The Baha’is of Iran, Transcaspia and the Caucasus Volume 1: Letters of Russian Officers and Officials 9780755610945, 9781848853911

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ILLUSTRATIONS

1 Baha’is in chains before being killed; from left: Mirza ‘AliMuhammad Varqa, Ruhullah Varqa, Mirza Husayn of Zanjan and Haji Iman of Zanjan; Iran, c. 1896. © Baha’i World Centre.

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2 Baha’is of Isfahan, Iran, c. 1880. © Baha’i World Centre.

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3 Spiritual Assembly and other Baha’is, Tabriz, Iran, c. 1912. In the front row, calligraphic rendering of the Greatest Name, Ya Baha al-Abha (O thou glory of glories). © Baha’i World Centre.

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4 Centre: Haji Mirza Muhammad-Taqi Afnan, Vakil al-Dawlih, chief builder of the Mashriq al-Adhkar in Ashgabat, holding a drawing of the building. © Baha’i World Centre.

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5 The Mashriq al-Adhkar of Ashgabat. © Baha’i World Centre. 29 6 Interior of the dome of the Mashriq al-Adhkar. © Baha’i World Centre.

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7 Interior view of the Mashriq al-Adhkar. © Baha’i World Centre. 30 8 Baha’i girls’ class in Ashgabat, c. 1883. © Baha’i World Centre.

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9 Ridwan celebration at the hall associated with the Mashriq al-Adhkar in Ashgabat, 1932. © Baha’i World Centre.

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10 Baha’is of Tashkent, 1932. © Baha’i World Centre.

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11 Mirza Hasan Tahirzadih, Shaykh Abd al-Salam. Courtesy Baha’i World Centre.

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viii THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS 12 Baron Viktor Romanovich Rozen. Courtesy Baha’i World Centre.

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13 Men and boys of the Baha’i community of Baku, 1914. In the fourth row, centre, is a Russian army officer. © Baha’i World Centre.

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14 Photo montage of members of the Khidmat Company, Baku, 1913, below images of Sayyid Kazim Rashti and ‘Abdu’lBaha. © Baha’i World Centre.

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15 A page from letter 2 of Vladimir Ignat’ev. © St Petersburg Branch, Archive of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

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16 Nasr al-Din Shah. Courtesy Baha’i World Centre.

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17 Baha’i kindergarten class in Ashgabat, 1883. © Baha’i World Centre.

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18 Last page of letter 17 of Aleksandr Tumanskii. © St Petersburg Branch, Archive of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

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19 From left: Haji Mirza Muhammad-Taqi Abhari and Haji Sayyid Javad Karbala’i. © St Petersburg Branch, Archive of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

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20 Mirza ‘Ali-Ashraf Lahijani, ‘Andalib. © Baha’i International Community.

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21 Mirza Abu al-Fazl Gulpayigani. © Baha’i World Centre.

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22 Baha’i children with several adults, Iran, c. 1900. © Baha’i World Centre.

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23 Some Baha’is of Qazvin, Iran, c. 1890. © Baha’i World Centre. 142 24 Early view of Baha’is in Iran. © Baha’i World Centre.

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25 Group of young Baha’i boys in Isfahan, c. 1894. © Baha’i World Centre.

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26 Group of Baha’is in Tehran, 1909. © Baha’i World Centre.

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27 Some Baha’i women of Iran, c. 1916. © Baha’i World Centre.

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28 Baha’i men in Tehran, including Haji Mirza MuhammadTaqi Abhari, Haji Akhund and Haji Amin, c. 1903. © Baha’i World Centre.

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29 First page of the letter of A. P. Orlov. © St Petersburg Branch, Archive of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

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30 First page of the letter of Georgii Batiushkov. © St Petersburg Branch, Archive of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

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31 Haji Mirza Hasan Taliqani, Adib. © Baha’i World Centre.

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32 Group of Baha’is in Tabriz, Iran. © Baha’i World Centre.

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NOTE ON TRANSLITERATION AND TRANSLATION

The transliteration system used in this book for Persian and Arabic is based on the guidelines set by the International Journal of Middle East Studies (IJMES), but omitting diacritical marks. Within the translated letters and documents, words and short phrases that were written in Arabic and Persian are given in modern transliteration in bold type, while longer passages are translated and in bold; Russian transliterations of Persian and Arabic words have been romanized as written, with the exceptions that, when logical, g and kh are rendered as h and dzh as j. The word babid has been translated as Babi. Editorial interpolations are in square brackets. Ottoman names are transliterated according to the Arabic spelling. Place names with accepted English spellings and personal names of well-known figures are spelled in accordance with English norms, but within the translations, the spelling of names of places and persons used in the original has been retained.

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PREFACE

Russian archives constitute a major source for the study of the history of the Babi and Baha’i communities in Iran and the neighbouring Russian territories from the 1840s until the 1920s. For various reasons, the Tsarist administration, experts in Iran and Islam in St Petersburg University, and even the Russian Orthodox Church showed great interest in the religion and history of the Babis and the Baha’is during this period. Fortunately, they left behind a wealth of written material. With a few exceptions, however, this rich source of knowledge about Babi and Baha’i history has barely been explored by historians. In the mid-2000s, while Gad G. Gilbar and Boris Morozov were studying Russian archival documents relating to the history of the late Qajar period, and after Soli Shahvar had began his research on the history of religious minorities in modern Iran, Gad suggested that in view of a growing interest among historians of the modern Middle East in Baha’i history, we should consider publishing Russian documents relating to the Babi and Baha’i communities in Iran and the Russian territories. The present two-volume work is the outcome of an endeavour of several years’ duration to collect, translate and edit such documents. The volumes include letters and reports found in five separate archives in St Petersburg and Moscow. Our sole criterion in deciding which documents should be translated and published was the extent of their contribution to an understanding of the religion and the history of the Babi and

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xiv THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS Baha’i communities in Iran, the Ottoman Empire, Transcaspia and Transcaucasia in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. These documents also shed new light on other important issues, such as Irano-Russian relations, Tsarist Russia’s attitude towards religious minorities and immigrant communities, and relations between Shi‘is and the Baha’i communities outside Iran. Each of the two volumes contains a different type of document. The first consists of private letters written mainly during the 1890s to Baron Viktor Rozen, a renowned expert in Persian and Arabic languages and history and professor in the Faculty of Oriental Languages at St Petersburg University. Rozen belonged to a small group of scholars in Russia and a few other European countries in the late nineteenth century who showed great interest in the Babi and Baha’i religions and sought to collect and publish their scriptures and to obtain written materials about the history and current socioeconomic conditions of their communities in Iran and Russia. A devoted mentor, Rozen instilled in his students a lively curiosity about these new religions and encouraged them to gather information about them and to send him the texts they collected. His personal papers, deposited in the St Petersburg branch of the Archive of the Russian Academy of Sciences, include letters written to him by his former students Aleksandr Tumanskii, Vladimir Ignat’ev and A. P. Orlov (as well as his classmate Georgii Batiushkov), all of whom served, after their period of study, in the Russian army or the diplomatic corps in Iran or in the neighbouring Russian territories. Their letters to Rozen include valuable information and impressions which they collected about the Baha’is while carrying out their duties. The second volume includes formal Russian documents relating to the Babis and Baha’is, namely diplomatic and administrative correspondence and official reports. The time span covered in this material is much broader than that in the first volume: these documents refer to events and developments from 1848 until the 1920s. They cover a wide range of subjects and issues: major events in the history of the Babis and Baha’is in Iran, Transcaspia

