HE eighth Naw-Ruz after
the Declaration of the Bab, which fell on the twenty-seventh day of the
month of Jamadiyu'l-Avval, in the year 1268 A.H.,(1)
found Baha'u'llah still in Iraq, engaged in spreading
the teachings, and making firm the foundations, of the
New Revelation. Displaying an enthusiasm and ability that
recalled His activities in the early days of the Movement in
Nur and Mazindaran, He continued to devote Himself to the
task of reviving the energies, of organising the forces, and of
directing the efforts, of the Bab's scattered companions. He
was the sole light amidst the darkness that encompassed the
bewildered disciples who had witnessed, on the one hand, the
cruel martyrdom of their beloved Leader and, on the other,
the tragic fate of their companions. He alone was able to
inspire them with the needful courage and fortitude to endure
the many afflictions that had been heaped upon them; He
alone was capable of preparing them for the burden of the
task they were destined to bear, and of inuring them to
brave the storm and perils they were soon to face.
In the course of the spring of that year, Mirza Taqi
Khan, the Amir-Nizam, the Grand Vazir of Nasiri'd-Din
Shah, who had been guilty of such infamous outrages against
the Bab an His companions, met his death in a public bath
in Fin, near Kashan,(2) having miserably failed to stay the
He was succeeded by Mirza Aqa Khan-i-Nuri,(1) who endeavoured,
at the very outset of his ministry, to effect a
reconciliation between the government of which he was the
head and Baha'u'llah, whom he regarded as the most capable
He arrived in the capital in the month of Rajab,(2) and
was welcomed by the Grand Vazir's brother, Ja'far-Quli
Khan, who had been specially directed to go forth to receive
Him. For one whole month, He was the honoured Guest of
I have heard it stated by Aqay-i-Kalim that in the course
of that journey Baha'u'llah was able to meet Azim, who had
been endeavouring for a long time to see Him, and who in
that interview was advised, in the most emphatic terms, to
abandon the plan he had conceived. Baha'u'llah condemned
his designs, dissociated Himself entirely from the act it was
his intention to commit, and warned him that such an attempt
would precipitate fresh disasters of unprecedented
magnitude.
Baha'u'llah proceeded to Lavasan, and was staying in
the village of Afchih, the property of the Grand Vazir, when
the news of the attempt on the life of Nasiri'd-Din Shah
reached Him. Ja'far-Quli Khan was still acting as His host
on behalf of the Amir-Nizam. That criminal act was committed
towards the end of the month of Shavval, in the year
1268 A.H.,(2) by two obscure and irresponsible young men, one
named Sadiq-i-Tabrizi, the other Fathu'llah-i-Qumi, both
of whom earned their livelihood in Tihran. At a time when
the imperial army, headed by the Shah himself, had encamped
in Shimiran, these two ignorant youths, in a frenzy of despair,
arose to avenge the blood of their slaughtered brethren.(3)
That act, though committed by wild and feeble-minded
fanatics, and in spite of its being from the very first emphatically
condemned by no less responsible a person than
Baha'u'llah, was the signal for the outbreak of a series of
persecutions and massacres of such barbarous ferocity as
could be compared only to the atrocities of Mazindaran and
Zanjan. The storm to which that act gave rise plunged the
whole of Tihran into consternation and distress. It involved
the life of the leading companions who had survived the
calamities to which their Faith had been so cruelly and repeatedly
subjected. That storm was still raging when Baha'u'llah,
with some of His ablest lieutenants, was plunged into
a filthy, dark, and fever-stricken dungeon, whilst chains of
such weight as only notorious criminals were condemned to
carry, were placed upon His neck. For no less than four
months He bore the burden, and such was the intensity of
His suffering that the marks of that cruelty remained imprinted
upon His body all the days of His life.
So grave a menace to their sovereign and to the institutions
of his realm stirred the indignation of the entire body
of the ecclesiastical order of Persia. To them so bold a deed
called for immediate and condign punishment. Measures of
unprecedented severity, they clamoured, should be undertaken
to stem the tide that was engulfing both the government
and the Faith of Islam. Despite the restraint which
the followers of the Bab had exercised ever since the inception
of the Faith in every part of the land; despite the repeated
charges of the chief disciples to their brethren enjoining them
Ja'far-Quli Khan, who was in Shimiran when the attempt
on the Shah's life was made, immediately wrote a letter to
Baha'u'llah and acquainted Him with what had happened.
"The Shah's mother," he wrote, "is inflamed with anger.
She is denouncing you openly before the court and people as
the `would-be murderer' of her son. She is also trying to
involve Mirza Aqa Khan in this affair, and accuses him
of being your accomplice." He urged Baha'u'llah to remain
for a time concealed in that neighbourhood, until the passion
of the populace had subsided. He despatched to Afchih an
old and experienced messenger whom he ordered to be at the
Baha'u'llah refused to avail Himself of the opportunity
Ja'far-Quli Khan offered Him. Ignoring the messenger and
rejecting his offer, He rode out, the next morning, with calm
confidence, from Lavasan, where He was sojourning, to the
headquarters of the imperial army, which was then stationed
in Niyavaran, in the Shimiran district. Arriving at
the village of Zarkandih, the seat of the Russian legation,
which lay at a distance of one maydan(1) from Niyavaran,
He was met by Mirza Majid, His brother-in-law, who acted
as secretary to the Russian minister,(2) and was invited by him
to stay at his home, which adjoined that of his superior. The
attendants of Haji Ali Khan, the Hajibu'd-Dawlih, recognised
Him and went straightway to inform their master,
who in turn brought the matter to the attention of the
Shah.
