Ismaili Studies

For most of their history, the IsmailisAdherents of a branch of Shi’i Islam that considers Ismail, the eldest son of the Shi’i Imam Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq (d. 765), as his successor. have been studied almost exclusively on the basis of evidence provided by their detractors, but the last few decades have seen significant changes. A new generation of scholars have continued to build on the work of pioneering scholars and some key discoveries, generating new perspectives for studying Ismaili history and thought.