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Principality of Badakhshan
Of the various splinter states to emerge from the sideshows of the Second Russian Civil War, few had captured the imagination than the 'Ruby of the Pamirs'. Dubbed the 'new Alamut State' by overenthusiastic journalists, the Principality of Badakhshan was, until recently, one of many unrecognized separatist entities vying for control against the established state governments of the former Soviet republics. For Lali Badakhshan (translated as
Rubies of Badakhshan), separation from the pro-Russian Tajik republic was not just a matter of self-determination, but the survival of the Pamiri community as a whole. Fighting alongside a coalition of opposition groups ranging from liberal democrats to Islamists, the future of the Pamiri independence movement hung in the balance as Red Army remnants reinforced the pro-Russian regime of Rahmon Nabiyev. To that end, they appealed to the one man they believed had the power to help, the fourth Aga Khan.
However, for the spiritual leader of the Nizari Ismaili Shi'ites, supporting the Pamiris was hardly that simple. Having held no political power since the time of his great-grandfather and his ancestors, any attempt to lend his voice to the Pamiris' bid for independence, much less an attempt to organize military assistance, was deemed be a step too far. The ramifications of becoming a virtual warlord were too grave. But as Leninabad loyalists began advancing into Gorno-Badakhshan and enacting widespread massacres against the Pamiris, the Aga Khan's hesitation proved too much for his eldest son, Rahim, to take. On May 1992, he disappeared from his American school in Andover, Massachusetts, as a mysterious sage emerged months later among the Pamiris in their darkest hour. Known only as the Old Man of the Mountain, he quickly reorganized Pamiri resistance with the help of Ahmad Shah Massoud's mujahideen. Drawing inspiration from the infamous Hashashin Order, Pamiri resistance was radically transformed into a dangerous spy network, supplying the mujahideen and friendly Western intelligence agencies with vital information on pro-Russian loyalists and other threats in the region. Decapitating the local Red Army and pro-Russian leadership with startling efficiency, foreign news agencies were quickly awash with sensationalist articles on their successes and mythos. Such was the infamy of the new Hashashin that the Taliban warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar was reportedly personally intimidated by an agent for his attempt on Massoud's life. Slowly, as intense fighting in mainland Russia drew to a close, the so-called Assassins made their final move, expelling the Russians and Tajik regime from Gorno-Badakhshan in late 1997. It had taken five agonizing years, at the cost of tens of thousands of dead and forced out, but the total collapse of the Tajik republic and the post-war Treaty of Moscow had rewarded the Pamiris with their long-sought freedom, raising the Ruby Banner on their new national capital of Khorugh for the first time in December 1997.
As for the Aga Khan, many had expected the Pamiris to feel betrayed for his inaction. Despite the Aga Khan's efforts to assist refugees trapped in Pakistan, he had not once lent his support to their independence movement, though he had refrained from opposing it either. Thus, when the Aga Khan was offered the position of Princely Head of State by the newly convened government, many observers expressed surprise. But Pamiris had a ready answer, pointing to the worn, battle-hardened leader of the reborn Hashashin that had fought for them for so long.
'He sent his son' was their answer, as Rahim Aga Khan emerged from his mountain stronghold, his youth drained by years of fighting, replaced by the wizened gaze of the Old Man of the Mountain.
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True to its name, the Ruby Banner is emblematic of the Nizari Shiite faith that dominates the Pamiri people. Defacing the green and red banner of Nizari Ismailis, the Rub-el-Hizb is stylized in the form of a gem, a homage to the writings of the Sufi pirs that brought the faith to the Pamir mountains so long ago. While many felt the overt religious imagery might be indicative of far darker intentions for the sizeable Sunni population in Badakhshan, the Aga Khan had nonetheless attempted to assuage such worries.