A major Shi’i Muslim community with a long and eventful history, the Ismailis were until recently studied primarily on the basis of the accounts of their enemies, including the Sunni polemicists and the Crusader chroniclers. As a result, a host of legends were disseminated on the teachings and practices of the Ismailis. The study of Ismailism began to be revolutionized from the 1930s, with the recovery of a large number of Ismaili texts preserved in private collections. A Short History of the Ismailis brings together the results of modern scholarship on the highlights of Ismaili history and doctrines within the broader contexts of Islamic history and Shi’i thought.
Critically examining the Ismaili historiography and other types of relevant source materials, this book covers the main developments in all the major phases of Ismaili history, including the early formative period, the Fatimid and Ismaili golden age, and the Alamut and post-Alamut periods. It also examines the major schisms among the Ismailis, as well as their more recent history.