ABSTRACT
The Isma'ili da'wa had been extended to many regions of the Iranian lands, from Khuzistan in south-western Persia and Daylam on the southern shores of the Caspian Sea to Khurasan and Transoxania in Central Asia. The Iranian Ismailis are primarily Persian-speaking and, since 487/1094, have belonged to the majoritarian Nizari community of Isma'ilism. The dais of the Fatimid period, especially those operating secretly in the Iranian lands, also elaborated distinctive intellectual traditions, and made important contributions to Islamic civilisation. The sources have preserved some fragmentary information on the da'i-authors operating secretly in the eastern Iranian lands after al-Nasafi and his son. The Fatimid da 'wa was systematically intensified in the Iranian lands under al-Muizz's next two successors in the Fatimid dynasty, al-'Aziz and al-Hakim. A learned theologian, traveller and renowned poet of the Persian language, Nasir-i Khusraw was also the last major proponent of philosophical Isma 'ilism in the Iranian lands.
