[This text was prepared by the External Sacred Writings Proofreading 
Project from a copy made by an OCR (scanner).  It has not been proofread.  
All footnotes are in English.  Extremely long footnotes also differ in this 
electronic version in that they always appear at the bottom of the page where 
first begun instead of being spread over several pages.]  
 
 
+Piii 
THE DAWN-BREAKERS 
&NABIL'S NARRATIVE OF THE EARLY 
DAYS OF THE &BAHA'I REVELATION 
 
 
     "I stand, life in hand, ready; that perchance, through 
     God's loving-kindness and grace, this revealed and 
     manifest Letter may lay down his life as a sacrifice 
     in the path of the Primal Point, the Most Exalted 
     Word."  
                                             --&Baha'u'llah.  
 
 
 
          TRANSLATED FROM THE ORIGINAL PERSIAN 
                     AND EDITED BY 
                    SHOGHI EFFENDI 
 
 
 
                 &BAHA'I PUBLISHING TRUST 
                    WILMETTE, ILLINOIS 
                           1970 
 
 
 
+Piv 
               COPYRIGHT, 1932, BY THE NATIONAL 
             SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY OF THE &BAHA'IS OF 
               THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 
 
             Library of Congress Catalog No. 32-8946 
 
+Pv 
                                    To 
                           The Greatest Holy Leaf 
              The Last Survivor of a Glorious and Heroic Age 
                            I Dedicate This Work 
                               in Token of a 
                     Great Debt of Gratitude and Love 
 
 
+Pvi 
[Intentionally blank] 
 
+Pvii 
                    TABLE OF PRINCIPAL CONTENTS OF 
                           THE NARRATIVE 
 
 
 
                    PART ONE:  PRE-REVELATION DAYS 
 
           CHAPTER I:  THE MISSION OF &SHAYKH &AHMAD-I-AHSA'I 
 
His departure from &Bahrayn to &Iraq     1 
His visit to Najaf and &Karbila     2 
His journey to &Shiraz     4 
His stay in Yazd     5 
     a.  His correspondence with &Fath-'Ali &Shah     5 
     b.  His relations with &Haji &Abdu'l-Vahhab     6 
     c.  The anecdote of &Mirza &Mahmud-i-Qamsari     8 
     d.  The arrival of Siyyid &Kazim-i-Rashti     10 
His pilgrimage to &Mashhad     12 
His triumphal entry into &Tihran      13 
His departure for &Kirmanshah     13 
His return to &Karbila     17 
His journey to Mecca and Medina, and his death     18 
 
 
           CHAPTER II:  THE MISSION OF SIYYID &KAZIM-I-RASHTI 
 
His relations with &Haji Siyyid &Muhammad-Baqir-i-Rashti     19 
His allusions to the Promised One     24 
The anecdote of &Shaykh &Hasan-i-Zunuzi     25 
     a.  Siyyid &Kazim's visit to the &Bab     25 
     b.  The &Bab's attendance at the teaching classes of Siyyid &Kazim     27 
     c.  The &Bab's visit to the shrine of &Imam &Husayn     30 
     d.  &Shaykh &Hasan's visit to &Shiraz and &Mah-Ku     30 
     e.  His meeting with &Baha'u'llah in &Karbila     32 
References to the Promised One in the works of Siyyid &Kazim     33 
The siege of &Karbila     35 
The allusions of Siyyid &Kazim to his unfaithful disciples     36 
The account related by &Shaykh &Abu-Turab     39 
The exhortations of Siyyid &Kazim to his disciples     40 
The meeting of Siyyid &Kazim with the Arab shepherd     43 
Death of Siyyid &Kazim     45 
 
 
 
                PART TWO:  THE REVELATION OF THE &BAB 
 
 
          CHAPTER III:  THE DECLARATION OF THE &BAB'S MISSION 
 
The arrival of &Mulla &Husayn in &Karbila     47 
Significance of the year '60     48 
Departure of &Mulla &Husayn for Najaf and &Bushihr     50 
Interview of &Mulla &Husayn with the &Bab in &Shiraz     52 
Arrival of &Mulla &Aliy-i-Bastami and his companions in &Shiraz     66 
 
+Pviii 
Arrival of &Quddus in &Shiraz     69 
The early days of the &Bab     72 
     a.  His birth     72 
     b.  His school-days     75 
     c.  His marriage     76 
     d.  His stay in &Bushihr     77 
Letters of the Living     80 
Reference to &Tahirih     81 
Explanation of the term &Bala-Sari     84 
Dismissal of &Mulla &Husayn     85 
Departure of &Mulla &Aliy-i-Bastami from &Shiraz     87 
Story of &Abdu'l-Vahhab     87 
Sufferings of &Mulla &Aliy-i-Bastami     89 
The &Bab's farewell address to the Letters of the Living     92 
The &Bab's parting words to &Mulla &Husayn      96 
 
 
           CHAPTER IV:  &MULLA &HUSAYN'S JOURNEY TO &TIHRAN 
                                                               
Visit of &Mulla &Husayn to &Isfahan     97 
     a.  His relations with the disciples of &Haji Siyyid &Muhammad-Baqir    97 
     b.  Story of the Sifter of Wheat     99 
     c.  Conversion of &Mulla &Sadiq-i-Khurasani     100 
His stay in &Kashan and Qum     101 
His experiences in &Tihran     101 
     a.  His relations with &Haji &Mirza &Muhammad-i-Khurasani     102 
     b.  His meeting with &Mulla &Muhammad-i-Nuri, and his message to  
              &Baha'u'llah     104 
 
 
           CHAPTER V:  &BAHA'U'LLAH'S JOURNEY TO &MAZINDARAN 
 
His reference to &Mirza Buzurg     109 
His visit to &Nur prior to &Mulla &Husayn's arrival in &Tihran     111 
     a.  His meeting with &Mirza &Muhammad-Taqiy-i-Nuri     111 
     b.  The two dreams of &Mirza &Muhammad-Taqiy-i-Nuri     111 
His visit to &Nur after &Mulla &Husayn's arrival in &Tihran    112 
     a.  His relations with His uncle &Aziz     113 
     b.  His meeting with &Mulla &Muhammad     113 
     c.  His conversation with a dervish     117 
     d.  The effects of &Baha'u'llah's visit to &Nur    118 
The &Vazir's dream of &Baha'u'llah     119 
The relations of &Baha'u'llah with &Haji &Mirza &Aqasi     120 
  
 
           CHAPTER VI:  &MULLA &HUSAYN'S JOURNEY TO &KHURASAN 
 
The instructions of the &Bab to the Letters of the Living     123 
The first believers of &Khurasan     125 
&Mulla &Husayn's letter to the &Bab     126 
 
 
        CHAPTER VII:  THE &BAB'S PILGRIMAGE TO MECCA AND MEDINA 
 
Incident related by &Haji &Abu'l-Hasan-i-Shirazi    130 
Reference to Journey in the Persian &Bayan     130 
Arrival at Jaddih, and an incident on the way to Mecca     132 
The circumambulation of the &Ka'bih by the &Bab     134 
His declaration to &Mirza &Muhit-i-Kirmani     134 
His message to the Sherif of Mecca, and the account related by 
     &Haji &Niyaz-i-Baghdadi     138 
His visit to Medina     140 
 
+Pix 
     CHAPTER VIII:  THE &BAB'S STAY IN &SHIRAZ AFTER THE PILGRIMAGE 
 
The &Bab's return to &Bushihr and farewell to &Quddus     142 
Visit of &Quddus to the &Bab's maternal uncle in &Shiraz     143 
Meeting of &Quddus with &Mulla &Sadiq-i-Khurasani     144 
Afflictions which befell &Quddus and &Mulla &Sadiq     145 
     a.  Interrogation by &Husayn &Khan of &Mulla &Sadiq     146 
     b.  Account of an eye-witness regarding the persecution     147 
Return of the &Bab to &Shiraz     150 
     a.  Incident related by leader of the &Bab's escort     150 
     b.  The &Bab's meeting with &Husayn &Khan     151 
     c.  Declaration of the &Bab in the &Masjid-i-Vakil     154 
Reference to those who embraced the Faith in &Shiraz     156 
The &Bab's communication to the believers in &Karbila     158 
Arrival of the believers at &Kangavar, and their  
     meeting with &Mulla &Husayn     159 
Their departure with &Mulla &Husayn for &Isfahan     159 
Departure of &Mulla &Husayn for &Shiraz     160 
Arrival of six believers at &Shiraz     161 
Account related by &Mulla &Abdu'l-Karim-i-Qazvini     162 
Meeting of &Nabil with &Mulla &Abdu'l-Karim-i-Qazvini     169 
 
 
     CHAPTER IX:  THE &BAB'S STAY IN &SHIRAZ AFTER THE PILGRIMAGE 
                            (Continued) 
 
Departure of &Mulla &Husayn for &Khurasan     170 
Siyyid &Yahya's interviews with the &Bab     173 
Conversion of &Mulla &Muhammad-'Aliy-i-Zanjani     178 
Visits of &Quddus to &Kirman, &Tihran, and &Mazindaran     179 
     a.  His relations with &Haji Siyyid &Javad-i-Kirmani     180 
     b.  His visit to &Tihran     182 
     c.  His stay in &Barfurush     183 
Visit of &Mulla &Sadiq to Yazd     184 
     a.  His relations with &Mirza &Ahmad-i-Azghandi     184 
     b.  His experience in the Masjid of Yazd    186 
Sufferings of &Mulla &Yusuf-i-Ardibili and others     187 
Reference to &Haji Siyyid &Javad-i-Karbila'i     189 
Account related by Shaykh &Sultan-i-Karbila'i     190 
Advent of the second &Naw-Ruz     191 
References to the mother and to the wife of the &Bab     191 
&Husayn &Khan's activities     194 
     a.  Report of the chief of his emissaries     194 
     b.  &Husayn &Khan's directions to &Abdu'l-Hamid &Khan     195 
Arrest of the &Bab, and outbreak of the plague     196 
     a.  Flight of &Husayn &Khan     196 
     b.  Recovery of the son of &Abdu'l-Hamid &Khan     197 
     c.  Release of the &Bab     197 
Farewell of the &Bab to His relatives, and His departure from &Shiraz     198 
 
 
            CHAPTER X:  THE &BAB'S SOJOURN IN &ISFAHAN 
 
His letter to &Manuchihr &Khan     199 
The welcome extended by the &Imam-Jum'ih     201 
     a.  Honours accorded by the people to the &Bab     202 
     b.  Deference shown the &Bab by the &Imam-Jum'ih     202 
     c.  The &Bab's commentary on the &Surih of &Va'l-'Asr     202 
     d.  The &Bab's interview with &Manuchihr &Khan     203 
Fears of &Haji &Mirza &Aqasi     204 
 
+Px 
The &Bab's visit to &Manuchihr &Khan     205 
Reference to &Mulla &Muhammad-Taqiy-i-Hirati     208 
Banquet offered to the &Bab by &Mirza &Ibrahim     208 
Death warrant of the &Bab issued by the &ulamas of &Isfahan     209 
The plan of &Manuchihr &Khan for the departure and return 
     of the &Bab to &Isfahan     211 
Meeting of the believers with the &Bab     212 
The &Bab's prediction of the approaching death of &Manuchihr &Khan     213 
Last days of &Manuchihr &Khan     214 
Dismissal of the believers     214 
&Gurgin &Khan's communication to &Muhammad &Shah     215 
Departure of the &Bab for &Kashan     216 
 
 
           CHAPTER XI:  THE &BAB'S STAY IN &KASHAN 
 
Dream of &Haji &Mirza &Jani     217 
The &Bab's three days at the home of &Haji &Mirza &Jani     219 
     a.  Reference to Siyyid &Abdu'l-Baqir     221 
     b.  The meeting of &Mihdi with the &Bab     221 
 
 
   CHAPTER XII:  THE &BAB'S JOURNEY FROM &KASHAN TO &TABRIZ 
 
His approach to Qum     223 
His stay at the village of &Qummrud     224 
His arrival at the fortress of &Kinar-Gird     225 
His stay at the village of Kulayn     226 
     a.  Arrival of a number of believers     227 
     b.  Joy of the &Bab at the gift and message from &Baha'u'llah     227 
     c.  An incident of the journey     228 
     d.  &Muhammad &Shah's letter to the &Bab     229 
     e.  Fears, designs, and Motives of &Haji &Mirza &Aqasi     231 
Last stage of the &Bab's journey to &Tabriz     235 
     a.  Arrival of the believers at the village &Siyah-Dihan     235 
     b.  Intervention of &Hujjat-i-Zanjani     236 
     c.  The &Bab's farewell to His guards     236 
     d.  The &Bab welcomed by His youthful disciple     237 
The &Bab's arrival at &Tabriz     239 
     a.  Enthusiastic reception by the people of &Tabriz     239 
     b.  The &Bab's meeting with &Haji &Muhammad-Taqiy-i-Milani 
              and &Haji &Ali-'Askar     239 
     c.  Account related by &Haji &Ali-'Askar     240 
 
 
           CHAPTER XIII:  THE &BAB'S INCARCERATION IN THE 
                         CASTLE OF &MAH-KU 
 
Account related by Siyyid &Husayn-i-Yazdi     243 
Situation of &Mah-Ku, and character of its people     243 
Attachment of inhabitants of &Mah-Ku to the &Bab     244 
Arrival of &Shaykh &Hasan-i-Zunuzi, and the &Bab's message to him     245 
Dream of &Ali &Khan-i-Mah-Ku     247 
Change in the attitude of &Ali &Khan     247 
Reference to the Persian &Bayan     248 
Visit of the &Bab's disciples to &Mah-Ku     250 
Incidents in the life of the &Bab at &Mah-Ku     252 
Dream of the &Bab prior to the declaration of His Mission     253 
Misfortunes befall &Muhammad &Shah and his government     253 
Departure of &Mulla &Husayn from &Mashhad on his pilgrimage to &Mah-Ku     254 
     a.  Motive of his departure     254 
 
+Pxi 
     b.  His visit to &Tihran     255 
     c.  His arrival at &Mah-Ku and dream of &Ali &Khan     256 
Words of the &Bab to &Mulla &Husayn     258 
Accusation against &Ali &Khan, and the &Bab's consequent 
     transference to &Chihriq     259 
Farewell of the &Bab to &Mulla &Husayn     260 
 
 
           CHAPTER XIV:  &MULLA &HUSAYN'S JOURNEY TO &MAZINDARAN 
 
Departure of &Mulla &Husayn for &Tihran     261 
His stay at the home of &Quddus in &Barfurush     261 
Observations regarding &Haji &Mirza &Aqasi and &Mulla &Husayn     263   
Instructions of &Quddus to &Mulla &Husayn     265 
Interview of &Mulla &Husayn with the &Sa'idu'l-'Ulama'     266 
Departure of &Mulla &Husayn, and his arrival at &Mashhad     267 
 
