|
date |
event |
tags |
firsts |
1852
185- |
Birth of Aqa Buzurg Khurasani (Badí'), Apostle of Bahá'u'lláh, in Mashhad. |
Badi (Mírzá Aqa Buzurg-i-Nishapuri); - Apostles of Bahá'u'lláh; - Births and deaths; Mashhad, Iran; Iran |
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1852 Jan
185- |
Mírzá Taqí Khán was killed in the public bath in Káshán by order of the Sháh on the instigation of the Sháh's mother and Mírzá Áqá Khán. [BBR164–5; BKG72]
He chose to have his veins opened and he bled to death. [BBR164; BKG72]
Shoghi Effendi described him has being "arbitrary, bloodthirsty and reckless". [GPB4]
|
Mírzá Taqi Khan; - Prime Ministers; Assassinations; Public baths (bathhouses); Nasirid-Din Shah, Mother of; Mírzá Aqa Khan; Kashan, Iran; Iran |
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1852 21 Feb
185- |
Birth of Isabella Brittingham, prominent American Bahá'í teacher, in New York City. |
Isabella Brittingham; - Births and deaths; New York, USA; United States (USA) |
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1852 20 Mar
185- |
The publication of Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly by Harriet Beecher Stowe. It was the best-selling novel of the 19th century and the second best-selling book of that century, following the Bible. It is credited with helping fuel the abolitionist cause in the 1850s. In recent years, the negative associations with Uncle Tom's Cabin have, to an extent, overshadowed the historical impact of the book as a "vital antislavery tool. [Wikipedia]
Harriet Beecher Stowe was an ancestor of Ellen "Mother" Beecher who was a grandmother of Hand of the Cause of God Dorothy Baker. |
Uncle Toms Cabin - Life Among the Lowly; Literature, English; - Literature; Race; Harriet Beecher Stowe; Ellen Beecher; - Hands of the Cause; Dorothy Baker; United States (USA) |
|
1852 Apr - May c.
185- |
Bahá'u'lláh returned to Iran from Karbalá. [DB598]
He was the guest of the Grand Vizier for one month. [BKG74; DB598–9] |
* Bahaullah (chronology); - Grand Viziers; * Bahá'u'lláh, Basic timeline; - Basic timeline, Expanded; Karbala, Iraq; Iraq; Iran |
|
1852 summer
185- |
Bahá'u'lláh stayed at the summer residence of Ja'far-Qulí Khán, the brother of the Grand Vizier, in Afchih, Lavásán, near Tihrán. [BKG77; DB599] |
* Bahaullah (chronology); Jafar-Quli Khan; - Grand Viziers; Afchih, Iran; Lavasan, Iran; Tehran, Iran; Iran |
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1852 15 Aug
185- |
Attempt on the life of the Sháh in Afcha, near Tehran. [BBR128; BBRSM:30; BKG74–5; DB599; ESW20; GPB62; TN2930]
See BKG74–5 for circumstances of the event.
See BKG76 for the fate of the perpetrators.
See BBR128–46 for reporting of the event in the West.
Ja'far-Qulí Khán wrote immediately to Bahá'u'lláh telling Him of the event and that the mother of the Sháh was denouncing Bahá'u'lláh as the 'would-be murderer'. Ja'far-Qulí Khán offered to hide Bahá'u'lláh. [BKG77; DB602] |
Nasirid-Din Shah, Attempt on; Nasirid-Din Shah, Mother of; - Shahs; History (general); Iran, General history; Jafar-Quli Khan; * Bahaullah (chronology); * Bahá'u'lláh, Basic timeline; - Basic timeline, Expanded; Iran |
|
1852 -1853
185- |
"In the hecatomb of 1852-1853 the ranks of the Bábís were drastically thinned.
Most of the leading disciples were killed, only a few surviving in distant exile.