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and Transcaucasia; various aspects of the social and cultural life of Baha’i communities in the Russian territories and the Ottoman Empire; and Russia’s attitude and policy towards the Baha’is both in Iran and Russia. The process of collecting the documents began in 2006. Boris, who has extensive experience in Russian archives, collected documents about the Babis and Baha’is in archives in St Petersburg and Moscow. In the next stage, the three of us decided which documents should be published. Boris then provided English translations of the Russian texts, Soli of the Persian and Arabic portions, and Gad of the documents in French. The annotations were prepared by Soli (Persian and Arabic terms), Boris (Russian terms) and Gad (initial editing of the annotations). Our assumption was that the readers of these volumes will have diverse historical expertise, hence the extensive body of annotation. Notes internal to the documents are rendered as footnotes, while annotations and bibliographic citations are given as endnotes. For convenience and consistency, the date and place of writing of each document are given at the beginning even if in the original they were at the end. Dates in the Julian calendar have been converted to Gregorian. Biographical notes on individuals named in the documents are included in a separate section at the end of each volume, as well as a glossary of foreign terms. We owe a debt of gratitude to a number of people and institutions who assisted and supported this project in many ways. Arlette Daniel, Yael Kaufman, Igal Lipsman, Ido Zelikovitz and Tatyana Mitrofanova were dedicated research assistants. Special thanks go to Judy Krausz and the senior editor of these volumes for their skilful editing of the text, and also to Maria Marsh of I.B.Tauris for her support. Firuz Kazemzadeh, who read the translations, was extremely generous in helping us clarify nineteenth-century Russian terminology. We are thankful to the directors and staffs of the following archives for their interest and kind help as well as permission to publish documents from their collections: Archive of Foreign Policy

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xvi THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS of the Russian Empire (Arkhiv vneshnei politiki Rossiiskoi Imperii), Moscow; Russian State Historical Archive (Rossiiskii gosudarstvennyi istoricheskii arkhiv), St Petersburg; Archive of the Russian Academy of Sciences (St Petersburg Branch) (Arkhiv Rossiiskoi Akademii nauk [Sankt-Peterburgskii filial]), St Petersburg; Russian State Archive of Sociopolitical History (Rossiiskii gosudarstvennyi arkhiv sotsial’no-politicheskoi istorii), Moscow; and Russian State Military-Historical Archive (Rossiiskii gosudarstvennyi voennoistoricheskii arkhiv), Moscow. We are grateful to the Baha’i World Centre, the Archive of the Russian Academy of Sciences (St Petersburg Branch) and a private collection for providing the rare photographs that appear in these volumes. We were also fortunate to be assisted in our research by librarians at the University of Haifa Library, Haifa; the Baha’i World Centre Library, Haifa; the Russian State Library, Moscow; the Institute of Oriental Studies Library, St Petersburg; the School of Oriental and African Studies Library, London; and the British Library, London. Lastly, we are pleased to acknowledge the generous support by the Ezri Center for Iran and Persian Gulf Studies, University of Haifa, in this project. These volumes were published with the support of the Israel Science Foundation.

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THE BAHA’I FAITH AND ITS COMMUNITIES IN IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS Soli Shahvar

The Baha’i Faith and the Evolution of the Baha’i Community in Iran The Babi movement appeared in Iran in the mid-nineteenth century, centred around the person of Sayyid ‘Ali-Muhammad Shirazi (1817–1850), titled the ‘Bab’ (gate). Its origins were in the complex world of Iranian Shi‘ism, and the Bab’s religion, in turn, became the basis from which the Baha’i faith would later emerge as a new religion wholly distinct from Islam. In the early nineteenth century, for the Shi‘a the millennium was approaching – the elapse of a thousand years since the disappearance of the Twelfth Imam, the last in the series of successors of the Prophet Muhammad (as recognized in Twelver Shi‘ism). The Twelfth Imam (whom the Shi‘a believe to be the same as the Mahdi – the Islamic messianic figure who is expected to deliver the world from oppression, establish the rule of justice and restore the purity of Islam), had withdrawn into a state of ‘occultation’, communicating with the faithful through a series of intermediaries called babs (gates). In 941 (AH 329) the last of these gates announced

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that the Imam had gone into a Grand Occultation and would return just before the Day of Judgement. The sense of messianic anticipation within Shi‘ism was intensified by the spread of the doctrines of the Shaykhi School, named for Shaykh Ahmad al-Ahsa’i (1753–1826). He advanced a metaphorical interpretation of certain traditional tenets of Islam, claiming that the Hidden Imam existed not on earth but in a spiritual realm where he guided the faithful through a ‘perfect Shi‘i’ who was a ‘gate’ to the Imam. Shaykh Ahmad’s doctrines prepared the way for the widespread response within the Shi‘i community, particularly the Shaykhis, to the appearance of the Bab.1 The Babi Movement and Qajar Iran, 1844–1852 Sayyid ‘Ali Muhammad, the Bab, was born in 1819 into a merchant family from Shiraz. Known for his piety and fairness, he was viewed by some as a holy man with miraculous powers.2 His declaration in May 1844 that he had been given a divine mission was first taken as a claim to be the new bab or ‘gate’ to the Twelfth Imam – but later he explicitly claimed to be the Imam himself.3 By the mid-1840s, Iran was more than ripe, socially as well as theologically, for the arrival of the Apocalypse and the Day of Judgement. Iran had suffered crisis after crisis, losing some of its most valuable northern provinces to Russia, and was nearly ruined financially by the reparations imposed by the resulting treaties. A sense of humiliation was instilled not only by the defeat inflicted on Iran by Christians, but also by the failure of the jihad ordered by the clergy, as well as the inability of the shah himself – ‘the Shadow of God on Earth’ – to vanquish the foreign foe.4 Various political, economic and social woes further eroded the prestige of the Qajars at home and abroad. Muhammad Shah (r. 1834–48) and his self-interested and scheming prime minister, Haji Mirza Aqasi, left the people exposed to such calamities as extortion by tax collectors and landlords; conscription into a corrupt army for adventurous military campaigns; economic pressures caused by

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expanding foreign imports and European customs privileges; nomadic raids on villages and marauding in the cities; as well as increasing epidemics of disease.5 Besides casting a shadow over the legitimacy of the Qajars, these developments shook popular confidence in the ‘ulama and began to create doubts among a small but growing number of intellectuals about the viability of Islam. A minority of Iranians, like Muslims in other countries that had experienced similar losses and misfortunes, began to seek a solution in Western secularism. The majority, however, searched for answers within Islam: some found them in an even stricter application of traditional doctrines, while others, understanding the need for reform and modernization, tried to locate a theological justification for such change in Islamic tradition. Despair, humiliation, injustice, violence and insecurity in Iran, along with messianic expectations, seemed to have reached a peak in 1844.6 In that milieu of popular disquiet, the Bab and his movement attracted large numbers. The Babi movement became the ‘first manifestation of popular protest in modern Iran that challenged, theoretically and in practice, the legitimacy of the Shi‘ite establishment and the Qajar monarchy’ and ‘the first in modern times to break away not only from mainstream Shi‘ism but from Islam itself, to inaugurate a new prophetic dispensation’.7 When in July 1848 the Bab proclaimed, at his interrogation before a group of clerics in Tabriz, that he was the returned Imam Mahdi, the repercussions were enormous: his claim challenged the prevailing social order and the authority of both the secular and religious institutions.8 The Bab was not simply claiming to be the Mahdi, but also the bringer of a new divine revelation: his major work, the Bayan (Exposition), superseded the Qur’an and abrogated shari‘a law. It included new forms of prayer, fasting and pilgrimage and other provisions that diverged radically from traditional Islamic practice. For example, men and women were given more freedom to