 
           CHAPTER XV:  &TAHIRIH'S JOURNEY FROM &KARBILA TO &KHURASAN 
 
Allusion to &Baha'u'llah     269          
Epistle of the &Bab to the believers     269 
Response of &Tahirih to the appeal of the &Bab     260 
     a.  Her Activities in &Karbila     270 
     b.  Her activities in &Baghdad     271 
     c.  Her stay in &Kirmanshah and &Hamadan     272 
     d.  Her confinement in &Qazvin     273 
         (1)  Her reply to &Mulla &Muhammad     273 
         (2)  Arrival of &Mulla &Abdu'llah, and murder of &Mulla &Taqi     276 
         (3)  Imprisonment of the accused in &Tihran, and intervention 
                   and confinement of &Baha'u'llah     278 
         (4)  Appeal to &Muhammad &Shah     280 
         (5)  Execution of first &Baha'i martyr in Persia     280 
         (6)  Attitude of &Haji &Mirza &Aqasi, and intervention 
                   of &Sadr-i-Ardibili     280 
         (7)  Massacre of &Qazvin     282 
         (8)  Effects of the massacre in &Tihran     283 
     e.  Her deliverance by &Baha'u'llah     284 
         (1)  Her removal to &Tihran     284 
         (2)  Effects of her departure from &Qazvin     285 
         (3)  Her attitude towards the &Bab and &Baha'u'llah     285 
     f.  Her departure for &Khurasan     286 
         (1)  Instructions of &Baha'u'llah to &Aqay-i-Kalim     286 
         (2)  Her departure from &Tihran     287 
 
 
           CHAPTER XVI:  THE CONFERENCE OF &BADASHT 
 
Departure of &Baha'u'llah from &Tihran     288 
Departure of &Quddus for &Mazindaran     290 
Meeting of &Baha'u'llah with &Quddus in &Shah-Rud     292 
Their arrival at &Badasht     293 
     a.  Significance of the gathering in &Badasht     293 
     b.  Incident related by &Shaykh &Abu-Turab     293 
     c.  Differences among the believers     297 
     d.  Reconciliation achieved by &Baha'u'llah     297 
     e.  Departure from &Badasht     298 
The incident in &Niyala as related by &Baha'u'llah     299 
Outcome of that incident     300 
 
+Pxii 
           CHAPTER XVII:  THE &BAB'S INCARCERATION IN THE 
                       CASTLE OF &CHIHRIQ 
 
Attitude of the people of &Chihriq towards the &Bab     302 
The &Bab's instructions to an attendant     303 
Acceptance of the Message by uulamas and government officials     303 
     a.  &Mirza &Muhammad-'Ali and his brother     303 
     b.  &Mirza &Asadu'llah     304 
     c.  A dervish from India     305 
Believers dismissed from &Chihriq     306 
Incident concerning &Mirza &Muhammad-'Ali     307 
 
 
           CHAPTER XVIII:  EXAMINATION OF THE &BAB AT &TABRIZ 
 
His visit to &Urumiyyih     309 
His arrival at &Tabriz     311 
His examination by the &ulamas     315 
Indignity inflicted upon Him     319 
His return to &Chihriq, and His epistle to &Haji &Mirza &Aqasi     323 
 
 
           CHAPTER XIX:  THE &MAZINDARAN UPHEAVAL 
 
&Mulla &Husayn's departure from &Mashhad     324 
Death of &Muhammad &Shah     327 
The &Sa'idu'l-'Ulama's appeal to the people of &Barfurush     328 
Attack by the people of &Barfurush on &Mulla &Husayn and 
     his companions     329 
Repulse of the attack by &Mulla &Husayn     330 
Account related by &Mirza &Muhammad-i-Furughi     332 
Surrender of the people of &Barfurush     336 
Renewed attempts by &Mulla &Husayn's companions to sound the &adhan     338 
Sortie from the caravanserai of the &Sabzih-Maydan     338 
Intercession of the notables of &Barfurush     339 
Instructions given to &Khusraw-i-Qadi-Ka'la     339 
Incident in the forest of &Mazindaran     342 
Arrival at the shrine of &Shaykh &Tabarsi     343 
Dream of the guardian of the shrine of &Shaykh &Tabarsi     344 
Attack and repulse of the horsemen of &Qadi-Kala     345 
Visit of &Baha'u'llah to the fort of &Shaykh &Tabarsi     348 
Liberation of &Quddus     350 
Reference to the Black Standards     351 
Confinement of &Quddus in the house of &Mirza &Muhammad-Taqi     351 
Arrival of &Quddus at the fort of &Shaykh &Tabarsi     352 
Account related by &Mirza &Muhammad-i-Furughi     353 
Incidents in the fort of &Shaykh &Tabarsi concerning &Quddus     355 
The &Sa'idu'l-'Ulama's appeal to &Nasiri'd-Din &Shah     358 
Encampment of the army of &Abdu'llah &Khan-i-Turkaman near the 
     fort of &Shaykh &Tabarsi     360 
First sortie from the fort of &Shaykh &Tabarsi     362 
Message of Prince &Mihdi-Quli &Mirza to &Mulla &Husayn     363 
Second sortie from the fort of &Shaykh &Tabarsi     366 
Injury sustained by &Quddus     367 
&Baha'u'llah's attempt to join the occupants of the fort of 
     &Shaykh &Tabarsi     368 
Reference to &Baha'u'llah's activities prior to the 
     declaration of His Mission     372 
 
 
           CHAPTER XX:  THE &MAZINDARAN UPHEAVAL (Continued) 
 
Third sortie, and fall of &Mulla &Husayn     378 
&Mulla &Husayn's last moments     379 
 
+Pxiii 
Reference to his burial and achievements     381 
&Quddus' warning to his companions     382 
Betrayal by Siyyid &Husayn-i-Mutavalli     384 
Attack by &Abbas-Quli &Khan-i-Larijani     386 
Fourth sortie, and complete rout of the enemy     387 
Despatch of artillery from &Tihran     389 
Distress of the besieged     389 
Exhortations of &Quddus to his companions     391 
Fifth sortie, and death of &Ja'far-Quli &Khan     394 
Increasing distress of the companions     395 
A declaration by &Quddus     396 
Sixth and last sortie     396 
Deliberation of the prince with chiefs of his staff     396 
Incident related by &Aqay-i-Kalim     397 
Desertion and capture of a number of the companions     398 
Oath taken by the prince to ensure safety of the besieged     399 
Abandonment of the fort     400 
Capture of a number of the companions     403 
General massacre     404 
Fate of three of the companions     404 
Martyrdom of &Quddus     410 
List of the martyrs     414 
 
 
           CHAPTER XXI:  THE SEVEN MARTYRS OF &TIHRAN 
 
Effects of the &Mazindaran disaster on the &Bab     430 
Despatch of &Sayyah to the Shrine of &Tabarsi     432 
The visit of &Sayyah to &Tihran, and meeting with &Baha'u'llah     433 
Account of &Nabil's early life     434 
Execution of the Seven Martyrs     436 
     a.  &Haji &Mirza Siyyid &Ali     436 
     b.  &Mirza &Qurban-'Ali     449 
     c.  &Haji &Mulla &Isma'il-i-Qumi     453 
     d.  Siyyid &Husayn-i-Turshizi     455 
     e.  &Haji &Muhammad-Taqiy-i-Kirmani     457 
     f.  Siyyid &Murtada     458 
     g.  &Muhammad-Husayn-i-Maraghi'i     458 
Incidents related by &Baha'u'llah     459 
Burial of the Seven Martyrs     463 
 
 
           CHAPTER XXII:  THE &NAYRIZ UPHEAVAL 
 
Journey of &Vahid to &Tihran and Yazd     465 
Celebration of the Feast of &Naw-Ruz in Yazd     466 
Activities of the &Navvab-i-Radavi     467 
Tumult and dispersal of the enemy     469 
Declaration of &Vahid to the people of Yazd     469 
Repulse of the forces near the fort of &Narin     470 
Proclamation of &Vahid to the inhabitants of Yazd     472 
Sortie ordered by &Vahid     472 
Departure of &Vahid's wife for her father's home     473 
&Vahid's instructions to his servant &Hasan     474 
&Vahid's departure for &Nayriz     474 
&Vahid's appeal to the people of &Nayriz     479 
First sortie from the fort of &Khajih     481 
Second sortie from the fort of &Khajih     483 
 
+Pxiv 
Division of labour in the fort     483 
Interception of &Zaynu'l-'Abidin &Khan's message     484 
Renewed appeal to Prince &Firuz &Mirza     485 
Third sortie from the fort of &Khajih     486 
Names of martyrs     487 
Oath taken by enemy to conclude peace     488 
&Vahid's response to the enemy's invitation     489 
&Vahid's message to his companions, and treachery 
     of &Haji Siyyid &Abid     490 
Capture of the companions     493 
Martyrdom of &Vahid     494 
Fate of &Vahid's companions     495 
 
 
           CHAPTER XXIII:  MARTYRDOM OF THE &BAB 
 
Motives of the &Amir-Nizam for execution of the &Bab     500 
Order of the &Amir-Nizam to &Navvab &Hamzih &Mirza     504 
Disposal by the &Bab of His documents     504 
Arrival of the &Bab at &Tabriz     506 
Order issued by the &Amir-Nizam     506 
Confinement of the &Bab in the barracks     507 
Incident related by Siyyid &Husayn     507 
The &Bab's warning to the &Farrash-Bashi     509 
&Mirza &Muhammad-'Ali's refusal to recant     509 
Issue of the &Bab's death-warrants     510 
&Sam &Khan's request from the &Bab     512 
The &Bab's miraculous escape     513 
Resignation of the &Farrash-Bashi     513 
Resignation of &Sam &Khan     514 
Renewed and final attempt on the &Bab's life     517 
Account related by &Haji &Ali-'Askar     518 
Transference of the &Bab's remains to &Tihran     519 
Reference to &Mirza &Aqa &Khan-i-Nuri     522 
Effects of the &Bab's martyrdom     523 
 
 
           CHAPTER XXIV:  THE &ZANJAN UPHEAVAL 
 
Reference to the &Bab's afflictions     527 
Activities of &Hujjat prior to his conversion     529 
&Hujjat's acceptance of the &Bab's Message     531 
&Hujjat accused and summoned to &Tihran     531 
The &Bab's message to &Hujjat     533 
Renewed complaints against &Hujjat, and his transference to &Tihran     534 
The &Bab's arrival at &Zanjan and departure for &Tabriz     534 
&Hujjat's incarceration in &Tihran     537 
&Hujjat's escape to &Zanjan     539 
The occasion for the enemy's attack on &Hujjat and his companions     540 
The enemy's preparation for renewed assault     543 
&Hujjat's entry into the fort of &Ali-Mardan &Khan     545 
Assault attempted by a siyyid     546 
&Hujjat's admonitions to his companions     546 
&Sadru'd-Dawlih commissioned by the &Amir-Nizam to 
     lay siege to the fort     547 
The sufferings, labours, and temptations of the besieged     548 
Heroism of Zaynab, a village maiden     550 
Effects of the shouted prayers of the companions     553 
&Hujjat's petition to &Nasiri'd-Din &Shah     554 
Arrest of bearer of petition, and despatch of reinforcements     555 
Effect on the companions of the news of the &Bab's martyrdom     556 
 
+Pxv 
Despatch of the &Amir-Tuman with further reinforcements     556 
Meeting of &Aziz &Khan-i-Mukri with &Hujjat     556 
Storming of the fort     557 
The &Amir-Nizam's warning to the &Amir-Tuman     558 
Repulse of the combined forces of the enemy     558 
Death of &Muhsin     560 
Nuptial celebrations in the fort     561 
Death of five sons of &Karbila'i &Abdu'l-Baqi     561 
&Umm-i-Ashraf's heroism     562 
Assistance rendered by the women     563 
&Amir-Tuman's attempt to deceive the companions     564 
&Hujjat's advice to his companions     567 
Resumption of the enemy's offensive     567 
Wound sustained by &Hujjat     569 
Capture of the fort, and its effects upon the besieged     570 
Repulse of further attacks on the companions     570 
Consultation of the &Amir-Tuman with his staff     571 
Driving of underground passages     572 
Death of &Hujjat's wife and child     572 
Death of &Hujjat, and his interment     573 
Last encounter     573 
Treatment of survivors     574 
Indignities inflicted on &Hujjat's body, and fate of his kinsmen     578 
Number of martyrs     580 
Sources of information     580 
 
 
           CHAPTER XXV:  &BAHA'U'LLAH'S JOURNEY TO &KARBILA 
                           AND ITS CONSEQUENCES 
 
Incidents related by &Baha'u'llah     582 
&Nabil's meeting with &Mirza &Ahmad and &Baha'u'llah in &Kirmanshah     587 
Reference to Siyyid &Basir-i-Hindi     588 
Reason for &Baha'u'llah's departure for &Karbila     591 
&Nabil's departure with &Mirza &Ahmad for &Tihran     592 
&Baha'u'llah's activities in &Karbila     593 
 
 
           CHAPTER XXVI:  ATTEMPT ON THE &SHAH'S LIFE, 
                    AND ITS CONSEQUENCES 
 
Death of the &Amir-Nizam     595 
&Baha'u'llah's return to &Tihran     596 
&Baha'u'llah's meeting with &Azim     599 
Attempt on the &Shah's life     599 
&Baha'u'llah's imprisonment in the &Siyah-Chal     607 
Fate or would-be murderers     609 
Reign of terror     610 
Reference to &Haji &Sulayman &Khan     610 
Reference to the &Amir-Nizam's repentance     614 
Incident related by the Most Great Branch     616 
&Haji &Sulayman &Khan's martyrdom     618 
&Tahirih's martyrdom     626 
Siyyid &Husayn's martyrdom     631 
Incidents in the &Siyah-Chal, as related by &Baha'u'llah     631 
Attempts to prove &Baha'u'llah's complicity     635 
&Azim's confession and death     637 
&Baha'u'llah's possessions plundered in &Mazindaran     637 
Effects of the turmoil in Yazd and &Nayriz     637 
&Baha'u'llah's release and banishment to &Baghdad     642 
 
+Pxvi  
[Intentionally blank] 
 
+Pxvii 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
FRONTISPIECE                                      The Inmost Shrine of the &Bab 
 
FACSIMILE OF THE &BAB'S TABLETS WRITTEN TO THE NINETEEN LETTERS 
 OF THE LIVING AND TO &BAHA'U'LLAH 
 
   First Letter of the Living:        &Mulla &Husayn-i-Bushru'i 
   Second Letter of the Living:       &Muhammad &Hasan (His Brother) 
   Third Letter of the Living:        &Muhammad-Baqir (His Nephew) 
   Fourth Letter of the Living:       &Mulla &Aliy-i-Bastami 
   Fifth Letter of the Living:        &Mulla &Khuda-Bakhsh-i-Quchani  
                                       (later named &Mulla 'Ali) 
   Sixth Letter of the Living:        &Mulla &Hasan-i-Bajistani 
   Seventh Letter of the Living:      Siyyid &Husayn-i-Yazdi 
   Eighth Letter of the Living:       &Mirza &Muhammad &Rawdih-Khan-i-Yazdi 
   Ninth Letter of the Living:        &Sa'id-i-Hindi 
   Tenth Letter of the Living:        &Mulla &Mahmud-i-Khu'i 
   Eleventh Letter of the Living:     &Mulla &Jalil-i-Urumi 
   Twelfth Letter of the Living:      &Mulla &Ahmad-i-Ibdal-i-Maraghi'i 
   Thirteenth Letter of the Living:   &Mulla &Baqir-i-Tabrizi 
   Fourteenth Letter of the Living:   &Mulla &Yusif-i-Ardibili 
   Fifteenth Letter of the Living:    &Mirza &Hadi  
                                       (Son of &Mulla &Abdu'l-Vahhab-i-Qazvini) 
   Sixteenth Letter of the Living:    &Mirza &Muhammad-i &Aliy-i-Qazvini 
   Seventeenth Letter of the Living:  &Tahirih 
   Eighteenth Letter of the Living:   &Quddus 
   Nineteenth Letter of the Living:   The &Bab Himself 
   Twentieth Letter of the Living:    &Baha'u'llah  "Him Who Will Be  
                                                     Made Manifest" 
 