The next ten years were hopelessly dark. Within the Bábí community there was
much confusion and fear. It seemed at times that all the heroism, all the sacrifices,
had been in vain. Enemies gloated over the virtual extermination of what they
saw as a pernicious heretical sect. Sympathetic outsiders concluded that the movement
that had shown so much promise cracked under persecution and collapsed,
leaving behind only a glorious memory." [Varqá and Rúhu'lláh: Deathless in Martyrdom by Kazem Kazemzadeh, World Order, Winter 1974-75 p.29] |
* Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Other; - Persecution; Bábí history; Iran |
|
1852 16 Aug
185- |
Bahá'u'lláh rode out towards the headquarters of the imperial army. At the time, He had been in 'The Abode of the Birds' (MurghMaḥallih), a garden which had been His summer residence. He stopped at Zargandih at the home of Mírzá Majíd Khán-i-Áhí, secretary to the Russian legation. [BKG77; DB603, AY235]
Bahá'u'lláh was invited to remain in this home. [DB603]
The Sháh was informed of Bahá'u'lláh's arrival and sent an officer to the legation to demand the delivery of Bahá'u'lláh into his hands. The Russian minister, Prince Dolgorukov, refused and suggested that Bahá'u'lláh be sent to the home of the Grand Vizier. [BKG77; DB603]
Bahá'u'lláh was arrested. [BKG77; DB603] |
* Bahaullah (chronology); Mírzá Majid Khan-i-Ahi; Russian officials; - Shahs; Prince Dolgorukov; - Grand Viziers; Nasirid-Din Shah, Attempt on; * Bahá'u'lláh, Basic timeline; - Basic timeline, Expanded; Zargandih, Iran; Iran |
|
1852 16 – 27 Aug
185- |
The martyrdom of Táhirih (Qurratu'l-'Ayn) in Tihrán. [BBR172–3; BBRSM:30; BW18:382; BKG87; MF203]
She was martyred in the Ílkhání garden, strangled with her own silk handkerchief which she had provided for the purpose. Her body was lowered into a well which was then filled with stones. [BBD220; DB622–8; GPB75]
See GPB73–5 for a history of her life.
See the story of her martyrdom and her life in the article in Radio France International.
'Abdu'l-Bahá is reported to have said:
She went to that garden with consummate dignity and composure. Everyone said that they were going to kill her, but she continued to cry out just as she had before, declaring, "I am that trumpet-call mentioned in the Gospel!" It was in this state that she was martyred in that garden and cast into a well.
[Talk by Abdu'l-Baha Given in Budapest to the Turanian Society on 14 April 1913 (Provisional)
iiiii
|
Tahirih (Qurratu'l-'Ayn, Zarrín-Táj); * Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Deaths; - Persecution; Women; Gender; Equality; - Letters of the Living; - Basic timeline, Expanded; Tehran, Iran; Iran |
|
1852 (days following 16 Aug)
185- |
Bahá'u'lláh was then taken on foot and in chains, with bared head and bare feet' to Tihrán, a distance of 15 miles, where He was cast into the Síyáh-Chál. [BKG77; DB606–7, 631-634; ESW20; GPB71]
See BKG77–8 and DB606–608 for a description of Bahá'u'lláh's journey.
See CH40–1 for the effect on Bahá'u'lláh's family.
See Epistle to the Son of the Wolf p20.
Where He had a dream:
"Verily, We shall render Thee victorious by Thyself and by Thy Pen. Grieve Thou not for that which hath befallen Thee, neither be Thou afraid, for Thou art in safety. Erelong will God raise up the treasures of the earth—men who will aid Thee through Thyself and through Thy Name, wherewith God hath revived the hearts of such as have recognized Him."
[Epistle to the Son of the Wolf p21]
In God Passes By p101-102 Shoghi Effendi quotes Bahá'u'lláh's Súrih of the Temple where He describes the moment that He had a vision of the Maiden symbolizing the 'Most Great Spirit" proclaiming His mission. |
* Bahaullah (chronology); Síyáh-Chál (Black Pit, Tehran); Chains; Nasirid-Din Shah, Attempt on; * Bahá'u'lláh, Basic timeline; - Basic timeline, Expanded; Tehran, Iran; Iran |
|
1852 16 – 22 Aug
185- |
A large number of Bábís were arrested in Tihrán and its environs following the attempt on the life of the Sháh. A number were executed. [BBR134–5; BW18:382]
Eighty–one, of whom 38 were leading members of the Bábí community, were thrown into the Síyáh-Chál. [BKG77] |
Síyáh-Chál (Black Pit, Tehran); Nasirid-Din Shah, Attempt on; * Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Arrests; - Persecution, Deaths; - Persecution; Tehran, Iran; Iran |
|
1852 22 Aug – 27 Aug
185- |
After the initial executions, about 20 or more Bábís were distributed among the various courtiers and government departments to be tortured and put to death. [BBR135–6 BW18:382]
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* Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Deaths; - Persecution; Iran |
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1852 26 Aug
185- |
An account of the punishment meted out to those who participated in the attempt on the life of the Sháh and those who happened to be followers of the Báb, was published in the Vaqayi-yi Ittifáqíyyih, a Tihran newspaper. In addition, the newspaper reported that Mírzá Husayn 'Ali-i Nuri (Bahá'u'lláh) and five others who did not participated were sentenced to life imprisonment by the Sháh.
