A Short History of the Ismailis Traditions of a Muslim Community
Edinburgh University Press
A major Shīʿī Muslim community with a long and eventful history, the Ismailis were until recently studied primarily on the basis of the accounts of their enemies, including the Sunni polemicists and the Crusader chroniclers. As a result, a host of legends were disseminated on the teachings and practices of the Ismailis. The study of Ismailism began to be revolutionised from the 1930s, with the recovery of a large number of Ismaili texts preserved in private collections. A Short History of the Ismailis brings together the results of modern scholarship on the highlights of Ismaili history and doctrines within the broader contexts of Islamic history and Shīʿī thought.
Preface
Note on Transliteration, Dates and Abbreviations
1. Ismaili History and Historiography: Phases, Sources and Studies
Phases in Ismaili History
Evolution of Ismaili Historiography
Anti–Ismaili Writings of Other Muslims
The Assassin Legends of Medieval Westerners
Orientalist Perspectives
Modern Progress in Ismaili Studies
Notes
2. Origins and Early History: Shī‘īs, Ismailis and Qarmaṭīs
Diversity in Early Islam
Origins of Shī‘īsm
Early History of Shi‘ism: The Kaysāniyya and the Imāmiyya
Ja‘far al–Ṣādiq’s Imamate, Abu’l Khaṭṭāb and Ismā‘īl
The Earliest Ismailis
The Da‘wa of the 3rd/9th Century
The Schism of 286/899 and its Consequences
Early Ismaili Doctrines
Notes
3. The Fatimid Age: Dawla and Da‘wa
Overview
Foundation and Consolidation of the Fatimid Caliphate
Fatimid Achievements under al–Mu‘izz
Philosophical Ismailism of the Iranian Da‘is
Fatimid Ismaili Da‘wa and Dā‘īs: Cairo and the “Islands”
The Nizārī–Musta‘lī Schism of 487/1094
Later Fatimids and Early Musta‘lī Ismailism
Notes
4. The Alamūt Period in Nizari Ismaili History
Overview
Ḥasan Ṣabbāh and the Revolt of the Persian Ismailis
The Doctrine of Ta‘līm and Consolidation of the Nizārī State
Proclamation of Qiyāma or Resurrection
Rapprochement with Sunni Islam and al–Ṭūsī’s Interpretations
The Final Decades
Notes
5. Later Developments: Continuity and Modernisation
Post–Alamūt Patterns and Research Problems
Early Post–Alamūt Centuries and Nizārī Relations with Sufism
The Anjudān Revival in Nizārī history
The Khojas and Satpanth Ismailism
The Bohras and Ṭayyibi Ismailism
Modern Developments in the Nizārī Community
Notes
Glossary
Select Bibliography
Index
‘The author is to be congratulated on a text that compresses a great deal of authoritative information and yet remains very readable.’
– Moojan Momen, Islam and Christian–Muslim Relations
‘The author focuses on major themes and developments, as well as the historical background from which they arose. His writing is succinct and lucid, making use of primary and secondary sources, in which he shows a remarkable range of scholarship...Daftary's book provides an excellent overview of the history of the Ismailiyya from its inception to the present. Its particular focus is the sect’s history, but its doctrines also receive ample treatment. The reader is introduced both to the primary sources and to the scholarly literature – eloquent proof of the author's great erudition. The chapters of the book complement one another to form a fascinating tale that is readable and fluent; at the same time they stand as independent units, any of which can be read on its own. Daftary deserves high praise for this exemplary project, which will be eminently useful for both scholars and students.’
– Meir M. Bar-Asher, Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam
Farhad Daftary is currently head of the Department of Academic Research and Publications at The Institute of Ismaili Studies, London. An authority on Ismaili Studies, Dr Daftary has written several acclaimed books in this field of Islamic Studies, including The Ismāʿīlīs: Their History and Doctrines and The Assassin Legends: Myths of the Ismāʿīlīs, and has edited Mediaeval Ismaili History and Thought. He is also a regular contributor to the Encyclopaedia Iranica, of which he is a Consulting Editor, and to the Encyclopaedia of Islam.