A new version of the Bahá’í Reference Library is now available. This ‘old version’ of the Bahá’í Reference Library will be replaced at a later date.
The new version of the Bahá’i Reference Library can be accessed here »
A new version of the Bahá’í Reference Library is now available. This ‘old version’ of the Bahá’í Reference Library will be replaced at a later date.
The new version of the Bahá’i Reference Library can be accessed here »
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CHAPTER XXIV: THE ZANJÁN UPHEAVAL |
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THE spark that had kindled the great conflagrations
of Mázindarán and Nayríz had already set aflame
Zanján
1
and its surroundings when the Báb
met His death in Tabríz. Profound as was His sorrow
at the sad and calamitous fate that had overtaken the heroes
of Shaykh Tabarsí, the news of the no less tragic sufferings
that had been the lot of Vahíd and his companions, came as
an added blow to His heart, already oppressed by the weight
of manifold afflictions. The consciousness of the dangers
that thickened around Him; the memory of the indignity
He endured when He was last conducted to Tabríz; the strain
of a prolonged and rigorous captivity amidst the mountain
fastnesses of Ádhirbayján; the terrible butcheries that marked
the closing stages of the Mázindarán and Nayríz upheavals;
the outrages to His Faith wrought by the persecutors of the
Seven Martyrs of Tihrán—even these were not all the troubles
528
that beclouded the remaining days of a fast-ebbing life. He
was already prostrated by the severity of these blows when
the news of the happenings at Zanján, which were then beginning
to foreshadow their sad events, reached Him and
served to consummate the anguish of His last days. What
pangs must He have endured as the shadows of death were
fast gathering about Him! In every field, whether in the north
or in the south, the champions of His Faith had been subjected
to undeserved sufferings, had been infamously deceived,
had been robbed of their possessions, and had been inhumanly
massacred. And now, as if to fill His cup of woes to over-flowing,
529
there broke forth the storm of Zanján, the most
violent and devastating of them all.
2
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I now proceed to relate the circumstances that have made
of that event one of the most thrilling episodes in the history
of this Revelation. Its chief figure was Hujjat-i-Zanjání,
whose name was Mullá Muhammad-‘Alí,
3
one of the ablest
ecclesiastical dignitaries of his age, and certainly one of the
most formidable champions of the Cause. His father, Mullá
Rahím-i-Zanjání, was one of the leading mujtahids of Zanján,
and was greatly esteemed for his piety, his learning and
force of character. Mullá Muhammad-‘Alí, surnamed Hujjat,
was born in the year 1227 A.H.
4
From his very boyhood, he
showed such capacity that his father lavished the utmost
care upon his education. He sent him to Najaf, where he
distinguished himself by his insight, his ability and fiery
ardour.
5
His scholarship and keen intelligence excited the
admiration of his friends, whilst his outspokenness and the
strength of his character made him the terror of his adversaries.
His father advised him not to return to Zanján,
530
where his enemies were conspiring against him. He accordingly
decided to establish his residence in Hamadán,
6
where he married one of his kinswomen, and lived there for
about two and a half years, when the news of his father’s
death decided him to leave for his native town. The ovation
accorded him on his arrival inflamed the hostility of the
‘ulamás, who, despite their avowed opposition, received at
his hands every mark of consideration and kindness.
7
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From the pulpit of the masjid which his friends erected
in his honour, he urged the vast throng that gathered to
hear him, to refrain from self-indulgence and to exercise
moderation in all their acts.
8
He ruthlessly suppressed
every form of abuse, and by his example encouraged the people
to adhere rigidly to the principles inculcated by the Qur’án.
Such were the care and ability with which he taught his disciples
that they surpassed in knowledge and understanding
the recognised ‘ulamás of Zanján. For seventeen years, he
pursued his meritorious labours and succeeded in purging
the minds and hearts of his fellow-townsmen from whatever
seemed contrary to the spirit and teachings of their Faith.
9
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When the Call from Shíráz reached him, he despatched
his trusted messenger, Mullá Iskandar, to enquire into the
claims of the new Revelation; and such was his response to
531
that Message that his enemies were stirred to redouble their
attacks upon him. Unable, hitherto, to disgrace him in the
eyes of the government and the people, they now endeavoured
to denounce him as an advocate of heresy and a repudiator
of all that is sacred and cherished in Islám. “His reputation
for justice, for piety, wisdom, and learning,” they whispered
to one another, “has been such as to render it impossible for
us to shake his position. When summoned to Tihrán, in
the presence of Muhammad Sháh was he not able, by his
magnetic eloquence, to win him over to his side, and make
of him one of his devoted admirers? Now, however, that
he has so openly championed the cause of the Siyyid-i-Báb,
we can surely succeed in obtaining from the government the
order for his arrest and banishment from our town.”
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They accordingly drew up a petition to Muhammad
Sháh, in which they sought, by every device their malevolent
and crafty minds could invent, to discredit his name. “While
still professing himself a follower of our Faith,” they complained,
“he, by the aid of his disciples, was able to repudiate
our authority. Now that he has identified himself with the
cause of the Siyyid-i-Báb and won over to that hateful creed
two-thirds of the inhabitants of Zanján, what humiliation
will he not inflict upon us! The concourse that throngs his
gates, the whole masjid can no longer contain. Such is his
influence that the masjid that belonged to his father and the
one that has been built in his honour, have been connected
and made into one edifice in order to accommodate the ever-increasing
multitude that hastens eagerly to follow his lead
in prayer. The time is fast approaching when not only
Zanján but the neighbouring villages also will have declared
themselves his supporters.”
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The Sháh was greatly surprised at the tone and language
with which the petitioners sought to arraign Hujjat. He
shared his astonishment with Mírzá Nazar-‘Alí, the Hakím-Báshí,
and recalled the glowing tribute which many a visitor
to Zanján had paid to the abilities and integrity of the accused.
He decided to summon him, together with his opponents,
to Tihrán. In a special gathering at which he himself,
together with Hájí Mírzá Aqásí and the leading officials of
the government, as well as a number of the recognised ‘ulamás
532
of Tihrán, had assembled, he called upon the ecclesiastical
leaders of Zanján to vindicate the claims they had advanced.
Whatever questions they submitted to Hujjat, regarding the
teachings of their Faith, he answered in a manner that could
not fail to win the unqualified admiration of his hearers and
to establish the sovereign’s confidence in his innocence. The
Sháh expressed his entire satisfaction, and amply rewarded
Hujjat for the excellent manner in which he had succeeded
in refuting the allegations of his enemies. He bade him
return to Zanján and resume his valuable services to the cause
of his people, assuring him that he would under all circumstances
support him and asking to be informed of any difficulty
with which he might be faced in the future.
10
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His arrival at Zanján was the signal for a fierce outburst
on the part of his humiliated opponents. As the evidences
of their hostility multiplied, the marks of devotion on the
part of his friends and supporters correspondingly increased.
11
Utterly disdainful of their machinations, he pursued his
activities with unrelaxing zeal.
12
The liberal principles which
he unceasingly and fearlessly advocated struck at the very
root of the fabric which a bigoted enemy had laboriously
reared. They beheld with impotent fury the disruption of
their authority and the collapse of their institutions.
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It was in those days that his special envoy, Mashhadí
Ahmad, whom he had confidentially despatched to Shíráz
with a petition and gifts from him to the Báb, arrived at
533
Zanján and delivered into his hands, while he was addressing
his disciples, a sealed letter from his Beloved. In the Tablet
he received, the Báb conferred upon him one of His own
titles, that of Hujjat, and urged him to proclaim from the
pulpit, without the least reservation, the fundamental teachings
of His Faith. No sooner was he informed of the wishes
of his Master than he declared his resolve to devote himself
to the immediate enforcement of whatever injunction that
Tablet contained. He immediately dismissed his disciples,
bade them close their books, and declared his intention of
discontinuing his courses of study. “Of what profit,” he said,
“are study and research to those who have already found the
Truth, and why strive after learning when He who is the
Object of all knowledge is made manifest?”
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As soon as he attempted to lead the congregation in
offering the Friday prayer, enjoined upon him by the Báb,
13
the Imám-Jum’ih, who had hitherto performed that duty,
vehemently protested, on the ground that this right was
the exclusive privilege of his own forefathers, that it had
been conferred upon him by his sovereign, and that no one,
however exalted his station, could usurp it. “That right,”
Hujjat retorted, “has been superseded by the authority
with which the Qá’im Himself has invested me. I have been
commanded by Him to assume that function publicly, and
I cannot allow any person to trespass upon that right. If
attacked, I will take steps to defend myself and to protect
the lives of my companions.”
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His fearless insistence on the duty laid upon him by the
Báb caused the ‘ulamás of Zanján to league themselves with
the Imám-Jum’ih
14
and to lay their complaints before Hájí
Mírzá Aqásí, pleading that Hujjat had challenged the validity
534
of recognised institutions and trampled upon their rights.
“We must either flee from this town with our families and
belongings,” they pleaded, “and leave him in sole charge of
the destinies of its people, or obtain from Muhammad Sháh
an edict for his immediate expulsion from this country; for
we firmly believe that to allow him to remain on its soil would
be courting disaster.” Though Hájí Mírzá Aqásí, in his
heart, distrusted the ecclesiastical order of his country and
had a natural aversion to their beliefs and practices, he was
forced eventually to yield to their pressing demands, and
submitted the matter to Muhammad Sháh, who ordered
the transfer of Hujjat from Zanján to the capital.
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A Kurd named Qilij Khán was commissioned by the
Sháh to deliver the royal summons to Hujjat. The Báb had
meanwhile arrived in the neighbourhood of Tihrán on His
way to Tabríz. Ere the arrival of the royal messenger at
Zanján, Hujjat had sent one of his friends, a certain
Khán-Muhammad-i-Tub-Chí, to his Master with a petition in which
he begged to be allowed to rescue Him from the hands of
the enemy. The Báb assured him that His deliverance the
Almighty alone could achieve and that no one could escape
from His decree or evade His law. “As to your meeting with
Me,” He added, “it soon will take place in the world beyond,
the home of unfading glory.”
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The authorities, apprehensive lest a meeting between the
Báb and Hujjat might lead to fresh disturbances, had taken
the necessary precautions to ensure the absence of the latter
from Zanján during the Báb’s passage through that town.
The companions who were following Hujjat at a distance,
whilst he was on his way to the capital, were urged by him
to return and try to meet their Master and to assure Him of
his readiness to come to His rescue. On their way back to
their homes, they encountered the Báb, who again expressed
His desire that no one of His friends should attempt to
535
deliver Him from His captivity. He even directed them to
tell the believers among their fellow-townsmen not to press
round Him, but even to avoid Him wherever He went.
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As soon as they were met by the guards who were marching
in advance of their Captive, they were ruthlessly dispersed.
On reaching a fork in the road, there arose an altercation
536
between Muhammad Big-i-Chaparchí and his colleague, who
had been despatched from Tihrán to assist in conducting the
Báb to Tabríz. Muhammad Big insisted that their Prisoner
should be taken into the town, where He should be allowed
to pass the night in the caravanserai of Mírzá Ma’súm-i-Tabíb,
the father of Mírzá Muhammad-‘Alíy-i-Tabíb, a
martyr of the Faith, before resuming their march to Ádhirbayján.
He pleaded that to pass the night outside the
gate would be to expose their lives to danger, and would encourage
their opponents to attempt an attack upon them.
He eventually succeeded in convincing his colleague that he
should conduct the Báb to that caravanserai. As they were
passing through the streets, they were amazed to see the
multitude that had crowded onto the housetops in their
eagerness to catch a glimpse of the face of the Prisoner.
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Mírzá Ma’súm, the former owner of the caravanserai,
had lately died, and his eldest son, Mírzá Muhammad-‘Alí,
the leading physician of Hamadán, who, though not a believer,
was a true lover of the Báb, had arrived at Zanján
and was in mourning for his father. He lovingly received
the Báb in the caravanserai he had specially prepared beforehand
for His reception. That night he remained until a
late hour in His presence and was completely won over to
His Cause.
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“The same night that witnessed my conversion,” I heard
him subsequently relate, “I arose ere break of day, lit my
lantern, and, preceded by my father’s attendant, directed
my steps towards the caravanserai. The guards who were
stationed at the entrance recognised me and allowed me to
enter. The Báb was performing His ablutions when I was
ushered into His presence. I was greatly impressed when
I saw Him absorbed in His devotions. A feeling of reverent
joy filled my heart as I stood behind Him and prayed. I
myself prepared His tea and was offering it to Him when
He turned to me and bade me depart for Hamadán. ‘This
town,’ He said, ‘will be thrown into a great tumult, and its
streets will run with blood.’ I expressed my strong desire
to be allowed to shed my blood in His path. He assured me
that the hour of my martyrdom had not yet come, and bade
me be resigned to whatever God might decree. At the hour
537
of sunrise, as He mounted His horse and was preparing to
depart, I begged to be allowed to follow Him, but He advised
me to remain, and assured me of His unfailing prayers. Resigning
myself to His will, with regret I watched Him disappear
from my sight.”
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On his arrival at Tihrán, Hujjat was conducted into the
presence of Hájí Mírzá Aqásí; who, on behalf of the Sháh
and himself, expressed his annoyance at the intense hostility
which his conduct had aroused among the ‘ulamás of Zanján.
“Muhammad Sháh and I,” he told him, “are continually
besieged by the oral as well as written denunciations brought
against you. I could scarcely believe their indictment relating
to your desertion of the Faith of your forefathers.