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talk to one another than under Islam; divorce required waiting a period of a year, thus putting an end to the prevailing practice of instant divorce. It was forbidden to convert nonbelievers by force. Maintaining the traditional prohibition on alcohol, the Bab also banned tobacco and opium, then widespread in Iran. He called for economic reform and wrote approvingly of some modern Western innovations. In another sharp break with Islamic law, he allowed the charging of interest on loans.9 Perhaps most challenging to traditionalists was the Bab’s rejection of the doctrine of the finality of revelation. Instead, he offered the concept of the ‘Manifestation of God’ (Mazhar-i Ilahi) – a sequence of messengers (including Moses, Jesus, Muhammad and the Bab) through whom God reveals himself in the world, each being the ‘return’ of those before him, and bringing a more comprehensive and developed dispensation of divine revelation. In the Bab’s later writings he promised the coming of a new messianic figure, ‘him whom God shall make manifest’ (Man yuzhiruhu’llah).10 The Bab deliberately aimed to shake the foundations of Shi‘ism. Thus, as the number of his followers grew, the state and the clergy, recognizing the danger the movement posed to their authority, decided to exterminate it. Between 1848 and 1852 violent clashes ensued in which many Babis were killed, notably in Mazandaran, Zanjan and Nayriz.11 The Bab himself was executed in Tabriz in 1850.12 A clumsy and unsuccessful attempt in 1852 on the life of Nasir al-Din Shah (r. 1848–96) by several fanatical Babis seeking to avenge the death of the Bab13 resulted in the arrest, torture and execution of many more Babis and suspected Babis. Baha’u’llah and the Emergence of the Baha’i Faith, 1853–1892 Among those imprisoned after the attempt on the shah was Mirza Husayn- ‘Ali Nuri, known as Baha’u’llah (‘the Glory of God’), one of the leading Babis. Although he was found not to have been involved in the assassination plot, he was nevertheless exiled from

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Iran to the Ottoman Empire, first to Baghdad, where he spent ten years, then, in 1863, to Istanbul, and four months later to Edirne, where he resided until 1868. Included in the group of exiles was his half-brother, Mirza Yahya, surnamed ‘Azal’ (‘Eternity’) and referred to by some authors as ‘Subh-i Azal’ (‘Morning of Eternity’), whom the Bab had made the nominal leader of the Babi community. However, in 1863, 19 years after the Bab’s declaration,14 Baha’u’llah, then in Baghdad, announced to his companions that he was the one promised by the Bab, ‘he whom God shall make manifest’. Later, while in Edirne, Baha’u’llah made this claim public, thus leading to a decisive break with Azal. The Babis then had to give their allegiance to one or the other, which also meant choosing between the stance of militancy and political activism associated with Azal, and the emphasis on political quietism and loyalty to the state enjoined by Baha’u’llah.15 Most Babis accepted Baha’u’llah’s claim and thenceforth became known as ‘ahl al-Baha’ (people of Baha) or ‘Baha’is’ (followers of Baha’u’llah) – with the term ‘Baha’i’ coming into use during the latter part of the Edirne period. In spite of the decisive separation between the Azalis – who were technically still Babis – on the one hand, and the Baha’is, on the other, much confusion existed among external observers concerning the two groups, and many Iranians often failed to differentiate between Baha’is and Babis altogether.16 The term ‘Babi’ continues even today to be used by Muslims as an epithet. Baha’is were also commonly referred to as ‘Babis’ by those foreigners who came into contact with them,17 including the Russian observers whose letters and documents are published in the present collection – a usage that would have been reinforced not only by the fact that the Muslims around them referred to Baha’is as ‘Babis’, but also by the practice of scholars such as E. G. Browne. So entrenched was the term that in 1901 the Baha’is of Baku, in a petition to the governor of Baku, referred to themselves as ‘Babis’. Thus, Russian variants of the term ‘Babi’ are commonly used to refer to Baha’is by the Russians in their letters and reports.18

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In 1868 Baha’u’llah was exiled to Acre in northern Palestine and Azal was sent to Cyprus. In Acre in 1873 Baha’u’llah wrote his most important work, the Kitab-i Aqdas (The Most Holy Book), his book of laws. The obligations of the individual believer included daily prayer, an annual fast, voluntary payment of a portion of one’s excess wealth to be spent for spreading the faith and charitable purposes, engaging in a trade or profession, educating one’s children, cleanliness and living a moral life. Prohibitions included – along with murder, theft, arson and adultery – slavery, asceticism, mendicancy, gambling, intoxicants, backbiting and fanaticism. In his first public announcement in 1863, Baha’u’llah had annulled the Islamic law of the sword (i.e., jihad) for the propagation of religion;19 in the Kitab-i Aqdas he further prohibited conflict, contention and sedition. Baha’u’llah also directed Baha’is to associate with the followers of all religions ‘with amity and concord’,20 and cancelled various Islamic restrictions – such as those on music – and some in the Bayan. Notably, Baha’u’llah declared women to have an equal status with men. He recommended marriage, discouraged divorce, and established the institution of the House of Justice, and of the Mashriq al-Adhkar (lit., ‘Dawning place of the mention of God’), or House of Worship.21 He designated his eldest son, ‘Abdu’l-Baha ‘Abbas, to be his successor as the head of the faith.22 The Russian officer Aleksandr Tumanskii would eventually translate the Kitab-i Aqdas into Russian, and the publication of his edition, which included as appendices several other writings of Baha’u’llah, would influence the impression and understanding of the religion by subsequent Russian officials, as reflected in the documents included in Volume 2. Of special importance to the spread of the Baha’i faith in Iran and other Islamic countries was the fact that the Baha’i teachings regard economic activity favourably. Baha’u’llah’s allowing moderate rates of interest on loans, while Islam forbade all its forms, may have been attractive enough for some Shi‘i merchants to be more

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attentive to the Baha’i message. Baha’u’llah also enjoined all to engage in work or a profession in order to support themselves and their families, and endorsed the individual’s right to property ownership and to dispose of that property freely.23 In matters pertaining to governance, Baha’u’llah in various writings denounced corruption and oppression and stressed the necessity for trustworthiness and justice, recommending constitutional monarchy and urging that officials be selected by merit. He emphasized the importance of education and the role of religion as the foundation of society and morality, and instructed Baha’is to be obedient to the established government.24 On the international level, Baha’u’llah called on rulers to become reconciled among themselves. He urged the adoption of a system of collective security and united response to aggression, an international tribunal to resolve conflicts between states, and an international auxiliary language as an instrument for promoting world unity.25 The Baha’i faith thus became a ‘source of religious, moral and social modernism in Qajar Iran’,26 continuously drawing converts not only from the Babi community but also from the majority Shi‘i population, especially from the educated and reform-minded sectors, as well as from other religious minorities, such as Zoroastrians (mainly in Yazd)27 and Jews (mainly in Kashan and Hamadan).28 Conversion also resulted from intensive propagation activity by individual Baha’is. The conversion to the Baha’i faith of a learned cleric, aristocrat, landlord or influential person – whether Shi‘i or from some other religion – was soon followed by others from among his religious community, family, employees, co-workers and so forth. Converts from liberal and pro-reform circles in Qajar society found the Baha’i emphasis on reform, modernization, education and science appealing. At the same time, however, anti-Babi and anti-Baha’i sentiment remained widespread, often culminating in mob violence against members of the religion, fomented by the ‘ulama and abetted by the government. Mass persecutions took place in Isfahan in 1874

