Kassim Shah, known as Sayed Kassim Muhammad was most probably born in Daylam. He is said to have lived shortly in Armenia and Anatolia in the orbit of Bekhtashahis, a growing Sufi order among the Kurds and Turkomans.The tradition most possibly of later period indicating that Kassim Shah had flourished a small village in Azerbaijan, called Kassimabad, seems almost doubtful. It is however probable that the village, in which Kassim Shah either resided, or where he used to see his followers, had been customarily termed, Kassimabad by the Iranian followers. It is also believed that when his son, Islam Shah had arrived at Kahek in Iran in 798/1396, the Iranian Ismailis had also termed Kassimabad being an abode of the embarking place of the Imam, or the abode of Islam Shah's father.
Ghazan Khan (1295-1304), the sixth Ilkhanid ruler had embraced Islam, and restored peace in Iran. He was succeeded by his brother Uljaytu (1304-1316), who professed Christianity like his mother. He invaded Gilan, Mazandaran and Khorasan, putting many Ismailis to sword. He at last became a Shia Muslim, and was succeeded by his twelve years son, Abu Sa'id (1316-1334). The Mongols became so weak that their principal power was divided into their generals. Finally, Amir Hussain founded the Jalayirid dynasty at Tabriz in 736/1336, which also ended practically in 812/1409. In Ispahan and Shiraz, Muzaffaruddin Muhammad, the son of Sharafuddin Muzaffar (d. 754/1353) founded the Muzaffarid dynasty in 713/1313, which lasted till 795/1393. The Kurts of Herat also rose in 643/1245, and Taymurlame belonged to this place, also became a powerful ruler in 783/1381 by conquering Iran.
In India, the three centuries of Muslim rule (603-933/1206-1526), generally known as the Sultanate period, witnessed the rise and fall of five dynasties, namely the Slaves (603-690/1206-1290), the Khaljis (690-720/1290-1320), the Tughlaqs (720- 816/1320-1413), the Sayeds (816-855/1414-1451) and the Lodhis (855-933/1451-1526). Then, the Mughal empire was founded in India in 933/1526. Like the Mamluke sultanate at Cairo, the Delhi sultanate grew out of the tradition of slave soldiery during 13th century, who slaughtered many Ismailis in Delhi between 607/1230 and 634/1236. Alauddin Khalji (695-715/1296-1316) did not tolerate in India the very interference of the ulema class in the state affairs, but gave them in his reign a free rope and licence to massacre the innocent Ismailis. Maulana Isami writes in 'Futuhu's-Salatin' (Madras, 1948, p. 201) that, 'The Sultan Alauddin ordered the heads of the residents of Alamut to be cut down through saw.' It ensues the bitterest attitude of the Khalji ruler towards the Ismailis, and one can understand from it that few Ismailis of Iran had migrated as far as India, where the bigoted rulers gave them no respite. The Tughlaq ruler was followed by the Khalji in 720/1320, and Firuz Khan Tughlaq (1320-1388) had a merit to have killed many innocent Ismailis in 752/1351 in India. The Tughlaq ruler, Muhammad Shah III (d. 795/1393) is reported to have sent his forces in command of Zafar Khan to conquer Gujrat in 793/1391. He established an independent Sultanate of Gujrat in 810/1407, and was the first Muslim ruler of Gujrat to suppress Shiism in his domains. It was under Ahmad I (d. 846/1442) that the Ismailis began to be severely domineered, and were forced to observe taqiya.
Towards the end to 13th century, an akhi movement had united the Turks in Anatolia, and at last Uthman bin Ertoghrul (1288-1326) succeeded as a chief of a semi-nomad Turkish clan in the valley of Kara Su. In the first phase of his career, he extended the cradle of his power to the north. The second phase in his career is that in which from his base at Yeni Sheir, he continued his conquests in the western towards Brusa and in the north towards Iznik. The third phase is that in which he no longer took part personally in the military expeditions, but his commanders continued the expansions. During his 38 years of leadership, he increased his dominion from its very narrow limits at Sugut and Yeni Sheir to a territory extending thence northward to the Bosphorus and Black Sea, a distance of about 125 miles by an average breadth of 60 miles. At length, Uthman established the Turkish empire in Turkey in 700/1300.