Nor is the Sháh inclined to credit such assertions. I have
been commanded by him to summon you to his capital and
to call upon you to refute such accusations. It grieves me
to hear that a man whom I consider infinitely superior in
knowledge and ability to the Siyyid-i-Báb has chosen to
identify himself with his creed.” “Not so,” replied Hujjat;
“God knows that if that same Siyyid were to entrust me
with the meanest service in His household, I would deem it
an honour such as the highest favours of my sovereign could
never hope to surpass.” “This can never be!” burst forth
Hájí Mírzá Aqásí. “It is my firm and unalterable conviction,”
Hujjat reaffirmed, “that this Siyyid of Shíráz is the very
One whose advent you yourself, with all the peoples of the
world, are eagerly awaiting. He is our Lord, our promised
Deliverer.
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Hájí Mírzá Aqásí reported the matter to Muhammad
Sháh, to whom he expressed his fears that to allow so formidable
an adversary, whom the sovereign himself believed
to be the most accomplished of the ‘ulamás of his realm, to
pursue unhindered the course of his activities would be a
policy fraught with gravest danger to the State. The Sháh,
disinclined to credit such reports, which he attributed to the
malice and envy of the enemies of the accused, ordered that
a special meeting be convened at which he should be asked
to vindicate his position in the presence of the assembled
‘ulamás of the capital.
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Several meetings were held for that purpose, before each
538
of which Hujjat eloquently set forth the basic claims of his
Faith and confounded the arguments of those who tried to
oppose him. “Is not the following tradition,” he boldly
declared, “recognised alike by shí’ah and sunní Islám: ‘I
leave amidst you my twin testimonies, the Book of God and
my family’? Has not the second of these testimonies, in
your opinion, passed away, and is not our sole means of
guidance, as a result, contained in the testimony of the sacred
Book? I appeal to you to measure every claim that either
of us shall advance, by the standard established in that
Book, and to regard it as the supreme authority whereby the
righteousness of our argument can be judged.” Unable to
defend their case against him, they, as a last resort, ventured
to ask him to produce a miracle whereby to establish the
truth of his assertion. “What greater miracle,” he exclaimed,
“than that He should have enabled me to triumph, alone and
unaided, by the simple power of my argument, over the
combined forces of the mujtahids and ‘ulamás of Tihrán?”
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The masterly manner in which Hujjat refuted the unsound
claims advanced by his adversaries won for him the favour
of his sovereign, who from that day forth was no longer
swayed by the insinuations of his enemies. Although the
entire company of the ‘ulamás of Zanján, as well as a number
of the ecclesiastical leaders of Tihrán, had declared him to
be an infidel and condemned him to death, yet Muhammad
Sháh continued to bestow his favours upon him and to assure
him that he could rely on his support. Hájí Mírzá Aqásí,
though at heart unfriendly to Hujjat, was unable, in the face
of such unmistakable evidences of royal favour, to resist
his influence openly, and by his frequent visits to his house,
and by the gifts he lavished upon him, that deceitful minister
sought to conceal his resentment and envy.
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Hujjat was virtually a prisoner in Tihrán. He was unable
to go beyond the gates of the capital, nor was he allowed
free intercourse with his friends. The believers among his
fellow-townsmen eventually determined to send a deputation
and ask him for fresh instructions regarding their attitude
towards the laws and principles of their Faith. He charged
them to observe with absolute loyalty the admonitions he
had received from the Báb through the messengers he had
539
sent to investigate His Cause. He enumerated a series of
observances, some of which constituted a definite departure
from the established traditions of Islám. “Siyyid Kázim-i-Zanjání,”
he assured them, “has been intimately connected
with my Master both in Shíráz and in Isfahán. He, as well
as Mullá Iskandar and Mashhadí Ahmad, both of whom I
sent to meet Him, have positively declared that He Himself
is the first to practise the observances He has enjoined upon
the faithful. It therefore behoves us who are His supporters
to follow His noble example.”
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These explicit instructions were no sooner read to his
companions than they became inflamed with an irresistible
desire to carry out his wishes. They enthusiastically set to
work to enforce the laws of the new Dispensation, and, giving
up their former customs and practices, unhesitatingly identified
themselves with its claims. Even the little children
were encouraged to follow scrupulously the admonitions of
the Báb. “Our beloved Master,” they were taught to say,
“Himself is the first to practise them. Why should we who
are His privileged disciples hesitate to make them the ruling
principles of our lives?”
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Hujjat was still a captive in Tihrán when the news of the
siege of the fort of Tabarsí reached him. He longed, and
deplored his inability, to throw in his lot with those of his
companions who were struggling with such splendid heroism
for the emancipation of their Faith. His sole consolation in
those days was his close association with Bahá’u’lláh, from
whom he received the sustaining power that enabled him,
in the time to come, to distinguish himself by deeds no less
remarkable than those which that company had manifested
in the darkest hours of their memorable struggle.
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He was still in Tihrán when Muhammad Sháh passed
away, leaving the throne to his son Násiri’d-Dín Sháh.
15
The
Amír-Nizám, the new Grand Vazír, decided to make Hujjat’s
imprisonment more rigorous, and to seek in the meantime a
way of destroying him. On being informed of the imminence
of the danger that threatened his life, his captive decided to
540
leave Tihrán in disguise and join his companions, who eagerly
awaited his return.
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His arrival at his native town, which a certain Karbilá’í
Valí-‘Attar announced to his companions, was a signal for a
tremendous demonstration of devoted loyalty on the part of
his many admirers. They flocked out, men, women, and children,
to welcome him and to renew their assurances of abiding
and undiminished affection.
16
The governor of Zanján,
Majdu’d-Dawlih,
17
the maternal uncle of Násiri’d-Dín Sháh,
astounded by the spontaneity of that ovation, ordered, in
the fury of his despair, that the tongue of Karbilá’í Valí-‘Attar
be immediately cut out. Though at heart he loathed
Hujjat, he pretended to be his friend and well-wisher. He
often visited him and showed him unbounded consideration,
yet he was secretly conspiring against his life and was waiting
for the moment when he could strike the fatal blow.
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That smouldering hostility was soon to be fanned into
flame by an incident that was of little importance in itself.
The occasion was afforded when a quarrel suddenly broke out
between two children of Zanján, one of whom belonged
to a kinsman of one of the companions of Hujjat. The
governor immediately ordered that child to be arrested and
placed in strict confinement. A sum of money was offered
541
by the believers to the governor, in order to induce him to
release his young prisoner. He refused their offer, whereupon
they complained to Hujjat, who vehemently protested.
“That child,” he wrote to the governor, “is too young to be
held responsible for his behaviour. If he deserves punishment,
his father and not he should be made to suffer.”
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Finding that the appeal had been ignored, he renewed
his protest and entrusted it to the hands of one of his influential
comrades, Mír Jalíl, father of Siyyid Ashraf and
martyr of the Faith, directing him to present it in person to
the governor. The guards stationed at the entrance of the
house at first refused him admittance. Indignant at their
refusal, he threatened to force his way through the gate, and
succeeded, by the mere threat of unsheathing his sword, in
overcoming their resistance and in compelling the infuriated
governor to release the child.
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The unconditional compliance of the governor with the
demand of Mír Jalíl stirred the furious indignation of the
‘ulamás. They violently protested, and deprecated his submission
to the threats with which their opponents had sought
to intimidate him. They expressed to him their fear that
such a surrender on his part would encourage them to make
still greater demands upon him, would enable them before
long to assume the reins of authority and to exclude him
from any share in the administration of the government.
They eventually induced him to consent to the arrest of
Hujjat, an act which they were convinced would succeed
in checking the progress of his influence.
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The governor reluctantly consented. He was repeatedly
assured by the ‘ulamás that his action would under no circumstances
endanger the peace and security of the town.
Two of their supporters, Pahlaván
18
Asadu’lláh and Pahlaván
Safar-‘Alí, both notorious for their brutality and prodigious
strength, volunteered to seize Hujjat and deliver him hand-cuffed
to the governor. Each was promised a handsome reward
in return for this service. Clad in their amour, with
helmets on their heads, and followed by a band of ruffians
recruited from among the most degraded of the population.
542
they set out to accomplish their purpose. The ‘ulamás were
in the meantime busily engaged in inciting the populace and
encouraging them to reinforce their efforts.
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As soon as the emissaries arrived in the quarter in which
Hujjat was living, they were unexpectedly confronted by
Mír Salah, one of his most formidable supporters, who,
together with seven of his armed companions, strenuously
opposed their advance. He asked Asadu’lláh whither he
was bound, and, on receiving from him an insulting answer,
unsheathed his sword and, with the cry of “Yá Sáhibu’z-Zamán!”
19
sprang upon him and wounded him in the forehead.
Mír Salah’s audacity, in spite of the heavy amour which his
adversary was wearing, frightened the whole band and
caused them to flee in different directions.
20
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The cry which that stout-hearted defender of the Faith
raised on that day was heard for the first time in Zanján, a
cry that spread panic through the town. The governor was
terrified by its tremendous force, and asked what that shout
could mean and whose voice had been able to raise it. He
was gravely shaken when told that it was the watchword of
Hujjat’s companions, with which they called for the assistance
of the Qá’im in the hour of distress.
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The remnants of that affrighted band encountered, shortly
after, Shaykh Muhammad-i-Tub-Chí, whom they immediately
recognised as one of their ablest adversaries. Finding
him unarmed, they fell upon him and, with an axe one of
them was carrying, struck him and broke his head. They
bore him to the governor, and no sooner had they laid down
the wounded man than a certain Siyyid Abu’l-Qásim, one of
the mujtahids of Zanján who was present, leaped forward
and, with his penknife, stabbed him in the breast. The
governor too, unsheathing his sword, struck him on the
mouth and was followed by the attendants who, with the
weapons they carried with them, completed the murder of
their hapless victim. As their blows rained upon him, unmindful
of his sufferings, he was heard to say: “I thank Thee,
O my God, for having vouchsafed me the crown of martyrdom.”
543
He was the first among the believers of Zanján to
lay down his life in the path of the Cause. His death, which
occurred on Friday, the fourth of Rajab, in the year 1266
A.H.,
21
preceded by forty-five days the martyrdom of Vahíd
and by fifty-five days that of the Báb.
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The blood that was shed on that day, far from allaying
the hostility of the enemy, served further to inflame their
passions, and to reinforce their determination to subject to
the same fate the rest of the companions. Encouraged by
the governor’s tacit approval of their expressed intentions,
they resolved to put to death all upon whom they could lay
their hands, without obtaining beforehand an express authorisation
from the government officials. They solemnly
covenanted among themselves not to rest until they had
extinguished the fire of what they deemed a shameless heresy.
22
They compelled the governor to bid a crier proclaim throughout
Zanján that whoever was willing to endanger his life, to
forfeit his property, and expose his wife and children to
misery and shame, should throw in his lot with Hujjat and
his companions; and that those desirous of ensuring the well-being
and honour of themselves and their families, should
withdraw from the neighbourhood in which those companions
resided and seek the shelter of the sovereign’s protection.
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That warning immediately divided the inhabitants into
two distinct camps, and severely tested the faith of those
who were still wavering in their allegiance to the Cause.
It gave rise to the most pathetic scenes, caused the separation
of fathers from their sons and the estrangement of brothers
and of kindred. Every tie of worldly affection seemed to
be dissolving on that day, and the solemn pledges were forsaken
in favour of a loyalty mightier and more sacred than
any earthly allegiance. Zanján fell a prey to the wildest
excitement. The cry of distress which members of divided
families, in a frenzy of despair, raised to heaven, mingled
with the blasphemous shouts which a threatening enemy
544
hurled upon them. Shouts of exultation hailed at every
turn those who, tearing themselves from their homes and
kinsmen, enrolled themselves as willing supporters of the
Cause of Hujjat. The camp of the enemy hummed with feverish
activity in preparation for the great struggle upon which
they had secretly determined. Reinforcements were rushed
into the town from the neighbouring villages, at the command
of its governor and with the encouragement of the
mujtahids, the siyyids, and the ‘ulamás who supported him.
23
|
|
Undeterred by the growing tumult, Hujjat ascended the
pulpit and, with uplifted voice, proclaimed to the congregation:
“The hand of Omnipotence has, in this day, separated
truth from falsehood and divided the light of guidance from
the darkness of error. I am unwilling that because of me
you should suffer injury. The one aim of the governor and
of the ‘ulamás who support him is to seize and kill me. They
cherish no other ambition. They thirst for my blood and
seek no one besides me. Whoever among you feels the least
desire to safeguard his life against the perils with which we
are beset, whoever is reluctant to offer his life for our Cause,
let him, ere it is too late, betake himself from this place and
return whence he came.”
24
|
|
That day more than three thousand men were recruited
by the governor from the surrounding villages of Zanján.
Meanwhile Mír Salah, accompanied by a number of his
comrades, who observed the growing restiveness of their
545
opponents, sought the presence of Hujjat and urged him, as
a precautionary measure, to transfer his residence to the fort
of ‘Alí-Mardán Khán,
25
adjacent to the quarter in which
he was residing. Hujjat gave his consent and ordered that
their women and children, together with such provisions as
they might require, be taken to the fort. Though they found
it occupied by its owners, the companions eventually induced
them to withdraw, and gave them in exchange the houses in
which they themselves had been dwelling.
|
|
The enemy was meanwhile preparing for a violent attack
upon them. No sooner had a detachment of their forces
opened fire upon the barricades the companions had raised
than Mír Ridá, a siyyid of exceptional courage, asked his
leader to allow him to attempt to capture the governor and
to bring him as a prisoner to the fort. Hujjat, unwilling to
comply with his request, advised him not to risk his life.
|
|
The governor was so overcome with fear when informed
of that siyyid’s intention that he decided to leave Zanján
immediately. He was, however, dissuaded from taking that
course by a certain siyyid who pleaded that his departure
would be the signal for grave disturbances such as would
disgrace him in the sight of his superiors. The siyyid himself
546
set out, as evidence of his earnestness, to launch an offensive
against the occupants of the fort. He had no sooner given
the signal for attack and advanced at the head of a band of
thirty of his comrades, than he unexpectedly encountered
two of his adversaries who were marching with drawn swords
towards him. Believing that they intended to assail him,
he, with the whole of his band, was suddenly seized with
panic, straightway regained his home, and, forgetful of the
assurances he had given to the governor, remained the whole
day closeted within his room. Those who were with him
promptly dispersed, renouncing the thought of pursuing the
attack. They were subsequently informed that the two
men they had encountered had no hostile intention against
them, but were simply on their way to fulfil a commission
with which they had been entrusted.
|
|
That humiliating episode was soon followed by a number
of similar attempts on the part of the supporters of the
governor, all of which utterly failed to achieve their purpose.
