Download PDF | Surviving The Mongols The Continuity Of Ismaili Tradition In Persia ( Ismaili Heritage) By Nadia Eboo Jamal, I.B.Tauris 2002.
209 Pages
Ismaili Heritage Series
A major Slii'i Muslim community, the Ismailis have had a long and eventful history. Scattered in many regions of the world, in Asia, Africa, Europe and North America, the Ismailis have elabo¬ rated diverse intellectual and literary traditions in different languages. On two occasions they had states of their own, the Fatimid caliphate and the Nizari State of Iran and Syria during the Alamut period. While pursuing particular religio-political aims, the leaders of these Ismaili states also variously encouraged intel¬ lectual, scientific, artistic and commercial activities.
Until recently, the Ismailis were studied and judged almost ex¬ clusively on the basis of the evidence collected or fabricated by their enemies, including the bulk of the medieval heresiographers and polemicists who were hostile towards the Slii'a in general and the Ismailis among them in particular. These authors in fact treated the Shi'i interpretations of Islam as expressions of heterodoxy or even heresy. As a result, a ‘black legend’ was gradually developed and put into circulation in the Muslim world to discredit the Is¬ mailis and their interpretation of Islam. The Christian Crusaders and their occidental chroniclers, who remained almost completely ignorant of Islam and its internal divisions, disseminated their own myths of the Ismailis, which came to be accepted in Europe as true descriptions of Ismaili teachings and practices. Modern orientalists, too, have studied the Ismailis on the basis of these hostile sources and fanciful accounts of medieval times. Thus, legends and misconceptions have continued to surround the Ismailis through the twentieth century.
In more recent decades, however, the field of Ismaili studies has been revolutionised due to the recovery and study of genuine Ismaili sources on a large scale - manuscript materials which in different ways survived the destruction of the Fatimid and Nizari Ismaili libraries. These sources, representing diverse literary tra¬ ditions produced in Arabic, Persian and Indie languages, had hitherto been secretly preserved in private collections in India, Central Asia, Iran, Afghanistan, Syria and the Yemen.
Modern progress in Ismaili studies has already necessitated a complete re-writing of the history of the Ismailis and their contri¬ butions to Islamic civilisation. It has now become clear that the Ismailis founded important libraries and institutions of learning such as al-Azhar and the Dar al-Tlm in Cairo, while some of their learned da‘is or missionaries developed unique intellectual tradi¬ tions amalgamating their theological doctrine with a diversity of philosophical traditions in complex metaphysical systems. The Ismaili patronage of learning and extension of hospitality to nonIsmaili scholars was maintained even in such difficult times as the Alamut period, when the community was preoccupied with its survival in an extremely hostile milieu.
The Ismaili Heritage Series, published under the auspices of the Department of Academic Research and Publications of The Institute of Ismaili Studies, aims to make available to wide audi¬ ences the results of modern scholarship on the Ismailis and their rich intellectual and cultural heritage, as well as certain aspects of their more recent history and achievements.
Foreword
In the course of their long history, the Ismailis have elaborated a diversity of literary and intellectual traditions and made impor¬ tant contributions to Islamic thought and culture. A distinct Nizari religious tradition, based on the Persian language, developed during the Alamut period (483-654/1090-1256) when the Ismailis of Persia had a state of their own centred on the stronghold of Alamut. The Nizaris lost their state and political prominence as a result of the Mongol invasions of Persia in 654/1256. But, in spite of the claims of the historian ‘Ata’ Malikjuwaynl, who was in the service of the Mongol conqueror Hiilegii, the Persian Nizari community was not totally extirpated by the Mongols. Countless numbers were massacred and the bulk of the Nizari literature was destroyed . However, the all-important Nizari imamate continued in the progeny of Imam Rukn al-DIn Khurshah (d. 655/1257), the last ruler of Alamut, while certain aspects of the Nizari da‘wa institution also survived.