  
&Muhammad-i-Zarandi surnamed &Nabil-i-A'zam              Opposite page lxiii 
&Shaykh &Ahmad-i-Ahsa'i                                  Opposite page 1 
General View of Najaf     3 
&Fath-'Ali &Shah and Sons     6 
Painting of &Mirza Buzurg (Father of &Baha'u'llah)     11 
View of &Karbila     26 
Entrance to the Shrine of &Imam &Husayn in &Karbila     28 
Shrine of &Imam &Husayn in &Karbila     29 
View of &Kazimayn     41 
Section of the &Masjid-i-Baratha     43 
Site of Siyyid &Kazim's Resting Place (tombstone now removed)     44 
Home of &Mulla &Husayn in &Bushruyih     49 
Views of the &Masjid-i-Ilkhani     51 
General View of &Shiraz     52 
Room in the &Masjid-i-Ilkhani, &Shiraz, in which the &Bab 
     and &Mulla &Husayn met     53 
Orange Tree Planted by the &Bab in the Courtyard of His 
     House in &Shiraz     54 
The &Bab's Brazier and Samovar     55 
The Room where the &Bab was born in &Shiraz     56 
Outskirts of &Shiraz where the &Bab went to walk     58 
Views of the Upper Room of the &Bab's House in &Shiraz where 
     He Declared His Mission     58 
Views of the &Bab's House in &Shiraz, showing His Bed Chamber, 
     His Mother's Room, His Sitting Room     60 
Views of the &Bab's House in &Shiraz where He Declared His Mission, 
     showing Original Sash and Door, Entrance, and Steps Leading 
     to the Declaration Chamber     64 
Views of the Public Bath in &Shiraz, where the &Bab went as a Child     71 
 
+Pxviii 
Entrance Door and Ruins of the &Qahviy-i-Awliya, in &Shiraz, 
     the School the &Bab attended     73 
Grave of the &Bab's Wife in &Shah-Chiragh, &Shiraz     74 
Tree Marking Resting Place of the &Bab's Infant Son in 
     &Babi-Dukhtaran, &Shiraz     74 
Facsimile of &Tahirih's Handwriting     78 
Site of the &Kaziran Gate, &Shiraz     86 
The Market-Street of &Vakil, &Shiraz     86 
The Madrisih of &Nim-Avard, &Isfahan     95 
Views of &Tihran     102 
&Aqay-i-Kalim, Brother of &Baha'u'llah     103 
Views of the House of &Baha'u'llah in &Tihran     105 
Approach to the Ruins of &Baha'u'llah's Original Home 
     in &Takur, &Mazindaran     110 
Inscription placed by the &Vazir, &Mirza Buzurg, above 
     Door of Home in &Takur     112 
Views of the House Occupied by &Baha'u'llah in &Takur, &Mazindaran     115 
Views of the Mosque of &Gawhar-Shad in &Mashhad, showing Pulpit 
     where &Mulla &Husayn preached     124 
View of the "&Babiyyih" in &Mashhad     127 
Drawing of Mecca     129 
Relics of the &Bab, showing Dress worn under the Jubbih (outer coat)     133 
Relics of the &Bab, showing Cap around which the Turban was wound     134 
Cloth Worn By the &Bab when Circumambulating the &Ka'bih     135 
Drawing of Medina     139 
Views of the Masjid-i-Naw     144 
Views of the &Masjid-i-Vakil, &Shiraz, showing Section of 
     the Interior, Pulpit from which the &Bab Addressed the 
     Congregation, and Entrance Door     152 
Views of the House of &Quddus' Father in &Barfurush     182 
Siyyid &Javad-i-Karbila'i     189 
Interior of &Haji &Mirza &Ali's House in &Shiraz, 
     (the &Bab's Maternal Uncle)     192 
View of &Isfahan     199 
Views of the House of the &Imam-i-Jum'ih in &Isfahan, showing 
     Entrance and Courtyard     200 
Views of the &Masjid-i-Jum'ih in &Isfahan, showing Pulpit before 
     which the &Bab Prayed     203 
Views of the House of the &Mu'tamidu'd-Dawlih in &Isfahan     206 
View of the &Imarat-i-Khurshid in &Isfahan, showing Ruins 
     of the Section the &Bab Occupied     210 
&Manuchihr &Khan, The &Mu'tamidu'd-i-Dawlih     211 
View of &Kashan     217 
Gate of &Attar, &Kashan     218 
Views of the House of &Haji &Mirza &Jani in &Kashan, showing Room 
     where the &Bab stayed     220 
Views of Qum, showing the &Haram-i-Ma'Sumih     223 
Village of &Qummrud     225 
Ruins of the Fortress of &Kinar-Gird     225 
Views of the Village of Kulayn     226 
&Muhammad &Shah     229 
&Haji &Mirza &Aqasi     233 
Panorama of &Tabriz     238 
The Ark (Citadel) of &Tabriz where the &Bab was Confined, 
     showing Interior and Exterior (X) of Room He Occupied     238 
Castle of &Mah-Ku     242 
View of &Milan in &Adharbayjan     257 
Houses in which &Tahirih lived in &Qazvin     274 
&Tahirih's Library in her Father's House in &Qazvin     275 
Village of &Shah-Rud     291 
Hamlet of &Badasht     292 
The Persian Howdah     296 
Castle of &Chihriq     301 
The House Occupied by the &Bab in &Urumiyyih, The &Bala-Khanih 
     (X) showing Room in which He stayed     310 
 
+Pxix 
&Nasiri'd-Din &Shah as a Child, showing &Mirza &Abu'l-Qasim, 
     the &Qa'im-Maqam on his right and &Haji &Mirza &Aqasi on 
     his left, on extreme left (X) stands &Manuchihr &Khan, 
     the &Mu'tamidu'd-Dawlih     314 
&Nasiri'd-Din &Shah     315 
&Nasiri'd-Din &Shah     316 
Eminent Persian Mujtahids     317 
The &Namaz-Khanih of &Shaykhu'l-Islam of &Tabriz, showing corner 
     (X) where the &Bab was Bastinadoed     318 
Village of &Nishapur     325 
Views of the Village of Miyamay, showing Exterior and Interior 
     of the Masjid where &Mulla &Husayn and his companions prayed     326 
House of the &Sa'idu'l-Ulama' in &Barfurush, &Mazindaran     334 
Views of the Caravanserai of &Sabzih-Maydan in &Mazindaran     335 
The Shrine of &Shaykh &Tabarsi     343 
Views of the Site of the Fort of &Tabarsi, showing the Tomb of 
     the &Shaykh and the Site of the Fort that enclosed the Shrine     344 
Entrance of the Shrine of &Shaykh &Tabarsi in &Mazindaran     345 
Plans and Sketches of the Fort of &Shaykh &Tabarsi     348 
House of &Mirza &Muhammad-Taqi, the Mujtahid, in &Sari, &Mazindaran     350 
Village of &Afra     360 
Village of &Shir-Gah     362 
Village of &Riz-Ab     364 
Village of &Firuz-Kuh     364 
Village of &Vas-Kas     364 
View of &Amul     370 
House of the Governor of &Amul     370 
Views of the Masjid of &Amul, (X) showing the place where opening 
     was made in Wall     373 
Tree from which &Mulla &Husayn was shot     380 
Village of &Dizva     401 
Views of the Madrisih of &Mirza &Zaki, in &Barfurush, 
   the Resting Place of &Quddus     412 
&Muhammad &Rida, (One of the Companions of &Quddus, who survived the 
     Struggle of &Shaykh &Tabarsi)     427 
&Mirza &Abu-Talib (Companion of &Quddus who survived the 
     Struggle of &Shaykh &Tabarsi)     428 
Views of the &Masjid-i-Shah of &Tihran     438 
The Madrisih of &Mirza &Salih in &Tihran     440 
The &Madrisiy-i-Sadr in &Tihran, (X) showing 
     Room &Baha'u'llah Occupied     442 
The Madrisih of &Daru'sh-Shafay-i-Masjid-i-Shah in &Tihran     443 
The &Sabzih-Maydan of &Tihran     457 
Gate of Naw, &Tihran     457 
Panorama of Yazd     462 
&Vahid's House in Yazd     466 
Views of the Fort of &Narin, Yazd     470 
Panorama of &Nayriz     478 
&Vahid's House in &Nayriz     479 
The Fort of &Khajih     480 
&Vahid's Room in the Fort     480 
The &Masjid-i-Jami' at &Nayriz     492 
Site of the Martyrdoms at &Nayriz     497 
Graves of the Martyrs at &Nayriz     497 
&Vahid's Resting-Place at &Nayriz     498 
&Mirza &Taqi &Khan, the &Amir-Nizam     500 
The &Bab's Prayer Beads and Signet Ring     503 
&Qur'an belonging to the &Bab     503 
Ruins of the House &Mulla &Muhammad-i-Mamaqani, the Mujtahid of &Tabriz     509 
The Barrack-Square in &Tabriz, where the &Bab suffered Martyrdom 
     (X) showing place where He was Suspended and shot)     511 
Site of the Moat that surrounded &Tabriz, where the &Bab's Body 
     was thrown     517  
 
+Pxx 
View of the &Imam-Zadih &Hasan at &Tihran, where the &Bab's Body 
     was kept     520 
View of &Zanjan     527 
Views of the Masjid built for &Hujjat by his companions     528 
The Caravanserai of &Mirza &Ma'sum-i-Tabib at &Zanjan, 
     (X) showing Room the &Bab Occupied     535 
Graves of &Ashraf (1) and his Mother (2)     562 
Entrance to &Hujjat's ruined House at &Zanjan     571 
Square in &Zanjan where &Hujjat's Body was left exposed for three days     578 
&Haji &Imam (X) showing One of the survivors of the struggle of &Zanjan     579 
Village of &Afchih near &Tihran (showing &Baha'u'llah's House  
     through trees)     597 
&Murgh-Mahallih, &Baha'u'llah's Summer Residence in &Shimiran     598 
View of &Niyavaran near &Tihran     602 
The Russian Legation in the Village of &Zarkandih     604 
Southern part of &Tihran where criminals were hanged and where many  
     &Baha'is were martyred, (X) indicates site of &Siyah-Chal     607 
&Baha'i Family martyred in Persia     610 
Believers gathered around the Body of a Martyr     611 
The House of the Kalantar in &Tihran where &Tahirih was confined     623 
Costumes worn by Persian Ladies in the middle of the 19th Century  
     (showing Indoor and Outdoor dress)     624 
Site of the Garden of &Ilkhani where &Tahirih was Martyred     626 
General View of &Takur in &Mazindaran     638 
Ruins of &Baha'u'llah's House, originally belonging to the &Vazir,  
     His Father in &Takur, &Mazindaran     640 
View of &Abadih     644 
The &Hadiqatu'r-Rahman, where the Heads of the Martyrs of &Nayriz  
     Lie Buried     645 
Views of &Baghdad     649 
&Baha'u'llah's House in &Baghdad     662 
View of the Illuminated Shrine of the &Bab on Mount Carmel     666 
Map of Persia     677 
 
+Pxxi 
                FACSIMILE OF THE &BAB'S AUTOGRAPH 
 
                   TABLETS ADDRESSED TO THE 
                    LETTERS OF THE LIVING 
                     AND TO &BAHA'U'LLAH 

+Pxxii 
[Intentionally blank] 
 
[NOTE:  The next 20 leaves of the book which contain the facsimiles are 
unnumbered pages.]  
 
+Pxxiii 
                     INTRODUCTION 
 
     The &Baha'i Movement is now well known throughout 
the world, and the time has come when &Nabil's 
unique narrative of its beginnings in darkest Persia 
will interest many readers.  The record which he 
sets down with such devoted care is in many respects extraordinary.  
It has its thrilling passages, and the splendour of 
the central theme gives to the chronicle not only great historical 
value but high moral power.  Its lights are strong; 
and this effect is more intense because they seem like a sunburst 
at midnight.  The tale is one of struggle and martyrdom; 
its poignant scenes, its tragic incidents are many.  
Corruption, fanaticisms and cruelty gather against the cause 
of reformation to destroy it, and the present volume closes 
at the point where a riot of hate seems to have accomplished 
its purpose and to have driven into exile or put to death 
every man, woman, and child in Persia who dared to profess 
a leaning towards the teaching of the &Bab.  
     &Nabil, himself a participant in some of the scenes which 
he recites, took up his lonely pen to recite the truth about 
men and women so mercilessly persecuted and a movement 
so grievously traduced.  
     He writes with ease, and when his emotions are strongly 
stirred his style becomes vigorous and trenchant.  He does 
not present with any system the claims and teaching of 
&Baha'u'llah and His Forerunner.  His purpose is the simple 
one of rehearsing the beginnings of the &Baha'i Revelation 
and of preserving the remembrance of the deeds of its early 
champions.  He relates a series of incidents, punctiliously 
quoting his authority for almost every item of information.  
His work in consequence, if less artistic and philosophic, 
gains in value as a literal account of what he knew or could 
from credible witnesses discover about the early history of 
the Cause.  
     The main features of the narrative (the saintly heroic 
 
+Pxxiv 
figure of the &Bab, a leader so mild and so serene, yet eager, 
resolute, and dominant; the devotion of his followers facing 
oppression with unbroken courage and often with ecstasy; 
the rage of a jealous priesthood inflaming for its own purpose 
the passions of a bloodthirsty populace--these speak a language 
which all may understand.  But it is not easy to 
follow the narrative in its details, or to appreciate how stupendous 
was the task undertaken by &Baha'u'llah and His 
Forerunner, without some knowledge of the condition of 
church and state in Persia and of the customs and mental 
outlook of the people and their masters &Nabil took this 
knowledge for granted.  He had himself travelled little if at 
all beyond the boundary of the empires of the &Shah and the 
&Sultan, and it did not occur to him to institute comparisons 
between his own and foreign civilisations.  He was not addressing 
the Western reader.  Though he was conscious that 
the material he had collected was of more than national or 
&Islamic importance and that it would before long spread 
both eastward and westward until it encircled the globe, yet 
he was an Oriental writing in an Oriental language for those 
who used it, and the unique work which he so faithfully 
accomplished was in itself a great and laborious task.  
     There exists in English, however, a literature about Persia 
in the nineteenth century which will give the Western reader 
ample information on the subject.  From Persian writings 
which have already been translated, or from books of European 
travellers like Lord Curzon, Sir J. Malcolm, and others 
not a few, he will find a lifelike and vivid if unlovely picture 
of the Augean conditions which the &Bab had to confront 
when He inaugurated the Movement in the middle of the 
nineteenth century.  
     All observers agree in representing Persia as a feeble and 
backward nation divided against itself by corrupt practices 
and ferocious bigotries.  Inefficiency and wretchedness, the 
fruit of moral decay, filled the land.  From the highest to 
the lowest there appeared neither the capacity to carry out 
methods of reform nor even the will seriously to institute 
them National conceit preached a grandiose self-content.  
A pall of immobility lay over all things, and a general paralysis 
of mind made any development impossible.  
 