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1. Baha’is in chains before being killed; from left: Mirza ‘Ali-Muhammad Varqa, Ruhullah Varqa, Mirza Husayn of Zanjan and Haji Iman of Zanjan, Iran, c. 1896. © Baha’i World Centre.

and 1880, in Tehran in 1882–83, and in Yazd in 1891. Sometimes, financial or political self-interest underlay anti-Baha’i acts. The execution in Isfahan in 1879 of two Baha’i brothers who were prominent and respected merchants was due entirely to their being creditors of a high-ranking cleric who did not want to pay his debts.29 Other cases of extortion were widespread.30 This continuing persecution, however, did not stop the spread of the Baha’i faith. Some of the Baha’is had connections to foreign governments: during the Babi period, Baha’u’llah’s brother-in-law was employed as a secretary in the Russian legation; later, a cousin of the Bab served as an official representative;31 and generally Baha’is maintained good relations with high-ranking officials of various countries that had interests in the country.32 Moreover, by the end of the nineteenth century a number of Iranian government officials,33 merchants, intellectuals and other persons of influence – including clerics34 – had either converted to the Baha’i faith or

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were sympathetic to it and its advanced, reformist teachings.35 Although the number of Baha’is among the Iranian elite is not known,36 it was not insignificant.37 By the late 1880s and early 1890s, some Baha’is even held high offices in the Qajar state.38 Generally, during the Qajar period, almost all social groups in Iranian society from the highest to the lowest were represented in the Baha’i community.39 Estimates differ as to the size of the Baha’i community in Iran during this period. Most point to the figure of 100,000, but Curzon believed the number to be at least half a million and at most a million, out of the total population of 9–10 million.40 Edward Granville Browne, who visited Iran in 1887–88, spoke of a large Baha’i community, reporting some 20 years later that the impression among all diplomatic circles in Iran was that the Baha’i faith would soon become the major religion there.41 In 1892 Vladimir Ignat’ev reported that ‘there are certain grounds to estimate that the number of the followers of the Bab [i.e., Baha’is] has reached one million’ and added that ‘they are dispersed in all strata of the population, not excluding the upper class.’42 It seems that certain people in both British and Russian circles had similar ideas regarding the size of the Baha’i community in Iran, although it is possible that both the British and the Russians were quoting Curzon for this high estimate. In 1895 Aleksandr Tumanskii wrote to Baron Viktor Rozen (the former teacher of both Ignat’ev and Tumanskii) that ‘in general, the total number of them [Baha’is] cannot exceed 100 or 150 thousand and the number given by Curzon and quoted by Browne is, in my opinion, exaggerated.’43 However, in the secret report Tumanskii had submitted in 1894 after his journey to Iran, he stated his estimate as ‘no less than 100,000 and no more than 200,000’.44 The problem of providing a more exact and realistic figure on the number of Baha’is in Iran was, according to Tumanskii, due to the fact that ‘the majority of them profess this teaching in secret.’45 Apart from those in the capital, Tehran, the major part of the

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2. Baha’is of Isfahan, Iran, c. 1880. © Baha’i World Centre.

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Baha’is were located in the provinces of Isfahan, Fars, Mazandaran and Khurasan. In general, the Baha’i faith spread mainly among the urban population, with three to four thousand in Tehran alone. Still, there were relatively a considerable number of Baha’is in a number of villages, in some of which they even formed the majority.46 Tumanskii reported that he encountered many Baha’is in different localities in Iran.47 Motivated to put into practice their ideals of change, reform and advancement, Baha’is endeavoured to spread the new faith. The result was not only the further dissemination of reformist ideas in Qajar society, but also the conversion of more people to the new religion and the creation of new communities. Yet the Baha’is were not living in a vacuum, and the constant interaction with a mostly Shi‘i (and therefore hostile) population often led to conflict and persecution including, at times, executions of Baha’is.48 With the passage of time, Baha’is in Iran began to organize their communities in accordance with Baha’u’llah’s laws – a process that of necessity developed gradually. Among the Islamic institutions abolished by Baha’u’llah was the clergy; the new religion’s administrative institutions, consisting of consultative councils (mahafil-i shawr), were to be democratically elected, a process that, in the absence of any experience of democracy, would take decades to introduce fully. Communal activities such as prayer meetings, holy day gatherings and other religious activities increased; and Baha’u’llah’s emphasis on the education of children of both sexes, and on health, prompted the establishment of modern Baha’i schools in many cities, towns and villages,49 as well as Baha’i bathhouses (with clean water – the use of the filthy public baths having been prohibited by Baha’u’llah), clinics and hospitals.50 Another new development was the emergence of Baha’i communities in neighbouring countries, such as the Ottoman Empire (Iraq, Turkey, Syria and Egypt), Russia (the Caucasus and Central Asia) and India, as well as in more distant places such as Sudan and Burma, with the faith carried even as far as China.51

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12 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS ‘Abdu’l-Baha and the Expansion of the Baha’i Faith, 1892–1921 Following the death of Baha’u’llah in 1892, his eldest son, ‘Abdu’lBaha, became the head of the Baha’i faith. During the three decades of his leadership, until his death in 1921, the Baha’i faith spread further in Iran, as well as to new countries. However, despite this rapid spread of the religion, or perhaps because of it, anti-Baha’i feeling remained rampant in Iran, particularly among the Shi‘i ‘ulama, their followers and their political allies. Occasionally, anti-Baha’i sentiment erupted in outbreaks of violent persecution such as occurred in 1903 in Yazd, Rasht and Isfahan. Although the principles underlying the Constitutionalist movement and revolution in Iran (1905–08) essentially originated in the West, many reformist ideas had been propagated and supported by Baha’is in Iran long before, as those ideas were central to the Baha’i faith. In fact, the Baha’i faith and community in Iran were very likely one of the major catalysts for the spread of reform and reformist ideas in that country, if not one of the originators of those concepts there.52 The author of a treatise in Persian on reform and modernization in Iran, titled Risalih-yi Madaniyyih (published in English as The Secret of Divine Civilization), was none other than ‘Abdu’l-Baha himself, who preferred to publish it anonymously due to the existing bigotry against the Baha’is.53 Nevertheless, the 1906 constitution did not bear good tidings for the Baha’i community in Iran. While much smaller religious minority groups – namely the Christians, Zoroastrians and Jews – received recognition in the constitution and subsequent acts, and were given the right of representation in the Majlis (Parliament), the Baha’is, who far outnumbered the other religious minorities, continued to be unrecognized and legally were non-persons in Iranian public life.54 However, compared to their status in the preConstitutional period, Baha’is were somewhat better off under the more liberal Constitutional regime. By then the state had ceased actively persecuting Baha’is and allowed them to open more

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3. Spiritual Assembly and other Baha’is, Tabriz, Iran, c. 1912. In the front row, calligraphic rendering of the Greatest Name, Ya Baha al-Abha (O thou glory of glories). © Baha’i World Centre.

schools, which were attended not only by Baha’i children but increasingly by non-Baha’is, especially Muslims, some of them from influential and prominent Shi‘i families.55 During this period the Baha’is seemed to have reached a numerical peak in relation to the total population in Iran, possibly even as high as 2.5 per cent.56 Russia, Iran and the Babi and Baha’i Religions Although the relative proximity of Iran to Russia was an ample and natural reason for the latter to be interested in the former, before the eighteenth century this interest was sporadic and mainly limited to the commerce which either existed between the two countries or passed through them between East and West. A major shift occurred in the eighteenth century when Russia, driven by possibilities of both commerce and conquest under Peter the

