Nizam al-Mulk

Killed on 14 October 1092 near Nahavand in Persia, in an attack traditionally attributed to the Nizari Ismailis, the order known in the West as the Assassins.

Overview

Nizam al-Mulk served for about three decades as the powerful vizier of the Seljuk sultans Alp Arslan and Malik-Shah I, effectively administering their empire. He founded a network of colleges known as the Nizamiyya, including the famous one in Baghdad, and wrote the Siyasatnama, a treatise on government. While traveling with the court of the sultan, he was attacked by a man disguised as a Sufi. The Nizari Ismailis led by Hasan-i Sabbah were held responsible, although some historians have suspected the involvement of rivals at court. Malik-Shah died only weeks later, and the Seljuk empire fell into succession struggles that weakened it permanently.