See Bahá'u'lláh's Prison Sentence: The Official Account translated by Kazem Kazemzadeh and Firuz Kazemzadeh with an introduction by Firuz Kazemzadeh published in World Order Vol 13 Issue 2 Winter 1978-1979 page 11. |
Nasirid-Din Shah, Attempt on; - Persecution; * Persecution, Iran; Newspaper articles; * Bahaullah (chronology); Tehran, Iran; Iran |
|
1852 Aug
185- |
In Mílán, Iran, 15 Bábís were arrested and imprisoned. [BW18:382]
Many Bábís were tortured and killed in the weeks following the attempt on the life of the Sháh. [BKG84]
See BBR171 for the story of Mahmud Khán, the Kalántar of Tihrán, and his role in the arrest and execution of the Bábís.
See BKG84–93 for a description of the tortures and executions of Bábís. Thirty–eight Bábís were martyred.
See BKG86–7 and DB616–21 for the torture and martyrdom of Sulaymán Khán. Holes were gouged in his body and nine lighted candles were inserted. He joyfully danced to the place of his execution. His body was hacked in two, each half is then suspended on either side of the gate.
The persecutions were so severe that the community was nearly annihilated. The Bábí remnant virtually disappeared from view until the 1870s. [BBRSM:30; EB269] |
* Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Arrests; - Persecution, Deaths; - Persecution; - Sháh; Mahmud Khan; Kalantar, Iran; Sulayman Khan; Milan, Italy; Tehran, Iran; Iran |
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1852 Aug-Dec
185- |
Bahá'u'lláh's imprisonment in the Síyáh-Chál
See AB10–11, BBD211–12, BKG79–83, CH41–2, DB631–3, GPB109 and RB1:9 for a description of the prison and the conditions suffered by the prisoners. No food or drink was given to Bahá'u'lláh for three days and nights. [DB608]
Photo of the entrance to the Siyah-Chal (Black-Pit) where Baha'u'llah was imprisoned in Tehran.
Bahá'u'lláh remained in the prison for four months. [CH41; ESW20, 77; GPB104; TN31]
A silent video presentation on Bahá'u'lláh's time in the Síyáh-Chál made for the 150th anniversary of the event.
"Upon Our arrival We were first conducted along a pitch-black corridor, from whence We descended three steep flights of stairs to the place of confinement assigned to Us. The dungeon was wrapped in thick darkness, and Our fellow prisoners numbered nearly a hundred and fifty souls: thieves, assassins and highwaymen. Though crowded, it had no other outlet than the passage by which We entered. No pen can depict that place, nor any tongue describe its loathsome smell. Most of these men had neither clothes nor bedding to lie on. God alone knoweth what befell Us in that most foul-smelling and gloomy place!" [ESW20-21]
See CH42–3 for the effect of Bahá'u'lláh's imprisonment on His wife and children. Friends and even family were afraid to be associated with His immediate family. During this period Mírzá Músá helped the family surreptitiously and Mírzá Yúsif, who was married to Bahá'u'lláh's cousin, a Russian citizen and a friend of the Russian Consul, was less afraid of repercussions for his support of them.
They were also assisted by Isfandíyár, the family's black servant that had been emancipated in 1839 on the order of Bahá'u'lláh. This man's life was in great danger. At one time they had 150 policemen looking for him but he managed to evade capture. They thought that if they questioned (tortured) Isfandíyár he would reveal Bahá'u'lláh's nefarious plots. [SoW Vol IX April 28, 1918 p38-39]
Another who helped the family was Mírzá Muhammad Tabrizi who rented a house for them in Sangelak. [PG122]
'Abdu'l-Bahá, as a child of eight, was attacked in the street of Tihrán. [DB616]
See AB11–12, RB1:9 for 'Abdu'l-Bahá's account of His visit to His father.
Bahá'u'lláh's properties were plundered. [CH41; RB1:11]
See BBD4–5; DB663; BKG94–8 and Bahá'í Stories for the story of 'Abdu'l-Vahháb-i-Shírází who was martyred while being held in the Síyáh-Chál.
See BBD190, 200 and ESW77 about the two chains with which Bahá'u'lláh was burdened while in the Síyáh-Chál. Five other Bábís were chained to Him day and night. [CH41]
Bahá'u'lláh had some 30 or 40 companions. [BBIC:6, CH41]
For the story of His faithful follower and his martyrdom, 'Abdu'l-Vahháb see TF116-119.
An attempt was made to poison Him. The attempt failed but His health was impaired for years following. [BBIC:6; BKG99–100, GPB72]
Bahá'u'lláh's half-brother Mírzá Yahyá fled to Tákur and went into hiding. He eventually went to Baghdád. [BKG90, 107, CH41] |
* Bahaullah (chronology); Bahá'u'lláh, Attempts on; Síyáh-Chál (Black Pit, Tehran); Prison; * `Abdu'l-Bahá (chronology); `Abdu'l-Vahhab-i-Shirazi; * Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Deaths; - Persecution; Poison; Chains; Mírzá Yahya (Subh-i-Azal); - Basic timeline, Condensed; - Basic timeline, Expanded; * Bahá'u'lláh, Basic timeline; Tehran, Iran; Takur, Iran; Iran; Baghdad, Iraq; Iraq |
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1852 Oct
185- |
Bahá'u'lláh had a vision of the Maiden, who announced to Him that He was the Manifestation of God for this Age. [BBD142–3, 212; BKG823 ESW11–12, 21 GPB101–2; KAN62]
"While engulfed in tribulations I heard a most wondrous, a most sweet voice, calling above My head. Turning My face, I beheld a Maiden-" [SLH5-6]
This experience compares to the episode of Moses and the Burning Bush, Zoroaster and the Seven Visions, Buddha under the Bodhi tree, the descent of the Dove upon Jesus and the voice of Gabriel commanding Muhammad to 'cry in the name of thy Lord'. [GPB93, 101]
The Báb repeatedly gave the year nine as the date of the appearance of 'Him Whom God shall make manifest'. The Declaration of the Báb took place in AH 1260; year nine was therefore AH 1269, which began in the middle of October when Bahá'u'lláh had been in prison for about two months. [CB46–7]
Subsequently in His Writings Bahá'u'lláh declared that He was the "Promised One" of all religions, fulfilling the messianic prophecies found in world religions. He stated that being several messiahs converging one person were the spiritual, rather than material, fulfilment of the messianic and eschatological prophecies found in the literature of the major religions. His eschatological claims constitute six distinctive messianic identifications: from Judaism, the incarnation of the "Everlasting Father" from the Yuletide prophecy of Isaiah 9:6, the "Lord of Hosts"; from Christianity, the "Spirit of Truth" or Comforter predicted by Jesus in His farewell discourse of John 14-17 and the return of Christ "in the glory of the Father"; from Zoroastrianism, the return of Shah Bahram Varjavand, a Zoroastrian messiah predicted in various late Pahlavi texts; from Shi'a Islam the return of the Third Imam, Imam Husayn; from Sunni Islam, the return of Jesus, Isa; and from the Bábí religion, He whom God shall make manifest.
