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Search for tag "Babis"

from the chronology

date event locations tags see also
1845. 1 Nov The Times of London carried an item on the arrest and torture of Quddús, Mullá Sádiq-i-Khurásání, Mullá `Alí-Akbar-i-Ardistání and Mullá Abú-Tálib in Shíráz in June. This was the first known printed reference to the Revelation in the Western press. A similar article was reprinted on 19 November. [First newspaper story of the events of the Bábí Faith compiled by Steven Kolins; B76–7; BBR4, 69]
  • See In was in the news.... In this blog by SMK, he has provided an extensive list of English newspaper articles on the persecution of the Báb and the Bábís in 1845 and 1846.
    		• Shiraz; Iran; London; United Kingdom Quddus; Ismullahul-Asdaq (Mulla Sadiq Khurasani); Mulla Ali-Akbar-i-Ardistani; Mulla Abu-Talib; Times (newspaper); Newspaper articles; Firsts, Other; Mentions; Babism, Early Western Accounts of First newspaper story of the events of the Bábí Faith
    1848. Jul - Sep Mullá Husayn and his companions, marching to Mázindarán, were joined by Bábís who had been at Badasht as well as newly-converted Bábís. [B171–2]
  • Their numbers rose to 300 and possibly beyond. [B172; BKG50]
  • The Black Standard was raised on the plain of Khurásán on the 21st of July. [B171, 176–7; BBD46; BBRSM52; MH175]
  • The Black Standard flew for some 11 months. [B176–7; DB351]
  • See DB326 and MH177–83 for details of the journey.
  • See MH182 for Mullá Husayn's prophecy of the death of Muhammad Sháh.
    		•  Mazandaran; Badasht; Khurasan; Iran Mulla Husayn; Babis; Black Standard; Prophecies; Muhammad Shah; Conference of Badasht
    1849. 26 Apr A charge by the forces of Sulaymán Khán was repulsed by 37 Bábís led by Mírzá Muhammad-Báqir. [BW18:381; DB3956]
  • A few days later some of the Bábís left the fort on the promise of Mihdí-Qulí Mírzá that they will be returned to their homes. As soon as they are outside the fort they were put to death. [DB396–9]
    		•  Iran Sulayman Khan; Babis; Mirza Muhammad-Baqir; Shaykh Tabarsi
    1865 (In the year) French diplomat Joseph Comte de Gobineau published Religions et les Philosophies dans l'Asie Centrale, over half of which is devoted to a study of the Bábí movement. He relied heavily on the Násikhu't-Taváríkh (The History to Abrogate All Previous Histories) written by Lisánu'l-Mulk. Bahá'u'lláh had condemned this account as "a falsification of history, one which even an infidel would not have had the effrontery to produce". [SUR36-37]
  • "The Comte de Gobineau’s work with its obvious parallels drawn between the life and martyrdom of the Báb with that of Jesus Christ, was the most influential volume in carrying the story to Western minds. The English poet and cultural critic Matthew Arnold, in A Persian Passion Play, wrote that the chief purpose of Gobineau’s book was to give a history of the career of Mirza Ali Mahommed…the founder of Bâbism, of which most people in England have at least heard the name. The notion that most people in England, in Arnold’s view, were aware of the Báb indicates how deeply His fame had penetrated into far-off societies." [Tales of Magnificent Heroism: The impact of the Báb and His followers on writers and artists by Robert Weinberg.
  • Gobineau's work was written when Mírzá Yahyá was still known as the nominal head of the Bábí Faith between 1855 and 1858 when Gobineau was First Secretary and Chargé d'Affaires of the French Legation. Two embassy employees during his time there were ardent supporters of Mírzá Yahyá, one of whom was his brother-in-law. (He served as the Ambassador from March 1862 until September 1863.)
  • This work attracted a number of other European intellectuals, including E. G. Browne of Cambridge, who eventually became the most prolific western writer and researcher of the Bábi religion. [BBR17, MCS483; 500; 512 The Comte de Gobineau’s Religions et Philosophies dans l’Asie Centrale (1865)—with its obvious parallels drawn between the life and martyrdom of the Báb with that of Jesus Christ—was the most influential volume in carrying the story to Western minds. The English poet and cultural critic Matthew Arnold, in A Persian Passion Play, wrote that the chief purpose of Gobineau’s book was to give a history of the career of Mirza Ali Mahommed…the founder of Bâbism, of which most people in England have at least heard the name. The notion that most people in England, in Arnold’s view, were aware of the Báb indicates how deeply His fame had penetrated into far-off societies.
    		•  France; Iran Comte de Gobineau; Babism; Edward Granville Browne; Mirza Yahya (Subh-i-Azal); Matthew Arnold
    1865 (In the year) Mírzá Kazem-Beg of St Petersburg University published Bab Babidy, the first Western book written entirely on the subject of the Bábí religion. [BBR26] (Conflict: see 1905.) St Petersburg; Russia Babism; Mirza Kazem-Beg; First publications
    1867. 11 Jan Three Bahá'ís were executed in Tabríz. Their arrest was precipitated by conflict and rivalry between the Azalís and the Bahá'ís. [BBR252–3; BKG237–8; BW18:382–3; RB2:61]
  • BW18:382 says this was 8 January.
    		•  Tabriz; Iran Azali Babis; Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Arrests; Persecution, Deaths; Persecution
    1871 16 Oct The famous British writer and critic, Matthew Arnold, made a brief reference to the Faith in an address that he gave to the Birmingham and Midland Institute. (See M. Momen, Babi and Bahá'í Religions). This reference was probably because of Comte de Gobineau's book Les Religions et Les Philosophies dans l'Asie Centrale which was published in 1865. [First Public Mentions of the Bahá'í Faith in the West by Bahá'í Information Office of the UK] Birmingham; United Kingdom Matthew Arnold; Comte de Gobineau; Mentions; Babism, Early Western Accounts of
    1872. 22 Jan Three Azalís were murdered by seven Bahá'ís in 'Akká. [BBD163; BKG3256 DH41; GPB189; RB3:235]
  • Siyyid Muhammad Isfahání, Nasr’ulláh Tafríshí, Áqá Ján Ka’j Kuláh and Ridá Qulí, these four kept vigil from the second story window of a building overlooking the land gate to ensure no followers of Bahá'u'lláh would have access to the prison city. For some time they had been successful at preventing the entrance of pilgrims, some of whom who had spend some six months even traveling on foot. This also precluded the possibility of communications from 'Akká reaching the believers in other lands. After two years and a few months, Bahá’u’lláh was released from the His cell and was free to walk among the prison population. Some of the friends, including Salmání, decided to get rid of these enemies and, during the night, went to their place and killed Siyyid Muhammad, Áqá Ján and another person. [Sweet and Enchanting Stories, Aziz Rohani, p. 31.]
  • Bahá'u'lláh was taken to the Governorate where He was interrogated and held for 70 hours. [BKG317-330; GBP190; RB3:234-239, AB34-36]
  • `Abdu'l-Bahá was thrown into prison and kept in chains the first night. Twenty–five of the companions were also imprisoned and shackled. [BKG328; GBP190; RB3:237]
  • See BKG331, GPB191 and RB3:238 for the effect of the murders on the local population.
  • Ilyás `Abbúd put a barricade between his house and the house of `Údí Khammár, which he had rented for use by Bahá'u'lláh's family. [BKG331; GPB191]
  • See BKG330; DH44 and RB3:239 for the fate of the murderers, who were imprisoned for seven years.
  • Siyyid Muḥammad-i-Isfahání has been described by Shoghi Effendi as the “Antichrist of the Bahá’í Revelation.” He was a man of corrupt character and great personal ambition who had induced Mírzá Yaḥyá to oppose Bahá’u’lláh and to claim prophethood for himself. Although he was an adherent of Mírzá Yaḥyá, Siyyid Muḥammad was one of the four Azalis exiled with Bahá’u’lláh to ‘Akká. He continued to agitate and plot against Bahá’u’lláh. In describing the circumstances of his death, Shoghi Effendi has written in God Passes By:

