Chronology: Date 1896-05

date	event	tags	firsts
1896 1 May	Muzaffari'd-Dín became the shah of Persia. He was the son of Násiri'd-Dín Sháh. He had been sent as governor to the province of Azerbaijan in 1861 and, as the crown prince, had spent 35 years in the pursuit of pleasure. When he ascended to the throne he was unprepared for the office. In addition, the country had huge debts to both Britain and Russia. It was now the turn of the "Turks", called such because Turkish was the language of Ádhirbáyján. The new shah's relatives and friends were awarded ministries and other positions while only a few of the incumbents retained their positions. [SUR78] He inherited a country marked by social unrest and discontent, and an ailing economy burdened with foreign loans. Unlike his father, Muzaffar al-Din Shah suffered from ill health, and had a weaker character yet a kinder heart. The circumstances in which Iran found itself under his rule were also different from those of his father's time. Foreign involvement and influence were growing considerably, as were social and political discontent, along with demands for reform. The appointment in August 1897 of the reform-minded Mirza 'Ali Khan Amin al-Daulih as the new prime minister was, partly at least, an attempt to meet some of these demands. [ The Forgotten Schools; The Bahá'ís and Modern Education in Iran, 1899–1934p51]	Muzaffarid-Dín Sháh; - Shahs; - Throne changes; History (general); Iran, General history; Iran
1896 1 May	The martyrdom of Hand of the Cause of God Varqa ('Dove'), Mírzá 'Ali-Muhammad. (b.1856 in Yazd, d. in Tehran) He and his young son, Ruhu'lláh, were killed by, Hajib'ud-Dawleh, one of the Qajar courtiers, in fact, the Chief Steward, in the aftermath of the assassination of Nasir'd-Din Shah. Varqá was slashed to death before the eyes of his twelve-year-old son who, still refusing to recant, was strangled. [GPB296; BBRXXIX; SUR77; BW18p384; Bahá'í Encyclopedia Project] For the story of their lives see MRHK405–22 and World Order: Winter 1974-1975, Vol. 9 No.2 p29-44 as well as LoF42-49. For a Western account of the episode see BBR361–2. 'Abdu'l-Bahá named him posthumously as a Hand of the Cause and Shoghi Effendi designated him as one of the Apostles of Bahá-u-lláh. [EB75-97 LoF42-49, BBR361-362, SoBSNBp225-229] See Varqá and Son: The Heavenly Doves by Darius Shahrokh. See also Bahá'í Chronicles. See SoW Vol 12 No 4 (17 May 1921 (Volume 7 pg93) for a photo of Varqá, Ruhu'lláh and their two companions.	Varqa; Varqá, Mírzá `Alí-Muhammad; Varqa, Ruhullah; In Memoriam; - Apostles of Bahá'u'lláh; - Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, referred to as such by `Abdu'l-Bahá; Hands of the Cause, Appointments; Hands of the Cause, Births and deaths; Births and deaths; Hands of the Cause, Activities; Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Deaths; - Persecution; Yazd, Iran; Tehran, Iran; Iran
1896 13 May	Birth of Dr Ugo Giachery, Hand of the Cause of God, in Palermo, Sicily. [Wikipedia]	Ugo Giachery; - Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, Births and deaths; Births and deaths; Palermo, Italy; Sicily, Italy
Try also a shorter date like 1896-0 or 1896 try also the Chronology Canada — 1896-05 or 1896-0 or 1896

Home

Site Map