While Bahá'u'lláh did not explicitly state Himself to be either the Hindu or Buddhist messiah, He did so in principle through His writings. Later, 'Abdu'l-Bahá stated that Bahá'u'lláh was the Kalki avatar, who in the classical Hindu Vaishnavas tradition, is the tenth and final avatar (great incarnation) of Vishnu who will come to end The Age of Darkness and Destruction. Bahá'ís also believe that Bahá'u'lláh is the fulfilment of the prophecy of appearance of the Maitreya Buddha, who is a future Buddha who will eventually appear on Earth, achieve complete enlightenment, and teach the pure Dharma. Bahá'ís believe that the prophecy that Maitreya will usher in a new society of tolerance and love has been fulfilled by Bahá'u'lláh's teachings on world peace. [Bahaipedia]
See P&M195-196 (1969), 298-299 (1987) where states, "...the First Call gone forth from His lips than the whole creation was revolutionized, and all that are in the heavens and all that are on earth were stirred to the depths". What was "the First Call"?. See GPB121, "These initial and impassioned outpourings of a Soul struggling to unburden itself, in the solitude of a self-imposed exile (many of them, alas lost to posterity) are, with the Tablet of Kullu't-Tá'am and the poem entitled Rashh-i-'Amá, revealed in Ṭihrán, the first fruits of His Divine Pen."
"While engulfed in tribulations I heard a most wondrous, a most sweet voice, calling above My head. Turning My face, I beheld a Maiden—the embodiment of the remembrance of the name of My Lord—suspended in the air before Me. So rejoiced was she in her very soul that her countenance shone with the ornament of the good pleasure of God, and her cheeks glowed with the brightness of the All-Merciful. Betwixt earth and heaven she was raising a call which captivated the hearts and minds of men. She was imparting to both My inward and outer being tidings which rejoiced My soul, and the souls of God's honoured servants.
Pointing with her finger unto My head, she addressed all who are in heaven and all who are on earth, saying: By God! This is the Best-Beloved of the worlds, and yet ye comprehend not. This is the Beauty of God amongst you, and the power of His sovereignty within you, could ye but understand. This is the Mystery of God and His Treasure, the Cause of God and His glory unto all who are in the kingdoms of Revelation and of creation, if ye be of them that perceive. This is He Whose Presence is the ardent desire of the denizens of the Realm of eternity, and of them that dwell within the Tabernacle of glory, and yet from His Beauty do ye turn aside." Súriy-i-Haykal para 6-7; SLH5-6
See Two Episodes from the Life of Bahá'u'lláh in Iran (2019) pp12-20 by Moojan Momen for an analysis of the provisional translation of a Tablet of Bahá'u'lláh. His interpretation is as follows: As a child Bahá'u'lláh read a story of the sufferings and unjust killing of the Banú Qurayza tribe in the time of Muhammad. It filled Him with such sorrow that He beseeched God to bring about what would be the cause of love and harmony among the people for the world. While imprisoned in the Siyáh Chál, He had an experience that caused great turmoil within Him and elevated His spiritual state. The duration of this state is considered as the beginning of His mission as a Manifestation of God and occurred over a twelve day period from 2 Muharram to 13 Muharram 1269, which equates to 16 October to 27 October 1852 A.D. It was after this that He began to reveal verses. Later He openly manifested Himself in the Garden of Ridván in Baghdad. Finally He revealed the Kitáb-i-Aqdas and then a series of Tablets such as Ishráqát, Tajalliyyát, the Tablet of the World and the Book of the Covenant in which he gave all of the guidance necessary to eliminate the causes of suffering, distress, and discord and to bring about unity and fellowship, thus fulfilling what He had longed for in His childhood.
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* Bahaullah (chronology); Bahá'u'lláh, Birth of Revelation of; Síyáh-Chál (Black Pit, Tehran); Dreams and visions; Maid of Heaven; Angels; Year nine; Promised One; Prophecies; - Basic timeline, Condensed; - Basic timeline, Expanded; * Bahá'u'lláh, Basic timeline; Firsts, other; Missing, lost or destroyed Writings; Tehran, Iran; Iran |
first emanations of the Supreme Pen |
1852 (Between Oct - Nov)
185- |
The revelation of Rashh-i-Ama (The Clouds of the Realms Above) while in the Síyáh-Chál in Tehran. This tablet is considered to be among the first revealed by Bahá'u'lláh after being apprised that He was to be the Manifestation of God.
See P&M295-196(1969), 298-299(1987) where states, "...the First Call gone forth from His lips than the whole creation was revolutionized, and all that are in the heavens and all that are on earth were stirred to the depths". What was "the First Call"?. See GPB121, "These initial and impassioned outpourings of a Soul struggling to unburden itself, in the solitude of a self-imposed exile (many of them, alas lost to posterity) are, with the Tablet of Kullu't-Tá'am and the poem entitled Rashh-i-'Amá, revealed in Ṭihrán, the first fruits of His Divine Pen."
