The following is a basic timeline of the Bábí and Bahá'í religions emphasizing dates that are relatively well known. For a more comprehensive chronology see the references at the bottom.
- October 20, the Báb is born.
- Shaykh Ahmad dies and Siyyid Kázim is appointed leader of the Shaykhi sect.
- Mírzá Muhammad Ridá, the Father of the Báb, dies. The Báb is placed in the care of his maternal uncle, Hají Mirzá Siyyid 'Alí
- September, restrictions are enforced on the Báb's movement within Shiraz after he declares himself to be the Mahdi publicly.
- Government reports initiate coverage in the West first mentions the arrest and imprisonment of Mullá 'Alíy-i-Bastámí of the Bábí religion. It was published in The Times of London in the autumn.[2]
- Bahíyyih Khánum is born to Navváb and Bahá'u'lláh.
- September, the Báb leaves Shiraz for Isfahan.[3]
- July, The Báb is imprisoned at Maku and writes the Bayán.[3]
- Mírzá Mihdí is born to Navváb and Bahá'u'lláh.
- Munirih Khánum, wife of 'Abdu'l-Bahá is born in Isfahan to prominent Bábís of the city.
- March 20, Mullá Husayn visits the Báb in Maku
- April 10, the Báb is moved to the prison of Chihriq, due to his growing influence in Maku. He was largely kept there until a few days before his execution.
- June - July, the Conference of Badasht was held.[4]
- July, during public interrogation at Tabriz the Báb makes a dramatic public declaration. He is returned to Chihriq.
- July 21, Mullá Husayn hoists the Black Standard and marches with 202 other Bábís to Mashhad.
- October 10, Mullá Husayn and a host of other Bábís are besieged at fort Tabarsi.
- October 20, Quddús arrives at fort Tabarsí.
- July 9, the Báb is publicly executed in Tabriz.
- Brief newspaper coverage of the Bábí religion reaches several newspapers in Britain and the United States in the autumn.[6]
- August 15, angry Bábís (acting on their own volition) make a failed attempt to kill Nasser al-Din Shah, who retaliates by imprisoning Bahá'u'lláh and executing several thousands of Bábís, including Táhirih and Siyyid Husayn-i-Yazdi.
- September to December, while imprisoned for four months in the Síyáh-Chál in Tehran, Bahá'u'lláh receives the first intimations that he is the promised one foretold by the Báb.
- Mírzá Muhammad `Alí is born to Fátimih and Bahá'u'lláh in Baghdad
- January 12, Bahá'u'lláh is exiled from Tehran to Baghdad.
- April 10, Bahá'u'lláh retreats to the Sulaymaniyah mountains within Kurdistan due to a rising tensions between Mírzá Yahyá and himself.
- May 10, the Persian ambassador requests that the Ottomans move the Bábís farther from Persia.
- 53 Bahá'ís in Baghdad on March 16, 1867 petitioned the United States Congress for assistance for Bahá'u'lláh's release and for assistance for the Bahá'ís in general.[7]
- Bahá'u'lláh begins writing and sending his Tablets to the Kings.
- August 5, Bahá'u'lláh and a large group of followers are sent from Edirne to the penal colony of Akká, Palestine (now Acre, Israel).
- August 31, Bahá'u'lláh arrives in `Akká.
- June 23, Mirzá Mihdí dies after falling through a skylight.
- February 25, E.G. Browne mentions the Bahá'í Faith as part of a series academic talks and papers through 1889 in England.
- May 29, Bahá'u'lláh dies, his mortal remains are placed in a Shrine dedicated to him next to the Mansion of Bahjí where he spent his final years. In his will he appointed 'Abdu'l-Bahá to be his successor and head of the Bahá'í Faith.
- Thornton Chase is the first of five Bahá'ís in the United States this year
- The first Western pilgrims arrive in `Akká, including Phoebe Hearst and the first African-American believer, Robert Turner.
- September, `Abdu'l-Bahá is released from a lifetime of exile and imprisonment at 64 years of age.
- March 21, the mortal remains of the Báb are laid to rest in the Shrine of the Báb after 59 years in hiding.
- `Abdu'l-Bahá writes six more Tablets of the Divine Plan.
- April 27, `Abdu'l-Bahá is knighted by the British Empire in recognition of his humanitarian work during WWI.
- November 4, Shoghi Effendi dies without children and without appointing a successor Guardian. The temporary role of 'Head of the Faith' is taken up by 27 Hands of the Cause with plans to complete the Ten Year Crusade and elect the Universal House of Justice.