Every time they rushed to attack the fort, Hujjat would
order a few of his companions, who were three thousand in
number, to emerge from their retreat and scatter their forces.
He never failed, every time he gave them such orders, to
caution his fellow-disciples against shedding unnecessarily
the blood of their assailants. He constantly reminded them
that their action was of a purely defensive character, and
that their sole purpose was to preserve inviolate the security
of their women and children. “We are commanded,” he
was frequently heard to observe, “not to wage holy war
under any circumstances against the unbelievers, whatever
be their attitude towards us.”
|
|
This state of affairs continued
26
until the orders of the
547
Amír-Nizám reached one of the generals of the imperial
army, Sadru’d-Dawliy-i-Isfahání by name,
27
who had set out
at the head of two regiments for Ádhirbayján. The written
orders of the Grand Vazír reached him in Khamsíh, bidding
him cancel his projected journey and proceed immediately
to Zanján and there give his assistance to the forces that had
been mustered by the government. “You have been commissioned
by your sovereign,” the Amír-Nizám wrote him,
“to subjugate the band of mischief-makers in and around
Zanján. It is your privilege to crush their hopes and exterminate
their forces. So signal a service, at so critical a
moment, will win for you the Sháh’s highest favour, no less
than the applause and esteem of his people.”
|
|
This encouraging farmán stirred the imagination of the
ambitious Sadru’d-Dawlih. He marched instantly on Zanján
at the head of his two regiments, organised the forces
which the governor placed at his disposal, and gave orders
for a combined attack upon the fort and its defenders.
28
The
548
contest raged in the environs of the fort three days and three
nights, in the course of which the besieged, under the direction
of Hujjat, resisted with splendid daring the fierce onslaught
of their assailants. Neither their overwhelming
numbers nor the superiority of their equipment and training
could enable them to reduce the intrepid companions to an
unconditional surrender.
29
Undeterred by the fire of the
cannon with which they were deluged, and forgetful of both
sleep and hunger, they rushed in a headlong charge out of
the fort, utterly unmindful of the perils incurred by such a
sally. To the imprecations with which an opposing host
greeted their appearance from their retreat, they shouted
their answer of “Yá Sáhibu’z-Zamán!” and, carried away
by the spell which that invocation threw upon them, hurled
themselves upon the enemy and scattered his forces. The
frequency and success of these sallies demoralised their assailants
and convinced them of the futility of their efforts.
They were soon compelled to acknowledge their powerlessness
to win a decisive victory. Sadru’d-Dawlih himself had to
confess that after the lapse of nine months of sustained fighting,
all the men who had originally belonged to his two
regiments, no more than thirty crippled soldiers were left
to support him. Filled with humiliation, he was forced,
eventually, to admit his powerlessness to daunt the spirit
of his opponents. He was degraded from his rank and gravely
reprimanded by his sovereign. The hopes he had fondly cherished
were, as the result of that defeat, irretrievably shattered.
549
|
|
So abject a defeat struck dismay into the hearts of the
people of Zanján. Few were willing, after that disaster, to
risk their lives in hopeless encounters. Only those who were
compelled to fight ventured to renew their attacks upon the
besieged. The brunt of the struggle was mainly borne by
the regiments which were being successively despatched from
Tihrán for that purpose. While the inhabitants of the town,
and particularly the merchant class among them, profited
greatly by the sudden influx of such a large number of forces,
the companions of Hujjat suffered want and privation within
the walls of the fort. Their supplies dwindled rapidly; their
only hope of receiving any food from outside lay in the
efforts, often unsuccessful, of a few women who could manage,
under various pretexts, to approach the fort and sell them
at an exorbitant price the provisions they so sadly needed.
|
|
Though oppressed with hunger and harassed by fierce
and sudden onsets, they maintained with unflinching determination
the defence of the fort. Sustained by a hope that
no amount of adversity could dim, they succeeded in erecting
no less than twenty-eight barricades, each of which was entrusted
to the care of a group of nineteen of their fellow-disciples.
At each barricade, nineteen additional companions
were stationed as sentinels, whose function it was to watch
and report the movements of the enemy.
|
|
They were frequently surprised by the voice of the crier
whom the enemy sent to the neighbourhood of the fort to
induce its occupants to desert Hujjat and his Cause. “The
governor of the province,” he would proclaim, “and the
commander-in-chief too, are willing to forgive and extend a
safe passage to whoever among you will decide to leave the
fort and renounce his faith. Such a man will be amply rewarded
by his sovereign, who, in addition to lavishing gifts
upon him, will invest him with the dignity of noble rank.
Both the Sháh and his representatives have pledged their
honour not to depart from the promise they have given.”
To this call the besieged would, with one voice, return contemptuous
and decisive replies.
|
|
Further evidence of the spirit of sublime renunciation
animating those valiant companions was afforded by the
behaviour of a village maiden, who, of her own accord, threw
550
in her lot with the band of women and children who had
joined the defenders of the fort. Her name was Zaynab, her
home a tiny hamlet in the near neighbourhood of Zanján.
She was comely and fair of face, was fired with a lofty faith,
and endowed with intrepid courage. The sight of the trials
and hardships which her men companions were made to
endure stirred in her an irrepressible yearning to disguise
herself in male attire and share in repulsing the repeated
attacks of the enemy. Donning a tunic and wearing a head-dress
like those of her men companions, she cut off her locks,
girt on a sword, and, seizing a musket and a shield, introduced
herself into their ranks. No one suspected her of
being a maid when she leaped forward to take her place
behind the barricade. As soon as the enemy charged, she
bared her sword and, raising the cry of “Yá Sáhibu’z-Zamán!”
flung herself with incredible audacity upon the forces arrayed
against her. Friend and foe marvelled that day at a courage
and resourcefulness the equal of which their eyes had scarcely
ever beheld. Her enemies pronounced her the curse which
an angry Providence had hurled upon them. Overwhelmed
with despair and abandoning their barricades, they fled in
disgraceful rout before her.
|
|
Hujjat, who was watching the movements of the enemy
from one of the turrets, recognised her and marvelled at
the prowess which that maiden was displaying. She had set
out in pursuit of her assailants, when he ordered his men to
bid her return to the fort and give up the attempt. “No
man,” he was heard to say, as he saw her plunge into the
fire directed upon her by the enemy, “has shown himself capable
of such vitality and courage.” When questioned by
him as to the motive of her behaviour, she burst into tears
and said: “My heart ached with pity and sorrow when I
beheld the toil and sufferings of my fellow-disciples. I advanced
by an inner urge I could not resist. I was afraid lest
you would deny me the privilege of throwing in my lot with
my men companions.” “You are surely the same Zaynab,”
Hujjat asked her, “who volunteered to join the occupants
of the fort?” “I am,” she replied. “I can confidently assure
you that no one has hitherto discovered my sex. You alone
have recognised me. I adjure you by the Báb not to withhold
551
from me that inestimable privilege, the crown of martyrdom,
the one desire of my life.”
|
|
Hujjat was profoundly impressed by the tone and manner
of her appeal. He sought to calm the tumult of her soul,
assured her of his prayers in her behalf, and gave her the name
Rustam-‘Alí as a mark of her noble courage. “This is the
Day of Resurrection,” he told her, “the day when ‘all secrets
shall be searched out.’
30
Not by their outward appearance,
but by the character of their beliefs and the manner of their
lives, does God judge His creatures, be they men or women.
Though a maiden of tender age and immature experience, you
have displayed such vitality and resource as few men could
hope to surpass.” He granted her request, and warned her
not to exceed the bounds their Faith had imposed upon them.
“We are called upon to defend our lives,” he reminded her,
“against a treacherous assailant, and not to wage holy war
against him.”
|
|
For a period of no less than five months, that maiden
continued to withstand with unrivalled heroism the forces
of the enemy. Disdainful of food and sleep, she toiled with
fevered earnestness for the Cause she most loved. She
quickened, by the example of her splendid daring, the courage
of the few who wavered, and reminded them of the duty each
was expected to fulfil. The sword she wielded remained,
throughout that period, by her side. In the brief intervals
of sleep she was able to obtain, she was seen with her head
resting upon her sword and her shield serving as a covering
for her body. Every one of her companions was assigned to
a particular post which he was expected to guard and defend,
while that fearless maid alone was free to move in whatever
direction she pleased. Always in the thick and forefront of
the turmoil that raged round her, Zaynab was ever ready to
rush to the rescue of whatever post the assailant was threatening,
and to lend her assistance to any one of those who
needed either her encouragement or support. As the end of
her life approached, her enemies discovered her secret, and
continued, despite their knowledge that she was a maid, to
dread her influence and to tremble at her approach. The
552
shrill sound of her voice was sufficient to strike consternation
into their hearts and to fill them with despair.
|
|
One day, seeing that her companions were being suddenly
enveloped by the forces of the enemy, Zaynab ran in distress
to Hujjat and, flinging herself at his feet, implored him, with
tearful eyes, to allow her to rush forth to their aid. “My
life, I feel, is nearing its end,” she added. “I may myself
fall beneath the sword of the assailant. Forgive, I entreat
you, my trespasses, and intercede for me with my Master,
for whose sake I yearn to lay down my life.”
|
|
Hujjat was too much overcome with emotion to reply.
Encouraged by his silence, which she interpreted to mean
that he consented to grant her appeal, she leaped out of the
gate and, raising seven times the cry “Yá Sáhibu’z-Zamán!”
rushed to stay the hand that had already slain a number of
her companions. “Why befoul by your deeds the fair name
of Islám?” she shouted, as she flung herself upon them.
“Why flee abjectly from before our face, if you be speakers
of truth?” She ran to the barricades which the enemy had
erected, routed those who guarded the first three of the defences,
and was engaging in overcoming the fourth, when,
beneath a shower of bullets, she dropped dead upon the
ground. Not a single voice among her opponents dared
question her chastity or ignore the sublimity of her faith and
the enduring traits of her character. Such was her devotion
that after her death no less than twenty women of her acquaintance
embraced the Cause of the Báb. To them she
had ceased to be the peasant girl they had known; she was
the very incarnation of the noblest principles of human conduct,
a living embodiment of the spirit which only a Faith
such as hers could manifest.
|
|
The messengers who acted as intermediaries between
Hujjat and his companions were one day directed to inform
the guards of the barricades to carry out the Báb’s injunction
to His followers and to repeat nineteen times, each night,
each of the following invocations: “Alláh-u-Akbar,”
31
“Alláh-u-‘Azam,”
32
“Alláh-u-Ajmal,”
33
“Alláh-u-Abhá,”
34
and “Alláh-u-Athar.”
35
The very night the behest was received, all the
553
defenders of the barricades joined in shouting those words
simultaneously. So loud and compelling was that cry that
the enemy was rudely awakened from sleep, abandoned the
camp in horror, and, hurrying to the environs of the governor’s
residence, sought shelter in the neighbouring houses.
A few were so shocked with terror that they instantly dropped
dead. A considerable number of the inhabitants of Zanján
fled, panic-stricken, to the adjoining villages. Many believed
that stupendous uproar to be a sign heralding the
Day of Judgment; to others it signified the sending forth,
on the part of Hujjat, of a fresh summons which they felt
would be the prelude to a sudden offensive against them
more terrible than any they had yet experienced.
|
|
“What,” Hujjat was heard to remark, when informed
of the terror that sudden invocation had inspired, “if I had
been permitted by my Master to wage holy war against
these cowardly miscreants! I am bidden by Him to instil
into men’s hearts the ennobling principles of charity and
love, and to refrain from all unnecessary violence. My aim
and that of my companions is, and ever will be, to serve our
sovereign loyally and to be the well-wishers of his people.
Had I chosen to follow in the footsteps of the ‘ulamás of
Zanján, I should, as long as I live, have continued to remain
the object of the slavish adoration of this people. Never
shall I be willing to barter for all the treasures and honours
this world can give me, the undying loyalty I bear His Cause.”
|
|
The memory of that night still lingers in the minds of
those who experienced its awe and terror. I have heard
several eye-witnesses express in glowing terms the contrast
between the tumult and disorder that reigned in the camp
of the enemy and the atmosphere of reverent devotion that
filled the fort. While those in the fort were invoking the
name of God and praying for His guidance and mercy, their
opponents, officers and men alike, were absorbed in acts of
debauchery and shame. Though worn and exhausted, the
occupants of the fort continued to observe their vigils and
chant such anthems as the Báb had instructed them to
repeat. The camp of the enemy at that same hour resounded
with peals of noisy laughter, with imprecations and blasphemies.
That night in particular, no sooner had the invocation
554
pealed out than the dissolute officers, who were
holding their wine-glasses in their hands, dropped them
instantly to the ground and rushed out headlong, in bare
feet, as if stunned by that stentorian outcry. Gambling
tables were overturned in the midst of the disorder that
ensued. Half dressed and bareheaded, a number ran out into
the wilderness, while others betook themselves in haste to
the homes of the ‘ulamás and roused them from their sleep.
Alarmed and overawed, these began to direct their fiercest
invectives against one another for having kindled the fire
of such great mischief.
|
|
As soon as the enemy had discovered the purpose of that
loud clamour, they returned to their posts, reassured, though
greatly humiliated, by their experience. The officers directed
a certain number of their men to lie in ambush and to fire
in any direction from which those voices might again proceed.
