- 1831-07-17 — Birth of Násiri'd-Dín Mírzá, later Sháh.
- 1848-07-30 —
Trial of the Báb
The Báb arrived in Tabríz and was brought before a panel of which the 17-year-old Crown Prince Násiri'd-Dín Mírzá was the president. The Báb publicly made His claim that He was the Qá'im. This claim had also been announced to those gathered at Badasht. [Bab140–7; BBR157; BBRSM23, 216; BW18:380; DB314–20; GPB21–2; TN14]
- The purpose of the public forum was to force the Báb to recant His views; instead He took control of the hearing and embarrassed the clergy. After considerable argument and discussion, they decided He was devoid of reason. [GPB22; BBRSM216]
- The Báb was bastinadoed. [B145; BBD44; DB320; GPB22; TN14–15] This is the first formal punishment He received. [BBRSM20]
- This constituted the formal declaration of His mission. [GPB22]
- The clergy issued a fatwa or legal pronouncement against the Báb condemning Him to death for heresy, but to no purpose as the civil authorities were unwilling to take action against Him. [BBRSM19–20]
- See Trial of the Báb: Shi'ite Orthodoxy Confronts its Mirror Image by Denis MacEoin.
- He was first attended by an Irish physician, Dr William Cormick, to ascertain His sanity and later to treat Him for a blow to the face that occurred during the bastinado. Cormick is the only Westerner to have met and conversed with Him. [Bab145; BBR74–5, 497–8 DBXXXIL–XXXIII]
- For an account of the life of Dr. William Cormick see Connections by Brendan McNamara.
- See the YouTube video The Irish Physician Who Met The Báb.
- 1848-09-12 —
The accession of Násiri'd-Dín Sháh at Tabríz. [BBR482]
- He was 17 years old. [BBR158; GPB37]
- He ruled from 1848 to 1 May 1896 when he was assassinated on the eve of his jubilee. [BBD168; BBR482]
- The first four years of his reign were marked by the `fiercest and bloodiest of the persecutions of the religion of the Báb and Bahá'u'lláh'. During the whole of his reign there were `sporadic persecutions and, in at least some cases, he himself was directly responsible for the death of the martyrs'. [BBR157]
- For the first time in the Faith's history the civil and ecclesiastical powers banded together in a systematic campaign against it, one that was to `culminate in the horrors experienced by Bahá'u'lláh in the Síyáh-Chál' and `His subsequent banishment to Iraq'. [GPB37]
- See BBRSM25 for an explanation of why the Bábí religion was a challenge to the secular regime.
- See SB86 for a reason for Násiri'd-Dín Sháh's cruelty towards the Bábís and Bahá'ís.
- See RB3:201 for an explanation of his lengthy reign.
- He chose as his prime minister Mírzá Taqí Khán-i-Faráhání, known as a great reformer and a founder of modern Iran. [BBD221; BBR160]
- It was not until the spring of 1849 that the new regime was in firm control.
- His reform antagonized many and a coalition was formed against him. One of the most active proponents was the queen mother. She convinced the Shah that the prime minister wanted his throne. In October of 1851 the Shah dismissed him and exiled him to Kashan where he was murdered on the Shah's orders.
- 1848-10-19 —
Entry of Násiri'd-Dín Sháh into Tihrán. [BBR482]
- MH240 says it took him 45 days to travel to Tihrán to occupy his father's throne.
- Hájí Mírzá Áaqsí Khán-i-Faráhání took up post as his prime minister. [BBR482]
- By the end of 1848 the governmental opposition to the Báb continued and intensified. Encouraged by the ulama (religious leaders), the public increasingly turned against the Báb and His followers and the Bábis "were held responsible for the country's general state of turmoil." [RR395]
- 1855-00-00 — At some point during the retirement of Bahá'u'lláh, Mírzá 'Aqá Ján was engaged in the service of Mírzá Yahyá who wanted him to go on a secret mission to Tehran to assassinate Násiri'd-Dín Sháh. He accepted the assignment and soon after his arrival managed to obtain access to the court in the guise of a labourer. He realized the extent of his folly and returned to Baghdád and when Bahá'u'lláh returned from exile he confessed his part in the scheme and begged Bahá'u'lláh's forgiveness and he was permitted to resume service for Bahá'u'lláh. [CoB181-182]
- 1858-08-00 —
The dismissal of Mírzá Áqá Khán, the prime minister who had directed the persecution of the Bábís that followed the attempt on the life of the Sháh.
