Pir Hasan Kabiruddin, the son of Pir Sadruddin was generally known as Sayed Hasan Shah, Pir Hasan Shah, Sayed Sadat, Gur Pir Hasan al-Hussain, Makdum Sayed Kabiruddin Shah etc. He is however known in Uchh Sharif as Hasan Dariya. Since his lineage traced back to Imam Jafar Sadik, therefore, he is also known as al-Husayn. He was born in Uchh Sharif in 742/1341 and was the first Indian pir to be born in India. He was edowed from birth with deep spiritual insight and strong common sense combined with sympathy and love for his fellow beings, and was also noted for his piety since childhood.When Pir Sadruddin visited Iran for the second time, Pir Hasan Kabiruddin eagerly desired to join him. Owing to tedious journey, he was not taken to Iran. Being become forlorn, Pir Hasan Kabiruddin started his most famous petition, and prepared a turban for the headgear of Imam Islam Shah. It is known that he also managed to reach Kahek. Islam Shah was rejoiced to see his devotion, and invested him with the mantle of a hujjat, or pir to be effective after his father.

Pir Hasan Kabiruddin continued to follow the tract of his father's mission, and procured few tasks of the incomplete mission of his father. His association with the Indian Sufis is also well known. Like his father, he also composed ginans. He was a strict vegetarian and his dress, living and food were characterised by a rare simplicity. He was a man of quiet and unassuming disposition completely immersed in the interpretation of the ideas which absorbed the greater part of his attention and concentration. He was contemplative, thoughtful and fond of lonliness. The tradition has it that he had all the times a bowl of coconut husk with him from which he ate and drank frugally. It is also said that shortly before his death he retired into solitude. He died in 853/1449 in Uchh Sharif, and was buried in his own house, which became a famous shrine in Uchh Sharif. Shaikh Abdul Haq Mohadis Dehlvi (1551-1642) writes in his 'Akhbar al-Akhayar' (comp. in 998/1590) that, 'The greatest miracle of Pir Hasan Kabiruddin is that he converted sizable infidels to Islam. One has no courage to disobey him and embraced Islam in a trice whom he preached, making the non-believers to flock at him in masses.' (pp. 372-3)

The period followed by Pir Satgur Nur was noted as an era of pre-Muslim in Gujrat. The 7th Solanki ruler, Jaysinha Sidhraja (d. 1143) died childless and was succeeded by Kumarapala (1143-1173), a descendant of Karna, the third son of Bhima I, who seized the throne by force. He was succeeded by his nephew, Ajavapala, whose period saw the declination of the Solanki dynasty. His successor Mulraja II was too weak. The next Solanki ruler Bhima II also proved incapable to govern his empire, and the last ruler was Tribuvanpalo, from whom the power was snatched by the Vaghela branch of the Solanki in 1243. The new dynasty produced six kings who were constantly troubled by the Muslim invaders. The last king was Karna, who had been overpowered by Ulugh Khan and Nusrat Khan, the generals of Alauddin Khalji in 697/1298. In 700/1300, Alauddin Khalji appointed Malik Sanjar, surnamed Alp Khan (1297-1317) as a governor of Gujrat and the old Hindu capital Annhilvad became the seat of the governor. Zafar Khan, surnamed Muzaffar Khan (d. 813/1403), one of the trusty nobles of Firuz Khan had been sent from Delhi as the governor of 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. His son Tatar Khan, surnamed Muhammad Shah (d. 846/1442) ascended the throne of Gujrat in his father's lifetime. He wanted to capture Delhi, but his father opposed him, thereupon, he imprisoned his father in 803/1403 at Asawal. He ruled for 32 years in Gujrat and twice (816/1414 and 824/1420) made fierce attempt to force the Hindus to adopt Islam. He was succeeded by his son, Ahmad I (d. 846/1442), who brought under his control the whole land of Gujrat and its adjoining territories. He too severely domineered the Ismailis. He was followed by Ghazan Khan, surnamed Tajuddin Sultan Muhammad Shah, but he died soon afterwards. In the meantime, Muhammad Khan bin Nimat Khan, the vizir captured the throne and assumed the title of Alauddin Muhammad Shah. It will be appropriate to infer that during the Muslims occupation of Gujrat and its political turmoil, Pir Sadruddin and Pir Hasan Kabiruddin had exercised strict taqiya during their missionary activities in Gujrat.

Pir Hasan Kabiruddin had eighteen sons and one daughter, viz. Sayed Awaliya Ali, Sayed Kasiruddin, Sayed Ali Gohar Nur, Sayed Alam Shah, Sayed Rehmatullah Shah, Sayed Adil Shah, Sayed Jafar Shah, Sayed Israil Tayyar Ghazi, Sayed Shahbaz Ghazi, Sayed Sabe Ali, Sayed Islam Shah, Sayed Imam Shah, Sayed Farman Shah, Sayed Ismail, Sayed Nur Muhammad, Sayed Darwish Ali, Sayed Lal Shah, Sayed Bala Shah Buland Ali, and a daughter Bai Budhai.

With the indescribable efforts of Pir Sadruddin and Pir Hasan Kabiruddin, a large proselytism had been resulted in Sind, Punjab, Kutchh, Kathiawar and Gujrat by leaps and bounds during the period of Islam Shah. Sayed Imam Shah admits in his 'Janatpuri' (verse, 89) that, 'Ismailism promulgated rapidly in India during the time of Imam Islam Shah.' The trading class among the Ismaili Khojas gradually began to visit Kahek to see the Imam. Unfortunately, none among the pilgrims had left the historical accounts of the journey. W.Ivanow writes in 'Collectanea'(Holland, 1948, p. 54) that, 'How precious would have been such an original and unpretentious account of the journey to Persia by an intelligent Khoja traveller of the end of the fifteenth century if it had been preserved in the community.' Nevertheless, a manuscript of thirty pages has been discovered in 1977, belonging to a certain Rahim Bhimani (d. 1841) of Ahmadabad. It contains a meagre, rather a historical description of a certain Bhimani family. Rahim Bhimani derived his information from the manuscript of Sheith Jan Muhammad Tharu'ani in 1834. It indicates that a certain Nardas alias Bhimani (d. 824/1420) lived in the time of Dhani Sarcar Nar Islam Shah. He visited Iran with a few Ismailis of Kutchh, and their caravan returned to India via port Hormuz.

We are reviewing the period which absolutely suffers with historical documents, and therefore, many prominent characters, professing Ismailism, had not been identified by the historians. Poet Kassim Anwar is worthy of notice to this effect. His name was Ali bin Nasir bin Harun bin Abdul Kassim al-Husayn at-Tabrizi. He was born in 757/1356 in Sarab, near Tabriz. He studied Sufism in his early life, and reported to have embraced Ismaili faith at the age of 40 years, but had to adopt strict taqiya. He lived in Gilan and Khorasan and at last settled in Herat. Kamaluddin Abdur Razzak (1413-1482) writes in 'Matla'us Sa'dain wa Majmu'ul Bahrain' that, 'In 830/1426, Shah Rukh (1409-1447), the Taymurid ruler, having being stabbed in the mosque of Herat by a certain Ahmad Lur, Kassim Anwar was charged by Mirza Baysunqur with having harboured the intended assassin, and was obliged to leave Herat and repaired to Samarkand. He returned, however, some years later to Khorasan, and took up his abode in Kharjird, a town in the district of Jam, where he died in 835/1431.' His Diwan's pieces are composed in Gilani and Turkish. His other works are 'Anisu'l Arifin' (Gnostics of familiar) and 'Anisu'l Ashiqin' (Lovers' familiar) - both deal mysticism in prose and poetry. W.Ivanow also traced his 'Risala dar Duniya wa Akhirat' (Treatise on world and hereafter). Jami (1414-1492) writes in his 'Baharistan' (Bombay, 1913, p. 66) that, 'Kassim Anwar was a learned philosopher and perfect elocutionist.'

It seems that Islam Shah used to send his guidances regularly to the Indian followers, whose fragments are sounded in the ginans. Few advices of Islam Shah inserted in the ginans are as under:-

* Come to the prayer-hall, purifying yourselves and keep up the traditions of the true religion.
* Why do you miss the heavenly blessings? Do as those believers, who did in the past.
* Only when you swim across the ocean-like world, then alone you will achieve emancipation from this worldly tangels.
* He who duly pays tithe and follow the religion strictly, will never be affected even by fire.
* He is not a faithful who does not lead a life of piety.
* Slander is the root-cause of deficit in agricultural output.
* Get rid of deception of followership and mastership.
* Wake up at midnight to adore God, and keep a fair dealing with the religion.
* One who sleeps (whole night) will cry sorrowfully.
* The root of faith is the path of religion.

Imam Islam Shah mostly lived in Kahek, and sometimes in Shahr-i Babak. It is also said that the Ismailis in these villages had built few dens in the upper hills to seek protection during emergency. The period of Islam Shah however passed in peace, and he died in 827/1423. He consigned the office of Imamate to his elder son, Muhammad.

