Central Asian Ismailis - Notes

Ismaili Heritage Series

  • A series of academic publications by the Institute of Ismaili Studies.
  • Aims to make available to a wide audience the results of modern scholarship on Ismailis, their intellectual and cultural heritage and aspects of the more recent history and achievements
  • This book falls into categories five and seven of the series (history/thought and bibliographical works).

Central Asian Ismailis

  • Focuses primarily on the Ismaili literature produced by Russian, Soviet, and post-Soviet scholars in constituent countries of the former Soviet Union, particularly Central Asia
  • Covers Russian scholars from the era of Russian imperial rule in Central Asia (Turkestan) in the mid-nineteenth century to the period after 1917 by Soviet and then post-Soviet scholars
  • Includes studies on Nāṣir-i Khusraw and the Ismailis of Central Asia
  • Shows the trajectory of the development of Ismaili studies in the regions under Russian influence
  • Early research was carried out by Russian intelligence and military officers, later by scholars of oriental studies
  • After the October Revolution of 1917, the approach to the study of religion was formulated in terms of Marxism and Communist party ideology
  • Presents the historical background in three periods: Russian, Soviet, and post-Soviet eras
  • Consists of an annotated bibliography of published books and articles, recorded materials, unpublished manuscripts, theses and documents mainly by Russian, Soviet and post-Soviet scholars on the Ismailis of Central Asia
  • Focuses mainly on Central Asia; includes Badakhshān, a mountainous district and home to one of the earliest Ismaili communities
  • Also known as Transoxania, or Mā warā ʾ al-nahr
  • More appropriately designated as Greater Khurāsān
  • The Ismaili mission (daʻwa) and the activities of its dā'īs (missionaries) were greatly successful in spreading Ismaili teachings, particularly in the province of Badakhshān

Historical Context

  • Central Asia Definition:
    • Modern: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan
    • Historical: Also includes parts of Afghanistan, northern and western Pakistan, north-eastern Iran, Kashmir, and Xinjiang in western China
    • Greater Khurāsān included the current province of Khurāsān in Iran, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, most of Kyrgyzstan, the southern territories of Kazakhstan, and northern and western Pakistan.
    • Transoxania: corresponds approximately to modern-day Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, southern Kyrgyzstan, and south-west Kazakhstan
  • Early Peoples:
    • Dominated by Iranic peoples including sedentary Sogdians, Khwārazmians, Bactrians, semi-nomadic Scythians and Alans
    • Later became the homeland of many Turkic peoples
  • Toponyms:
    • Earliest designation of Badakhshān dates to late antiquity.
    • Name appears about 630, in Huān ts’ang’s narrative.
    • Marco Polo used toponyms such as Balascian, Baulascia, Baudascia
    • Marco Polo claimed that Baulacia referred to Laʻl (ruby or lapis lazuli).
    • Modern scholars, such as C.E. Bosworth, have argued that the term Badakhsh originally denoted the region, and that only later did it mean ruby.
    • T.N. Pakhalina argues that the term originally consisted of two components, Badakhsh and ān, meaning ‘Land of Kings’.
    • Also called the Pamir (or Pamirs) after its high mountain range.
    • Historical region lies across north-eastern Afghanistan and south-eastern Tajikistan, with some portions now in western regions of China and in northern Pakistan.
    • Contains diverse ethno-linguistic and religious communities, the majority being the Farsi-speaking Tajiks and Pamiri-speaking Tajiks along with signifi cant Kyrgyz and Uzbek minorities.
    • Mountain range known in Persian as ‘Bām-i dunyā’ (‘the Roof of the World’) and ‘Pā-yi Mihr’ (‘Feet of the Sun’).
  • Sāmānids:
    • Semi-independent governors of Transoxania for the Abbasids between 819 and 999
    • Promoted the revival of the Persian language
    • Established the fi rst state after the Arab invasion that was ruled over by indigenous rulers
    • Brought virtually all of Greater Khur ā s ā n under a unifi ed government
    • Established Samarqand and Bukh ā r ā as important cities
    • First Ismaili dā'īs reached the area during their rule
  • Ismailis:
    • One of the main branches of Shii Islam
    • Emerged in the middle of the 8th century when the Shii Muslim community split over the question of the succession to Imam Jafar al- ā diq
      • Scattered in many regions of the world, in Asia, Africa, and now also in Europe and North America.
      • Elaborated diverse intellectual and literary traditions diff erent languages.
    • Established the Fatimid caliphate in Ifr ī qiya (present-day Tunisia and Algeria) in 909.
    • Moved to Egypt, established capital at al-Q ā hira (Cairo)
    • Exerted infl uence far beyond Egypt and North Africa, to lands such as Yemen, Iran, Central Asia and Sind.
  • Ismaili Da'wa
    • Reached Jibāl in western Persia during time of dā’ī Khalaf al- ʻallāj
    • Activities extended to Qumm, Iṣfahān, Hamadān and Khurāsān
    • ʾOfficially established in Khurāsān in early 10th century by ʾAbū ʻAbd Allāh al-Khādim
    • ʾAbū Saʻīd al-Shaʻrānī converted several military men
    • Al-Ḥusayn b. ʻAlī al-Marwazī extended daʻwa to Herat, Ghūr, Maymana and areas of Badakhshān
    • Extended to Kirmān, Sīstān, Multan, Baluchistān, Gurgān, Ṭabaristān, Rayy and Khwārazm in the Sāmānids Epoch
    • Was remarkably successful in Khur ā s ā n, converted Na r b. A mad
    • Na r b. A mad was ousted ending the reign
    • It seems to have been met with greater success after the demise of the S ā m ā nids, none the less persecutions continued, but Ismailis were not completely destroyed.
      • Badakhshān region became vital and a protection against the Sunni Ghaznavids and Saljuqs