The news of the arrival of Baha'u'llah greatly surprised
the officers of the imperial army. Nasiri'd-Din Shah himself
was amazed at the bold and unexpected step which a man
who was accused of being the chief instigator of the attempt
upon his life had taken. He immediately sent one of his
trusted officers to the legation, demanding that the Accused
be delivered into his hands. The Russian minister refused,
and requested Baha'u'llah to proceed to the home of Mirza
Aqa Khan, the Grand Vazir, a place he thought to be the most
appropriate under the circumstances. His request was
granted, whereupon the minister formally communicated to
the Grand Vazir his desire that the utmost care should be
exercised to ensure the safety and protection of the Trust
his government was delivering into his keeping, warning him
that he would hold him responsible should he fail to disregard
his wishes.(3)
Mirza Aqa Khan, though he undertook to give the fullest
assurances that were required, and received Baha'u'llah with
every mark of respect into his home, was, however, too apprehensive
As Baha'u'llah was leaving the village of Zarkandih, the
minister's daughter, who felt greatly distressed at the dangers
which beset His life, was so overcome with emotion that she
was unable to restrain her tears. "Of what use," she was
heard expostulating with her father, "is the authority with
which you have been invested, if you are powerless to extend
your protection to a guest whom you have received in your
house?" The minister, who had a great affection for his daughter,
was moved by the sight of her tears, and sought to com-
That day the army of Nasiri'd-Din Shah was thrown into
a state of violent tumult. The peremptory orders of the
sovereign, following so closely upon the attempt on his life,
gave rise to the wildest rumours and excited the fiercest
passions in the hearts of the people of the, neighbourhood.
The agitation spread to Tihran and fanned into flaming fury
the smouldering embers of hatred which the enemies of the
Cause still nourished in their hearts. Confusion, unprecedented
in its range, reigned in the capital. A word of denunciation,
a sign, or a whisper was sufficient to subject the
Baha'u'llah, now that the Bab was no more, appeared
in their eyes to be the arch-foe whom they deemed it their
first duty to seize and imprison. To them He was the reincarnation
of the Spirit the Bab had so powerfully manifested,
the Spirit through which He had been able to accomplish
so complete a transformation in the lives and
habits of His countrymen. The precautions the Russian
minister had taken, and the warning he had uttered, failed
to stay the hand that had been outstretched with such determination
against that precious Life.
From Shimiran to Tihran, Baha'u'llah was several times
The Siyah-Chal, into which Baha'u'llah was thrown,
originally a reservoir of water for one of the public baths of
Tihran, was a subterranean dungeon in which criminals of
the worst type were wont to be confined. The darkness, the
filth, and the character of the prisoners, combined to make
of that pestilential dungeon the most abominable place to
which human beings could be condemned. His feet were
placed in stocks, and around His neck were fastened the
Qara-Guhar chains, infamous throughout Persia for their
galling weight.(1) For three days and three nights, no manner
of food or drink was given to Baha'u'llah. Rest and sleep
were both impossible to Him. The place was infested with
vermin, and the stench of that gloomy abode was enough
to crush the very spirits of those who were condemned to
suffer its horrors. Such were the conditions under which He
was held down that even one of the executioners who were
watching over Him was moved with pity. Several times this
man attempted to induce Him to take some tea which he
had managed to introduce into the dungeon under the cover
of his garments. Baha'u'llah, however, would refuse to
drink it. His family often endeavoured to persuade the
As to the youth Sadiq-i-Tabrizi, the fate he suffered was
as cruel as it was humiliating. He was seized at the moment
he was rushing towards the Shah, whom he had thrown from
his horse, hoping to strike him with the sword he held in his
hand. The Shatir-Bashi, together with the Mustawfiyu'l-Mamalik's
attendants, fell upon him and, without attempting
to learn who he was, slew him on the spot. Wishing
to allay the excitement of the populace, they hewed his body
into two halves, each of which they suspended to the public
His comrade, Haji Qasim, was treated with a savagery
still more revolting. On the very day Haji Sulayman Khan
was being subjected to that terrible ordeal, this poor wretch
was receiving similar treatment at the hands of his persecutors
in Shimiran. He was stripped of his clothes, lighted
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Each of those days of terror witnessed the martyrdom of
two companions of the Bab, one of whom was slain in Tihran,
whilst the other met his fate in Shimiran. Both were subjected
to the same manner of torture, both were handed over to the
public to wreak their vengeance upon them. Those arrested
were distributed among the various classes of people, whose
messengers would visit the dungeon each day and claim their
Of all the tortures which an insatiable enemy inflicted
upon its victims, none was more revolting in its character
than that which characterised the death of Haji Sulayman
Khan. He was the son of Yahya Khan, one of the officers
in the service of the Nayibu's-Saltanih, who was the father
of Muhammad Shah. He retained that same position in the
early days of the reign of Muhammad Shah. Haji Sulayman
Khan showed from his earliest years a marked disinclination
to rank and office. Ever since the day of his acceptance of
Soon after the martyrdom of a certain Mulla Zaynu'l-'Abidin-i-Yazdi,
a rumour was spread that those whom the
government intended to put to death, among whom were
Siyyid Husayn, the Bab's amanuensis, and Tahirih, were
to be released and that further persecution of their friends
was to be definitely abandoned. It was reported far and
wide that the Amir-Nizam, deeming the hour of his death
to be approaching, had been seized suddenly with a great
fear and, in an agony of repentance, had exclaimed: "I am
haunted by the vision of the Siyyid-i-Bab, whom I have
caused to be martyred. I can now see the fearful mistake
I have made. I should have restrained the violence of those
who pressed me to shed his blood and that of his companions.
