Druze community

Timeline

1. 1017–1021Cairo · CairoDa'is such as Hamza ibn Ali preached openly in Cairo, proclaiming al-Hakim a manifestation of divinity, attracting Ismaili followers and establishing early organizational tiers, from which the Druze community took shape.
2. 1021–1030Cairo · CairoAfter al-Hakim disappeared, the succeeding caliph al-Zahir cracked down on the deification mission; the open Cairo organization collapsed, some da'is were killed or exiled, and doctrinal interpretation turned to awaiting al-Hakim's hidden return.
3. c. 1034–1043Cairo and Syria · LevantThe leadership stopped recruiting new converts externally, the epistolary scriptures were sealed as internal reading, and the Druze shifted from an expansionist da'wa to an endogamous, esoteric religious community, fixing its organizational boundaries.
4. 1050Mount Lebanon · Mount LebanonBelievers settled in Mount Lebanon, Hermon, and the Hauran, forming autonomous communities organized around villages and religious guides, maintaining an inward identity amid the alternation of crusaders and Islamic regimes, continuing to the present day.