+Pxxv 
     To a student of history the degeneracy of a nation once 
so powerful and so illustrious seems pitiful in the extreme.  
&Abdu'l-Baha, who in spite of the cruelties heaped on &Baha'u'llah, 
on the &Bab, and on Himself, yet loved His country, 
called their degradation "the tragedy of a people"; and in 
that work, "The Mysterious Forces of Civilisation," in which 
He sought to stir the hearts of His compatriots to undertake 
radical reforms, He uttered a poignant lament over the present 
fate of a people who once had extended their conquests 
east and west and had led the civilisation of mankind.  "In 
former times," he writes, "Persia was verily the heart of the 
world and shone among the nations like a lighted taper.  
Her glory and prosperity broke from the horizon of humanity 
like the true dawn disseminating the light of knowledge and 
illumining the nations of the East and West.  The fame of 
her victorious kings reached the ears of the dwellers at the 
poles of the earth.  The majesty of her king of kings humbled 
the monarchs of Greece and Rome Her governing wisdom 
filled the sages with awe, and the rulers of the continents 
fashioned their laws upon her polity.  The Persians being 
distinguished among the nations of the earth as a people of 
conquerors, and justly admired for their civilisation and 
learning, their country became the glorious centre of all the 
sciences and arts, the mine of culture and a fount of virtues.
...How is it that this excellent country now, by reason of 
our sloth, vanity, and indifference, from the lack of knowledge 
and organisation, from the poverty of the zeal and ambition 
of her people, has suffered the rays of her prosperity to be 
darkened and well-nigh extinguished?"  
     Other writers describe fully those unhappy conditions to 
which &Abdu'l-Baha refers.  
     At the time when the &Bab declared His Mission, the 
government of the country was, in Lord Curzon's phrase, 
"a Church-State."  Venal, cruel, and immoral as it was, it 
was formally religious.  Muslim orthodoxy was its basis and 
permeated to the core both it and the social lives of the 
people.  But  otherwise there were no laws, statutes, or charters 
to guide the direction of public affairs.  There was no 
House of Lords nor Privy Council, no synod, no Parliament.  
The &Shah was despot, and his arbitrary rule was reflected 
 
+Pxxvi 
all down the official scale through every minister and governor 
to the lowliest clerk or remotest headman.  No civil tribunal 
existed to check or modify the power of the monarch or the 
authority which he might choose to delegate to his subordinates.  
If there was a law, it was his word.  He could do as 
he pleased.  It was his to appoint or to dismiss all ministers, 
officials, officers, and judges.  He had power of life and death 
without appeal over all members of his household and of his 
court, whether civil or military.  The right to take life was 
vested in him alone; and so were all the functions of government, 
legislative, executive, and judicial.  His royal prerogative 
was limited by no written restraint whatever.  
     Descendants of the &Shahs were thrust into the most lucrative 
posts throughout the country, and as the generations 
went by they filled innumerable minor posts too, far and 
wide, till the land was burdened with this race of royal drones 
who owed their position to nothing better than their blood 
and who gave rise to the Persian saying that "camels, fleas, 
and princes exist everywhere."  
     Even when a &Shah wished to make a just and wise decision 
in any case that might be brought before him for 
judgment, he found it difficult to do so, because he could 
not rely on the information given him.  Critical facts would 
be withheld, or the facts given would be distorted by the 
influence of interested witnesses or venal ministers.  The system 
of corruption had been carried so far in Persia that it 
had become a recognised institution which Lord Curzon describes 
in the following terms:  
     "I come now to that which is the cardinal and differentiating 
feature of Iranian administration.  Government, nay, 
life itself, in that country may be said to consist for the 
most part of an interchange of presents.  Under its social 
aspects this practice may be supposed to illustrate the generous 
sentiments of an amiable people; though even here it 
has a grimly unemotional side, as, for instance, when, congratulating 
yourself upon being the recipient of a gift, you 
find that not only must you make a return of equivalent 
cost to the donor, but must also liberally remunerate the 
bearer of the gift (to whom your return is very likely the 
sole recognised means of subsistence) in a ratio proportionate 
 
+Pxxvii 
to its pecuniary value.  Under its political aspects, the practice 
of gift-making, though consecrated in the adamantine 
traditions of the East, is synonymous with the system elsewhere 
described by less agreeable names.  This is the system 
on which the government of Persia has been conducted for 
centuries, and the maintenance of which opposes a solid 
barrier to any real reform.  From the &Shah downwards, there 
is scarcely an official who is not open to gifts, scarcely a post 
which is not conferred in return for gifts, scarcely an income 
which has not been amassed by the receipt of gifts.  Every 
individual, with hardly an exception, in the official hierarchy 
above mentioned, has only purchased his post by a money 
present either to the &Shah, or to a minister, or to the superior 
governor by whom he has been appointed.  If there are 
several candidates for a post, in all probability the one who 
makes the best offer will win.  
     "...The `&madakhil' is a cherished national institution 
in Persia, the exaction of which, in a myriad different forms, 
whose ingenuity is only equalled by their multiplicity, is the 
crowning interest and delight of a Persian's existence.  This 
remarkable word, for which Mr. Watson says there is no 
precise English equivalent, may be variously translated as 
commission, perquisite, douceur, consideration, pickings and 
stealings, profit, according to the immediate context in which 
it is employed.  Roughly speaking, it signifies that balance 
of personal advantage, usually expressed in money form, 
which can be squeezed out of any and every transaction.  A 
negotiation, in which two parties are involved as donor and 
recipient, as superior and subordinate, or even as equal contracting 
agents, cannot take place in Persia without the party 
who can be represented as the author of the favour or service 
claiming and receiving a definite cash return for what he 
has done or given.  It may of course be said that human 
nature is much the same all the world over; that a similar 
system exists under a different name in our own or other 
countries, and that the philosophic critic will welcome in the 
Persian a man and a brother.  To some extent this is true.  
But in no country that I have ever seen or heard of in the 
world, is the system so open, so shameless, or so universal 
as in Persia.  So far from being limited to the sphere of 
 
+Pxxviii 
domestic economy or to commercial transactions, it permeates 
every walk and inspires most of the actions of life.  By its 
operation, generosity or gratuitous service may be said to 
have been erased in Persia from the category of social virtues, 
and cupidity has been elevated into the guiding principle of 
human conduct....  Hereby is instituted an arithmetical 
progression of plunder from the sovereign to the subject, 
each unit in the descending scale remunerating himself from 
the unit next in rank below his, and the hapless peasant 
being the ultimate victim.  It is not surprising, under these 
circumstances, that office is the common avenue to wealth, 
and that cases are frequent of men who, having started from 
nothing, are found residing in magnificent houses, surrounded 
by crowds of retainers and living in princely style.  `Make 
what you can while you can' is the rule that most men set 
before themselves in entering public life.  Nor does popular 
spirit resent the act; the estimation of any one who, enjoying 
the opportunity, has failed to line his own pockets, being the 
reverse of complimentary to his sense.  No one turns a 
thought to the sufferers from whom, in the last resort, the 
material for these successive `&madakhils' has been derived, 
and from the sweat of whose uncomplaining brow has been 
wrung the wealth that is dissipated in luxurious country 
houses, European curiosities and enormous retinues."  
     To read the foregoing is to perceive something of the 
difficulty of the &Bab's mission; to read the following is to 
understand the dangers he faced, and to be prepared for a 
story of violence and heinous cruelty.  
     "Before I quit the subject of the Persian law and its 
administration, let me add a few words upon the subject of 
penalties and prisons.  Nothing is more shocking to the 
European reader, in pursuing his way through the crime-stained 
and bloody pages of Persian history during the last 
and, in a happily less degree, during the present century, 
than the record of savage punishments and abominable tortures, 
testifying alternately to the callousness of the brute 
and the ingenuity of the fiend.  The Persian character has 
ever been fertile in device and indifferent to suffering; and 
in the field of judicial executions it has found ample scope 
for the exercise of both attainments.  Up till quite a recent 
 
+Pxxix 
period, well within the borders of the present reign, condemned 
criminals have been crucified, blown from guns, 
buried alive, impaled, shod like horses, torn asunder by being 
bound to the heads of two trees bent together and then 
allowed to spring back to their natural position, converted 
into human torches, flayed while living.  
     "...Under a twofold governing system, such as that of 
which I have now completed the description--namely, an 
administration in which every actor is, in different aspects, 
both the briber and the bribed; and a judicial procedure, 
without either a law or a law court--it will readily be understood 
that confidence in the Government is not likely to 
exist, that there is no personal sense of duty or pride of honour, 
no mutual trust or co-operation (except in the service of ill-doing), 
no disgrace in exposure, no credit in virtue, above all 
no national spirit or patriotism."  
     From the beginning the &Bab must have divined the reception 
which would be accorded by His countrymen to His 
teachings, and the fate which awaited Him at the hands of 
the &mullas.  But He did not allow personal misgivings to 
affect the frank enunciation of His claims nor the open presentation 
of His Cause.  The innovations which He proclaimed, 
though purely religious, were drastic; the announcement 
of His own identity startling and tremendous.  He 
made Himself known as the &Qa'im, the High Prophet or 
Messiah so long promised, so eagerly expected by the &Muhammadan 
world.  He added to this the declaration that he 
was also the Gate (that is, the &Bab) through whom a greater 
Manifestation than Himself was to enter the human realm.  
     Putting Himself thus in line with the traditions of &Islam, 
and appearing as the fulfilment of prophecy, He came into 
conflict with those who had fixed and ineradicable ideas 
(different from His) as to what those prophecies and traditions 
meant.  The two great Persian sects of &Islam, the 
&shi'ah and the &sunnis, both attached vital importance to the 
ancient deposit of their faith but did not agree as to its contents 
or its import.  The &shi'ah, out of whose doctrines the 
&Babi Movement rose, held that after the ascension of the 
High Prophet &Muhammad He was succeeded by a line of 
twelve &Imams.  Each of these, they held, was specially endowed 
 
+Pxxx 
by God with spiritual gifts and powers, and was 
entitled to the whole-hearted obedience of the faithful.  Each 
owed his appointment not to the popular choice but to his 
nomination by his predecessor in office.  The twelfth and 
last of these inspired guides was &Muhammad, called by the 
&shi'ah "&Imam-Mihdi, &Hujjatu'llah [the Proof of God], 
&Bagiyyatu'llah [the Remnant of God], and &Qa'im-i-Ali-Muhammad 
[He who shall arise of the family of &Muhammad]."  
He assumed the functions of the &Imam in the year 260 of 
the Hegira, but at once disappeared from view and communicated 
with his followers only through a certain chosen intermediary 
known as a Gate.  Four of these Gates followed one 
another in order, each appointed by his predecessor with the 
approval of the &Imam.  But when the fourth, &Abu'l-Hasan-Ali, 
was asked by the faithful, before he died, to name his 
successor, he declined to do so.  He said that God had another 
plan.  On his death all communication between the 
&Imam and his church therefore ceased.  And though, surrounded 
by a band of followers, he still lives and waits in 
some mysterious retreat, he will not resume relations with 
his people until he comes forth in power to establish a millennium 
throughout the world.  
     The &sunnis, on the other hand, take a less exalted view 
of the office of those who have succeeded the High Prophet.  
They regard the vicegerency less as a spiritual than as a 
practical matter.  The &Khalif is, in their eyes, the Defender 
of the Faith, and he owes his appointment to the choice and 
approval of the People.  
     Important as these differences are, both sects agree, however, 
in expecting a twofold Manifestation.  The &shi'ahs look 
for the &Qa'im, who is to come in the fulness of time, and also 
for the return of the &Imam &Husayn.  The &sunnis await the 
appearance of the &Mihdi and also "the return of Jesus Christ."  
When, at the beginning of his Mission, the &Bab, continuing 
the tradition of the &shi'ahs, proclaimed His function under 
the double title of, first, the &Qa'im and, second, the Gate, 
or &Bab, some of the &Muhammadans misunderstood the latter 
reference.  They imagined His meaning to be that He was a 
fifth Gate In succession to &Abu'l-Hasan-'Ali.  His true meaning, 
however, as He himself clearly announced, was very 
 
+Pxxxi 
different.  He was the &Qa'im; but the &Qa'im, though a High 
Prophet, stood in relation to a succeeding and greater Manifestation 
as did John the Baptist to the Christ.  He was the 
Forerunner of One yet more mighty than Himself.  He was 
to decrease; that Mighty One was to increase.  And as John 
the Baptist had been the Herald or Gate of the Christ, so 
was the &Bab the Herald or Gate of &Baha'u'llah.  
     There are many authentic traditions showing that the 
&Qa'im on His appearance would bring new laws with Him 
and would thus abrogate &Islam.  But this was not the 
understanding of the established hierarchy.  They confidently expected 
that the promised Advent would not substitute a new 
and richer revelation for the old, but would endorse and 
fortify the system of which they were the functionaries.  It 
would enhance incalculably their personal prestige, would 
extend their authority far and wide among the nations, and 
would win for them the reluctant but abject homage of 
mankind.  When the &Bab revealed His &Bayan, proclaimed a 
new code of religious law, and by precept and example instituted 
a profound moral and spiritual reform, the priests immediately 
scented mortal danger.  They saw their monopoly 
undermined, their ambitions threatened, their own lives and 
conduct put to shame.  They rose against Him in sanctimonious 
indignation.  They declared before the &Shah and all the 
people that this upstart was an enemy of sound learning, a 
subverter of &Islam, a traitor to &Muhammad, and a peril not 
only to the holy church but to the social order and to the 
State itself.  
     The cause of the rejection and persecution of the &Bab 
was in its essence the same as that of the rejection and persecution 
of the Christ.  If Jesus had not brought a New 
Book, if He had not only reiterated the spiritual principles 
taught by Moses but had continued Moses' rules and regulations 
too, He might as a merely moral reformer have escaped 
the vengeance of the Scribes and Pharisees.  But to claim 
that any part of the Mosaic law, even such material ordinances 
as those that dealt with divorce and the keeping of the 
Sabbath, could be altered--and altered by an unordained 
preacher from the village of Nazareth--this was to threaten 
the interests of the Scribes and Pharisees themselves, and 
 
+Pxxxii 
since they were the representatives of Moses and of God, it 
was blasphemy against the Most High.  As soon as the position 
of Jesus was understood, His persecution began.  As 
He refused to desist, He was put to death.  
     For reasons exactly parallel, the &Bab was from the beginning 
opposed by the vested interests of the dominant 
Church as an uprooter of the Faith.  Yet, even in that dark 
and fanatical country, the &mullas (like the Scribes in Palestine 
eighteen centuries before) did not find it very easy to put 
forward a plausible pretext for destroying Him whom they 
thought their enemy.  
     The only known record of the &Bab's having been seen by 
a European belongs to the period of His persecution when 
an English physician resident in &Tabriz, Dr. Cormick, was 
called in by the Persian authorities to pronounce on the 
&Bab's mental condition.  The doctor's letter, addressed to a 
fellow practitioner in an American mission in Persia, is given 
in Professor E. G. Browne's "Materials for the Study of the 
&Babi Religion."  "You ask me," writes the doctor, "for some 
particulars of my interview with the founder of the sect 
known as &Babis.  Nothing of any importance transpired in 
this interview, as the &Bab was aware of my having been 
sent with two other Persian doctors to see whether he was 
of sane mind or merely a madman, to decide the question 
whether he was to be put to death or not.  With this knowledge 
he was loth to answer any questions put to him.  To all 
enquiries he merely regarded us with a mild look, chanting 
in a low melodious voice some hymns, I suppose.  Two other 
siyyids, his intimate friends, were also present, who subsequently 
were put to death with him, besides a couple of 
government officials.  He only deigned to answer me, on my 
saying that I was not a Musulman and was willing to know 
something about his religion, as I might perhaps be inclined 
to adopt it.  He regarded me very intently on my saying 
this, and replied that he had no doubt of all Europeans 
coming over to his religion.  Our report to the &Shah at that 
time was of a nature to spare his life.  He was put to death 
some time after by the order of the &Amir-Nizam, &Mirza &Taqi 
&Khan.  On our report he merely got the bastinado, in which 
operation a &farrash, whether intentionally or not, struck him 
 