I now perceive that the interests of the State required it."
His successor, Mirza Aqa Khan, was similarly inclined in the
early days of his administration, and was intending to inaugurate
his ministry with a lasting reconciliation between
him and the followers of the Bab. He was preparing to
I have heard the Most Great Branch,(1) who in those days
was a child of only eight years of age, recount one of His
experiences as He ventured to leave the house in which He
was then residing. "We had sought shelter, He told us,
"in the house of My uncle, Mirza Isma'il. Tihran was in the
throes of the wildest excitement. I ventured at times to
sally forth from that house and to cross the street on My
way to the market. I would hardly cross the threshold and
step into the street, when boys of My age, who were running
about, would crowd around Me crying, `Babi! Babi. Knowing
well the state of excitement into which all the inhabitants
of the capital, both young and old, had fallen, I would deliberately
ignore their clamour and quietly steal away to
My home. One day I happened to be walking alone through
the market on My way to My uncle's house. As I was looking
behind Me, I found a band of little ruffians running fast to
overtake Me. They were pelting Me with stones and shouting
menacingly, `Babi! Babi!' To intimidate them seemed
to be the only way I could avert the danger with which I
was threatened. I turned back and rushed towards them with
such determination that they fled away in distress and vanished.
I could hear their distant cry, `The little Babi is fast
pursuing us! He will surely overtake and slay us all!' As
I was directing My steps towards home, I heard a man
shouting at the top of his voice: `Well done, you brave and
fearless child! No one of your age would ever have been
able, unaided, to withstand their attack.' From that day
onward, I was never again molested by any of the boys of
the streets, nor did I hear any offensive word fall from their
lips."
Among those who, in the midst of the general confusion,
were seized and thrown into prison was Haji Sulayman
Khan, the circumstances of whose martyrdom I now proceed
to relate. The facts I mention have been carefully sifted and
verified by me, and I owe them, for the most part, to Aqay-i-Kalim,
who was himself in those days in Tihran and was made
"`The investigation of hajibu'd-Dawlih convinced him
of the innocence of Haji Sulayman Khan. The accused, as
soon as he had been informed of the instructions of his sovereign,
was heard joyously exclaiming: "Never, so long as
my life-blood continues to pulsate in my veins, shall I be
willing to recant my faith in my Beloved! This world which
the Commander of the Faithful(3) has likened to carrion will
never allure me from my heart's Desire." He was asked to
"`Hajibu'd-Dawlih instructed his men to abide by the
expressed wishes of Haji Sulayman Khan, and charged me
to conduct him through the market as far as the place of his
execution. As they handed to the victim the candles they
had purchased, and were preparing to thrust their knives into
his breast, he made a sudden attempt to seize the weapon
from the executioner's trembling hands in order to plunge
it himself into his flesh. "Why fear and hesitate?" he cried,
as he stretched forth his arm to snatch the knife from his grasp.
"Let me myself perform the deed and light the candles."
Fearing lest he should attack us, I ordered my men to resist
his attempt and bade them tie his hands behind his back.
"Let me," he pleaded, point out with my fingers the places
into which I wish them to thrust their dagger, for I have no
other request to make besides this."
"`He asked them to pierce two holes in his breast, two
in his shoulders, one in the nape of his neck, and the four
others in his back. With stoic calm he endured those tortures.
Steadfastness glowed in his eyes as he maintained a mysterious
and unbroken silence. Neither the howling of the multitude
nor the sight of the blood that streamed all over his body
could induce him to interrupt that silence. Impassive and
serene he remained until all the nine candles were placed in
position and lighted.
"`When all was completed for his march to the scene
"`I cannot recall the exclamations of joy which fell from
his lips as he drew near to his end. All I remember are but a
few of the stirring words which, in his moments of exultation,
he was moved to cry out to the concourse of spectators.
Words fail me to portray the expression of that countenance
or to measure the effect of his words on the multitude.
