The Shi ite Community in Baghdad, from the Beginning until the End of the Lesser Occultation

Baghdad is one of the places, where the Shi’ite faith has been influential, from early on. The Seventh and Ninth Shi’ite Imams, Mosa ibn Ja’far and Mohammad Taqi (peace be upon them), lived and martyred in the city. Many Shi’ite scholars and figures lived or spent sometime there. Also, during the Lesser Occultation, the four Deputies (Nowwab-e Arba’e) of the Twelfth Imam, whom were the religious authority for the Shi’a, lived there. In this paper, the city’s historical geography, districts, and religious communities are explored. Also, the formation of the Shi’ite community, their status under the Abbasid dynasty, their social and intellectual conditions during the Lesser Occultation, the four Deputies (Nowwab-e Arba’e) of the Twelfth Imam and their duties as well as the way the Shi’a contacted them are discussed in this paper.