With the fall of Alamut, the Persian Nizaris entered an obscure period of their history which lasted some two centuries until their Imams emerged at the village of Anjudan in central Persia, around the middle of the q 11 1/15 th century, and initiated a revival in Nizari da'wa and literary activities. Many aspects of Nizari Ismaili history during this interim period are still shrouded in mystery due to a lack of reliable sources. The Persian Nizaris did not produce any doctrinal works in this period, and they observed taqiyya.
dissimulating their beliefs and adopting Sufism and other forms of disguises to protect themselves against rampant persecution. As a result, many scattered Nizari groups either disintegrated or fully assimilated themselves into other, dominant religious com¬ munities. Be that as it may, it is only in the last few decades that progress in Ismaili studies has enabled scholars to acquire a bet¬ ter understanding of at least the main trends in the history of Persian Nizari Ismailism of the early post-Alamut centuries. It is in such a context that the present book should be read and ap¬ preciated.
Hakim Said al-Din b. Shams al-DIn Nizari Quhistani (645-720/ 1247-1320), who hailed from the region of Quhistan in south¬ eastern Khurasan and as a boy witnessed the Mongol ravages in his native land, is the major Persian Ismaili poet of the early postAlamut period. He was perhaps also the first author to have adopted poetic forms of expression and Sufi idioms to convey his Ismaili ideas, which are in essence resonant with the teachings of the Alamut period. In fact, Nizari Quhistani’s writings reflect the earliest instance of a literary coalescence between Nizari Ismailism and Sufism in Persia and as such, they represent the opening phase of a new Nizari tradition which was fully developed by the time the Safawids established their rule over Persia in 907/1501.
By drawing extensively on Nizari Quhistani’s unpublished col¬ lected works, the Kulliyyat, particularly his versified Safar-nama, and the findings of modern scholarship in the field, Dr Nadia Eboo Jamal has produced here the first thorough study of this poet in English as well as an important contribution to the history of the Persian Nizari Ismailis in the aftermath of the Mongol de¬ bacle. She provides ample documentation of the way the Nizarls of Persia succeeded, against all odds, not only to retain their dis¬ tinct religious identity but to initiate yet another tradition which brought their community closer to Persian Sufism and enabled it to survive under highly adverse circumstances in post-Mongol Persia.
Farhad Daftary
Preface
This work was prepared originally for a doctoral thesis at the De¬ partment of Near Eastern languages and Literatures at New York University in 1996 and has been revised extensively for publica¬ tion. Its main purpose is to examine the circumstances of the Ismaili community in the aftermath of the Mongol conquest of Persia in the mid—^th/13 th century. Due to the tremendous up¬ heaval caused in the community by this event, there is almost a complete lack of Ismaili sources for the next two centuries or so.
The only major Ismaili source material to have survived from the period of Mongol rule consists of the poetical works of Nizari Quhistanl, who served as a local government official and court poet in the north-eastern Persian provinces of Khurasan and Quhistan. These writings, in particular the poet’s travelogue, the Safar-nama, have been used in this study to explore the survival of the Ismaili community and the continuity of their traditions dur¬ ing the Mongol era. They also provide a unique insight into the interface between Ismailism and Sufism that emerged at this time. Since the works of Nizari Quhistanl are largely unknown to the English-speaking world, this publication serves the additional purpose of introducing the reader to his life and poetry.
When undertaking the journey of writing a book, there are many friends and colleagues who hold one’s hand along the way. Among these, I take great pleasure in recording my deep grati¬ tude to the following in particular: Dr Robert McChesney who patiently supported me on my quest: Ghulam Abbas Hunzai and Dr Faquir Hunzai, true mentors and lasting friends; Dr Charles Melville, whose comments on the first draft of this book were in¬ valuable; Mrs Zinat Safarha, a pure Sufi who shared her wisdom with me tirelessly; Dr Arzina Lalani, for her constant support, encouragement and advice; Dr Jalal Badakhchani, who not only assisted me in acquiring manuscripts for this work but has also helped me in numerous other ways; Dr Leonard Lewisohn for sharing his insightful comments, poetic skills and sense of hu¬ mour; Dr Farhad Daftary, for believing in me and my work, and contributing a Foreword to this book; Kutub Kassam, who has painstakingly walked the journey with me; as well as all the other supporters I have encountered at The Institute of Ismaili Studies.
I would also like to recognise my wonderful friends who tire¬ lessly supported me through good and bad times, and in particular my husband, a gem, and my amazing children, Nijhad and Shazia, who have watched me burn the midnight oil on many occasions without complaint.
Finally, it should be noted that the transliteration system adopted in this book is that of the new edition of The Encyclopae¬ dia of Islam, with the usual modifications. Arabic and Persian terms common in English, such as Ismaili and Sufi, have not been trans¬ literated. The following abbreviations have been used for sources.
