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

Translation of French Foot-Notes of the Dawn-Breakers by Emily Périgord

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CHAPTER XIX

Page 326, Note 1 “He (Mullá Ḥusayn) arrived first at Míyámay where he rejoined thirty Bábís whose chief, Mírzá Zaynu’l-‘Ábidín, pupil of the late Shaykh Aḥmad-i-Aḥsá’í, 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[Page 41] 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 ‘Alí-Muḥammad dit le Báb,” p. 290.)

Page 326, Note 3 Muḥammad Sháh died on the eve of the sixth of Shavvál (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 Sháh. Finally after much hesitation, the lawful heir, the young Prince Náṣiri’d-Dín Mírzá, governor of Ádhirbáyján was permitted to ascend the throne.” (Journal Asiatique, 1866, tome 7, p. 367.)

Page 330, Note 1 “The bullet struck Siyyid Riḍá 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 ‘Alí-Muḥammad dit le Báb,” p. 294.)

Page 331, Note 1 “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.” (Mírzá Jání adds that the Bushrú’í used his left hand on this occasion. The Mussulmans themselves do not question the authenticity of this anecdote.) (A. L. M. Nicolas’ “Siyyid ‘Alí-Muḥammad dit le Báb,” p. 295 and note 215.)

Page 337, Note 2 “‘The Bábu’l-Báb,’ 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 adhán.’” (A. L. M. Nicolas’ “Siyyid ‘Alí-Muḥammad dit le Báb,” pp. 295–296.)

Pages 338–339, Note 1 “Sa‘idu’l-‘Ulamá wishing to have done at any cost, gathered together as many people as he could and again began the attack in front of the [Page 42]

SUPPLEMENT TO THE DAWN-BREAKERS

caravansary. The struggle had been waging from five to six days when ‘Abbás-Qulí Khán Sardár-i-Lárijání appeared. In the meantime, and since the outbreak of the conflict, the ‘Ulamás of Bárfurúsh exasperated by the numerous conversions which Quddús had been able to make in the city (three hundred in a week, the Muḥammadan historians admit reluctantly), referred the case to the governor of the province, Prince Khánlar Mírzá. 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 Mullás and he made ready to go to Tihrán 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, ‘Abbás-Qulí Khán-i-Lárijání. He however, thinking it unnecessary to trouble himself, sent Muhammad Bik, Yávar (captain), at the head of three hundred men, to restore order. Thus it was that the Muḥammadans began to attack the caravansary. The struggle went on, but if ten Bábís were killed, an infinitely larger number of aggressors bit the dust. As things continued to drag along, ‘Abbás-Qulí Khán felt he should come himself in order to size up the situation." (A. L. M. Nicolas’ "Siyyid ‘Alí-Muhammad dit le Báb," pp. 296-297.)

Page 339, Note 1

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 Branttôme 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, naïve, very outspoken in their sentiments, very violent in the expression of anything which arouses them and extremely amusing. ‘Abbás-Qulí Khán-i-Lárijání 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 Bábís agreed with joy and it is this marvellous spirit [Page 43] 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 ‘Alí-Muḥammad dit le Báb,” p. 299.)

Page 357, Note 1

“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 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-chís 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 Bábís, the most devoted, and the most dependable available among them.” (Comte de Gobineau’s “Les Religions et les Philosophies dans l’Asie Centrale,” p. 156.)

Page 359, Note 1

“Thus frantic about the maintenance of order, the Amír-Niẓám disposed quickly of the Mázindarán question. When the leading men of this province came to Ṭihrán 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 Bábís. 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. Ḥájí Muṣṭafá Khán called for his brother ‘Abdu’lláh, ‘Abbás-Qulí Khán-i-Láríjání sent for Muḥammad-Sulṭán and ‘Alí-Khán of Savád-Kúh. All of these worthies decided to attack the Bábís 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 Mírzá Áqá, Mustawfí of Mázindarán, superintendent of finances, the head of the ‘Ulamás and many other men of high standing.” (Ibid., pp. 160-161.) [Page 44]

Page 360, Note 2

“On his side, the superintendent of finances raised a troop amongst the Afgháns domiciled at Sárí and added to it several men from the Turkish tribes under his administration. ‘Alí-Abád, the village so severely punished by the Bábís, which aspired to avenge itself, furnished what it could and was reinforced by a party of men from Qádí 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 1

“The Amír-Niẓám 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 Bábís should be done away with before their courage could be further stimulated by real victories. The Prince Mihdí-Qulí Mírzá, 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 Bábís’ fortress and in the sacking of Ferra and pensions were promised to the survivors.

“Ḥájí Muṣṭafá Khán, 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. 164–165.)

Page 366, Note 1

“We have left Mihdí-Qulí Mírzá 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 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 Mázindaráni, 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 Mázindaráni mounted his horse and, covering the country side, gave out the glad tidings that 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. [Page 45]

TRANSLATION OF FRENCH FOOT-NOTES

“If Mihdí-Qulí Mírzá 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 Bábís had retreated and were out of sight. But the Sháhzádih, 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 Qádí-Kalá whence he reached Sárí in great haste. This conduct strengthened in the whole province the impression caused by the defeat of Váskas. 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 Damávand to save them from the miserable dangers which the cautious conduct of Sháhzádih 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.)