"`He was still in the bazaar when the blowing of a breeze
excited the burning of the candles that were placed upon
his breast. As they melted rapidly, their flames reached
the level of the wounds into which they had been thrust.
We who were following a few steps behind him could hear
distinctly the sizzling of his flesh. The sight of gore and fire
"`Pain and suffering seemed to have melted away in the
ardour of that enthusiasm. Enveloped by the flames, he
walked as a conqueror might have marched to the scene of
his victory. He moved through the excited crowd a blaze
of light amidst the gloom that surrounded him. Arriving
at the foot of the gallows, he again raised his voice in a last
appeal to the multitude of onlookers: "Did not this Sulayman
whom you now see before you a prey to fire and blood,
enjoy until recently all the favours and riches the world can
bestow? What could have caused him to renounce this earthly
glory and accept in return such great degradation and suffering?"
Prostrating himself in the direction of the shrine of the
Imam-Zadih Hasan, he murmured certain words in Arabic
which I could not understand. "My work is now finished!"
he cried to the executioner, as soon as his prayer was ended.
"Come and do yours!" He was still alive when his body was
hewn into two halves with a hatchet. The praise of his
Beloved, despite such incredible sufferings, lingered upon
his lips until the last moment of his life.'(1)
"That tragic tale stirred the listeners to the very depths
of their souls. The Nizamu'l-'Ulama, who was listening intently
Those days of unceasing turmoil witnessed the martyrdom
of yet another eminent disciple of the Bab. A woman,
no less great and heroic than Tahirih herself, was engulfed
in the storm that was then raging with undiminished violence
throughout the capital. What I now begin to relate regarding
the circumstances of her martyrdom has been obtained
from trustworthy informants, some of whom were themselves
witnesses of the events I am attempting to describe.
Her stay in Tihran was marked by many proofs of the warm
"The great love I cherished for her in my heart, alone
enabled me to abide by her instructions. But for the compelling
desire I felt to fulfil her wishes, I would never have
consented to deprive myself of one moment of her presence.
"With these words she bade me her last farewell, and,
accompanied by my son, disappeared from before my eyes.
What pangs of anguish I felt that moment, as I beheld her
beauteous form gradually fade away in the distance! She
mounted the steed which the Sardar had sent for her, and,
escorted by my son and a number of attendants, who marched
on each side of her, rode out to the garden that was to be
the scene of her martyrdom.
"Three hours later my son returned, his face drenched
with tears, hurling imprecations at the Sardar and his abject
lieutenants. I tried to calm his agitation, and, seating him
beside me, asked him to relate as fully as he could the circumstances
of her death. `Mother,' he sobbingly replied,
`I can scarcely attempt to describe what my eyes have beheld.
We straightway proceeded to the Ilkhani garden,(2)
"When I went to the Sardar, I found him in a state of
wretched intoxication. `Interrupt not the gaiety of our
festival!' I heard him shout as I approached him. `Let
that miserable wretch be strangled and her body be thrown
into a pit!' I was greatly surprised at such an order. Believing
it unnecessary to venture any request from him, I
went to two of his attendants, with whom I was already
acquainted, and gave them the kerchief with which Tahirih
had entrusted me. They consented to grant her request.
That same kerchief was wound round her neck and was
made the instrument of her martyrdom. I hastened immediately
afterwards to the gardener and asked him whether
I wept hot tears as my son unfolded to my eyes that
tragic tale. I was so overcome with emotion that I fell
prostrate and unconscious upon the ground. When I had
recovered, I found my son a prey to an agony no less severe
than my own. He lay upon his couch, weeping in a passion
of devotion. Beholding my plight, he approached and comforted
me. `Your tears,' he said, `will betray you in the eyes
of my father. Considerations of rank and position will, no
doubt, induce him to forsake us and sever whatever ties
bind him to this home. He will, if we fail to repress our tears,
accuse us before Nasiri'd-Din Shah, as victims of the charm
of a hateful enemy. He will obtain the sovereign's consent
to our death, and will probably, with his own hands, proceed
to slay us. Why should we, who have never embraced that
Cause, allow ourselves to suffer such a fate at his hands?
All we should do is to defend her against those who denounce
her as the very negation of chastity and honour. We should
ever treasure her love in our hearts and maintain in the face
of a slanderous enemy the integrity of that life.'
