Kiya Buzurg-Ummid

Kiyā Buzurg-Ummīd^{[note 1]} (Persian: کیا بزرگ امید; 1062 - February 1138) was a dāʿī and the second ruler (da'i) of the Nizari Isma'ili State, ruling Alamut Castle from 1124 to 1138 CE (or 518—532 AH). He was of Daylami origin^[2] from the region of Rudbar.

Kiya Buzurg-Ummid
Title	Dāʿī
Personal life
Born	1062
Died	9 February 1138
Children	Muhammad ibn Kiya Buzurg Ummid Kiya Ali[1]
Region	Iran
Main interest(s)	Islamic theology, Islamic jurisprudence
Notable idea(s)	Evolution, Oneness of God
Religious life
Religion	Nizari Ismaili
Jurisprudence	Nizari Ismaili Shi'ism
Senior posting
Predecessor	Hassan-i Sabbah
Successor	Muhammad ibn Buzurg-Ummid
Influenced by Hassan-i Sabbah
Influenced Muhammad ibn Kiya Buzurg Ummid

Career

Prior to ruling the Nizari Isma'ilis, Buzurg Ummid captured Lambsar Castle for the Assassins and ruled it as commander for over twenty years.

Kiya Buzurg captured the Lambsar Castle from Rasamuj and rebuilt it into a major stronghold using local labour. He was appointed by Hasan Sabbah (d. 1124) as its governor.^[3]

As the ruler of Alamut

On 25 Rabīʿ II 518 (11 June 1124), a day before death of Ḥassan-i Ṣabbaḥ, Ḥassan appointed him his successor. He generally followed the policies of Ḥassan-i Ṣabbaḥ and enforced the Sharia strictly. In his early reign the Isma'ili hold was expanded in particular in Eshkevar and Taleghan.^[2]

As opposed to Hassan Sabbah, who is depicted as a revolutionary leader, the Ismaili sources depict Buzurg-Ummid as an administrator and a chivalrous lord (e.g. the story of him protecting his old enemy, emir Yaran-Qush Bazdar of Qazvin and his followers, who had fled to Alamut).^[4]

Another change in the Nizari government during his rule was the decrease in the number of assassinations; the list include the Abbasid caliph Al-Mustarshid, a prefect of Isfahan, a governor of Maragha, a prefect of Tabriz, and a mufti of Qazvin.^[4]

Kiya Buzurg Ummid died on 9 February 1138 and was succeeded by his son, Muhammad Buzurg Ummid, who was nominated as heir three days earlier.^[4]

Works

The text of a bedtime prayer, titled "Prayer in Bedtime" (دعا در هنگام خواب du'ā dar hingām-i khwāb) in Persian attributed to Kiya Buzurg Ummid, is preserved in a manuscript of the Institute of Ismaili Studies in London.^[5]