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Definition
The Imam (spiritual leader) of the Nizari branch of the Shia Ismaili Muslims.
The Title
A hereditary title, meaning lord and master, bestowed upon the 46th Nizari Ismaili Imam (spiritual leader), Hasan Ali Shah, by the Qajar monarch Fath Ali Shah in the early part of the nineteenth century. Hasan Ali Shah, Aga Khan I, was the first Ismaili Imam to migrate from Persia to the Indian subcontinent in 1842, where he made his residence. The present Aga Khan (IV) is Prince Karim al-Husayni.
Aga Khan I
Aga Khan I, who had maintained close associations with the British since his arrival to Sind from Persia in 1842, aided the British in Sind and Baluchistan in 1843. He hoped that due to his cordial relations with the British, they would eventually arrange for him to return to Persia. In 1844, en route to Mumbai, he passed through Kacch and Kathiawar where he spent time with his Indian Nizari Ismaili followers. Over the course of time, Aga Khan I established his permanent...
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References
Aga Khan (1954) World enough and time: memoirs of Sir Sultan Mohammad Shah Aga Khan III. Simon and Schuster, New York
Daftary F (2007) The Ismailis, their history and doctrine. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Daftary F (1998) A short history of the Ismailis: traditions of a Muslim community. Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh
Frischauer W (1970) The Aga Khans. Bodley Head, London
Thobani A (1993) Islam’s quiet revolutionary: the story of Aga Khan IV. Vantage Press, New York
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Mawani, S., Mukadam, A. (2018). Aga Khan. In: Kassam, Z.R., Greenberg, Y.K., Bagli, J. (eds) Islam, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism. Encyclopedia of Indian Religions. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-1267-3_775
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