"His words allayed my inner agitation. I went to her
chest and, with the key she had placed in my hand, opened
it. I found a small vial of the choicest perfume, beside which
lay a rosary, a coral necklace, and three rings, mounted with
turquoise, cornelian, and ruby stones. As I gazed upon her
earthly belongings, I mused over the circumstances of her
eventful life, and recalled, with a throb of wonder, her intrepid
courage, her zeal, her high sense of duty and unquestioning
devotion. I was reminded of her literary attainments, and
brooded over the imprisonments, the shame, and the calumny
which she had faced with a fortitude such as no other woman
"On the third day after her martyrdom,(1) the woman
whose coming she had promised arrived. I enquired her
name, and, finding it to be the same as the one Tahirih had
told me, delivered into her hands the package with which I
had been entrusted. I had never before met that woman,
nor did I ever see her again."(2)
The name of that immortal woman was Fatimih, a name
which her father had bestowed upon her. She was surnamed
Umm-i-Salmih by her family and kindred, who also designated
her as Zakiyyih. She was born in the year 1233 A.H.,(3)
the very year which witnessed the birth of Baha'u'llah. She
was thirty-six years of age when she suffered martyrdom in
Tihran. May future generations be enabled to present a
Another distinguished figure among the disciples of the
Bab who met his death during the turbulent time that had
overwhelmed Tihran was Siyyid Husayn-i-Yazdi, who was
the Bab's amanuensis both in Mah-Ku and Chihriq. Such
was his knowledge of the teachings of the Faith that the
Bab, in a Tablet addressed to Mirza Yahya, urged the latter
to seek enlightenment from him in whatever might pertain
to the sacred writings. A man of standing and experience,
in whom the Bab reposed the utmost confidence and with
whom he had been intimately associated, he suffered, after
the martyrdom of his Master in Tabriz, the agony of a long
confinement in the subterranean dungeon of Tihran, which
confinement terminated in his martyrdom. To a very great
I now proceed to relate what befell the remaining companions
of the Bab, those who had been privileged to share
the horrors of the confinement with Baha'u'llah. From His
own lips I have often heard the following account: "All those
who were struck down by the storm that raged during that
memorable year in Tihran were Our fellow-prisoners in the
Siyah-Chal, where We were confined. We were all huddled
together in one cell, our feet in stocks, and around our necks
fastened the most galling of chains. The air we breathed was
laden with the foulest impurities, while the floor on which
"One day, there was brought to Our prison a tray of
roasted meat, which they informed Us the Shah had ordered
to be distributed among the prisoners. `The Shah,' We were
told, `faithful to a vow he made, has chosen this day to offer
to you all this lamb in fulfilment of his pledge.' A deep silence
fell upon Our companions, who expected Us to make answer
on their behalf. `We return this gift to you,' We replied;
`we can well dispense with this offer.' The answer We made
would have greatly irritated the guards had they not been eager
to devour the food we had refused to touch. Despite the
hunger with which Our companions were afflicted, only one
among them, a certain Mirza Husayn-i-Matavalliy-i-Qumi,
showed any desire to eat of the food the sovereign had chosen
to spread before us. With a fortitude that was truly heroic,
Our fellow-prisoners submitted, without a murmur, to endure
the piteous plight to which they were reduced. Praise of
God, instead of complaint of the treatment meted out to
them by the Shah, fell unceasingly from their lips--praise
with which they sought to beguile the hardships of a cruel
captivity.
"Every day Our gaolers, entering Our cell, would call the
name of one of Our companions, bidding him arise and follow
"We were awakened one night, ere break of day, by Mirza
Abdu'l-Vahhab-i-Shirazi, who was bound with Us to the
same chains. He had left Kazimayn and followed Us to
Tihran, where he was arrested and thrown into prison. He
asked Us whether We were awake, and proceeded to relate to
Us his dream. `I have this night,' he said, `been soaring
into a space of infinite vastness and beauty. I seemed to be
uplifted on wings that carried me wherever I desired to go.
A feeling of rapturous delight filled my soul. I flew in the
midst of that immensity with a swiftness and ease that I
cannot describe.' `To-day,' We replied, `it will be your turn
to sacrifice yourself for this Cause. May you remain firm
and steadfast to the end. You will then find yourself soaring
in that same limitless space of which you dreamed, traversing
with the same ease and swiftness the realm of immortal sovereignty,
and gazing with that same rapture upon the Infinite
Horizon.'
"That morning saw the gaoler again enter Our cell and
call out the name of Abdu'l-Vahhab. Throwing off his chains,
he sprang to his feet, embraced each of his fellow-prisoners,
and, taking Us into his arms, pressed Us lovingly to his heart.
That moment We discovered that he had no shoes to wear
We gave him Our own, and, speaking a last word of encouragement
and cheer, sent him forth to the scene of his
martyrdom. Later on, his executioner came to Us, praising
in glowing language the spirit which that youth had shown.
All this suffering and the cruel revenge the authorities
had taken on those who had attempted the life of their
sovereign failed to appease the anger of the Shah's mother.
Day and night she persisted in her vindictive clamour, demanding
the execution of Baha'u'llah, whom she still regarded
as the real author of the crime. "Deliver him to the
executioner!" she insistently cried to the authorities. "What
greater humiliation than this, that I, who am the mother of
the Shah, should be powerless to inflict upon that criminal
the punishment so dastardly an act deserves!" Her cry for
vengeance, which an impotent rage served to intensify, was
doomed to remain unanswered. Despite her machinations,
Baha'u'llah was saved from the fate she had so importunately
striven to precipitate. The Prisoner was eventually released
from His confinement, and was able to unfold and establish,
beyond the confines of the kingdom of her son, a sovereignty
the possibility of which she could never even have dreamed
of. The blood shed in the course of that fateful year in
Tihran by that heroic band with whom Baha'u'llah had been
imprisoned, was the ransom paid for His deliverance from
the hand of a foe that sought to prevent Him from achieving
the purpose for which God had destined Him. Ever since
the time He espoused the Cause of the Bab, He had never
neglected one single occasion to champion the Faith He had
embraced. He had exposed Himself to the perils which the
followers of the Faith had to face in its early days. He was
the first of the Bab's disciples to set the example of renunciation
and service to the Cause. Yet His life, beset as it was
by the risks and dangers that a career such as His was sure
to encounter, was spared by that same Providence who had
chosen Him for a task which He, in His wisdom, deemed it
as yet too soon to proclaim publicly.
