Re: Baha'i vexillology--would someone please describe the "black banner" of the Qa'im?

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Posted by Jonah Winters (64.114.149.212) on March 16, 2002 at 08:54:26:

In Reply to: Baha'i vexillology--would someone please describe the "black banner" of the Qa'im? posted by Dawud on March 15, 2002 at 21:33:06:

I don't know that there is a specific design for the "Black Standard" -- or at least I didn't come across a discussion of that in my research for my thesis on Babism. But I do mention the Standard and its symbolism at http://bahai-library.org/theses/dying in chapters 3 and 4.

If you want to look into it, here are the first two places I would suggest (1) Abbas Amanat's "Resurrection and Renewal" and (2) Mangol Bayat's "Mysticism and Dissent," both of which discuss the political symbolism of the Babis.

Finally, Denis MacEoin has this footnote on the Black Standard at http://bahai-library.org/articles/hierarchy.babi.html :

Nabil, Dawn-Breakers, pp. 324-25. References in the tradition literature to various banners are numerous and confused, but the most significant in this context is undoubtedly to the banner presented by the Prophet Muhammad to the Qá'im (see al-Mish'i Sharh al-ziyára, vol. 3, pp. 81, 82, 83). On the appearance of black banners from Khurasan (which is, of course, related to the Abbasid revolt of the eighth century), see ibid., p. 113.

Maybe there's your answer -- the appearance of the banner could have been something symbolic of the Abbasids.

-Jonah

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