The Sufi saint of Jam : history, religion and politics of a Sunni shrine in Shi'i Iran / Shivan Mahendrarajah.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction -- Part I. The Saint: 1. Biography and Hagiography -- 2. Saintdom and Patronage -- Part II. The Successors: 3. Ilkhanid/Kartid Eras to the Timurid Age -- 4. Safavid/Mughal Eras to the Islamic Republic -- Part III. The Shrine: 5. Setting, Architecture and Administration -- 6. Agro- and Hydro-Management -- 7. Public Service in the Catchment Area -- 8. Sacred Topography and Islamic Learning -- Part IV. The Sufis: 9. Doctrines and Practices -- Conclusion -- Appendix 1. Jami Genealogies -- Appendix 2. Khwajagan-Naqshbandi silsila and Jami Sufis -- Appendix 3. Bibliographical Survey -- Bibliography -- Index.

"The first part covers the saint's activities in Seljuq Iran. It reveals for the first time (in western scholarship) aspects of Ahmad-i Jam's biography that were redacted by Jami hagiographers. His initial training was with the Karrami sect (madhhab), but once they were branded "heretics," Ahmad's biography was revised. The second part describes how Ahmad-i Jam's successors accumulated wealth for the shrine and propagated his legacy. Marriage between the Karts and Jamis brought financial and architectural bounties to the shrine. A Jami Sufi shaykh and his royal acolyte, the Kart king, Ghiyath al-Din, transformed Ahmad's shrine into a complex. The shrine continued to prosper under the Timurids. Tamerlane visited Turbat-i Jam to pay homage at Ahmad's tomb. Temür's son, Shah-Rukh, became a devotee of Ahmad-i Jam, and visited the shrine to associate with his Sufi shaykh, the shrine's custodian and chief of its Sufi hospices. Mosques, domes, and madrasas were sponsored by Timurid officials, and charitableendowments (waqf) were established. Shah Rukh and his munificent spouse, Gawhar Shad, included benefits for Ahmad's shrine in their waqf deed for the Gawhar Shad Mosque in Mashhad. The third part, first chapter, describes the physical setting of the shrine and its architectural developments. Included are new schematics that were graciously made available by Sazman-i Miras-i Farhangi; photographs of the shrine in decay, from 1977 - the cusp of the Iranian Revolution - courtesy of Warwick Ball; and photographs of its present state. A discussion on the shrine's administration and waqfs follows. A list of known administrators (sgl. raʼis or mutawalli) is included"-- Provided by publisher.