The scattered Ismailis slowly began in settling down in the towns and villages of Iran. Few among them in northern area had concentrated their efforts at Daylam, one of the largest districts of Gilan. Daylam was occupied and ruled by Kiya Saifuddin Kushayji in 760/1360 at Marjikuli. He was deep-rooted in Ismaili faith like his forefathers since the period of Imam Alauddin Muhammad. He was however forced to abandon Ismailism by the Zaidi Sayed Ali Kiya, the neighboring ruler. Kiya Saifuddin totally declined the proposal, therefore, a force of Gilan was dispatched against him in 779/1378 by Sayed Ali Kiya bin Amir Kiya Malati, the chief of Biyapish in eastern Gilan since 769/1368. Sayed Ali Kiya occupied Daylam, and founded the Zaidi dynasty of Amir Kiya'i Sayeds, and extended his influence in Ashkawar, Kuhdum and as far as Tarum and Qazwin. The lieutenant Amir Ali of Sayed Amir Kiya had domineered the Ismailis in Daylam, and the local theologians also chimed in and started their customary propaganda. In 781/1379, Sayed Ali Kiya chased the Ismailis in Qazwin, and retained control of that region for seven years until 788/1386, when he was compelled to surrender Qazwin, Tarum and its castle to Taymurlame (771- 807/1370-1405), the founder of the Taymurid dynasty in Iran and Transoxiana.
It appears from the fragments of 'Risala-i Dilgusha' by Ubayd-i Zakani (1300-1372) that the trends in the hostile Muslims in Qazwin against the Ismailis of Daylam and Gilan remained continued, and it reflected also in the local novels.
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Ismaili History 707 - ISLAM SHAH (771-827/1370-1423)
Sayed Ahmad Islam Shah was also known as Islam Shah and is called as Salam Shah and Shri Islam Shah in the ginans of the Indian Pirs. Islam Shah assumed the Imamate in 771/1370 in Azerbaijan, ruled by Sultan Uways (757-776/1356-1374), the Jalayirid ruler. It seems that during the early 25 years of his Imamate in Azerbaijan, he visited Daylam several times in disguise, where he had erected a temporary mission centre for different regions. Summing up the sparsely recorded fragments of the ginans, it appears that Islam Shah was a man of middle height, radiant face having piercing eyes. He was a gifted man of sweet disposition and engaging manner. His mole on right cheek was an eye- catching mark. He was a generous, fond of hunting and passed sometimes a few months in woods on hunting excursion.The Mongol power ended with the death of Abu Sa'id, the last Ilkhanid ruler on November 30, 1335, and some months later, Taymur was born in Samarkand on April 8, 1336. It is said that Taymur had received an arrow wound while fighting in Sistan in 1363, making him permanently lame and accounted for his nickname lung (lame), or Taymur-lung (Taymurlame). He solidified his powers as an amir in Samarkand at the age of 30 years and conquered few regions of Iran, Iraq, Syria, Turkey, Afghanistan and India. He had a vein of cruelty in his character, and so were his soldiers. Taymur's example so filled his soldiers with courage that, with one wild cheer, they made a desperate charge, rushed on the besieged and broke their lines. Wherever they went a crimson streak marked their trail and cultural centres were practically wiped out of existence, reducing them into shapeless ruins. As a matter of fact, greed together with avarice seems to have been the ruling passion of Taymur's life.
From 735/1335 when Abu Sa'id died to the year 782/1380, Iran was left to its own device in 45 years, and was divided into four to five petty rules. Taymur spurred his horses to Iran in 783/1381 and launched several terrible expeditions as if an engine of destruction like Halagu. He invaded Azerbaijan in 787/1385 when Imam Islam Shah was probably in Daylam. Taymur crushed the Muzaffarid of Ispahan and cost the lives of about 70,000 of its inhabitants, whose heads were piled in pyramids.
