Translation of French Foot-Notes of the Dawn-Breakers/Chapter XIX

CHAPTER XIX

Page 326, Note I

“He (Mullá Ḥusayn) arrived first at Miyamay where he rejoined thirty Babis whose chief, Mirzá Zaynu’l-‘Abidin, pupil of the late Shaygh Ahmadi-Al,1sa’i, was an elderly, pious and respected gentleman. His zeal was so intense that he brought with him his son-in-law, a young man of eighteen years, who had been married to his daughter only a few days. ‘Come,’ he

4.0

[Page 41]TRANSLATION OF FRENCH FOOT-NOTES

said to him, ‘Come with me on my last journey. Come, because I must be a true father to you and make you partake of the joy of salvation!’

“They departed therefore, and it was on foot that the aged man desired to travel the road which was to lead him to martyrdom.” (A. L. M. Nicolas’ “Siyyid ‘Ali-Muhammad dit le Báb,” p. 290.)

Page 326, Note 3 ,

Muhammad Sháh died on the eve of the sixth of _S_llavvél (September 4, 1848 A.D.). “There was an interregnum of about two months. A provisional government was formed comprising four administrators under the presidency of the widow of the deceased _S_llah. Finally after much hesitation, the lawful heir, the young Prince Nésiri’d-Din Mirza, governor of Adhirbáyján was permitted to ascend the throne.” (fournal Asiatique, 1866, tome 7, p. 367.)

Page 330, Note I

“The bullet struck Siyyid Ridé full in the chest and killed him instantly. He was a man of pure and simple ways, of deep and sincere convictions. Out of respect for his master he always walked alongside of his horse ready to meet his every need.” (A. L. M. Nicolas’ “Siyyid ‘Ali-Muhammad dit le Báb,” p. 294.)

Page 331, Note I

“But the pain and the anger redoubled the strength of Mullá Ḥusayn who with one single blow of his weapon cut in two the gun, the man and the tree.” (Mirza Jani adds that the Bahá’í used his left hand on this occasion. The Mussulmans themselves do not question the authenticity of this anecdote.) (A. L. M. Nicolas’ “Siyyid ‘Ali-Muhammad dit le Bab,” p. 295 and note 215.)

Page 337, Note 2

“‘The Bábu’l-Bab,’ says our author, ‘wishing to fulfill a religious duty and at the same time to give an example of the firm conviction of the believers, of their contempt for life, and to show the world the impiety and irreligion of the so-called Mussulmans, commanded one of his followers to ascend the terrace and intone the adhan.” (A. L. M. Nicolas’ “Siyyid ‘Ali-Muhammad dit le Báb,” pp. 295-296.)

Pages 338-339, Note I . “Sa‘idu’l-‘Ulama wishing to have done at any cost, gathered together as many people as he could and again began the attack in front of the

4.1

[Page 42]SUPPLEMENT TO THE DAWN-BREAKERS

caravansary. The struggle had been waging from five to six days when ‘Abbas-Quli Khan Sardér-i-Larijani appeared.. In the meantime, and since the outbreak of the conflict, the ‘Ulamás of Bé.rfur1’1_sh exasperated by the numerous conversions which Quddfis had been able to make in the city (three hundred in a week, the Muhammadan historians admit reluctantly), referred the case to the governor of the province, Prince Khénlar Mirzá. He, however, paid no attention to their grievances, having many other preoccupations.

“The death of Muhammad Sháh worried him much more than the wrangling of the Mullas and he made ready to go to Tihran to pay homage to the new king, whose favor he hoped to win.

“Having failed in this attempt, under the pressure of events, the ‘Ulamás wrote a very urgent letter to the military chief of the province, ‘Abbas-Quli Khan-i-Lérijéni. He however, thinking it unnecessary to trouble himself, sent Muhammad Bik, Yévar (captain), at the head of three hundred men, to restore order. Thus it was that the Muhammadans began to attack the caravansary. The struggle went on, but if ten Bábis were killed, an infinitely larger number of aggressors bit the dust. As things continued to drag along, ‘Abbas-Quli Khan felt he should come himself in order to size up the situation.” (A. L. M. Nicolas’ “Siyyid ‘Ali-Muhammad dit le Báb,” pp. 296-297.)

Page 339, Note I

Gobineau describes him in the following terms: “The Turkish and Persian nomads pass their lives in hunting, often also in fighting and above all in talking of the hunt and of war. They are brave but not always and they are well described by Branttome who, in his war experience had often encountered that type of bravery which he called ‘one day courage.’ But this is what they are in a very regular and consistent manner, great talkers, great Wreckers of towns, great assassins of heroes, great exterminators of multitudes, in a word, naive, very outspoken in their sentiments, very violent in the expression of anything which arouses them and extremely amusing. ‘Abbas-Quli Khan-i-Lérijani although well born, was a perfect type of nomad.” (Comte de Gobineau’s “Les Religions et les Philosophies dans l’Asie Centrale,” p. 171.)

Page 343, Note I

“Then turning to his companions he said: ‘During these few days of life which remain to us, let us beware not to be divided and estranged by perishable riches. Let all this be held in common and let everyone share in its benefits.’ The Babis agreed with joy and it is this marvellous spirit

42

[Page 43]TRANSLATION OF FRENCH FOOT-NOTES

of self-sacrifice and this complete self—abnegation which made their enemies say that they advocated collective ownership in earthly goods and even women!” (A. L. M. Nicolas’ “Siyyid ‘Ali-Muhammad dit le Bab," p. 299.)