- It was Mírzá Áqá Khán while Prime Minister during the arrest and imprisonment of Bahá'u'lláh in Tehran, who transferred the deeds of some of Bahá'u'lláh's properties in Núr into his own name and plundered some of the riches in His home in Tehran. [RoB1p10-11]
- 1867-09-03 —
Bahá'u'lláh revealed the Kitáb-i-Badí', the Munájátháy-i-Síyám (Prayers for Fasting), the first Tablet to Napoleon III, the Lawh-i-Sultán written to Násiri'd-Dín Sháh, and the Súriy-i-Ra'ís. [BKG245; GBP172]
- The Súriy-i-Ra'ís was published in the Summons of the Lord of Hosts. See Wikipedia for a synopsis of this Tablet.
- See RB2:370–82 for details of the Kitáb-i-Badí'.
- Bahá'u'lláh revealed the Súriy-i-Ghusn (Tablet of the Branch) in which 'Abdu'l-Bahá's future station was foreshadowed. [BBD218; BKG250; GPB177; GWB39]
- See RB2:338–9 for a description of the Tablet.
- It was probably about this time that the first Lawh-i-Salmán was revealed for Shaykh Salmán. [RoB2p281-290; Uplifting Words ]
- 1869-00-00 —
The 17-year-old Áqá Buzurg-i-Níshápúrí, Badí`, arrived in `Akká having walked from Mosul. He was able to enter the city unsuspected. [BKG297; RB3:178]
- He was still wearing the simple clothes of a water bearer. [BKG297]
- For the story of his life, see BKG294–297 and RB3:176–179.
- For his transformation see RB3:179–182.
Badí` saw `Abdu'l-Bahá in a mosque and was able to write a note to Him. The same night Badí` entered the citadel and went into the presence of Bahá'u'lláh. He met Bahá'u'lláh twice. [BKG297; RW3:179]
- Badí` asked Bahá'u'lláh for the honour of delivering the Tablet to the Sháh and Bahá'u'lláh bestowed it on him. [BKG297; RB3:182]
- The journey to Tehran took four months; he traveled alone. [BKG298]
- For the story of the journey see BKG297–300 and RB3:184.
- For the Tablet of Bahá'u'lláh to Badí` see BKG299 and RB3:175–176.
- Regarding the tablet to the Sháh
"Bahá'u'lláh's lengthiest epistle to any single sovereign" -- Lawḥ-i-Sulṭán, (the Tablet to Náṣiri'd-Dín Sháh) Of the various writings that make up the Súriy-i-Haykal, one requires particular mention. The Lawḥ-i-Sulṭán, the Tablet to Náṣiri'd-Dín Sháh, Bahá'u'lláh's lengthiest epistle to any single sovereign, was revealed in the weeks immediately preceding His final banishment to 'Akká. It was eventually delivered to the monarch by Badí', a youth of seventeen, who had entreated Bahá'u'lláh for the honour of rendering some service. His efforts won him the crown of martyrdom and immortalized his name. The Tablet contains the celebrated passage describing the circumstances in which the divine call was communicated to Bahá'u'lláh and the effect it produced. Here, too, we find His unequivocal offer to meet with the Muslim clergy, in the presence of the Sháh, and to provide whatever proofs of the new Revelation they might consider to be definitive, a test of spiritual integrity significantly failed by those who claimed to be the authoritative trustees of the message of the Qur'án. [The Universal House of Justice (Introduction to 'The Summons of the Lord of Hosts')]
- See Three Momentous Years in The Bahá'í World for the story of Badí.
- 1869-07-00 —
Badí` delivered the Tablet of Bahá'u'lláh to the Sháh. He was tortured and executed. [BBRXXXIX; BKG300; BW18:383; RB3:184–6]
- For details of his torture and martyrdom see BKG300, 304–7 and RB3:186–91.
- For the account of the French Minister in Tihrán see BBR254–5.
- He is given the title Fakhru'sh-Shuhadá' (Pride of Martyrs). [BKG300]
- Shoghi Effendi listed him among the Apostles of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW3:80–1]
- For the effect on Bahá'u'lláh of the martyrdom of Badí` see BKG300 and GPB199.
- See also BKG293–314; GPB199, RB3:172–203; TN589
- 1870-00-00 —
Násiri'd-Dín Sháh maded a pilgrimage to the shrines in Iraq. In preparation for his visit the Bahá'ís were rounded up, arrested and exiled. [BBR267; BBRSM90; BKG441]
- See BKG441–3 for details of the exile.
