Brethren of Purity

The Brethren of Purity were an ancient organisation founded well over a millennium before the Century War, during the time of the early Abbassid Caliphate, in Baghdad, Iraq. The purpose of the organisation was to preserve the lineage of the Shia Imams, so they could one day return to power and establish justice throughout the world. A secondary purpose was to manipulate the politics of the Sunni Islamic Caliphate, and prevent the latter from gaining too much influence in the world.

The organisation was founded by Imam Zaman, the last of the Twelve Imams of Shia Islam, who went into hiding to avoid death at the hands of the Sunni Caliphate. Imam Zaman adopted the name of Mansur ibn Muhammad and posed as a Sunni. He became a wealthy merchant.

Imam Zaman united with several closer followers to establish the Brethren of Purity, becoming the Imam al-Ikhwan (leader of the Brethren) and running the organisation from a hidden cave near Baghdad. After Imam Zaman's death, his son Imam Janshan moved the organisation from the secluded cave to a specially designed complex of vaults and catacombs beneath the House of Wisdom in Baghdad, a building that Janshan had constructed as a statesman of the Sunni Caliphate.

Janshan's many sons and grandsons came to dominate the Brethren and Purity, and eventually became the only members. Upon the death of Janshan, his son became Imam Khals. The line of Imams would continue in secret for over a millennium, up until after the Century War. After the destruction of the House of Wisdom by the Mongols during the High Middle Ages, the power base moved to the Al-Baqi Mausoleum in Arabia, among other places.

Imamah
The Imam al-Kubra or Imam al-Ikhwan was the name of the Imam as esoteric leader of the Brethren of Purity. Over fifty Imams succeeded to the title over the period of over 1000 years, all of whom being the first sons of the previous Imam (the inheritance being based on male-only primogeniture). Women were completely excluded from the organisation, and most of the wives of the Brethren were oblivious to the organisation's existence.