The terror that convulsed Tihran was but one of the
many risks and dangers to which Baha'u'llah's life was exposed.
Men, women, and children in the capital trembled
at the ruthlessness with which the enemy pursued their
victims. A youth named Abbas, a former servant of Haji
Sulayman Khan, and fully informed, owing to the wide
This Abbas was taken to the Siyah-Chal and introduced
to Baha'u'llah, whom he had met previously on several
occasions in the company of his master, in the hope that he
would betray Him. They promised that the mother of the
Shah would amply reward him for such a betrayal. Every
time he was taken into Baha'u'llah's presence, Abbas, after
standing a few moments before Him and gazing upon His
face, would leave the place, emphatically denying ever having
seen Him. Having failed in their efforts, they resorted to
poison, in the hope of obtaining the favour of the mother of
The enemy was finally induced to cease regarding Him as
the prime mover of that attempt, and decided to transfer
the responsibility for this act to Azim, whom they now accused
of being the real author of the crime. By this means
they endeavoured to obtain the favour of the mother of the
Shah, a favour they greatly coveted. Haji Ali Khan was
only too happy to second their efforts. As he himself had
taken no share in imprisoning Baha'u'llah, he seized upon
the occasion which offered itself to denounce Azim, whom
he had already succeeded in arresting, as the chief and responsible
instigator.
The Russian minister, who, through one of his agents,
was watching the developments of the situation and keeping
in close touch with the condition of Baha'u'llah, addressed,
through his interpreter, a strongly worded message to the
Grand Vazir, in which he protested against his action, suggesting
that a messenger should proceed, in the company of one of
the government's trusted representatives and of
Hajibu'd-Dawlih, to the Siyah-Chal and there ask the newly
recognised leader to declare publicly his opinion regarding
Baha'u'llah's position. "Whatever that leader may declare,"
he wrote, "whether in praise or denunciation, I think ought
to be immediately recorded and should serve as a basis for
the final judgment which should be pronounced in this
affair."
The Grand Vazir promised the interpreter that he would
follow the minister's advice, and even appointed a time for
the messenger to join the government representative and
Hajibu'd-Dawlih and proceed with them to the Siyah-Chal.
When Azim was questioned as to whether he regarded
Baha'u'llah as the responsible leader of the group that had
made the attempt on the Shah's life, he answered: "The Leader
of this community was none other than the Siyyid-i-Bab,
who was slain in Tabriz, and whose martyrdom induced me
to arise and avenge His death. I alone conceived this plan
The words of his declaration were taken down by both
the minister's interpreter and the Grand Vazir's representative,
who submitted their records to Mirza Aqa Khan.
The documents which were placed in his hands were chiefly
responsible for Baha'u'llah's release from His imprisonment.
Azim was accordingly delivered into the hands of the
ulamas, who, though themselves anxious to hasten his
death, were prevented by the hesitancy of Mirza Abu'l
Qasim, the Imam-Jum'ih of Tihran. Hajibu'd-Dawlih, because
of the near approach of the month of Muharram, induced
the ulamas to assemble on the upper floor of the barracks,
where he succeeded in obtaining the presence of the
Imam-Jum'ih, who still persisted in his refusal to consent
to the death of Azim. He directed that the accused be
brought to that place and there await the judgment that was
to be pronounced against him. He was roughly conducted
through the streets, overwhelmed with ridicule, and reviled
by the populace. Through a subtle device which the enemy
had contrived, they succeeded in obtaining a verdict for
death. A siyyid armed with a club rushed at him and smashed
his head. His example was followed by the people, who, with
sticks, stones, and daggers, fell upon him and mutilated his
body. Haji Mirza Jani also was among those who suffered
martyrdom in the course of the agitation that followed the
attempt on the life of the Shah. Owing to the disinclination
of the Grand Vazir to harm him, he was secretly put to death.
The conflagration kindled in the capital spread to the
adjoining provinces, bringing in its wake devastation and
misery to countless innocent people among the subjects of the
Shah. It ravaged Mazindaran, the home of Baha'u'llah,
and was the signal for acts of violence which were directed
mainly against all His possessions in that province. Two
of the Bab's devoted disciples, Muhammad-Taqi Khan and
The enemies of the Faith, finding to their disappointment
that Baha'u'llah's deliverance from prison was almost assured,
sought by intimidating their sovereign to involve
Him in fresh complications and thus encompass His death.
