# The Bab and Babeeism: Part 2

*Exported from [Holy-Writings.com](https://www.holy-writings.com/) on 2026-06-19 — 1 clipping.*

---

> 16666
> 
> THE
> 
> CONTEMPORARY
> REVIEW                      Un
> iv
> er
> MI         si
> ty
> CH
> IG
> AN
> 
> VOLUME XII.   SEPTEMBER - DECEMBER, 1869
> 
> STRAHAN & CO., PUBLISHERS
> 56 LUDGATE HILL, LONDON
> 1869
> LONDON :
> PRINTED BY VIRTUE AND CO .,
> CITY ROAD .
> THE BAB AND BABEEISM .
> 
> PART II .
> 
> Les Religions et les Philosophies de l'Asie Centrale. Par M. le
> COMTE DE GOBINEAU (Ministre de France à Athènes ). 2me
> Edition . 1866. Paris : Didier et Cie.
> Bab et les Babis, ou le Soulèvement Politique et Religieur en Perse
> de 1845 à 1853. (Mirza Kazem Beg.) Journal Asiatique, 1866 .
> Paris : A. Labitte.
> 
> INMazenderantheBabeeswere     completely
> parts of the kingdom neither their       crushed,butinother
> numbers nor their influence
> were in any way diminished ; and the severity with which the
> Government treated those of the leaders whom they could get into
> their power showed what importance was attached to the move
> ment, and how fearful they were of its results. Against Gourret
> oul-Ayn they could for the moment do nothing.                            At the first
> outbreak of hostilities her followers had flocked to the standard
> of Moullah Houssein, and she herself had disappeared no one knew
> where, but was in reality in concealment in Teheran. The Bab ,
> who was looked upon as the author of all these disorders, was
> naturally not allowed to be at large at this crisis ; and he had
> been removed even in the time of the reign of the late king from his
> house at Shiraz to themore              Sehrig, in the province ofGholan,
> on the borders of the Caspian Sea ,where he was kept closely confined .
> The circumstances connected with his trial and death coincide with
> the close of the struggle at Sheïk Tebersi, and the first commence
> ment of the trouble in Zendjan. Their history ought, according to
> chronological arrangement, be given in this place ; but we may
> perhaps with advantage defer its consideration till after the history
> 246                         The Contemporary Review .
> of the outbreak in Zendjan. To this we may now turn. The prin
> cipal leader in this outbreak was Moullah Mohammed Ali , a native
> of Zendjan, a small town in the province of Khamseh . He was a
> Moudjtehid, and long before the name of the Bab had become known
> in Persia he had made himself remarkable for various strange inter
> pretations of the Koran, in which he declared that nothing in the
> world was unclean and impure. The Mohammedan religion had pro
> scribed many things, and with the faithful it was a matter of con
> science to abstain from all contact with wine, pork, dogs, dead bodies,
> and blood. A few things indeed remained doubtful, such as opium
> and tobacco, but even these were never touched by strict Moham
> medans. * Mohammed Ali boldly broke through all these restrictions,
> and declared that all things were free to all, and no man could
> contract impurity by the lawful use of anything. Of course such
> opinions, openly expressed, created great scandal among the Moullahs
> and all the orthodox party ; but their remonstrances produced no
> effect. The disregard of religious prohibitions was too much in
> accordance with the secret practice of many † who vehemently sup
> ported these new opinions. The dispute occasioned by this contro
> versy rose at length to such a height that the Government had to
> interfere, and Mohammed Ali was arrested and taken to Teheran ,
> where he was kept in a kind of honourable confinement under the
> care of Mohammed Khan, the head of the police. During his enforced
> sojourn in the capital he became acquainted with Moullah Houssein
> Boushrewyeh, and from him learned the principles and substance of
> the Babee doctrines. These he found to agree in the main with the
> interpretations of the Koran which he had himself promulgated ; a
> correspondence with the Bab enlightened him still further and com
> pleted his conversion, and he professed himself one of his followers.
> Taking advantage soon afterwards of the interregnum which ensued
> on the occasion of the death of Mohammed Shah, he set the injunction
> of the Government at defiance, and returned to Zendjan, where he
> was at once received in triumph. Before his imprisonment he had
> already had many followers ; their number was now increased by
> the accession of all the Babees in the town and in the surrounding
> country, who welcomed his conversion to their doctrines, and at once                     1
> 
> placed him at their head, and bade defiance to their opponents. The
> town thus became divided into two rival parties, and Mohammed
> Ali, at the head of the Babees, a small but determined band, found
> himself opposed to the governor of the city, who was sure of the
> * See Palgrave's account of the strictness with which this abstinence is enforced in
> Nedjed, where the partaking of wine or tobacco is looked upon as a greater sin than
> adultery, theft, or murder. (Palgrave's “ Central Arabia .” )
> + In spite of the religious prohibition drunkenness is a very common failing in
> Persia . Gobineau, p. 69.
> The Bab and Babeeism .                       247
> 
> support of the orthodox Shiite party, and could command the obe
> dience of the royal troops. For some time the two parties watched
> each other with jealous apprehension, and a conflict became more
> and more imminent. The governor was anxious to delay it as long
> as possible. Mohammed Ali, on the other hand, sought to precipitate
> it before the zeal and enthusiasm of his followers should have had
> time to cool; and an event soon occurred which gave rise to the
> conflict. The governor had rashly ordered one of the personal fol
> lowers of the Babee chief, who had refused to pay his share of some
> tax , to be thrown into prison. Mohammed Ali demanded his release,
> and as this was refused, with some of his partizans he broke open
> the doors of the prison and set the man free. Their passions once
> excited , they proceeded to further acts of violence ; and turned their
> arms against the members of the opposite party, some of whom they
> killed, and burned their houses to the ground.       The struggle was
> now openly begun . Mohammed Ali collected his adherents together,
> put arms into their hands, and with their help took possession of one
> part of the town, which he fortified . It was, however, impossible to
> gain any permanent advantage without the possession of the citadel,
> which was built in a position of great strength in the centre of
> Zendjan , and commanded the town. It was then in the possession
> of the royal troops, and the first attempt to dislodge them was unsuc
> cessful. The next day (May 28th, 1849) the Babees returned to the
> attack with fanatical determination, and carried everything before
> them. The troops were forced to evacuate the citadel, and the Babees
> established themselves in it. Elated by his success , Mohammed Ali
> next made an attempt to take the governor , Emir Aslan Khan ,
> prisoner ; but was defeated , and compelled to retreat. At the same
> time the governor could do nothing more than fortify the part of the
> town he occupied , and await reinforcements. The delay was profit
> ably employed by the Babees in still further fortifying the citadel
> and carrying into it provisions .