Muhammad Umar writes in 'Islam in Northern India' (Aligarh, 1993, p. 371) that, 'Perhaps one factor which greatly contributed to the popularity of Islam among the Hindus was that the Muslim mystics did not ask the newly converted Hindu to renounce their former customs and rituals. They presumed that the converts themselves would renounce the un-Islamic practices in due course. As such we find references about the Hindus, who had embraced Islam but still practicing the traditional beliefs and customs even after conversion.' Likewise, it ensues from the kernel of the ginans and traditions that the landmark of Pir Sadruddin's mission was the gradual conversion into at least three processes. The method he employed was based on a special missionary framework.
In the embryonic stage, the disciples were given the ethical and moral teachings with a simple understanding of the Satpanth (true path). Local symbolic terms in native dialects were employed in the sermons and ginans, such as alakh nirinjan (Ineffable God), guru bharma (Muhammad), nar naklank (Ali), nar (Imam), guru (Pir), harijan (devotees), gat (assembly), gat ganga (prayer-hall), gatpat (holy water), jaap (invocation) etc. The vocabulary, similes and technical terms were confined to the prevalent social customs. Special ginans were composed with supreme skill in the languages of the country folk for the disciples, providing them the flavour of the traditional bhajan(song), wherein Pir Sadruddin identified himself with the appalations of Gur Sahodeva and Gur Harichandra. These poetical hymns were tinged with mythological ideas, social customs and folklores. Hence these ginans were paraphrased purely into Indian languages, a procedure that proved extremely beneficial on several counts. The emphasis was placed on making the transition from Hinduism to Islam as easy and as smooth as possible. He did not insist on the adoption of traditional form of Muslim rituals, which, in any case, were in language foreign to the converts, therefore no hard and fast rule had been imposed upon them. It may however be pointed out that the new converts possessed crude notions of meditation, but their practice in gnostic was restricted within a narrow compass. He imparted them gradually the practice of zikr(remembrance) into a positive Sufic style, called jaap, and watched every moment of the disciples' spiritual growth. The disciples were also afforded liberty to retain their traditions, social customs and culture. Ali Ahmad Brohi writes in 'History on Tombstones' (Hyderabad, 1987, p. 132) that, 'The main attraction that the Ismaili faith had was the freedom to continue ancient local beliefs and customs without causing any break with the old social order.'

In the second stage, the disciples were entrusted the solemn word (guru mantra, or sat shabada) to mutter it privately on every midnight. Pir Sadruddin sorted out and imparted the common analogical elements from Islam and Hinduism. He found analogies in their philosophical ideas, and placed the greatest value upon the inner aspects, and put aside the external formalism. Saiyid Athar Abbas Rizvi writes in 'History of Sufism in India' (New Delhi, 1978, 1st vol., p. 109) that, 'The Ismaili missionaries were enthusiastic, who unhestingly modified their esoteric system to suit their converts.' Hence, this stage offered the disciples to pick up the refined teachings linked in Islamic essence with no hard Arabic shell under the theory of Das Avatara. The disciples were imparted that the tenth incarnation of Vishnu was manifested at salmal deep (Arabia) as naklank (Ali), who was then in the dress of Shri Salam Shah (Imam Islam Shah), residing at Irak Khand(Iran). In this way, Pir Sadruddin reformulated, within the Hindu framework the Shiite doctrine of the Imamate as the Divine Epiphany. The doctrine of the Imamate thus was integrated into the mission within the framework of Vaishnavite ideas, who were a dominant stream of Hinduism in northern India. In sum, the new converts saw in Satpanth a completion of their old faith, and through this orientation, they also found Prophet Muhammad and Imam Ali coherence in their own tradition.

True indeed it is, that Pir Shams was first to propound the theory of Das Avatara, which was more concise, but Pir Sadruddin initiated it elaboratively in his small treatise, entitled 'Das Avatara'. It is to be noted that Sayed Imam Shah had also produced an amplified version on it.

Few other ginans were also composed in the second stage, differing little with the composition of preceding stage. Henceforward, the loan words and vocabulary drawn from the languages of Arabic and Persian were permeated in the ginans, wherein Pir Sadruddin identified himself as Pir Sahodeva, Pir Harichandra, or Pir Sadruddin.

After being mastered, the disciples were given pure Sufic teachings with certain rituals in the third stage simply on Shiite pattern. Emphasis was continued to be given in getting absorbed in meditation, which ultimately bore them the titular appellation of khoja (get absorbed) in the same manner as we have discussed in the period of Pir Satgur. It however seems that the trading class of Lohana in Sind was the first to have emerged as the khojas publicly due to their dealings with outside circles. As a result, the people from all walks of life, had rendered its meaning as merchant or nobleman which was fairly irrelevant rendering in essence. This title however became a replacment for the original Hindu Lohana title thakur or thakkar, meaning lord, master.

The new converts ultimately emerged as the khojas were now capable to receive devotedly whatever they had been initiated. Pir Sadruddin indeed islamized the faith of the people mildly and never hampered in their culture, and the Hindus in masses absorbed the best of Islamic thought more Indian than foreign in character. Pir Sadruddin then began to censure the new converts for their Hindu rites, condemning under logical expressions, such as caste distinction, idol-worship, ritual bathing, the authority of the six schools of Hindu philosophy, and the traditions of asceticism and abstraction from the world, whose few examples are given below from the book of his ginans:-

* You will never attain salvation in worshipping pebbles and stones. (142:2)

* You have designed the idol with lime after burning the pebbles and stones. How can it be called Lord Krishna? (142:3)

* You go to Kasi to take bath in the Ganges. What is this water-pilgrimage? If liberation is availed in bathing, then the fish in it can attain salvation. The fish in the Ganges remains in it, being stunk all the times. (183:4-6)

* O'careless ones! why do you adore stone? Why do you designate it as your deity, which does not bend or speak by itself. (203:2)

* The Vedas are being listened bereft of purpose. How the sins be obliterated through its listening? (167:8)

* The pandit says, `I do not eat meat.' O'pandit! let me know, wherefrom the curds and milk are procured? (123:5)

* The Yogi adores Gorakh-Nath, while the Brahmin to Shiva and the Ascetic worships Paras-Nath. These three ones have gone astray in this world. (96:3)

Hence, he consciously safeguarded his followers' Islamic root and identity. Eventually, the boundaries between the Muslims and Hindus were well defined in the ginans. He formed a symbolical bridge between Islam and Hinduism analogically - a landmark characteristic of his mission.

Summing up the peculiar missionary method of Pir Sadruddin, Ishtiaq Husain Qureshi writes in 'The Muslim Community of the Indo-Pakistan Subcontinent' (Karachi, 1977, pp. 41-2) that, 'There are several instances on record where an Ismaili missionary posed as a Brahmin or a Hindu priest and instead of flatly contradicting the doctrine of the faith, he sought to subvert, he confessed its basic assumptions and introduced some of Ismaili beliefs in a disguised form and thus slowly and gradually paved the way for total conversion. Lack of total adherence has never worried the Ismailis, because they are fully confident that the convert will ultimately accept the faith fully. This kind of conversion is achieved in a peculiar manner. At the outset, the appeal is not on the basis of dogma or beliefs, but an attempt is made to convince the potential convert of the spiritual greatness of some persons. In the early days, the missionary himself was a man of exemplary character. Very often Ali was depicted as an incarnation of Vishnu among the Vaishnavites. In short, after some personal loyalty had been created, the disciple was taken through various stages into full-fledged belief in the teaching of Ismaili Islam.'

It is however, much nearer to reasonable possibility to assert that the mass conversion took place in the proselytizing mission of Pir Sadruddin in Sind, Kutchh, Gujrat and Kathiawar. He seems to have discarded the old rituals introduced in the former missions, and gave them palpable shapes. 'In this way,' says Ansar Zahid Khan in his 'History and Culture of Sind' (Karachi, 1980, p. 275), 'Sadr al-Din was responsible for providing the final touches to the Nizari Ismaili sect.' He also commissioned vakils (deputies) in different places to collect religious dues to be deposited at the main treasury in Uchh. He also started three times prayers in a day in Indian language tinctured with Koranic verses. He is reputed to have articulated a Communal Bond among the Indian Khoja Ismailis. Earlier, the isolated followers could hardly know their co-religionists, residing in other places due to the lack of coordination. This communal bond is also sounded at present as a living force in the Ismaili world.

Pir Sadruddin summoned big assemblies of the Khoja Ismailis many times in Sind and Kathiawar, inviting the local and neighboring followers to participate, to bind them together under a community bond, since their linkage fulfilled not merely a fraternal, but also a communal function. On such occasions, special ginans were composed, which had been couched in different dialects. Writing on the ,mission of Pir Sadruddin, Ali Ahmad Brohi says in 'History of Tombstones' (Hyderabad, 1987, pp. 133-4) that, 'Anyone who embraced Ismaili dawa was free to practice his traditional cult and even retain his previous names, caste, identity with the additional declaration of faith in Imam and veneration for Pirs and descendants of Ali. By the adoption of such liberal attitude a great many powerful tribes, such as Langah, Soomras and Lohanas, were attracted to the Ismaili Satpanth.'