The Ismailis had hardly set up their livings that the Taymurid danger began to loom large on the Iranian horizon. He attacked Mazandaran, Sistan and Fars in 794/1392 and conducted bloody massacres of the local Ismailis. John Malcolm writes in 'History of Persia' (London, 1815, 1st vol., p. 18) that, 'Taymur had the merit of extirpating a band of Ismailis with which the north-western provinces of Persia were infested.' In 795/1393, Taymur swept the thick population of the Ismailis in Amul, the principal town of Tabaristan, lying along the south coast of the Caspian Sea; and also Astrabad, the city of Jurjan province to the north frontier of Mazandaran.
During his campaign in Iran in Rajab, 795/May, 1393 while going to Hamdan from Ispahan, Taymur spent few days in Anjudan inhabited by the poor Ismailis. His soldiers wildly butchered many Ismailis and pillaged their properties. According to Sharafuddin Ali Yazdi (d. 858/1454) in 'Zafar-nama' (1st vol., p. 577), 'The Ismailis of Anjudan attempted to seek protection in their underground tunnels but they mostly lost their lives when they were flooded out by the Taymur's soldiers.' Finally, Taymur returned to Samarkand in 798/1396 and died in 807/1405. His Taymurid empire divided into petty rules, but Turkey, Iraq and India restored their rules he devastated. Iran and Afghanistan however were dominated by the Taymurids, but their internecine strife had badly hit the Iranian economy.
In India, the Tughlaqs gained their power after Taymur's death, which ultimately had fallen to the hand of the Sayeds (816-855/1414-1451) and the Lodhis (855-933/1451- 1526). The Ottoman empire became powerful once again after Taymur's death and spread their influence in Islamic countries. The Mamluks of Egypt and Syria were dragged into their internal disputes. When Taymur invaded Turkey and Syria, the rule of Mamluks was confined only to Cairo. After Taymur, the Turkish ruler occupied Egypt.
Ismaili History 708 - Islam Shah in Kahek
After a long series of bloody expeditions in Iran, Taymur had gone to Samarkand on July 18, 1396 and Iran once again breathed peacefully. Islam Shah, in the meantime, also began to trek from Azerbaijan to Kahek in Iran. Pir Hasan Kabiruddin (d. 853/1449) writes in his ginan that: 'It was Vikram Samvat 1452, the 17th of Ashad (or July 2, 1396) when Imam Islam Shah arrived in Kahek.'The village of Kahek, situated in the north of Ispahan on the road linking to Hamdan. The arrival of Islam Shah took place when Taymur had been in Samarkand, marking the transference of Imam's headquarters from Azerbaijan to Kahek. It appears from the fragments of the ginans that Pir Sadruddin (d. 819/1416) and his son Pir Hasan Kabiruddin (d. 853/1449) had been in Daylam to see Islam Shah, where they received an inkling to proceed to Kahek and wait there for Imam's arrival. Many Ismailis already lived in Kahek and the surrounding villages had been in eager expectation of Imam's arrival. The tedious hours of impatient expectancy were at last over when their revered master appeared on the horizon of Kahek.
Pir Hasan Kabiruddin has portrayed in his ginan the Imam's arrival at Kahek in elegant words. It reads:- 'The Lord arrived in Irak-i Ajam (Iranian Irak), wearing an attractive cap. His attires looked vivid on either side. He had girdled with a curved dagger on the waist, buckled with a sword bearing two points. The strips were wound up on the legs, embodied the appearance elegant. The attractive footwears on the legs have further enhanced his personality. The hanging shawl (garment worn on body) of four yards on the shoulder was indeed an eye-catching. Thus, the Imam. the apparent guide, riding on a horse made his footing in Kahek.'