> We do not propose to enter into a detailed account of the struggle
> which took place. In many respects it resembles the struggle at
> Sheïk Tebersi, which was just terminating as the Babees of Zendjan
> were rising to arms. In both we find the same desperate courage ,
> the same unflinching resolution to die rather than to yield ; the same
> ingenuity employed by the Babee leaders in surprising and defeating
> their enemies.   For more than three months the contest was carried
> on with unvarying success on the part of the Babees. During that
> time the town was laid in ruins : in parts, whole streets were burnt ;
> in others, the houses were pulled down to prevent their being
> occupied by the enemy, or to facilitate an attack ; but, in spite of all
> the efforts of the royal troops, they made no progress. At length, in
> 248                   The Contemporary Review .
> the beginning of September, after a desperate assault, which had been
> most successfully repelled by the garrison of the citadel, the generals of
> the king became convinced that they had no chance of success in their
> present mode of carrying on the attack. At a council of war it was
> resolved to change their plan of action, and to reduce the siege to a
> strict blockade, as had been formerly done at Sheik Tebersi, and in
> this way to starve them into submission. In Zendjah the blockade
> was, of course, easier of execution than it had been in the mountains
> of Mazenderan . The lines were drawn closely round the citadel ; the
> supplies of water were cut off ; and to the horrors of famine, which
> threatened the brave garrison , was added the dread of thirst. The
> Babees procured for themselves, indeed, some water by digging
> wells ; but scarcely in sufficient quantity for their need.
> But while the troops were lying inactive round the citadel of
> Zendjan, Mohammed Ali was not idle. The numbers of the besieging
> force were so great as to make it useless to sally forth and attack
> them ; the leader of the Babees tried, therefore, to gain some
> advantage by means of a stratagem, and sent two of his most
> devoted followers to Ferrouk Khan, who was in command of a cavalry
> regiment. They appeared before him as deserters from the Babee
> cause, they wept over their past errors, and assured him that all
> their companions would gladly submit if they were not restrained by
> fear of Mohammed Ali. If he could be taken prisoner, or killed, all
> the others would yield at once ; and they offered to show a secret
> path which led straight to his house. Ferrouk Khan fell into the
> trap. Taking with him a hundred of his best soldiers, he followed
> his guides along the secret passage they had described till he came
> to a place which had been previously fixed upon by the Babees. His
> guides here suddenly disappeared, and almost immediately a violent
> explosion took place. The Babees surrounded the unhappy band,
> who were all slain , with the exception of twelve men, among whom
> was Ferrouk Khan, who was taken prisoner. On hearing the
> explosion, the royal troops had rushed at once to the place, believing
> that a magazine had exploded, and hoping to profit by the disorder
> which would have ensued ; but it was to find themselves attacked and
> compelled to retreat with great loss.     Ferrouk Khan and his com
> panions were afterwards put to death .
> During some months the blockade continued, and desultory skir
> mishes took place, in which the Babees gradually lost ground, but
> which had no perceptible influence on the progress of the siege.
> Between the two parties the war was carried on in the most merciless
> manner ; no quarter was given, or if by chance any lives were spared
> amid the excitement of the conflict, the prisoners were only reserved
> to meet a more lingering death by inhuman torture.         Some months
> The Bab and Babeeism .                         249
> had now elapsed since the Bab had been put to death, and the cir
> cumstances attending his end had excited a large amount of com
> passion throughout the country ; compassion which was now bestowed
> on the small band who were maintaining so desperate a struggle in
> Zendjan. Mirza Taghy Khan perceived that it was not safe to in
> crease this feeling, or to prolong the suspense ; and he ordered a large
> reinforcement to proceed to Zendjan, with several cannon . This was
> in the month of January, 1850, and by the end of the month all the
> preparations were made for opening fire.         Beneath the storm of
> missiles the walls and houses soon crumbled to pieces ; in spite of
> this the Babees still defended their position with such desperate
> courage that none of the royal troops dared approach ; but a mis
> fortune, disastrous to their cause, now happened. During the thick
> of the fight Mohammed Ali had his arm broken by a musket shot.
> Few were aware of it at the time, and he was carried , without
> attracting any notice, into a house near at hand, round which the
> fight was raging with unceasing fury. A gun was brought to bear
> upon it ; and at length the whole house fell in, but even then
> the Babees could not be driven from the ruins. To Mohammed Ali,
> nowever, the result was fatal. The contusions he had suffered from
> the falling stones and timber, and the impossibility of giving proper
> attention to his wound, had together so inflamed it that he was
> brought to his last hour. As he felt death approaching he called his
> followers round him, and encouraged them , as Moullah Houssein
> had done before at Tebersi. He bade them continue the struggle; and
> promised that he would be restored to life again in forty days ; and
> that if they should be slain the same happy future would be in store
> for them. As long as he was alive his words found a response in the
> hearts of the Babees ; as soon as he was dead the hopelessness of
> their position became evident. Their outworks and defences were
> destroyed, their provisions were exhausted ; and now their leader was
> gone, and they had no one who could at all supply his place. The
> chief men among the Babees held a consultation together, and deter
> mined to capitulate. They wrote, therefore, to Emir Aslan Khan,
> the governor of the city, and Mohammed Khan, the commander of
> the troops, offering to lay down their arms if their lives were spared.
> The conditions were accepted, and a solemn promise was given that
> no punishment of any kind should be inflicted on the Babees ; and,
> trusting to this, they left their fortifications, and came into the royal
> camp.    The first question asked of them was what had become
> of Mohammed Ali ? they replied that he was dead ; and as the
> answer was received with incredulity they confirmed it by showing
> the spot where he was buried. The grave was at once opened, his
> body torn from its resting-place, dragged through the streets of the
> 250                     The Contemporary Review .
> now desolate and deserted town, and at length left to be devoured by
> the wild dogs. The disrespect shown to the dead body of the late
> chief of the Babees was a pretty clear intimation of the manner in
> which the governor and commander - in - chief meant to deal with their
> prisoners. Their lives had been promised ; but the terms of the
> treaty were as little regarded as they had been in Mazenderan. The
> whole body of the Babees, with the exception of the three principal
> men, were put to death, either with the bayonet or by being blown
> from guns. The three men, whose lives were momentarily spared,
> Mirza Rizay, Hadji Mohammed Ali, and Hadji Mohsen, were taken
> to Teheran , where they were condemned to have their veins opened.
> When this sentence was announced to them they exhibited no
> surprise, only they inveighed bitterly against the Government for its
> want of faith both towards themselves and their companions. God,
> they said , would not behold such crimes with indifference, and would
> take signal vengeance on the perpetrators ; and, as a proof, they
> warned the prime minister that he would suffer death in the same
> manner as he was now inflicting it on them.* M. Gobineau does not
> vouch for the truth of this prophecy ; but the fact is certain that,
> some years afterwards, Mirza Taghy Khan , having fallen into dis
> favour with the king, was condemned to death , and perished by
> having his veins opened.
