{"product_id":"the-ismailis-in-the-middle-ages-a-history-of-survival-a-search-for-salvation-9780195311730","title":"The Ismailis in the Middle Ages: A History of Survival  a Search for Salvation","description":"\u003cp\u003e\"None of that people should be spared  not even the babe in its cradle.\" With these chilling words  the Mongol warlord Genghis Khan declared his intention to destroy the Ismailis  one of the most intellectually and politically significant Muslim communities of medieval Islamdom. The massacres that followed convinced observers that this powerful voice of Shii Islam had been forever silenced. Little was heard of these people for centuries  until their recent and dramatic emergence from obscurity. Today they exist as a dynamic and thriving community established in over twenty-five countries. Yet the interval between what appeared to have been their total annihilation  and their modern  seemingly phoenix-like renaissance  has remained shrouded in mystery. Drawing on an astonishing array of sources gathered from many countries around the globe  The Ismailis in the Middle Ages: A History of Survival  A Search for Salvation is a richly nuanced and compelling study of the murkiest portion of this era. In probing the period from the dark days when the Ismaili fortresses in Iran fell before the marauding Mongol hordes  to the emergence at Anjudan of the Ismaili Imams who provided a spiritual centre to a scattered community  this work explores the motivations  passions and presumptions of historical actors. With penetrating insight  Shafique N. Virani examines the rich esoteric thought that animated the Ismailis and enabled them to persevere. A work of remarkable erudition  this landmark book is essential reading for scholars of Islamic history and spirituality  Shiism and Iran. Both specialists and informed lay readers will take pleasure not only in its scholarly perception  but in its lively anecdotes  quotations of delightful poetry  and gripping narrative style. This is an extraordinary book of historical beauty and spiritual vision.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45666043101237,"sku":"ByrdShop_0195311736","price":116.72,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780195311730.jpg?v=1782416574","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/the-ismailis-in-the-middle-ages-a-history-of-survival-a-search-for-salvation-9780195311730","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}