+Pxxxiii 
across the face with the stick destined for his feet, which 
produced a great wound and swelling of the face.  On being 
asked whether a Persian surgeon should be brought to treat him, 
he expressed a desire that I should be sent for, and I 
accordingly treated him for a few days, but in the interviews 
consequent on this I could never get him to have a confidential 
chat with me, as some government people were always 
present, he being a prisoner.  He was a very mild and delicate-looking 
man, rather small in stature and very fair for a 
Persian, with a melodious soft voice, which struck me much.  
Being a Siyyid, he was dressed in the habit of that sect, as 
were also his two companions.  In fact his whole look and 
deportment went far to dispose one in his favour.  Of his 
doctrine I heard nothing from his own lips, although the idea 
was that there existed in his religion a certain approach to 
Christianity.  He was seen by some Armenian carpenters, 
who were sent to make some repairs in his prison, reading 
the Bible, and he took no pains to conceal it, but on the 
contrary told them of it.  Most assuredly the Musulman 
fanaticism does not exist in his religion, as applied to Christians, 
nor is there that restraint of females that now exists."  
     Such was the impression made by the &Bab upon a cultivated 
Englishman.  And as far as the influence of His character 
and teaching have since spread through the West, no 
other record is extant of His having been observed or seen 
by European eyes.  
     His qualities were so rare in their nobility and beauty, 
His personality so gentle and yet so forceful, and His natural 
charm was combined with so much tact and judgment, that 
after His Declaration He quickly became in Persia a widely 
popular figure.  He would win over almost all with whom 
He was brought into personal contact, often converting His 
gaolers to His Faith and turning the ill-disposed into admiring 
friends.  
     To silence such a man without incurring some degree of 
public odium was not very easy even in the Persia of the 
middle of last century.  But with the &Bab's followers it was 
another matter.  
     The &mullas encountered here no cause for delay and 
found little need for scheming.  The bigotry of the &Muhammadans 
 
+Pxxxiv 
from the &Shah downwards could be readily roused 
against any religious development.  The &Babis could be accused 
of disloyalty to the &Shah, and dark political motives 
could be attributed to their activities.  Moreover, the &Bab's 
followers were already numerous; many of them were well-to-do, 
some were rich, and there were few but had some 
possessions which covetous neighbours might be instigated to 
desire.  Appealing to the fears of the authorities and to the 
base national passions of fanaticism and cupidity, the &mullas 
inaugurated a campaign of outrage and spoliation which they 
maintained with relentless ferocity till they considered that 
their purpose had been completely achieved.  
     Many of the incidents of this unhappy story are given 
by &Nabil in his history, and among these the happenings at 
&Mazindaran, &Nayriz, and &Zanjan stand out by reason of the 
character of the episodes of the heroism of the &Babis when 
thus brought to bay.  On these three occasions a number of 
&Babis, driven to desperation, withdrew in concert from their 
houses to a chosen retreat and, erecting defensive works 
about them, defied in arms further pursuit.  To any impartial 
witness it was evident that the &mullas' allegations of 
a political motive were untrue.  The &Babis showed themselves 
always ready--on an assurance that they would be no longer 
molested for their religious beliefs--to return peacefully to 
their civil occupations.  &Nabil emphasises their care to refrain 
from aggression.  They would fight for their lives with determined 
skill and strength; but they would not attack.  
Even in the midst of a fierce conflict they would not drive 
home an advantage nor strike an unnecessary blow.  
     &Abdu'l-Baha is quoted in the "Traveller's Narrative," 
pp. 34-35, as making the following statement on the moral 
aspect of their action:  
     "The minister (&Mirza &Taqi &Khan), with the utmost arbitrariness, 
without receiving any instructions or asking permission, 
sent forth commands in all directions to punish and 
chastise the &Babis.  Governors and magistrates sought a pretext 
for amassing wealth, and officials a means of acquiring 
profits; celebrated doctors from the summits of their pulpits 
incited men to make a general onslaught; the powers of the 
religious and the civil law linked hands and strove to eradicate 
 
+Pxxxv 
and destroy this people.  Now this people had not yet 
acquired such knowledge as was right and needful of the 
fundamental principles and hidden doctrines of the &Bab's 
teachings, and did not recognise their duties.  Their conceptions 
and ideas were after the former fashion, and their conduct 
and behaviour in correspondence with ancient usage.  
The way of approach to the &Bab was, moreover, closed, and 
the flame of trouble visibly blazing on every side.  At the 
decree of the most celebrated doctors, the government, and 
indeed the common people, had, with irresistible power, inaugurated 
rapine and plunder on all sides, and were engaged 
in punishing and torturing, killing and despoiling, in order 
that they might quench this fire and wither these poor souls.  
In towns where there were but a limited number, all of them 
with bound hands became food for the sword, while in cities 
where they were numerous, they arose in self-defence in 
accordance with their former beliefs, since it was impossible 
for them to make enquiry as to their duty, and all doors were 
closed."  
     &Baha'u'llah, on proclaiming some years later His Mission, 
left no room for uncertainty as to the law of His Dispensation 
in such a predicament when He affirmed:  "It is better to be 
killed than to kill."  
     Whatever resistance the &Babis offered, here or elsewhere, 
proved ineffective.  They were overwhelmed by numbers.  
The &Bab Himself was taken from His cell and executed.  Of 
His chief disciples who avowed their belief in Him, not one 
soul was left alive save &Baha'u'llah, who with His family 
and a handful of devoted followers was driven destitute into 
exile and prison in a foreign land.  
     But the fire, though smothered, was not quenched.  It 
burned in the hearts of the exiles who carried it from country 
to country as they travelled.  Even in the homeland of 
Persia it had penetrated too deeply to be extinguished by 
physical violence, and still smouldered in the people's hearts, 
needing only a breath from the spirit to be fanned into an 
all-consuming conflagration.  
     The Second and greater Manifestation of God was proclaimed 
in accordance with the prophecy of the &Bab at the 
date which He had foretold.  Nine years after the beginning 
 
+Pxxxvi 
of the &Babi Dispensation--that is, in 1853--&Baha'u'llah, in 
certain of His odes, alluded to His identity and His Mission, 
and ten years later, while resident in &Baghdad, declared 
Himself as the Promised One to His companions.  
     Now the great Movement for which the &Bab had prepared 
the way began to show the full range and magnificence of its 
power.  Though &Baha'u'llah Himself lived and died an exile 
and a prisoner and was known to few Europeans, His epistles 
proclaiming the new Advent were borne to the great rulers 
of both hemispheres, from the &Shah of Persia to the Pope 
and to the President of the United States.  After His passing, 
His son &Abdu'l-Baha carried the tidings in person into Egypt 
and far through the Western world.  &Abdu'l-Baha visited 
England, France, Switzerland, Germany, and America, announcing 
everywhere that once again the heavens had opened 
and that a new Dispensation had come to bless the sons of 
men.  He died in November, 1921; and to-day the fire that 
once seemed to have been put out for ever, burns again in 
every part of Persia, has established itself on the American 
continent, and has laid hold of every country in the world.  
Around the sacred writings of &Baha'u'llah and the authoritative 
exposition of &Abdu'l-Baha there is growing a large volume 
of literature in comment or in witness.  The humanitarian 
and spiritual principles enunciated decades ago in the 
darkest East by &Baha'u'llah and moulded by Him into a 
coherent scheme are one after the other being taken by a 
world unconscious of their source as the marks of progressive 
civilisation.  And the sense that mankind has broken with 
the past and that the old guidance will not carry it through 
the emergencies of the present has filled with uncertainty 
and dismay all thoughtful men save those who have learned 
to find in the story of &Baha'u'llah the meaning of all the 
prodigies and portents of our time.  
     Nearly three generations have passed since the inception 
of the Movement.  Any of its early adherents who escaped 
the sword and the stake have long since passed away in the 
course of nature.  The door of contemporary information as 
to its two great leaders and their heroic disciples is closed 
for ever.  The Chronicle of &Nabil as a careful collection of 
facts made in the interests of truth and completed in the 
 
+Pxxxvii 
lifetime of &Baha'u'llah has now a unique value.  The author 
was thirteen years old when the &Bab declared Himself, having 
been born in the village of Zarand in Persia on the eighteenth 
day of &Safar, 1247 A.H.  He was throughout his life closely 
associated with the leaders of the Cause.  Though he was 
but a boy at the time, he was preparing to leave for &Shaykh 
&Tabarsi and join the party of &Mulla &Husayn when the news 
of the treacherous massacre of the &Babis frustrated his design.  
He states in his narrative that he met, in &Tihran, &Haji &Mirza 
Siyyid &Ali, a brother of the &Bab's mother, who had just returned 
at the time from visiting the &Bab in the fortress of 
&Chihriq; and for many years he was a close companion of 
the &Bab's secretary, &Mirza &Ahmad.  
     He entered the presence of &Baha'u'llah in &Kirmanshah 
and &Tihran before the date of the exile to &Iraq, and afterwards 
was in attendance upon Him in &Baghdad and Adrianople 
as well as in the prison-city of &Akka.  He was sent more 
than once on missions to Persia to promote the Cause and 
to encourage the scattered and persecuted believers, and he 
was living in &Akka when &Baha'u'llah passed away in 1892 A.D.  
The manner of his death was pathetic and lamentable, for 
he became so dreadfully affected by the death of the Great 
Beloved that, overmastered by grief, he drowned himself in 
the sea, and his dead body was found washed ashore near the 
city of &Akka.  
     His chronicle was begun in 1888, when he had the personal 
assistance of &Mirza &Musa, the brother of &Baha'u'llah.  It 
was finished in about a year and a half, and parts of the 
manuscript were reviewed and approved, some by &Baha'u'llah, 
and others by &Abdu'l-Baha.  
     The complete work carries the history of the Movement 
up to the death of &Baha'u'llah in 1892.  
     The first half of this narrative, closing with the expulsion 
of &Baha'u'llah from Persia, is contained in the present volume.  
Its importance is evident.  It will be read less for the few 
stirring passages of action which it contains, or even for its 
many pictures of heroism and unwavering faith, than for the 
abiding significance of those events of which it gives so unique 
a record.  
 
+Pxxxviii 
            PERSIA'S STATE OF DECADENCE IN THE MIDDLE 
                   OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY 
 
                   A.  THE &QAJAR SOVEREIGNS 
 
     "In theory the king may do what he pleases; his word 
is law.  The saying that `The law of the Medes and Persians 
altereth not' was merely an ancient periphrasis for the absolutism 
of the sovereign.  He appoints and he may dismiss all 
ministers, officers, officials, and judges.  Over his own family 
and household, and over the civil or military functionaries 
in his employ, he has power of life and death without reference 
to any tribunal.  The property of any such individual, 
if disgraced or executed, reverts to him.  The right to take 
life in any case is vested in him alone, but can be delegated 
to governors or deputies.  All property, not previously granted 
by the crown or purchased--all property, in fact, to which a 
legal title cannot be established--belongs to him, and can be 
disposed of at his pleasure.  All rights or privileges, such as 
the making of public works, the working of mines, the institution 
of telegraphs, roads, railroads, tramways, etc., the 
exploitation, in fact, of any of the resources of the country, 
are vested in him, and must be purchased from him before 
they can be assumed by others.  In his person are fused the 
threefold functions of government, legislative, executive, and 
judicial.  No obligation is imposed upon him beyond the 
outward observance of the forms of the national religion.  He 
is the pivot upon which turns the entire machinery of public 
life.  
     "Such is, in theory, and was till lately in practice, the 
character of the Persian monarchy.  Nor has a single one of 
these high pretensions been overtly conceded.  The language 
in which the &Shah addresses his subjects and is addressed by 
them, recalls the proud tone in which an Artaxerxes or Darius 
spoke to his tributary millions, and which may still be read 
in the graven record of rock-wall and tomb.  He remains the 
&Shahinshah, or King of Kings; the &Zillu'llah, or Shadow of 
God; the &Qibliy-i-'Alam, or Centre of the Universe; `Exalted 
like the planet Saturn; Well of Science; Footpath of Heaven; 
Sublime Sovereign, whose standard is the Sun, whose splendour 
is that of the Firmament; Monarch of armies numerous 
 
+Pxxxix 
as the stars.'  Still would the Persian subject endorse the 
precept of &Sa'di, that `The vice approved by the king becomes 
a virtue; to seek opposite counsel is to imbrue one's hands 
in his own blood.'  The march of time has imposed upon him 
neither religious council nor secular council, neither &ulama 
nor senate.  Elective and representative institutions have not 
yet intruded their irreverent features.  No written check 
exists upon the royal prerogative.  
     "...Such is the divinity that doth hedge a throne in 
Persia, that not merely does the &Shah never attend at state 
dinners or eat with his subjects at table, with the exception 
of a single banquet to his principal male relatives at &Naw-ruz, 
but the attitude and language employed towards him even by 
his confidential ministers are those of servile obeisance and 
adulation.  `May I be your sacrifice, Asylum of the Universe,' 
is the common mode of address adopted even by subjects of 
the highest rank.  In his own surrounding there is no one 
to tell him the truth or to give him dispassionate counsel.  
The foreign Ministers are probably almost the only source 
from which he learns facts as they are, or receives unvarnished, 
even if interested, advice.  With the best intentions in the 
world for the undertaking of great plans and for the amelioration 
of his country, he has little or no control over the execution 
of an enterprise which has once passed out of his hands 
and has become the sport of corrupt and self-seeking officials.  
Half the money voted with his consent never reaches its 
destination, but sticks to every intervening pocket with which 
a professional ingenuity can bring it into transient contact; 
half the schemes authorised by him are never brought any 
nearer to realisation, the minister or functionary in charge 
trusting to the oblivious caprices of the sovereign to overlook 
his dereliction of duty.  
     "...Only a century ago the abominable system prevailed 
of blinding possible aspirants to the throne, of savage 
mutilations and life-long captivities, of wanton slaughter and 
systematic bloodshed.  Disgrace was not less sudden than 
promotion, and death was a frequent concomitant of disgrace.  
     "...&Fath-'Ali &Shah ... and his successors after him, 
have proved so extraordinarily prolific of male offspring that 
the continuity of the dynasty has been assured; and there is 
 
+Pxl 
probably not a reigning family in the world that in the space 
of one hundred years has swollen to such ample dimensions 
as the royal race of Persia....  Neither in the number of 
his wives nor in the extent of his progeny, can the &Shah, 
although undeniably a family man, be compared with his 
great-grandfather, &Fath-'Ali &Shah.  To the high opinion universally 
held of the domestic capacities of that monarch 
must, I imagine, be attributed the divergent estimates that 
are to be found, in works about Persia, of the number of his 
concubines and children.  Colonel Drouville, in 1813, credits 
him with 700 wives, 64 sons, and 125 daughters.  Colonel 
Stuart, who was in Persia in the year after &Fath-'Ali's death, 
gives him 1,000 wives and 105 children....  Madame Dieulafoy 
also names the 5,000 descendants, but as existing at an 
epoch fifty years later (which has an air of greater probability)....  
The estimate which appears in the &Nasikhu't &Tavarikh, 
a great modern Persian historical work, fixes the 
number of &Fath-'Ali's wives as over 1,000, and of his offspring 
as 260, 110 of whom survived their father.  Hence the familiar 
Persian proverb `Camels, fleas, and princes exist everywhere.'
...No royal family has ever afforded a more exemplary 
illustration of the Scriptural assurance, `Instead of thy fathers 
thou shalt have children, whom thou mayest make princes in 
all lands'; for there was scarcely a governorship or a post of 
emolument in Persia that was not filled by one of this beehive 
of princelings; and to this day the myriad brood of &Shah-zadihs, 
or descendants of a king, is a perfect curse to the 
country, although many of these luckless scions of royalty, 
who consume a large portion of the revenue in annual allowances 
and pensions, now occupy very inferior positions as 
telegraph clerks, secretaries, etc.  Fraser drew a vivid picture 
of the misery entailed upon the country fifty years ago (1842) 
by this `race of royal drones,' who filled the governing posts 
not merely of every province, but of every buluk or district, 
city, and town; each of whom kept up a court, and a huge 
harem, and who preyed upon the country like a swarm of 
locusts....  Fraser, passing through &Adharbayjan in 1834, 
and observing the calamitous results of the system under 
which &Fath-'Ali &Shah distributed his colossal male progeny 
in every Government post throughout the kingdom, remarked:  
 
+Pxli 
`The most obvious consequence of this state of affairs is a 
thorough and universal detestation of the &Qajar race, which 
is a prevalent feeling in every heart and the theme of every 
tongue.'  
     "...Just as, in the course of his [&Nasiri'd-Din &Shah's] 
European travels, he picked up a vast number of what appeared, 
to the Eastern mind, to be wonderful curiosities, but 
which have since been stacked in the various apartments of 
the palace, or put away and forgotten; so in the larger sphere 
of public policy and administration he is continually taking 
up and pushing some new scheme or invention which, when 
the caprice has been gratified, is neglected or allowed to expire.  
One week it is gas; another it is electric lights.  Now it is a 
staff college; anon, a military hospital.  To-day it is a Russian 
uniform; yesterday it was a German man-of-war for the Persian 
Gulf.  A new army warrant is issued this year; a new 
code of law is promised for the next.  Nothing comes of any 
of these brilliant schemes, and the lumber-rooms of the palace 
are not more full of broken mechanism and discarded &bric-a-brac 
than are the pigeon-holes of the government bureaux of 
abortive reforms and dead fiascoes.  
     "...In an upper chamber of the same pavilion, &Mirza 
&Abu'l-Qasim, the &Qa'im-Maqam, or Grand &Vazir, of &Muhammad 
&Shah (the father of the present monarch), was strangled 
in 1835, by order of his royal master, who therein followed 
an example set him by his predecessor, and set one himself 
that was duly followed by his son.  It must be rare in history 
to find three successive sovereigns who have put to death, 
from jealous motives only, the three ministers who have 
either raised them to the throne or were at the time of their 
fall filling the highest office in the State.  Such is the triple 
distinction of &Fath-'Ali, &Muhammad, and &Nasiri'd-Din &Shahs."  
 
