During the 13th century CE, the Persian-speaking lands, extending from Central Asia to Iraq were devastated by a series of Mongol invasions. The massive movement of these nomadic warriors from the inner steppes of Asia resulted in the massacre and displacement of many communities, including the Ismaili Muslims of the region. The fall of the chief Ismaili fortress of Alam贖t in 1256, followed by the destruction of some two hundred other strongholds, brought to an end the territorial independence of the IsmailisAdherents of a branch of Shi’i Islam that considers Ismail, the eldest son of the Shi’i Imam Ja尪far al-廜〢diq (d. 765), as his successor. in Persia.
Contrary to belief that the community was virtually eliminated, a small number of Persian Ismailis survived the Mongol onslaught, together with the basic infrastructure of their religious organisation, the 餃硃尪滄硃Lit. ‘summons’, ‘mission’ or invitation to Islam. Amongst Shi’i Muslims, it was the invitation to adopt the cause of the Imamat. It also refers more specifically to the hierarchy of…. After presenting an overview of the development of the Ismaili 餃硃尪滄硃 in the historical context, the author explores how this organisation was instrumental in enabling the Persian Ismailis to maintain their religious identity and the cohesion of their community in those difficult times.
Among the various authorities consulted by the author for this study, the most important is the poet Sa尪d al-D蘋n b. Shams al-D蘋n, generally known as Nizri Quhistn蘋. Through an analysis of his works, in particular the 釦硃款硃娶-紳櫻鳥硃 (Travelogue) which describes the poet’s journey from Quhistn to Transcaucasia around 1280, the author is able for the first time to demonstrate the existence of the Ismaili 餃硃尪滄硃 and thus the continuity of Ismaili tradition in Persia through the era of Mongol rule.
Foreword by Farhad Daftary
Preface
1 Introduction
Part One: The Ismaili 嗨硃尪滄硃: Community, History and Destiny
2. The Early Ismaili and Fatimid 嗨硃尪滄硃s
3. The Nizr蘋 Ismaili 嗨硃尪滄硃
4. The Mongol Catastrophe
Part Two: Nizr蘋 Quhistn蘋: The Search for Meaning and Identity
5. The Poet Nizr蘋 Quhistn蘋
6. Ismailism, Sufism and Nizr蘋 Quhistn蘋
7. Nizr蘋’s 釦硃款硃娶-紳櫻鳥硃: The Journey of a 嗨櫻尪蘋
Notes
Bibliography
Index
…sheds a welcome light on the Il-Khanate in general, and the Persian Ismailis and Nizari Quhistani (12471320) in particular.
George Lane, Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies
Nadia Eboo Jamal received her Ph.D. degree in Near Eastern Languages and Literature from New York University in 1996. A specialist in Persian history and culture in the period of Mongol rule, with particular emphasis on the Ismailis, she is an independent scholar based in Switzerland.