Page 357, Note I

“According to the descriptions which I have heard, the fortress erected by Mullá Ḥusayn soon became a very strong building. Its walls made of large stones reached a height of ten meters. On this base, they raised a construction made of enormous tree trunks in the middle of which they

T arranged a number of loopholes; they then surrounded it entirely with a

deep ditch. In fact it was a kind of great tower having stones for the foundation while the higher stories were of wood and provided with three rows of loopholes where they could place as many tufang-ghis as they wished, or rather, as they had. They made openings for many doors and postern gates in order to facilitate entrance and exit.

“They dug wells, thus securing an abundance of water; underground passages were excavated in order to provide refuge in case of need; storehouses were built and filled with all sorts of provisions either bought, or perhaps taken in the neighboring villages. Finally, they manned the fortress with the most energetic Bábis, the most devoted, and the most dependable available among them.” (Comte de Gobineau’s “Les Religions et les Philosophies dans l’Asie Centrale,” p. I 56.)

Page 359, Note I

“Thus frantic about the maintenance of order, the Amir-Nizém disposed quickly of the Mazindarén question. When the leading men of this province came to Tihran to pay their respects to the king, they were ordered, as they departed, to take necessary measures to put an end to the sedition of the Bábis. They promised to do their best and in fact, as soon as they returned, these chiefs began to gather their forces and to deliberate. They wrote to their relations to come and join them. Hájí Mustafzi Khan called for his -brother ‘Abdu’lle’1h, ‘Abbas-Quli _IQé.n—i-Larijéni sent for Muhammad-Sultan and ‘Ali-Khan of Savaid-Kfih. All of these worthies decided to attack the Babis in their fortress before they, themselves, could assume the defensive. The royal officers, seeing the chiefs of the country so willing, summoned a grand council to which hastened the lords already mentioned and also Mirzá Aqé, Mustawfi of Mazindaran, superintendent of finances, the head of the ‘Ulamas and many other men of high standing.” (Ibid., pp. I6o~161.) '

43

[Page 44]SUPPLEMENT TO THE DAWN-BREAKERS

Page 360, Note 2

“On his side, the superintendent of finances raised a troop amongst the Afghans domiciled at Sari and added to it several men from the Turkish tribes under his administration. ‘Ali-Abad, the village so severely punished by the Bábis, which aspired to avenge itself, furnished what it could and was reinforced by a party of men from Qédi who, being in the neighborhood, were Willing to enlist.” (Comte de Gobineau’s “Les Religions et les Philosophies dans l’Asie Centrale,” p. 161.) Page 363, Note I

“The Amir-Nizam grew violently angry at the news of what had happened. The description of the terrors aroused his indignation. Too far from the scene of action to appraise the wild enthusiasm of the rebels, the only conclusion he could reach was that the Babis should be done away with before their courage could be further stimulated by real victories. The Prince Mihdi-Quli Mirza, appointed lieutenant of the king in the threatened province, left with a grant of extraordinary powers. Instructions were given to draw up a list of the men who had died in the attack on the Babis’ fortress and in the sacking of Ferra and pensions were promised to the survivors.

“I:Ié.ji Mustafa _I_{_llan, brother of ‘Abdu’lláh, received substantial tokens of the royal favor; in a word, all that was possible was done to restore the courage and confidence of the Mussulmans.” (Comte de Gobineau’s “Les Religions et les Philosophies dans l’Asie Centrale,” pp. 164-1 6 5.)

Page 366, Note I

, “We have left Mihdi-Quli Mirzá running away from his burning home and wandering alone in the country, in the snow and the darkness. Toward dawn, he found himself’ in an unknown mountain pass, lost in a wild country, but in reality only a short distance away from the slaughter of

a battle. The wind brought to his ears the noise of the volleys of musketry.

“In this sad state, completely bewildered, he was met by a Mazindarzini, mounted on a fairly good horse, who recognized him. This man dismounted, placed the Prince on his horse and offered to serve him as guide. He led him to a peasant’s hut, settled him in the barn (this is not considered a place to frown upon in Persia) and while the Prince slept and ate, the Mézindarani mounted his horse and, covering the country side, gave out the glad tidingsythat the Prince was safe and well. Thus he brought to him all his men, or at least a respectable number of them, one band after another.

44

[Page 45]TRANSLATION OF FRENCH FOOT-NOTES

“If Mihdi-Quli Mirzá had been one of those proud spirits not easily broken by reverses, he would have considered his position only slightly altered by the mishaps of the previous evening; he could have believed that his men had been unfortunately surprised; then with the remainder of his forces he would have saved appearances and held the ground, for in fact, the Bábis had retreated and were out of sight. But the Sháhza’1dih, far from priding himself on such firmness, was a weak character and, when he saw himself so well guarded, he left the barn and hurried to the village of Qédi-Kala whence he reached Sari in great haste. This conduct strengthened in the whole province the impression caused by the defeat of Véskas. Panic ensued, open towns believed themselves exposed to every danger and, in spite of the rigor of the season, one could see caravans of non-combatants in great distress, taking their wives and children to the desert of Damavand to save them from the miserable dangers which the cautious conduct of S_l1_a'.hzé.dih seemed to foretell. When the Asiatics lose their heads they do so completely.” (Comte de Gobineau’s “Les Religions et les Philosophies dans l’Asie Centrale,” pp. 169-170.) _

Page 366, Note 2

“In a few moments his army already in such confusion, was scattered by the three hundred men of Mullá Ḥusayn! Was not this the sword of the Lord and of Gideon?” (Ibid., p. 167.)