    A fresh danger now clearly threatened the life of Bahá’u’lláh. Though He Himself had stringently forbidden His followers, on several occasions, both verbally and in writing, any retaliatory acts against their tormentors, and had even sent back to Beirut an irresponsible Arab convert, who had meditated avenging the wrongs suffered by his beloved Leader, seven of the companions clandestinely sought out and slew three of their persecutors, among whom were Siyyid Muḥammad and Áqá Ján.

    The consternation that seized an already oppressed community was indescribable. Bahá’u’lláh’s indignation knew no bounds. “Were We,” He thus voices His emotions, in a Tablet revealed shortly after this act had been committed, “to make mention of what befell Us, the heavens would be rent asunder and the mountains would crumble.” “My captivity,” He wrote on another occasion, “cannot harm Me. That which can harm Me is the conduct of those who love Me, who claim to be related to Me, and yet perpetrate what causeth My heart and My pen to groan.” [GPB189-190]

    		•  Akka Siyyid Muhammad-i-Isfahani; Ilyas Abbud; House of Abbud; House of Udi Khammar; Bahaullah, Houses of; Bahaullah, Life of; Bahaullah, Basic timeline; Abdul-Baha, Life of; Antichrist; Murders; Opposition; Azali Babis; Ustad Muhammad-Ali Salmani; Mirza Yahya (Subh-i-Azal); Basic timeline, Expanded
    1881 (In the year) Michele Lessona (b. 20 September 1923 in Turin Italy, d. 20 July 1894 in Turin) was a writer, a philosopher, an explorer and an educator as well as a medical doctor. He was also a prominent scientist who had translated Darwin and went on to influence generations of Italian scientists.

    In 1862 he had been appointed physician to the diplomatic delegation sent to Persia to establish relations between the newly created Kingdom of Italy and the Persian government. There in Tabriz, Lessona met Daud Khan, who told him about the new Revelation. He met often with Gobineau, who had then become the French Ambassador to Persia and the two became lifelong friends. Most of Lessona’s information on the Bábi Faith came from these two sources, especially the latter. He found it difficult to get any first-hand information about the Babis, but did recognize, in 1962, that the successor to the Báb was living in Baghdad.

    Lessona organized two-part conference on the Bábi movement that was held in December of 1880. The following year he published the proceedings of the conference in a small monograph called I Bábi. It was the first Italian historical testimony on the Bábí - Bahá'í Faith. [Bahá'í Tributes; Bahá'í Teachings; BW12p900]

    		Turin; Italy; Tabriz; Iran Michele Lessona; Comte de Gobineau; Babism
    1905 (In the year) A.L.M. Nicolas published his book Seyyed Ali dit le Bab. It was the first work by a western author dedicated entirely to the Báb, His movement and His teachings. (Conflict: See 1865)

    It is "(a) history of the Bábí movement up to 1852. Nicolas gives a list of sources for this book on pp. 48-53. It is interesting to note that among his oral sources are four of the leading Bahá'ís of that period, who had been designated by Bahá'u'lláh as 'Hands of the Cause': Mírzá 'Alí-Muhammad, 'Ibn-i-Asdaq: Mullá 'Al-Akbar-i-Sháhmírzádí, Hají Akhund; Mírzá Muhammad-Táqíy-i-Abharí, 'Ibn-i-Abhar; and Mírzá Hasan-i-Adíb. The other two oral sources named are Siyyid 'Ismu'lláh, who was presumably Siyyid Mihdíy-i-Dihají, and Mírzá Yahyá, Subh-i-Azál." [BBR38-39]

  • The preamble to his book has an image that is supposedly of the Báb, but the portrait does not seem to be an authentic representation.

