Fatimid Succession Crisis Splits Ismaili Islam

1094

The death of al-Mustansir triggered a succession dispute that would permanently fracture Ismaili Shi'ism. The vizier al-Afdal installed the younger son al-Musta'li on the throne, bypassing the elder Nizar, whose supporters fled to Persia and the mountain fortress of Alamut. The Nizari-Musta'li schism created two irreconcilable branches of Ismaili Islam - a division that persists to this day, with the Aga Khan leading the Nizari line.