Pir Sadruddin passed his later period of life in Jetpur in the vicinity of Uchh, a town in Bahawalpur State, situated on the south bank of the Satlaj river. It was also called Uchha, Osa, Askalinda, Deogarh or Chachpur, and the Arabs named it Basmad. The tradition relates that Raja Chach had built a tank near Uchh, known as Rani Tank, and ordered a town to be built at the spot, and named it Chach, which later corrupted as Uchh. It was an old seat of Muslim learning. Its graveyards and the tombs of saints silently reflect an story that the place must have been very famous during the Muslim regime. It seems that Uchh provided great respite and peace to the Muslim saints. Pir Sadruddin also made it his headquarters, and lived in the nearby village called, Sadarhu, and this may be more likely cause that he became to be revered locally as Sadar Shah. He built his small residence at Jetpur for his family. During his residency at Uchh, he had created a close relation with the local eminent persons, notably a certain Niyab bin Kamal of Bahawalpur, who eventually became his follower. It is related that once he was in the house of Niyab bin Kamal, where he was stricken by his last illness. Niyab wept profusely when he found that his Pir was about to depart from the world. Pir Sadruddin made a will to bury his body in his house. Thus, Pir Sadruddin died in 819/1416 and was interred in the house of Niyab bin Kamal, which had been converted to a shrine in 1058/1648 by the local people. He had five sons, viz. Sayed Zahir al-Din, Sayed Salauddin, Pir Tajuddin, Sayed Jamaluddin and Pir Hasan Kabiruddin.

Pir Sadruddin was a great Ismaili preacher, philosopher and dialectician. He indeed towers like an Everest, with no Alps around. It ensues from his ginans that he was the first poet of Gujrati and Sindhi languages. Writing about the ginans, Prof. Annemarie Schimmel remarks in 'Pearls from the Indus' (Hyderabad, 1986, p. 14) that, 'It is possible that the mystically tinged songs (ginans) and religious instructions used by the Ismaili missionaries constitute the oldest extant example of Sindhi literature.' The author further adds that, 'It seems that the oldest extant documents of Sindhi religious literature are found in some Ismaili texts of the 14th century, written in Khojki script' (Ibid., p. 55). Sarah F.D. Ansari writes in 'Sufi Saints and State Power' (Cambridge, 1992, p. 17) that, 'The ginans or mystical writings of the Ismailis display considerable parallelism of thought with Sufism as well as with the Hindu Bhakti tradition, sharing markedly similar themes and motifs.'

Pir Sadruddin was also well steeped in the knowledge of astronomy, astrology and physiology. He also mastered in Indian pharmacy, and used to treat the local people. He also assisted the poor in Uchh and ministered to the sick and travellers, thus he won great applause.

Pir Sadruddin, one of the best known and revered hujjats in Indian traditions, was born in Sebzewar probably in 700/1300. His name was Muhammad, the son of Pir Sahib'din bin Pir Nasiruddin bin Pir Shams Sebzewari. His early education followed customary lines at home. He was a man steeped in a thorough understanding of the mystical teaching and the Islamic science of tawil. He also visited Mecca several times on pilgrimage, and seems to have acquired a good command in Arabic. Pir Sadruddin is said to have visited India in 734/1335, and joined the mission of Pir Shams. He studied various religious traditions and tendencies of different cults, social customs of the inhabitants and mastered the local languages, and finally immersed in the Indian tradition.Brief mention must be made of the political cataclysm of Sind, which was the centre of the Ismaili mission down to the 18th century. After the end of the Sumra rule in Sind around 762/1361, the field was open for the Sammahs, who took possession of Sind and raised their chief, called Unar to the throne with the title of Jam. He died most probably in 768/1367 and was succeeded by his nephew, Jam Tamachi. He was followed by Jam Khairuddin, then Jam Babinah. Soon afterwards, Firuz Khan Tughlaq (1320-1388) invaded Sind after subjugation of Gujrat and some other parts of India. He defeated Jam Babinah, thus Sind fell into the hands of Firuz Khan. The Sammah rule ended in Sind in 926/1519, when Shah Beg Arghun (d. 928/1521) defeated Jam Firuz, the last ruler of the Sammah in 926/1519 and established Arghun dynasty in Sind.

The Arghun dynasty lasted till 961/1554, when their second ruler passed away during the war of succession. It was followed by a new dynasty of Central Asian origin; they were the Trakhans, whose monuments are still visible in Makli Hill. A certain Mirza Essa Trakhan (d. 974/1566) being the first ruler, took the reign in 961/1554. In 1000/1592, the Mughal emperor Akbar's friend, Abdur Rahim defeated Mirza Jani Beg Trakhan and annexed Sind to the Mughal empire. The trade from Afghanistan and Central Asia to the subcontinent was mainly in the hands of Hindu merchants in Shikarpur. This town was founded by Daudpotra in 1025/1616, a family who had assumed power in a large area of upper Sind. The Daudpotras were then defeated by another clan, the Kalhora. The first man to be known from this family was Adam Kalhora, who was executed in Multan in 965/1558. In the meantime, the British East India Company began to establish trade with Sind between 1045/1636 and 1073/1662. In 1112/1701, Yar Muhammad Khan Kalhora seized Shikarpur and the Mughal emperor Aurengzeb also granted the family large areas in Sind. He was succeeded by Nur Muhammad in 1131/1719, whose territory extended from Multan to Thatta. In the interim, the invasion of Nadir Shah in 1152/1739 proved as severe blow to the Kalhoras as it was to the Mughals. Nur Muhammad had to give up Shikarpur and Sibi and the Afsharids of Iran kept the whole western bank of the Indus. About fifteen years later, Ahmad Shah Durrani invaded Sind in 1167/1754, but, although Nur Muhammad was driven out from Jaisalmer, his son Muhammad Murad Yar Khan gained the kingdom. His brother Ghulam Shah founded Hyderabad in place of the old Nerankot in 1181/1768. The Kalhora period was important for the development of Sindhi literature, though its economic condition rapidly deteriorated towards the last quarter of the 18th century. The minister of the last Kalhora prince, Mir Bijar was killed in 1196/1781 after having defeated the invading Afghans near Shikarpur. Mir Bijar belonged to the Baluch clan of the Talpurs who were the disciples of the Kalhora, but after his death, fight between the two groups ensued and in 1197/1783, the Talpur Mir Fateh Ali defeated the last Kalhora, Abdun Nabi. The rule of the Talpur Mirs was divided among the branches of the family, therefore, the Talpurs were seated in Hyderabad, Mirpur and Khairpur. The Talpurs were plain blunt shepherds, who mostly relied on the power of their Baluchi clans to maintain order. The battle of Miami in 1259/1843 with the British India finally got an end of the rule of the Talpur Mirs in Sind.

Returning the thread of our narrative, the scrutiny of traditions suggests that Pir Sadruddin started his proselytizing mission between 757/1356 and 798/1396 under Pir Shams. Judging from bits and shreds of the accessible traditions, it is known that he selected twelve gifted surrogates from different tribes to assist him in his mission. He seems to have travelled from Uchh to the lower part of Sind as far as the regions adjoining the Indian ocean, and around the locality of present Karachi. The tradition has it that he hired a camel in that locality to travel into the interior Sind, and converted the owner of camel at first. Pir Sadruddin seems to have launched his brisk mission in the district Thatta, and converted a bulk of the Lohana and Bhatia castes. From lower Sind, he proceeded to the middle, and also visited Kutchh with a group of dais. His mission also penetrated in Gujrat and the regions between northern India and Deccan. He also tried to bring the lower castes into the Ismaili fold, who revered Ramdeo, wherein he cloaked his identity, assuming the name of Nizar - a familiar term among the followers of Ramdeo. It must be known that he composed few ginans bearing the name Nizar for the followers of Ramdeo. His mission also influenced other parts of Gujrat and Kathiawar.

Pir Sadruddin visited Iran in 798/1396 to report Imam Islam Shah the outcome of his endeavours. He was designated as the hujjat of Sind and Hind, or the pir according to the Indian tradition. With fresh directions, he returned to India and established prayer-halls (khana) and appointed mukhi (derived from mukhia means 'foremost'), the headman at Sind. Each community was administered by its headman (mukhi), who was an executive head and his office was no longer hereditary as he was periodically selected. His powers and duties were explicitly defined in the ginans. In small villages the executive powers were vested in the mukhi, and it was only on important matters that he summoned a meeting of the elders.

Pir Sadruddin also visited Punjab and Kashmir to build prayer-halls for the followers of Pir Shams, and also built a mausoleum of Pir Shams in Multan. His next visit to Patan, Gujrat was noted for giving a new life to the early unknown Khojas converted by Pir Satgur, whose condition since the time of giving up the Hinduism was yet unchanged. He breathed a new life into the dead class of these Khojas and brought them within the fold of new emerging Khoja community. It must be known that the new converts during the period of Pir Satgur were yet crude in their knowledge on Islam and Ismailism. No Ismaili dai is reported to have continued the mission after him during pre-Muslim era in Gujrat. The setback was due to the split of the Nizaris and the Must'alians in Egypt, resulting the Indian mission ignored for more than two centuries. Pir Sadruddin was the next dai to have launched his fresh mission in Gujrat when two to three generations of the original converts of Pir Satgur had passed away, and the third generation was almost more Hindus and less Muslims. They were getting the inspiration of the Satpanth from the old legends and miracles. Pir Sadruddin visited the different villages in Gujrat and also initiated them afresh on his own method and gave them a new lease of life and included them in the new emerging Khoja community.

Pir Sadruddin returned to Sind after a long journey. His principal area of activity certainly radiated from a base at Uchh, where he supervised the mission works.