  • William Miller also reproduced Nicolas’s image on page 17 of his polemical work, The Bahá'í Faith: Its History and Teachings. (South Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library, 1974). [‘The Bab in the World of Images’, Bahá'í Studies Review, vol. 19, June 2013, 171–90.]
  • See also WOB83 for other missionaries who wrote polemics against the Bahá'í Faith.
    		• Paris; France Bab, Writings of; A.L.M. Nicolas; Criticism and apologetics; William McElwee Miller; Babism; First publications; Publications
    1907 (In the year) The publication of A Call of Attention to the Behaists or Babists of America by August J Stenstrand. He was a member of the "Society of Behaists" founded by Ibrahim Kheiralla, and was voted out of that group in 1906 and became the only self-professed Azali in America. He published at least five of these booklets from 1907 to 1917. Chicago, IL A Call of Attention to the Behaists or Babists of America; August Stenstrand; Ibrahim George Kheiralla
    1934 6 Dec The Tarbíyat Bahá’í Schools in Tihrán and all other Bahá'í schools across the country were closed by order of the Minister of Education (headed by 'Ali-Asghar-i-Hikmat, a well-known Azali) when they failed to open on a holy day. [BBD221–2; BW18:389; CB312; GPB363; PP308; RoB4p313; BN No 97 January 1936 p1]
  • In spite of (or because of) their high standards of education, the Bahá'í schools, which attracted ordinary people as well as a number of rich, famous and influential families to send their children as pupils, faced harsh opposition, mainly from the more traditional and conservative elements in the society, and specifically from the Shi‘i clerics. This was hardly surprising, given the strong animosity towards the Bahá'ís in Shi‘i Iran. According to Shoghi Effendi, while the ‘ulama’ headed the opposition to the Bábis and Bahá'ís, it was the Qajar kings and governors who willingly became the means through which this opposition was translated into action, as a way to obtain the clerics’ support and backing for their own policies. But as far as Nasir al-Din Shah was concerned, he had his own reasons for persecuting Bábis and Bahá'ís (between whom he did not appear to differentiate) . In 1852 an inept attempt had been made on his life. [The Forgotten Schools: The Baha’is and Modern Education in Iran, 1899–1934 p97]
  • For Western accounts of the episode see BBR475–9.
    		•  Tihran; Iran Tarbiyat school; Bahai schools; Holy days; Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Other; Persecution; Azali Babis; Social and economic development
    1936 (In the Year) The publication of Massacres de Babis en Perse by A.L.M. Nicolos. Paris; France A.L.M. Nicolas; Massacres de Babis en Perse; Publications
    1942 (The early 20th Century) Bahá'í Scholarship

    The publication in 1865 of the Comte de Gobineau’s (1816-1882),Les Religions et Les Philosophies dans l'Asie Centrale created an interest in Europe. A scholar that was inspired by Gobineau was E.G.Browne. He travelled to Iran and also visited Bahá’u’lláh in Akka in the latter days of His life. He translated two histories of the new religion and published two other books as well as a number of articles. He also made an important collection of manuscripts that he gave to Cambridge University Library. Bahá'ís have criticized Browne's work for being too sympathetic to Azal, Baha'u'llah's half-brother and implacable enemy. One of the books that Cobineau for Les Religions... was Násikhu't-Taváríkh (the 'history to abrogate all previous historiies') by Lisánu'l-Mulk. This book had been condemned by Bahá'u'lláh as a falsification of history one which even an infidel would not have had the effrontery to produce. [SUR36-37]      

    A.L.M. Nicolas (1864-1939) was a French consular official in Iran who researched and wrote a biography of the Báb as well as translating three of the Báb's major works into French.

         Just as the Báb was the centre of the scholarly interests of Gobineau, Browne and Nicolas, some Russian scholars who were more interested in Bahá'u'lláh. Baron Viktor Rosen (1849-1908), the director of the Oriental Department of the University of St. Petersburg was assisted by Aleksandr Tumanski (1861-1920). He spent a great deal of time with the Bahá'í community of Ashkhabad and with Mirza Abu'l-Fadl Gulpaygani. Although he did not write as much as Browne or Nicolas, what he did write was derived from a very deep and thorough investigation. [L&E43-83]

      See An Officer and an Orientalist: Alexander Grigorevich Tumanskii and His Contribution to Russian Historiography on and Policy towards the Babi-Baha’i Religion by Soli Shahvar, Bahá'í Studies Review 20 (1), 3-19

         There was much interest in scholarship in the early days of the Faith because almost all of the most important disciples of the Báb were Islamic religious scholars, as were many of the leading converts to the Bahá'í Faith in later years. The most important of these was the above mentioned Mirza Abu'l-Fadl Gulpaygani (1844-1914). He was learned in the Zoroastrian and Jewish scriptures and spent some time in the Christian West at the request of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá prior to His visit.

         During the 1930s to 1960s, a second generation of Iranian Bahá'í scholars, such as Fadil Mazandarani (1881-1957), 'Abdul-Hamid Ishraq-Khavari (1902-1972), and 'Azizu'llah Sulaymani (1901-1985) systematized Bahá'í theology and law, developed aids for scholars such as dictionaries of Bahá'í terminology, and wrote histories and biographies. This was of course a more traditional style of scholarship than is current in the West, but it continues to be useful to all present scholars.