Ismaili History 709 - Kahek - a new headquarters
It is recounted that Islam Shah had made long journey in Iran to examine the region most suitable, and had finally selected Kahek and Shahr-i Babak for his residence, the fertile tract surrounded by rocky hills, where the horses of the enemies could hardly penetrate. The hilltops of the villages appears to have been guarded by the young fidais of Kohistan, who used to keep close watch on the travellers passing through the tracks. It was an ideal place for the Imam's foothold in Iran. Sayed Imam Shah (d. 926/1520) had visited Kahek in 854/1450, whom he described in his one ginan that, 'Kahek looked extremely beautiful, but the towering mountainous ranges looked terrible and the cool breeze of the snow blew severely.'Different names of Imam's residence however have been described in the ginans. For instance, Irak-i Ajam (the Iranian Irak) has been named Irak Khand, a term in vogue for Iran among the Indians. The broad mountain region, which the Greeks called Media, stretching across from the Mesopotamian plains on the west to the great desert of Iran on the east; was known to the Arab geographers as al-Jabal (the mountain). This name afterwards fell out of use, and during 6th/12th century under the later Seljuqs, the province came by a misnomer to be called Irak-i Ajam (Iranian Irak) or Bilad al-Jabal (the province of mountain), being so named to distinguish it from the older Irak of the Arabs, which was lower Mesopotamia. The term ajam or ajami is the name originally applied by Arabs to a foreigner, or non-Arabs. Since the Iranians were the first foreigners with whom the Arabs came into contact, the term ajam or ajami soon became specific to mean 'the Iranian foreigners.'
The term Sheter deep seems to have been used for the northern continent, as the northern region of Iran geographically looked like the sheter fruit (mulberry), referring most probably to Azerbaijan. The term Himpuri means 'village of snow' suggests the village of Kahek. Besides, the term Vircha means 'highland' most possibly refers to Shahr-i Babak, a village near Kahek. Shahr-i Babak was known as the city of Babak or Papak, the father of Ardashir, the first Sassanian monarch. According to Mustawfi, the corn, cotton and dates grew in Shahr-i Babak abundantly. It also seems that Islam Shah had visited Anjudan, which is situated 35 kilometers from Kahek, and condoled the bereaved Ismailis, whose family members had been killed by Taymur in 795/1393. It may be possible that he had brought a bulk of the Ismailis from Anjudan to Kahek.
Ismaili History 710 - Muhammad Shah bin Momin Shah
The Iranian Ismailis lived peacefully in Fars, Khorasan, Kahek, Anjudan, Rudhbar etc. Meanwhile, Muhammad Shah, the son of Momin Shah bin Imam Shamsuddin Muhammad is reported to have appeared in Daylam, but his contact with the Imam is historically shrouded in clouds. He is however said to have joined Kiya Malik, the Hazaraspid ruler for taking the possession of Ashkawar. Muhammad Shah mustered the local Ismailis and formed his force, and subdued Sayed Mahdi Kiya with the help of Kiya Malik. Sayed Mahdi Kiya was arrested and sent to Tabriz in the court of sultan Uways (757-776/1356-1374), the Jalayirid ruler of Azerbaijan, Iraq and Kurdistan. Kiya Malik reinstated his rule in Ashkawar, and granted the hold of Alamut and its locality to Muhammad Shah in 776/1374. It is known that Sayed Mahdi Kiya succeeded to release from imprisonment in 778/1376 with the influence of Tajuddin Amuli, the Zaidi Sayed of Timjan, who had been made the governor of Ranikuh by his brother, Sayed Ali. Soon afterwards, Sayed Ali took field against Ashkawar and defeated Kiya Malik, who fled to Alamut in the hope of being assisted once again by Muhammad Shah, but failed, therefore, he took refuge with Taymur. Meanwhile, the forces of Sayed Ali had laid siege to Alamut while pursuing Kiya Malik, and took possession of Alamut. Muhammad Shah had been given self-conduct, and was sent to Taymur, who is reported to have sent him in Sultaniyya, where he died in 807/1404. His descendants escaped from the prison and started their living in Sultaniyya.In 813/1410, Sayed Radi Kiya (798-829/1395-1426), the son of Sayed Ali, and a powerful ruler of Lahijan, had expelled the Hazaraspid and Kushayji amirs from Daylam. He also stroke a severe blow to the local Ismailis during his operations, and killed a few of the descendants of Imam Alauddin Muhammad.
Jalali bin Najmuddin of Qain writes in 'Nassih al-Muluk' that, 'In the period of my grandfather, Amadid-din in the first part of the 14th century, Kohistan, Rudhbar etc. were thickly inhabitated by the Ismailis, resulting the Sunni preachers to face difficulties to convert them.' Jalali further writes that in his own period, in early 15th century, the bulk of the population was the Sunnis, though he had been assured that there were many Ismailis near Kohistan. It seems that Kohistan was populated by the Ismailis before Taymur's arrival in 794/1392, impelling them to move elsewhere during the time of Jalali from Kohistan and Rudhbar. According to 'Siyasat al-Muluk' that the officers of Kohistan were more or less suspected by Shah Rukh (1405-1407). 'The Encyclopaedia of Islam' (1927, 2nd vol., p. 550) also asserts that few soldiers, Sayeds or darwish of Qain in the time of Shah Rukh were suspected being the Ismailis.
