The heresiography portion found in the Kitb̄ al-shajara by the fourth/tenth century Ismā'īlī dā'ī Abū Tammām presents an interesting opportunity for scholars of religion. Not just an unique heresiographical work written from a non-Fatimid Ismā'īlī position, the Shajara also presents a complex Neo-Platonic conception of Ismā'īlī thought, from cosmology to soteriology and epistemology. Above all, the Shajara is an attempt to consciously create an orthodoxy for the Ismā'īlīs of Greater Khurasan, particularly one that is outside both the Sunni dominated region and the rising Fatimid Ismā'īlī state. The Shajara also reveals that Abū Tammām made use of the vibrant scholastic milieu in the area of Greater Khurasan, drawing from a wide variety of sources that mostly happened to be non-Ismā'īlī in origin. From this foundation, however, Abū Tammām creates his own distinctly eastern, Neo-Platonic portrayal of the sects wherein the ordering of the sects themselves in the heresiography reflects the larger structure of the universe; more specifically, the unfolding of knowledge within the sects as they move towards the end of the heresiography (and thus closer to the views of the Ismā'īlīs as the "saving sect") echoes the series of emanations that created the cosmos as well as the necessary steps by which humankind can return to God. The Kitāb al-shajara, then, is a project to define a regional, Neo-Platonic Ismā'īlī orthodoxy. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Religion in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Master of Arts. / Spring Semester, 2014. / March 3, 2014. / Cosmology, Greater Khurasan, Heresiography, Isma'ili, Isma'ilism, Neo-Platonism / Includes bibliographical references. / Adam Gaiser, Professor Directing Thesis; Joseph Hellweg, Committee Member; Peter Garretson, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_253540 |
| Contributors | Beaver, Kimberly (authoraut), Gaiser, Adam (professor directing thesis), Hellweg, Joseph (committee member), Garretson, Peter (committee member), Department of Religion (degree granting department), Florida State University (degree granting institution) |
| Publisher | Florida State University, Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text |
| Format | 1 online resource, computer, application/pdf |
| Rights | This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). The copyright in theses and dissertations completed at Florida State University is held by the students who author them. |
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