A Short History of the Ismailis: Traditions of a Muslim Community (New Edinburgh Islamic Surveys) [1 ed.] 9780748609048, 0748609040

Despite being of the key Shi'i Muslim communities, the Ismailis have generally been studied primarily on the basis

123 44 37MB

English Pages 256 [257] Year 1998

Table of contents :
Contents
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 Assassim Legends of Medieval Westerners
Orientalist Perspectives
Modern Progress in Ismaili Studies
Notes
2. Origins and Early History: Shī‘īs, Ismailis and Qarmaṭīs
Diveristy in Early Islam
Origins of Shī'īsm
Early History of Shī'īsm: The Kaysāniyya and the Imāmiyya
Ja'far Al-Sādiq's Imamate, Abu'l Khattāb 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 Dā'īs
Fatimid Ismaili Da'wa and Dā'īs: Cairo and the 'Islands'
The Nizārī-Musta'lī Schism of 487/1094
Later Fatimids and Earlt Musta'lī Ismailism
Notes
4. The Alamūt Period in Nizārī Ismaili History
Overview
Ḥasan Ṣabbāḥ and the Revolt of the Persian Ismailis
The Doctrine of Ta'līm and Consolidation of the Nizārī State
The Nizārī-Saljuq Stalement
Proclamation of Qiyāma or Resurrection
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 Tayyibī Ismailism
Modern Developments in the Nizārī Community
Notes
Glossary
Select Bibliography
Index

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19440 eup daftary PPC:Layout 1

6/5/10

11:28

Page 1

FARHAD DAFTARY

A major Shi‛i 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 Crusaders 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 Shi‛i thought. Critically examining the Ismaili historiography and other types of relevant source materials, this book covers the main developments in all the major phases of Ismaili history, including the early formative period, the Fatimid golden age, and the Alamut and post-Alamut periods. It also examines the major schisms among the Ismailis as well as their more recent history 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 Isma‛ilis:Their History and Doctrines and the The Assassin Legends: Myths of the Isma‛ilis, 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. FARHAD DAFTARY

EDINBURGH UNIVERSITY PRESS

22 George Square, Edinburgh EH8 9LF ISBN 978 0 7486 0904 8 www.euppublishing.com

FARHAD DAFTARY

Cover illustration: Fatimid painting, capella palatena, with kind permission of Professor Robert Hillenbrand. Series Editor: Carole Hillenbrand.

A S H O RT H I S TO RY O F THE ISMAILIS

A SHORT HISTORY OF THE ISMAILIS

A SHORT HISTORY OF THE ISMAILIS

ISLAMIC SURVEYS

I S L A M I C S U RV E Y S

EDINBURGH

FA R H A D DA F TA R Y