Hamdān Qarmat

Hamdān Qarmat ibn al-Aschʿath ( Arabic حمدان قرمط بن الأشعث, DMG Hamdan Qarmat ibn al-Aš'aṯ ) was a missionary of the Ismailis in Iraq at the end of the 9th century.

Hamdan Qarmat was a very early Ismailite supporter in Iraq. He recognized the leadership in the Syrian Salamya (the later Fatimids ), which claimed the substitute for the hidden seventh Imam Muhammad ibn Ismail. In the last quarter of the 9th century he took over the leadership of the mission and was able to win a broad following among the peasants of Iraq, but also in the circles of the Baghdad court aristocracy and imperial administration.

Under al-Jannabi , the influence of the Ismailis could also be expanded in the Gulf region of al-Hasa and Bahrain . Like the missionaries Ibn Hauschab and Abū ʿAbdallāh asch-Shīʿī , Hamdan Qarmat also began to arm his followers and established a first fortified base in Mahtamabad near Kufa in 892 .

In 899, however, a split occurred when Said ( Abdallah al-Mahdi ) and not the expected Muhammad ibn Ismail revealed himself to be the Imam of the Ismailis in Salamya. The fact that Said claimed the Imamate for himself and his descendants was not recognized by many Ismailis, especially in Iraq. Hamdan Qarmat also retained the original Mahdi figure. Even if Hamdan Qarmat disappeared after the split, his followers in Iraq and especially in Eastern Arabia had a very great influence until the 11th century. After Hamdan Qarmat they were called Qarmats .

literature

• Heinz Halm : The Empire of Mahdi , CH Beck Munich, 1991