         The above-described initial flurry of interest in the Bábí and Bahá'í religions in the West was not sustained and from the 1920s to the 1970s, there were no Western scholars who were as deeply engaged as the above-named ones and only a handful of studies that can be said to have done much to advance knowledge. From the 1970s onward, there gradually emerged a new stream of scholars who can be said to be a fusion of the above two groups, the Western and the Bahá'í scholars. This new generation of scholars mostly began as Bahá'ís, although some have subsequently left the religion. They use Western academic methodology and most operate from within Western universities but they have access to insider information and resources. Apart from these individuals, the Bahá'í Faith has been very little studied by Western scholars of religion.

         A word must also be said about what passes for scholarship on the Bahá'í Faith in Iran and to a lesser extent in the rest of the Middle East. Bahá'ís have been persecuted in many Middle Eastern countries and rejected by Islamic leaders, and one form of this discrimination has involved the manipulation of information. For most of the last 100 years, deliberately distorted or falsified information and documents have been created mostly by some within the Islamic religious establishment and then distributed as though these were facts about the Bahá'í Faith. Since the Bahá'ís have had no ability to respond to this material in the Middle East, these distortions have gradually become accepted in the Middle East as the truth. One example is the forged memoirs of Count Dolgorukov, the Russian ambassador to Iran in the 1840s to 1850s. This and other contradictions were so clearly spurious that even some Iranian scholars debunked them when they were first published in the 1940s. But despite this, they are often regularly cited by Middle Eastern writers up to the present day as though they are a reliable source for the history of the religion.

         Since the Islamic Revolution of 1979, this manufacturing of disinformation and forged material has increased greatly with programs in the media, articles, and books appearing on a frequent basis, especially in the government-run media. The result is that there is almost nothing published in the Middle East that has reliable information about the Bahá'í Faith in it. A little of this sort of scholarship has also appeared in the West; some Christian missionaries, notably Reverend William McElwee Miller(1892-1993)(Also see WOB83) have written anti-Bahá'í material and ex-Bahá'ís have published academic work that is calculated to make the Bahá'í community resemble a cult as portrayed in the anti-cult campaigns that were carried out in the Western media in the 1980s. [The above was copied from the website Patheos and has been edited for brevity. It was contributed by Dr. Natalie Mobini]

  • See as well the publication of Der Bahā'ismus, Weltreligion der Zukunft?: Geschichte, Lehre und Organisation in Kritischer Anfrage (Bahá'ísm-Religion of the Future? History, Doctrine and Organization: A Critical Inquiry) by Francesco Ficicchia under the auspices of the Central Office of the Protestant Church for Questions of Ideology in Germany.
    		• Bahai studies; Babism; Comte de Gobineau; Edward Granville Browne; A.L.M. Nicolas; Baron Rosen; Alexander Tumansky; Mirza Abul-Fadl Gulpaygani; Mirza Asadullah Fadil-i-Mazandarani; Abdul-Hamid Ishraq-Khavari; Azizullah Sulaymani; Reverend William McElwee Miller; Francesco Ficicchia; Baron Viktor Rosen