                    B.  THE GOVERNMENT 
 
     "In a country so backward in constitutional progress, so 
destitute of forms and statutes and charters, and so firmly 
stereotyped in the immemorial traditions of the East, the 
personal element, as might be expected, is largely in the 
ascendant; and the government of Persia is little else than 
the arbitrary exercise of authority by a series of units in a 
 
+Pxlii 
descending scale from the sovereign to the headman of a 
petty village.  The only check that operates upon the lower 
official grades is the fear of their superiors, which means can 
usually be found to assuage; upon the higher ranks the fear 
of the sovereign, who is not always closed against similar 
methods of pacification; and upon the sovereign himself the 
fear, not of native, but of foreign opinion, as represented by 
the hostile criticism of the European Press....  The &Shah, 
indeed, may be regarded at this moment as perhaps the best 
existing specimen of a moderate despot; for within the limits 
indicated he is practically irresponsible and omnipotent.  He 
has absolute command over the life and property of every 
one of his subJects.  His sons have no independent power, 
and can be reduced to impotence or beggary in the twinkling 
of an eye.  The ministers are elevated and degraded at the 
royal pleasure.  The sovereign is the sole executive, and all 
officials are his deputies.  No civil tribunals are in existence 
to check or modify his prerogative.  
     "...Of the general character and accomplishments of 
the ministers of the Persian Court, Sir J. Malcolm, in his 
History, wrote as follows in the early years of the century:  
`The Ministers and chief officers of the Court are almost 
always men of polished manners, well skilled in the business 
of their respective departments, of pleasant conversation, 
subdued temper, and very acute observation; but these agreeable 
and useful qualities are, in general, all that they possess.  
Nor is virtue or liberal knowledge to be expected in men 
whose lives are wasted in attending to forms; whose means 
of subsistence are derived from the most corrupt sources; 
whose occupation is in intrigues which have always the same 
objects:  to preserve themselves or ruin others; who cannot, 
without danger, speak any language but that of flattery and 
deceit; and who are, in short, condemned by their condition 
to be venal, artful, and false.  There have, no doubt, been 
many ministers of Persia whom it would be injustice to class 
under this general description; but even the most distinguished 
for their virtues and talents have been forced in some degree 
to accommodate their principles to their station; and, unless 
where the confidence of their sovereign has placed them beyond 
the fear of rivals, necessity has compelled them to 
 
+Pxliii 
practise a subserviency and dissimulation at variance with 
the truth and integrity which can alone constitute a claim 
to the respect all are disposed to grant to good and great 
men.'  These observations are marked by the insight and 
justice characteristic of their distinguished author, and it is 
to be feared that to a large extent they hold as good of the 
present as of the old generation."  
 
                    C.  THE PEOPLE 
 
     "...I now come to that which is the cardinal and differentiating 
feature of Iranian administration.  Government, 
nay, life itself, in that country may be said to consist for the 
most part of an interchange of presents.  Under its social 
aspects this practice may be supposed to illustrate the generous 
sentiments of an amiable people; though even here it has 
a grimly unemotional side, as, for instance, when, congratulating 
yourself upon being the recipient of a gift, you find 
that not only must you make a return of equivalent cost to 
the donor, but must also liberally remunerate the bearer of 
the gift (to whom your return is very likely the sole recognised 
means of subsistence) in a ratio proportionate to its 
pecuniary value.  Under its political aspects, the practice of 
gift-making, though consecrated in the adamantine traditions 
of the East, is synonymous with the system elsewhere described 
by less agreeable names.  This is the system on which 
the government of Persia has been conducted for centuries, 
and the maintenance of which opposes a solid barrier to any 
real reform.  From the &Shah downwards, there is scarcely an 
official who is not open to gifts, scarcely a post which is not 
conferred in return for gifts, scarcely an income which has 
not been amassed by the receipt of gifts.  Every individual, 
with hardly an exception, in the official hierarchy above mentioned, 
has only purchased his post by a money present 
either to the &Shah, or to a minister, or to the superior governor 
by whom he has been appointed.  If there are several candidates 
for a post, in all probability the one who makes the 
best offer will win.  
     "...The `&madakhil' is a cherished national institution 
in Persia, the exaction of which, in a myriad different forms, 
whose ingenuity is only equalled by their multiplicity, is the 
 
+Pxliv 
crowning interest and delight of a Persian's existence.  This 
remarkable word, for which Mr. Watson says there is no 
precise English equivalent, may be variously translated as 
commission, perquisite, douceur, consideration, pickings and 
stealings, profit, according to the immediate context in which 
it is employed.  Roughly speaking, it signifies that balance 
of personal advantage, usually expressed in money form, 
which can be squeezed out of any and every transaction.  A 
negotiation, in which two parties are involved as donor and 
recipient, as superior and subordinate, or even as equal contracting 
agents, cannot take place in Persia without the party 
who can be represented as the author or the favour or service 
claiming and receiving a definite cash return for what he has 
done or given.  It may of course be said that human nature 
is much the same all the world over; that a similar system 
exists under a different name in our own or other countries, 
and that the philosophic critic will welcome in the Persian 
a man and a brother.  To some extent this is true.  But in 
no country that I have ever seen or heard of in the world, is 
the system so open, so shameless, or so universal as in Persia.  
So far from being limited to the sphere of domestic economy 
or to commercial transactions, it permeates every walk and 
inspires most of the actions of life.  By its operation, generosity 
or gratuitous service may be said to have been erased 
in Persia from the category of social virtues, and cupidity 
has been elevated into the guiding principle of human conduct....  
Hereby is instituted an arithmetical progression 
of plunder from the sovereign to the subject, each unit in the 
descending scale remunerating himself from the unit next in 
rank below him, and the hapless peasant being the ultimate 
victim.  It is not surprising, under these circumstances, that 
office is the common avenue to wealth, and that cases are 
frequent of men who, having started from nothing, are found 
residing in magnificent houses, surrounded by crowds of retainers 
and living in princely style.  `Make what you can 
while you can' is the rule that most men set before themselves 
in entering public life.  Nor does popular spirit resent 
the act; the estimation of any one who, enjoying the opportunity, 
has failed to line his own pockets, being the reverse 
of complimentary to his sense.  No one turns a thought to 
 
+Pxlv 
the sufferers from whom, in the last resort, the material for 
these successive `&madakhils' has been derived, and from the 
sweat of whose uncomplaining brow has been wrung the 
wealth that is dissipated in luxurious country houses, European 
curiosities, and enormous retinues.  
     "...Among the features of public life in Persia that 
most quickly strike the stranger's eye, and that indirectly 
arise from the same conditions, is the enormous number of 
attendants and retainers that swarm round a minister, or 
official of any description.  In the case of a functionary of 
rank or position, these vary in number from 50 to 500.  
Benjamin says that the Prime Minister in his time kept 3,000.  
Now, the theory of social and ceremonial etiquette that prevails 
in Persia, and indeed throughout the East, is to some 
extent responsible for this phenomenon, personal importance 
being, to a large extent, estimated by the public show which 
it can make, and by the staff of servants whom on occasions 
it can parade.  But it is the institution of `&Madakhil' and of 
illicit pickings and stealings that is the root of the evil.  If 
the governor or minister were bound to pay salaries to the 
whole of this servile crew their ranks would speedily dwindle.  
The bulk of them are unpaid; they attach themselves to their 
master because of the opportunities for extortion with which 
that connection presents them, and they thrive and fatten 
on plunder.  It may readily be conceived how great a drain 
is this swarm of blood-suckers upon the resources of the 
country.  They are true types of unproductive labourers, absorbing 
but never creating wealth; and their existence is little 
short of a national calamity....  It is a cardinal point of 
Persian etiquette when you go out visiting to take as many 
of your own establishment with you as possible, whether riding 
or walking on foot; the number of such retinue being 
accepted as an indication of the rank of the master."  
 
                    D.  THE ECCLESIASTICAL ORDER 
 
     "Marvellously adapted alike to the climate, character, 
and occupations of those countries upon which it has laid its 
adamantine grip, &Islam holds its votary in complete thrall 
from the cradle to the grave.  To him, it is not only religion, 
it is government, philosophy, and science as well.  The &Muhammadan 
 
+Pxlvi 
conception is not so much that of a state church 
as, if the phrase may be permitted, of a church state.  The 
undergirders with which society itself is warped round are 
not of civil, but of ecclesiastical, fabrication; and, wrapped 
in this superb, if paralysing, creed, the Musulman lives in 
contented surrender of all volition, deems it his highest duty 
to worship God and to compel, or, where impossible, to despise 
those who do not worship Him in the spirit, and then 
dies in sure and certain hope of Paradise.  
     "...These Siyyids, or descendants of the Prophet, are 
an intolerable nuisance to the country, deducing from their 
alleged descent and from the prerogative of the green turban, 
the right to an independence and insolence of bearing from 
which their countrymen, no less than foreigners, are made to 
suffer.  
     "...As a community, the Persian Jews are sunk in great 
poverty and ignorance....  Throughout the Musulman 
countries of the East these unhappy people have been subjected 
to the persecution which custom has taught themselves, 
as well as the world, to regard as their normal lot.  Usually 
compelled to live apart in a Ghetto, or separate quarter of 
the towns, they have from time immemorial suffered from 
disabilities of occupation, dress, and habits, which have 
marked them out as social pariahs from their fellow-creatures.
...In &Isfahan, where there are said to be 3,700, and where 
they occupy a relatively better status than elsewhere in 
Persia, they are not permitted to wear the `&kulah' or Persian 
head-dress, to have shops in the bazaar, to build the walls of 
their houses as high as a Muslim neighbour's, or to ride in 
the streets....  As soon, however, as any outburst of bigotry 
takes place in Persia or elsewhere, the Jews are apt to be 
the first victims Every man's hand is then against them; 
and woe betide the luckless Hebrew who is the first to encounter 
a Persian street mob.  
     "...Perhaps the most extraordinary feature of &Mashhad 
life, before I leave the subject of the shrine and the pilgrims, 
is the provision that is made for the material solace of the 
letter during their stay in the city.  In recognition of the 
long journeys which they have made, of the hardships which 
they have sustained, and of the distances by which they are 
 
+Pxlvii 
severed from family and home, they are permitted, with the 
connivance of the ecclesiastical law and its officers, to contract 
temporary marriages during their sojourn in the city.  There 
is a large permanent population of wives suitable for the 
purpose.  A &mulla is found, under whose sanction a contract 
is drawn up and formally sealed by both parties, a fee is 
paid, and the union is legally accomplished.  After the lapse 
of a fortnight or a month, or whatever be the specified period, 
the contract terminates; the temporary husband returns to 
his own lares et penates in some distant clime, and the lady, 
after an enforced celibacy of fourteen days' duration, resumes 
her career of persevering matrimony.  In other words, a 
gigantic system of prostitution, under the sanction of the 
Church, prevails in &Mashhad.  There is probably not a more 
immoral city in Asia; and I should be sorry to say how many 
of the unmurmuring pilgrims who traverse seas and lands 
to kiss the grating of the &Imam's tomb are not also encouraged 
and consoled upon their march by the prospect of an agreeable 
holiday and what might be described in the English 
vernacular as `a good spree.'" 
 
                    CONCLUSION 
 
     "Before I quit the subject of the Persian law and its administration, 
let me add a few words upon the subject of 
penalties and prisons.  Nothing is more shocking to the European 
reader, in pursuing his way through the crime-stained 
and bloody pages of Persian history during the last and, in a 
happily less degree, during the present century, than the 
record of savage punishments and abominable tortures, testifying 
alternately to the callousness of the brute and the 
ingenuity of the fiend.  The Persian character has ever been 
fertile in device and indifferent to suffering; and in the field 
of judicial executions it has found ample scope for the exercise 
of both attainments.  Up till quite a recent period, well 
within the borders of the present reign, condemned criminals 
have been crucified, blown from guns, buried alive, impaled, 
shod like horses, torn asunder by being bound to the heads of 
two trees bent together and then allowed to spring back to 
their natural position, converted into human torches, flayed 
while living.  
 
+Pxlviii 
     "...Under a twofold governing system, such as that of 
which I have now completed the description--namely, an 
administration in which every actor is, in different aspects, 
both the briber and the bribed; and a judicial procedure, 
without either a law or a law court--it will readily be understood 
that confidence in the Government is not likely to 
exist, that there is no personal sense of duty or pride of 
honour, no mutual trust or co-operation (except in the service 
of ill-doing), no disgrace in exposure, no credit in virtue, 
above all no national spirit or patriotism.  Those philosophers 
are right who argue that moral must precede material, and 
internal exterior, reform in Persia.  It is useless to graft new 
shoots on to a stem whose own sap is exhausted or poisoned.  
We may give Persia roads and railroads; we may work her 
mines and exploit her resources; we may drill her army and 
clothe her artisans; but we shall not have brought her within 
the pale of civilised nations until we have got at the core of 
the people, and given a new and a radical twist to the national 
character and institutions.  I have drawn this picture of 
Persian administration, which I believe to be true, in order 
that English readers may understand the system with which 
reformers, whether foreigners or natives, have to contend, 
and the iron wall of resistance, built up by all the most 
selfish instincts in human nature, that is opposed to progressive 
ideas.  The &Shah himself, however genuine his desire 
for innovation, is to some extent enlisted on the side of this 
pernicious system, seeing that he owes to it his private fortune; 
while those who most loudly condemn it in private are 
not behind their fellows in outwardly bowing their heads in 
the temple of Rimmon.  In every rank below the sovereign, 
the initiative is utterly wanting to start a rebellion against the 
tyranny of immemorial custom; and if a strong man like the 
present king can only tentatively undertake it, where is he 
who shall preach the crusade?"  
     (Extracts from Lord Curzon's "Persia and the Persian 
Question.")  
 
+Pxlix 
          &BAHA'U'LLAH'S TRIBUTE TO THE &BAB AND HIS 
                      CHIEF DISCIPLES 
 
               EXTRACTS FROM THE &KITAB-IQAN 
 
     "Though young and tender of age, and though the Cause 
He revealed was contrary to the desire of all the peoples of 
the earth, both high and low, rich and poor, exalted and 
abased, king and subject, yet He arose and steadfastly proclaimed 
it.  All have known and heard this.  He feared no 
one; He was reckless of consequences.  Could such a thing 
be made manifest except through the power of a Divine 
Revelation, and the potency of God's invincible Will?  By 
the righteousness of God!  Were anyone to entertain so great 
a Revelation in his heart, the thought of such a declaration 
would alone confound him!  Were the hearts of all men to be 
crowded into his heart, he would still hesitate to venture 
upon so awful an enterprise.  He could achieve it only by 
the permission of God, only if the channel of his heart were 
to be linked with the Source of Divine grace, and his soul 
be assured of the unfailing sustenance of the Almighty.  To 
what, We wonder, do they ascribe so great a daring?  Do 
they accuse Him of madness as they accused the Prophets of 
old?  Or do they maintain that His motive was none other 
than leadership and the acquisition of earthly riches?  
     "Gracious God!  In His Book, which He hath entitled 
`&Qayyumu'l-Asma' `--the first, the greatest, and mightiest of 
all books--He prophesied His own martyrdom.  In it is this 
passage:  `O Thou Remnant of God!  I have sacrificed myself 
wholly for Thee; I have accepted curses for Thy sake; and 
have yearned for naught but martyrdom in the path of Thy 
love.  Sufficient Witness unto me is God, the Exalted, the 
Protector, the Ancient of Days!'  
     "...Could the Revealer of such utterance be regarded 
as walking in any other way than the way of God, and as 
having yearned for aught else except His good pleasure?  In 
this very verse there lieth concealed a breath of detachment 
for which, if it were breathed upon the world, all beings 
would renounce their life, and sacrifice their soul.  
     "...And now consider how this Sadrih of the &Ridvan 
of God hath, in the prime of youth, risen to proclaim the 
 
+Pl 
Cause of God.  Behold, what steadfastness He, the Beauty 
of God, hath revealed!  The whole world rose to hinder Him, 
yet it utterly failed!  The more severe the persecution they 
inflicted on that Sadrih of Blessedness, the more His fervour 
increased, and the brighter burned the flame of His love.  
All this is evident, and none disputeth its truth.  Finally, 
He surrendered His soul, and winged His flight unto the 
realms above.  
     "...No sooner had that eternal Beauty revealed Himself 
in &Shiraz, in the year sixty, and rent asunder the veil of 
concealment, than the signs of the ascendancy, the might, 
the sovereignty, and power emanating from that Essence of 
Essences and Sea of Seas, were manifest in every land.  So 
much so, that from every city there appeared the signs, the 
evidences, the tokens, and testimonies of that Divine Luminary.  
How many were those pure and kindly hearts which 
faithfully reflected the light of that eternal Sun!  And how 
manifold the emanations of knowledge from that Ocean of 
Divine Wisdom which encompassed all beings!  ln every 
city, all the divines and nobles rose to hinder and repress 
them, and girded up the loins of malice, of envy, and tyranny 
for their suppression.  How great the number of those holy 
souls, those essences of justice, who, accused of tyranny, were 
put to death!  And how many embodiments of purity, who 
showed forth naught but true knowledge and stainless deeds, 
suffered an agonising death!  Notwithstanding all this, each 
of these holy beings, up to his last moment, breathed the 
name of God and soared in the realm of submission and 
resignation.  Such was the potency and transmuting influence 
which He exercised over them, that they ceased to 
cherish any desire but His Will, and wedded their souls to 
His remembrance.  
     "Reflect:  Who in the world is able to manifest such transcendent 
power, such pervading influence?  All these stainless 
hearts and sanctified souls have, with absolute resignation, 
responded to the summons of His decree.  Instead of making 
complaint, they rendered thanks unto God, and, amidst the 
darkness of their anguish, they revealed naught but radiant 
acquiescence in His Will.  It is well known how relentless 
was the hate, and how bitter the malice and enmity, entertained 
 
+Pli 
by all the peoples of the earth towards these Companions.  
The persecution and pain which they inflicted on 
these holy and spiritual beings were regarded by them as 
means unto salvation, prosperity, and everlasting success.  
Hath the world, since the days of Adam, witnessed such 
tumult, such violent commotion?  Notwithstanding all the 
torture they suffered, and the manifold afflictions they endured, 
they became the object of universal opprobrium and 
execration.  Methinks, patience was revealed only by virtue 
of their fortitude, and faithfulness itself was begotten by 
their deeds.  
     "Do thou ponder these momentous happenings in thine 
heart, so that thou mayest apprehend the greatness of this 
Revelation, and perceive its stupendous glory."  
 
          DISTINGUISHING FEATURES OF &SHI'AH &ISLAM 
 
     "The cardinal point wherein the &Shi'ahs (as well as the 
other sects included under the more general term of &Imamites) 
differ from the &Sunnis is the doctrine of the &Imamate.  According 
to the belief of the latter, the vicegerency of the 
Prophet (&Khilafat) is a matter to be determined by the choice 
and election of his followers, and the visible head of the 
Musulman world is qualified for the lofty position which he 
holds less by any special divine grace than by a combination 
of orthodoxy and administrative capacity.  According to the 
&Imamite view, on the other hand, the vicegerency is a matter 
altogether spiritual; an office conferred by God alone, first 
by His Prophet, and afterwards by those who so succeeded 
him, and having nothing to do with the popular choice or 
approval.  In a word, the &Khalifih of the &Sunnis is merely 
the outward and visible Defender of the Faith:  the &Imam of 
the &Shi'ahs is the divinely ordained successor of the Prophet, 
one endowed with all perfections and spiritual gifts, one whom 
all the faithful must obey, whose decision is absolute and 
final, whose wisdom is superhuman, and whose words are 
authoritative.  The general term &Imamate is applicable to 
all who hold this latter view without reference to the way in 
which they trace the succession, and therefore includes such 
sects as the &Baqiris and &Isma'ilis as well as the &Shi'ah or 
 
+Plii 
`Church of the Twelve' (&Madhhab-i-Ithna-'Ashariyyih), as 
they are more specifically termed, with whom alone we are 
here concerned.  According to these, twelve persons successively 
held the office of &Imam.  These twelve are as follows:  
 
     1.  &Ali-ibn-i-Abi-Talib, the cousin and first disciple of the 
            Prophet, assassinated by &Ibn-i-Muljam at &Kufih, 
            A.H. 40 (A.D. 661).  
     2.  &Hasan, son of &Ali and &Fatimih, born A.H. 2, poisoned 
            by order of &Mu'aviyih I, A.H. 50 (A.D. 670).  
     3.  &Husayn, son of &Ali and &Fatimih, born A.H. 4, killed at 
            &Karbila on &Muharram 10, A.H. 61 (Oct. 10, A.D. 680).  
     4.  &Ali, son of &Husayn and &Shahribanu (daughter of Yazdigird, 
            the last &Sasaniyan king), generally called 
            &Imam &Zaynu'l-'Abidin, poisoned by &Valid.  
     5.  &Muhammad-Baqir, son of the above-mentioned &Zaynu'l-'Abidin 
            and his cousin &Umm-i-'Abdu'llah, the daughter 
            of &Imam &Hasan, poisoned by &Ibrahim &ibn-i-Valid.  
     6.  &Ja'far-i-Sadiq, son of &Imam &Muhammad-Baqir, poisoned 
            by order of Mansur, the &Abbaside &Khalifih.  
     7.  &Musa-Kazim, son of &Imam &Ja'far-i-Sadiq, born A.H. 129, 
            poisoned by order of &Harunu'r-Rashid, A.H. 183.  
     8.  &Ali-ibn-i-Musa'r-Rida, generally called &Imam &Rida, 
            born A.H. 153, poisoned near &Tus, in &Khurasan, by 
            order of the &Khalifih &Ma'mun, A.H. 203, and buried 
            at &Mashhad, which derives its name and its sanctity 
            from him.  
     9.  &Muhammad-Taqi, son of &Imam &Rida, born A.H. 195, 
            poisoned by the &Khalifih &Mu'tasim at &Baghdad, 
            A.H. 220.  
    10.  &Ali-Naqi, son of &Imam &Muhammad-Taqi, born A.H. 213, 
            poisoned at &Surra-man-Ra'a, A.H. 254.  
    11.  &Hasan-i-'Askari, son of &Imam &Ali-Naqi, born A.H. 232, 
            poisoned A.H. 260.  
    12.  &Muhammad, son of &Imam &Hasan-i-'Askari and &Nargis-Khatun, 
            called by the &Shi'ahs `&Imam-Mihdi,' `&Hujjatu'llah' 
            (the Proof of God), `&Baqiyyatu'llah' (the 
            Remnant of God), and `&Qa'im-i-Al-i-Muhammad' 
            (He who shall arise of the family of &Muhammad).  
            He bore not only the same name but the same 
 
+Pliii 
            kunyih--&Abu'l-Qasim--as the Prophet, and according 
            to the &Shi'ahs it is not lawful for any other to 
            bear this name and this kunyih together.  He was 
            born at &Surra-man-Ra'a, A.H. 255, and succeeded 
            his father in the &Imamate, A.H. 260.  
 
     "The &Shi'ahs hold that he did not die, but disappeared in 
an underground passage in &Surra-man-Ra'a, A.H. 329; that 
he still lives, surrounded by a chosen band of his followers, 
in one of those mysterious cities, &Jabulqa and &Jabulsa; and 
that when the fulness of time is come, when the earth is 
filled with injustice, and the faithful are plunged in despair, 
he will come forth, heralded by Jesus Christ, overthrow the 
infidels, establish universal peace and justice, and inaugurate 
a millennium of blessedness.  During the whole period of his 
&Imamate, i.e. from A.H. 260 till the present day, the &Imam 
&Mihdi has been invisible and inaccessible to the mass of his 
followers, and this is what is signified by the term `Occultation' 
(&Ghaybat).  After assuming the functions of &Imam and 
presiding at the burial of his father and predecessor, the 
&Imam &Hasan-i-'Askari, he disappeared from the sight of all 
save a chosen few, who, one after the other, continued to act 
as channels of communication between him and his followers.  
These persons were known as `Gates' (&Abvab).  The first of 
them was &Abu-'Umar-'Uthman &ibn-i-Sa'id &Umari; the second 
&Abu-Ja'far &Muhammad-ibn-i-'Uthman, son of the above; 
the third &Husayn-ibn-i-Ruh &Naw-bakhti; the fourth &Abu'l-Hasan 
&Ali-ibn-i-Muhammad &Simari.  Of these `Gates' the first was 
appointed by the &Imam &Hasan-i-'Askari, the others by the 
then acting `Gate' with the sanction and approval of the 
&Imam &Mihdi.  This period--extending over 69 years--during 
which the &Imam was still accessible by means of the `Gates,' 
is known as the `Lesser' or `Minor Occultation' (&Ghaybat-i-Sughra).  
This was succeeded by the `Greater' or `Major 
Occultation' (&Ghaybat-i-Kubra).  When &Abu'l-Hasan &Ali, the 
last of the `Gates,' drew near to his latter end, he was urged 
by the faithful (who contemplated with despair the prospect 
of complete severance from the &Imam) to nominate a successor.  
This, however, he refused to do, saying, `God hath 
a purpose which He will accomplish.'  So on his death all 
 
+Pliv 
communication between the &Imam and his Church ceased, 
and the `Major Occultation' began and shall continue until 
the Return of the &Imam take place in the fulness of time."  
(Excerpt from "A Traveller's Narrative," Note O, pp. 
296-99.)  
 
                       GENEALOGY OF THE PROPHET &MUHAMMAD 
 
                                    &Quraysh 
                                        :  
                                  &Abd-i-Manaf 
                            _____________________________ 
                           :                              :  
                        &Hashim                     &Abdu'l-sh-Shams 
                           :                              :  
                   &Abdu'l-Muttalib                     Umayyih 
                           :                              :  
                           :                         Umayyad Caliphs 
         ______________________________________ 
        :                   :                  :  
   &Abdu'llah           &Abu-Talib          &Abbas 
        :                   :  
   &Muhammad                :  
        :                   :  
     &Fatimih             &Ali 
                   :  
        ____________________ 
      :                     :  
   &Hasan                &Husayn 
 
 
 
 
          Umayyad Caliphs, 661-749 A.D.  
          &Abbasid Caliphs, 749-1258 A.D 
          Fatimite Caliphs, 1258-1517 A.D.  
          Ottoman Caliphs, 1517-19 A.D.  
          Birth of &Muhammad, August 20th, 570 A.D.  
          Declaration of His Mission, 613-14 A.D.  
          His flight to Medina, 622 A.D.  
          &Abu-Bakri's-Siddiq-ibn-i-Abi-Quhafih, 632-34 A.D.  
          &Umar-ibn-i'l-Khattab 634-44 A.D.  
          &Uthman-ibn-i-'Affan, 644-56 A.D.  
          &Ali-ibn-i-Abi-Talib, 656-61 A.D.  
 
