The major theme of this book is authority in Shiism with special emphasis on its institutionalization in different historic periods from the beginning of Shiism in the Middle Ages to the present.

Part I presents new material on important or neglected issues that are at the center of current scholarly debate, including the fundamental relationship between knowledge and authority in pristine Shiism, aspects of popular culture in medieval Shiism, the institutionalization of religious authority in Shiite Iran from the 16th to 18th centuries, and the centralization of religious authority in...