Following the capture of Baghdad by the Buyids in 945 CE, key (and contentious) public rituals such as ‘Ashuraʾ and Ghadīr Khumm, alongside equally important doctrinal Shīʿī thought represented by works such as the al-Kutub al-Arbaʾ – still recognized as the essential works of hadith in Shīʿī seminaries today – emerged to contribute to lasting Imami beliefs and practices. While this period of doctrinal solidification for Imami Shīʿī identity coincided with Buyid political strength, the question remains as to what kind of relationship existed between the Daylamī political authorities, who themselves hailed from Shīʿī backgrounds, and the emerging Twelver community, with a special focus on the city of Baghdad. Did the Buyids encourage Twelver sectarian identity? How did the Twelvers affect the political legitimacy of the Buyids? Methodologically, I hope to apply social network analysis to various factions in Baghdad and compare policies of the Buyids not only in regards to the Imami community but also to other Shīʿī groups, namely the Ismailis. In particular, I hope to explore whether the Ismaili and Twelver communities shared organizational strategies and if they adapted to the central political authorities in similar fashions. This can be explored through the Twelver wikāla network which collected tithes on behalf of the hidden imam during the minor ghayba, and through Fatimid Dawa’ structures. How did these two social structures interact with one another and the central authorities? While the minor ghayba officially ended four years before the Buyids entered Baghdad, the Twelver community may have still retained certain aspects of its organizational structure and preserved the transnational relations which solidified the wikāla network. Sources which will provide details on the politics and players involved will include Ibn Isfandiyār’s Tārikh-i Ṭabaristān, Ibn Miskawayh’s Tajarab al-Umam, Marʿashi’s Tārikh-i Ṭabaristān va Rūyān va Māzandarān; in addition to al-Shaykh al-Mufīd’s Kitāb al-Irshād, and al-Nuʿmanī’s al-Ghayba – the latter sources will provide more details on the Shīʿī community.