Said Amir Arjomand's The Shadow of God and the Hidden Imam, published by the University of Chicago Press in 1984, is a major work of scholarship. Its strength is that it is a detailed historical study of how Shia clerical authority formed during the Safavid period, providing the historical background behind modern claims to clerical rule. Its limit is the ordinary one for a scholarly historical monograph: it is Arjomand's own reading of a complex institutional history, built from the sources available to him.
Facts
Assessment
Reliability Tier1
Reliability tier 1: a major scholarly work from a university press, a detailed historical study grounded in the sources available to its author. NotesOn the formation of Shia clerical authority in Iran from the Safavid period, and the historical background to modern claims for clerical rule.
Citation
AuthorSaid Amir Arjomand
PublisherUniversity of Chicago Press
Publication Year1984
Source Typeacademic monograph
Connections
Associated With
This source names Chicago directly: "Imam, published by the University of Chicago Press in 1984, is a major work of scholarship."
Source The Shadow of God and the Hidden ImamSaid Amir Arjomand
Claims Backed By This Source (9 claims)
This source backs 9 claims across the atlas. As facts: 7 well-attested. As cited relationships: 1 holds. Plus 1 entities citing it as a general reference with no single fact or relationship attached.
Disposition By Topic
- Sources, 8 claims: 7 well-attested, 1 holds.
- Religious Roles & Titles, 1 claims: 1 general references.
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