starts suffocating and almost faints. The captain praises his willpower. Another novice is not so good and he has to punish himself with whipping himself. Then Avani is asked to hold his breath. He does it long enough to get the captain’s praise. Then they practise walking over burning coals. Sulejman manages to do it. Avani also wants to have a try, but he is told it is too early for him. Then a metal plate is put over the burning coals and novices keep walking over it until it  becomes too hot.  A lesson on poetry in their native language of Pahlavi is what follows.  Avani proves to be very good at it.

Time for the third prayers comes. Before the prayers are over Avani passes out from exhaustion. Other novices help him and after dinner Avani feels better. Another lesson is on the origins of Islam and the history of Ismailism. For the first time Avani hears the essence of the Ismaili doctrine. Another lesson is on the structure and functioning of the human body. During another lecture on Ismaili doctrine Avani finds out that Sayyiduna is the most powerful man on earth because Allah has given him the key that unlocks the gate of paradise and only he has the ability and power to send anyone he wants to paradise.

6. Vocabulary of chapter 2
cilj potovanja- ____________________
razglasiti - _______________________
čaščenje - ________________________
mučenik - ________________________
posvetiti življenje nekomu - ______________________
prevrat - ____________________
maščevati - __________________
naselbina - __________________
nepremagljiv- ____________________
naznaniti/objaviti - ________________
vrhovni komandant - __________________
novinec - __________________
posteljnina - _______________
sedlo - _________________
žrtvovati - __________________
osvetliti - __________________
zapovedi - ___________________
naskok - ____________________
strm - ________________
dušiti se - ________________
bič - ________________
pohvaliti/hvala - ________________

7. Vocabulary of chapter 3
prilagoditi se - adjust
ljubosumje -jealousy
podrediti se nekomu – subordinate yourself to someone
neštevičen – innumerable
spoštljiv – respectful
kuščar – a lizard
maščevanje – vengeance, revenge
murva – a mulberry tree
vrba – a willow
sviloprejka – a silkworm
poganski, neveren/pogan, nevernik – infidel
nasprotnik – opponent
perutnina – poultry
trstje – reed
čaplja – heron
kačji pastir – dragon-fly
pladenj – a platter
pecivo – pastry
ponižanje – humiliation

8. Vocabulary of chapter 4
privrženec, pripadnik – adherent
učni načrt – curriculum
posvečen – consecrated
prepoved – injunction
nečiste misli – indecent thoughts
žrtvovanje/žrtvovati – sacrifice
nečist/nečistost – impure/impurity
samota – solitude
častilec – devotee
dostojanstvo – dignity
lestenec – chandelier
upor/upreti se – rebellion/ to rebel
zapeljati/zapeljevanje – seduce/seduction
predniki – ancestry
zvest/zvestoba – loyal/loyalty
revščina – poverty
ponižan/ponižanje – humiliated/ humiliation
trmast/trma – stubborn/ stubbornness


9. Vocabulary of chapter 5
objem/objeti – embrace
živina – livestock
biti predan  stvari – to be dedicated to the cause
dostojanstvenik – a dignitary
kij, žezlo – mace
živahen, gibčen – agile
zaveznik – ally
heir to the throne – prestolonaslednik
izdaja /izdajalski – treachery/treacherous
cavalry – konjenica
zatočišče – refuge
vznemirjenje, zaskrbljenost  - trepidation
svet  - council
obleganje – siege
zbor, zborovanje – assembly
zaupnik – confidant
predhodnica, predstraža – vanguard
potomci – descendants
globoko spoštovanje, strah – awe
imenovanje – ordination
mošeja – mosque
immortality – nesmrtnost
voditi = lead – led - led
hiteti = speed – sped – sped
odločnost – decisiveness
predanost – devotion


10. Vocabulary of chapter 6
trdnjavski izd s strelnimi linijami – battlement
iskati = seek – sought – sought
osebna korist – personal gain
nedosegljiv – unattainable
prevara – fallacy
zvestoba, vdanost – allegiance
nepremagljiv – invincible
ubogljiv/neubogljiv – obedient/disobedient
ubogljivost/neubogljivost – obedience/ disobedience

11. Vocabulary of chapter 7
visoka planota – plateau
gorat teren – mountainous terrain
prezir/prezirljiv – scorn/scornful
neznanje – ignorance
obup – desperation
svečanost trenutka – solemnity of the moment
sprejem, posvetitev – initiation
vztrajen – persistent
osvetlitev – illumination
utelešenje sanj – dream embodiment


12. Vocabulary of chapter 8
vlaga –dampness
vešča, molj – moth
sulica/suličar – lance/ lancer
utrujenost – fatigue
 vdanost v usodo -  submission to fate
prerok – prophet
ivy – bršljan
tul za puščice – quiver
plen – plunder
ranjenci – the wounded
kujati se – to sulk
zavzeti/zavzetje – to seize/ seizure

13. Vocabulary of chapter 9
mravljišče – anthill
zapeljiva ženska – houri
izobilje – abundance
ogrinjalo – cape
tančica- veil
ravnodušnost – indifference
učinkovit/učinkovitost – effective/effectiveness
zaostajati – to lag behind
zaslepljenost – infatuation
vnema, navdušenje, žar – zeal
kraljestvo – realm
Indijska konoplja- Inidan hemp
rastlinski, drevesni sok – sap
log, gaj, goziček – grove
predhodnik – predecessor
slepo zvest – blindly faithful
smrtna kazen – death sentence
prevarati/prevara – to deceive – deception