page_title: Druze
section_title: Early history
hierarchical_section_title: Druze / History / Early history
caption_attribution_description: English: Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah (996-1021), sixth Fatimid caliph and 16th Ismaili imam.
context_page_description: The Druze are an Arabic-speaking esoteric ethnoreligious group originating in Western Asia who self-identify as The People of Monotheism. Jethro of Midian is considered an ancestor of Druze, who revere him as their spiritual founder and chief prophet. It is a monotheistic and Abrahamic religion based on the teachings of Hamza ibn Ali ibn Ahmad and the sixth Fatimid caliph, al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, and Ancient Greek philosophers such as Plato, Aristotle, Pythagoras, and Zeno of Citium.
  The Epistles of Wisdom is the foundational text of the Druze faith. The Druze faith incorporates elements of Isma'ilism, a branch of Shia Islam, Gnosticism, Christianity, Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Neoplatonism, Pythagoreanism, and other philosophies and beliefs, creating a distinct and secretive theology based on an esoteric interpretation of scripture, which emphasises the role of the mind and truthfulness. Druze believe in theophany and reincarnation or the transmigration of the soul. Druze believe that at the end of the cycle of rebirth, which is achieved through successive reincarnations, the soul is united with the Cosmic Mind.
context_section_description: The Druze faith began as an Isma'ili movement that was opposed to certain religious and philosophical ideologies that were present during that epoch. The divine call or unitarian call is the Druze period of time that was opened at sunset on Thursday 30 May 1017 by the Fatimid caliph al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah and closed in 1043 by al-Muqtana Baha'uddin, henceforth prohibiting anyone else from converting to the Druze faith.
  The faith was preached by Hamza ibn Ali ibn Ahmad, an Ismaili mystic and scholar from Zozan, Khorasan, in the Samanid Empire. He came to Fatimid Egypt in 1014 or 1016 and assembled a group of scholars and leaders from across the world to establish the Unitarian movement. The order's meetings were held in the Raydan Mosque, near the Al-Hakim Mosque.
  In 1017, Hamza officially revealed the Druze faith and began to preach the Unitarian doctrine. Hamza gained the support of the Fātimid caliph al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, who issued a decree promoting religious freedom prior to the declaration of the divine call.
  Remove ye the causes of fear and estrangement from yourselves. Do away with the corruption of delusion and conformity. Be ye certain that the Prince of Believers hath given unto you free will, and hath spared you the trouble of disguising and concealing your true beliefs, so that when ye work ye may keep your deeds pure for God. He hath done thus so that when you relinquish your previous beliefs and doctrines ye shall not indeed lean on such causes of impediments and pretensions. By conveying to you the reality of his intention, the Prince of Believers hath spared you any excuse for doing so. He hath urged you to declare your belief openly. Ye are now safe from any hand which may bring harm unto you. Ye now may find rest in his assurance ye shall not be wronged. Let those who are present convey this message unto the absent so that it may be known by both the distinguished and the common people. It shall thus become a rule to mankind; and Divine Wisdom shall prevail for all the days to come.
  Al-Hakim became a central figure in the Druze faith even though his own religious position was disputed among scholars. John Esposito states that al-Hakim believed that "he was not only the divinely appointed religio-political leader, but also the cosmic intellect linking God with creation", while others like Nissim Dana and Mordechai Nisan state that he is perceived as the manifestation and the reincarnation of God or presumably the image of God.
  Little information is known about the early life of al-Darazi. According to most sources, he was born in Bukhara. He is believed to have been of Persian origins and his title al-Darazi is Persian in origin, meaning "the tailor". He arrived in Cairo in 1015, or 1017, after which he joined the newly-emerged Druze movement.
  He was the leader of an army that was sent from Cairo to put down the uprising of the Unitarian movement that started in the mountains of Lebanon to unite Christians and Muslim Sunni and Shiʻa under one God. Al-Darazi's army was around 200,000 men while the Unitarian movement that started in the Choufe Mountains of Lebanon and the Houran Mountains of Syria had less than 10,000 men.  The two sides met in battle north of Jerusalem. Al-Darazi's army was destroyed and he was captured. As a result of this victory, the Unitarian movement was called at that time the movement that destroyed the army of al-Darazi.
  After the battle, al-Darazi was converted to be one of the early preachers of the Unitarian faith. At that time, the movement enlisted a large number of adherents. However, he was later considered a renegade and is usually described by the Druze as following the traits of satan, in particular, arrogance.
  This view is based on the observation that as the number of his followers grew, he became obsessed with his leadership and gave himself the title "The Sword of the Faith". In the Epistles of Wisdom, Hamza ibn Ali ibn Ahmad warns al-Darazi, saying, "Faith does not need a sword to aid it". However, al-Darazi ignored Hamza's warnings and continued to challenge the I
caption: Sixth Fatimid caliph, al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah
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