Topography and Definitions

  • Badakhshān lies between major cities, such as Samarqand, Bukharā, Balkh, and Herat, were centers of classical Persian language and culture.
  • Cradle of the Persian literary renaissance.

Nāṣir-i Khusraw

  • Is a famous Ismaili dā’ī, poet, traveler, and philosopher.
  • Born in 1004 in Qubādiyān in present, day Tajikistan.
  • Studied w/ Fatimid dā’ī al-Mu’ayyad fī’l-Dīn al-Shīrāzī.
  • Was appointed as the ḥujja or chief da’i of Khurāsān by the Fatimid Imam-caliph al-Mustanṣir bi’llāh.
  • Faced persecution and forced to flee to the valley of Yumgān, finding refuge with Ismaili amīr Abū’l-Ma’ālī ‘Alī b. al-Asad.
  • Championed the Ismaili cause and produced major philosophical and theological works
  • Known as sayyid, pīr, shāh, hazrat, and hujjat in region.

Badakhshān During The Alamūt Period

  • Following the death of the Fatimid Imam-Caliph al-Mustanṣir in 1094, the dispute over his succession led to a major split in the Ismaili community, dividing the Ismailis into Nizari and Musta’li branches.
  • Very little information regarding this particular period of the Ismaili da’wa in Badakhshān, and indeed it is one of the most obscure periods in the history of the Ismailis of that region.
  • Dā’īs were sent to Badakhshān during the late Alamūt period by the Nizari imams.

Observance Of Taqiyya

  • Observance of taqiyya in this period, marked by the absence of a viable central da’wa organisation and leadership, was not imposed on the community.
  • The Nizāris had become experienced in adopting external guises to safeguard themselves.
  • They started to conceal themselves under Sunni, Sufi or Twelver Shi’i guises, elements of which, with the passage of time, came to be included in their diverse traditions.

Central Asia Pīr & Pīrship

  • A Persian term meaning ‘spiritual master’ or ‘spiritual guide’.
  • Religious hierarchy mainly three-tiered: pīr, khalīfa as the pīr’s deputy, and murīd as disciple.
  • Pīrs responsible for the organisation of the da’wa in their areas of jurisdiction involving religious instruction, faith practice, & relationships with rulers and non-Ismaili communities.