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.
Ismailimail 