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With the fall of Alamut, the Persian Nizaris entered an obscure period of their history, which lasted two centuries, until their Imams emerged at the village of Anjudan in central Persia, around the middle of the 9th/15th century, and initiated a revival in Nizari da‘wa and literary activities. Many aspects of Nizari Ismaili history during this period are still shrouded in mystery due to a lack of reliable sources as no written works are known to have been produced in this period. The Ismailis observed taqiyya, guarding their identity and adopting Sufism and other forms of expression, to protect themselves against persecution. As a result, many scattered Nizari groups either disappeared or assimilated themselves into other religious communities. However, progress in Ismaili studies has enabled scholars to acquire a better understanding of at least the main trends in the history of Persian Nizari Ismailism of the early post–Alamut centuries. It is in such a context that the present book should be read and appreciated.

Hakim Sa‘d al–Din b. Shams al–Din Nizari Quhistani (645–720/1247–1320) is the major Persian Ismaili poet of the early post–Alamut period. He hailed from the region of Quhistan in southeastern Khurasan and as a boy witnessed the Mongol ravages in his native land. He was perhaps also the first author of this period to have adopted poetic forms of expression and Sufi idioms to convey his Ismaili ideas, which are in essence resonant with the teachings of the Alamut period. In fact, Nizari Quhistani’s writings reflect the earliest instance of a literary coalescence between Nizari Ismailism and Sufism in Persia and, as such, they represent the opening phase of the post–Alamut Nizari tradition which was well developed by the time the Safavids established their rule over Persia in 907/1501.

By drawing extensively on Nizari Quhistani’s unpublished collected works, the Kulliyyat, particularly his versified Safarnama, and the findings of modern scholarship in the field, Dr Eboo–Jamal has produced here the first thorough study of this poet in English, as well as an important contribution to the history of the Persian Nizari Ismailis in the aftermath of the Mongol debacle. She provides ample documentation of the way the Nizaris of Persia succeeded, against all odds, not only to retain their distinct religious identity but also to adopt their tradition to the changed environment, which brought the community closer to Persian Sufism and enabled it to survive under highly adverse circumstances in post–Mongol Persia.

Edited and revised from the Foreword by Farhad Daftary.

Foreword by Farhad Daftary

Preface

1. Introduction
   Part One: The Ismaili Da‘wa: Community, History and Destiny
2. The Early Ismaili and Fatimid Da‘was
3. The Nizari Ismaili i>Da‘wa
4. The Mongol Catastrophe
   Part Two: Nizari Quhistani: The Search for Meaning and Identity
5. The Poet Nizari Quhistani
6. Ismailism, Sufism and Nizari Quhistani
7. Nizari’s Safar–nama: The Journey of a Da‘i

Notes

Bibliography

Index

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