clergy, long corrupted by their powerful position in the church-state of
Persia, feared and hated the movement initiated by
the Báb. It was as if a strong, clean wind had suddenly swept through the dank atmosphere of a room long closed. The massacres of the
Bábís find their parallel in the bloody holidays of ancient Rome. Hypocricy and tyranny tried to destroy faith by the sword. The Báb was soon arrested and imprisoned in a remote mountain village. On July 9, 1850 hatred found its climax when the Báb was publicly martyred in the barracks square of the city of Tabríz. An attempt was made to completely exterminate the new faith in Persia. Bloody scenes multiplied throughout the country, and the surviving faithful went underground.
The consternation of the priesthood during these years had been deepened by the fact that many of their own outstanding members had accepted the teachings of the Báb. Also outstanding men in other walks of life had accepted Him. Among these was
Mírzá Ḥusayn-‘Alí, a young man of eminent and wealthy family. Ignoring the jibes of family and class, Mírzá Ḥusayn-‘Alí, Who is known to history as
Bahá’u’lláh (“the Glory of God”), publicly championed the Báb. In the nation-wide campaign to exterminate the faith, Bahá’u’lláh’s position had caused Him to be spared. But in 1852 when two crazed young Bábís made an attempt to kill the
Sháh, Bahá’u’lláh was imprisoned for four months in the
Síyáh-Chál, a dreadful underground prison in
Ṭihrán. Bahá’u’lláh’s innocence was clearly proven in the courts. But this incident is of