NajranNajran (نجران ), is a city in southwestern Saudi Arabia near the border with Yemen. It is the capital of Najran Province. Designated as a new town, Najran is one of the fastest-growing cities in the kingdom; its population has risen from 47,500 in 1974 and 90,983 in 1992 to 246,880 in 2004 and 505,652 in 2017. The population mostly originates from the ancient tribes of Yām, Mákram, and Hamdan. Najranis are Muslims, with Ismailis forming a plurality.
GhulatThe ghulāt (غُلَاة, 'exaggerators', 'extremists', 'transgressors', singular ghālin) were a branch of early Shi'i Muslims. The term mainly refers to a wide variety of now extinct Shi'i sects who were active in 8th/9th-century Kufa (southern Iraq), and who despite their sometimes significant differences shared a number of common ideas.
Alamut CastleAlamut (الموت, meaning "eagle's nest") is a ruined mountain fortress located in the Alamut region in the South Caspian province of Qazvin near the Masoudabad region in Iran, approximately 200 km (130 mi) from present-day Tehran. In 1090 AD, the Alamut Castle, a mountain fortress in present-day Iran, came into the possession of Hassan-i Sabbah, a champion of the Nizari Ismaili cause. Until 1256, Alamut functioned as the headquarters of the Nizari Ismaili state, which included a series of strategic strongholds scattered throughout Persia and Syria, with each stronghold being surrounded by swathes of hostile territory.
KaysanitesThe Kaysanites (Kaysāniyya) were a Shi'i sect of Islam that formed from the followers of Al-Mukhtar. They traced Imamate from Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah and his descendants. The name Kaysaniyya was most likely derived from the name of Mukhtar's chief guard, Abu Amra Kaysan. The followers of Al-Mukhtar who emerged from his movement (including all subsequent sub-sects which evolved from his movement) who firstly upheld the Imamate of Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah and his descendants or any other designated successors were initially named the "Mukhtariyya" (after Al-Mukhtar), but were soon more commonly referred to as the "Kaysānīyya" (i.