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.

Ali Shah, surnamed Mustansir billah, also known as Jalaluddin was born in Kahek. He seems to have known as Shah Qalandar among the Iranian mystics. He too resided in Kahek and sometimes in Shahr-i Babak. In 'Pandiyat-i Jawanmardi', we also find different terms for the Imam that became vogue among his followers, viz. Imam-i Zaman (Imam of the time), Imam-i Hazar (the apparent Imam), Sahibu'z Zaman (the master of the world), Ali Zaman (the Ali of the time), Sahibu'l Amr (the master of authority), Hazar Jama (the present bearer of light), and simply as Hazrat-i Mawlana Mustansir billah.

Muhammad or Mehmud Shah, generally called Muhammad bin Islam Shah is believed to have been born in Daylam. He was almost ten years old when his father arrived in Kahek in 798/1396. If this is a genuine tradition, it implies that he was born possibly in 788/1386, and was about 17 years old while assuming the Imamate. He mostly resided in Shahr-i Babak in Kirman.
The Iranian Ismailis began to revert to their former settlements in different villages. Most of them engaged in agriculture in Kohistan, Qain, Birjand, Nishapur, Khorasan, Sirjan, Jabal-i Bariz, Mahallat and Yazd.

Muhammad bin Islam Shah seems to have started communications from his headquarters to different Ismaili communities, and also accepted the gifts of the pilgrims. It is said that the Indian Ismaili pilgrims were invested the title of 'darwish' (daras).

Taymur designated his grandson Pir Muhammad as his heir, who was about 22 years old in 807/1405. But, his cousin Khalil Sultan occupied Samarkand and was proclaimed as sultan. He was overthrown in 811/1409. Meanwhile, Shah Rukh (1409-1447), the fourth son of Taymur, the then governor of Herat, ascended as the next Taymurid ruler of Iran and Central Asia. He died in 851/1447 and was succeeded by his son Olugh Beg (1447-1449), who was in turn followed by Abu Sa'id (1451-1469).

One seminal point should not omitted here in discussion that the office of the hujjat or pir in India from Pir Shams (d. 757/1356) to Pir Hasan Kabiruddin (d. 853/1449) was almost hereditary, and then the office seemed to be revered like the hereditary office of the Imams, and therefore, an effect was necessary to enforce in the line of the pirs before the time it might become an ingrained belief. Thus, after the death of Pir Hasan Kabiruddin, Imam Muhammad bin Islam Shah designated his brother Pir Tajuddin, as a next hujjat or pir for Hind and Sind instead of any son, and one can hardly deny the logic springs from such designation.

Pir Shams was born most probably at Sebzewar, a town in Khorasan, lying 64 miles west of Nishapur. His father Sayed Salauddin had been deputed in Baltistan by Imam Kassim Shah, who most probably came into the contact of Taj Mughal in Badakhshan. Kamaluddin Mujahri of Sebzewar writes in 'Malfuz-i Kamalia' that Pir Sayed Muinuddin Hasan of Sebzewar of Ajmer had a meeting with Sayed Salauddin in Sebzewar in 560/1165. It is recounted that Pir Shams had gone to Badakhshan with his father at the age of 19 years, and thence he proceeded to Tibet and returned back to Sebzewar.It is said that after the death of Sayed Salauddin, Imam Kassim Shah had commissioned Pir Shams as the hujjat of Sind and Hind at Daylam for the Indian mission, and he also refers to the Imam that: 'Adore sincerely the true guiding light manifested in the person of Kassim Shah, the Lord of the time.' (vide 'Garbi', 5:17).

The earliest description of Pir Shams is found in the treatise of the biographies of Sufis, entitled 'Nafahat al-Uns' (comp. 883/1478) by Nuruddin Abdur Rahman Jami (817-898/1414-1492), the last classic poet of Iran. Nurullah bin Sharif Shushtari (d. 1019/1610) in his 'Majalis al-Mominin' (comp. 1013/1604) traces his ancestry back to the Ismaili root. Some details are also found in 'Tarikh-i Firishta' (comp. 1015/1606). The great Sufi saint Bulleh Shah (1680-1758) also referred to Pir Shams in his Sufic poetry.

It is indeterminable point in the modern sources, when Pir Shams was born? The extant materials however do not allow one to draw a safe conclusion. His death in 757/1356 however is indisputable, based on the plaque at the mausoleum in Multan. The most confusing and unsolved point is to locate his date of birth. Most of the scholars concur in his age for 115 years, but it however seems that Pir Shams had lived to an advanced age beyond 115 years. Sayed Bawa Ahmad Ali Khaki writes in his 'Dar-i Khuld-i Bari' (Ahmadabad, 1905, p. 123) on the basis of an old manuscript that the span of Pir Shams's life was for 171 years. If the date of his demise in 757/1356 may be considered genuine, it means that his birth would have been taken place around 580/1175 during the period of Imam Ala Muhammad (561-607/1166-1210). The genealogy of Pir Shams given in the 'Shajara' which is preserved in the shrine at Multan, indicates the birth of Pir Shams in 570/1165, which also gives close support to this view.

Before we proceed, it must be noted that in India, there are many instances of the persons having long life-span in that period. The western scholars however should not surprise to know Pir Shams having lived to an advanced age of 171 years. The examples of long span of human life are also recorded in the annals of Europe. For instance, Catherine, the countess of Desmond, who died in 1604 at the age of 140 years. Thomas Parr died in 1635 at the age of 152 years. Henry Jenkins died in 1670 at the age of 169 years. Another documentation is that of Jacobsen Drakenberg (1626- 1772), whose age was 145 year and 325 days. Prof. E. Metchnikoff, an eminent biologist also admits 185 years age of St. Mungo of Glasgow. For further details, vide 'The New Encyclopaedia Britannica' (1990, 15th ed., 20th vol., p. 428) and 'Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics' (1959, 4th ed., 1st vol., p. 182). The readers may refer 'Akhbar al-Akhayar' (comp. 998/1590), in which the life-spans of Shaykh Shahi Mu'itab (d. 658/ ), Sayed Shamsuddin Zahir (d. 741/ ), Alaluddin Qoraishi (d. 730/ ), Makdum Jiv Qadri (d. 1000/ ), etc. have been mentioned above 150 years.

We will however touch here the contemporary activity of Pir Shams. He arrived from Daylam to Badakhshan, where he is said to have brought many followers of Momin Shahi sect into the Ismaili fold. He visited Gilgit and proceeded to Tibet and as far as the ranges of the Himalayas. He came back to Ghazna, where he deputed the local converted prince to Badakhshan on mission work.

Pir Shams also converted a bulk of the Hindus during their Dasera festival after singing 28 garbis (songs) in a temple for ten consecutive nights. According to the ginans, Pir Shams had sung the garbis in a village, called Analvad. W. Ivanow places its location in Gujrat, called Anilvad, not far from Ahmadabad. In fact, it is Annhilvad and not Anilvad, situated about 66 miles to the north of Ahmadabad. It is also recounted that the village was Anwalvad, named after a Jat clan, Anwal in Multan, whose glaring festival of Dasera was famous in Punjab. The garbis had been composed in Gujrati style, reflecting the culture of Gujrat, and therefore, the location of the village in Multan seems almost doubtful.

He had also visited Kashmir in 715/1316 and converted the Chak and Changad tribes, thence he proceeded to Multan in 725/1326 for the first time. Zakaria Qazwini writes in his 'Asar al-Bilad wa Akhbar al-Ibad' (comp. 661/1263) that, 'Multan is a large, fortified and impregnable city, with a temple which is to the Hindus a place of worship and pilgrimage as Mecca for the Muslims. The inhabitants are the Muslims and Hindus, but the government is in the hands of the former. The chief mosque is described as being near the temple.'

In Multan, many miracles of Pir Shams are reported, but these are not potential for historical value. It is therefore difficult to penetrate through the mist of legends, which formed even during the lifetime of Pir Shams and thickened rapidly after his death. The most popular miracle was the bringing down of the sun on earth, which earned him an epithet of taparez (burning) in Punjab. The word Taparez is so coherance with that of Tabriz that the former began to be pronounced as Tabriz, contriving a wrong theory to merge these two into one. Since Pir Shams and Shams-i Tabriz were proximate to each other in time, it is probable that Pir Shams, also known as Shams Taprez had been confounded with that of Shams-i Tabriz. It has been heretofore discussed that Shams-i Tabriz, the master of Jalaluddin Rumi was died in Koniya on 645/1247, engendering to the rise of a false tradition of Koniya to Multan, i.e., Shams-i Tabriz had gone to Multan. In sum, the nut of Koniya and the bolt of Multan had been patched to contrive a new tradition indicating these two figures same and one, which is absolutely untrue.

It however seems that Pir Shams visited lower Sind, and travelled through the riverline belt of the Indus, and reached Uchh Sharif most probably in 727/1328, which was his mission centre. He deputed many dais in China, Tibet, Badakhshan, Kashmir and Gujrat. His mission was mobile, and is said to have gone as far as Nepal, known among the Indian Buddhists as Chinab-Nagari, designating the northern India as a part of China.