The folly of Mirza Yahya, who, driven by his idle hopes,
had sought to secure for himself and the band of his foolish
supporters a supremacy which hitherto he had in vain laboured
to obtain, served as a further pretext for the enemy
to urge the Shah to take drastic measures for the destruction
The alarming reports received by the Shah, who had
scarcely recovered from his wounds, stirred in him a terrible
thirst for revenge. He summoned the Grand Vazir and reprimanded
him for having failed to maintain order and discipline
among the people of his own province, who were
bound to him by ties of kinship. Disconcerted by the rebuke
of his sovereign, he expressed his readiness to fulfil whatever
he would direct him to do. He was bidden despatch immediately
to that province several regiments, with strict orders
to repress with a ruthless hand the disturbers of the public
peace.
The Grand Vazir, though fully aware of the exaggerated
character of the reports that had been submitted to him, found
himself compelled, owing to the Shah's insistence, to order
the despatch of the Shah-Sun regiment, headed by Husayn-'Ali
Khan-i-Shah-Sun, to the village of Takur, in the district
of Nur, where the home of Baha'u'llah was situated. He
gave the supreme command into the hands of his nephew,
Mirza Abu-Talib Khan, brother-in-law of Mirza Hasan, who
was Baha'u'llah's half-brother. Mirza Aqa Khan urged him to
exercise the utmost caution and restraint while encamping
in that village. "Whatever excesses," he urged him, "are
committed by your men will react unfavourably on the prestige
of Mirza Hasan and be the cause of affliction to your
own sister." He bade him investigate the nature of these
reports and not to encamp more than three days in the
vicinity of that village.
The Grand Vazir afterwards summoned Husayn-'Ali
Khan and exhorted him to conduct himself with the utmost
circumspection and wisdom. "Mirza Abu-Talib," he said,
is still young and inexperienced. I have specially chosen
him owing to his kinship to Mirza Hasan. I trust that he
will, for the sake of his sister, refrain from causing unnecessary
injury to the inhabitants of Takur. Being superior to him
in age and experience, you must set him a noble example and
impress on him the necessity of serving the interests of both
government and people. You must never allow him to undertake
any operations without having previously consulted
with you." He assured Husayn-'Ali Khan that he had
issued written instructions to the chieftains of that district,
calling upon them to come to his assistance whenever required.
Mirza Abu-Talib Khan, flushed with pride and enthusiasm,
forgot the counsels of moderation the Grand Vazir had given
him. He refused to be influenced by the pressing appeals
of Husayn-'Ali Khan, who entreated him not to provoke an
unnecessary conflict with the people. No sooner had he
reached the pass which divided the district of Nur from the
adjoining province, which was not far distant from Takur,
than he ordered his men to prepare for an attack upon the
people of that village. Husayn-'Ali Khan ran to him in
despair and begged him to refrain from such an act. "It is
A sudden attack was launched upon the defenceless people
Mirza Hasan, indignant at this refusal, severely censured
him and, denouncing the action of the Shah, returned to his
home. The men of that village had meanwhile left their
dwellings and sought refuge in the neighbouring mountains.
Their women, abandoned to their fate, betook themselves
to the home of Mirza Hasan, whom they implored to protect
them from the enemy.
The first act of Mirza Abu-Talib Khan was directed
against the house Baha'u'llah had inherited from the Vazir,
His father, and of which He was the sole possessor. That
house had been royally furnished and was decorated with
vessels of inestimable value. He ordered his men to break
open all its treasuries and to take away their contents. Such
things as he was unable to carry away, he ordered to be
destroyed. Some were shattered, others were burned. Even
the rooms, which were more stately than those of the palaces
of Tihran, were disfigured beyond repair; the beams were
burned down and the decorations utterly ruined.
He next turned to the houses of the people, which he
levelled with the ground, appropriating to himself and his
men whatever valuables they contained. The entire village,
despoiled and deserted by its men inhabitants, was delivered
to the flames. Not able to find any able-bodied men, he
ordered that a search be conducted in the neighbouring
mountains. Any who were found were to be either shot or
captured. All they could lay their hands upon were a few
aged men and shepherds who had been unable to proceed
further afield in their flight from the enemy. They discovered
two men lying in the distance on the slopes of a mountain
beside a running brook. Their weapons gleaming under the
rays of the sun had betrayed them. Finding them asleep,
they shot them both from across the brook which intervened
between the assailants and their victims. They recognised
them as Abdu'l-Vahhab and Muhammad-Taqi Khan. The
former was shot dead, while the latter was severely wounded.
They were carried into the presence of Mirza Abu-Talib,
The year after, this same Mirza Abu-Talib was stricken
with plague and taken in a state of wretched misery to
Shimiran. Shunned by even his nearest kindred, he lay on
his sick-bed until this same Mirza Hasan, whom he had so
haughtily insulted, offered to tend his sores and bear him
company in his days of humiliation and loneliness. He was
on the brink of death when the Grand Vazir visited him and
found none at his bedside but the one whom he had so rudely
treated. That very day that wretched tyrant expired, bitterly
disappointed at the failure of all the hopes he had fondly
cherished.