    from the main catalogue

    1. A Propos de Deux Manuscrits "Babis" de la Bibliotheque Nationale, by A.L.M. Nicolas, in Revue de l'histoire des religions, 47 (1903). Regarding the correct titles/classification of two versions of the manuscript "Histoire de la secte des Bâbis" from the library of Comte de Gobineau. [about]
    2. `Abdu'l-Bahá and the Iranian Constitutional Revolution: Embracing Principles while Disapproving Methodologies, by Mina Yazdani, in Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 24:1-2 (2014). Abdu’l-Bahá’s orientation toward the Constitutional Revolution of 1906–1911: he embraced the principles of constitutionalism while disapproving of confrontation; real social change needs to start at the moral-ethical level. [about]
    3. Abdul Baha; Babism, in Winston's Cumulative Loose-Leaf Encyclopedia: A Comprehensive Reference Work (1922). Two short encyclopedia entries. [about]
    4. Ashgabat Collection, by Olga Mehti (2019). On the life and works of Alexander Tumansky and his involvement with Bahá'í history. [about]
    5. Azalí Babism, by Denis MacEoin, in Encyclopaedia Iranica, Volume 3 (1989). Brief excerpt, with link to article offsite. [about]
    6. Azálí-Bahá'í Crisis of September, 1867, The, by Juan Cole, in Studies in Modern Religions, Religious Movements, and the Babi-Bahá'í Faiths, Moshe Sharon, ed. (2004). On the history of a fateful weekend during which the Bábí movement in the nineteenth-century Middle East was definitively split into the Bahá'í and Azalí religions. [about]
    7. Bab and Babeeism, The: Part 1, by Robert K. Arbuthnot, in Contemporary Review, Volume XI (1869). Part one of an early, relatively lengthy overview of Bábí theology and history. [about]
    8. Bab and Babeeism, The: Part 2, by Robert K. Arbuthnot, in Contemporary Review, Volume XII (1969). Part two of an early, relatively lengthy overview of Bábí history and theology. [about]
    9. Bab and Babism, by Edward Payson Evans, in Hours at Home, volume 8 (1869). Overview of Bábí history, the dissemination of its teachings, events following the Bab's death, and the Bab's theology as a progressive religion. [about]
    10. Bab and Babism, by Edwin E. Bliss, in Missionary Herald (1869). Summary and review of an article from earlier that year by Edward Evans, adding the opinion that Babism is not worthy of further attention. [about]
    11. Báb and the Bábí Religion, The, by Mirza Abu'l-Fadl Gulpaygani, in Letters & Essays 1886-1913 (1985). A general overview of Bábí history and thought, written in Arabic in 1896. [about]
    12. Bab and the Babis, The, by Edward Sell, in Essays on Islam (1901). An early account of the Babis and Bahá'ís. [about]
    13. Bab et les Babis, ou Le Soulevement politique et religieux en Perse, de 1845 à 1853, by Aleksandr Kazem-Beg, in Journale Asiatique, volumes 7-8 (1866). French translation, serialized in a journal, of a book first published in Russian on the origins of the Bábí Faith; the Mazandaran, Nayriz, and Zanjan events; the life of the Bab; and religious doctrine. [about]
    14. Bab und Babis, by Arminius (Armin) Vambery, in Meine Wanderungen und Erlebnisse in Persien (1867). Lengthy discussion of the Babis, by a Hungarian Jew who later met Abdu'l-Bahá. [about]
    15. Báb's Bayan, The: An Analytical Survey, by Muhammad Afnan, in World Order, 31:4 (2000). Analysis of the Bayan and its contents: fundamental beliefs and worldview, moral principles, laws, administration of society, and future expectations. [about]
    16. Báb, The: Newspaper Articles and Other Publications 1845-1859 (2019). List of 1490 articles from newspapers, books, and journals referencing The Báb and the Bábís, from Europe, the U.S., Australia, and New Zealand. [about]
    17. Babi and Bahá'í Religions, The: An Annotated Bibliography, by Denis MacEoin (1997). [about]
    18. Babi and Bahá'í Religions 1844-1944: Some Contemporary Western Accounts, by Moojan Momen (1981). A lengthy collection of first-hand reports and mentions of the Bábí and Bahá'í religions in contemporaneous accounts and newspapers. [about]
    19. Babi Concept of Holy War, The, by Denis MacEoin, in Religion, 12:2 (1982). An influential and controversial article, one of the first modern academic examinations of Bábí history. Discusses Islamic jihad, Bábí jihad, martyrdom, and political struggles. [about]
    20. Bábí Movement, by Denis MacEoin, in Encyclopaedia Iranica, Volume 3 (1989). Brief excerpt, with link to article offsite. [about]
    21. Babi Movement in Iran, The: From Religious Dissent to Political Revolt, 1844, by Ahmad Nur Fuad (1998). Development of the Bábí movement and the political implications of its religious teachings, as seen in its shift from purely religious dissent to political dissent. [about]
    22. Babi Movement, The: A Resource Mobilization Perspective, by Peter Smith and Moojan Momen, in In Iran: Studies in Babi and Bahá'í History vol. 3, ed. Peter Smith (1986). Babism from a sociological standpoint, esp. the place of the Babis in their contemporary cultural and economic classes. [about]
    23. Babi, or Babists, in Cyclopaedia of Biblical, Theological, And Ecclesiastical Literature, Volume 1, ed. McClintock & Strong (1878). [about]
    24. Bábís, by C. M. MacGregor, in Central Asia Part IV: Topography, Ethnography, and History of Persia (1995). Short overview, as excerpted by MacGregor from Shiel's Glimpses of Life and Manners. [about]
    25. Babis, The, by Charles William Heckethorn, in The Secret Societies of All Ages and Countries, Volume 2 (1897). Neutral-to-sympathetic overview of: The Bab, the founder; progress of Babism; Bábí doctrine; recent history of Babism. [about]
    26. Babism, in Zell's Popular Encyclopedia : A Universal Dictionary of English Language, Science, Literature, and Art, vol. 1 (1869). Possibly the earliest encyclopedia entry on The Bab. [about]
    27. Babism, by E. G. Browne, in Religious Systems of the World: A Contribution to the Study of Comparative Religion (1890). An early academic account of Babi-Bahá'í history and belief. [about]
    28. Babism, by Denison Ross, in Great Religions of the World (1901). Chapter-length overview of Bábí and early Bahá'í history. [about]
