Between Revolution and State

I.B. Tauris in association with the Institute of Ismaili Studies<br/><br/>This book examines the most important writings of a tenth century Islamic theologian and jurist who was one of the most original thinkers of his period. It argues that Qadi al-Nu'man's works constituted new and vital genres in Ismaili Shi'i literature an emergence necessitated by the Fatimids' transition from revolutionary movement to statehood and by their desire to establish their authority as a Shi'i alternative to the Sunni Abbasid caliphate. Al-Nu'man already famous in the Fatimid era produced a legacy which consists of a school of law historical and biographical works new interpretations of Ismaili doctrine and the formulation of a ceremonial language achieved through his work on court protocol. Between Revolution and State represents a sophisticated and readable analysis of one of the seminal figures of the Fatimid period.