# Iran: Province of Khamsih (Zanjan)

*Exported from [Holy-Writings.com](https://www.holy-writings.com/) on 2026-06-20 — 1 clipping.*

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> Source: Bahá'í Library Online (bahai-library.com), curated by Jonah Winters. Used by permission of the curator. Original citation: Moojan Momen, Iran: Province of Khamsih (Zanjan), bahai-library.com.
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> 
> Iran: Province of Khamsih (Zanján)
> 
> Moojan Momen
> 
> 1994
> 
> The province of Khamsih has as its provincial capital the town of
> Zanján. It is on the road between Tehran and Tabriz and is an important
> agricultural and mining area. The area is populated by a mixture of Ádharí
> Turks and Persians, predominantly Shi`is.
> Zanján had very strong Bábí populations from the
> very earliest stages of Bábí history. As soon as news of
> the Báb reached him, Mullá Muhammad-`Alí Hujjat-i-Zanjání
> (see "Hujjat-i-Zanjání"), one of the leading religious figures
> in Zanján, sent an emissary to Shiraz to investigate. As a result
> of this Hujjat became a follower of the Báb and a large part of
> the population of Zanján followed him.
> 
> The Zanján upheaval (q.v.) in 1850-51 was the largest and most
> prolonged of the Bábí upheavals with over 2,OOO Bábís
> participating. 5% of the participants at Shaykh Tabarsí
> were from Zanján (Momen 164). A number of the villages around, such
> as Ishtihárd and Abhar, had also small numbers of Bábís.
> 
> Shortly after Bahá'u'lláh put forward his claim, he sent
> Nabíl Zarandí to Zanján to announce it there. A number
> of prominent Bábís who had survived the upheaval of 1850-51
> became Bahá'ís and, in particular, Mírzá Muhammad
> `Alí Tabíb, Siyyid Ashraf, Áqá Naqd-`Alí
> known as Abú Basír, and Hájí Ímán.
> The first three of these were martyred in about 1283/1867. Some of the
> Bábís also remained Azalís. Two of these went to live
> with Azal in Cyprus (Browne 761).
> 
> A number of people in the village of Abhar became Bahá'ís
> from about 1285/1868 onwards, through the conversion of the mujtahid of
> the village, Mírzá `Abdu'r-Rahím (d. 1290/1873). The
> latter's son, Mírzá `Adbu'l-`Atúf remained as religious
> leader in the village while another son, Mírzá Muhammad Taqí,
> Ibn-i-Abhar, became a prominent Bahá'í and was named a Hand
> of the Cause by Bahá'u'lláh.
> 
> A few Bahá'ís from other parts of Iran came to this area.
> The most well-known of these was Mírzá `Alí-Muhammad
> Varqá (q.v.) who lived for a number of years in Zanján. Varqá,
> his son Ruhu'lláh, Hájí Ímán and Mírzá
> Husayn were arrested in the winter of 1895-6 and sent to Tihran where the
> first two were eventually to meet their deaths.
> 
> Holy Places
> 
> The caravanserai where the Báb stayed; House
> of Hujjat; Mosque of Hujjat.
> 
> Bibliography
> 
> A number of manuscript histories of the Bábí upheaval at
> Zanján exist: Áqá Mírzá Husayn-i-Zanjání
> wrote an account on the instructions of Bahá'u'lláh; Háshim
> Fathí Khalkhálí; Áqá Naqd-`Alí
> Zanjání; Rúhá Khánum `Attá'í;
> and the account by Áqá `Abdu'l-Ahad translated and published
> by E.G. Browne, "Personal Reminiscences of the Babi Insurrection at Zanján
> in 1850", Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 29 (1897)
> 761-827. ZH 3:175-185; 6:319-344; 8a:263-266; M. Momen, "Social Basis of
> the Bábí Upheavals in Iran (1848-53): a preliminary analysis",
> 
> International Journal of Middle East Studies vol. 15 (1983) 157-183.
> 
> METADATA
> 
> Views7974 views since posted 2010-08-10; last edit 2022-02-05 04:08 UTC;
> 
> previous at archive.org.../momen_encyclopedia_khamsih
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> Shortlink: bahai-library.com/3513
> Citation: ris/3513
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> — *Iran: Province of Khamsih (Zanjan) (Used by permission of the curator)*