The Ismailis in the Middle Ages: A History of Survival, a Search for Salvation

322 Pages·2007·2.78 MB·English

by  Shafique N. Virani

The Ismailis in the Middle Ages
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The Ismailis in the Middle Ages
A History of Survival,
A Search for Salvation
}O
SHAFIQUE N. VIRANI
1
2007
1
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LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Virani,ShafiqueN.
TheIsmailisintheMiddleAges:ahistoryofsurvival,asearchfor
salvation/ShafiqueN.Virani.
p.cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN978-0-19-531173-0
1. Ismailites—History. I. Title.
BP195.I8V572007
297.8'2209—dc22 2006019105
1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
onacid-freepaper
Dedicated to the memories of
Muhammad b. Zayn al-^Abidin ‘Fida\i’
Khurasani ‘Hajji Akhund’
and
^Ali Muhammad Jan Muhammad Chunara
Harken ye
Who quest for union
Who boasts
That he seeks
Heed my words
For I am
The Book of God
That speaks!
h
Imam ^Abd al-Salam
Acknowledgments
O Our Lord!
Let thanks for your bounties
Be the litany of our tongues
And shelter us from the nethermost hell
Of ingratitude and thanklessness
h
Fromaseventeenth-centuryIsmailiprayer
Many people have given generously of their time, their resources and their wisdom to
assistmeinthewritingofthisbook.Intheinitialstages,whenthefoundationswerebeing
laid, Roy Mottahedeh shared his wisdom about how to approach history, Robert Wis-
novskyspokeatlengthwithmeaboutphilosophicalconsiderations,WheelerThackston
motivatedmewithhislearnedopinionsaboutliterature,andAhmadMahdavi-Damghani
assisted me with numerous intricacies in medieval texts. I must thank Ali Asani, in
particular, for his constant support, his precious advice on the writing process, and for
readingtheinitialdraftswithsuchakeeneye.
During the course of my research, I spent a memorable year at the Institute of
IsmailiStudies,London.IwouldliketothankAzimNanji,thedirector,forfacilitating
my stay and making my residence so pleasant. I am indebted to the librarians at the
Institute without whose help much of my research would have remained unfinished.
Duncan Haldane was never too busy to help in locating obscure resources, Alnoor
Merchant’s wide knowledge of the Institute’s collection was essential in procuring
manuscript works, and whenever I was tired of poring over the manuscripts I would
discoverthatacupofhotteaandaplateofcookieshadbeenpreparedformebyKhadija
Lalani, who always made the library a wonderful environment in which to work. The
librarians at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., and at Zayed University in the
UAE, particularly those workingwithinterlibraryloans,werewonderful.Iwouldliketo
thank Bonnie Burns ofHarvard University, and AndrewNicholson, Gerald Romme and
vii
viii W ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Magda Biesiada of the University of Toronto, who inducted me into the world of geo-
graphicinformationsystems.Withouttheirhelp,Iwouldnothavebeenabletodesignthe
mapsincludedinthisbook.
This book has benefited from the sage advice and valuable information provided
by many leading scholars in the field, including Aziz Esmail and Jalal Badakhchani.
FarhadDaftary,HermannLandolt,WilferdMadelung,andPaulWalkertooktimefrom
their busy schedules and read the penultimate draft of the book, providing me with
thebenefitoftheirimmenseeruditionandincisivejudgment.Throughtheyears,Ihave
always admired their superior scholarship, and am indebted to them for their guidance
and observations. I must, in particular, single out Faquir M. Hunzai and Mrs. Rashida
Hunzaiwho,fromtheveryoutset,bentoverbackwardtoassistme.Despitethedemands
oftheirownwork,theywerealwayseagertohelpwiththeircharacteristicselflessness.
With hisvastknowledge and expertise,Hunzai wasable to deciphersomeof themost
obscureandpuzzlingpassagesinthemanuscriptsIwasdealingwithandMrs.Hunzai’s
vigilance saved me from many infelicities of expression. Both of them welcomed me
withimmenseloveandwarmth,andIcanneverfullyexpressmygratitudetothem.In
addition,myfriendsHusseinRashid,SyedAkbarHyder,andSunilSharmaweresources
of immense supportandadvice.
Iamparticularlyindebtedtomyparents,mysisterandmybrother,whohavealways
stoodbyme,unwaveringintheirencouragementandsupport.Neveradaygoesbywhen
I don’trememberhow luckyI amtohavethem.
I’mgratefultotheJournaloftheAmericanOrientalSociety,whichpermittedmeto
usepartsofmyarticle‘‘TheEagleReturns:EvidenceofContinuedIsma^iliActivityat
AlamutandintheSouthCaspianRegionfollowingtheMongolConquests,’’JAOS123
(2003):351–370,inchapter2of thisbook.
Lastly,I’dliketoacknowledgetheGovernmentofIranMinistryofCulture,theIran
HeritageFoundation,theInstituteofIsmailiStudies,theMalcolmH.KerrDissertation
Award of the Middle East Studies Association, the Foundation for Iranian Studies, the
Harvard University Ilse Lichtenstadter Memorial Publication Prize, and the Whiting
Foundationfortheirsupport,financialorotherwise,whichmadethepublicationofthis
bookpossible.
Contents
NOTEONTHETEXT xi
MapoftheNearEast xvi
MapoftheIranianLands xviii
INTRODUCTION 3
EmergingfromObscurity 9
SignpostsfortheWay 13
ONE W RECOVERINGALOSTHISTORY 19
HistoryIsWrittenbytheVictors 22
AskingthePeopleoftheHouse 25
TWO W THEEAGLERETURNS 29
ACorrectiveto^Ata-MalikJuwayni’sNarrative 30
IntheShadowoftheIlkhanids 33
TheTrialsoftheKushayjiFamily 34
TheAppearanceofKhudawandMuhammad 35
ContinuedIsmailiActivity 37
TestimonyfromLatin,Khurasani,andSouthAsian
Sources 39
Conclusion 43
THREE W VEILINGTHESUN 47
ImamateofShamsal-DinMuhammad 49
NizariQuhistani(d.720/1320) 60
FOUR W SUMMONINGTOTHETRUTH 71
TheDa^wa 72
ImamQasimshah 77
QasimTushtari(orTurshizi) 87