    29. Babism, in Kurdistanica.com (2008). [about]
    30. Babism and the Bab, by James T. Bixby, in The New World: A quarterly review of religion, ethics, and theology, 6:24 (1897). Overview of Bábí history, with some discussion of literature and theology. [about]
    31. Babysme, Babys, in Annuaire encyclopédique: politique, économie sociale, statistique, administration, sciences, littérature (1868). [about]
    32. Bahá'í Fundamentalism and the Academic Study of the Babi Movement, by Denis MacEoin, in Religion, 16:1 (1986). A response to Afnan and Hatcher's "Western Islamic Scholarship and Bahá'í Origins," on the issues of faith-based approaches to religious history and textual criticism. [about]
    33. Bahá'ísm: History, Transfiguration, Doxa, by Hutan Hejazi Martinez (2010). An outsider's view of the role of ideologies in a postmodern era, focusing on Bahá'í history, conversion narratives, ideology, and other competing philosophies. (Link to thesis, offsite.) [about]
    34. Baron Rosen's Archive Collection of Bábí and Bahá'í Materials, by Youli A. Ioannesyan, in Lights of Irfan, Volume 8 (2007). Baron V. R. Rosen's unpublished materials relating to Bábí and Bahá'í studies, including his correspondence with A. G. Tumanski and E. G. Browne, and official reports of Russian diplomats. [about]
    35. Bibliography of Bábí-Bahá'í studies in non-Bahá'í academic sources, 1998-2000, in Bahá'í Studies Review, 10 (2001). Partially annotated English language bibliography of Bahá'í studies in non-Bahá'í academic sources, as of 2001. [about]
    36. Birth of Human Beings in the Writings of the Bab, by Nader Saiedi (2010). A talk on an invited topic (the origin of humankind) from a scholar known for his unique familiarity with the works of The Bab. [about]
    37. Browne, Edward Granville: Babism and Bahá'ísm, by Juan Cole, in Encyclopaedia Iranica, Volume 4 (1990). Brief excerpt, with link to article offsite. [about]
    38. Catalogue and Description of 27 Bábí Manuscripts, by E. G. Browne, in Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society (1892). Categorization, descriptions, and excerpts of 27 manuscripts by the Bab, Bahá'u'lláh, Abdu'l-Bahá, and Subh-i-Azal. [about]
    39. Catalogue and Description of 27 Bábí Manuscripts 2 (Continued from Page 499), by E. G. Browne, in Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society (1892). Categorization, descriptions, and excerpts of 27 manuscripts by the Bab, Bahá'u'lláh, Abdu'l-Bahá, and Subh-i-Azal. [about]
    40. Commentary on a Verse of Rumi, by Juan Cole (1999). Summary and paraphrase of a tablet about a debate over the unity of being (wahdat al-wujud) in Sufi thought. [about]
    41. Correspondance entre le Comte de Gobineau et le Comte de Prokesche-Osten (1854-1876), by Joseph Arthur Gobineau (1933). Multiple letters from 1865-1868 referencing the Bábí Faith. [about]
    42. Crisis in Babi and Bahá'í Studies, The: Part of a Wider Crisis in Academic Freedom?, by Denis MacEoin, in British Society for Middle Eastern Studies, 17:1 (1990). Response to Cole's review of MacEoin's "Hierarchy, Authority, and Eschatology in Early Bábí Thought" with comments on "outsider" scholarship versus faith-based approaches. [about]
    43. Dervish of Windsor Castle, The: The Life of Arminius Vambery, by Lory Alder and Richard Dalby (1979). Two-paragraph discussion of Curzon and the Babis. [about]
    44. Development of Metaphysics in Persia, The: A Contribution to the History of Muslim Philosophy, by Muhammad Iqbal (1908). Short philosophical observations on the theology of the Báb and Bahá'u'lláh. [about]
    45. Development of the Babi/Bahá'í Communities, The: Exploring Baron Rosen's Archives, by Youli A. Ioannesyan (2013). 19th-century private letters and diplomatic correspondence from a prominent Russian scholar, one of the first to study the rise of the Babis. Excerpt from book: contents and Introduction. (Offsite.) [about]
    46. Divisions and Authority Claims in Babism (1850-1866), by Denis MacEoin, in Studia Iranica, 18:1 (1989). Factors leading to the division of Babism into the Azalís and the Bahá'ís, and the question of succession and the claims of Mírzá Yahyá, Dayyán, and Bahá'u'lláh. [about]
    47. Dying for God: Martyrdom in the Shii and Babi Religions, by Jonah Winters (1997). Religious and cultural meanings of martyrdom/witnessing, and their role in Shí'í and Bábí history. [about]
    48. Early Mention of Bábís in Western Newspapers, Summer 1850 (1850). Very brief newspaper mentions about the rise of the Bábí movement: Tioga Eagle (Wellsborough, Pennsylvania) 1850-08-21; Church and State Gazette (Middlesex, London) 1850-07-19; Nevada State Journal 1871-12-23. [about]
    49. Early Western Accounts of the Babi and Bahá'í Faiths, by Moojan Momen (1995). [about]
    50. Eastern Persia: An Account of the Journeys of the Persian Boundary Commission 1870-72, by Major St. John (1876). Brief description of the town of Nírís [Nayriz], "the head-quarters of Bábism," and the road to Shiraz. [about]
    51. First newspaper story of the events of the Bábí Faith (2013). Six versions of the first public mentions in English of the Bábís, from November 1845. [about]
    52. First Public Mentions of the Bahá'í Faith in the West, by Bahá'í Information Office of the UK (1998). Short essay based on research by Moojan Momen and Derek Cockshutt. The first mention for the Faith in the West was not in 1893, but rather in a number of earlier talks on the Faith in England, and reports on the Babis in the 1850s. [about]
    53. Formation de la Secte des Babi, by Carla Serena, in Hommes et Choses en Perse (1883). Also sections "Les Exploits de la Secte de Babi," "Mort du Point," "Complot des Bábí contre Nasser-Eddin," and "Attentat." Historical overview from a traveller to Persia in 1877-1878, who says she met with a witness to events. [about]
    54. From Babism to Bahá'ísm: Problems of Militancy, Quietism, and Conflation in the Construction of a Religion, by Denis MacEoin, in Religion, 13:3 (1983). One of the first critical examinations of Bábí history; a continuation of themes first examined in "The Bábí Concept of Holy War." Includes examination of the numbers of Bábí martyrs, the nature of Orientalism, and Western re-interpretations of the Babis. [about]
