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| Nizari | |
|---|---|
| Name | Nizari |
| Settlement type | Community |
| Subdivision type | Region |
Nizari
The Nizari designation refers to a branch of Ismailism, a subsect of Twelver Shia Islam with roots in Fatimid Caliphate succession disputes, known for distinctive leadership, doctrine, and historical institutions. Originating in the 11th and 12th centuries, the community developed political entities, intellectual traditions, and networks across Persia, Syria, and South Asia, interacting with actors such as the Seljuk Empire, Crusader States, and Mongol Empire. Over centuries the Nizari community produced notable leaders, architects of statecraft, and patrons of learning who engaged with figures like Hassan-i Sabbah, Rashid al-Din, and Aga Khan IV.
The term traces to the succession claim linked to Nizar ibn al-Mustansir within the context of the Fatimid succession crisis and the split that also involved figures associated with Al-Musta'li and Mustansir Billah, producing terminological distinctions mirrored in chronicles by Ibn al-Qalanisi, Ibn al-Athir, and Al-Maqrizi. Scholarly treatments in works by Marshall Hodgson, Farhad Daftary, and Wilferd Madelung analyze genealogical claims, while administrative records from Ayyubid and Mamluk Sultanate periods reflect legal and communal classifications used by scribes such as Ibn Khaldun. Colonial-era ethnographies by Edward G. Browne and contemporary studies at institutions like SOAS and Harvard University further refine definitions.
Origins lie in the schism after the death of Al-Mustansir Billah in 1094, involving succession figures including Nizar and court factions centered on Alam al-Mulk and Badr al-Jamali; chroniclers such as Ibn al-Athir and Nasir Khusraw document early realignments. Early propagation occurred across Jibal, Khorasan, Merv, and Damascus through missionaries like Da'i cadres linked to networks described by Anushirvan and studied by scholars including Hodgson and Daftary. Encounters with the Seljuk polity, the Crusader principalities, and regional dynasties such as the Bavandid and Ghaznavid influenced community consolidation and the establishment of fortified sites documented in accounts by William of Tyre and Fulcher of Chartres.
The polity centered on mountain fortresses such as Alamut Castle, Masyaf, and Lesser Quay became associated in Latin chronicles with the term "Assassins" as used by Marco Polo and Ricoldo da Montecroce, while Muslim sources like Ibn al-Athir and Ibn al-Qalanisi describe targeted operations during confrontations with the Seljuk Empire, Ayyubid Sultanate, and Najm ad-Din Ayyub. Leadership figures including Hassan-i Sabbah and later Rukn al-Din Khurshah negotiated treaties and truces with actors such as Nur ad-Din Zangi, Saladin, and later Mongol forces led by Hulagu Khan. Military and diplomatic episodes are recorded alongside European narratives of the Third Crusade and diplomatic correspondence with courts like Byzantium and Ragusa.
Theological traditions draw on Ismaili exegesis in works attributed to thinkers like Nasir Khusraw, Hamid al-Din al-Kirmani, and Ibn al-Mu'tamin, elaborating concepts related to Imamate and esoteric hermeneutics reflected in texts preserved in collections such as those cataloged by Sanaei and analyzed by Daftary and Hodgson. Ritual life incorporated communal practices administered by hierarchies of Da'i and Hujjah figures within networks connected to principal seats like Alamut and later centres in Gujarat and Karachi. Legal and intellectual exchanges occurred with jurists from Hanafi and Shafi'i milieus as evident in debates recorded by scholars including Al-Ghazali and Ibn Taymiyyah.
Nizari communities patronized arts, architecture, and scholarship visible in the construction of fortifications, libraries, and caravanserais recorded in sources like Yaqut al-Hamawi and in art-historical surveys comparing material culture with contemporaneous works from Seljuk and Ayyubid contexts. Political interactions included diplomacy and conflict with states such as the Khwarazmian Empire, Ilkhanate, and the Ottoman Empire, and intellectual exchanges with figures like Rumi and Fakhr al-Din al-Razi influenced regional thought. Trade networks connected Nizari settlements to routes documented in Ibn Battuta and Marco Polo, contributing to transmission of manuscripts and philosophical texts engaged by scholars at centers like Baghdad and Cairo.
In the modern era, community leadership under the line of Imams culminating in figures such as Aga Khan III and Aga Khan IV organized global institutions including the Aga Khan Development Network, Aga Khan University, and cultural projects like the Aga Khan Museum and initiatives in partnership with bodies such as the United Nations and World Bank. Diaspora communities in regions including India, Pakistan, East Africa, France, and Canada maintain jamats and jamatkhanas, participate in development projects with agencies like UNDP and collaborate with universities including Harvard University and Oxford University on research centers studying Ismaili history. Legal and civic engagement in nation-states such as India and Tanzania reflects interactions with postcolonial administrations arising from actors like Jawaharlal Nehru and Jomo Kenyatta.
Prominent historical figures include Hassan-i Sabbah, Rukn al-Din Khurshah, and intellectuals such as Nasir Khusraw and Hamid al-Din al-Kirmani; modern leaders include Aga Khan III and Aga Khan IV, who engaged with statesmen like Winston Churchill and institutions such as the League of Nations. Scholars and administrators linked to the community include Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr-era contemporaries, philanthropists collaborating with Rockefeller Foundation initiatives, and academics at SOAS and McGill University who have produced key studies on Ismaili history and doctrine.
Category:Ismaili