"Al-Mu'ayyad fi'l-Din al-Shirazi (d. 470/1087) was an outstanding Ismaili scholar of Persian origin. He excelled as a missionary-agent (da'i), statesman and poet. Towards the end of his long and active life, al-Mu'ayyad became the head of the Ismaili mission (da'wa) - the chief da'i - in the time of the Fatimid Caliph-Imam al-Mustansir in Cairo." "Based on his memoirs, Sirat al-Mu'ayyad fi'l-Din, this work provides an insight into the remarkable life and achievements of al-Mu'ayyad through important stages of his career. Written in a masterful Arabic literary style and rhetoric, the Sira describes in detail his daring attempt to win over the Buyid rulers of western Iran to the Fatimid cause; his flight to Cairo where his ambitions to be near the Imam are initially frustrated by powerful court officials; and finally, his expedition to Syria and Iraq as a Fatimid plenipotentiary to forge an alliance of local rulers against the Saljuq Turks invading the central Islamic lands from the East." "Through a close analysis of the Sira, the author of this book demonstrates that, in addition to being a personal account of a highly dedicated Fatimid da'i, this is a rich historical source on the organisation and function of the Ismaili mission. It is also an extensive and valuable source for Islamic history in the 5th/11th century, dealing with crucial events in the struggle between the Fatimids, Abbasids, Buyids and Saljuqs for political and military supremacy in the Muslim world. Thus, al-Mu'ayyad's memoirs serve as a unique magnifying glass concentrating the international political dynamics of the age in the narrative of one life and destiny."--Jacket.