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A Short History of the Ismailis: Traditions of a Muslim Community » (New Edition)

Book cover image of A Short History of the Ismailis: Traditions of a Muslim Community by Farhad Daftary

Authors: Farhad Daftary
ISBN-13: 9781558761940, ISBN-10: 1558761942
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Wiener, Markus Publishers, Incorporated
Date Published: July 1998
Edition: New Edition

Author Biography: Farhad Daftary

Book Synopsis

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 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 Shi'i thought.

Digest of Middle East Studies

"This slim volume is eminently readable."

	Preface
	Note on Transliteration, Dates and Abbreviations
1	Ismaili History and Historiography: Phases, Sources and Studies	1
	Phases in Ismaili History	1
	Evolution of Ismaili Historiography	4
	Anti-Ismaili Writings of Other Muslims	9
	The Assassin Legends of Medieval Westerners	13
	Orientalist Perspectives	14
	Modern Progress in Ismaili Studies	16
2	Origins and Early History: Shi'is, Ismailis and Qarmatis	21
	Diversity in Early Islam	21
	Origins of Shi'ism	23
	Early History of Shi'ism: The Kaysaniyya and the Imamiyya	25
	Ja'far al-Sadiq's Imamate, Abu'l-Khattab and Isma'il	29
	The Earliest Ismailis	34
	The Da'wa of the 3rd/9th Century	36
	The Schism of 286/899 and its Consequences	45
	Early Ismaili Doctrines	50
3	The Fatimid Age: Dawla and Da'wa	63
	Overview	63
	Foundation and Consolidation of the Fatimid Caliphate	68
	Fatimid Achievements under al-Mu'izz	75
	Philosophical Ismailism of the Iranian Da'is	81
	Fatimid Ismaili Da'wa and Da'is: Cairo and the "Islands"	89
	The Nizari-Musta'li Schism of 487/1094	106
	Later Fatimids and Early Musta'li Ismailism	108
4	The Alamut Period in Nizari Ismaili History	120
	Overview	120
	Hasan Sabbah and the Revolt of the Persian Ismailis	122
	The Doctrine of Ta'lim and Consolidation of the Nizari State	131
	The Nizari-Saljuq Stalemate	135
	Proclamation of Qiyama or Resurrection	138
	Rapprochement with Sunni Islam and al-Tusi's Interpretations	145
	The Final Decades	150
5	Later Developments: Continuity and Modernisation	159
	Post-Alamut Patterns and Research Problems	159
	Early Post-Alamut Centuries and Nizari Relations with Sufism	161
	The Anjudan Revival in Nizari history	170
	The Khojas and Satpanth Ismailism	177
	The Bohras and Tayyibi Ismailism	185
	Modern Developments in the Nizari Community	193
	Glossary	217
	Select Bibliography	221
	Index	231

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