Jawdhar al-Ṣiqillī’s Narratives about the Ismaili Imam Ismāʿīl al-Manṣūr al-Fāṭimī

(334–341 AH / 945–952 CE)

Abstract

Jawdhar al-Ṣiqillī is considered one of the prominent and influential figures who played a positive role in the establishment of the Ismaili daʿwa in the Maghrib in 267 AH / 880 CE and in the rise of the Fatimid state. He held several positions and offices within the daʿwa, the most important of which was the rank of ḥujja in the Ismaili mission.
This study, entitled “Jawdhar al-Ṣiqillī’s Narratives about the Ismaili Imam Ismāʿīl al-Manṣūr al-Fāṭimī (334–341 AH/ 945–952 CE), includes an introduction that addresses the scope of the study and an analysis of its sources. The study consists of two sections and a conclusion.
The first section discusses Jawdhar al-Ṣiqillī’s accounts of the Ismaili Imam al-Manṣūr al-Fāṭimī, focusing on his lineage, life, and upbringing under the care of his grandfather, Imam ʿAbd Allāh al-Mahdī. It also examines how he assumed the caliphate after the death of his father, Imam al-Qāʾim, and how he appointed al-Ustādh Jawdhar al-Ṣiqillī as governor over the lands when he set out to eliminate the Kharijite Abū Yazīd b. Kīdād (334–336 AH). This section further addresses his victory over Abū Yazīd at the Battle of Friday (335 AH / 946 CE).
The second section deals with the status of al-Ustādh Jawdhar al-Ṣiqillī after Imam al-Manṣūr’s victory over the Kharijite Abū Yazīd, including Imam al-Manṣūr’s manumission of Jawdhar, bestowing upon him the title Mawlā Amīr al-Muʾminīn (Client of the Commander of the Faithful), the inclusion of his name on tirāz textiles and carpets, the Imam’s honoring of Jawdhar, and the entrusting of his treasuries to him.