The Early Nizari Ismailis and their Neighbouring Powers

I.B. Tauris in association with the Institute of Ismaili Studies.This new history of the Alamut era of the Nizari Ismaili community concentrates on the local politics of the remote mountainous Caspian region. This is where the prominent religious and military leader, Hasan-i Sabbah (1050s-1124) famously founded the medieval Nizari Isma''ili state in 1090 before it collapsed at the hands of the Mongols in 1256.Miklos Sarkozy presents here a fresh investigation of this period through a detailed examination of the regional Caspian histories across the turbulent 10th and early 11th centuries. His analysis provides an important contribution to our understanding of the development of the early Nizari Ismailis and their Imams in Iran. The book considers the effects of neighbouring regional powers on the formation and adaptions of the Nizari state whilst it was continuously subjected to the assaults of the Saljuq Turks. The result is a new perspective on how the Nizari Ismailis were able to survive and flourish through difficult times and establish themselves as a vital polity of the Muslim world.The Nizaris- also known as "Assassins" in western literature-have attracted considerable interest among both scholars and the general public. This book is a much-needed analysis of a neglected area of their vital history.>

Préface
A new history of the Nizari Ismailis of the 11th and 13th centuries detailing how they came to power.

Auteur
Miklós Sárközy is Assistant Professor in the Institute of History, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at Károli Gáspár University of the Hungarian Reformed Church, Hungary. He is the author of many journal articles and chapters, most recently contributing to Texts, Scribes and Transmission Manuscript Cultures of the Ismaili Communities and Beyond (I.B.Tauris, 2022) and the Catalogue of the Persian Manuscripts in the Library of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (2018). His research interests include Ismaili studies, early Islamic and medieval Iran and Central Asia.

Texte du rabat

A new history of the Nizari Ismailis of the 10th and 11th centuries detailing how they came to power.

Résumé

This history of the Alamut era of the Nizari Ismaili community concentrates on the local politics of the remote mountainous Caspian region of northern Iran. This is where the prominent religious and military leader Hasan-i Sabbah (1050s1124) famously founded the medieval Nizari Ismaili state in 1090, before it ultimately collapsed at the hands of the Mongols in 1256.
Miklós Sárközy presents here a fresh investigation of this turbulent period through a detailed examination of the contemporary regional Caspian histories. His analysis provides an important contribution to our understanding of the development of the early Nizari Ismailis and their Imams in Iran. The book considers the effects of neighbouring regional powers on the formation and adaptions of the Nizari state whilst it was continuously subjected to the assaults of the Saljuq Turks. The result is a new perspective on how the Nizari Ismailis were able to survive and flourish through difficult times and to establish themselves as a significant polity of the Muslim world.
The Nizarisalso known pejoratively as the Assassins in western literaturehave attracted considerable interest among both scholars and the general public. This book is a much-needed analysis of a neglected area of their vital history.

Contenu

Preface
List of Abbreviations

Chapter 1 Introduction: Sources and Studies
Chapter 2 The Political Relations of the Nizari Ismaili State in the Caspian Provinces under Hasan-i Sabbah
Chapter 3 The Development of Local Power in the Caspian region during Saljuq Decline
Chapter 4 Nizari Bawandid Competition for Hegemony, 534565/11401170
Chapter 5 Nizari Bawandid Confrontation in the 6th/12th Century
Chapter 6 The Last Decades of the Nizari Ismaili State
Chapter 7 Ala' al-Din Muhammad III and the End of the Nizari Ismaili State in the Caspian Provinces
Chapter 8 The Economy and Social Structure of the Nizari Ismaili State
Chapter 9 Conclusion

Appendix I Chronology of the Nizari Ismailis in the Alamut period
Appendix II Maps of the Caspian Provinces
Appendix III The Diwan-i Qa'imiyyat, Extracts in Translation
Appendix IV Dynastic Tables

Select Bibliography
Index