    55. From Shaykhism to Babism: A Study in Charismatic Renewal in Shi'i Islam, by Denis MacEoin (1979). Examination of the Bábí movement within the wider context of Imami Shi'ism, the shadow of Shaykh Ahmad al-Ahsa'i and Sayyid Kazem Rashti, and the Bábí rejection of Shaykhism. [about]
    56. Gate of the Heart: Understanding the Writings of the Báb, by Nader Saiedi: Review, by Jack McLean (2009). Review of the book, expanded into an essay on the Bab's ethics, laws, and use of symbolism. [about]
    57. Gate of the Heart: Understanding the Writings of the Báb, by Nader Saiedi: Review, by Stephen Lambden, in The Journal of the American Oriental Society, 130:2 (2010). Though limited in scholastic accuracy, this book will be appreciated by those seeking an introduction to the life and writings of the Bab, and is a worthwhile volume that contributes significantly to the neglected field of Babi-Bahá'í studies. [about]
    58. Gate of the Heart: Understanding the Writings of the Báb, by Nader Saiedi: Review, by Robert Stockman, in Nova Religio, 14:1 (2010). [about]
    59. Gobineau's Account of the Beginnings of the Bahá'í Revelation, by Howard B. Garey, in World Order, 31:4 (2000). Short summary of the Bab's time in Shiraz and Mecca, circa 1843. [about]
    60. Hierarchy Authority and Eschatology in Early Babi Thought, by Denis MacEoin, in In Iran: Studies in Babi and Bahá'í History vol. 3, ed. Peter Smith (1986). Evolution of the Bab's theology and prophetology. [about]
    61. Historia Universal, by Cesar Cantu (1859). 1-sentence mention. [about]
    62. History and Provenance of an Early Manuscript of the Nuqtat al-kaf dated 1268 (1851-52), The, by William F. McCants and Kavian Sadeghzade Milani, in Iranian Studies, 37:3 (2004). Much controversy has surrounded the early Bábí MSS, the Nuqtat al-kaf. Some of these are resolved by study of a copy discovered in Princeton’s collection of Bábí works, which confirms its value as an important source for understanding early Bábí history. [about]
    63. Influence of Bábí Teachings on Ling Ming Tang and Nineteenth-century China, The, by Jianping Wang, in Lights of Irfan, Book 3 (2002). A possible historical linkage between the followers of Bábí and Bahá'i Movements in Iran and the believers of a Qadiriyya Order (the Ling Ming Tang) in China. [about]
    64. Introduction to Islamic Theology and Law , by Ignaz Goldziher (1981). An early academic overview of Bábí and Bahá'í history and theology. From translation of a 1910 book Vorlesungen uber den Islam, "Lectures on Islam." [about]
    65. Iqbál and the Bábí-Bahá'í Faith, by Annemarie Schimmel, in The Bahá'í Faith and Islam (1990). One of the more influential Muslim thinkers of the first half of the 20th century, Iqbal expressed views on the the Bábí and Bahá'í religions in his dissertation "The Development of Metaphysics in Persia" and his poetical magnum opus the Javidnama. [about]
    66. Italian Scientist Extols the Báb, An, by Ugo Giachery, in Bahá'í World, Vol. 12 (1950-54) (1956). On the life of Michele Lessona (1823-1894), a scientist, writer, explorer, and educator, who visited Iran and wrote a 66-page monograph entitled I Babi (1881): one of the first documentations made by a European of the episode of the Báb. [about]
    67. Juan Cole manuscript and book collection: Shaykhi, Babi, and Baha'i texts (1997). Manuscripts and books in Cole's library and selected Iranian National Bahá'í Archive contents. [about]
    68. Le Journal de Constantinople (1848). Collection of 818 files, unsorted. They contain an unknown number of references to the Báb and his milieu. Four entries have been found so far, and searching this archive may yield more. [about]
    69. Les Béhahis et le Bâb, by A.L.M. Nicolas, in Journal Asiatique, vol. 222 (April-June) (1933). [about]
    70. Les religions et les philosophies dans l'asie centrale, by Joseph Arthur Gobineau (1866). A lengthy early account of Bábí history by French Orientalist and diplomat Comte de Gobineau, who served as France's envoy to Iran in 1855-1863. [about]
    71. Les religions et les philosophies dans l'asie centrale (continued), by Joseph Arthur Gobineau (1866). Due to size, this book was split in two for this online edition. See part 1. [about]
    72. Letters and Essays, The Master in Akká, and In Iran: Studies in Babi and Baha'i History vol. 3: Reviews, by Todd Lawson, in Iranian Studies, 21:3-4 (1988). Reviews of three books by Kalimat Press. [about]
    73. List of Baha'i Studies and Translations, by Stephen Lambden. A list of content available at Lambden's personal website, Hurqalya Publications, with select links to manuscripts, texts, introductions. Includes Shaykhi and Bábí studies, bibliographies, genealogies, provisional translations. [about]
    74. Mahdist Movements, by Samuel Graham Wilson, in Modern Movements among Moslems (1916). An unsympathetic Christian missionary's early history of the Faith. [about]
    75. Materials for the Study of the Babi Religion (1918). An early collection of historical documents related to Bahá'í and Bábí studies. (Not fully complete.) [about]
    76. Mention of the Babi and Baha'i Faiths in the New York Times 1852 - 1922, in New York Times (1852). 45 articles and brief mentions, spanning 70 years. [about]
    77. Mentions of the Bábí and Bahá'í Faiths in Encyclopedia Iranica: Sixty Excerpts, by Hamid Algar and Moojan Momen, in Encyclopaedia Iranica (1985). Excerpts of 60 articles in the Encyclopedia, with links to the offsite originals, which contain a reference to the Faith. These items are not long enough to warrant a separate entry in this Library, yet are included here for ease of discovery. [about]
    78. Persia, in American Annual Cyclopaedia and Register of Important Events of the Year 1865 (1866). Short summary of the Bábí Faith and Qurratu'l-Ayn, on last page of an entry about Persia. [about]