Introduction
I say, therefore, that this thing involves the description of the greatest catastrophe and the most dire calamity (of the like of which days and nights are innocent) which befell all men gener¬ ally, and the Muslims in particular; so that, should one say that the world, since God Almighty created Adam until now, hath not been afflicted with the like thereof, he would but speak the truth.
For indeed history does not contain anything which approaches or comes near to it... Nay, it is unlikely that mankind will see the like of this calamity until the world comes to an end and per¬ ishes, except for the final outbreak of Gog and Magog. 1
These foreboding remarks of the Arab historian Ibn al-Athir (d. 630/1233) vividly capture his impressions of one of the most cata¬ strophic events to befall the Muslim world, constituted by the series of Mongol incursions which swept across a large part of Central Asia and the Middle East during the 7th/13th century. Ibn alAtlhr’s words acquire particular poignancy when it is realised that he died in 630/1233, many years before the full onslaught of the Mongols actually materialised upon the largely Persian-speaking region from the Oxus to the Euphrates rivers, 2 culminating in the sack of Baghdad and destruction of the Abbasid caliphate in 656/1258. For the peoples of this region especially, the period of Mongol incursions was one of enormous human suffering and far-reaching social changes.
The devastation of many towns and cities, the slaughter, enslavement and displacement of millions of people, and die subsequent death of countless others from war, famine or disease resulted in a marked decrease of population in the region. Economically, there was a rapid decline in agriculture as large areas of previously cultivated land reverted to nomadic pastoralism. Politically and religiously, by destroying the central caliphal state based in Baghdad and introducing their own laws and standards of politics, the Mongols challenged the established norms and practices of Muslim societies - thus disrupting the emer¬ gence of new patterns of thought and social organisation in the Muslim world at a time when Western Europe was making a his¬ torically decisive transition from feudalism to the construction of a new social, economic and political order.
The Mongol conquest of Persia was destructive to all its inhab¬ itants, especially those communities who happened to offer any resistance to the conquerors. For the Nizari Ismailis of Persia in particular, it was the single-most disastrous event in their history. It caused, within a short span of five or six years, a total upheaval of this Shi'i community which, in the previous century, had suc¬ ceeded in carving out its own autonomous territorial state of fortresses and citadels in parts of Persia and Syria. The capture and dismantling of many of these strongholds by the Mongols put a permanent end to the political aspirations and prominence of the Ismailis in the region. According to the sources which have come down to us, a large proportion of the Ismaili population was exterminated by the invaders, the Ismaili Imam of the time was taken into custody and later murdered, and the community ceased to exercise any influence, or even make its physical pres¬ ence known publicly, for several centuries to come.
In view of these cataclysmic events, it is not surprising that the Persian Ismailis were unable to maintain any historical record of their own from the era of Mongol domination (654-754/12561 353). Much of the Ismaili literature of the Alamut period was destroyed with the collapse of their state and very little was writ¬ ten or preserved by the community in the following two centuries. Hence, what we know about the Ismailis is largely derived from non-Ismaili historians and chroniclers of the time, who were for the most part hostile to the Ismailis and whose accounts were written after the fall of the central Ismaili fortress of Alamut in 654/1256.3 The most famous of these historians, ‘Ala’ al-Din 'Ata Malik b. Muhammad Juwaynl (d. 682/1283), was in fact present in the entourage of the Mongol ruler Hillegti at the capture of Alamut. In his Ta'nkh-i jahdn gushay , 4 he describes how he in¬ spected the contents of its famed library, took a few texts and astronomical instruments which interested him, and consigned the rest to the flames.
Another major source is Rashid al-Din Fadl Allah (d. 718/ 1318), who served as a physician, historian and chief minister to the Mongol ruler Ghazan. He included a lengthy account of the Ismailis in his universal history, Jdmi ' al-tawdnkh . 5 Rashid al-Din appears to have had more information available to him than what we find in the extant text of Juwaynl and he preserves many de¬ tails not previously recorded, possibly because he may have had independent access to other Ismaili sources. He also attempts to put forward a summary of the Ismaili doctrines of the time. Un¬ like Juwaynl whose narrative is distorted by his antipathy towards the Ismailis, Rashid al-DIn’s account is somewhat more impartial; he is often reluctant to pass judgement and occasionally corrects Juwaynl where necessary.