Pir Shams also visited Rajasthan, and according to his one ginan (no. 70), he embarked from Uchh with his two disciples, Vimras and Surbhan. He alighted at Gudi Vilod, near Gujrat, and thence proceeded to a forest, and preached a bulk of the untouchables. He identified himself as Satgur Shams and the Light of Pir Satgur to give coherence to his mission, where the name of Pir Satgur was almost familiar. He then arrived in a barren land and reached in the middle of Malwa, where he initiated the servile caste and the Abheras and Bhils. Pir Shams also converted the Hindu Bhambi, and spread his mission as far as Ganges. The oral tradition tells us that a certain Ransi, whose family adhered Pir Satgur, also became a disciple of Pir Shams. His son, Ajmal (or Ajay Singh), the father of Ramdeo, continued to revere Pir Shams. After visiting Junjala, Jaitgarh and Karel, Pir Shams proceeded to Bichun and Sakhun in Jaipur-Ajmer region. After having initiated Khiwan and Ransi, he went back to Multan. The Nyariya (perhaps Nizaria) of Rajasthan still claim that they originated from Multan and regard Pir Shams as their master (guru). In the 15th century, the Sirvi caste of the Jaitaran, Bilara, Pali region, had accepted the teachings of a female saint, known as Jiji Devi, who was also a disciple of Pir Shams. The Prahlad panthi in Jodhpur, Nagaur and Bikaner as well as the Jasnathi in Bishnoi have a devotional literature, showing the Ismaili traits and seal (chhap) of Pir Shams and Pir Sadruddin etc.

The Ismaili dawa in Rajasthan is almost blanketed in mist. The French scholar, Dr. Dominique Sila Khan of Jaipur, however, is working on the Ismaili dawa in Rajasthan, and gathered very useful historical clues. It is hoped that her labour shall procure worthy informations, and throw a possible flood of light. Meanwhile, the readers may refer her write-up, entitled, 'Ramdeo Pir and the Kamadiya Panth' (cf. 'Folk, Faith and Feudalism' ed. by N.K. Singhi, Jaipur, 1995, pp. 295-327), and 'L'Origine Ismaelienne du culte Hindou de Ramdeo Pir' (cf. 'Revue de L'Histoire des Religions', Paris, 1993, ccx-1, pp. 27-47). The most prominent among them was Ramdeo of the low castes. Being influenced with the teachings of Ismaili Pirs, he preached in Gujrat the doctrines of Satpanth (true path), but due to a setback in the mission, the followers of Ramdeo retraced their steps towards the fold of their former creed, or cultivated a different cult in India. For details, refer 'Ramdeo Pir: A Forgotten Ismaili Saint' (Sind Review, Hyderabad, vol. 32, April, 1995, pp. 24-29) by Mumtaz Ali Tajddin S. Ali.

The influx of Muslim immigrants into India increased greatly as a result of the Mongol incursions on the Islamic world. We hear of large colonies of these Muslim migrants in different quarters. With the settlement of the Muslims in India, conciliation and concord between the various culture-groups was not only a moral and intellectual demand, but an urgent social necessity. The Muslim conquerors had established their political supremacy, but they could not continue to rule while the majority of their subjects differed from them in race, language, religion and culture. The ulema class rarely appreciated the change in the moods of time and seldom tried to reconstruct their religious tendencies according to the needs of the hour. The Muslim mystics, however, rose to the occasion and released syncretic forces which liquidated social, ideological and linguistic barriers between the various culture-groups of India. The mystics adopted an attitude of sympathy and understanding between all cults and creeds. This broad outlook helped in breaking that spirit of mistrust and isolation which honeycombed relations between the various culture-groups of India and paved way for reapproachment at all levels. The mystics looked upon all religions as different roads leading to the same destination and never approved of any discrimination or distinction in human society which was one organism for them. The use of large number of Indian words, phrases, idioms and similes in the contemporary literature indicates the extent to which social contacts had developed. Prof. Gibb writes in 'An Interpretation of Islamic History' (cf. 'Journal of World History', 1st vol., no. 1, p. 59) that, 'From the 13th century, Sufism increasingly attracted the creative social and intellectual energies within the community, to become the bearer or instrument of a social and cultural revolution.' Perhaps in no other country were the effects of this social and cultural revolution so marked and so far reaching as in India.

The early Indo-Muslim mystics believed in a pacific and non-violent approach towards all problems of human society. Forces, they said, created more problems than it solved. They tried to impress, both by precepts and examples, upon the minds of their followers the fact that a true mystic should always strive for creating love and affection in the hearts of men. 'Placate your enemies,' was the advice which Shaykh Farid gave to his disciples. 'Do not give me a knife,' he once told a visitor, 'Give me a needle. The knife is an instrument for cutting and the needle for sewing together.' Ziauddin Barani thus very significantly remarks in his 'Tarikh-i Firuz Shahi' (p. 344) that as the result of the teachings of these mystics, 'vices among men had been reduced.' Hence, the eagerness of the Muslim mystics to establish closer relations with the Hindus, had faciliated a fertile ground for the Ismaili dais to propagate their faith in India.

Among the Sufis, there existed four principal orders in India, viz. Chisti, Qadari, Suharwardi and Naqashbandi. The period of Pir Shams was thus noted for the several skilled exponents of Sufi thought, therefore, he launched his brisk and pervasive mission during the eve of the growing Sufi circles in Punjab. In the villages of Punjab, he mostly converted the Aror or Rohra, a leading caste in south-western part of the Punjab, i.e., of the lower reaches of the five rivers and below their junction, extending through Bahawalpur into Sind. They were mostly cultivators, and their large portion on the lower Chinab were purely agricultures, while in the western Punjab, they were mostly tailors, weavers of mats and baskets, makers of vessels of brass and copper and goldsmiths. Pir Shams appointed musafir (one who travels) in different regions to collect the religious dues, and also built prayer-halls (khana) and appointed their mukhis (derived from mukhia means 'foremost'). He also introduced certain rituals, and his followers mostly in Punjab and Kashmir recognised themselves as gupti (secret ones).

Pir Shams passed away in 757/1356 and was buried at Multan. His mausoleum is located about half a mile to the east of the fort site, on the high bank of the old bed of the Ravi river. His shrine was built by his grandson and was rebuilt by one of the Ismailis in 1718. The tomb is square, 300 feet in height surmounted by a hemispherical dome. It is decorated with ornamental glazed tiles.

Pir Shams is acclaimed as a great preacher and composed many ginans in different Indian dialects. It is also possible that his local disciples had received the first hand marrow of his teachings in few places, and transformed them creatively into the ginanic form. These are the rich reservoir of religious teachings and great treasure house of Sufi thought, giving a very comprehensive idea of the prodigality of Sufi symbolism. He used with supreme skill the languages of the country folk and employed them to interpret ideas of natural beauty and of religious philosophy. In fact, Pir Shams was a man steeped in an understanding of the mystical teaching of Islam. The recent diligent research has brought to light that he was the most earliest, rather the first Punjabi poet, and also made rich contribution in the growth of Urdu language during its infancy. He had a faculty of expressing the truth in the local languages with appropriate turn of phrase and picturesque metaphor.

After Pir Shams, his son Pir Nasiruddin (625-764/1228-1362) continued the mission mostly in Punjab and died in Uchh. He was followed by his son Pir Sahib'din (650- 775/1212-1373), who lived in the garb of a Hindu saint, and made a large proselytism. He had seven sons, viz. Pir Sadruddin, Sayed Ruknuddin, Sayed Badruddin, Sayed Shamsuddin II, Sayed Nasiruddin, Sayed Ghiasuddin and Sayed Nasiruddin Qalandar Shah.

Returning the thread of our narrative, it appears that Kassim Shah passed a darwishlife in the mountainous regions of Azerbaijan. He was fond of hunting in the woods, and used to travel in different towns and villages, sometimes for a long time. Upon his death, most probably in 771/1370, the Imamate devolved upon his son, Islam Shah.

In Gilgit sub-region, the Trakhan was the leading dynasty of local rulers, and it was the main branch, from which the rules of Nagar and Hunza radiated during the mediaeval period. The rulers of Yasin, Punial and Chitral had also close ties with them, and the tribal regions of Gor, Darel, Chilas, Tangir and Herban, including Nuristan on the west had their origin and history linked with the Trakhan dynasty.The extant traditions sound more romantic than real for the historical purpose. Summing up the accessible materials, it is however known that during the second period of the Trakhan dynasty (387/997 to 640/1241), Shah Mirza, also known as Mirza I, was formally enthroned in 521/1127 and ruled until 602/1205. He is said to have died at the age of 109 years, and was succeeded by his son Tartorra Khan at the age of 31 years. He had two queens, one of his own royal family, and another hailed from Darel. The first queen Shah Begum gave birth to Torra Khan, and the second gave birth to Shah Rais. Torra Khan was brought up in the valley of Hodur under the care of a local chief. While Shah Rais had several maternal uncles in Darel, who being supported with his mother, intended Shah Rais to be the next ruler; but the king preferred Torra Khan. This succession wrangle led to trouble. The Darel queen and her brothers conspired against the king and the prince. Once upon a time, they invited Tartorra Khan at Darel for playing polo. The king won the game and caused all the seven brothers executed when he was assailed. The Dareli queen became forlorn, and poisoned the king in 635/1236, and herself took the power. She intended to kill Torra Khan, but his step-father, who was the chief of Hodur, sent Torra Khan away in Khanberi and hid him in an unknown place. The queen made all arrangements to pass on the throne to her own son, Shah Rais. In the meantime, she died in 640/1241, and it was followed by a war of succession between the two brothers. The local people ultimately confessed Torra Khan (1310-1335) as their ruler.