    79. Political Economy of Modern Iran, The: Despotism and Pseudo-Modernism 1926-1979, by Homa Katouzian (1981). Mention of Sheikh Fazlollah Noori denouncing opponents as Babis; 1-page discussion (in footnotes) of the Bab as Mahdi and the Bahá'í/Azali split; anti-Bahá'í demonstrations following the murder of vice-consul Imbrie; Falsafi's attacks in 1953. [about]
    80. Preliminary Bibliography of works in French making mention of the Babí or Bahá'í religions (1945–2000), by Thomas Linard, in Online Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 1 (2007). [about]
    81. Prolegomenon to the Study of Babi and Baha'i Scriptures, A: The Importance of Henry Corbin to Babi and Baha'i Studies, by Ismael Velasco, in Bahá'í Studies Review, Vol. 12 (2004). On the foremost Western authority on the Islamic philosophy of Persia, one of the most influential Islamicists of the 20th century, whose work is uniquely relevant in understanding the philosophical context for the emergence of the Bábí Faith. [about]
    82. Prophet in Modern Times, A, by Peter Terry (2008). Partial translation of A.L.M. Nicolas' Seyyed Ali Mohammed dit le Bab, with extensive notes and explanations. [about]
    83. Reflections on Baha'u'llah's Claims to Being the Return of Imam Husayn, by Ismael Velasco (2020). On Imam Husayn in Shi'a Islam, expectations of his return, his place in Bábí theology, and various relationships to the Bábí Faith: ancestral, devotional, initiatory, theophanic, typological, eschatological, and messianic. [about]
    84. (Report to the) American Oriental Society / A New Prophet, by Austin Wright, in The Literary World, 228:8 (1851). First paper on Bábí history, from a letter to the American Oriental Society, published in multiple newspapers, including translation into German. Includes preface by Steven Kolins. [about]
    85. Reviews: The Philosophical Year and the Bábys, in Saturday Review of Politics, Literature, Science and Art (1869). Brief review of the recently-published scholarship of Gobineau and Kazem-Beg, with an overview of Bábí theology and social teachings. [about]
    86. Seyyèd Ali Mohammed, dit le Bâb, by A.L.M. Nicolas (1905). The first detailed biography of The Bab written in a Western language. [about]
    87. Shelly's Life and Writings, by William Michael Rossetti, in The University Magazine, Volume 1 (1878). Brief overview of the Bábí Faith and Qurratu'l-Ayn vis-a-vis themes and personages in "The Revolt of Islam," a poem in twelve cantos composed by Percy Bysshe Shelley in 1817. [about]
    88. Short Chapter in the History of Bâbeeism in Persia, A, by Austin Wright, in Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the American Oriental Society (1853). Letter to the American Oriental Society recounting the continuation of Bábísm and attack on the Shah. Follow-up to Wright's first report on Bábí history, from June 1851. [about]
    89. Social Basis of the Bábí Upheavals in Iran (1848-1953): A Preliminary Analysis, by Moojan Momen, in International Journal of Middle East Studies, 15 (1983). In the mid-19th century, Iran was shaken by unrest caused by the Bábí movement, which set off a chain of events that led on the one hand, to the constitutional movement in Iran, and on the other, to the establishment of the now world-wide Bahá'í Faith. [about]
    90. Sources for Early Bábí Doctrine and History, The: A Survey, by Denis MacEoin (1992). Thorough, annotated list of writings and sources relevant to Bahá'í historical research. Includes index of first lines and titles of writings of The Báb (see scan #1). [about]
    91. Sources for Early Babi Doctrine and History, by Denis MacEoin: Some Notes, by Grover Gonzales (2022). [about]
    92. St. Petersburg 19th Century Orientalist Collection of Materials on the Bábí and Bahá'í Faiths, The: Primary and Other Sources, by Youli A. Ioannesyan, in Lights of Irfan, Volume 7 (2006). The important work of Russian scholars up to 1917 in collecting Bábí and Bahá’í materials; a detailed listing of available materials. [about]
    93. Subhi Ezel Mirza Yahya ve Ezeliler (Subhi Azal Mirza Yahya and the Azalis), by Yasin Ipek, in Bilimname, 45 (2021). History of the Bábí community following the execution of the Bab, which split into three sectarian divisions: the Bahá'ís, the Azalis, and the Bayanis. [about]
    94. Süleyman Nazif's Nasiruddin Shah ve Babiler: an Ottoman Source on Babi-Baha'i History, by Necati Alkan (2000). On the author of the 1919 Persian history "Nasiru’d-Din Shah and the Babis," including a translation of passages on Tahirih. [about]
    95. Tablets concerning the Divine Test, by Bahá'u'lláh (2000). Bahá'u'lláh's writings about the divine test between Bahá'u'lláh and Mirza Yahya at the Sultan Selim Mosque in Edirne in September, 1867, which led to the final schism between the Bahá'ís and the Azali Babis. [about]
    96. Tales of Magnificent Heroism: The Impact of the Báb and His Followers on Writers and Artists, by Robert Weinberg, in Bahá'í World (2019). This concise survey explores how this particular episode in humanity’s religious history resonated so strongly through the decades that followed. [about]
    97. Ten Thousand Miles in Persia or Eight Years in Iran, by Percy Molesworth Sykes (1902). Brief overview of Babism, including estimate of numbers of Bahá'ís and Azalis in Kirman. [about]
    98. The Development of the Bábí/Bahá'í Communities: Exploring Baron Rosen's Archives, by Youli Ioannesyan: Review, by Christopher Buck, in Nova Religio, 18:4 (2015). [about]
    99. Through Persia by Caravan, by Arthur E. Arnold, Volume 2 (1877). Early three-page overview of Bábí and Bahá'í history. Bahá'u'lláh is here referred to as "Behar." [about]
    100. Wild Asses, The: A Journey through Persia, by W. V. Emanuel (1939). Passing mentions of Babis in Tabriz and Zanjan. [about]
    101. Work of A.L.M. Nicolas (1864-1937), The, by Moojan Momen, in The Bábí and Bahá'í Religions: Some Contemporary Western Accounts (1981). Short bio, including list of the works of Nicolas. [about]
    102. Year Amongst the Persians, A, by E. G. Browne (1893). Browne's famous account of his extended visit to Iran in 1887-1888; includes many references to Bábí and Bahá'í history and personages. [about]
     
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