> When the revolt in Zendjan was finally crushed, the Bab, in
> whose name the rising had taken place, had been already some
> months dead. After the first charge had been brought against him,
> before the court of Teheran, he was enjoined, as we have already
> seen , to keep to his house. This injunction the Bab scrupulously
> obeyed, and for some months remained unmolested at Shiraz, during
> which time his doctrines made rapid progress throughout the whole
> of Persia . On the outbreak of hostilities in Mazenderan the Govern
> ment considered him responsible for them. He had never in any
> way, by word or act, incited his followers against the estab
> lished Government ; he had never desired that his doctrines should
> be promulgated by force ; but when an outbreak took place, involv
> ing such tremendous issues as the one in Mazenderan, which was
> begun in his favour and carried on in his name, it was impossible
> that he could be acquitted of all complicity, or escape all suspicion.
> As long as he was at large, it was possible for him to place himself
> at the head of a rising which might prove to be more formidable
> even than the one begun by Moullah Houssein, and , therefore, at the
> very commencement of the outbreak in Mazenderan, to secure the
> safety of the state, he was placed under arrest and transferred to
> the fortress of Tjehrig.t           Here he remained till the death of
> • Gobineau, p. 253.
> † In this statement we have followed M. Gobineau . Another account is given by the
> The Bab and Babeeism .                                251
> Mohammed Shah , when a new régime began, and measures of
> severity were carried into execution. When Mirza Taghy Khan
> took into his hands the reins of power, he was confronted by
> Babeeism , and deemed the destruction of its author to be the surest
> way of destroying it. At first he had no intention of putting the
> Bab to death . To do so would only have been to place him in the
> position of a martyr, and he was rather anxious to destroy the favour
> able opinion which had attached itself to the Bab and his doctrines,
> and to disgrace him in the eyes of the people ; could this be done, it
> did not very much matter what became of the Bab himself.                          For
> this purpose the prime minister proposed to bring him to Teheran,
> and in all the towns to exhibit him publicly in chains ; whenever
> an occasion offered to require him to dispute publicly with the
> Moullahs, without allowing him a fair opportunity of reply, and even
> at times enjoining him total silence. In addition, a series of petty
> persecutions, and the fear of death impending over him, would com
> bine to dishearten and crush him, and render him at length the
> sport instead of the admiration of the people. With any man of less
> ability, less character, and less resolution than the Bab, this plan
> might have succeeded ; but with him it soon became evident that
> such a scheme would only recoil against its originators. The
> wonderful influence exercised by the Bab since his imprisonment in
> Tjehrig would have been sufficient to prove this. In the prison his
> life had been gentle and unobtrusive ; and his time was divided
> between prayer and work . To those with whom he conversed he
> often spoke of his own death as an event not very distant, but which
> had for him no terror.          Few were able to resist the charm of his
> manner, and of his general conversation, or failed to be impressed by
> the expression of his face ; even the soldiers did not escape the
> influence he exerted ; and if the Bab was publicly exposed in the
> manner proposed, instead of being disheartened by being confronted
> with his enemies, it was possible , nay probable , that he might extort
> sympathy from many, and gain them over to his doctrines. The
> plan of Mirza Taghy Khan, if successful, would no doubt have done
> more to destroy Babeeism than anything else ; but the danger arising
> from its possible failure was too great to allow of its being tried,
> and the Government resolved, therefore, to put him quietly to death .
> Journal Asiatique (April - May), according to which the Bab, wearied by the close con
> finement to which he was subjected in Shiraz, and by the petty persecutions inflicted on
> him by the clergy of the town, made his escape to Ispahan, where he implored and
> obtained the protection of Menoutjehr Khan , the governor of that city, a man who,
> without becoming a convert, had been favourably impressed by the preaching of
> Moullah Houssein . At Ispahan the Bab remained protected and concealed until the
> death of Menoutjehr Khan , in 1847, when the Government took measures for his arrest,
> and had him conveyed to Tjehrig. Both statements appear to be founded on original
> Persian documents. In any case he was a prisoner at Tjehrig on the death of Mo
> hammed Shah .
> 252                    The Contemporary Review .
> An order was sent to Prince Hamze Mirza, who had been transferred
> from Khorassan to Azerbedjan, to take the Bab from the fortress of
> Tjehrig, and convey him to Tebriz.* Two disciples of the Bab, who
> had been active in disseminating Babee doctrines, and had shared
> the imprisonment of their master, were sent at the same sime, Seyd
> Houssein, a native of Yezd, and Moullah Mohammed Ali , + a native of
> Tebriz .
> After his arrival at Tebriz, the Bab was allowed to see all who
> chose to come and visit him, and many did so from very various feel
> ings of curiosity, or of sympathy. This was probably allowed from
> motives of policy, that all might be cognizant of the steps the Govern
> ment was taking, and certain that the Bab was really in their power.
> For the same reason, all the proceedings connected with his death
> were prolonged and conducted in the most public manner possible.
> On his death the Government had now finally resolved ; only it was
> necessary that it should be preceded by some form at least of a trial.
> Accordingly, Hamze Mirza, to whom the proceedings were entrusted,
> required the Moullahs and the principal men of the city to meet
> together, and confute the Bab. They assembled in a room in the
> fortress, but the Moullahs, absolutely declined to enter on any dis
> cussion ; the time for that, they said, was past ; efforts had been
> made to induce the Bab to abjure his doctrines and had failed , and
> nothing now remained but to make him suffer the penalty due to his
> error. The laymen present in the assembly were bolder, and on
> various points tried to prove to the Bab the error of his views, but
> they soon had reason to repent of their imprudence, as all their argu
> ments were in turn easily disposed of. At length Hamze Mirza,
> seeing that matters were not going on very favourably for his side,
> interfered , and, addressing the Bab, required from him some proof of
> his divine mission .     “ I have heard ," he said, " that you assert that
> you have a divine nature, and have dared to write                   a Koran , which
> has been impudently disseminated among the people.                             If what
> you assert is indeed the case, turn towards that crystal chandelier,
> and pray     that a new verse may be revealed to you.” The Bab did
> so at once , and repeated some verses which were not to be found in
> any of his published writings. Hamze Mirza was at first rather sur
> prised, but commanded them to be taken down in writing. Allowing
> a short interval to elapse, he said to the Bab that if those words wer ?
> a revelation from heaven, they were no doubt engraved on his mind ,
> and required him to repeat them again . This, it is asserted, he
> * Another name for Tebriz is Tauris, and it is so called in the Journal Asiatique.
> + It is difficult to distinguish the different persons who bore the name of Mohammed
> Ali, and were of note in the Babee movenient.         There were three principal men ,
> Mohammed Ali Balfouroushy, Mohammed Ali Zendjany, and Mohammed Ali of Tebriz .
> The Bab himself was Ali Mohammed .
> The Bab and Babeeism .                      253
> 
> failed in doing, though the Babees indignantly deny it. In any
> case, the occurrence was not very miraculous. It was quite possible
> for him to have composed some lines, which he knew by heart, with
> out having committed them to paper ; and it was as easy for him to
> repeat them the second time as the first. After this episode the
> assembly broke up. It could not be called in any sense a court of
> justice, nor could the proceedings be honoured with the name of a
> trial, but the obstinate adherence of the Bab to his own opinions
> served as a pretext for putting him to death. The real reason was to
> be found, not in the difference between him and the Moullahs, but in
> the outbreak, which had only just been quelled in Mazenderan, and
> the revolt which was still making head in Zendjan.
> Sentence of death was given against the Bab, and it was resolved
> to carry it out in the most public manner, that no doubt might
> exist as to the fact, and that none of his followers might have any
> grounds for believing that he was still living, and in concealment,
> and would some day appear again . On the following day the Bab and
> his two companions, Seyd Houssein and Mohammed Ali, were led out
> of the prison with an iron collar fastened round their necks, to which
> was attached a long cord, held by one of the common executioners.
> In this guise they were paraded through the streets of the town, in
> the midst of an overwhelming crowd. Some of the spectators indeed
> turned aside with disgust from the sickening sight ; others, who were
> Babees in disguise, tried to excite compassion for their unhappy
> fate ; but the greater number vied with each other in pouring upon
> them abuse, in covering them with filth , in ill-treating them in every
> way. Three times the procession stopped before the houses of the
> three principal men among the clergy of the town, with whom the
> Bab was confronted.     Before one of them his enemies assert that the
> Bab abjured his faith, and prayed for mercy . The fact is not very
> probable ; at any rate it made no difference in the fate of the Bab.
> The three chief Moudjtehids solemnly ratified the sentence of the law
> in the presence of the people, and delivered the victims over to
> death . On one of them, however, the sentence was not to be carried
> into execution. On leaving the last of the three houses the physical
> strength of Seyd Houssein completely gave way ; he fell to the
> ground , and, with tears, asked for mercy. He was raised with
> difficulty, and told to curse the Bab. Seyd Houssein obeyed. He
> was then promised his liberty if he would spit in the Bab's face.
> Seyd Houssein did so.    His irons were at once taken off, and he was
> left crouching in the middle of the street, while the procession, with
> the accompanying crowd, passed on. As soon as the street was
> empty Seyd IIoussein rose up , and leaving the town, took his way to
> Teheran.
> 254                The Contemporary Review .
> Every effort was now made to shake the firmness of the other
> disciple of the Bab, Mohammed Ali ; but in vain . His wife and
> children , who were living at Tebriz, were brought from their home
> and placed before him ; but their tears and entreaties made on him
> r.o impression. He looked at them unmoved , and would not listen
> to their prayers. When Seyd Houssein had denied his master and spat
> in his face, Mohammed Ali kissed his hand with every mark of the
> deepest respect, and exclaimed aloud to the people, “ This man is the
> gate of the truth, the Imaum of Islamism ,"'* and the only favour he now
> deigned to ask was that he might be put to death before his master .
> At length, seeing that no impression could be made on him , and that
> he remained firm in his attachment to the Bab, the two men were con
> ducted to the ramparts and let down from the wall by cords passed
> under their shoulders till their feet nearly touched the ground. In
> front of them was a large open space, where the whole population of
> the town was assembled.      After the two men had been fastened to
> the wall, an officer ordered a company of the regiment of Behaderan
> to advance. The regiment was entirely composed of Christians, and
> had been selected from fear that the Mussulmen might refuse to act.
> The last words were addressed by Mohammed Ali to the Bab. “ My
> master, are you satisfied with me ? ” The order was given to fire,
> and he was killed at once. The Bab had escaped unhurt ; but the
> cord which had fastened him to the wall was cut, and he fell to the
> ground. Rising quickly to his feet, he began to run ; and then ,
> seeing a guard -house, he rushed into it. For a moment the whole
> multitude, seeing the Bab escape unhurt, looked on breathless with
> astonishment, and soon murmurs of applause and sympathy were
> heard, as they fancied a miracle had taken place.         Had the Bab, at
> the very first, rushed into the crowd and called upon them for their
> help, there is little doubt that to a man they would have turned in his
> favour, and another revolt would have begun, of a very different
> character from the struggles of Mazenderan and Zendjan. But the
> Bab was worn out with the sufferings of the past day, and scarcely
> conscious of what he was doing ; and instinct led him to take refuge
> in the first shelter he could find. The officers had heard the murmurs
> of the crowd behind them , and perceived at once the whole danger
> of the crisis. Any delay would have been fatal.             They at once
> entered the guard-house with some soldiers, and there despatched
> the Bab. His body was dragged for some days through the streets of
> the city, and then thrown outside the walls.
> The execution of the Bab took place on July 15th , 1849, and
> when, some months later, in January, 1850, the three last survivors
> of the Baboes of Zendjan were put to death, the Government began
> • Journal Asiatique, No. XXVI. p. 377.
> The Bab and Babeeism .                                 255
> to breathe more freely. If the proceedings against the Bab had been
> instigated by the hatred of the clergy, the active measures against
> the rebels of Mazenderan and Zendjan were taken by the Govern
> ment solely from an instinct of self-preservation. The movement,
> purely religious in its first beginnings, had assumed a distinctly
> political character. When Moullah Houssein appeared before
> Mohammed Shah and his minister, Mirza Aghassy Khan, he hoped
> to secure their co-operation in obtaining the various reforms, civil
> and religious, which he, along with the other Babees, desired
> to see carried out.       Could the Babees have succeeded in gaining
> over the king, they would have been quite content, as they had
> no wish to make a change in the dynasty ; but when they found
> their hopes were vain , more especially when, shortly after, they
> found themselves persecuted , and yet forming together a large
> and united force, with arms in their hands, the idea of making
> a change in the established Government presented itself vividly
> before their minds. The Bab'was naturally selected as the claimant
> to the throne, nor were they at a loss to find grounds on which
> to base his rights. The title of Seyd, which was appropriated
> by his family, asserted his descent both from Ali and Yezdegerd,
> the last of the Sassanian kings. Such only were considered by the
> Persians as the rightful occupants of the throne ; and though the
> nation had acquiesced through centuries in the various dynastic
> changes which had taken place, still the rightful title to the throne
> was not forgotten . On this slender ground, therefore, of his dubious
> descent from Ali, the Bab was proclaimed as the rightful possessor
> of the crown ; and though his claim was soon disposed of by his
> death, the political aspect of Babeeism continued, even if it was not
> developed. Other claimants arose, and one of these was able to
> raise the standard of revolt at Neïriz just about the time when the
> struggle in Zendjan was drawing to a close. Seyd Yahia - Darabi*
> had been a disciple of the Bab, and an earnest propagator of the
> Babee doctrines, but his zeal for the cause was prompted chiefly by
> a desire for self-aggrandisement. The death of the Bab seemed to
> open up to him a favourable opportunity for the furtherance of his
> ambition.     He collected a band of men at Neïriz , and proclaimed
> himself as the successor of the Bab.             A few zealous Babees were
> among his followers, and they continued the resistance to the forces
> sent against them to the very last ; but the greater number were
> very indifferent, and sought only to promote their own advantage.
> The rising was not supported by the Babees generally, and had very
> little influence on their cause. Darabi at length submitted to the
> Seyd Yahia -Darabi is only mentioned in the Journal Asiatique, No. XXIX., August
> -September.
> 256                 The Contemporary Review .
> Government, and his life would have been in all probability safe, had
> he not been murdered by the son of a man who had been killed in
> the attack on Neïriz. The lives of his two sons were spared, but
> the Babees who were with him were all put to death. Another
> claimant * was found, among the members of the Babee council , or
> the Unity, in the person of Mirza Asad Oullah of Tebriz, who was
> surnamed Deyyan, or the Supreme Judge. He proclaimed himself to
> be the successor of the Bab, but was at once disowned by the leaders
> of the sect, some of whom followed him as he fled into Arabistan or
> Khuzistan, and drowned him in the Shât- el- Arab. But while the
> Babees refused to recognise any self- elected successor of the Bab,
> they had no intention of allowing themselves to be discouraged or
> disheartened by the want of a head. This was, indeed, necessary
> according to the principles of their faith ; and, therefore, soon after
> the death of the Bab, the members of the Unity met together at
> Teheran to elect a successor. Their choice fell on Mirza Yahya, a
> youth of about seventeen, whom we have already seen present at the
> council held in Mazenderan . This Mirza Yahya was the son of Mirza
> Bouzourg Nouri, the lieutenant of the Governor of Teheran.         His
> mother died when he was born , and he was brought up from his infancy
> by the wife of one of the Babee chiefs, who had been warned in a dream
> of his miserable condition. This woman was known by the title of
> Djenab -Beha, or The Precious Excellency, and occupied a high
> position in the councils of the Babees. At the age of five Mirza
> Yahya was sent to school, but only remained there three days, as his
> foster -mother objected to some correction he had received from his
> master. His removal from school does not, however, seem to have
> affected his learning, as he is reported to have been thoroughly con
> versant with every subject of knowledge and science. On his elec
> tion he received the title of Hezret- e- Ezel, The Eternal Highness, to
> distinguish him from the first Bab, who was called Hezret-è- Alá, The
> Sublime Highness. Immediately afterwards he left the capital,
> where he would not have found the necessary leisure to direct the
> affairs of the sect, and where his life would have been in danger.
> As it was, the Government was informed of his election, and made
> diligent search after him, but in vain ; he was, however, in conse
> quence, obliged to remove from one city to another, and at length
> judged it prudent to cross the frontier, and take up his residence at
> Bagdad. Here he was beyond the power of the Persian authorities,
> at the same time that he was in constant communication with the
> Persian pilgrims, who poured through Bagdad every year in great
> numbers on their way to the shrines of Kerbela and Nedjef.
> After these events matters remained pretty quiet in Persia for
> Gobincau, p. 277 .
> The Bab and Baberism .                    257
> nearly two years. The Babees were not suppressed, in fact, they
> were as numerous as ever, but they judged it to be more prudent at
> that time to make no public demonstrations, but secretly to increase
> the number of their adherents, and organize their forces, so as to be
> ready in case events should become in any way propitious to them.
> The principal man among them at this time was Moullah Sheykh
> Ali .   He had become a convert to Babeeism when Ali Mohammed
> had been elected the head of the Sheykhys, and received the title of
> Bab. Since then, he had never ceased to propagate it actively in the
> various cities of the empire, and though not appearing in any pro
> minent position, or occupying at that time the place of a leader, no
> one devoted more time or labour in making the doctrine known.
> Disguised at one time as a dervish, at another presenting the appear
> ance of a rich merchant, changing his character as occasion required,
> he was to be found preaching in all the principal towns. After the
> death of the Bab, and the election of Mirza Yahya to that dignity,
> he established himself at Teheran, and there formed a secret society
> of the Babees, despite the emissaries of Mirza Taghy Khan, who
> were able to report nothing to their master.
> The active vigilance of the minister was no doubt one reason why
> the Babees thought it best to do nothing during these years.        He
> had shown what he could do, and his severity they knew would be
> mercilessly directed against any one who should oppose him ; pru
> dence for the time became the better part of valour. But about the
> beginning of the year 1852, owing to a series of petty court intrigues,
> and the suspicion of a plot for placing Abbas Mirza, the brother of
> the reigning king, on the throne, to which Mirza Taghy Khan was
> supposed to be privy, the prime minister was driven from power,
> and at last put to death by order of the king, at a small village near
> Kashan.        He died by having his veins opened, as the Babee martyrs
> of Zendjan had foretold . His successor in power was Mirza Agha
> Khan, who had been Minister of Foreign Affairs, but was untried in
> his present exalted post. As his rule, in consequence, did not pro
> mise to show the same vigour as that of Mirza Taghy Khan, the
> Babees, with Moullah Sheykh Ali, endeavoured to take advantage of
> the change, and began at once to plot against the Government.      We
> have already seen how the death of the king in Persia places all law
> and order in abeyance, and they thought that if such an interregnum
> could be created they might be able to gain some permanent advan
> tage amid the general confusion. A plot was therefore formed to
> assassinate the king, and twelve men were sworn to carry it into
> execution . Rumours to this effect had been circulated through the
> town, and reached the ears of the king's ministers ; even the day
> when the act was to be carried into effect was named ; but the secret
> VOL . XII.                          S
> 258                     The Contemporary Review .
> was so well kept that they could never arrive at the bottom of it, or,
> which is more probable, they did not give any particular credence to
> the report, and made little effort to trace it out. Suspicion pointed
> to Sheykh Ali, but his place of concealment could not be discovered .
> In furtherance of their plan three men of the twelve conspirators
> hired themselves as gardeners to work in the royal grounds, and thus
> have an opportunity of getting near the person of the king. They
> were working one day near the place where the king was conversing
> with his courtiers, when some water-melons were brought to the
> royal party, of which they partook ; and the king, seeing these men
> labouring in the heat of the day, ordered some of the fruit to be
> taken to them . The three Babees were so touched by this kind
> ness, that they had scruples about carrying their plan into execution .
> According to the Eastern notion, the person of the king, of whose
> hospitality they had partaken, was now sacred to them , at least for
> some days, and they were further unwilling, after what had passed,
> to assassinate him on his own grounds. A change of plan was
> therefore made. Some days after (August 16th, 1852 ) the king was
> going out for a ride, and as he was passing along one of the streets
> of Teheran with his attendants, some in advance, others a little
> behind him , he saw the three men standing by the road. They
> cried out that they had a petition to make, but instead of waiting
> till he should summon them , they rushed up to him. One of them
> seized his horse by the bridle, and at the same time fired a pistol
> charged with shot ; the two others did the same, and some of the
> charge took effect in the king's arm . The king resisted to the best
> of his power ; and as they were trying on both sides to drag him
> from his horse, they kept his equilibrium , and he was able to main
> tain his seat. By this time the attendants of the king came to his
> rescue ; one of the Babees was killed, the other two were seized and
> bound.      The whole town was in a state of alarm , the troops were
> ordered under arms, and the gates of the city were shut. After a
> time the minds of the people began to quiet down , as they saw that
> it was only an attempt at assassination , and not the commencement
> of a general rising.*
> The wound of the king was of no consequence ; but the attempt
> to assassinate him revealed the existence of a conspiracy, and the
> continuance of an almost-forgotten danger. For two years little had
> been heard of the Babees, and it was hoped that they had been finally
> suppressed ; now, their existence as a large and thoroughly organized
> body became again apparent. The Government felt themselves
> * * In the account of the attempt at assassination of the king, we have endeavoured to
> reconcile the different and somewhat conflicting statements of M. Gobineau and of the
> Journal Asiatique.
> The Bab and Babeeism .                         259
> surrounded by secret dangers, with which they scarcely knew how
> to cope : but the first thing to be done was to trace out the authors
> of the conspiracy in Teheran itself. The agents of the police were
> required to keep a vigilant watch over the whole town, and especially
> over the houses of any suspected Babees, and their efforts were
> soon rewarded with success.     The house of one Souleyman Khan
> soon attracted their notice, where secret meetings appeared to be
> held. Forcible entrance having been made into it, they arrested, not
> only the master of the house, but fifteen other persons, with several
> women and children. Among the women was Gourret-oul-Ayn ,
> who was not placed in the common prison with the others, but con
> ducted to the house of Mahmoud Khan, the head of the police, and
> consigned to the care of his wife. Several other arrests were made,
> and the Government soon found that they had about forty.Babees in
> their power . The two men who were seized when attempting to
> murder the king were first interrogated. In spite of the tortures to
> which they were subjected, nothing could be drawn from them.
> They confessed that they were members of a widely -spread conspiracy,
> but nothing could make them give up the names of their accom
> plices. They admitted their guilt in attempting the life of the king,
> but justified their act by saying that they were only obeying their
> orders, and had been actuated by no feelings of hatred. “ If this had
> been the case, ” they said, “ they could easily have killed the king by
> a single shot ; but their orders had been to cut off his head, and to do
> this they had tried to drag him off his horse. ” “ Their pistols ,” they
> remarked at the same time, “ were charged with shot, and not with
> ball, and they only fired to disable him , and so effect their purpose
> more easily .” As the Government could get nothing out of these
> men, it tried some of the other prisoners, but found them all equally
> firm . They would give no information, nor reveal the names of any
> of their accomplices. Nothing therefore remained but to try them—
> or rather punish them — for we cannot give the name of trial to the
> mere form which was gone through. The Government was uncer
> tain of the number of the Babees, or indeed who were and who were
> not infected with the doctrines of the sect ; and therefore thought it
> politic to implicate as many as possible in the punishment of those
> they had in their power. These unfortunate men were distributed
> among the principal men of the town and the chief officers of the
> Court, who were told that their treatment of the Babees would be a
> test of their loyalty. The hint was taken, and the prisoners were
> subjected to the most awful tortures, without however wavering in
> the smallest degree in their faith . Gourret-oul-Ayn was treated
> with greater respect ; and if she would have consented to deny her
> faith , it is probable that not only her life would have been spared,
> s2
> 260                 The Contemporary Review .
> but that she would have been set at perfect liberty. Such at least
> was the promise which Mahmoud Khan gave to her from the prime
> minister if shewould give up her faith ; but Gourret-oul-Ayn treated
> it with scorn .   “ I shall not regain my liberty,” she said , “ but I
> shall gain something far better. To -morrow you will have me
> burnt, and I shall then bear, I trust, a noble testimony to God and to
> his Highness. And you, Mahmoud Khan, listen to my words. The
> master whom you serve, so far from recompensing your services,
> will cause you to be put to death. My death shall be a sign to you
> of the truth of my words.” This prophecy of Gourret-oul- Ayn was
> fulfilled some years later, when Mahmoud Khan fell into disgrace
> with the king, and was strangled. On the morrow , too, as she had
> foreseen , Gourret-oul-Ayn was brought before the principal officers
> of state, and required to deny that she was a Babee. This she
> obstinately refused to do ; whereupon they condemned her to be
> burnt. She was carried back to the citadel, one of the veils worn
> by Persian women was thrown over her, and she was led to the
> stake. Before setting fire to the pile the executioners mercifully
> strangled her, so that the flames consumed only her dead body.
> The ashes were thrown to the winds.
> The death of Gourret-oul-Ayn was followed the next day by the
> execution of all the remaining prisoners. Among their number we
> meet again with Seyd Houssein, who had denied the Bab at Tebriz.
> As soon as he recovered a little from the physical prostration into
> which he had fallen , he had made the best of his way to Teheran.
> The consciousness of his guilt weighed heavily upon him ; and, pre
> senting himself before the Babee leaders, he confessed with tears his
> crime. His repentance was accepted, and he was forgiven ; but in
> his own mind he could find no peace, and he only longed for an
> opportunity when by his death he might seal his testimony to the
> truth of Babeeism . When inquisition was made for the members of
> the sect in Teheran, he made no attempt to escape, but had shared
> joyfully with the others the fearful tortures to which all had been
> subjected ; and equally with them , when brought before the council,
> had boldly confessed his faith. Sentence of death was passed upon
> all the prisoners, some forty in number. They had been present
> when Gourret-oul-Ayn was condemned, and had seen her led away
> to execution, and now they were only anxious to emulate her con
> stancy. On the next day the whole band was ordered to execution.
> They came out, men, women, and children , enfeebled by suffering,
> their bodies showing the marks of the tortures which they had
> endured , and which the pen refuses to describe ; but their courage
> was unshaken. Some of the children died on the way, and their
> bodies were thrown beneath their parents' feet; but these latter passed
> The Bab and Babeeism .                             261
> 
> over them without a sign of emotion. An immense crowd gathered
> on their way ; but this time the sympathy was too great to allow an
> opprobrious word to be spoken, and a deep silence pervaded the whole
> multitude, broken only by the voice of the Babees, joyfully chanting
> the burden of one of their hymns,
> “ In truth we belong to God, and we return to him . "
> 
> At times one of their number, faint from loss of blood, stumbled and
> fell, but soon resumed his place and joined his voice with the others.
> When they arrived at the place of execution, life was once more
> offered to them, and again refused, and the executioners were bid to
> do their work.   We do not care to dwell on the scene of butchery
> which followed , and which ended only with the covering shades of
> night. The heads were suspended from the stake, and the bodies
> left to be devoured by the dogs. The events of that day left a deep
> and lasting impression on the people of Teheran. M. Gobineau,
> who speaks from personal knowledge, says that he often heard the
> scene described, and in the interest and sympathy which were shown,
> it would be easy for any one to suppose that the whole population
> were Babees at heart. The sufferings of these men did more for
> Babeeism , and made more converts, than all the preaching of the
> most ardent disciples of the Bab ; but the conversions needed to be
> kept secret. From the day when they were executed at Teheran,
> in 1852, Babeeism became a proscribed word, and every one was
> afraid of the slightest suspicion of sympathy with the cause attaching
> to him.
> The causes of the partial success of such a movement, and the
> general sympathy it inspired, are not far to seek. Babeeism pre
> sented a curious mixture of political and religious motives which
> united very different men together in the common bond of a brother
> hood. It was not the result of the dreams or speculations of a
> religious enthusiast ; it sought after practical results, which the
> leaders ever kept in view, however they might seek to influence the
> minds of their followers by awaking the zeal of religious fanaticism .
> The reforms the Babees desired were few , but practical.              Western
> civilization had made its way ; free thought was not unknown ; and
> rumours of constitutional liberty had been heard, and they wished to
> enjoy some of its blessings. The feeling was shared by many who
> were not Babees in their religious belief, but who gave them their
> hearty sympathy, when they sought to restrict the despotic power of
> the king, to do away with the luxury of the Court, to place some
> check on the power of the minister, and especially on the subordinates
> in the chief towns and in the provinces ; finally, to have equal justice
> administered between man and man.               But while Babeeism could
> 262                 The Contemporary Review .
> thus appeal to the sympathy of many, its strength rested on the
> principle which is strongest in human nature — the principle of a
> firm religious belief. This united the adherents closely together,
> and gave them in the hour of trial a fanatical courage. And there
> were peculiar advantages which gave Babeeism so much strength,
> and attracted so many to its faith . On the one hand, it was an
> offshoot of a philosophic school which had become widely spread in
> Persia, and many of the Sheykhys, and especially the personal dis
> ciples of Seyd Kazem , became the followers of the Bab ; on the
> other hand, while discarding many of the tenets of Mohammedanism ,
> it adopted those doctrines which would find special favour in Persia,
> as the Imamide Isna acharide, or a belief in the twelve Imams.
> When we come to look further into the doctrines of Babeeism, we
> find in them a curious combination of Shüte Mohammedanism , of
> ideas taken from ancient Oriental philosophy, and practices which
> might be borrowed from the precepts of Christianity. These doctrines
> are put forward in the writings of the Bab and his followers, but a
> statement of them may be found in the Biyyan, or Exposition, a
> general name which the Bab gave in succession to three distinct
> works. The third * of these, the Book of Precepts, is a kind of
> catechism, in which we find a summary of Babee teaching, whence
> we may extract some of the principal doctrines of the Babee faith .
> The first part of it refers to the nature of the Deity.
> God is One, Unchangeable, Eternal, and has no associates. This
> formula is the same as that of the Mohammedan faith, “ There is no
> God but God ; ” but the meaning intended to be conveyed is different.
> The latter believe that there is only one God, and no other beings
> partake of the divine nature ; the Bab asserts not only that there is
> one God, but that there is nothing else : not only all created things,
> but the very act of creation itself, is an emanation from God, and all
> things will be finally resolved again into God . We saw this idea
> expressed in the verse of the hymn the Babees sang as they were led
> to execution, “ In truth we belong to God, and we return to him ; "
> and, thus explained, the formula of the Babee faith is the assertion
> of pure Pantheism .. A further consideration, however, shows us
> several doctrines peculiar to the Bab. In His nature God is
> essentially creative, and has in this respect seven attributes, which
> are called letters or words.        They are force, power, will, action,
> condescension, glory, revelation . Many other attributes belong to
> God, but these are employed in the work of creation, and from them
> result all the life and activity in the world, which represent the
> character of God.
> As the number 7 represented the creative power of God, so also
> * The translation of this is given in M. Gobineau's work .
> The Bab and Babeeism .                        263
> another number was chosen to represent the Divine Unity, and this
> number the Bab stated to be 19. The reason of this choice is curious.
> As in Hebrew and Greek, the letters in Persian are used also for
> numerals ; and the numerical value of the word hyy , which means
> " living ,” is 18 ; h = 8, y = 10. If we take the form ahyy, which
> means “ the One who gives life,” we have the addition of a, whose
> numerical value is 1, and together the word has the numerical value
> of 19— (1 + 8 + 10 = 19 ). The Bab supports the choice of the number
> by instancing the Arabic use of the word wahed, “ one," a word often
> used by the Koran to designate God . The numerical value of this
> makes up again 19— (6 + 1 + 8+ 4 = 19) . The letter a in ahyy, which
> seems brought in so conveniently to make up the requisite number,
> is in reality of great consequence, and is called the Point, as repre
> senting the Unity of God. Having thus established the number 19
> as the numerical representation of God, it is made the unit of division
> of everything. In the year there must be 19 months, in the month
> 19 days, in the days 19 hours, in the hours 19 minutes, and so on
> with everything. In the colleges of priests which he intended to
> establish there were to be 18 priests in each college, with 1 at their
> head. The Council of Unity, the governing body of the Babees,
> which represented the Unity of God, was to consist of 18 members,
> with the Bab at their head.
> Pantheism fails to account for the existence of evil.      The Bab
> attempts to explain it by saying that the evil is the consequence of
> the separation of the part from the whole, which is necessitated by
> the work of creation, and whereby loss, and even total destruction,
> may ensue.   Hence the creature is not perfect as God, although part
> of Him, nor can it be as long as it is separated ; but this separation
> is only temporary ; at the day of judgment all things will be again
> united to the divine essence, and return to their former perfection.
> In the meantime an opportunity is offered to men to destroy part of
> the evil. As this evil árose in the act of creation, when man was
> separated from the perfect Unity of God, and as he can increase it
> by being separated further from God, so it is in his power to destroy
> it, partly or wholly, by having a more perfect knowledge of God,
> and entering into closer union with Him. God has placed this in
> man's power, and for this purpose has given a series of different
> revelations by the mouths of his prophets. The first revelation was
> given by Moses, and continued to be developed till the time of David,
> the last of the prophets, when that revelation ceased .   It was found
> to be insufficient, and a fuller revelation was given by Jesus Christ.
> Under the influence of his teaching the world made a rapid advance,
> and was prepared to receive the instructions of Mahomet. In these
> latter days a new revelation has been given in the person of the Bab.
> 264                 The Contemporary Review .
> None of these prophets could be considered as mere men ; the words
> they spoke, their spiritual life, indeed , was nothing else but the
> breath of God ; they were a kind of divine emanation. In this
> series the last revelation is different from all the others, and as it is
> now the most perfect, it cannot be confined , like the previous ones,
> to one person, but must be composed of nineteen different persons.
> In this hierarchy the Bab held the highest place ; yet he was only
> one of the nineteen ; nor was his life essential to its continuance ;
> his place could be occupied by another, and it was the same with all
> the other members of the Unity, — Mohammed Ali Balfouroushy,
> Gourret-oul-Ayn, and all the rest.    Others could succeed them ; and
> so Mirza Yahya was elected as the second Bab ; another woman ,
> Djenâb Moteherreh, the Purified Excellency, took the place of
> Gourret -oul-Ayn, for it was one of the fundamental principles that
> one of the members of the Unity should be a woman . In this way
> we see provision was made for the continual succession in the Unity,
> and it gave to the present revelation a much more enduring character
> than had belonged to any of the others.
> We must be careful, however, not be misled by this succession.
> The names were changed, the persons were different, but the same
> spirit or mind continued to pervade each individual member of the
> Unity. When Moullah Houssein was dying at Sheik Tebersi, and
> Mohammed Ali at Zendjan, they promised their followers that they
> would return to life in a given period. By most of their followers
> probably this may have been understood as we should take it — the
> rising again to life of the same body ; but this was far from being the
> Babee meaning. Nor can we take it to be the same as the doctrine of
> the Indian metempsychosis, according to which the same life, or rather
> the same person, continued to exist under different forms. With the
> Babees it is the same portion of the divine essence which is united
> to different persons in succession, and which leads them to live and
> act very much in the same way as those lived and acted whowere
> influenced by it before. The Bab became thus a reproduction of
> Mahomet, who was the reproduction of the prophets who had pre
> ceded him . At some future time another prophet will arise, who
> shall have the same portion of the divine essence as was associated
> with the person of the Bab . And this was the doctrine in conformity
> with which Moullah Houssein, at the close of the struggle in Mazen
> deran, gave to his principal followers the names of some of the
> Imams, or holy men, of the Mahommedan religion. The revelation
> which the Bab gave is not intended to be final. The composition of
> the first Biyyan, the Koran of the Babee faith, proves this, as it was
> left incomplete. Of course, to be perfect it must be composed in
> nineteen different sections, and of these the Bab only wrote eleven,
> The Bab and Babeeism .                     265
> leaving it to his successor to write the others. Who this should be
> he did not intimate, but only spoke of him as “ The one whom God
> shall manifest."      These are the words usually employed by the
> Mahommedans when speaking of the return of the Imam Mehdy at
> the last day ; and this much the Bab left on record, that when his
> great successor shall appear, the time of the present era will be
> drawing to a close, and the day of judgment will be at hand.        The
> Bab had only come to prepare the way for him , and make men
> acquainted with the truth .    The time of his coming is left uncertain,
> and his name was not given ; but the Bab intimated that it would
> have the numerical value of nineteen .     With this hint the Babees
> have tried to speculate who it should be, and some are inclined to fix
> upon the present Bab, Mirza Yahya, as the one designated ; but this
> belief is not generally shared in by the members of the sect, and the
> whole matter is left in uncertainty. Whenever this great prophet
> does come, all evil in the world will cease, and all imperfections will
> come to an end, because all things will be reunited to the one divine
> essence .
> 
> These tenets remind us of the Oriental philosophies, from whence
> neo - Platonism borrowed some of its speculations; the practical pre
> cepts which the Bab gave reflect much of the spirit of Christianity.
> The distinction which the Mohammedan law had lain down between
> things clean and unclean was to be abolished, and all things in nature
> were declared to be pure.   The restrictions which were laid upon
> women in the East were declared to be no longer in force. The use
> of the veil was entirely done away ; in this Gourret-oul-Ayn had
> already set the example.      No man was allowed to have more than
> one wife, and in his treatment of her he was enjoined to be kind and
> gentle.     Divorce was allowed, but encompassed with so many restric
> tions that it became almost a prohibition. In this matter we cannot
> do better than transcribe the words of the Bab : “ Never divorce your
> wife, or if you are obliged to do so, wait for the cycle of a year. It
> may be that you will return to a fondness for the union. And know
> that permission is given to those who have wives to reconcile them
> selves to them ninety times even after they have waited for a month.
> May you never dwell in the shade of the gates which lead outside the
> truth .” These laws struck at the very root of the immorality and
> depravity which were the result of the Mohammedan law, and tended
> to bring in a better spirit in all conjugal as well as social relations.
> All the other laws were conceived in the same spirit, and exhibit
> Babeeism to us as a mild, just, and tolerant faith. The fearful
> cruelties practised in Mazenderan and Zendjan must no more be
> attributed to its teaching than the horrors of religious wars can be
> laid to the account of the spirit of Christianity. Punishment awarded
> 266                 The Contemporary Review .
> was to consist either of fines, or, if the man was married, in a sepa
> ration from his wife for a given number of days, according to the
> gravity of the offence. Capital punishment was never to be inflicted
> even in the case of unbelievers.   The restriction laid upon the latter
> were very tolerant; they were excluded from five provinces, but
> were allowed full liberty to traffic, and possess property in all other
> parts of the empire. These laws were all framed with a view to the
> time when Babeeism shall become the one prevailing religion of the
> world, a period eagerly and with certainty anticipated by faithful
> Babees. Looking at its present results, it does not seem to have
> exercised much perceptible influence in Persia ; but M. Gobineau,
> who speaks from personal knowledge of Persian society, describes
> the fire as still smouldering beneath the surface, and of the Babees
> as awaiting only an opportunity for recommencing the struggle.
> His Eternal Highness and the other apostles of the faith are working
> in secret , and making many converts. Of this we cannot speak for
> certain .   But there is no doubt that if Babeeism ever became
> dominant it would change the whole state of society. The form and
> expression of the belief are framed to suit the Eastern mind, but the
> spirit which underlies it is of a very different temper from that which
> has prevailed in the Mohammedan empire for so many centuries, and
> would bring the nations of the East into a closer relation with the
> spirit of Western civilization and Christianity.
> R. K. ARBUTHNOT.
>
> — *The Bab and Babeeism: Part 2 (Used by permission of the curator)*