                    THEORY AND ADMINISTRATION OF LAW 
                 IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY 
 
     "...The law in Persia, and, indeed, among Musulman 
peoples in general, consists of two branches:  the religious, 
and the common law that which is based upon the &Muhammadan 
Scriptures, and that which is based on precedent; that 
which is administered by ecclesiastical, and that which 
 
+Plv 
is administered by civil tribunals.  In Persia, the former is 
known as the &Shar', the latter as the &Urf.  From the two is 
evolved a jurisprudence which, although in no sense scientific, 
is yet reasonably practical in application and is roughly accommodated 
to the needs and circumstances of those for 
whom it is dispensed.  The basis of authority in the case of 
the &Shar', or Ecclesiastical Law, consists of the utterances of 
the Prophet in the &Qur'an; of the opinions of the Twelve 
Holy &Imams, whose voice in the judgment of the &Shi'ah 
&Muhammadans is of scarcely inferior weight; and of the commentaries 
of a school of pre-eminent ecclesiastical jurists.  
The latter have played much the same part in adding to the 
volume of the national jurisprudence that the famous juris 
consulti did with the Common Law of Rome, or the Talmudic 
commentators with the Hebrew system.  The body of law 
so framed has been roughly codified and divided into four 
heads, dealing respectively with religious rites and duties, 
with contracts and obligations, with personal affairs, and 
with sumptuary rules and judicial procedure.  This law is 
administered by an ecclesiastical court, consisting of &mullas, 
i.e. lay priests and mujtahids, i.e. learned doctors of the 
law, assisted sometimes by &qadis or judges, and under the 
presidency of an official, known as the &Shaykhu'l-Islam, one 
of whom is, as a rule, appointed to every large city by the 
sovereign.  In olden days, the chief of this ecclesiastical 
hierarchy was the &Sadru's-Sudur, or Pontifex Maximus, a 
dignitary who was chosen by the king and placed over the 
entire priesthood and judicial bench of the kingdom.  But 
this office was abolished in his anti-clerical campaign by 
&Nadir &Shah, and has never been renewed.  In smaller centres 
of population and villages, the place of this court is taken 
by the local &mulla or &mullas, who, for a consideration, are 
always ready with a text from the &Qur'an.  In the case of 
the higher courts, the decision is invariably written out, 
along with the citation from the Scriptures, or the commentators, 
upon which it is based.  Cases of extreme importance 
are referred to the more eminent mujtahids, of whom there 
is never a large number, who gain their position solely by 
eminent learning or abilities, ratified by the popular approval, 
and whose decisions are seldom impugned....  In works 
 
+Plvi 
upon the theory of the law in Persia, it is commonly written 
that criminal cases are decided by the ecclesiastical, and civil 
cases by the secular, courts.  In practice, however, there is 
no such clear distinction; the functions and the prerogative 
of the co-ordinate benches vary at different epochs, and 
appear to be a matter of accident or choice rather than of 
neCessity; and at the present time, though criminal cases of 
difficulty may be submitted to the ecclesiastical court, yet it 
is with civil matters that they are chiefly concerned.  Questions 
of heresy or sacrilege are naturally referred to them; 
they also take cognisance of adultery and divorce; and intoxication 
as an offence, not against the common law (indeed, 
if it were a matter of precedent, insobriety could present the 
highest credentials in Persia), but against the &Qur'an, falls 
within the scope of their judgment....  
     "From the &Shar', I pass to the &Urf, or Common Law.  
Nominally this is based on oral tradition, on precedent, and 
on custom.  As such, it varies in different parts of the country.  
But, there being no written or recognised code, it is found 
to vary still more in practice according to the character or 
caprice of the individual who administers it....  The administrators 
of the &Urf are the civil magistrates throughout 
the kingdom, there being no secular court or bench of judges 
after the Western model.  In a village the case will be brought 
before the &kad-khuda, or headman; in a town before the 
&darughih, or police magistrate.  To their judgment are submitted 
all the petty offences that occupy a city police-court 
or a bench of country magistrates in England.  The penalty 
in the case of larceny, or assault, or such like offences, is, as 
a rule, restitution, either in kind or in money value; while, 
if lack of means renders this impossible, the criminal is soundly 
thrashed.  All ordinary criminal cases are brought before the 
&hakim, or governor of a town; the more important before 
the provincial governor or governor-general.  The ultimate 
court of appeal in each case is the king, of whose sovereign 
authority these subordinate exercises of jurisdiction are 
merely a delegation, although it is rare that a suppliant at 
any distance from the capital call make his complaint heard 
so far....  Justice, as dispensed in this fashion by the 
officers of government in Persia, obeys no law and follows 
 
+Plvii 
no system.  Publicity is the sole guarantee for fairness; but 
great is the scope, especially in the lower grades, for &pishkash 
and the bribe.  The &darugis have the reputation of being 
both harsh and venal, and there are some who go so far as 
to say that there is not a sentence of an official in Persia, 
even of the higher ranks, that cannot be swayed by a pecuniary 
consideration.  
     (Excerpts from Lord Curzon's "Persia and the Persian 
Question," vol. 1, pp. 452-55.)  
 
+Plviii 
[Intentionally blank]  
[Fold-out genealogical chart of the &Bab bound between pages lviii and lix.]  
 
+Plix 
                      KEY TO THE GENEALOGY OF THE &BAB 
 
 1.  Descendant of the &Imam &Husayn, resident of &Shiraz.  
 2.  Wife of the &Bab.  
 3.  Surnamed "&Afnan-i-Kabir."  
 4.  Wife of &Mirza &Zaynu'l-Abidin.  
 5.  Known as "&Saqqa-Khani."  
 6.  Wife of &Haj &Mirza Siyyid &Hasan, son of &Mirza &Ali.  
 7.  Died at birth.  
 8.  Surnamed "&Khal-i-Asghar," to whom the &Kitab-i-Iqan 
          was addressed.  
 9.  Surnamed "&Khal-i-A'zam," one of the Seven Martyrs 
          of &Tihran.  
10.  Surnamed "&Vakilu'd-Dawlih," chief builder of the 
          &Mashriqu'l-Adhkar in &Ishqabad.  
11.  Surnamed "&Vazir," native of &Nur in &Mazindaran; 
          named &Abbas.  
12.  Named &Abbas.  
13.  Named &Ali-Muhammad.  
14.  Named &Husayn-'Ali.  
15.  Wife of &Vakilu'd-Dawlih, &Haji &Mirza &Muhammad-Taqi.  
16.  Only son of &Haji &Mirza &Muhammad-'Ali.  
17.  &Abdu'l-Baha's son-in-law.  
18.  Descendant of the &Imam &Husayn, merchant and native 
         of &Shiraz.  
19.  &Abdu'l-Baha's son-in-law.  
20.  Only child of &Mirza &Abu'l-Fath.  
 
+Plx 
                      THE &QAJAR DYNASTY 
 
            &Fath-'Ali &Shah,          1798-1834 A.D.  
            &Muhammad &Shah,           1835-48 A.D.  
            &Nasiri'd-Din &Shah,       1848-96 A.D.  
            &Muzaffari'd-Din &Shah,    1896-1907 A.D.  
            &Muhammad-'Ali &Shah,      1907-9 A.D.  
            &Ahmad &Shah,              1909-25 A.D.  
 
            &Mirza &Abu'l-Qasim-i-Qa'im-Maqam.  
            &Haji &Mirza &Aqasi.  
            &Mirza &Taqi &Khan &Amir-Nizam.  
            &Mirza &Aqa &Khan-i-Nuri.  
 
[Fold-out chart of the "Pedigree of the &Qajar Dynasty" between pages lx and 
lxi.]  
 
+Plxi 
              ACKNOWLEDGMENT 
 
      Grateful acknowledgment is made to 
Lady Blomfield for her valuable suggestions; 
to an English correspondent for his 
help in the preparation of the Introduction; 
to Mrs. E. Hoagg for the typing of 
the manuscript; to Miss Effie Baker for 
the photographs used in illustrating this 
book.  
                            --THE TRANSLATOR.  
 
+Plxii 
[Illustration:  &MUHAMMAD-I-ZARANDI, SURNAMED &NABIL-I-A'ZAM]  
 
+Plxiii 
      IT IS my intention, by the aid and assistance of 
God, to devote the introductory pages of this narrative 
to such accounts as I have been able to 
obtain regarding those twin great lights, &Shaykh 
&Ahmad-i-Ahsa'i and Siyyid &Kazim-i-Rashti, after which it is 
my hope to recount, in their chronological order, the chief 
events that have happened since the year '60,+F1 the year that 
witnessed the declaration of the Faith by the &Bab, until the 
present time, the year 1305 A.H.+F2  
      In certain instances I shall go into some detail, in others 
I shall content myself with a brief summary of events.  I 
shall place on record a description of the episodes I myself 
have witnessed, as well as those that have been reported to 
me by trustworthy and recognised informants, specifying in 
every case their names and standing.  Those to whom I am 
primarily indebted are the following:  &Mirza &Ahmad-i-Qazvini, 
the &Bab's amanuensis; Siyyid &Isma'il-i-Dhabih; &Shaykh 
&Hasan-i-Zunuzi; &Shaykh &Abu-Turab-i-Qazvini; and, last but 
not least, &Mirza &Musa, &Aqay-i-Kalim, brother of &Baha'u'llah.  
     I render thanks to God for having assisted me in the 
writing of these preliminary pages, and for having blessed 
and honoured them with the approval of &Baha'u'llah, who 
has graciously deigned to consider them and who signified, 
through His amanuensis &Mirza &Aqa &Jan, who read them to 
Him, His pleasure and acceptance.  I pray that the Almighty 
may sustain and guide me lest I err and falter in the task I 
have set myself to accomplish.  
 
                         &MUHAMMAD-I-ZARANDI.+F3  
&Akka, Palestine, 
1305 A.H.  
 
+F1 1260 A.H. (1844 A.D.).  
+F2 1887-8 A.D.  
+F3 His full title is &Nabil-i-A'zam.  
 
+Plxiv 
[Illustration:  &SHAYKH &AHMAD-I-AHSA'I]  
 
+P1 
                         THE DAWN-BREAKERS 
 
                             CHAPTER I 
               THE MISSION OF &SHAYKH &AHMAD-I-AHSA'I 
 
     AT A time when the shining reality of the Faith of 
&Muhammad had been obscured by the ignorance, 
the fanaticism, and perversity of the contending 
sects into which it had fallen, there appeared above 
the horizon of the East+F1 that luminous Star of Divine guidance, 
&Shaykh &Ahmad-i-Ahsa'i.+F2  He observed how those who 
professed the Faith of &Islam had shattered its unity, sapped 
its force, perverted its purpose, and degraded its holy name.  
His soul was filled with anguish at the sight of the corruption 
and strife which characterised the &Shi'ah sect of &Islam.  Inspired 
by the light that shone within him,+F3 he arose with 
unerring vision, with fixed purpose, and sublime detachment 
to utter his protest against the betrayal of the Faith by that 
ignoble people.  Aglow with zeal and conscious of the sublimity 
of his calling, he vehemently appealed not only to 
&shi'ah &Islam but to all the followers of &Muhammad throughout 
 
+F1 His genealogy, according to his son &Shaykh &Abdu'llah, is the following:  
+F1 "&Shaykh &Ahmad-ibn-i-Zaynu'd-Din-ibn-i-Ibrahim-ibn-i-Sakhr-ibn-i-Ibrahim-
+F1 ibn-i-Zahir-ibn-i-Ramadan-ibn-i-Rashid-ibn-i-Dahim-ibn-i-Shimrukh-
+F1 ibn-i-Sulih."  (A. L. M. Nicolas' "Essai sur le &Shaykhisme" I, p. 1.)  
+F2 Born Rajab, 1166 A.H., 24th of April-24th of May, 1753, in town of &Ahsa in 
+F2 district of &Ahsa, northeast of Arabian peninsula.  (A. L. M. Nicolas' 
+F2 "Essai sur le &Shaykhisme," I, p. 1.)  Born a &shi'ah, though his ancestors 
+F2 were &sunnis.  (Ibid., p. 2.)  According to E. G. Browne ("A Traveller's 
+F2 Narrative," Note E, p. 235), &Shaykh &Ahmad was born in the year 1157 A.H. 
+F2 and died in 1242.  
+F3   Siyyid &Kazim, in his book entitled "&Dalilu'l-Mutahayyirin," writes as 
+F3 follows:  "Our master, one night, saw the &Imam &Hasan; upon him may the 
+F3 blessing of God rest!  His Holiness put in his mouth his blessed tongue.  
+F3 From the adorable saliva of His Holiness he drew forth the sciences and the 
+F3 assistance of God.  To the taste it was sweeter even than honey, more 
+F3 perfumed than the musk.  It was also quite warm.  When he came to himself 
+F3 and wakened from his dream, he inwardly radiated the light of divine 
+F3 contemplation; his soul overflowed with the blessings of God and became 
+F3 entirely severed from everything save God.  
+F3   "His faith, his trust in God and his resignation to the Will of the Most 
+F3 High grew apace.  Because of a great love and an ardent desire which arose 
+F3 in his heart, he forgot to eat or to clothe himself except barely enough to 
+F3 sustain life."  (A. L. M. Nicolas' "Essai sur le &Shaykhisme," I, p. 6.)  
 
+P2 
the East, to awaken from the slumber of negligence and 
to prepare the way for Him who must needs be made manifest 
in the fulness of time, whose light alone could dissipate the 
mists of prejudice and ignorance which had enveloped that 
Faith.  Forsaking his home and kindred, on one of the islands 
of Bahrayn, to the south of the Persian Gulf, he set out, as 
bidden by an almighty Providence, to unravel the mysteries 
of those verses of Islamic Scriptures which foreshadowed the 
advent of a new Manifestation.  He was well aware of the 
dangers and perils that beset his path; he fully realised the 
crushing responsibility of his task.  There burned in his soul 
the conviction that no reform, however drastic, within the 
Faith of &Islam, could achieve the regeneration of this perverse 
people.  He knew, and was destined by the Will of 
God to demonstrate, that nothing short of a new and independent 
Revelation, as attested and foreshadowed by the 
sacred Scriptures of &Islam, could revive the fortunes and 
restore the purity of that decadent Faith.+F1  
     Bereft of all earthly possessions, and detached from all 
save God, he, in the early days of the thirteenth century of 
the Hegira, when forty years of age, arose to dedicate the 
remaining days of his life to the task he felt impelled to 
shoulder.  He first proceeded to Najaf and &Karbila,+F2 where 
in a few years he acquired familiarity with the prevailing 
thoughts and standards current among the learned men of 
&Islam.  There he came to be recognised as one of the authorised 
expounders of the &Islamic Holy Writ, was declared 
a mujtahid, and soon obtained an ascendancy over the rest 
of his colleagues, who either visited or were residing in those 
holy cities.  These came to regard him as one initiated into 
the mysteries of Divine Revelation, and qualified to unravel 
the abstruse utterances of &Muhammad and of the &imams of 
the Faith.  As his influence increased, and the scope of his 
 
+F1 "He [&Shaykh &Ahmad] knew full well that he was chosen of God to prepare 
+F1 men's hearts for the reception of the more complete truth shortly to be 
+F1 revealed, and that through him the way of access to the hidden twelfth 
+F1 &Imam &Mihdi was reopened.  But he did not set this forth in clear and 
+F1 unmistakable terms, lest `the unregenerate' should turn again and rend 
+F1 him."  (Dr. T. K. Cheyne's "The Reconciliation of Races and Religions," 
+F1 p. 15.)  
+F2 "&Karbila is about 55 miles S.W. of &Baghdad on the banks of the 
+F2 Euphrates....  The tomb of &Husayn is in the centre of the city, and of his 
+F2 brother &Abbas in the S.E. quarter are the chief buildings."  (C. R. 
+F2 Markham's "A General Sketch of the History of Persia,' p. 486.)  Najaf is 
+F2 revered by the &shi'ahs, as it enshrines the tomb of &Imam &Ali.  
 
+P3 
authority widened, he found himself besieged on every side 
by an ever-increasing number of devoted enquirers who asked 
to be enlightened regarding the intricacies of the Faith, all 
of which he ably and fully expounded.  By his knowledge 
and fearlessness he struck terror to the hearts of the &Sufis 
and Neo-Platonists and other kindred schools of thought,+F1 
who envied his learning and feared his ruthlessness.  Thereby 
he acquired added favour in the eyes of those learned divines, 
who looked upon these sects as the disseminators of obscure 
and heretical doctrines.  Yet, great as was his fame and universal 
as was the esteem in which he was regarded, he despised 
all the honours which his admirers lavished upon him.  He 
marvelled at their servile devotion to dignity and rank, and 
refused resolutely to associate himself with the objects of their 
pursuits and desires.  
 
+F1 "The chief peculiarities of &Shaykh &Ahmad's views seem to have been as 
+F1 follows.  He declared that all knowledge and all sciences were contained in 
+F1 the &Qur'an, and that therefore to understand the inner meanings of the 
+F1 latter in their entirety, a knowledge of the former must be acquired.  To 
+F1 develop this doctrine, he used to apply cabalistic methods of 
+F1 interpretation to the sacred text, And exerted himself to acquire 
+F1 familiarity with the various sciences known to the Muslim world.  He 
+F1 entertained the most exaggerated veneration for the &Imams, especially the 
+F1 &Imam &Ja'far-i-Sadiq, the sixth of them in succession, whose words he 
+F1 would often quote....  About the future life, and the resurrection of the 
+F1 body also, he held views which were generally considered to be heterodox, 
+F1 as previously mentioned.  He