Henceforward, the name Torra Khan, or Trakhan was applied to this dynasty after his name. Before him, the dynasty was known as Kisra or Kiyani. During his rule, his cousin Raja Rais Khan had left Gilgit and took refuge in Badakhshan with an Ismaili dai, Taj Mughal, the son-in-law of the ruler. According to Dr. Ahmad Hasan Dani in 'History of Northern Areas of Pakistan' (Islamabad, 1991, p. 170), 'Taj Mughal is said to be a follower of Ismaili sect and very ardent in its propagation. He received Raja Shah Rais Khan with great pomp and made him stay in an elegant place. Shah Rais is said to have accepted Ismaili faith alongwith his followers.' Shah Rais Khan also married to the daughter of Taj Mughal, and after some years, he persuaded Taj Mughal to invade Gilgit. Preparations were made for one full year. First Chitral was conquered and annexed, and then the regions of Yasin, Koh Ghizr and Punial were subdued and finally entered in Gilgit ruled by Torra Khan, who at length accepted Ismailism. He also made necessary arrangements to preach Ismailism in Gilgit. The rule of Torra Khan had been restored, and Shah Rais Khan was made the ruler of Chitral, where he founded the Raisia dynasty, and promulgated the Ismaili faith.

It was at this time that the Ismaili faith penetrated in Gilgit and Hunza with the proselytizing mission of Taj Mughal. He is said to have built a Mughlai Tower at Jutial, and another on the way to Hunza, near Thol. Taj Mughal is said to have proceeded to Sikiang through Pamir, and thus he dominated most of the prominent regions of Central Asia. The historians place an extensive territory under his domination. On the north greater part of Turkistan, on the west the whole area including the city of Herat, and on the south-east right upto the border of Chitral. The biography of Taj Mughal is shrouded in mist, and nothing else is known. He died most probably in 725/1325. It seems likely that Gilgit had been ruled by the local Ismaili rulers from 710/1310 to 973/1565, and they remained in close contact with the Ismailis of Badakhshan.

Naimuddin bin Jalaluddin bin Muhammad Nizari Kohistani was born in Birjand in 645/1247. He got the rudiments of his formal education at home from his father, who was also a poet himself and a devout Ismaili. Later on, Nizari attended school in Birjand and Qain, and studied Persian and Arabic literature. His father was a land- lord in Birjand, but lost his estate during the Mongol onslaught in Kohistan and subsequently, Nizari had to serve at the court of Shamsuddin Muhammad I (643- 684/1245-1285), the founder of the Kurt dynasty of Herat; and became a court-poet.Nizari travelled excessively for supervising the revenue and expenditure of Azerbaijan and Arran. He set out from Khasp in Birjand on a long journey with a certain Tajuddin Amid in Shawal, 678/February, 1280. He fell ill in Tabriz, and resumed his journey in Safar, 679/June, 1280 with a certain Shamsuddin Juvaini, who was also travelling there for same purpose. Nizari visited Azerbaijan, Arran, Georgia, Armenia and Baku, which lasted for two years (678-679/1280-1281). Muqaddasi had reported earlier in 'Kitab al-Akalim' (comp. in 375/985) that Azerbaijan, Arran and Armenia formed part of a single province, which he designated as Iklim ar-Rihab(the region of high plains). It was during this journey that Nizari did see Shamsuddin Muhammad and his successor. He recounted the account of his journey in his 'Safar-nama' in mathnawi form, comprised of 1200 verses. Nizari has termed the Ismailis significantly as 'Ikhwan as-Safa'.

After his return, Nizari got married and entered the service of Kurt rulers, who had penetrated their influence in Afghanistan and Khorasan. His enemies aroused the Kurt ruler and was dismissed and his properties were confiscated. He composed 'Munazara-i Shab-i Rauz' (conflict of day and night) wherein he described the troubles he had faced. Nizari took up agriculture during retiring life and died in Birjand in 720/1320 during the reign of Ghiasuddin (d. 729/1328). He also composed 'Mathnawi Azhar-u-Mazhar' in 700/1300, narrating the terrible operations of the Mongols in Iran. His another famous work, 'Dastur-nama' (book of rule) which he composed for his son, reflecting the doctrines of Sufism and Ismailism. According to Daulatshah (d. 900/1494) in 'Tazkertu'sh Shu'ara' that, 'This is a book to be treasured by gifted and intellectual minds.' In 'Mathnawi' (verse 43), Nizari Kohistani writes eloquently in praise of Shamsuddin Muhammad that:-

'He is the prince of the universe, the crown of the faith. He is the son of Ali, who is the light of the eyes of the great king (Muhammad). He (Shamsuddin) Muhammad is the father of spiritualism, and the sweetest fruit of the eternal garden of creation.'

One can hardly paint a true picture of the condition under which the Ismailis lived in different regions after an end of their power. The overt hostility of the general Muslims continued to be unchanged in all corners on one side, and the Mongol sword was hunting them on other. The survived Ismailis were forced to exist in various cloaks, that had made the ostensible appearances so conclusive as if there had been not a single Ismaili on the surface. The underground existence of the Ismailis had become congenial condition for the contemporary historian, like Juvaini (1226-1283) and the traveller, like Marco Polo (1254-1324) to shift the fictions and cheap stories to the account of the Ismailis to win the hearts of their pagan masters. Hence, Iran for the most part became a breeding ground of fictions for bigoted historians. Henceforth, whatever was salvaged of various types of Ismaili works came to be preserved secretly and in private collections. As a result, the history of the Ismailis and doctrines came almost exclusively from the pens of Sunni historians who, as a rule, were hostile towards the Ismailis. Thus, numerous distortions and negative biases are contained in the tracts of these chroniclers.

Previously indicated that in the time of Imam Alauddin Muhammad (d. 653/1255), the Mongols were spurring to their operations against Alamut. Shamsuddin, the chief Qadi of Qazwin had also lodged false allegations against Alamut at the court of Mongke (1251-1258) in Mongolia. Halagu therefore had been charged the main Mongol expedition across Central Asia to Iran, where he did not arrive before 654/1256. But already in 650/1252, he had dispatched an advance army of 12000 men under the command of Ket-Buqa, who reached Iran in 651/1253 and began his onslaught on the Ismaili strongholds in Kohistan; and sent raiding parties into Rudhbar and Tarum. On other side, Shamsuddin, the chief Qadi of Qazwin, immediately after returning from Mongolia, assailed in bitter sarcasms against Alamut in Qazwin and the surrounding regions, giving also high tidings for the coming of the Mongols in Iran. The scrutiny of the sources indicates that a bulk of the frightened Muslims calmly began to evacuate the vicinity of Rudhbar and Kohistan during the period of Alauddin Muhammad to escape the main brunt of the Mongols. The stampede of the Muslims had also carried away with them the then latest report that 'Alauddin Muhammad is the ruler of Alamut, and the Mongols are about to come to reduce Alamut.' These Muslims ultimately settled down in Qazwin, Daylam and Tabriz; where they came to know the fall of Alamut. On that juncture, they seem to have generalized an image in minds that the Alamut's fall would have been taken place in the time of Alauddin Muhammad, incorporating the then report they had brought from their villages. This tradition received credence in some circles, ingnoring palpably the one year rule of Ruknuddin Khurshah followed by Alauddin Muhammad. When the Mongol storms diffused in Iran, the historicity of Ruknuddin Khurshah itself began to be floated. But, it seems that the above idea continued to remain prevailed many years in Qazwin, Daylam and Tabriz, making Alauddin Muhammad as the last ruler of Alamut, which also curiously sounds in the account of Marco Polo (1254-1324), who had most possibly heard these fantastic stories from these orbits in 671/1272. For instance, Marco Polo narrates: 'I will tell you his story just as I Messer Marco, have heard it told by many people.... The Shaikh was called in their language Alaodin.... So they were taken, and the Shaikh, Alaodin, was put to death with all his men.' (vide 'The Travels of Marco Polo' by Ronald Latham, London, 1958, pp. 40-42).

When Shamsuddin Muhammad had been in Tabriz once or more times, he became known as Shams Tabriz. There had been another Shams-i Tabriz, the master of Jalaluddin Rumi (d. 672/1273) in the same period, who was not tracable after 645/1247 in Koniya. It is therefore possible that Shamsuddin Muhammad had chosen to cloak his identity in Tabriz for some times under the name of the master of Jalaluddin Rumi in the Sufic circles. Rida Quli Khan (d. 1872) writes in 'Majmau'l Fusaha' that, 'Shaikh Abu Hamid Awhadu'ddin Kirmani had seen and met Shams-i Tabriz in Tabriz.' To this we must add the likelihood that Shaikh Abu Hamid had veritably seen Shamsuddin Muhammad in the mantle of Shams-i Tabriz. When Shamsuddin Muhammad was identified as the 'son of the last ruler of Alamut', he was ultimately considered as the 'son of Alauddin Muhammad,' incorporating him in the above tradition.