In 1964, a third source came to light from a contemporary and collaborator of Rashid al-Din calledjamal al-Din AbuTQasim 'Abd Allah b. 'All Kashani (al-Kashani) entitled Zubdat al-tawankh . 6 He was a relatively unknown chronicler, also in the employment of the Mongols, who collaborated with Rashid al-Din in the compi¬ lation of the Jdmi ' al-tawankh. There is much in common between Kashani’s account of the Ismailis and that of Rashid al-Din, indi¬ cating that both writers relied on the same sources, but Kashani also provides certain details not reported by the latter. Another account of the Ismailis is provided by the historian Shihab al-DIn 'Abd Allah b. Fadl Allah of Shiraz, also known as Wassaf or Wassafi Hadrat, in his well-known history, Tajziyat al-amsdr wa tajziyat al-alsdr (also called Ta’nkh-i Wassaf ).' 1
Perhaps the most comprehensive chronicler of the time to give attention to the Ismailis was Ibn al-Athlr (d. 630/1233) cited at the beginning of this chapter. In his work al-Kdmilfi’l-ta’rikhJ this Arab historian records much information about the Persian and Syrian Ismailis which is not found in other sources. He also re¬ ports many ‘newsworthy’ incidents involving skirmishes, massacres and other military engagements between the Mongols and the Ismailis; but he gives only sketchy information about these events, not going into the details of the circumstances surrounding them. Furthermore, his chronicle ends in the year 628/1230-31, two years before his death, so that he was unable to report the fall of Alamut or the subsequent capture of Baghdad by the Mongols.
It is impossible to verify the accounts of these non-Ismaili his¬ torians and chroniclers against works by Ismaili authors since the bulk of their literature perished during the invasions. The few books that did survive were not easily accessible, being preserved until recently in private collections. In any case, since these are largely doctrinal in content they provide little historical informa¬ tion. The extreme scarcity of Persian Ismaili sources is a problem not confined to the period of Mongol rule; it extends, in fact, over four centuries until the rise of the Safawids in the 10th/16th century. The decline in literary activity among the Ismailis may indeed reflect their disintegration as an organised community, but it is also likely to have been a result of the traditional Ismaili practice of taqiyya, ‘protection’ or precautionary dissimulation of belief, by which means individuals tried to conceal their religious identity in order to escape political and religious persecution.
In the absence of Ismaili sources, a number of orientalist schol¬ ars of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, relying largely on the histories and chronicles mentioned above, came to the con¬ clusion that the Persian Ismailis had been totally exterminated by the Mongols. This was the view, for instance, of the distinguished French scholar Silvestre de Sacy (1758-1838), who was one of the earliest Europeans to study the Ismailis and also offer a satis¬ factory theory of the etymology of the term ‘assassin’. 9 The same theory was advocated by the Austrian diplomat and historian Joseph von Hammer-Purgstall (1774-1856), the first Western author to devote an entire book to the Ismailis. But unlike de Sacy’s sober and discriminating scholarship, von Hammer’s work is marred by his uncritical acceptance of the anti-Ismaili preju¬ dices of the sources he consulted. 10
Among other scholars, however, it became increasingly clear that the old received image of a decimated Ismaili community was indefensible. Wladimir Ivanow (1886-1970), one of the pio¬ neers of modern Ismaili studies, was the first to recognise that even though the political power of the Ismailis came to an end and the community was considerably diminished, a small minor¬ ity did survive the massacres, as did also the Ismaili line of Imams. 11 His view was supported by Marshall G.S. Hodgson (1922-1968), the author of the most comprehensive study of the Ismailis of the Alamut period to date, 12 and confirmed more recently by Farhad Daftary who writes:
The Nizaris of Persia, contrary to the declarations ofjuwaynl and later historians, did in fact survive the destruction of their state and strongholds at the hands of the Mongols. Despite the Mon¬ gol massacres, the Persian Nizari community was not totally extirpated ... and significant numbers survived the debacle in both Rudbar and Quhistan. 13
In spite of these corrections, the post-Alamut period of Ismaili history remains extremely obscure and problematic, and there are many questions which remain unanswered. If, as seems to be the case, a large proportion of the Persian Ismailis were killed or displaced during the Mongol incursions of 651-654/1253-1256, what evidence is there of their continuity as an organised com¬ munity in the second half of the 7th/i3th century? What happened to the Ismaili dalwa, the central religious and cultural organisation of the community? Did it collapse and disintegrate following the Mongol conquest or survive in a much diminished form? How did the Ismailis maintain their religious ethos and identity over long periods during which they were obliged to con¬ ceal their beliefs and practices? Where did the Ismaili Imams reside after the fall of Alamut and how did they relate with their follow¬ ers? What was the connection between the Ismailis and the Sufi fraternities which began to exercise increasing influence in the religious life of Persians during this period?
