Forthcoming August 2026
This book will also be available OPEN ACCESS to download or read online for free.
Of the hundreds of Persian manuscripts preserved at The Institute of Ismaili Studies, many have long remained unknown or little studied. This open-access volume present the first comprehensive catalogue of the Ismaili texts in this important collection, bringing previously inaccessible sources to light and opening new avenues of research in Ismaili studies and the study of the Persianate world. The catalogue introduces a range of hitherto unidentified authors central to the Ismaili history of the Iranian lands, accompanied by concise biographical sketches. Each manuscript is described in detail, with information on provenance, scribes, and related codicological features, offering much-needed insight into these primary sources. The entries are organised in two main sections: the first devoted to monographs (single, titled works), and the second to collections of miscellaneous texts bound together, or majmuʿas. In total, 126 manuscripts are examined, spanning a broad historical arc from the Fatimid period—including works associated with the renowned Ismaili philosopher and theologian Nāṣir-i Khusraw—through to the modern era following the nineteenth-century migration of Ḥasan ʿAlī Shāh, Aga KhanA title granted by the Shah of Persia to the then Ismaili Imam in 1818 and inherited by each of his successors to the Imamate. I, from Iran to India. The volume is enriched by a substantial introduction, along with carefully prepared tables that enable readers to locate specific works and authors with ease. Together, these features make the catalogue an indispensable resource for specialists in Ismaili and broader Islamic and Persianate studies, while also offering non-specialist readers a clear and engaging overview of an extraordinary manuscript collection.
List of Figures
Note on Transliteration
Abbreviations
Introduction
The Catalogue
Part One: Monographs
Part Two: Majmūʿas
Select Bibliography
List of Titles
List of Authors
List of Titles in Persian
Dr Karim Javan is a faculty member at The Institute of Ismaili Studies (IIS), where he has worked in the Ismaili Special Collections Unit since 2014. In addition to cataloguing, editing and translating Persian texts, he teaches courses related to Persian literature and Iranian history on IIS graduate programmes. He has a PhD in Ismaili History from SOAS, University of London, UK, an MPhil in Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Cambridge, UK and an MA in Persian Literature from Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran.