Contents

Foreword[ix]
A Note on the Construction of Persian Names[xi]
Prologue[1]
1.All Hail Shíráz[15]
2.He Whom They Sought[32]
3.Ṭihrán[48]
4.The First Martyr[58]
5.Pilgrimage to Mecca[69]
6.Forces of Opposition Arrayed[76]
7.Belief and Denial[85]
8.The City of `Abbás the Great[106]
9.The Antichrist of the Bábí Revelation[117]
10.Where the Aras Flows[124]
11.The Grievous Mountain[134]
12.That Midsummer Noon[148]
13.The Dawn-Breakers[161]
Epilogue[189]
APPENDICES
1.The Siege of Karbilá[193]
2.The Martyrdom of the Báb[202]
3.Prelude to the Episode of Nayríz[204]
4.The Seven Martyrs of Ṭihrán[206]
5.The Episode of Zanján[209]
6.Lord Palmerston's Enquiry[214]
7.Myth-Making[217]
Bibliography[225]
Notes[229]
Index[243]

TO
THE SHINING MEMORY
OF
A LONE AND NOBLE WOMAN
WHO SUFFERED IN SILENCE
FOR FORTY YEARS
THIS STORY OF HER BELOVED HUSBAND
IS DEDICATED

Foreword

The present book completes the trilogy on the lives of the Founders of the Bahá'í Faith. However, now that additional material is at my disposal, it is my hope to expand at a future date the volume on the life of Bahá'u'lláh, and also to write a supplement to the volume on the life of `Abdu'l-Bahá.

This book is the first in the range of Bahá'í literature to make extensive use of official documents from governmental archives. I am greatly indebted to Moojan Momen who has generously shared with me the results of his able research in the Public Record Office of London and elsewhere.

The two British Foreign Secretaries who received news and dispatches regarding the Báb and the Bábís were the Earl of Aberdeen, who held office from September 1841 to July 1846, under Sir Robert Peel; and Viscount Palmerston, whose tenure of office extended from July 1846 to January 1852, under Lord John Russell. The British envoy chiefly involved in forwarding such reports to London was Lt.-Col. (later Sir Justin) Sheil, the Minister in Ṭihrán. Lord Palmerston's letters to him (F.O. 248/134) state that his dispatches concerning the Báb and the Bábís were 'laid before the Queen'.

My deep gratitude goes to Abul-Qasim Afnan, who has unstintingly made available to me the chronicle-history and the autobiography of his father, the late Ḥájí Mírzá Ḥabíbu'lláh, as well as letters written by and to the relatives of the Báb, together with many other documents of inestimable value.

It should be borne in mind that apart from quotations from the Writings of the Báb, speeches attributed to Him or to anyone else in these pages must not be taken as exact reportage of words spoken at the time. They only convey the sense and purport of what was said on those occasions. Obviously no one was taking notes. It is possible, however, that a few short sentences here and there, which immediately engrave themselves on the mind, are exact utterances, the very words spoken.

As the bibliography indicates I have consulted a number of books; but of printed works, the main sources have been God Passes By and Nabíl's Narrative, The Dawn-Breakers. I am much indebted to the Bahá'í Publishing Trust, Wilmette, Illinois, for permission to quote from these and other sources, as well as to Cambridge University Press, the Public Record Office, George Allen & Unwin Ltd., A. & C. Black Ltd., Faber & Faber Ltd., William Heinemann Ltd., Methuen & Co. Ltd., and World Order, A Bahá'í Magazine. Full acknowledgment is made in the bibliography and notes.

I am profoundly grateful to the Hands of the Cause Paul Haney and Abul-Qasim Faizi for reading the manuscript and for their review and advice. As in the past Marion Hofman's generous help has smoothed the path to publication. My indebtedness to her is immense. And without my wife's assistance and support I could not have completed my task.

I should also like to thank Miss Dorothy Wigington, Mr. Farhang Afnan and Mr. Rustom Sabit for their care in reading the proofs, and Mr. Horst W. Kolodziej for his excellent reproduction of a number of old documents and photographs.

Finally, a word as to the Prologue; this in my view provides a necessary background for the story of the Báb. But should the reader find in it too many unfamiliar facts, he may turn immediately to the first chapter.

H. M. BALYUZI

London
October 1972

A Note on the Construction of Persian Names

In times past the people of Persia had no surnames, but in many instances they were known by the name of the district, city, town, or even the village from which they came: for example, Khurásání, Mázindarání, Ṭihrání, Iṣfahání, and Shírází.

There were also various honorific prefixes and suffixes by which a person was distinguished. A descendant of the Prophet Muḥammad had (and has) the prefix of 'Siyyid'. At times, 'Mírzá' took the place of 'Siyyid', and at times the two were used together. 'Mírzá' by itself did not denote any particular ancestry, except when placed after a proper name to mark royal descent.

The suffix 'Khán' served at one time as a title, but with passing years, it became merely honorific, even meaningless, and at no time was it a surname.

The prefix 'Ḥájí' or 'Ḥáj' indicated then, as now, one who had made the pilgrimage to Mecca. Mashhadí and Karbilá'í, as prefixes, marked pilgrimage to Mashhad or Karbilá, but as suffixes pointed out nativity.

There were also innumerable titles conferred by the sovereign in Írán, consisting of diverse combinations, sometimes ludicrous, sometimes grammatically impossible. Occasionally they indicated a definite rank and profession. As time passed, these titles multiplied absurdly, until they were swept away by legislation in the 1920's.

Finally, a person was often distinguished from others by a combination of prefixes and suffixes attached to his name which, if omitted, might cause him to be taken for another person.

Today the situation is much changed, but for the period described in this book, the author can identify people only by the names they then used, however difficult they may be.

Quotations are reproduced in their original form, even though differing from the spelling and transliteration of Persian words adopted in this book. Translations from Persian sources are by the author unless otherwise attributed.

The text of the Authorised Version of the Bible is Crown copyright and the extracts used herein are reproduced by permission.

The Báb, the Exalted One, is the Morn of Truth,
Whose Light shineth throughout all regions.
`ABDU'L-BAHÁ

O people of the Báb! sorely persecuted,
compelled to silence, but steadfast now as at
Sheykh Ṭabarsí and Zanján, what destiny is
concealed for you behind the veil of the Future?
EDWARD GRANVILLE BROWNE