A cloud of mystery has surrounded the life of another contemporary Shams-i Tabriz, the master of Jalaluddin Rumi after 645/1247. Shamsuddin Aflaki, who wrote in 754/1353 that the death of Shams-i Tabriz took place in Koniya in 645/1247. It seems that a group of the Sufis had cultivated a story that after leaving Koniya, Shams-i Tabriz had gone to Tabriz, and there Shamsuddin Muhammad, known as Shams Tabriz had been identified as same Shams-i Tabriz after few years. Thus, Shamsuddin Muhammad began to be equated with that of Shams-i Tabriz, and henceforward, two Shams Tabriz at one period were confounded.

When the people conclusively identified Ruknuddin Khurshah as the last ruler, most probably after 671/1272, one another tradition seems to have been originated to distinguish these two characters. Shamsuddin Muhammad had been deleted from that story from being the son of Alauddin Muhammad, but Shams-i Tabriz was made known as the son of Alauddin Muhammad instead. Being influenced with this tradition, Daulatshah (d. 900/1494) was the first to show Shams-i Tabriz, the master of Jalaluddin Rumi as the son of Alauddin Muhammad, in his 'Tazkertu'sh Shu'ara'. A question then arises, who was Shams-i Tabriz? He indeed was an Ismaili, the master of Jalaluddin Rumi, but not the son of Alauddin Muhammad. As to the early life of Shams-i Tabriz, we are yet in dark. Shamsuddin Aflaki (710-754/1310-1354) in 'Manaqibu'l Arifin' and Abdur Rahman Jami (d. 898/1493) in 'Nafhatu'l Uns' concur that Shams-i Tabriz was the son of a certain Muhammad bin Ali bin Malikad. Rida Quli Khan (d. 1872) in his 'Majmau'l Fusaha' also relied on Aflaki and Jami. According to 'Silsilatu'ad-Dhahab', it is wrong to allege Shams-i Tabriz to have been the son of Alauddin Muhammad. It was only Daulatshah (d. 900/1494) who made him the son of Alauddin Muhammad being influenced by the wrong tradition. Prof. Muhammad Iqbal of Punjab University, who prepared the Lahore edition of Daulatshah's work, makes his remarks that: '...it is evident that Daulatshah has not written historical facts carefully in his book. He has accepted all sorts of traditions, right or wrong, owing to which several errors have crept into his work.' Edward G. Browne writes in 'A Literary History of Persia' (3rd vol., p. 436) that, 'This is an entertaining but inaccurate work, containing a good selection of historical errors.'

It is also worthy of notice, however, that Daulatshah quoted another tradition of parentage of Shams-i Tabriz that, 'Some people say that he was originally a native of Khorasan and belonged to the town of Bazar. His father had settled in Tabriz for the purpose of doing business in cloth.' It is probable that Shams-i Tabriz was the son of Muhammad bin Ali bin Malikad according to Aflaki and Jami, and he seems to be a native of Khorasan as per another tradition cited by Daulatshah. Nurullah Shustari (d. 1019/1610) in his 'Majalis al-Mominin' (6th vol., p. 291) states that Shams-i Tabriz descended from 'Ismaili headman' (da'iyani Ismailiyya budand). His father had settled in Tabriz, and was a cloth merchant. Shams-i Tabriz was indeed an Ismaili like his father, but it needs further scholarly scanning to trace his biography.

There is also a reason to believe that Jalaluddin Rumi must have been known both Shams-i Tabriz and Imam Shamsuddin Muhammad, but did not described palpably in his Diwan. He however addresses Shams as the heir of the Prophet (verse no. 2473) and compares him to Ali (verse no. 1944), which seems to have been referred only to the Imam.

Shamsuddin Muhammad is reported to have betrothed to a Sufi lady at Daylam in 675/1276, or next year. His sons, Momin Shah and Kiya Shah penetrated Ismaili dawaas far as Gilan. Momin Shah also travelled in Syria and served many years as a hujjat of the Imam. When he returned to Gilan, a section of the Syrian Ismailis, considered him the Imam's successor, who later on, became known as the Momin-Shahis. Muhibb Ali Qunduzi however writes in 'Irshadu't Talibin' (comp. in 929/1523) that, 'The schism took place after the death of Momin Shah in 738/1338.' The descendants of Momin Shah mostly lived in Khwand, a village in Qazwin, where they became known as Sadat-i Khwandia.

Shamsuddin Muhammad died in 710/1310 in Azerbaijan after vesting the office of Imamate in Kassim Shah.

It appears that the Ismaili sources have designed the history of the Imams in a sequence of father to son, emanating each succeeding Imam being the son of the preceding Imam. We have been told in this context that Kassim Shah was the son and successor of Shamsuddin Muhammad. But, the scrutiny of the sources and the fragments of the traditions, reveals starkly a different story, suggesting that Kassim Shah was the successor, but not a son, rather a grandson of Shamsuddin Muhammad. In other words, he was Kassim Shah bin Momin Shah bin Shamsuddin Muhammad. The chronicles of Momin Shahi sect, such as 'Irshadu't Talibin' (comp. 929/1523) by Muhibb Ali Qunduzi and 'Lamat al-Tahirin' (comp. 1110/1698) by Ghulam Ali bin Muhammad; contain variations in the names of the descendants of Shamsuddin Muhammad. 'Tarikh-i Firishta' (comp. 1015/1606) by Muhammad Kassim Firishta, and few other sources also offer a diverse account of the sons of Shamsuddin Muhammad. These sources however divulge some traces that Shamsuddin Muhammad was succeeded by his grandson, Kassim Shah bin Momin Shah. It is worthwhile that 'Haft Bab' of Abu Ishaq Kohistani, who died in the beginning of the 10th/16th centuries, places Momin Shah in the list of Imams, making him the successor of Shamsuddin Muhammad, and Kassim Shah as the successor of Momin Shah. It ensues from the episode that Abu Ishaq Kohistani must have identified Kassim Shah being the grandson of Shamsuddin Muhammad in his period, and had inserted the name of Momin Shah between them, to adjust the succession list in an order, and to give coherence to the traditional notion.

Later on, it seems that the Ismailis, after knowing Kassim Shah being followed by Shamsuddin Muhammad, had omitted the name of Momin Shah in the list to distinguish themselves from Momin Shahi sect. It resulted possibly the historicity of a grandsontransformed into a son, and one can find the like effect in India in 'Satveni'ji Vel' by Sayed Nur Muhammad Shah (d. 940/1534).

In sum, it ensues that Shamsuddin Muhammad seems to have succeeded by his grandson, Kassim Shah. Besides, the tradition of the succession of a grandson can be seen equally potent in the famous Will of the Aga Khan III, who has unmasked the succession of the grandson in the light of the past tradition while appointing his grandson to succeed him. It reads: 'Ever since the time of my ancestor Ali, the first Imam, that is to say over a period of thirteen hundred years, it has always been the tradition of our family that each Imam chooses his successor at his absolute and unfettered discretion from amongst any of his descendants, whether they be sons or remote male issue....' This would thus tend to be a safe conclusion that the appointment of a grandson (the remote male issue) was enfoced in view of the tradition of last 1300 years, and thus it was not a new effect in this age. It unveils in a question that a like effect most probably had been taken place in the line of Shamsuddin Muhammad, who seems to have been succeeded by his grandson, Kassim Shah bin Momin Shah. W.Ivanow (1886-1970) and Farhad Daftary and other modern scholars have also shown almost pertinent possibility. The ardent students must investigate this field to unearth further historical truth.

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The great Khan Kubilai (1260-1294), absorbed in the administration of China, had lost interest in the western provinces and was happy that Iran should be governed by his brother Halagu (1256-1265), on whom he bestowed the title of Il-Khan(tribal khan, local khan or subordinate khan), which all the descendants of Halagu were to assume. Halagu thus founded in Iran the Il-Khanid dynasty (1265- 1335). He died in February 8, 1265 and was succeeded by his seven successors one after another, namely Abaqa (1265-1282), Takudar (1282-1284), Arghun (1284-1291), Gaykhatu (1291-1295), Ghazan (1295-1304), Uljaytu (1304-1316) and Abu Sa'id (1317-1334). With the death of Abu Sa'id the Illkhanid dynasty in Iran virtually came to an end. One key aspect of the Mongol conquest however was that for the first time, Iran and other large areas of the Muslim world founded themselves governed from 1221 to 1295.The fall of Alamut must have had a tremendous impact upon the Syrian Ismailis, and greatly impaired their morale. They were now deprived of the leadership and occasional practical guidance formerly given to them from Alamut. The Mongols had constituted befalling and perennial distress to the Ismailis in Syria. During the Mongol's incursion in Syria, the Ismailis were under the leadership of dai Radi al-Din Abul Ma'ali (d. 659/1261), who had punished the Ismaili chiefs who had surrendered their castles to the Mongols. Ibn Muyassar (1231-1278) writes in 'Tarikh-i Misar' (p. 68) that, 'Radi al-Din had become the chief dai in Syria in 656/1258, and before succeeding to that office, he had gone to Mamluk Egypt as an Ismaili envoy in 655/1257.' The Syrian Ismailis established friendly relations with sultan Baybars (658-676/1260-1277). Ibn Abd al-Zahir (d. 692/1293) writes in 'Sirat al-Malik al-Zahir' (pp. 138-9) that, 'In 659/1261, sultan Baybars granted rights to the Ismaili territories to al-Malik al-Mansur (642-683/1244- 1285), the Ayyubid prince of Hammah.' Meanwhile, the Syrian Ismailis sent an embassy to sultan Baybars, demanding successfully the privileges they had enjoyed under the Ayyubids. Baybars appointed Jamaluddin Hasan bin Thabit as the head of the Ismailis in place of Radi al-Din, which was evidently opposed and scourged to death. Radi al-Din died and the aged Najmuddin Ismail bin al-Sharani (d. 672/1274), who was probably above 80 years old, became the head of the Syrian mission in 660/1262. He was later on assisted by his son Shamsuddin and his son- in-law Sarimuddin Mubarak, the son of Radi al-Din. The Syrian Ismailis continued to hold possession of eight strongholds, namely, Masiyaf, Qadmus, Kahf, Khwabi, Rusafa, Maynaqa, Ulayqa and Qulaya.

