Being more acquainted with the efforts and goals of Western scholars active in 
the field of Mahdism is one of the major necessities of the modern era after the 
victory of the Islamic Revolution. One of the necessities of realizing this goal 
is to study the changes of Shiite studies, specifically the study of the Mahdism 
in the four periods of Shi'ism, focusing on the evolution of these studies in the 
historical turning point of 1979. In this research, by an extensive search on the 
works of the Orientalists in order to find Mahdavi studies, analyze the views 
and adapt the viewpoints to the events, it has been attempted to improve the 
quality of the information obtained. The product of this research is to 
familiarize with some of the extensive amount of Mahdavi studies of Western 
Orientalists and to examine some of their most important views. Considering 
the strengthening of Mahdavi's studies in the post-Islamic Revolution period, 
especially after the events of 9/11, given the special status and flagship of 
some anti-Islamic groups, such as Zionism in these studies, the widespread and 
well-organized entry of religious and academic institutions into the realm of 
Western Mahdi-researchers is necessary.