Every night they succeeded in this way in slaying a
number of the companions. Undeterred by the losses they
were repeatedly sustaining, Hujjat’s supporters continued
to raise, with undiminished fervour, their invocation, despising
the perils which the offering of the prayer involved.
As their number diminished, that prayer grew louder and acquired
added poignancy. Even the imminence of death was
powerless to induce the intrepid defenders of the fort to give
up what they deemed the noblest and most powerful reminder
of their Beloved.
|
|
The contest was still raging when Hujjat was moved to
address his written message to Násiri’d-Dín Sháh. “The
subjects of your Imperial Majesty,” he wrote him, “regard
you both as their temporal ruler and as the supreme custodian
of their Faith. They appeal to you for justice, and
look upon you as the supreme protector of their rights. Our
controversy primarily concerned the ‘ulamás of Zanján only,
and under no circumstances involved either your government
or people. I myself was summoned by your predecessor to
Tihrán and was requested by him to set forth the basic
claims of my Faith. The late Sháh was entirely satisfied,
and highly commended my efforts. I resigned myself to leave
my home and settle in Tihrán, with no other intention than
that of abating the fury that raged round my person and of
555
extinguishing the fire which the mischief-makers had kindled.
Though free to return to my home, I preferred to remain in
the capital, wholly relying upon the justice of my sovereign.
In the early days of your reign, the Amír-Nizám, while the
Mázindarán upheaval was still in progress, suspected me of
treason and determined to destroy my life. Finding no one
in Tihrán able to protect me, I determined, in self-defence
to flee to Zanján, where I resumed my labours and strove
with all my might to advance the true interest of Islám.
I was pursuing my work when Majdu’d-Dawlih arose against
me. I several times appealed to him to exercise moderation
and justice, but he refused to grant my request. Instigated
by the ‘ulamás of Zanján, and encouraged by the adulation
they lavished upon him, he determined to arrest me. My
friends intervened and attempted to stay his hand. He
continued to rouse the people against me, and they in their
turn have acted in a manner that has led to the present situation.
Your Majesty has until now refrained from extending
his gracious assistance to us, who are the innocent victims of
such ferocious cruelty. Our enemies have even sought to
represent our Cause, in the eyes of your Majesty, as a conspiracy
against the authority with which you have been
invested. Surely every unbiased observer will readily admit
that we cherish in our hearts no such intention. Our sole
aim is to advance the best interests of your government and
people. I and my principal companions hold ourselves in
readiness to leave for Tihrán, that we may, in your presence
as well as in that of our chief opponents, establish the soundness
of our Cause.”
|
|
No sooner had the messenger who was carrying those
petitions to Tihrán set out on his way than he was seized and
brought back into the presence of the governor. Infuriated
by the action of his opponents, he ordered the messenger to
be immediately put to death. He destroyed the petitions
and in their stead wrote the Sháh letters which he loaded
with abuse and insult, and, adding the signatures of Hujjat
and his chief companions, despatched them to Tihrán.
556
|
|
The news of the Báb’s martyrdom had meanwhile reached
the hard-pressed occupants of the fort through Siyyid Hasan,
brother of Siyyid Husayn, the Báb’s amanuensis, who had
arrived from Ádhirbayján on his way to Qazvín. The news
spread among the enemy and was welcomed by them with
shouts of wild delight. They hastened to ridicule and hurl
their taunts at the efforts of His adherents. “For what
reason,” they cried in haughty scorn, “will you henceforth
be willing to sacrifice yourselves? He in whose path you long
to lay down your lives, has himself fallen a victim to the
bullets of a triumphant foe. His body is even now lost both
to his enemies and to his friends. Why persist in your stubbornness
when a word is sufficient to deliver you from your
woes?” However much they strove to shake the confidence
of the bereaved community, they failed, in the end, to induce
the feeblest among them either to desert the fort or to recant
his Faith.
|
|
During the twenty days that hostilities were suspended,
Azíz Khán-i-Mukrí, surnamed Sardár-i-Kull, who was on a
military mission to Íraván,
36
arrived at Zanján and succeeded
in meeting Hujjat through his host, Siyyid ‘Alí Khán. The
latter related to Azíz Khán the circumstances of a touching
interview he had had with Hujjat, when he had obtained all
the information he required regarding the intentions and
proposals of the besieged. “Should the government,” Hujjat
557
had told him, “refuse to entertain my appeal, I am willing,
with its permission, to depart with my family to a place beyond
the confines of this land. Should it refuse to grant even
this request and persist in attacking us, we should feel constrained
to arise and defend ourselves.” Azíz Khán assured
Siyyid ‘Alí Khán that he would do all in his power to induce
the authorities to effect a speedy solution of this problem.
No sooner had Siyyid ‘Alí Khán retired than Azíz Khán was
surprised by the farrásh
37
of the Amír-Nizám, who had come
to arrest Siyyid ‘Alí Khán and to conduct him to the capital.
He was seized with great fear and, in order to avert any
suspicion from himself, began to abuse Hujjat and to denounce
him openly before the farrásh. By this means he was able
to ward off the danger that threatened his own life.
|
|
The arrival of the Amír-Tumán was the signal for the resumption
of hostilities on a scale such as Zanján had never
before experienced. Seventeen regiments of cavalry and infantry
had rallied to his standard, and fought under his command.
38
No less than fourteen guns were, at his orders, directed
against the fort. Five additional regiments, which
the Amír had recruited from the neighbourhood, were being
trained by him as reinforcements. The very night he arrived,
he issued orders that the trumpets be sounded as a signal
for the resumption of the attack. The officers in charge of
his artillery were commanded to open fire instantly upon
the besieged. The booming of the cannons, which could be
heard distinctly at a distance of about fourteen farsangs,
39
had scarcely begun when Hujjat ordered his companions to
make use of the two guns they themselves had constructed.
One of them was transported to a high position commanding
the Amír’s headquarters. A ball struck his tent and mortally
558
wounded his steed. The enemy was meanwhile directing, with
unrelenting fury, its fire upon the fort, and had succeeded in
killing a large number of its occupants.
|
|
As the days-went by; it became increasingly evident that
the forces under the command of the Amír-Tumán, in spite
of their great superiority in number, equipment, and training,
were unable to achieve the victory they had fondly anticipated.
The death of Farrukh Khán, son of Yahyá Khán and brother
of Hájí Sulaymán Khán, one of the generals of the enemy’s
army, aroused the indignation of the Amír-Nizám, who addressed
a strongly worded communication to the commanding
officer, reprimanding him for his failure to force the besieged
to an unconditional surrender. “You have sullied the fair
name of our country,” he wrote him, “have demoralised the
army, and have wasted the lives of its ablest officers.” He
was bidden enforce the strictest discipline among his subordinates
and cleanse his camp from every stain of debauchery
and vice. He was, moreover, urged to take counsel with the
chiefs of the people of Zanján, and was warned that, failing
to achieve his end, he would be degraded from his position.
“If your combined endeavours,” he added, “prove powerless
to force their submission, I myself will proceed to Zanján,
and will order a wholesale massacre of its inhabitants, irrespective
of their position or belief. A town that can bring
so much humiliation to the Sháh and distress to his people
is utterly unworthy of the clemency of our sovereign.”
|
|
In a frenzy of despair, the Amír-Tumán summoned all
the kad-khudás
40
and chiefs of the people, showed them the
text of that letter, and by his earnest entreaties succeeded
in rousing them to immediate action. The next day every
able-bodied man in Zanján had enlisted under the Amír-Tumán’s
standard. Headed by their kad-khudás and preceded
by four regiments, a vast multitude of people marched,
to the sound of a flourish of trumpets and the beating of
drums, in the direction of the fort. Undaunted by their
clamour, the companions of Hujjat raised simultaneously
the cry of “Yá Sáhibu’z-Zamán!” then poured out of the
gates and flung themselves upon them. That encounter was
the fiercest and most desperate engagement that had yet
559
been experienced. The flower of Hujjat’s supporters fell
on that day, victims to a ruthless carnage. Many a son was
butchered in circumstances of unbridled cruelty under the
eyes of his mother, while sisters gazed with horror and anguish
upon the heads of their brothers raised on spears and
brutally disfigured by the weapons of their foes. In the
midst of a tumult in which the boisterous enthusiasm of the
companions of Hujjat faced the fury and barbarism of an
exasperated enemy, the voices of women, who were struggling
side by side with the men, could be heard from time to time,
animating the zeal of their fellow-disciples. The victory that
was miraculously achieved on that day was, in no small
measure, attributable to the shouts of exultation which those
women raised in the face of a mighty foe, shouts which acquired
added poignancy by their own acts of heroism and
self-sacrifice. Disguised in the garb of men, some had rushed
forward, in their eagerness to supplant their fallen brethren,
while the rest were seen carrying on their shoulders skins full
of water, with which they strove to allay the thirst, and
revive the strength, of the wounded. Confusion reigned
meanwhile in the camp of the enemy. Deprived of water,
and distressed by defection in their ranks, they fought a losing
battle, unable to retreat and impotent to conquer. No less
than three hundred companions quaffed, that day, the cup
of martyrdom.
|
|
One of Hujjat’s supporters was a man named Muhsin,
whose function it was to sound the adhán.
41
His voice was
endowed with a quality of warmth and richness that no man
in the neighbourhood could equal. Its reverberation, as he
summoned the faithful to prayer, could be distinctly felt as
far as the adjoining villages, and penetrated the hearts of
those who heard it. Oftentimes did the worshippers in that
vicinity, in whose ears the voice of Muhsin was ringing, express
their indignation at the charges of heresy imputed to
Hujjat and his friends. So loud grew their protestations
that they eventually reached the ears of the leading mujtahid
of Zanján, who, unable himself to impose silence upon
them, implored the Amír-Tumán to devise some means of
eradicating from the minds of the people the belief in the piety
560
and uprightness of Hujjat and his companions. “Day and
night,” he complained, “I strive through my public discourse,
no less than by private converse with the people, to instil
into their minds the conviction that that wretched band is
the sworn enemy of the Prophet and the wrecker of His Faith.
The cry of that evil man, Muhsin, robs my words of their
influence and nullifies my exertions. To exterminate that
miserable wretch is surely your first obligation.”
|
|
The Amír refused at first to entertain his appeal. “You
and your like,” he replied, “are to be held responsible for
having declared the necessity of waging holy war against them.
We are but the servants of the government, and our duty is
to obey the orders we receive. If you seek, however, to put
an end to his life, you should be prepared to make the proper
sacrifice.” The siyyid immediately understood the purpose
of the Amír’s allusion. He had no sooner regained his house
than he sent him, by the hand of a messenger, the gift of a
hundred túmáns.
42
|
|
The Amír promptly ordered a number of his men, who
were famed for their marksmanship, to lie in wait for Muhsin
and shoot him when in the act of prayer. It was the hour
of dawn when, as he raised the cry of “Lá Ilah-à-Illa’llah,”
43
a bullet struck him in the mouth and killed him instantly.
Hujjat, as soon as he was informed of that cruel act, ordered
another of his companions to ascend the turret and continue
the prayer from where Muhsin had left off. Though his life
was spared until the cessation of hostilities, he, together with
certain of his brethren, was made to suffer, eventually, a
death no less atrocious than that of his fellow-disciple.
|
|
As the days of the siege were drawing to a close, Hujjat
urged all those who were betrothed to celebrate their nuptials.
For each unmarried youth among the besieged he chose a
spouse, and, within the limits of the means at his disposal,
contributed from his own purse whatever could add to the
comfort and gladness of the newly married. He sold all the
jewels his wife possessed, and, with the money, provided
whatever could be obtained to bring happiness and pleasure
to those he had joined in wedlock. During more than three
months these festivities continued, festivities which were
561
intermingled with the terrors and hardships of a long-protracted
siege. How often did the clamour of an advancing
foe drown the acclamations of joy with which bride and bridegroom
greeted each other! How suddenly was the voice of
merriment stilled by the cry of “Yá Sáhibu’z-Zamán!” that
summoned the faithful to arise and repulse the invader!
With what tenderness would the bride entreat the bridegroom
to tarry awhile longer beside her ere he rushed forth to win
the crown of martyrdom! “I can spare no time,” he would
reply. “I must hasten to obtain the crown of glory. We shall
surely meet again on the shores of the great Beyond, the
home of a blissful and eternal reunion.”
|
|
No less than two hundred youths were joined in wedlock
during those tumultuous days. Some a month, others a few
days, and still others for but a brief moment, were able to
tarry undisturbed in the company of their brides; no one
among them failed, as the beating of the drum announced the
hour of his departure, to respond joyously to the call. Each
and every one ungrudgingly offered himself as a sacrifice for
his true Beloved; all drank, eventually, the cup of martyrdom.
No wonder the spot that has been the theatre of untold
sufferings and has witnessed such heroism has been named
Ard-i-A‘lá
44
by the Báb, a title that has remained for all
time linked with His own blessed name.
|
|
Among the companions was a certain Karbilá’í ‘Abdu’l-Báqí,
the father of seven sons, five of whom Hujjat joined in
wedlock. The nuptial ceremonies were hardly at an end
when cries of terror suddenly announced the resumption of a
fresh offensive against them. They sprang to their feet and,
forsaking their loved ones, instantly rushed out to repulse
the invader. All five fell in turn in the course of that encounter.
The eldest of them, a youth greatly esteemed for
his intelligence, and of renowned courage, was captured and
conducted into the presence of the Amír-Tumán. “Lay him
upon the ground,” cried the infuriated Amír, “and kindle
upon his breast, which dared nourish so great a love for
Hujjat, a fire that shall consume it.” “Wretched man,”
burst forth the undaunted youth, “no flame that the hands
of your men are able to kindle, could destroy the love that
562
glows in my heart.” The praise of his Beloved lingered on
his lips until the last moment of his life.
|
|
Among the women who distinguished themselves by the
tenacity of their faith was one named Umm-i-Ashraf,
45
who was newly married when the storm of Zanján broke out.
She was within the fort when she gave birth to her son Ashraf.
Both mother and child survived the massacre that marked
the closing stages of that tragedy. Years afterwards, when
her son had grown into a youth of great promise, he was
involved in the persecutions that afflicted brethren.
Unable to persuade him to recant, his enemies endeavoured
to alarm his mother and convince her of the necessity of
saving him, ere it was too late, from his fate. “I will disown
you as my son,” cried the mother, when brought face to face
with him, “if you incline your heart to such evil whisperings
and allow them to turn you away from the Truth.” Faithful
to his mother’s admonitions, Ashraf met his death with
intrepid calm. Though herself a witness to the cruelties
inflicted on her son, she made no lamentation, neither did
she shed a tear. This marvellous mother showed a courage
and fortitude that amazed the perpetrators of that shameless
deed. “I have now in mind,” she exclaimed, as she cast a
parting glance at the corpse of her son, “the vow I made on
563
the day of your birth, while besieged in the fort of ‘Alí-Mardán
Khán. I rejoice that you, the only son whom God gave me,
have enabled me to redeem that pledge.”
|
|
My pen is powerless to portray, much less to render befitting
tribute to, the consuming enthusiasm that glowed in
those valiant hearts. Violent as were the winds of adversity
they were powerless to quench its flame. Men and women
laboured with unabating fervour to strengthen the defences
of the fort and reconstruct whatever the enemy had demolished.
What leisure they could obtain was consecrated
to prayer. I very thought, every desire, was subordinated
to the paramount necessity of guarding their stronghold
against the onslaughts of the assailant. The part the women
played in these operations was no less arduous than that
accomplished by their men companions. Every woman, irrespective
of rank and age, joined with energy in the common
task. They sewed the garments, baked the bread, ministered
to the sick and wounded, repaired the barricades, cleared
away from the courts and terraces the balls and missiles fired
upon them by the enemy, and, last but not least, cheered the
faint in heart and animated the faith of the wavering.
46
Even
the children joined in giving whatever assistance was in their
power to the common cause, and seemed to be fired by an
enthusiasm no less remarkable than that which their fathers
and mothers displayed.
|
|
Such was the spirit of solidarity that characterised their
labours, and such the heroism of their acts, that the enemy
was led to believe their number was no less than ten thousand.
It was generally conceded that a continual supply of provisions
found its way, in an unaccountable manner, to the fort,
and that fresh reinforcements were being steadily despatched
from Nayríz, from Khurásán, and from Tabríz. The power
of the besieged seemed to them as unshakable as ever, their
resources inexhaustible.
|
|
The Amír-Tumán, exasperated by their unyielding tenacity
564
and spurred by the rebukes and protestations of the authorities
in Tihrán, determined to resort to the abject weapons
of treachery in order to exact the complete submission of the
besieged.
47
Firmly convinced of the futility of his efforts to
face his opponents in the field honourably, he craftily called
for the suspension of hostilities, and gave currency to the
report that the Sháh had decided to abandon the whole
enterprise. He represented his sovereign as having, from
the very beginning, discountenanced the idea of extending
his support to the forces that fought in Mázindarán and
Nayríz, and of having deplored the shedding of so much
blood for so insignificant a cause. The people of Zanján and
the surrounding villages were led to believe that Násiri’d-Dín
Sháh had actually ordered the Amír-Tumán to negotiate
a friendly settlement of the issues between him and Hujjat,
and that it was his intention to put an end, as speedily as
possible, to this unhappy state of affairs.
|
|
Assured that the people had been deceived by his cunning
plot, he drew up an appeal for peace, in which he assured
Hujjat of the sincerity of his intention of achieving a lasting
settlement between him and his supporters. He accompanied
that declaration with a sealed copy of the Qur’án, as a testimony
of the sacredness of his pledge. “My sovereign,” he
added, “has forgiven you. You, as well as your followers, I
hereby solemnly declare to be under the protection of his
Imperial Majesty. This Book of God is my witness that if
any of you decide to come out of the fort, you will be safe
from any danger.”
|
|
Hujjat reverently received the Qur’án from the hand of
the messenger, and, as soon as he had read the appeal, bade
its bearer inform his master that he would send an answer
in the course of the following day. That night he gathered
together his chief companions and spoke to them of the
misgivings he entertained as to the sincerity of the enemy’s
declarations. “The treacheries of Mázindarán and of Nayríz
565
are still vivid in our minds. That which was perpetrated
against them, the same they purpose to perpetrate against
us. In deference to the Qur’án, however, we shall respond to
their invitation, and shall despatch to their camp a number of
our companions, that thereby their deceitfulness may be
exposed.”
|
|
I have heard Ustád Mihr-‘Alíy-i-Haddad, who survived
the massacre of Zanján, relate the following: “I was one of
the nine children, none of whom were more than ten years
old, who accompanied the delegation sent by Hujjat to the
Amír-Tumán. The rest were men of over eighty years of age.
Among them were Karbilá’í Mawla-Qulí-Áqá-Dadash, Darvísh-Salah,
Muhammad-Rahím, and Muhammad. Darvísh-Salah
was a most impressive figure, tall of stature, white-bearded,
and of singular beauty. He was greatly esteemed
for his honourable and just conduct. His intervention on
behalf of the downtrodden invariably received the consideration
and sympathy of the authorities concerned. He
renounced, after his conversion, all the honours he had received,
and, though far advanced in age, enrolled himself
among the defenders of the fort. He marched before us
carrying the sealed Qur’án as we were led into the presence
of the Amír-Tumán.
|
|
“Reaching his tent, we stood at its entrance awaiting his
orders. To our salute he gave no response, and treated us
with marked contempt. He kept us standing half an hour
before he deigned to address us in a tone of severe reprimand.
‘A meaner and more shameless people than you,’ he cried in
haughty scorn, ‘has never been seen!’ He had hurled his
denunciations at us when one of the companions, the oldest
and feeblest among them, begged to be allowed to say a few
words to him, and, on obtaining his permission, spoke, unlettered
though he was, in a manner that could not fail to
excite our profound admiration. ‘God knows,’ he pleaded,
‘that we are, and will ever remain, loyal and law-abiding
subjects of our sovereign, with no other desire than to advance
the true interests of his government and people. We
have been grievously misrepresented by our ill-wishers. No
one of the Sháh’s representatives was inclined to protect or
befriend us; no one was found to plead our Cause before
566
him. We repeatedly appealed to him, but he ignored our
entreaty and was deaf to our call. Our enemies, emboldened
by the indifference which characterised the attitude of the
ruling authorities, assailed us from every side, plundered our
property, violated the honour of our wives and daughters,
and captured our children. Undefended by our government
and encompassed by our foes, we felt constrained to arise
and defend our lives.’
|
|
“The Amír-Tumán turned to his lieutenant and asked
him what action he would advise him to take. ‘I am at a
loss,” the Amír added, ‘as to the answer I should give this
man. Were I at heart religious, I would unhesitatingly embrace
his cause.’ ‘Nothing but the sword,’ replied his lieutenant,
‘will deliver us from this abomination of heresy.’
‘I still hold the Qur’án in my hand,’ interposed Darvísh-Salah,
‘and carry the declaration which you, of your own
accord, chose to make. Are the words we have just heard
our reward for having responded to your appeal?’
|
|
“The Amír-Tumán, in a burst of fury, offered that
Darvísh-Salah’s beard be torn out, and that he, with those
who were with him, be thrown into a dungeon. I and the
rest of the children were scared, and attempted to escape.
Raising the cry of ‘Yá Sáhibu’z-Zamán!’ we hurried in the
direction of our barricades. Some of us were overtaken and
made prisoners. As I was fleeing, the man who was pursuing
me laid hold of the hem of my garment. I tore myself away
from him and managed to reach the gate that led to the approaches
of the fort, in a state of utter exhaustion. How great
was my surprise when I saw one of the companions, a man
named Iman-Qulí, being savagely mutilated by the enemy.
I was horrified as I gazed upon that scene, knowing as I did
that on that very day the cessation of hostilities had been
proclaimed and the most solemn pledges given that no acts
of violence would be committed. I was soon informed that
the victim had been betrayed by his brother, who, on the
pretext of desiring to speak with him, had handed him over
to his persecutors.
|
|
“I straightway hastened to Hujjat, who lovingly received
me and, wiping the dust from my face, and clothing me with
new garments, invited me to be seated by his side and bade
567
me tell him the fate of his companions. I described to him
all that I had seen. ‘It is the tumult of the Day of Resurrection,’
he explained, ‘a tumult such as the world has never
seen before. This is the day on which “man shall fly from his
brother, and his mother and his father, and his wife and his
children.”
48
This is the day when man, not content with
having abandoned his brother, sacrifices his substance in
order to shed the blood of his nearest kinsman. This is the
day when “every suckling woman shall forsake her sucking
babe; and every woman that hath a burden in her womb
shall cast her burden. And thou shalt see men drunken, yet
they are not drunken; but it is the mighty chastisement of
God!”’”
49
|
|
Seating himself in the centre of the maydán,
50
Hujjat
summoned his followers. On their arrival, he arose and, standing
erect in their midst, spoke to them in these words: “I am
well pleased with your unflinching endeavours, my beloved
companions. Our enemies are bent upon our destruction.
They harbour no other desire. Their intention was to trick
you into coming out of the fort, and then to slaughter you
mercilessly after their hearts’ desire. Finding that their
treachery has been exposed, they have, in the fury of their
rage, ill-treated and imprisoned the oldest and the youngest
among you. It is clear that not until they capture this fort
and scatter you, will they lay down their arms or cease their
persecutions against us. Your continued presence in this
fort will eventually cause you to be taken captive by the
enemy, who will of a certainty dishonour your wives and slay
your children. Better is it, therefore, for you to make your
escape in the middle of the night and to take your wives and
children with you. Let each one seek a place of safety until
such time as this tyranny shall be overpast. I shall remain
alone to face the enemy. It were better that my death should
allay their thirst for revenge than that you should all perish.”
|
|
The companions were moved to their very depths and,
with tears in their eyes, declared their firm resolve to remain,
to the end, by his side. “We can never consent,” they exclaimed,
to abandon you to the mercy of a murderous
enemy! Our lives are not more precious than your life,
568
neither are our families of a more noble descent than that
of your kinsmen. Whatever calamity may yet befall you,
is what we shall welcome for ourselves.”
|
|
All except a few remained true their pledge. These,
unable to bear the ever-increasing distress of a prolonged
siege, and encouraged by the advice Hujjat himself had given
them, betook themselves to a place of safety outside the fort,
thus separating themselves from the rest of their fellow-disciples.
|
|
Nerved to a resolve of despair, the Amír-Tumán ordered
all able-bodied men in Zanján to assemble in the neighbourhood
of his camp, ready to receive his commands. He reorganised
the forces of his regiments, appointed their officers,
and added them to the host of fresh recruits that had massed
in the town. He ordered no less than sixteen regiments, each
equipped with ten guns, to march against the fort. Eight of
these regiments were charged to attack the fort every forenoon,
after which the remainder of the forces were to replace
them in their offensive until the approach of evening. The
Amír himself took the field, and was seen in the forenoon of
every day directing the efforts of his host, assuring them of
the reward awaiting their success, and warning them of the
punishment which, in the event of defeat, the sovereign would
inflict upon them.
|
|
For one whole month the siege continued. Not content
with attacks by day, the enemy several times attacked them
by night also. The fierceness of their onslaughts, the overwhelming
force of their numbers, and the rapid succession
of the onsets, thinned the ranks of the companions and aggravated
their distress. Reinforcements for the enemy continued
to pour in from all directions, while the besieged languished
in a state of misery and hunger.
51
|
|
The Amír-Nizám meanwhile decided to strengthen the
hands of the Amír-Tumán by the appointment of Hasan-‘Alí
Khán-i-Karrúsí, who was commanded to march at the
head of two sunní regiments to Zanján. His arrival was
the signal for the concentration of the enemy’s artillery on
569
the fort. A tremendous bombardment threatened the structure
with immediate destruction. It lasted for a number of
days, during which the stronghold stood firm in spite of the
increasing fire which was directed against it. The friends
of Hujjat displayed, during those days, a valour and skill
that even their bitterest foes were compelled to admire.
|
|
One day, while the bombardment was still in progress, a
bullet struck Hujjat in the right arm, as he was performing
his ablutions. Though he ordered his servant not to inform
his wife of the wound he had received, yet such was the man’s
grief that he was powerless to conceal his emotion. His tears
betrayed his distress, and no sooner had the wife of Hujjat
learned of the injury inflicted on her husband than she ran
in distress and found him absorbed in prayer in a state of
unruffled calm. Though bleeding profusely from his wound,
his face retained its expression of undisturbed confidence.
“Pardon this people, O God,” he was heard to say, “for they
know not what they do. Have mercy upon them, for they
who have led them astray are alone responsible for the misdeeds
the hands of this people have wrought.”
|
|
Hujjat sought to calm the agitation that had seized his
wife and relatives at the sight of the blood that covered his
body. “Rejoice,” he told them, “for I am still with you and
desire you to be wholly resigned to God’s will. What you now
behold is but a drop compared to the ocean of afflictions that
will be poured forth at the hour of my death. Whatever be
His decree, it is our duty to acquiesce and bow down to His
will.”
|
|
No sooner had the news that he had been wounded reached
the companions than they laid down their arms and hastened
to him. The enemy, meanwhile, taking advantage of the
momentary absence of their adversaries, redoubled their
attack upon the fort and were able to force their passage
through its gate.
52
That day they took captive no less than
a hundred of the women and children, and plundered all their
570
possessions. Despite the severity of that winter, these captives
were left exposed in the open for no less than fifteen days
and nights to a biting cold such as Zanján had rarely experienced.
Clad in the thinnest of garments, with no covering
to protect them, they were abandoned, without food and
shelter, in the wilderness. Their only protection was the gauze
that covered their heads, with which they sought in vain to
shield their faces from the icy wind that blew mercilessly
upon them. Crowds of women, most of whom were inferior
to them in social position, flocked from the various quarters
of Zanján to the scene of their sufferings and poured upon
them contempt and ridicule. “You have now found your
god,” they scornfully exclaimed, as they danced wildly
around them, “and have been rewarded abundantly by him.”
They spat in their faces and heaped upon them the foulest
invectives.
|
|
The capture of the fort, though robbing Hujjat’s companions
of their chief instrument of defence, failed either
to daunt their spirit or discourage their efforts. All property
on which the enemy could lay its hands was plundered, and
the women and children who were left defenceless were made
captives. The rest of the companions, together with the
remaining women and children, crowded into the houses
that lay in the close vicinity of Hujjat’s residence. They
were divided into five companies, each consisting of nineteen
times nineteen companions. From each of these companies,
nineteen would rush forth together and, raising with one
voice the cry of “Yá Sáhibu’z-Zamán!” would fling themselves
into the midst of the enemy and would succeed in
scattering its forces. The uplifted voices of these ninety-five
companions would alone prove sufficient to paralyse the
efforts, and crush the spirit, of their assailants.
|
|
This state of affairs continued for a few days, bringing
in its wake both humiliation and loss to an enemy that had
believed itself capable of achieving immediate and signal
victory. Many were killed in the course of these encounters.
Officers, to the distress of their superiors, were beginning to
desert their posts, the captains of the artillery were abandoning
their guns, whilst the rank and file of the army was
demoralised and completely exhausted. The Amír-Tumán
571
was himself weary of the coercive measures to which he had
been compelled to resort in order to maintain the discipline
of his men and to keep unimpaired their efficiency and vigour.
He was drive against to take counsel with the remainder of
his officers, and to seek a desperate remedy for a situation
that was fraught with grave danger to his own life no less
than to that of the inhabitants of Zanján. “I am weary,”
he confessed, “of the grim resistance of this people. They
are evidently animated by a spirit which no amount of encouragement
from our sovereign can hope to call forth in our
men. Such self-renunciation surely no one in the ranks of
our army is able to manifest. No power that I can command
is able to arouse my men from the slough of despair into which
they have fallen. Whether they triumph or fail, these soldiers
believe themselves doomed to eternal damnation.”
|
|
Their mature deliberations resulted in the decision to
572
dig out underground passages from the site which their camp
occupied to a place underneath the quarter in which the
dwellings of Hujjat’s adherents were situated. They determined
to blow up these houses and by this means to force
them to an unconditional surrender. For one whole month
they laboured to fill these underground passages with all
manner of explosives, and continued, at the same time, to
demolish with fiendish cruelty such houses as remained
standing. Wishing to accelerate the work of destruction,
the Amír-Tumán ordered the officers in charge of his artillery
to direct their fire upon Hujjat’s residence, as the buildings
that intervened between that house and the camp of
the enemy had been razed to the ground, there remaining no
further obstacle in the way of its ultimate destruction.
|
|
A section of his dwelling had already collapsed when
Hujjat, who was still living within its walls, turned to his
wife Khadíjih, who was holding Hádí, their baby, in her arms,
and warned her that the day was fast approaching when she
and her infant might be taken captive, and bade her be prepared
for that day. She was giving vent to her distress when
a cannon-ball struck the room which she occupied, and killed
her instantly. Her child, whom she was holding to her breast,
fell into the brazier beside her, and shortly afterwards died of
the injuries he had received, in the house of Mírzá Abu’l-Qásim,
the mujtahid of Zanján.
|
|
Hujjat, though filled with grief, refused to yield to idle
sorrow. “The day whereon I found Thy beloved One, O my
God,” he cried, “and recognised in Him the Manifestation
of Thy eternal Spirit, I foresaw the woes that I should suffer
for Thee. Great as have been until now my sorrows, they
can never compare with the agonies that I would willingly
suffer in Thy name. How can this miserable life of mine, the
loss of my wife and of my child, and the sacrifice of the band
of my kindred and companions, compare with the blessings
which the recognition of Thy Manifestation has bestowed on
me! Would that a myriad lives were mine, would that I
possessed the riches of the whole earth and its glory, that
I might resign them all freely and joyously in Thy path.”
|
|
The tragic loss their beloved leader had sustained, and
the grievous wound inflicted upon him, distressed the companions
573
of Hujjat, and filled them with burning indignation.
They determined to make a last and desperate effort to
avenge the blood of their slaughtered brethren. Hujjat,
however, dissuaded them from making that attempt, and
exhorted them not to hasten the issue of the conflict. He
bade them resign themselves to the will of God and to remain
calm and steadfast to the end, whenever that end might
come.
|
|
As time went on, their number diminished, their sufferings
multiplied, and the area within which they could feel secure
was reduced. On the morning of the fifth of the month of
Rabí’u’l-Avval, in the year 1267 A.H.,
53
Hujjat, who had already,
for nineteen days, endured the severe pain caused
by his wound, was in the act of prayer and had fallen prostrate
upon his face, invoking the name of the Báb, when he
suddenly passed away.
|
|
His sudden death came as a severe shock to his kindred
and companions. Their grief at the passing of so able, so
accomplished, and so inspiring a leader, was profound; the
loss was irreparable. Two of his companions, Dín-Muhammad-Vazír
and Mír Ridáy-i-Sardár, straightway undertook,
ere the enemy was made aware of his death, to inter his remains
in a place which neither his kindred nor his friends
could suspect. At midnight the body was borne to a room
that belonged to Dín-Muhammad-Vazír, where it received
burial. They demolished that room in order to ensure the
safety of the remains from desecration, and exercised the
utmost care to maintain the secrecy of the spot.
|
|
More than five hundred women who survived that terrible
tragedy were, immediately after the death of Hujjat,
gathered together in his house. His companions, in spite of
the death of their leader, continued to face, with undiminished
zeal, the forces of their assailants. Of the great multitude
that had flocked to the standard of Hujjat, there remained
only two hundred vigorous men; the rest either had died
or were utterly incapacitated by the wounds they had received.
|
|
The knowledge of the removal of so inspiring a leader
nerved the enemy to resistance and decided them to wipe
574
out what still remained of the formidable forces they had
been unable to subdue. They launched a general attack,
fiercer and more determined than any previous one. Animated
by the beating of drums and the sound of trumpets,
and encouraged by the shouts of exultation raised by the
populace, they threw themselves upon the companions with
unbridled ferocity, resolved not to rest until the whole company
had been annihilated. In the face of this fierce onset,
the companions raised once more the cry of Yá Sáhibu’z-Zamán!”
and rushed forth, undismayed, to continue the
heroic struggle until all of them had been either slain or
captured.
|
|
That massacre had scarcely been perpetrated when the
signal was given for a pillage, unexampled in its scope and
ferocity. Had not the Amír-Tumán issued orders to spare
what remained of the house and belongings of Hujjat, and
to refrain from any acts of violence against his kindred,
even more dastardly attacks would have been made by his
rapacious army. His intention was to inform the authorities
in Tihrán and to seek from them whatever advice they wished
to give him. He failed, however, to restrain indefinitely the
spirit of violence which animated his men. The ‘ulamás of
Zanján, flushed with the victory that had cost them such
exertion and loss of life, and which had involved to such
an unprecedented degree their reputation and prestige, endeavoured
to incite the populace to commit every imaginable
outrage against the lives of their men captives and the honour
of their women. The sentinels who guarded the entrance
to the house in which Hujjat had been living, were driven from
their posts in the general tumult that ensued. The populace
joined hands with the army to plunder the property and
assail the persons of the few who still survived that memorable
struggle. Neither the Amír-Tumán nor the governor was
able to allay the thirst for plunder and revenge which had
seized the whole town. Order and discipline no longer existed
in the midst of the general confusion.
|
|
The governor of the province was, however, able to induce
the officers of the army to gather together the captives into
the house of a certain Hájí Ghulám and to keep them in
custody until the arrival of fresh instructions from Tihrán.
575
The entire company were huddled together like sheep in
that wretched place, exposed to the cold of a severe winter.
The enclosure into which they were crowded was roofless and
without furniture. For a few days they remained without
food. From thence the women were removed to the house
of a muJtahid named Mírzá Abu’l-Qásim, in the hope that
he would induce them to recant, in return for which they
would be offered their freedom. The greedy mujtahid,
however, had, with the aid of his wives, his sisters and daughters,
succeeded in seizing all they had been allowed to carry
with them; had stripped them of their garments, clothed
them in the meanest attire, and appropriated for himself
whatever valuables he could find among their belongings.
|
|
After suffering untold hardships, these women captives
were allowed to join their relatives, on condition that these
would undertake full responsibility for their future behaviour.
The rest were dispersed throughout the neighbouring villages,
the inhabitants of which, unlike the people of Zanján, welcomed
the newcomers with treatment that was at once affectionate
and genuine. The family of Hujjat, however, was
detained in Zanján until the arrival of definite instructions
from Tihrán.
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|
As to the wounded, they were placed in custody until
such time as the authorities in the capital should send directions
as to how they were to be treated. Meanwhile the
severity of the cold to which they were exposed and the
cruelties they underwent were such that within a few days
they had all perished.
|
|
The rest of the captives were delivered by the Amír-Tumán
into the hands of the Karrusi, the Khamsíh, and the
Iráqí regiments, with orders that they be immediately executed.
They were conducted in procession, to the accompaniment
of drums and trumpets, to the camp where the
army was stationed.
54
All these regiments combined to add
576
to the horror of the abominations perpetrated against the
poor sufferers. Armed with their lances and spears, they
flung themselves upon the seventy-six companions who still
remained, piercing and mutilating their bodies with a savage
ruthlessness that excelled the dark deeds of even the most
refined torture-mongers of their race. The spirit of revenge
which that day dominated those barbarous men passed all
bounds. Regiment vied with regiment in committing the
foulest atrocities which their ingenious minds could devise.
They were preparing to swoop afresh upon their victims when
a certain Hájí Muhammad-Husayn, father of ‘Abá-Básir,
sprang to his feet and, raising the call of the adhán,
55
thrilled
the multitude that had gathered about him. Though in the
hour of his death, such were the fervour and majesty with
which he pealed out the words “Alláh-u-Akbar,”
56
that the
entire Iráqí regiment immediately proclaimed their refusal
to continue participating in such shameful deeds. Deserting
their posts, and raising the cry “Yá ‘Alí!” they fled from that
place in horror and disgust. “Accursed be the Amír-Tumán!”
they were heard to exclaim, as they turned their
backs on that scene of bloodshed and horror. “That wretch
577
has deceived us! With devilish persistence he sought to convince
us of this people’s disloyalty to the Imám ‘Alí and to
his kindred. Never, though we all be slain, will we consent
to assist in such criminal deeds.”
|
|
A number of these captives were blown from guns; others
were stripped naked, ice-cold water was poured upon their
bodies, and they were lashed severely. Still others were
smeared with treacle and left to perish in the snow. Despite
the shame and cruelties they were made to suffer, not one of
these captives was known either to recant or to utter one
angry word against his persecutors. Not even a whisper of
discontent escaped their lips, nor did their countenances
betray a shadow of regret or grief. No amount of adversity
could succeed in darkening the light that shone in those faces;
no words, however insulting, could disturb the serenity of
their expressions.
57
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|
No sooner had the persecutors finished their work than
they began to seek for the body of Hujjat, the place of whose
burial the companions had carefully concealed. The most
inhuman tortures had proved powerless to induce them to
disclose the identity of that spot. The governor, exasperated
by the failure of his search, asked that the seven-year-old
son of Hujjat, whose name was Husayn, be brought to him
that he might attempt to induce him to disclose the secret.
58
My son, he said, as he gently caressed him, “I am filled
with grief at the knowledge of all the afflictions that have been
the lot of your parents. Not I, but the mujtahids of Zanján,
578
should be held responsible for the abominations that have
been committed. I am now willing to accord the remains of
your father a befitting burial, and wish to atone for the
shameful deeds that have been perpetrated against him.”
By his gentle insinuations, he succeeded in getting the child
to reveal the secret, and thereupon sent his men to fetch the
body. No sooner had the object of his desire been delivered
into his hands than he ordered that it be dragged with a
rope, to the sound of drums and trumpets, through the streets
of Zanján. For three days and three nights, unspeakable
injuries were heaped upon the body, which lay exposed to the
eyes of the people in the maydán.
59
On the third night, it
was reported that a number of horsemen had succeeded in
carrying away the remnants of the corpse to a place of safety
in the direction of Qazvín. As to Hujjat’s kinsmen, orders
were received from Tihrán to conduct them to Shíráz and to
deliver them into the hands of the governor. There they
languished in poverty and misery. Whatever possessions still
remained to them the governor seized for himself, and condemned
the victims of his rapacity to seek shelter in a ruined
and dilapidated house. Hujjat’s youngest son, Mihdí, died
579
of the privations he and his family were made to suffer, and
was buried in the very midst of the ruins that had served
as his shelter.
|
|
I was privileged, nine years after the termination of that
memorable struggle, to visit Zanján and witness the scene
of those terrible butcheries. I beheld with grief and horror
the ruins of the fort of ‘Alí-Mardán Khán, and trod the ground
that had been saturated with the blood of its immortal defenders.
I could discern on its gates and walls traces of the
carnage that marked its surrender to the enemy, and could
discover upon the very stones that had served as barricades,
stains of the blood that had been so profusely shed in that
neighbourhood.
|
|
As to the number of those who fell in the course of these
encounters, no accurate estimate has as yet been made. So
numerous were those who participated in that struggle, and
580
so prolonged the siege which they withstood, that to ascertain
their names and number would be a task that I would
hesitate to undertake. A tentative list of such names, which
readers might do well to consult, has been prepared by
Ismu’lláhu’l-Mím and Ismu’lláhu’l-Asad. Many and conflicting
are the reports as to the exact number of those who
struggled and fell under the banner of Hujjat in Zanján.
Some have estimated that there were as many as a thousand
martyrs; according to others, they were more numerous. I
have heard it stated that one of the companions of Hujjat
who undertook to record the names of those who had suffered
martyrdom, had left a written statement in which he had computed
the number of those who had fallen prior to the death
of Hujjat to be a thousand, five hundred and ninety-eight,
whilst those who had suffered martyrdom afterwards were
thought to have been in all two hundred and two persons.
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|
For the account I have related of the happenings of
Zanján I am primarily indebted to Mírzá Muhammad ‘Alíy-i-Tabíb-i-Zanjání,
to ‘Abá-Básir, and to Siyyid Ashraf,
all martyrs of the Faith, with each of whom I was closely
acquainted. The rest of my narrative is based upon the
manuscript which a certain Mullá Husayn-i-Zanjání wrote
and sent to the presence of Bahá’u’lláh, in which he recorded
all the information he could glean from different sources
regarding the events connected with that episode.
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|
What I have related of the struggle of Mázindarán has
been similarly inspired, to a very great extent, by the written
account sent to the Holy Land by a certain Siyyid Abú-Tálib-i-Sháhmírzádí,
as well as by the brief survey prepared
here by one of the believers named Mírzá Haydar-‘Alíy-i-Ardistání.
I have, moreover, ascertained certain facts connected
with that struggle from persons who actually participated
in it, such as Mullá Muhammad-Sádiq-i-Muqaddas,
Mullá Mírzá Muhammad-i-Furúghí, and Hájí ‘Abdu’l-Majíd,
father of Badí and martyr to the Faith.
|
|
As to the events relating to the life and deeds of Vahíd,
I have obtained my information regarding what took place
in Yazd from Ridá’r-Rúh, who was one of his intimate companions.
As to the later stages of that struggle in Nayríz,
my narrative is mainly drawn from such information as I
581
could gather from the detailed account sent to the Holy Land
by a believer of that town, named Mullá Shafi, who had
carefully investigated the matter and had reported it to
Bahá’u’lláh. Whatever my pen has failed to record, future
generations will, I hope, gather together and preserve for
posterity. Many, I confess, are the gaps in this narrative,
for which I beg the indulgence of my readers. It is my earnest
hope that these gaps may be filled by those who will, after
me, arise to compile an exhaustive and befitting account of
these stirring events, the significance of which we can as yet
but dimly discern.
582
|
| 1. |
Capital of the district of Khamsíh. Zanján is the capital of the district of Khamsíh. “Khamsíh is a small province to the east of Kaflan-Kúh or Mountain of the Tiger, between ‘Iráq and Ádhirbayján. Its capital, Zanján, is a beautiful city surrounded by an embattled wall fortified with towers like all Persian cities. The inhabitants are of the Turkish race and the Persian language is seldom spoken, unless it be by government employees. The surrounding country is studded with villages which are fairly prosperous. Powerful tribes visit them, especially in the winter and spring.” (Ibid., p. 191.)
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| 2. |
“Now in these years [A.H. 1266 and 1267] throughout all Persia fire fell on the households of the Bábí’s, and each one of them, in whatever hamlet he might be, was, on the slightest suspicion arising, put to the sword. More than four thousand souls were slain, and a great multitude of women and children, left without protector or helper, distracted and confounded, were trodden down and destroyed.” (“A Traveller’s Narrative,” pp. 47–8.)
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| 3. |
“There lived in that city a mujtahid called Mullá Muhammad-‘Alíy-i-Zanjání. He was a native of Mázindarán and studied under a celebrated master. Dignified with the title of Sharífu’l-‘Ulama, Muhammad-‘Alí had concentrated his attention on dogmatic theology and jurisprudence, and had become famous. The Muhammadans affirm that, in his function as mujtahid, he showed himself restless and turbulent. No question ever seemed to him either sufficiently studied or properly solved. His repeated fatvás disconcerted the conscience and confused the practices of the faithful. Eager for change, he was neither tolerant in discussion nor moderate in debate. Sometimes he would unduly prolong the fast of Ramadán for reasons which no one had advanced before; sometimes he would alter the ritual of prayer in quite a novel way. He became obnoxious to the peaceful and odious to the traditionalists. But it is also admitted that he counted many followers who considered him a saint, prized his zeal, and put their faith in him. An impartial judge could recognize in him one of the Muhammadans who are only so in appearance, but urged on by a living faith and an abundant religious zeal for which they are eager to find a scope. His misfortune was that he found, or thought he found, a natural use for his powers in the overthrow of traditions whose minor significance did not justify such a disturbance.” (Comte de Gobineau’s “Les Religions et les Philosophies dans l’Asie Centrale,” pp. 191–192.)
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| 4. |
1812–13 A.D.
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| 5. |
“Among the ‘Ulamás of the city was a man called Akhund Mullá ‘Abdu’r-Rahím renowned for his piety. He had a son who lived in Najaf and at Karbilá where he attended the lectures of the celebrated Sharífu’l-‘Ulamáy-i-Mázindarání. This young man was of a restless nature and rather impatient with the narrowness of Shi’ism.” (A. L. M. Nicolas’ “Siyyid ‘Alí-Muhammad dit le Báb,” p. 332.)
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| 6. |
“On his way back from the Holy Land he stopped at Hamadán where the citizens welcomed him cordially and entreated him to remain.” (A. L. M. Nicolas’ “Siyyid ‘Alí-Muhammad dit le Báb,” p. 336.)
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| 7. |
“All the ‘Ulamás of the city called on him and left concerned over the few words which he had spoken and which revealed quite a novel turn of mind. Indeed the attitude of the newcomer very quickly proved to these pious men that their conjectures were well founded.” (Ibid.)
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| 8. |
“There was a caravansary of the days of Sháh-‘Abbás which had gradually become a síghih-khanih: in order to prevent a breach of the Shí’ite law a certain Mullá Dúst-Muhammad who made his residence there, would bless the transitory union between the male visitors to the place and the inmates. Hujjatu’l-Islám, such was the title which our hero had assumed, ordered the institution to be closed, gave in marriage the greater number of these women and secured employment for the others in respectable families. He also caused a wine dealer to be whipped and his house to be torn down.” (Ibid., pp. 332–333.)
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| 9. |
“But this was the limit of his activity. Always troubled with the problems raised by a religion founded upon hadíths which were frequently contradictory, he perplexed the conscience of the faithful by peculiar fatvás which upset old traditions. Thus he restored the hadíth according to which Muhammad would have said: The month of Ramadán is always full.’ Without investigating the origin of that tradition, without enquiring whether those who had related it were worthy of faith, he commanded that it should be literally obeyed, thus inducing his hearers to fast on the day of Fitr which is held to be a grievous sin. He also permitted that prostrations be made at prayer time by resting the head upon a crystal stone. All these innovations won for him a large number of partisans who admired his science and his activity; but they displeased the official clergy whose hatred, further augmented by anxiety, soon knew no bounds.” (Ibid., p. 333.)
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| 10. |
“Hujjat came and, by his courtesy and his captivating personality, soon won over all those who came in contact with him, even His Majesty. One day, so the story goes, he was in the palace of the Sháh with several of his colleagues, when one of them, an ‘Ulamá of Káshán, brought out a document and besought the king to sign it. It was a royal decree granting certain stipends. Hujjat rose up and bitterly denounced a clergy who begged pensions from the government. He had recourse to the hadíths and to the Qur’án to show how shameful was such a practice which had originated with the Baní-Umayyih. His colleagues were beside themselves with anger, but the Sháh, pleased with such frankness, presented our hero with a staff and a ring and authorized him to return to Zanján.” (A. L. M. Nicolas’ “Siyyid ‘Alí-Muhammad dit le Báb,” pp. 373–374.)
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| 11. |
“The inhabitants of Zanján came in crowds to meet him and offered sacrifices of oxen, chickens and sheep. Twelve children, each twelve years of age, with red kerchiefs about their necks to show their readiness to sacrifice their all, were in the center of the cortège. It proved a triumphal entry.” (Ibid., p. 334.)
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| 12. |
“He transformed his disciples into models of virtue and temperance; henceforth the men quenched their thirst at the fountains of spiritual life. They fasted during three months, lengthened their prayers by adding to them daily the invocation of Ja’far-i-Tayyar, performing once a day their ablutions with the water of the Qur (legal measure of purity) and finally on Fridays they crowded the Mosques.” (Ibid., p. 334.)
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| 13. |
“Finally, he uttered in a clear voice the Friday prayer which must be said instead of the habitual daily one said when the Imám comes. He then expounded several sayings of the Báb and concluded thus: ‘The goal for which the world has been striving is now here, free from veils and obstacles. The sun of Truth has risen and the lights of imagination and imitation have been extinguished. Fix your eyes upon the Báb, not upon me, the least of his slaves. My wisdom compared to his is as an unlighted candle to the sun at midday. Know God by God and the sun by its rays. So, today has appeared the Sáhibu’z-Zamán. The Sultán of Possibilities is living.’ Needless to say, these words made a deep impression upon the audience. Nearly all accepted this message and conversed among themselves regarding the true nature of the Báb.” (Ibid., p. 335.)
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| 14. |
“The conversion of Mullá Muhammad-‘Alí and his numerous partisans had in fact exhausted the patience of the Imám-Jum’ih and of Shaykhu’l-Islám. They wrote indignant letters to His Majesty who in reply gave orders for the arrest of the offender.” (Ibid., p. 336.)
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| 15. |
“He was in Tihrán until the day when, after the death of Muhammad Sháh, Násiri’d-Dín Mírzá now Násiri’d-Dín Sháh, appointed as governor of Zanján, one of his uncles, Amír Arslán Khán Majdu’d-Dawlih, who was Ishiq Aghasí of the palace.” (A. L. M. Nicolas’ “Siyyid ‘Alí-Muhammad dit le Báb,” p. 337.)
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| 16. |
“He made a triumphant entry into his native city. Now that he was a Bábí, to his old friends were added the believers in the new doctrine. A large number of men, rich and respected, soldiers, merchants, even Mullás came to meet him, at a distance of one or two stations away, and conducted him home, not as an exile who returns, not as a suppliant who asks only rest, not even as a rival strong enough to demand respect, but he entered as a master.” (Comte de Gobineau’s “Les Religions et les Philosophies dans l’Asie Centrale,” p. 193.) “The author of ‘Nasikhu’t-Tavarikh’ himself acknowledged that a goodly number of citizens of Zanján, and among them high officials, traveled the distance of two stations to meet him. He was received like a conqueror and many heads of sheep were sacrificed in his honor. None of his opponents dared ask him why he had left Tihrán and had returned to Zanján; but Islám was severely tried as the Zanjánís did not hesitate to preach throughout the city the new doctrine. The Muhammadan writer points out that all the Zanjánís were simple-minded and so fell easily into the snare; but contradicting himself he declares that only the knaves, greedy for worldly possessions, and the impious ones gathered round the new leader. However they were quite numerous and, according to his story, about fifteen thousand, which seems rather an exaggerated estimate.” (A. L. M. Nicolas’ “Siyyid ‘Alí-Muhammad dit le Báb,” pp. 337–338.)
[ |
| 17. |
“Majdu’d-Dawlih, governor of the city, a cruel, heartless and severe man, enraged at the news of the return of so troublesome a person as Hujjat, ordered that Muhammad Big be whipped and that the tongue of Karbilá’í Valí be cut out.” (Ibid., p. 337.)
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| 18. |
See Glossary.
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| 19. |
See Glossary.
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| 20. |
“At the spectacle, the Muhammadans took flight and the wounded man was cared for the aunt of Mír Salah in her own house.” (A. L. M. Nicolas’ “Siyyid ‘Alí-Muhammad dit le Báb,” p. 341.)
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| 21. |
May 16, 1850 A.D.
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| 22. |
“The governor and the ‘Ulamás wrote to His Majesty reports in which their fear and perplexity were revealed. The Sháh, hardly rid of the war in Mázindarán and enraged at the thought of another sedition in another section of his empire, urged also by his son Sadr-i-‘Azam and by the ‘ulamás who had declared a holy war, gave orders to kill the Bábís and plunder their possessions. It was on Friday the third of Rajab that the order came to Zanján.” (Ibid., pp. 341–342.)
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| 23. |
“All was bewildering confusion. The Muhammadans were frantically running to and fro, looking for their wives, their children or their belongings. They came and went crazed, aghast, weeping over what they had to abandon. Families were separated, fathers thrusting back their sons, wives their husbands, children their mothers. Whole houses remained deserted. so great was the haste, and the governor sent soldiers to the neighboring villages to secure new recruits for the holy war.” (A. L. M. Nicolas’ “Siyyid ‘Alí-Muhammad dit le Báb,” p. 342.)
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| 24. |
“The Bábís, on the other hand, were not passive. They were organizing for their own protection. Hujjat was exhorting them never to attack but always to defend themselves. ‘Brothers,’ he would say to them, ‘do not be ashamed of me. Do not believe that because you are the companions of the Sáhibu’z-Zamán you are to conquer the world by the sword. I take God as witness; they will kill you, they will burn you, they will send your heads from town to town. The only victory in store for you is to sacrifice yourselves, your wives and your possessions. God has always decreed that in every age the blood of the believers is to be the oil of the lamp of religion. You have learned of the tortures endured by the saintly martyrs of Mázindarán. They were put to death because they affirmed that the promised Mihdí had come. I say to you, whosoever has not the strength to bear such torture, let him go over to the other side for we will have to endure martyrdom. Is not our master in their power?’” (Ibid., pp. 342–343.)
