'Ahd-i Sayyidna, a Newly Discovered Treatise on the Consolidation of the Nizari Da'wa in Alamut
Book Chapter in "Texts, Scribes and Transmission: Manuscript Cultures of the Ismaili Communities and Beyond"
“During my evaluation of a manuscript from Badakhshān, I came across a text which contained detailed information about the early confrontation of Nizārī Ismailis with the Saljūq armies in Alamūt. It covers the early years of Nizārī daʿwa after the seizure of Alamūt castle by Ḥasan-i Ṣabbāḥ (d. 518/1124), or ‘Sayyidnā’, as he is referred to here, in 483/1090 and the following periods of siege by the Saljūq sultan, Muḥammad Tapar (d. 511/1117). The text has no title, but for ease of reference we will refer to it here as ‘ʿAhd-i Sayyidnā’ (‘the covenant of Sayyidnā’), since the main reason for writing it was to remind a friend of the ʿahd of Sayyidnā Ḥasan-i Ṣabbāh. The reference to Nāṣir al-Dīn Muḥtasham (r. 626–654/1228–1256) as the Shahanshāh-i mashriqī (‘The King of the East’) at the end of the work indicates that the work was written when he was ruling Quhistān during the reign of Imam ʿAlāʾ al-Dīn Muḥammad (d. 653/1255) in Alamūt. The ʿAhd-i Sayyidnā is a short treatise written for a friend who had been subject to some kind of disciplinary ruling by Nāṣir al-Dīn Muḥtasham so that he would endure the ruling faithfully. The identity of both the author and his friend is unknown to us.
By introducing this newly discovered text, this chapter aims to explain in what way this text can expand our knowledge of the Nizārī community during the most challenging period of its formation after the seizure of Alamūt castle in 483/1090. Before presenting a summary of its content which contains historical as well as doctrinal topics, different manuscript versions of this work will be introduced, and then the question of its authorship will be discussed. Since the author is not known to us, using different indications and references within the text and the available literature of the period, the possible author will be introduced.” (Karim Javan)
Author: Dr. Karim Javan
Link to Full Chapter: Texts, Scribes and Transmission: Manuscript Cultures of the Ismaili Communities and Beyond