Evidence of Continued Ismaili Growth in the South Caspian Region

In this article it is maintained that Isma‘ili activity in the region in the aftermath of the Mongol invasions was even greater. Inconsistencies and exag­gerations in Juwayni’s testimony; a correction of his narrative based on other historians, in­cluding Rashid al-Din; and the evidence of regional histories, geographical tomes and inscriptions clearly point to sustained Isma‘ili presence in the region. This evidence is fur­ther supported by the fifteenth-century Nasai’ih-i Shah-Rukhi, a hostile Khurasani source that clearly indicates that Alamut was a centre of the Isma‘ili da‘wa to which community funds were sent. The testimony of the Nasa’ih is supported by that of the da‘wa literature of the Indian subcontinent, which provides very suggestive evidence that the residence of the Imam Islam Shah was Alamut. From this, it becomes clear that the south Caspian re­gion continued, perhaps sporadically, as an important centre of the Isma‘ili community for over a century after the Mongol irruption.

The Eagle Returns: Evidence of Continued Isma‘ili Activity at Alamut and in the South Caspian Region following the Mongol Conquests
Dr Shafique N Virani
This is an edited version of an article that was originally published in the Journal of the American Oriental Society 123.2 (2003), pp. 351-370

Abstract
Persian historians, following ‘Ata-Malik Juwayni’s eyewitness accounts in The History of the World Conqueror, record the complete annihilation of the Shi‘i Ismaili community, centred at Alamut, in the thirteenth century Mongol invasions that devastated the Muslim world. While modern research reveals that the community had, in fact, survived, its continued activities at Alamut and the south Caspian region have been underestimated. Inconsistencies and exaggerations in Juwayni’s testimony; a correction of his narrative based on other historians, including Rashid al-Din; and the evidence of regional histories, geographical tomes and inscriptions clearly point to sustained Isma‘ili presence in the area. This evidence is further supported by the fifteenth century Nasa’ih-i Shah-Rukhi and testimony in the communal literature of the Indian Subcontinent, both of which identify Alamut as an important centre of Isma‘ilism in the post-invasion period to which, significantly, community funds were sent. Furthermore, the Indic literature identifies the fortress of Alamut as the residence of the Isma‘ili Imam Islam Shah.

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Key words:
Mongol, Isma‘ilis, Alamut, ta‘limiyya, Juwayni, Gilan, Mazandaran, Saljuqs, Hulagu, Maymundiz, Khwarshah, Tarkiya, Kiya Sayf al-Din, Qazwin, Mar‘ashi, Ilkhanids, mulhid, wajibat, da‘wa, Ginan, Nizaris, Hasan Sabbah, Nusayris, Nasai’ih-i Shah-Rukhi, Ul­jaytu.
Table of Contents:
A Corrective to ‘Ata-Malik Juwayni’s Narrative
In the Shadow of the Ilkhanids and Beyond
Testimony of the Nasa’ih Shah-Rukhi
Testimony of the Da‘wa Literature of the Indian Subcontinent
Conclusion
None of that people should be spared, not even the babe in its cradle.
-Edict of Chingiz Khan and Mangu Qa’an1

It is generally believed that the fall of the castle of Alamut in A.H. 654 (A.D. 1256) marks the end of the Ismaili influence in Gilan. This is a great mistake. -Hyacinth L. Rabino2