Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Illustrations and maps
- Foreword by Wilfred Madelung
- Preface to the first edition
- Preface to the second edition
- Note on the text and abbreviations
- 1 Introduction: progress in the study of the Ismāʿīlīs
- 2 Origins and early development of Shīʿism
- 3 Early Ismāʿīlism
- 4 The Fāṭimid period until 487/1094: dawla and daʿwa
- 5 The later Fāṭimids and Mustaʿlian Ismāʿīlism
- 6 Nizārī Ismāʿīlī history during the Alamūt period
- 7 The post-Alamūt centuries and modern developments in Nizārī Ismāʿīlī history
- Genealogical tables and lists
- Glossary
- Notes
- Select bibliography
- Index
Preface to the first edition
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 July 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Illustrations and maps
- Foreword by Wilfred Madelung
- Preface to the first edition
- Preface to the second edition
- Note on the text and abbreviations
- 1 Introduction: progress in the study of the Ismāʿīlīs
- 2 Origins and early development of Shīʿism
- 3 Early Ismāʿīlism
- 4 The Fāṭimid period until 487/1094: dawla and daʿwa
- 5 The later Fāṭimids and Mustaʿlian Ismāʿīlism
- 6 Nizārī Ismāʿīlī history during the Alamūt period
- 7 The post-Alamūt centuries and modern developments in Nizārī Ismāʿīlī history
- Genealogical tables and lists
- Glossary
- Notes
- Select bibliography
- Index
Summary
The Ismāʿīlīs constitute the second largest Shīʿī community after the Twelvers in the Muslim world and are now scattered in more than twenty countries of Asia, Africa, Europe and America. This book traces the history and doctrines of the Ismāʿīlī movement from its origins to the present time, a period of approximately twelve centuries.
The origins of Sunnism and Shīʿism, the two main divisions of Islam, may be traced to the crisis of succession faced by the nascent Muslim community following the death of the Prophet Muḥammad, though the doctrinal bases of these divisions developed gradually in the course of several centuries. In time, Shīʿī Islam, the minoritarian view, became subdivided into different groups, many of which proved short-lived. But Imāmī Shīʿism, providing the common early heritage for several Shīʿī communities, notably the Twelvers and the Ismāʿīlīs, was a major exception.
The Ismāʿīlīs have had a long and eventful history. In medieval times, they twice established states of their own and played important parts for relatively long periods on the historical stage of the Muslim world. During the second century of their history, the Ismāʿīlīs founded the first Shīʿī caliphate under the Fāṭimid caliph-imams. They also made important contributions to Islamic thought and culture during the Fāṭimid period. Later, after a schism that split Ismāʿīlism into its two major Nizārī and Mustaʿlian branches, the Nizārī leaders succeeded in founding a cohesive state, with numerous mountain strongholds and scattered territories stretching from eastern Persia to Syria.
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- Information
- The Isma'ilisTheir History and Doctrines, pp. xv - xviiiPublisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2007