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| 25. |
“Picture to yourself a Persian city. The streets are narrow, of a width of four or five or eight feet at the most. The surface unpaved has so many holes that one must proceed cautiously to avoid breaking one’s legs. The houses, with no windows opening on the street, present on both sides unbroken walls, generally about fifteen feet high and topped with a terrace without a railing, sometimes crowned by a bala-Khanih or open pavilion which is usually an indication of a wealthy house. All that is of adobe or bricks baked in the sun. The uprights are of bricks baked in the kiln. This type, of venerable antiquity and in use even before historical times in the ancient cities of Mesopotamia, has many advantages: it is inexpensive, it is sanitary, it adapts itself to modest or pretentious plans; it can be a cottage or a palace entirely covered with mosaics, brilliant paintings and gold ornaments. But, as is always the case in this world, so many advantages are offset by the ease with which such dwellings crumble to pieces. Cannon balls are not needed, the rain is quite sufficient to demolish them. Thus we can visualize these famous sites covered, according to tradition, with immense cities of which nothing remains but ruins of temples and palaces and mounds scattered over the plains. “In a few years whole districts vanish without leaving a trace, if the houses are not kept in repair. As all the cities of Persia are constructed after the same plan and of the same material, it is easy to visualize Zanján with her crenellated walls with high towers, her crooked streets unpaved and full of ruts. In the midst of these rose a formidable citadel called ‘Chateau d’’Alí-Mardán Khán.’” (Comte de Gobineau’s “Les Religions et les Philosophies dans l’Asie Centrale,” pp. 197–198.)
[ |
| 26. |
“He [the governor of Zanján] fearing for himself at once took measures to safeguard his authority and forwarded to Mírzá Muhammad-Taqí Khán Amír-i-Kabir a garbled account of the affair; for he was fearful lest another should acquire more influence than he possessed and so his authority and consideration should be weakened. In consequence of his representations Siyyid ‘Alí Khán Lieutenant-Colonel of Fírúz-Kúh received the royal command to proceed with a numerous body of horse and foot to Zanján, and to arrest Mullá Muhammad-‘Alí, who had retired with his followers (nearly five thousand in number) to the citadel. On his arrival Siyyid ‘Alí Khán laid siege to the citadel and thus was the fire of strife kindled, and day by day the number of those slain on either side increased until at length he suffered an ignominious defeat and was obliged to ask for reinforcements from the capital. The government wished to send Ja’far-Qulí Khán, Lieutenant-Colonel, the brother of I’timádu’d-Dawlih, but he excused himself, and said to Mírzá Taqí Khán Amír-i-Kabir: ‘I’m not an Ibn-i-Zíyad to go and make war on a band of siyyids and men of learning of whose tenets I know nothing, though I should be ready enough to fight Russians Jews or other infidels.’ Other officers besides him showed a disinclination to take part in this war. Amongst these was Mír Siyyid Husayn Khán of Fírúz-Kúh, whom Mírzá Taqí Khán the Amír dismissed and disgraced as soon as he became acquainted with his sentiments. So also many of the officers who were of the sect of the ‘Alíyu’lláhís, although they went to the war withdrew from it when they learned more of the matter. For their chief had forbidden them to fight, and therefore they fled. For it is written in their books that when the soldiers of Gurán shall come to the capital of the king then the Lord of the Age (whom they call God) shall appear; and this prophecy was now accomplished. They also possess certain poems which contain the date of the Manifestation, and these too came true. So they were convinced that this was the Truth become manifest, and begged to be excused from taking part in the war, which thing they declared themselves unable to do. And to the Bábís they said: ‘In subsequent conflicts, when the framework of your religion shall have gathered strength, we will help you.’ In short, when the officers of the army perceived in their opponents naught but devotion, godliness, and piety, some wavered in secret and did not put forth their full strength in the war.” (The “Taríkh-i-Jadíd,” pp. 138–43.)
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| 27. |
According to Gobineau (p. 198), he was the grandson of Hájí Muhammad Husayn Khán-i-Isfahání.
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| 28. |
“On the fourth day, the Muhammadans saw with great joy Sadru’d-Dawlih, grandson of Hájí Muhammad-Husayn Khán of Isfahán, enter their section of the city coming from Sultaníyyih, at the head of the tribe of Khamsíh. For several days thereafter, reinforcements arrived in great numbers. First of all, Siyyid ‘Alí Khán and Shahbar Khán, one from Fírúz-Kúh, the other from Marághih, with two hundred horsemen from their respective tribes. After them came Muhammad-‘Alí Khán-i-Sháh-Sun with two hundred mounted afshars; fifty artillerymen with two field guns and two mortars, so that the governor was provided with as much assistance as he could have wished and surrounded with a goodly number of military chieftains, among whom were several who were famous throughout the country.” (Comte de Gobineau’s “Les Religions et les Philosophies dans l’Asie Centrale,” 198–199.) “One of the most terrible encounters related in the journal of the siege, is the one which took place on the fifth of Ramadán. Mustafá Khán, Qájár, with the fifteenth regiment of Shigaghí Sadru’d-Dawlih with his horsemen of Khamsíh; Siyyid ‘Alí Khán of Fírúz-Kúh with his own regiment; Muhammad Áqá, colonel, with the regiment of Násir called the royal regiment; Muhammad-‘Alí Khán with the Afshar cavalry; Major Nabí Big with his cavalry and a troop made up of loyal citizens of Zanján; all these men at dawn attacked the fortifications of the Bábís. The resistance of the Bábís was magnificent but disastrous. They saw their best leaders fall, one after another, leaders brave and true, saints who could not be replaced: Núr-‘Alí the hunter; Bakhsh-‘Alí the carpenter; Khudádád and Fathu’llah Big, all indispensable to the attainment of victory. They all fell, some in the morning and others in the evening.” (Comte de Gobineau’s “Les Religions et les Philosophies dans l’Asie Centrale,” p. 200.)
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| 29. |
“I have seen at Zanján the ruins of that fierce encounter; whole sections of the city have not yet been rebuilt and probably never will be. Some of those who took part in the tragedy have related to me upon the very spot certain incidents: the Bábís ascended and descended the terraces while carrying their cannon with them. Sometimes the earthen floor, not very firm, gave way and they had to raise the heavy gun again by dint of man power and had to prop the ground up with beams. When the enemy approached the crowd surrounded the guns with enthusiasm, all arms extended to lift them up and, when the carriers fell under the bullets of the assailants, a hundred comrades vied with each other for the honor of replacing them. Assuredly this was true faith!” (Ibid., pp. 200–201.)
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| 30. |
Qur’án, 86:9.
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| 31. |
“God the Great.”
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| 32. |
“God the Most Great.”
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| 33. |
“God the Most Beauteous.”
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| 34. |
“God the Most Glorious.”
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| 35. |
“God the Most Pure.”
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| 36. |
According to Gobineau (p. 202), Azíz Khán was “general-in-chief of the troops of Ádhirbayján and then first aide-de-camp of the king. He was passing through Zanján, on his way to Tiflis, to congratulate the grand duke, heir apparent of Russia, on the occasion of his arrival in Caucasia.”
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| 37. |
See Glossary.
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| 38. |
“Muhammad Khán, then Bigliyirbigí and Mír-panj, or general of the division, today become Amír-Tumán, joined the troops already engaged in this city; he brought them three thousand men of the regiments of Shigaghí and certain regiments of the guards with six cannon and two mortars. Almost at the same time Qásim Khán arrived from the frontier of Karabagh, entering Zanján from another quarter, and the major Arslán Khán with cavalry from Khirghan, and ‘Alí-Agbar, captain of Khúy, arrived with infantry. For each one had received orders from the king and they were all hastening to comply.” (Comte de Gobineau’s “Les Religions et les Philosophies dans l’Asie Centrale,” p. 201.)
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| 39. |
See Glossary.
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| 40. |
See Glossary.
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| 41. |
See Glossary.
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| 42. |
See Glossary.
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| 43. |
There is no God but God.
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| 44. |
“The Exalted Spot,” title given to Zanján by the Báb.
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| 45. |
“Mother of Ashraf.”
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| 46. |
“The desperate resistance offered by the Bábís must therefore be attributed less to the strength of the position which they occupied than to the extraordinary valour with which they defended themselves even the women took part in the defence, and I subsequently heard it stated on good authority that like the Carthaginian women of old, they cut off their long hair and bound it round the crazy guns to afford them the necessary support.” (E. G. Browne’s “A Year amongst the Persians,” p. 74.)
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| 47. |
“Decidedly the situation was becoming critical for the Muhammadans and it looked as though they would never overcome such a tenacious resistance. Moreover, why take so much trouble? Why endanger uselessly the lives,—not of the soldiers, mere cannon fodder they,—but those of the officers and the generals? Why expose oneself daily to ridicule and to defeat? Why not follow the example of Shaykh Tabarsí? Why not resort to deceit? Why not make the most sacred promises, even though it might later become necessary to massacre those gullibles who had put their trust in them?” (A. L. M. Nicolas’ “Siyyid ‘Alí-Muhammad dit le Báb,” p. 350.)
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| 48. |
Qur’án, 80:34.
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| 49. |
Qur’án, 22:2.
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| 50. |
See Glossary.
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| 51. |
“Finally the threats of the court, the encouragement and the reinforcements arrived so fast, there was such a disproportion as to soldiers and supplies between the Bábís and their adversaries that the outcome became both evident and imminent.” (Comte de Gobineau’s “Les Religions et les Philosophies dans l’Asie Centrale,” p. 203.)
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| 52. |
“The regiment of Karrus under the command of the chief of the tribe, Hasan-‘Alí Khán (today minister to Paris), took the fort of ‘Alí-Mardán Khán; the fourth regiment broke into the house of Áqá Azíz, one of the strongholds of the city, and burnt it to the ground; the regiment of guards blew up the hotel located near the Hamadán gate and, though it lost one captain and several soldiers, nevertheless it remained in possession of the place.” (Ibid., p. 203.)
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| 53. |
January 8, 1851 A.D.
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| 54. |
“Then Muhammad Khán Bigliyirbigí, Amír Arslán Khán and the other commanders, although they had guaranteed on their honor to spare the lives of the Bábís, assembled them in front of their troops to the accompaniment of drums and trumpets and ordered one hundred men, chosen from the different regiments, to take the prisoners and place them in a row. The command was then given to pierce them with bayonets, which was done. Then the leaders of the Bábís, Sulaymán the shoemaker and Hájí Kázim Giltughí were blown to pieces from the mouths of mortars. This type of execution invented in Asia, but practised also by the English troops during the revolt in India, with the refinement with which European science and intelligence invest everything they do, consists in tying the victim to the mouth of the cannon loaded with powder. When the explosion takes place, the victim is torn to pieces, the size of the pieces depending upon the amount of powder used. “The execution over, the captives were sorted again. They set aside Mírzá Ridá, lieutenant of Mullá Muhammad-‘Alí, and on all those of high standing or importance they placed chains about their necks and shackles on their hands and feet. They then decided to disregard the royal command and to take them to Tihrán in order to augment their triumph. As for the few unfortunates who were left and whose life or death was of no importance to anyone, they were abandoned and the victorious army returned to the capital, dragging with them their prisoners, who walked ahead of the horses of the victorious generals. “Upon their arrival in Tihrán, the Amír Nizám, prime minister, found it necessary to make an example of this new execution and Mírzá Ridá, Hájí Muhammad-‘Alí and Hájí Muhsin were condemned to have their veins slashed open. The three victims learned the news without betraying the least emotion; they declared, nevertheless, that the lack of good faith, of which the authorities had been guilty, was not one of those crimes that the Almighty could be satisfied with punishing in the ordinary way; He would demand a punishment more impressive and striking for the persecutors of His saints. Consequently, they foretold that the prime minister would very soon suffer the same death that he was inflicting upon them. “I have heard this prophecy referred to and I do not doubt for an instant that they who informed me of it, were firmly convinced of its truth. I must however state here that when I was told about it, four years had elapsed since the Amír-Nizám was thus put to death by royal edict. The only thing I can affirm therefore is that I was given assurance that the prophecy had really been made by the martyrs of Zanján.” (Comte de Gobineau’s “Les Religions et les Philosophies dans l’Asie Centrale,” pp. 207–209.)
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| 55. |
See Glossary.
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| 56. |
“God is Most Great.”
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| 57. |
“After the execution, the spectators invaded the field of death, some searching for the body of a friend in order to bury it, others moved only by morbid curiosity. It is said that a Muhammadan, named Valí-Muhammad, came upon the body of one of his neighbours and, noticing that he was not quite dead, he called to him and said, ‘I am your neighbor Valí-Muhammad. If you need anything call on me.’ The other indicated that he was thirsty. Immediately the Muhammadan fetched a large stone and returning to his neighbor, said, ‘Open your mouth, I bring you water.’ As the dying man complied he crushed his head with the stone. “At last, the Bigliyirbigí started for Tihrán, taking with him forty-four prisoners among whom were the son of Mírzá Ridá, Hájí Muhammad-‘Alí and Hájí Muhsin the surgeon. These three were put to death after their arrival, the others were doomed to rot in prison.” (A. L. M. Nicolas’ “Siyyid ‘Alí-Muhammad dit le Báb,” p. 363.)
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| 58. |
“It was not enough for them to have gained the victory, they had even to insult the bodies of their enemies. They were eager to question the Bábís but, no matter how great the torture with which they threatened them, the Bábís refused to speak. They poured boiling oil upon the head of Áqá Dín-Muhammad, but he remained silent. Finally, the Sardár had the son of the deceased chief brought before him. This child was but seven years of age, his name was Áqá Husayn and, through clever threats and insidious flattery, they succeeded in making him speak.” (Ibid., p. 361.)
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| 59. |
See Glossary.
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