- 1876-06-04 —
`Abdu'l-`Azíz either committed suicide or was assassinated. [BBD2; BBR485; GPB225]
- Accession of Murád V to the throne. [BBR485]
- Bahá'u'lláh had predicted his downfall in the Lawh-i-Fu'ád. [RB3:87]
- Bahá'u'lláh stated that the tyranny of Sultán `Abdu'l-`Azíz exceeded that of Násiri'd-Dín Sháh because the Sultán exiled Bahá'u'lláh to the Most Great Prison without any reason whereas the Sháh had reason to be fearful of the Bahá'ís because of the attempt on his life. [BKG412]
- Bahá'u'lláh had addressed two Tablets to the Sultán including the Súriy-i-Mulúk (Tablet to the Kings) but he did not respond. [BBD2]
- See The Summons of the Lord of Hosts p177-181 for the Lawh-i-Fu'ád and p185-235 for the Súriy-i-Mulúk.
- 1890-03-00 —
Násiri'd-Dín Sháh entered into contract of 50 years duration with British interests that would provide him with an annual payment plus 25% of the profits for the production and sale of tobacco. Prior to this, in the 1870s and 1880s the country's telegraph and mail systems, its fisheries, and many of its mines were sold to Western, mostly British, interests.
- Opposition, fomented by Britain's rival Russia, came from merchants and shopkeepers who anticipated higher prices and feared being marginalized if the tobacco trade were to pass into the hands of foreigners. Many of the ulama supported the resistance, in part from fear of foreign influence and some because they owned land, either privately of on religious property, that grew tobacco. Articulated as a struggle in defense of Islam against foreign intrusion, the movement quickly became a popular one. At that time about one third of the population of 8 million used tobacco.
- The movement first flared up in Shiraz, the centre of Iran's main tobacco-growing region and then Tabriz in the north of the country that was under heavy Russian influence. Isfahan and Mashhad soon followed in popular clergy-led agitation. The protest movement culminated when the ulama declared tobacco itself unclean and smoking religiously impermissible. Ordinary Iranians, frustrated at the mismanagement and misery prevalent in the country, massively heeded the call. People throughout the country gave up smoking.
- In January 1892 the Shah rescinded the concession and was forced to compensate the tobacco company for its losses. The Qajar government had to take out a £500,000 loan to cover the cost.
- The Tobacco Revolt is considered a landmark event in Iran's modern history. It is often seen as the first episode in which common people showed an awareness of a collective identity and were successful in mobilizing disparate groups around a common cause.
[Encyclopedia]
[Wikipedia]
- See 'Abdu'l-Bahá's comments on the insurrection that saw the clergy's involvement in the affairs of state in His Treatise on Politics.
- 1892-00-01 — Mu'tuminu's-Saltanih was poisoned in Tihrán on the orders of Násiri'd-Dín Sháh. [BW18:384]
- 1896-04-19 —
Násiri'd-Dín Sháh was assassinated on the eve of the celebration of his jubilee. He had ascended to the throne in 1848 and by the Islamic lunar calendar it marked the 50th year of his reign. [BKG455]
- BBRXXIX and BBRSM219 say it was 1 May.
- His assassin, Mírzá Ridá-yi-Kirmáni, a Pan-Islamic terrorist, was a follower of Jamálu'd-Dín-i-Afghání, one of the originators of the Constitutional movement in Iran and an enemy of the Faith however some newspaper accounts held that the assassin was a Bábí. [BBRSM87; GBP296; MCS540]
- For an account of his assassination see PDC67–8.
- See BKG430–55 for a history of his reign.
- He was succeeded by his son Muzaffari'd-Dín. [GPB296]
- See also CBM54-56.
- See AY214-216. iiiii
- 1896-07-24 —
Four Bahá'ís were executed in Turbat-i-Haydarí on the order of the mujtahid. [BW18:384; BBR405]
- BBRXXIX says the four Bahá'ís were martyred in August.
- These four together with Hájí Muhammad Sádiq are known as the Shuhadáy-i-Khamsih (Five Martyrs). [GPB296]
- Their martyrdom was the result of the assassination of the Sháh, for which the Bahá'ís were erroneously blamed. [GPB296]
- For Western accounts of the episode see BBR405–6.
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