Omar's tomb  Omar's tomb (Nishapur)

Fictions of Samarkand
1. The Isma`ili Assassins as prototypes of modern terrorists
better sources:
Farhad Daftary, The Assassin Legends: Myths of the Isma'ilis (I.B.Tauris, 1995)
Daftary book"this book reveals an extraordinary programme of propaganda rooted in the medieval Muslim world and medieval Europe's ignorance of this world." (book jacket)
Daftary, The Isma'ilis: Their History and Doctrines (Cambridge University Press, 1992)
2. the Samarkand Manuscript of Khayyam's poetry, with its own history written on the margins by Vartan, is a fiction
3. Omar's verses were not the inspiration of the Isma`ili Resurrection of 1164
4. the following major characters are all fictional: Omar's lover Jahan, Benjamin Omar Lesage (a kind of second Omar), or Shireen the Persian princess

Interlude: the Omar craze (p. 158)
Cheesy manifestations of the Omar Khayyam cult
film "Omar Khayyam"     Khayyam restaurant    Omar wine
Hollywood film                           Restaurant                                    Wine from Egypt
(Cornel Wilde & Debra Paget)




Truths of the Novel
1. Power politics is unethical
106, what Omar "wanted to reply": "If you are seduced by a cause such as building an empire or preparing for the reign of the Imam, you do not think twice about killing . . . "
Note the followers of Nizam al-Mulk themselves become "assassins" of the Assassins!
Revision of the legend of 3 schoolfellows in the parable of the panther (131-2): Nizam al-Mulk is killed, Omar flees, Hassan tames it. What is the panther?
2. Ideology can serve as a cover for feuds and jealousies (108: the misogyny of the Book of Government and the power of the Turkish queen, Terken Khatun)
3. Poetry and art will outlive ideology (142: "In order to take on the world Hassan Sabbah has built Alamut, whereas I have only constructed this miniscule paper castle, but I choose to believe that it will outlive Alamut")
4. Colonialism and the story of Jamal al-Din "Al-Afghani"
see biography by Nikki Keddie, also her book An Islamic Response to Imperialism (on al-Afghani's debate with Ernst Renan)

Synopsis (continued):
ch. 25. Benjamin Omar Lesage is born of parents who meet in Paris during the Franco-Prussian war of 1870, as the Omar craze begins
26. Benjamin enjoys Paris with his grandfather, learns of the Samarkand Manuscript
27. Jamal al-Din "Al-Afghani" in Paris; the Shah's invitation to Tehran; broken promises, sales of monopolies, the Tobacco Protest of 1893 and exile in Istanbul
28. Ben meets Jamal al-Din in his Istanbul house-arrest, sees Shireen; resolves to seek the manuscript from Reza in Tehran
29. Ben studies Persian, visits Persian consul in Baku, finds Reza in Tehran; Fazel promises to find the manuscript
30. Reza assassinates (!) the Shah; Ben is rescued by 3 Persian ladies and adopted
31. The princess helps Ben to escape to Constantinople; Reza's interrogation
32. Visiting the master; ambivalent responsibility the the assassination of the Shah; Shireen writes of Jamal al-Din's suspicious death
33. Ben's romantic Orientalism and journalistic career; American imperialism and the world;  Shireen resumes correspondence; the Shah's sales of monopolies and European and Russian encroachment
34. Belgian masquerading as mullah precipates protest; fear of Cossacks leads to massive sanctuary movement at British consulate; Shi`i portrayal of the resistance; Shah yields to democracy; Mirza Malkom Khan (a famous modernizer) receives title "Nizam al-Mulk"
35. Ben applauds the "awakening of the Orient" in enthusiastic articles on Persia; Howard Baskerville is inspired to go to Iran (missionary school); Ben is cleared of assassination charges; he reaches Tabriz and finds Baskerville the center of controversy.