The Ismailis in the Middle Ages: A History of Survival, a Search for SalvationOxford University Press, 19 avr. 2007 - 322 pages "None of that people should be spared, not even the babe in its cradle." With these chilling words, the Mongol warlord Genghis Khan declared his intention to destroy the Ismailis, one of the most intellectually and politically significant Muslim communities of medieval Islamdom. The massacres that followed convinced observers that this powerful voice of Shi'i Islam had been forever silenced. Little was heard of these people for centuries, until their recent and dramatic emergence from obscurity. Today they exist as a dynamic and thriving community established in over twenty-five countries. Yet the interval between what appeared to have been their total annihilation, and their modern, seemingly phoenix-like renaissance, has remained shrouded in mystery. Drawing on an astonishing array of sources gathered from many countries around the globe, The Ismailis in the Middle Ages: A History of Survival, A Search for Salvation is a richly nuanced and compelling study of the murkiest portion of this era. In probing the period from the dark days when the Ismaili fortresses in Iran fell before the marauding Mongol hordes, to the emergence at Anjudan of the Ismaili Imams who provided a spiritual centre to a scattered community, this work explores the motivations, passions and presumptions of historical actors. With penetrating insight, Shafique N. Virani examines the rich esoteric thought that animated the Ismailis and enabled them to persevere. A work of remarkable erudition, this landmark book is essential reading for scholars of Islamic history and spirituality, Shi'ism and Iran. Both specialists and informed lay readers will take pleasure not only in its scholarly perception, but in its lively anecdotes, quotations of delightful poetry, and gripping narrative style. This is an extraordinary book of historical beauty and spiritual vision. |
Table des matières
INTRODUCTION | 3 |
RECOVERING A LOST HISTORY | 19 |
THE EAGLE RETURNS | 29 |
VEILING THE SUN | 47 |
SUMMONING TO THE TRUTH | 71 |
POSSESSORS OF THE COMMAND | 91 |
QIBLA OF THE WORLD | 109 |
THE WAY OF THE SEEKER | 133 |
SALVATION AND IMAMATE | 165 |
AFTERWORD | 183 |
GLOSSARY | 187 |
ABBREVIATIONS | 195 |
NOTES | 197 |
BIBLIOGRAPHY | 265 |
291 | |
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100 Ginanani Chopadi Abbasid Abd al-Salam ahl-i al-Husayni al-Mu\ayyad Alamut Anjudan Badakhshan caliph CD-ROM Counsels of Chivalry Da^i da^wa Daftary Daylam Diwan esoteric faith Fatimid Fida\i Gharib Mirza Gilan Ginan God’s Hasan-i Mahmud History hujjat Husayn Ibid Imam Imam Shams al-Din Imam’s Institute of Ismaili Iran Ishaq Islam Islamshah Isma^iliyyan-i Iran Ismaili community Ismaili Imam Ismaili Literature Ismaili Studies Library Ivanow Ja^far Jahangushay Juwayni Khan Khayrkhwah Harati Khojki Khurasani Kitab Kiya Leiden London lord manuscript Mar^ashi Mawlana Mongol Mu^izzi Muhammadshah Mumbai Muslim Mustansir Mustansir bi’llah mustaqarr Nasir-i Khusraw Nizari Quhistani Persian poem poet Poonawala Prophet Qasimshah Qazwini qiyas Quran Rashid al-Din Rawda-yi Taslim reference religious reprint Rukn al-Din Sat Varani Moti Sayyid Shah Shams al-Din Muhammad Shams-i Shi^a Shi^i Shi^ism Sindhi Sirat al-Mustaqim sources spiritual Sufi Sufism Sunni Ta\rikh-i Tabriz taqiyya Tehran trans truth Tushtari Tusi and Hasan-i Twelver verses writing Zafarnama