One of the few Ismaili authors who survived the Mongol con¬ quest and whose works are accessible to us is the poet Sa‘d al-DIn b. Shams al-DIn b. Muhammad, more commonly known as Nizari Quhistani. Nizari was bom in 645/1247 in Birjand, a small town located south of Mashhad in the highlands of Quhistan in south¬ eastern Khurasan, alongside the present border of Iran with Afghanistan. His poetical writings and links with Ismailism were discussed at length by medieval Persian authors, 14 and they have also attracted the attention of recent scholars in Iran, Russia and the West. 15 Both W. Ivanow and Jan Rypka regarded Nizari as a much talented and underestimated poet, whose works deserve more examination. 16 The most comprehensive account of Nizari Quhistani is that by the Central Asian scholar Baiburdi, whose works have been an invaluable source of information for this study. 17
Nizari was about ten years old when the Mongols overwhelmed the Ismaili fortresses in Quhistan and massacred large numbers of Ismailis in the region, before proceeding to subjugate the rest of Persia under their rule. Hence, the major portion of Nizari’s life was spent in a political and social milieu dominated by the IIKhanid dynasty. After acquiring his education and developing the skills of a poet, he pursued administrative and poetic careers in the service of the local Sunni dynasties of the Kar ts and the Mihrabanids who ruled Khurasan and Quhistan under Mongol patronage. Although the difficult circumstances of the time pre¬ cluded Nizari from expressing his Ismaili beliefs openly in his works, it is possible through an analysis of his poetical works to discern some information about the Persian Ismailis after the destruction of their political power. This evidence has often been overlooked or underestimated by historians, probably because of the poetic and mystical character of his works which have often been associated in Persian literary history with Sufism rather than as an expression of Ismaili religiosity. In fact, it is arguable that Nizari Quhistani provides a more accurate and reliable account of Ismaili activities during this period than any other contempo¬ rary Persian source.
This work represents the first study in English of Nizari Quhistani as an Ismaili poet in the social, cultural and political context of his time. It will focus, more specifically, on the poet’s Safar-nama (Travelogue ) in which he describes his two-year jour¬ ney from Quhistan to the Transcaucasian region, ostensibly for the purpose of supervising government revenue and expenditure, but perhaps to meet with leaders of the Ismaili community, in¬ cluding the Ismaili Imam of the time who was then residing in the Adharbayjan region. Through this exploration, an attempt will also be made to establish Nizari’s religious identity, his associa¬ tion with the Ismailis of his time, and to evaluate the evidence in his writings for the continuity of the Ismaili da'wo through the period of Mongol rule. Nizari’s poetical works will also be scruti¬ nised for their reflection of the Ismaili doctrines of his time and the emergence of a close relationship between Persian Ismailism and Sufism.
The overall perspective of this work is both collective and indi¬ vidual, in that it is concerned with the fate of the Ismaili community on the one hand, as well as with the fortunes of a highly talented, individual Ismaili poet on the other, in their respective efforts to survive the calamity of the Mongol invasion. This dual focus is reflected in the structure of the book, which is divided into two parts: the first dealing with the historical evolution of the Ismaili community and, in particular, its da'wa; the second part is con¬ cerned chiefly with Nizari Quhistani and his efforts to make a living in a political and religious environment that was inimical to the Ismailis. As will become clear to the reader, the struggles of both the community and the individual to endure in a period of profound social change are very much interconnected. The his¬ torical experiences of one are often mirrored in the face of the other; and after an interval of disengagement and separation, the two eventually come together to confirm their common destiny and to reaffirm the same spiritual vision which has inspired this Muslim community from the beginning of its history.
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