In contemporary settings, the term, Shi ism, is primarily used to refer to three extant Shi ite sects, Zaydism, Isma ilism and Twelverism. However, a careful review of earlier historical, biographical and heresiographical sources will reveal the existence of a diverse mosaic of early Shi ite sects and schools that once flourished and later became extinct due to various socio-political reasons.

Later Twelver and, to a lesser extent, Zaydi and Isma ili hegemony in the Shi ite realm has undermined and overshadowed the legacy of many earlier Shi ite schools and movements that often disagreed with the extant Shi ite schools on a variety of subjects. Furthermore, some of the extinct schools should not necessarily be regarded as independent sects; rather, they may. Similarly, they may prove to be multifactedly related to the extant Shi ite sects.
This concise book seeks to provide a brief visualized overview of the divergence of Shi ite sects with respect to the imamate, one of the core subjects of Shi ism as a whole. It includes a set of diagrams that outline the divergence (and occasional convergence) of early Shi ite schools with respect to the imamate.

Attempting to thoroughly summarize and visualize multifaceted and intricate theological disputes in flow diagrams is a difficult (and perhaps impossible) task, and this work accordingly is bound by various limitations. The diagrams in this book are not meant to be the be-all-and-end-all of research on this topic. To the contrary, they are intended to be mere gateways into further research and inquiry on the history, development and relationships of early Shi ite schools.

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