ABSTRACT
In order to contextualise the role of 'Ali in classical Ismaili theology, the focus of our attention in this chapter, it is first necessary to briefly review the relevant phases in medieval Ismaili history and theological tradition. It draws extensively on the results of modern scholarship on Ismaili thought in general, and on the role of 'Ali within Ismaili theological tradition in particular. The early Ismaili da 'wa appealed to different social strata, ranging from the indigenous Berbers of North Africa and Arab tribesmen of Yemen to villagers of southern Iraq and the ruling elites of Persia and Central Asia. The early Ismailis also laid the foundations of Ismaili theology and other intellectual traditions which were further elaborated in subsequent times. The centrality of 'Alis role in classical Ismaili theology was reasserted variously in the Ismaili writings of the Fatimid times.
