Title of the imams of the Nizārī Ismā&ayn;ilī sect of Shī&ayn;ite Islam. The title was first granted in 1818 to &Hsubdot;asan &ayn;Alī Shah (1800–81) by the shah of Iran. As Aga Khan I, he later revolted against Iran (1838) and, defeated, fled to India. His eldest son, &ayn;Alī Shah (d.
1885), was briefly Aga Khan II. &ayn;Alī Shah's son Sultan Sir Mo&hsubdot;ammed Shah (1877–1957) became Aga Khan III. He acquired a leading position among India's Muslims, served as president of the All-India Muslim League, and played an important part in the Round Table conferences on Indian constitutional reform (1930–32); in 1937 he was appointed president of the League of Nations. He chose as his successor his grandson Karīm al-&Hsubdot;usayn Shah (b. 1937), who, as Aga Khan IV, became a strong leader; he founded the Aga Khan Foundation, an international philanthropic organization, and other agencies offering educational and other services.
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