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14 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS Great, began to show more interest in both the Caucasus and Iran. With the Safavid state disintegrating, Russia made a move on Iran’s Caspian provinces, but despite some initial successes soon had to withdraw.57 By the end of the eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth centuries, regional and international developments had upgraded Iran’s importance in the strategic thinking of Russia, and Russia took a renewed interest in the Caucasus, aiming to form buffer states by creating an Armenian state and enlarging the Georgian one. But this scheme collided with the irredentist policies of the Qajars, who had just established themselves as the new rulers of Iran. The situation was further complicated by the greater involvement of France and Britain in the region. Iran soon found itself in a middle of a European power struggle in the Middle East, involving the Russians in the Caucasus, the British in India and the French in Egypt – a struggle which itself was merely a side-show to the power struggle underway in Europe. With the French military presence being quite brief (1798– 1801), the stage was left mainly to Russia and Britain. Iran was stuck in-between, losing all its Caucasian territories to Russia and increasingly contained, mainly by the British, in the west (southern Iraq), east (Afghanistan) and south (the Persian Gulf). Russia and Britain began the rivalry that came to be known as ‘the Great Game’, with Iran at centre stage. This contest was not gauged by battles won in the field but rather by influence in Iran in general, and at the Qajar court in particular.58 Hence both Russia and Britain were constantly following developments, gathering information and searching out new allies in Iran.59 In such circumstances the appearance of the Bab and the Babi movement presented a major development, one with socioeconomic and political as well as religious repercussions, which attracted the attention of both powers. Although the Russians did not learn about the existence of the Babis for several years, once they did, the members of the Russian

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diplomatic and consular corps in Iran closely followed the spread of the Babi movement and kept their superiors informed about it. Prince Dmitrii Ivanovich Dolgorukov, Russian Minister in Tehran from 1845 to 1854, reported to the Foreign Ministry the commotion which the Bab’s teachings were creating in Iran and the atrocities committed against his followers. After the Bab was imprisoned in 1847 at Maku (or Mahku) – a town located near Russian territory – Dolgorukov was so fearful that repercussions of any commotion there might spread into the Russian Caucasus that he demanded the shah move the Bab away from the border.60 From 1848 onward, the Bab, Babis and the Babi movement were frequently referred to in Dolgorukov’s dispatches.61 A year later, Dolgorukov asked Nikolai Vladimirovich Khanykov, the Russian consul in Tabriz, to obtain as much information as possible about the Bab, his doctrines and his followers, and he himself sent reports about the upheavals at Zanjan and Nayriz.62 The early reports reflected what Dolgorukov and other diplomats were told by the Iranian officials, who were initially their sole source of information, and who, as the Russians realized by 1850, ‘intentionally distort this teaching in their stories about it’.63 (An exceptional communication to St Petersburg was a sketch of the Bab’s remains, which Khanykov, Russian consul in Tabriz, witnessed himself.64) Dolgorukov’s primary contact would have been the prime minister: Haji Mirza Aqasi was virulently hostile towards the Babis, while his successor Mirza Taqi Khan, Amir Kabir, himself gave the order for the execution of the Bab.65 It was only later that Dolgorukov began to obtain more accurate information when he made contact with Babis in Tehran through the brother-in-law of Baha’u’llah, who was employed as a secretary in the Russian legation.66 After the Bab’s execution, the Russian representatives in Iran continued to monitor the situation of the Babi leadership. When Baha’u’llah was arrested following the failed attempt on the shah, Dolgorukov endeavoured to have him released. Although it is quite

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16 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS possible that he did so from personal or humanitarian reasons – he found the wanton bloodshed ‘repulsive’67 – one cannot rule out that by 1852–53 (and after the Bab’s execution), the Russians had already recognized the importance of Baha’u’llah as a leading figure of the Babi movement, and, therefore, of possible use by them in Iran and the region in the future. When in 1853 the Iranian government sent Baha’u’llah into exile, Dolgorukov offered him a haven in Russia, an offer Baha’u’llah declined, preferring to go to Baghdad. Dolgorukov then ordered that a Russian official accompany Baha’u’llah to Baghdad.68 Years later, in a tablet to Tsar Alexander II (r. 1855–81), Baha’u’llah noted the assistance rendered to him by Russia while he was imprisoned.69 After Baha’u’llah’s exile from Iran, Russian diplomats continued to follow developments in the Babi, and later the Baha’i, community. Naturally, they were aware of the state’s – as well as the Shi‘i clergy’s and general population’s – hatred towards the Babis and Baha’is. Yet, given the spread of the movement, first in Iran and later in other parts of the Middle East and beyond, they must have been aware of the possibilities that their support to and protection of the Babis could hold for Russia’s regional interests. As Iran was most important in these interests, the Russians were quite careful not to get too close to the Babis and, later, Baha’is, to avoid arousing not only the suspicions of the Iranian government and population, but also their animosity towards Russia, which could have been disastrous for Russian interests and in the Great Game. Still, at times the Russians found themselves at the centre of the storm, as exemplified by an incident in 1903. During an antiBaha’i pogrom, a large group of Baha’is in Isfahan sought refuge in the Russian consulate, apparently encouraged to do so by the acting consul, M. Baronovskii, who made a short-lived attempt to intervene on their behalf.70 Although the incident ended badly, with Baronovskii making all the refuge-seekers leave (some of them subsequently being murdered), such attempts nevertheless reinforced the Russians’ pro-Baha’i image among Iranian officials

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and the populace.71 Surely, if that impression was not due to Russian endeavours on behalf of Baha’u’llah, the liberal attitude shown by the Russians towards the Baha’is must have contributed greatly to it. Russian diplomats were not the only Russians who showed interest in the Babi/Baha’i faith; a number of others became particularly intrigued by the new religion. Some of those, such as Kazem-Bek, Dorn, Bakulin and Rozen, were academics, while others, such as Khanykov, Tumanskii, Sevriugin and Moshnin, studied it in their official capacity.72 Russian intellectual and artistic circles were also showing interest. Their attention was drawn to the new religion partly due to publications by Russian scholars, or through personal encounters by some, such as Count Leo Tolstoy and Isabel Grinevskaya, who shared their impressions with a wider circle. Grinevskaya’s dramatic poem, entitled ‘The Bab’, which was first performed in St Petersburg in 1903, where it captured the attention of the educated classes, became accessible to a larger audience after the February 1917 Revolution, when it was staged in the Folk Theatre in the same city, which was now called Leningrad.73 There is no doubt, however, that the creation of a Baha’i community on Russian soil was a major factor in increasing the knowledge of and interest in the new religion. One of the driving forces behind the expansion of the Baha’i faith beyond its country of origin was the severe persecution of, and discrimination against, Baha’is in Iran. Baha’is also faced harsh treatment by the Sunni Ottomans. Quite naturally, then, the Baha’is began to seek non-Muslim countries as destinations, with the territories northeast of Iran, newly conquered by Christian Russia, seeming to offer a refuge. By the mid-nineteenth century, Iran’s territories in the Caucasus had came under full and direct Russian control.74 The conquest of Central Asia began in the second half of the nineteenth century. From a political, military and strategic point of view, the conquest aimed at defending Russia’s southern border, restoring