- Hand-of-the-Cause Mason Remey starts a schism by claiming to be Effendi's successor Guardian. The other living Hands of the Cause and almost all of the Baha'i community reject his claim, but a few Baha'is accept it, and thus there is a schism. The two groups excommunicate each other.
- A wave of persecution of Bahá'ís in Morocco ends in mid April with a royal pardon against death sentences for being Bahá'í in Morocco after months of diplomatic newspaper[9] and television coverage in the United States.[10]
- April 21, the first Bahá'í World Congress takes place in London. The first Universal House of Justice is elected by representatives of 56 National Spiritual Assemblies gathered in Haifa, in synchronization with the end of the Ten Year Crusade and the centenary of the Declaration of Bahá'u'lláh in the Garden of Ridván.[11][12]
- October, the Universal House of Justice publishes The Promise of World Peace
- April 21, a Holy year begins marking the centenary of the death of Bahá'u'lláh.
- November 22 - 26th, the second Bahá'í World Congress takes place in New York.
- The Ruhi Institute reaches a milestone in development as a formal organization, although its efforts have been evolving since 1970s by the FUNDAEC Foundation.
- March 21, the Kitáb-i-Aqdas is released in English with commentary.
- January 19, Rúhíyyih Khanum dies, representing the last remnant of the family of Bahá'u'lláh who remained loyal to Shoghi Effendi and the Universal House of Justice.
- The Universal House of Justice announced the convocation in October of a series of 41 regional conferences around the world which finished by March 2009.[13]
References [edit]
- ^ Cameron, G.; Momen, W. (1996). A Basic Bahá'í Chronology. Oxford, UK: George Ronald. p. 19. ISBN 0-85398-404-2.
- ^ Momen, Moojan (1999 (online)). "Early Western Accounts of the Babi and Baha'i Faiths". Encyclopedia articles. Bahá'í Library Online. Retrieved 02–02–2012.
- ^ a b Perkins, Mary (1987). Hour of the Dawn. Oxford: George Ronald. p. 212.
- ^ Amanat, Abbas (1989). Resurrection and Renewal: The Making of the Babi Movement in Iran. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. p. 324.
- ^ The NEXUS: Baha'i Chronology
- ^ "Early mention of Bábís in western newspapers, summer 1850". Historical documents and Newspaper articles. Bahá'í Library Online. 09–17–2010 [Autumn 1850]. Retrieved 02–02–2012.
- ^ Bahá'ís of Baghdad (1997) [1867]. "Petition from the Persian Reformers". In Stauffer, Robert. Legal/gov't. Documents. bahai-library.com. Retrieved 1-5-2012.
- ^ Catastrophe, Armageddon and Millennium: some aspects of the Bábí-Baha'i exegesis of apocalyptic symbolism
- ^ "Divinity School Members Protest Verdict on Baha'i". The Harvard Crimson. January 18, 1963. Retrieved 2010-06-07.
- ^ Rutstein, Nathan (2008). From a Gnat to an Eagle: The Story of Nathan Rutstein. US Baha'i Publishing Trust. p. 119. ISBN 978-1-931847-46-9.
- ^ Francis, N. Richard. "Excerpts from the lives of early and contemporary believers on teaching the Bahá'í Faith: Enoch Olinga, Hand of the Cause of God, Father of Victories". Archived from the original on 28 February 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-18.
- ^ Smith, Peter (2000). "conferences and congresses, international". A concise encyclopedia of the Bahá'í Faith. Oxford: Oneworld Publications. pp. 109–110. ISBN 1-85168-184-1.
- ^ "Regional Conferences of the Five Year Plan". Bahá’í International Community. Retrieved 2–2–2012.
- Cameron, G.; & Momen, W. (1996). A Basic Bahá'í Chronology. Oxford, UK: George Ronald. ISBN 0-85398-404-2.
- Amanat, Abbas (1989). Resurrection and Renewal. Cornell University Press, 124 Roberts Place, Ithica, New York 14850. ISBN 0-8014-2098-9.
- Nabíl-i-Zarandí (1932). In Shoghi Effendi (Translator). The Dawn-Breakers: Nabíl’s Narrative (Hardcover ed.). Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Bahá'í Publishing Trust. ISBN 0-900125-22-5.
- Smith, Peter (1999). A Concise Encyclopedia of the Bahá'í Faith. Oxford, UK: Oneworld Publications. ISBN 1-85168-184-1.
External links [edit]
