Our work | Ismaili Heritage Project | The Institute of Ismaili Studies

Our work and progress

Over the last nine years, IH has identified over 1500 Ismaili heritage sites across 56 countries around the world. Of these, we have documented over 1000 in 28 countries, and every year the project identifies additional sites to document.

Some of these sites are old, beloved, and familiar. Cities, castles, forts, mosques, mausolea, palaces, and universities are just a few examples of obvious relevance from our history, as are more recent Jamatkhanas, Darkhanas, and Ismaili Centres.

But many other sites are new, surprising, and unexpected, and still hold meaning and significance for us today. Shrines, parks and gardens, bridges, procession routes, and diplomatic sites are a few examples.

And these are in addition to the sites that constitute all the various buildings and institutions of The Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), such as hospitals, schools, newsrooms, factories, and infrastructure projects, and the enormity of the vital work they do across so many fields of human endeavour.

All these sites show us how the Ismailis, as Shiʿas, as Muslims, have made and continue to make a difference to where, when, and how the community live, work, and create.

A world map, highlighting Ismaili heritage sites in countries in red and green colours

Over 1,500 Ismaili Heritage sites have been identified across 56 countries around the world. Of these, over 1,000 sites in 28 countries have been documented by the Ismaili Heritage Project since 2015. Note that the number and size of the countries in red does not necessarily correspond to the number and density of Ismaili heritage sites in the countries in green.

The courtyard of al-Azhar Mosque, showing the extant Fatimid portal, Cairo, Egypt. Source and © Russell Harris, 2018 for IH

The ruins of Dizbad Bala Jamatkhana, Dizbad, Iran. Source and © Maryam Rezaee, 2010 for IH

Zanjir-i Kaʿaba, Ryn, Ishkashim, Tajikistan. A mud and stone shrine resembling a Pamiri house. Note the stone-filled niche and above it, the horn of Marco Polo sheep, as well as the skylight and the carved wooden door. Source and © Sorbon Mavlonazarov, 2011, for IH

Khuna Kalu, Yahn, Iran. According to community memory, this house was built by the 45th Ismaili Imam, Khalil Allah ʿAli (Shah Khalil Allah III, r. 1792-1817) and served as his residence. After he left, Khuna Kalu became a space of worship and gathering for some Iranian Ismailis prior to the establishment of Jamatkhanas. Source and © Amir Hussain Rezaee, 2017 for IH

Aga Khan Palace, Pune, India. Constructed in 1892 under direct patronage of the 48th Ismaili Imam, Sir Sultan Mahomed Shah, Aga Khan III. Decades later, the palace became an integral part of the Indian independence movement. In 1969, the 49th Ismaili, Shah Karim al-Husayni, His Highness the Aga Khan IV donated the entire property to the Government of India as a goodwill gesture. Today it serves as a museum of Gandhi’s belongings and his time at the complex. Source and © Khushroo Cooper, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Looking southeast at the Palace of Nations at the bottom of the photo, with Lake Geneva and the French Alps in the backdrop. In 1937, the 48th Ismaili Imam, Sir Sultan Mahomed Shah, Aga Khan III, was elected President of the League of Nations and presided over its 18th assembly. It was during his tenure as President that the inaugural assembly of the Palace (of the League) of Nations took place at its new home. © Postcard / G. Jaeger, Geneve, possibly 1980s

Our impact

At IIS, the work of the Ismaili Heritage project led directly to the publication of Farhad Daftary's The Ismaili Imams: A Biographical History in 2020.

IH's research and documentation work will feature increasingly in: