Nūrollāh Šūštarī on Shi’i Notables

Nūrollāh Šūštarī’s (d. 1019/1610) Maǧāles al-moʾmenīn (Assemblies of the Believers) is an extensive work on distinguished Shi’i figures throughou thistory. The author, trained in Safavid lands, composed this work while residing in the Mughal empire.There, he was associated with the court of Akbar (r.963–1014/[1556]–1605).The present article introduces various aspects of Šūštarī’s project and examines what might have motivated him to undertake such a significant task. It also touches on the internal challenges found in the circles of the Shi’i scholars, with which the author was intellectually engaged, and dis-cusses later critics of the work.