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18 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS Russian military prestige by compensating for territorial losses in the Balkans and the northern shore of the Black Sea, which Russia lost during the Crimean War of 1853–56, and curbing the British in Asia as part of the Great Game. From an economic and commercial point of view, control of Central Asia would provide security for Russian trade caravans and new markets for the goods produced in Russia’s rapidly developing industries.75 The Russian conquest of Central Asia south of the Syr Darya River took 22 years to complete. The capture of the Turkmen regions bordering Iran east of the Caspian Sea was accomplished in 1881, followed by the signing of the Akhal-Khurasan Convention establishing the Transcaspian frontier between Iran and Russia.76 In order to control and administer this vast new area, the Russians decided to restrict, modernize and expand the town of Askhabad (now called Ashgabat) – a village (aul) of about 500 Turkmen huts, located some 600 kilometers east of the Caspian Sea and 40 kilometers north of the Iranian border – and turn it into the capital and administrative and military centre of the recently conquered region. Ashgabat was thus modelled after European, rather than Asian, cities.77 The Russian conquest of the Muslim territories of the Caucasus and Central Asia, and especially those bordering Iran – namely, Azerbaijan and Transcaspia78 – and their capitals (Baku and Ashgabat, respectively) turned these regions and towns into potentially safer locations for Baha’is to practise their faith. Both border towns underwent rapid colonization, urbanization and modernization, attracting a considerable number of Iranians in search of work, opportunities for trade or, in the case of the Baha’is, seeking to escape religious persecution.79 In fact, the Baha’is who settled in these territories during this period were part of a wider phenomenon of Iranian migration to Russia in general.80 But there is no doubt that the fact that Russian officials in Iran had protected the persecuted Babis on a number of occasions, and had offered assistance to Baha’u’llah, made Russian-controlled territories more

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appealing to Iranian Baha’is in search of a safe haven.81 Moreover, many Baha’is were builders or traders and could benefit from opportunities in booming frontier towns and cities such as Baku and Ashgabat.82 Indeed, those places quickly attracted growing numbers of Baha’is fleeing Iran. Conceivably, the immunity enjoyed by Russian subjects in Iran due to their capitulatory status also played a role in the migration of Iranian Baha’is to Russian territories, for theoretically if Baha’is decided to return to Iran, they too would enjoy such immunity. Indeed, a number of Russian officials referred to this issue. Vladimir Ignat’ev, then an official of the Transcaspian administration stationed in Ashgabat, stated in one of his letters to Baron Rozen that ‘the local Babis [i.e., Baha’is] endeavour with all their might to attract the attention of the authorities and to secure the sympathy and protection of Russia.’83 In practice, however, the result was more likely to be as Ignat’ev explained: ‘Even if they were granted Russian nationality, this would not change their situation, for even under such conditions, upon their appearance in Persia, their heads would still be chopped off.’ Although Ignat’ev’s observation was no doubt correct for the vast majority of the Iranian Baha’is, there were a few high-profile exceptions. One such individual was Haji Mirza Muhammad-Taqi Shirazi – a leading wholesale merchant (tajir) originally from Shiraz, who in 1889 was appointed as the representative of Russia (vakil al-dawlih-yi Rus) and its commercial agent (vakil al-tijjarih) in Yazd. Because of his position, the Russian flag was fixed on his house, and he and his family were protected by Iranian soldiers provided by the Iranian government.84 Baha’i Communities in Transcaspia With the Baha’i community in Iran under severe pressure, Baha’u’llah began encouraging Baha’is to emigrate from Iran to Ashgabat soon after Russia took control of the region and restructured that town.85 Sayyid Muhsin Afnan, on a visit to Acre, had ‘suggested to Baha’u’llah that Baha’is might immigrate to this city

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20 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS and stressed the new, strong Russian authority there which could offer safety and protection to the friends, the availability of work, the abundance of land, etc.’86 Ashgabat: The First Baha’i Community in Transcaspia The first Baha’is who arrived in Ashgabat had earlier fled to Sabzivar, close to the Russian border, following persecution in their home cities of Isfahan and Yazd,87 but with the outbreak of persecution in Sabzivar as well in 1884, they sought refuge in Ashgabat. The arrivals included Muhammad-Riza Arbab bin Muhammad-Kazim Isfahani and Haji ‘Abd al-Rasul Yazdi bin Muhammad-‘Ali Yazdi, soon followed by Ustad ‘Ali-Akbar Banna Yazdi, Ustad Muhammad-Riza Khurramshahri and others, including members of their families and friends.88 Other Baha’is, such as Haji Mirza Hasan, the Great Afnan, who quickly grasped that the new Russian city offered excellent opportunities for commerce and investment, promptly purchased property there.89 Ashgabat’s commercially strategic location was enhanced by a new railway that connected it first to the eastern coast of the Caspian Sea, in 1885, and later to Samarkand, in 1888.90 This added value attracted Baha’i merchants to move to Ashgabat. The area of the local bazaar in general and the Sara-yi Rashti – a caravanserai owned by the Shirazi/Afnan family, became the central place for the majority of the Baha’is of Ashgabat.91 Apart from merchants, the rest of the Baha’i immigrants to Ashgabat were mostly builders and labourers who could find work in construction in the rapidly expanding town.92 Soon (around the mid-1880s) the number of Iranian Baha’is in Ashgabat was 400–500, and by 1890 it had swelled to over 1,000,93 with the Baha’is constituting a relatively much larger proportion of the population in Ashgabat than they did in Iran.94 This growth resulted from a number of factors, namely, being informed of the attractive conditions in Ashgabat by family and friends among the earlier Baha’i refugees; the greater opportunities for work in Ashgabat, which promised economic

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growth; and the religious tolerance of both the Tsarist regime and the local non-Muslim population towards the Baha’is.95 Additionally, it is possible that the Russian government welcomed and even encouraged the immigration of these and other Iranians to its new occupied territories. Builders and merchants could not only help the Russians develop the area, but also contribute to the economic boom there. As most of the native population were nomad Turkmen, the coming of Iranian urban émigrés could help stabilize the area. The fact that many merchants among the émigrés established new businesses in Transcaspia while still maintaining their businesses in Iran would provide the Russians an opportunity to further develop their trade with (and thus also their influence in) Iran. It is likely that in providing a safe haven for the Iranian Baha’is, the Russians saw the possibility of using the presence of these émigrés as a bargaining card to pressure the generally anti-Baha’i Iranian government, and to extract further concessions from it. The Russian government may even have hoped to use the Baha’is, and their communities in Iran, as a source from which to gather intelligence in a country where Russia had many interests. In a period when affording protection to religious minorities was one way for European powers to increase their influence in the Middle East, the protection of the Baha’is might have been regarded, as least in certain circles in Russia, as a golden opportunity to further Russian influence and penetration into the Middle East in general and Iran in particular. Seen through the prism of the Great Game, it could have, no doubt, provided the Russians with an excellent excuse to meddle in territories historically regarded as a British zone of influence. The tolerance of the Russian regime and the local non-Muslim population towards the Baha’is – especially in contrast to the intolerance of the Shi‘ite Muslim population – was clearly demonstrated in an event that took place on 8 September 1889, the aftermath of which led to a landmark in the history of the Baha’i faith.

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22 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS Volume 2 of this collection includes documents that directly concern the case and which offer new information about the Russian perceptions of this episode. The Baha’is were only a relatively small part of a larger Iranian émigré population in Ashgabat, the majority of whom were Shi‘i and harboured the same hatred towards the Baha’is as their compatriots across the border. On that September day, in the bazaar a number of fanatical Shi‘is, resentful of the prosperous and growing Baha’i community, stabbed to death Haji Muhammad-Riza Isfahani, a respected elderly local Baha’i leader who was the agent for the prominent Afnan family in Ashgabat. According to various sources, the murder was plotted by a number of leading Iranian Muslim merchants in collaboration with some ‘ulama who came from Khurasan for this specific purpose, probably intending to incite the Muslim community against the Baha’is while at the same time doing damage to the Afnan commercial network.97 The involvement of Iranian Shi‘i clerics and merchants in such a conspiracy is logical in light of the setting. Ashgabat was near the border with Iran, enabling an easy escape route. A new wave of Baha’i persecution was sweeping through Iran at that time, and the Muslims may have been encouraged to carry it over the border. The target, Haji Muhammad-Riza Isfahani, was well known both as a prominent Baha’i and as a merchant, bold in identifying himself as a Baha’i and powerful as the local agent of the Afnan commercial house. A motive may also have been greed.98 By 1889, many Baha’i merchants had acquired property in Ashgabat, and some, like the Afnans, had moved part of their business to the new city. In numerous previous cases in Iran, Shi‘i clerics, conspiring with others – merchants, thugs, or local officials – had initiated persecution of Baha’is in order to take over their property, as exemplified by the case, mentioned earlier, of the two brothers from Isfahan in 1879. The presence in Ashgabat of many Baha’i merchants with extensive assets may have been too tempting to resist.

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The murder had been intended to trigger a general pogrom against the Baha’is. It took place in public in front of a crowd of some 500 Muslims who cheered approvingly. The assailants did not try to conceal their crime or their identity.99 Apparently they felt quite immune, giving little weight to the fact that they were under Russian, not Iranian, authority. Indeed, even when the governor began to make arrests, the perpetrators contended that the Russian authorities need not concern themselves about the case, as it was a religious dispute between Iranians.100 However, unlike Russian subjects in Iran, Iranian subjects in Russia did not enjoy capitulatory status. Once the culprits realized that their crime would not be ignored or condoned by the Russian authorities, they tried to flee, but the local authorities, under General Aleksandr Vissarionovich Komarov, the governor-general of Transcaspia,101 managed to arrest a number of those involved in the plot. Since the area, as a frontier zone, was under military rule, the suspects were brought before a special military tribunal sent from St Petersburg in November 1890. Some 150 persons were called to testify at the trial.102 This was a much different setting and procedure from that to which the Iranian Baha’is and Shi‘is had been accustomed. Although two of the accused were found innocent, the pair who had committed the murder were sentenced to death, and the rest of the conspirators – to exile in Siberia, imprisonment and deportation to Iran. Nasir al-Din Shah regarded the verdict as recognition by Russia of the hated Baha’is. He, together with the Rukn al-Dawlih, the Shi‘i ‘ulama and the entire clerical establishment of Mashhad, attempted to influence the Russian authorities to remit the sentences, according to one account threatening that if the sentences were carried out, ‘the Persians would in future regard Russia as the foe of Islam and the friend of Babis, renegades, and of the shah’s enemies in general’.103 The Russian officials insisted they were unable to rescind a court judgement, something that could be done only by the tsar. Accordingly, the Iranians appealed to the tsar to overturn the sentences.

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24 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS In an extraordinary act, the local Baha’is themselves pleaded with the Russian authorities to spare the lives of the two murderers who had been sentenced to death, and the sentence was commuted to exile in Siberia.104 This action was viewed by observers with surprise, demonstrating the humane, nonviolent character of the Baha’i faith and redounding to the prestige of the religion and its followers.105 The shah, however, was not satisfied, considering transportation to Siberia as ‘equal to death’.106 The case marked a watershed: for the first time the Baha’is – and their persecutors – received justice from the authorities, and Russia was the first country to recognize the Baha’i faith as a religion distinct from Islam. News of the case reached the Baha’is in Iran just as a new wave of persecution was underway, especially in major cities such as Isfahan, Yazd and Tehran, as well as throughout the province of Khurasan. The news of a proven safe haven just across the border, combined with the economic opportunities offered in Ashgabat, was highly attractive and resulted in an even larger surge of Baha’i immigrants there. This instance, however, was not the only case of Russian protection of Baha’is against anti-Baha’i activity. In the wake of the events in Ashgabat, the shah was further infuriated by a newspaper report concerning the new governor-general of Transcaspia, Aleksei Nikolaevich Kuropatkin, who had replaced Komarov in 1890. The Kavkaz newspaper had reported that Kuropatkin was greeted on his arrival by a delegation of Baha’is seeking the protection and recognition of the Russian government for the Baha’is in Transcaspia as well as those in Iran. The Iranian prime minister Amin al-Sultan warned the Russian minister, Yevgenii Karlovich Biutsov, that the shah would be ‘exceedingly angry’ if the Russians agreed to extend any such protection, which he would regard as an interference in Iranian independence. Biutsov ‘replied that the Russian Government would not protect the Babis; but begged that the Shah would not insist on their being forced to return to Persia’.107

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Later, in 1897, based on a report of the local police, the chief of the Ashgabat District informed General Kuropatkin that many Shiite fanatics who arrive from Persia via Julfa to Uzun Ada in Askhabad, under the pretext of further travel to Meshed on pilgrimage, carry with them firearms and side arms, the carrying of which is prohibited to them by law, and stay in Askhabad, where they organize plots against the Babis [Baha’is], whom they threaten with murder.108 The existence of such plots was, to some extent, confirmed not only by Haji Muhammad-Riza Isfahani’s case, but also by the more recent attempted murder of another Baha’i, Haji Abu-Talib Sadykhov. Following this report, Kuropatkin ordered ‘the establishment of vigilant surveillance over all Muslims arriving in the Region and … the protection of the Babis [Baha’is] …’109 What clearly was an advantage for the Baha’is of Iran – namely a refuge just across the border to the north – also had the potential to create a major problem in Russo-Iranian relations, especially due to the enmity which Nasir al-Din Shah had towards the Baha’is. According to Ignat’ev, the growing Baha’i presence in Ashgabat, and the favour shown them by local Russian authorities, had already reflected very negatively on Russia’s relations with Iran. He therefore proposed that the Baha’is should be removed from Ashgabat to a location much more distant from the border, such as Moscow.110 However, an opposite school of thought in Russia saw in the Baha’is a potential asset for Russia and the expansion of Orthodox Christianity, for they regarded the Baha’i faith as a transitional stage between Islam and Orthodoxy.111 The existence of such opposing views was probably confusing for the Russian officials who had to deal with the Baha’is of Ashgabat on a daily basis, and the animosity shown by the Iranian state and society towards the Baha’is – as well as the importance of Iran to Russian policy makers – further complicated the problem,

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26 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS especially in times of heightened anti-Baha’i sentiment such as the period immediately after the assassination of Nasir al-Din Shah in 1896. Rumors about the assassination brought Kuropatkin to ask Biutsov to confirm whether any Baha’i was indeed involved in it, and, if the rumors had any firm basis, how were the Baha’is to be treated: ‘permit them as before to live freely in the district or, out of fear that they would weave here the breeding ground of a new plot, prohibit them from living in the Region’.112 However, three months earlier Biutsov had already replied to a similar question from Kuropatkin’s subordinate, saying: ‘The absence in the teachings of the Babis [Baha’is] of any political aspirations, and their trustworthiness as obedient citizens, demonstrated by those sectarians who live within the borders of Russia, indicate that they deserve tolerance and protection equally with the followers of other Muslim groups.’113 Thus, satisfied that the Baha’is were of a peaceful, apolitical, and civically responsible character, and therefore posed no threat to public order, Russia granted them the same status as that of other (non-Russian Orthodox) religions. The Baha’i immigrants had come almost entirely from Iran, and comprised the great majority of the Baha’i community of Ashgabat. In general the Baha’is did not attempt to convert members of the local population. There were good reasons for that. The Sunni Turkmen and Kazakh inhabitants, who were at odds with Shi‘i Iranians both religiously and ethnically, tended not to differentiate the Baha’is from the Shi‘a, and in any case there was a language barrier between them. As for the Russians, Baha’u’llah had told the Baha’is not to attempt to convert Russian Christians since Russian law prohibited any religious propagational activity aimed at converting Christian subjects of Russia to other religions. The Baha’i community of Ashgabat thus existed for the most part as a self-contained Iranian émigré enclave.114 Still, in spite of the religious and ethnic barriers and the legal impediment, it seems that some local Sunnis and Christians did