The commotion that had seized Tihran, the effects of
which had been severely felt in Nur and the surrounding
district, spread as far as Yazd and Nayriz, where a considerable
number of the Bab's disciples were seized and inhumanly
martyred. The whole of Persia seemed, indeed, to have felt
the shock of that great convulsion. Its tide swept as far as
the remotest hamlets of the distant provinces, and brought
in its wake untold sufferings to the remnants of a persecuted
community. Governors, no less than their subordinates,
inflamed with greed and revenge, seized the occasion to enrich
themselves and obtain the favour of their sovereign. Without
mercy, moderation, or shame, they employed any means,
however base and lawless, to extort from the innocent the
benefits they themselves coveted. Forsaking every principle
of justice and decency, they arrested, imprisoned, and
tortured whomsoever they suspected of being a Babi, and
would hasten to inform Nasiri'd-Din Shah in Tihran of the
victories achieved over a detested opponent.
In Nayriz the full effects of that turmoil revealed themselves
Zaynu'l-'Abidin Khan's widow pressed Mirza Na'im, who
held the reins of authority in his grasp and was then residing
in Shiraz, to avenge the blood of her husband, promising that
she would in return bestow all her jewels upon him and would
transfer to his name whatever he might desire of her possessions.
Through treachery, the authorities succeeded in
capturing a considerable number of the Bab's followers,
many of whom were savagely beaten. All were thrown into
prison, pending the receipt of instructions from Tihran. The
Grand Vazir submitted the list of names he had received,
together with the report that accompanied it, to the Shah,
who expressed his extreme satisfaction at the success that
had attended the efforts of his representative in Shiraz, and
whom he amply rewarded for his signal service. He asked
that all those who were captured be brought to the capital.
I shall not attempt to record the various circumstances
that led to the carnage which marked the termination of
A large number of their fellow-disciples were slain in
Shiraz by order of Tahmasb-Mirza. The heads of two hundred
of these victims were placed on bayonets and carried
triumphantly by their oppressors to Abadih, a village in Fars.
They were intending to take them to Tihran, when a royal
messenger commanded them to abandon their project, whereupon
they decided to bury the heads in that village.
As to the women, who were six hundred in number, half
of them were released in Nayriz, while the rest were carried,
The confession of Azim freed Baha'u'llah from the
danger to which His life had been exposed. The circumstances
of the death of him who had declared himself the chief instigator
of that crime served to abate the wrath with which
an enraged populace clamoured for the immediate punishment
of so daring an attempt. The cries of rage and vengeance,
the appeals for immediate retribution, which had
hitherto been focussed on Baha'u'llah were now diverted
from Him. The ferocity of those claimant denunciations
was, by degrees, much allayed. The conviction grew firmer
in the minds of the responsible authorities in Tihran that
Baha'u'llah hitherto regarded as the arch-foe of Nasiri'd-Din
Upon his arrival, the sight which the emissary beheld
filled him with grief and surprise. The spectacle which met
his eyes was one he could scarcely believe. He wept as he
saw Baha'u'llah chained to a floor that was infested with
vermin, His neck weighed down by galling chains, His face
laden with sorrow, ungroomed and dishevelled, breathing
the pestilential atmosphere of the most terrible of dungeons.
He removed the mantle from his shoulders and presented
it to Baha'u'llah, entreating Him to wear it when in the
presence of the minister and his counsellors. Baha'u'llah
refused his request, and, wearing the dress of a prisoner,
proceeded straightway to the seat of the imperial government.
The first word the Grand Vazir was moved to address to
his Captive was the following: "Had you chosen to take my
advice, and had you dissociated yourself from the faith of
the Siyyid-i-Bab, you would never have suffered the pains
and indignities that have been heaped upon you." "Had
you, in your turn," Baha'u'llah replied, "followed my counsels,
the affairs of the government would not have reached
so critical a stage."
He was immediately reminded of the conversation he had
That same day orders were given, through a circular addressed
to all the governors of the realm, bidding them desist
from their acts of cruelty and shame. "What you have done
is enough," Mirza Aqa Khan wrote them. "Cease arresting
and punishing the people. Disturb no longer the peace and
tranquillity of your countrymen." The Shah's government
had been deliberating as to the most effective measures that
should be taken to rid the country, once and for all, of the
curse with which it had been afflicted. No sooner had Baha'u'llah
recovered His freedom than the decision of the government
was handed to Him, informing Him that within a
month of the issuing of this order, He, with His family, was
expected to leave Tihran for a place beyond the confines of
Persia.
The Russian minister, as soon as he learned of the action
which the government contemplated taking, volunteered to
take Baha'u'llah under his protection, and invited Him to
go to Russia. He refused the offer and chose instead to
leave for Iraq. Nine months after His return from Karbila,
on the first day of the month of Rabi'u'th-Thani, in the year
1269 A.H.,(1) Baha'u'llah, accompanied by the members of His family, among whom were the Most Great Branch(2) and
Aqay-i-Kalim,(3) and escorted by a member of the imperial
body-guard and an official representing the Russian legation,
set out from Tihran on His journey to Baghdad.
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