It must be remembered that the Mongols had demolished some 70 castles of the Ismailis in the province of Kohistan, and after that, Turshiz a city of Kohistan recovered its importance, though partly in decay probably during this period where the Ismailis lived in the ruins of four castles in Turshiz, namely, Kalah Bardarud, Kalah Mikal, Mujahidabad and Atisgah. These castles finally had been demolished by Taymurlame in 783/1381, and since then, Turshiz disappeared from the map.
Kamaluddin Abdur Razzak (1413-1482), the son of Jalaluddin Ishaq Samarkandi had visited Kirman on May 21, 1441. He compiled 'Matla'us Sa'dain wa Majmu'ul Bahrain'in 874/1470, but makes no mention of the Ismailis. Islam Shah lived in Kahek in obscure, and did not attract the historians to make his mention. Sayed Imam Shah (d. 926/1520), who had been in Kahek in the province of Kirman in 854/1450 writes in 'Motto Das Avatar' (verse no. 10:141) that, 'Imam Islam Shah resides in Kahek, but the ruler and people do not know him.' Nuruddin bin Lutafullah (d. 834/1430) compiled 'Tarikh-i Hafiz Abru' in 829/1425, however gave but a trivial account of the Ismailis during the time of Islam Shah in Iran.
The Syrian Ismailis lived in peace during the period under review in Hims, Aleppo, Hammah, Masiyaf, Qadmus etc., and had generated a close contact with Islam Shah through the local dais. Muhammad bin Sa'd bin Daud (790-859/1378-1455), surnamed ar- Rafnah was a gifted dai in Syria. He is reported to have visited Kahek few months before the death of Islam Shah in 827/1423. He also attended the ascension ceremony of Imam Muhammad bin Islam Shah. He was a prolific writer and wrote 'Rasail al- Shifa', refuting the claims of the Momin-shahis. He also wrote 'Khams Rasail Ismailiyya'. Nuruddin Ahmad (d. 849/1445) was another dai of high fame in Syria, who had travelled widely in Syria, Iraq and Arabia. His 'Fusul wa-Akhbar' deals the history of the Ismailis in Syria. Abul Ma'ali Hatim bin Imran, eminently known as Ibn Zahra also flourished in the period under review, who compiled 'al-Ahkam wa'l Fatarat' and 'al-Mabda wa'l Ma'ad'.
The Ismailis of upper Oxus seems to have been unknown about the reduction of Alamut until the time of Islam Shah due to residing at farthest region. Their communication with the Iranian Ismaili Imams collapsed for over 150 years during the operations of Halagu and Taymur. Shagnan, the district of upper Oxus was the chief Ismaili centre in Central Asia. The early Arab geographers refer to Shagnan by the name, Shikinan and Shikina, while the Chinese writers call it She-ki-ni i.e., 'the kingdom of the five She-ni' (gorges). Sayed Malang Shah is reported to have come here from Alamut, and converted a large number of the local inhabitants. He solidified his power and extended his influence and won over Farhad Rew, the chief of Shagnan. Sayed Malang Shah was followed by a young dai Sayed Khamush Shah Shirazi. Sir Thomas Douglas Forsyth (1827-1886) in 'Report on a Mission to Yarkand, Calcutta, 1875',puts his date at 665/1266. Sayed Khamush Shah lived longer, and converted the Mongol tribes in upper Oxus. His tomb is at Kal'ai Barpanj. His descendants ruled Shagnan as hereditary Mirs during the time of Islam Shah, who penetrated the Ismaili dawafor the first time in China, including Yarkand and Pamir. It is a striking feature that the Ismailis of upper Oxus maintained that Islam Shah resided in India. Most of the Imam's dais followed route of Shagnan through Indian territory, and it is possible that they had constructed an idea that the Imam's residence was in India.
