the title of the religious leader and imam of the Ismaili Nizari
sect of Islam, originally bestowed by the Persian shah Fath Ali
on Hasan Ali Shah (1800-81), the 46th Ismaili imam, in 1818.
The first Aga Khan was also appointed as the governor of the
province of Kirman, a position he lost as a result of political
intrigues following Fath Ali's death. In 1839, he moved to India
where he aided the British during the first Anglo-Afghan war
(1839-42) and in the conquest of Sind (1842-43). He was
succeeded by his eldest son Ali Shah, Aga Khan II, who died in
1885. In turn, his son, Sultan Muhammad (1877-1957),
assumed the title of Aga Khan III, and played an instrumental
role in attempting to secure Muslim support for the British rule
of India. A founder of the All-India Muslim League (later the
Muslim League), he served as its president between 1909 and
1914. His visibility in international circles increased when he
served as the chairman of the British Indian delegation to the
imperial conference in London in 1930-31. He also represented
India at the Geneva disarmament conference (1932) and in the
League of Nations (1932, 1934-37), where he was president of
the General Assembly (1937). Later he played a significant role
in the movement to establish the Muslim state of Pakistan. He
was succeded by his grandson, Prince Karim (1937-), who
assumed the title Aga Khan IV and devoted a substantial part of
the wealth of the Ismaili community to development projects in
countries with a significant Ismaili population. His uncle, Prince
Sadruddin, was UN High Commissioner for Refugees
(1965-77), and has been active in other international
humanitarian causes. See The Collected Works of Aga Khan III
(1991); Willi Frischauer, The Aga Khans (1970).