See also RoB1p45-52 for information on "The First Emanations of the Supreme Pen". Taherzadeh explains that this tablet has great significance in Islamic prophecy where it is said that when the Promised One appears He will utter one word that will cause the people to flee Him. Islamic prophecy also holds that the well-known saying, "I am He" will be fulfilled. In this tablet and many that were to follow, Bahá'u'lláh proclaims that "I am God".
Taherzadeh also states Bahá'u'lláh disclosed for the first time one of the unique features of His Revelation, namely, the advent of the "Day of God".
"In a language supremely beautiful and soul-stirring, He attributes these energies to Himself. His choice of words, and the beauty, power, depth and mystery of this poem...are such that they may well prove impossible to translate." [RoB1p45]
In 2019 an authorized translation of this poem was published in the collection The Call of the Divine Beloved.
See a study outline by Jonah Winters (1999).
See Clouds and the Hiding God: Observations on some Terms in the Early Writing of Bahá'u'lláh by Moshe Sharon published in Lights of Irfan, Vol 13, 2012,p363-379 for an exploration of the mystical terms found in the Tablet.
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Rashh-i-Ama (Sprinkling from the Cloud of Unknowing); * Bahá'u'lláh, Writings of; - Bahá'u'lláh, Poetry of; - Poetry; - Call of the Divine Beloved (book); Síyáh-Chál (Black Pit, Tehran); Bahá'u'lláh, Birth of Revelation of; Tehran, Iran; Iran |
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1852 27 Oct
185- |
The Bábí Faith was first mentioned in the 27 October 1852 volume of Magyar Hírlap (The Hungarian Newspaper), under the title „Persia műveltségi történetéhez" ("To the History of Education in Persia") where Captain Von Goumoens, a captain of the Austrian army based in Tehran reported on the terrible events related to the persecution of Bahá'ís in Iran.[www.bahai.hu; SUR77; GPB66] |
Newspaper articles; Mentions; First mentions; Budapest, Hungary; Hungary |
First mention of the Faith in Hungary |
1852 Dec
185- |
Bahá'u'lláh was released from the Síyáh-Chál.
This was owing to: the efforts of the Russian Minister Prince Dolgorukov; the public confession of the would-be assassin; the testimony of competent tribunals; the efforts of Bahá'u'lláh's own kinsmen; and the sacrifices of those followers imprisoned with Him. [GPB104–5]
Mírzá Májíd-í-Ahi, the Secretary to the Russian Legation in Tehrán and brother-in-law of Bahá'u'lláh, Prince Dolgorki, the Russian Ambassador, pressured the government of Násirí'd-Din Sháh to either produce evidence against Bahá'u'lláh or to release Him. In absence of any proof, Bahá'u'lláh, Who was initially condemned to life in prison, was forced by the King to choose a place of exile for Himself and His family. The Czar sent and escort of fifty officers to accompany Him to a place of safety from Tehran to the Iraqi border. [BKG99; Sunburst P129]
See CH43–4 for the role of the Russian Consul in securing His release. He invoked his full power as an envoy of Russia and called out the Sháh and his court for their barbaric behaviour.
See BKG101–2, CH44 and DB647–8 for the physical condition of Bahá'u'lláh upon release.
See BKG101, DB648–9 and GPB105 for the words of Bahá'u'lláh to Mírzá Áqá Khán upon His release.
The Russian minister invited Bahá'u'lláh to go to Russia but He chose instead to go to Iraq. [DB650]
- It may be that He refused the offer because He knew that acceptance of such help would almost certainly have been misrepresented by others as having political implications. [BBIC:8]
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* Bahaullah (chronology); Bahá'u'lláh, Banishment of; Síyáh-Chál (Black Pit, Tehran); Nasirid-Din Shah, Attempt on; Russia; - Ministers; Prince Dolgorukov; Mírzá Aqa Khan; * Bahá'u'lláh, Basic timeline; - Basic timeline, Expanded; Exile (banishment); Tehran, Iran; Iran; Baghdad, Iraq; Iraq |
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Canada
