The Shiite sects in the first half of the third century

The first half of the third century (A.H) was a difficult time for the Shiism, because from one hand they had the pressures of the governmental administration and from other hand the advent of sects and ramifications have doubled the difficulties. The leading Shiite sects in this period were Zaydiyya (Zaydis), Fatahiyah, and Waqifiyah having remarkable role in the developments of that era. The Zaydiyya sect was more important than all for they had activities in political sphere and revolted against the Abbasid rule. Though most of them ended to sever defeats but with the support of such risings they continued their growth and upsurge and in the long run they succeeded establishing a state in Tabaristan. From other hand they had remarkable scientific activities. The prominent personalities such as Qasem Rasi found the space to flourish who was the pioneer of the Zaydiyya school of thought. Waqifiyah is another faction living in the Shiite community and due to their influence was scientifically more active than the rest of the cliques. Their major activity was to spread the traditions related to Mahdism. Ismailia was busy acting in this period in a low profile policy but nothing is recorded of their activities. Fatahiyya was another sect who despite suffering perversions had significant role in the Shiite traditions. This paper is going to examine the backgrounds of afore mentioned Shiite sects in this half a century particularly the Zaidis who used to manage simultaneously the political and scientific activities.