The Transformation of the Role of the Imam in Alamut Ismailism (11th–13th Centuries) as a Metaphysical Project of Legitimizing Power

T. G. Korneeva

The Transformation of the Role of the Imam in Alamut Ismailism (11th–13th Centuries) as a Metaphysical Project of Legitimizing Power

T. G. Korneeva

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Abstract

This article is devoted to the transformation of the philosophical concepts of Ismaili doctrine, which ensured the consolidation of the imam’s power in the Alamut state after the Nizari-Mustali schism of 1094. The Ismaili community of Persia supported Nizar, the eldest son of the late Imam-Caliph al-Mustansir, in this schism, while official Cairo sided with al-Mustansir's younger son, who assumed the imamate under the name Mustali bi-llah in 1094. As a result of the conflict, the Ismailis of Persia separated from the Ismailis of North Africa, and the Ismaili teachings of the Nizaris acquired their own characteristics. The article examines what concepts the Nizaris inherited from the preceding period (before the schism of 1094), which concepts were proposed to stabilize the community in the first decades of the Alamut state, and how the role of the imam and his relationship with the Ismaili community was reinterpreted after the proclamation of the Resurrection (Qiyamah) in 1164 in Alamut. The first part of the article examines the views of the pre-Alamut 11th-century Ismaili philosopher Nasir Khusraw. The second part examines the concept of ta‘lim (teaching) as interpreted by Hasan Sabbah, founder of the Alamut state. The third part analyzes the concepts put forward by the outstanding 13th-century thinker Nasir al-Din Tusi. The conclusion draws inferences about how the boundaries of the imam’s power changed over time, what changes the social structure of Ismaili society underwent, and how the understanding of “knowledge” in Ismailism changed.

Keywords

Shiism, Ismailism, Alamut state, imamate, ta‘lim, Nasir Khusraw, Hasan Sabbah, Nasir al-Din Tusi

About the Author

T. G. Korneeva

Institute of Philosophy, Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Federation

Tatiana G. Korneeva — PhD (Philosophy), Senior Research Fellow

Moscow

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Review

For citations:

Korneeva T.G. The Transformation of the Role of the Imam in Alamut Ismailism (11th–13th Centuries) as a Metaphysical Project of Legitimizing Power. State, Religion and Church in Russia and Worldwide. 2026;44(2):23-46. (In Russ.)

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