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Ismaili Doctrinal Works from the Fatimid Period: How Much Have We Now Recovered?
Abstract by Dr. Paul E. Walker On Session 015  (Fatimid Studies)

On Thursday, December 1 at 5:00 pm

2011 Annual Meeting

Abstract
For far too long Ismaili doctrinal writings produced by its da’wa in the Fatimid period remained largely inaccessible, even after Ivanow and Poonawala published detailed lists of what might exist. The situation is now, however, not nearly so dire thanks in part to the efforts of the Ismaili Institute in London and of a growing number of scholars in this field. The Institute holds an extensive collection of works in manuscript, many acquired fairly recently, as published catalogs now reveal. It also actively promotes editions and translations. Many others have appeared independently. Increasingly older often untrustworthy printed versions are being replaced by critical scholarly editions, some accompanied by translations. Many more are the object of current work; a half dozen major texts are in press. This presentation will provide an accounting of material newly available in the decade 2000-10 and those texts and translations that are about to appear. An important additional goal is to assess the value of these recent contributions both as to the quality of the product and to its contribution to scholarly knowledge of the era from which the original works come.
Discipline
History
Geographic Area
All Middle East
Sub Area
7th-13th Centuries