In 661/1263, when sultan Baybars was engaged in his campaign against the Franks, an Ismaili deputation under Shamsuddin and Sarimuddin is reported to have come to the sultan with gifts. According to 'Sirat al-Malik al-Zahir' (comp. in 663/1264) by Ibn Abd al-Zahir (d. 692/1293), 'Ambassadors of the Ismailis arrived with presents, and the two sons of the rulers, who were the commanders of the Ismailis, also came; the sultan treated them with kindness, after which they departed.' In 664/1265, however sultan Baybars ordered the collection of taxes on the gifts being sent to the Ismailis by the Frankish kings and the ruler of Yamen. Soon afterwards, the Ismailis began to pay tribute to Baybars, following the truce concluded in 664/1266 between the Mamluk sultan and the Hospitallers, the terms of which stipulated that the latter must renounce the tribute hitherto they used to levy upon the Ismailis and other Muslim rulers in the districts of Hammah and Hims. In 665/1267, the Ismailis became tributaries of Mamluk sultan, paying him what was paid previously to the Hospitallers.

In 669/1271, when sultan Baybars was besieging the Frankish castle of Hisn al- Akrad, two Ismaili fidais from Ulayqa were alleged to have joined hands with Bohemond IV of Tripoli to kill sultan Baybars, Thus, Baybars took swift action, and ordered that the stronghold of Ulayqa should be besieged. Ulayqa and Rusafa were reduced at first, and Khwabi, Qulaya, Maynaqa and Qadmus also capitulated in 671/1273. Only the garrison of Kahf mustered some resistance. Having taken the control of the Ismaili territories, sultan Baybars, however tolerated the Ismailis and did not eliminate them. The Ismailis were allowed to exist as loyal subjects of the Mamluks.

Indeed, there are however, some historical reports that sultan Baybars and his successors used to employ the services of the Ismaili fidais against their own enemies, whose benefit was acquired by the Mamluks, and the defamations were put on the Syrian Ismailis. Hence, the Ismaili fidais had been used as an instrument to threaten the enemies of the Mamluks. The historians however have painted it in gloomier colours than it merits. The Mamluk sultan Baybars (d. 676/1277) subjugated the Ismailis since 671/1273, making them devoid of any political significance, and existed as the loyal subjects of the Mamluks and later the Ottoman of Turkey. In sum, with the surrender of Kahf, the last Ismaili castle, on 22nd Zilhida, 671/July 10, 1273 and the elimination of the Ismaili power in Syria, sultan Baybars I completed what Halagu Khan had began in Iran in 654/1256.

The Ismailis in Khorasan and Badakhshan including upper Oxus were relatively not accessible to the Mongol sword during the turbulent period. They continued to develop a distinctive tradition of their own and played prominent role in preserving the Nizari Ismaili literature. It is important to note that the Ismailis of the upper Oxus considered Aziz Nasafi as a co-religionist. He was a celebrated Sufi master and a prolific writer in Central Asia, who later emigrated to Iran and died there around 661/1262. His famous Sufic treatise, 'Zubdat al- Haqaiq' (Quintessence of Metaphysical Truth) is preserved still in Badakhshan being an Ismaili work, which was lithographed in Tehran in 1903.

The Indian Nizari Ismailis, designated chiefly by the term Khoja since the time of Pir Satgur Nur, also continued to retain their own traditions under the leadership of local elders in Gujrat until they merged with the growing Ismaili community in India.

The Ismailis in Iran, however, became absolutely disorganized and disoriented immediately with the destruction of their state. Despite the repressions and debacles, the Ismailis' fortune continued to rise gradually in Iran during the turbulent years. Those who managed to survive the Mongol massacres in Rudhbar and Kohistan, had entered a new era of their history. They mostly had taken refuge in obscurity, cloaked by the forms of a Sufi tariqah, and most of them referred to their spiritual leader not as an Imam but as a Pir for many years. The underground existence of the Ismailis in whole Iran did not attract the attention of the historians, who did not have any direct link or approach with them and who, like Juvaini, also wrote that the Mongols had completely extirpated the Nizari Ismailis in Iran. It however appears that many of them had escaped the main brunt of the Mongol onslaughts and did exist in Kohistan, Daylam, Rudhbar etc. A facsimile of a manuscript dating 690/1290 composed by Wahid al-Muluk, unearthed by Sir E. Denison Ross (cf. Royal Asiatic Society, London, 1931, 2nd vol., p. 202), indicating that, 'In Persia, the Ismaili communities were decimated by massacre, but survived after the surrender of Alamut and other fortresses in Daylam and Kohistan.' Poet Nizari Kohistani (d. 720/1320) very watchfully describes the survival of the Ismailis in Kohistan, Birjand, Rudhbar etc. in his 'Kulliyat', a manuscript in the Institute of Language and Literature of the Academy of Science of the Tajik. Mustapha Qazwini compiled his 'Nuzhat al-Qulub' in 740/1340 also gives a condensed account of Rudhbar in Mazandaran, whose inhabitants were Ismailis. The Ismailis also lived in Gilan, probably in the mantle of the local Sufis. H.L. Rabino writes in 'Rulers of Gilan' (JRAS, 1920, vol., III, p. 294) that, 'It is generally believed that the fall of castle of Alamut in 654/1256 marks the end of the Ismaili influence in Gilan. This is a great mistake. Either the destruction of Alamut cannot have a complete as reported by the Persian writers, or the castle was rebuilt.'

Yet, Lamasar held out for another year before cholera broke out and killed the bulk of garrison. The few who survived the epidemic had no alternative but to surrender in 655/1258. The valiant garrison of Girdkuh however continued to resist its Mongol besiegers for 13 years after the reduction of Alamut. In the biography of Kuo K'an, the Chinese officer in Mongol forces, it is recorded that Girdkuh was situated on the top of the mountain Tan-han (i.e., Damghan), and was only accessible by ladders, which were guarded by the most valiant troop, vide 'Mediaeval Researches from Eastern Asiatic Sources' (London, 1888, 1st vol., p. 122) by E. Bretschneider. In another Chinese source, 'Hsi Shin Chi', we find a record of the journey of a Chinese envoy, Chang Te, sent by Halagu in 1259; wherein it is described Girdkuh as a mountain fortress 'on a very steep rock, which could not be reached by arrows or stones. The rock was so steep that when one looked up, his cap fell off.' Haython however writes in 'Flos Historianrum Terrae Orientis' that, 'Tigado (Girdkuh) was an impregnable castle, well furnished with all necessaries, and was so strong that it had no fear of attack on any side.' At length, the garrison came down not due to starvation, but it was the lack of adequate clothing against the severe winter cold that ultimately broke their spirits. The final surrender reported to have taken place on 29th Rabi II, 669/December 15, 1270.

It has been learnt that when Halagu quitted Iran for his operations against Baghdad, the Ismaili commanders at remote distance had also surrendered their castles upon receipt of official orders without knowing veritable picture. Few among them are reported to have treked in Rudhbar after the massacre of the Ismailis in 656/1257. They made an intensive search of the succeeding Imam after being known locally that Ruknuddin Khurshah had been also killed. With the help of few local fidais, the Ismaili commanders obtained possession of Alamut around 674/1275, about five years after the fall of Girdkuh. The fortress underwent temporary construction and renovation. The reason for re-occupation, as we have been informed, was to give an inkling to the hiding Imam and the Ismailis to come out of concealment. If this version certainly embodies grain of truth, it implies that the Ismailis of Rudhbar were not yet acquainted with the whereabouts of the Imam. According to 'Tarikh-i Guzida' (1st vol., p. 583), 'They retained Alamut for almost one year before they were dislodged by a force sent against them by Halagu's son and successor Abaqa (d. 680/1282).' It is also related that the Ismaili dais of Rudhbar had communicated a report to some unknown dais, and the latter had transmitted it onwards till it reached to the Imam. Shamsuddin Muhammad is reported to have instructed his Iranian followers to observe taqiyaand adjust themselves in pursuant of the conditions of their localities. Henceforward, the Iranian Ismailis came to know of Shamsuddin Muhammad as their Imam.

Virtually, nothing else is known about the activities of Shamsuddin Muhammad in northern Azerbaijan. Certain allusions in the still unpublished 'Safar-nama' of poet Nizari Kohistani indeed indicate that Shamsuddin Muhammad and possibly his successor lived in concealment in Azerbaijan, or southern Caucasus.