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convert to the Baha’i faith. In 1892 Ignat’ev could report that ‘among the Sunnites the number of followers of the [Baha’i] sect is quite insignificant’, which would seem to imply that at least a few Sunnis did convert.115 He also reported that ‘one Persian here conveyed to me as reliable the fact that not long ago in Askhabad two Armenians (of Armenian Gregorian confession) became Babis.’ Fearing the harsh reaction of the local authorities, those Christian converts ‘carefully conceal their conversion to Babism [i.e., the Baha’i faith]’.116 In the mid-1890s, a decade after the arrival of the first Baha’is from Iran, the Baha’is’ growing numbers, and the freedom of worship they had discovered in Ashgabat, prompted them to begin to set up some of the institutions envisaged by Baha’u’llah and ‘Abdu’l-Baha.117 The first communal buildings and institutions raised by the Baha’is of Ashgabat were located on a tract of land in the centre of town. These were a public bath, followed by a meeting hall (in 1895), a travellers’ hospice, a dispensary, a hospital, a boys’ elementary school (in 1897), and a cemetery. The Baha’is of Ashgabat also formed committees to organize religious observances and manage the affairs of the community.118 The construction of the most important institution, the Mashriq alAdhkar,119 or House of Worship, began only in late 1902,120 with the foundation stone being laid by General Dmitrii I. Subotich, the Russian military governor of the region.121 This was the first Baha’i Mashriq al-Adhkar ever constructed, and the participation of high-ranking Russian officials in the ceremonial event was further evidence of Russian official recognition of the Baha’i faith. The building was designed by Ustad ‘Ali-Akbar Banna Yazdi, an Iranian Baha’i architect who supervised the construction together with a Russian engineer named Volkov.122 The project manager was Haji Mirza Muhammad-Taqi Shirazi, who by then was also known by the surname ‘Afnan’. Construction was completed in 1906, although the interior and exterior decoration was not finished until 1919.123 Most of the costs were covered by the

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4. Centre: Haji Mirza Muhammad-Taqi Afnan, Vakil al-Dawlih, chief builder of the Mashriq al-Adhkar in Ashgabat, holding a drawing of the building. © Baha’i World Centre.

Afnan family, with further donations from ‘Abdu’l-Baha and many other Baha’is, both rich and poor.124 Once completed, the Mashriq al-Adhkar was the largest house of worship of any religion in Ashgabat,125 and its establishment was regarded by Baha’is as ‘one of the most brilliant and enduring achievements in the history of the first Baha’i century’.126 The Mashriq al-Adhkar reinforced not only the religious but also the social life of the Baha’is of Ashgabat. Much of their community life revolved around it, further enhanced by the construction of additional institutions in its environs. A girls’ school, two kindergartens and a Baha’i library and reading room were among the new institutions built in the early 1900s.127 Another institution formed at that time was the Local Spiritual Assembly, the council responsible for administering the affairs of the Baha’i community. Assembly members, elected by the community, were generally

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5. The Mashriq al-Adhkar of Ashgabat. © Baha’i World Centre.

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6. Interior of the dome of the Mashriq al-Adhkar. © Baha’i World Centre.

7. Interior view of the Mashriq al-Adhkar. © Baha’i World Centre.

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wealthy and respected individuals.128 Apart from this elected leadership, certain other individuals played a major role in the economic, intellectual and social development of the community. The contribution of the Afnan commercial house both in developing the economic life of the Ashgabat Baha’i community and in contributing financially towards various other communal purposes has already been mentioned. In addition, the presence in Ashgabat of leading Baha’i intellectuals such as Mirza Abu al-Fazl Gulpayigani, Aqa Shaykh Muhammad Qa’ini and their nephews – Sayyid Mahdi Gulpayigani129 and Shaykh Muhammad-‘Ali Qa’ini,130 respectively – turned the city into a major centre of learning and intellectual life in the Baha’i world.131 About the Baha’i women of Ashgabat we know few details. Although the Baha’i teachings include the equal status of women, and their full and open participation in society, the implementation of that principle would require a process of gradual incremental change in order to overcome deeply ingrained cultural habits. Even while Baha’is were striving to develop new attitudes and practices within their own internal community life, in public settings it was felt prudent to defer to the customs of the surrounding culture to avoid provoking violent reactions: in Iranian Shi‘i society any lapse in the segregation of the sexes, or for a woman to go about unveiled, was viewed as shockingly immoral. Accordingly, it was not until after the Russian Revolution that women could be elected to the Local Assembly. For the same reason, the Baha’i women of Ashgabat, who had wanted to do away with the veil, continued to observe the Islamic custom in public although (as in Iran) in private homes they did not.132 As can be seen in the photographs in these volumes, however, the Baha’i women had no reticence about being photographed. Also, while in the early years the gatherings in the Baha’i meeting hall adjacent to the Mashriq al-Adhkar were segregated, with the men seated on the ground floor and the women and children on an upper balcony, in the photograph on p. 34 women can be seen seated on the ground floor facing the men.

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32 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS By the time of the October 1917 Revolution, the Baha’i community of Ashgabat had reached an unprecedented level of socioeconomic development,133 becoming self-supporting and eliminating poverty among its members, with ‘full male and female literacy among their youth’.134 Other Baha’i Communities East of the Caspian Baha’is settled in other parts of Transcaspia apart from Ashgabat, mainly in large cities and towns such as Bukhara, Marv, Samarkand and Tashkent, all located along a general axis to the northeast of Ashgabat. The earliest settlement of Baha’is in Bukhara is recorded as being in 1880, when ‘Azizullah Jazzab Khurasani, a former Jew who had converted to the Baha’i faith three years earlier, settled there.135 The nucleus of the Baha’i community in Bukhara received an important boost with the arrival of a member of the Afnan family, Mirza Mahmud Afnan, son of Haji Mirza Muhammad-Taqi Shirazi (Afnan) Vakil al-Dawlih. As in Ashgabat, the presence of the House of Afnan in Bukhara provided a major impetus not only to commercial activity in the city and the region, but also to the development of the Baha’i community there.136 Sometime afterwards, Mirza Abu al-Fazl Gulpayigani, the distinguished Baha’i intellectual and scholar, arrived in Bukhara. He had left Tehran in 1886, at the behest of Baha’u’llah, to spread the Baha’i faith, and spent three years on this mission in various parts of Iran. He then set out for the new Baha’i communities in Turkestan, arriving in Ashgabat in 1889. There he found a thriving community137 and departed for Bukhara in 1890, arriving 30 hours later by means of the rapid new railway.138 On this first visit, Gulpayigani remained in Bukhara for a week only, but he returned there several times more, staying for a longer period in 1891/2. It was there that a manuscript titled ‘Hudud al-‘Alam min al-Mashriq ila al-Maghrib’ (The Regions of the World from East to West) came into his hands. A geography book, written in Persian in 982/3 by

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8. Baha’i girls’ class in Ashgabat, c. 1883. © Baha’i World Centre.

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9. Ridwan celebration at the hall associated with the Mashriq al-Adhkar in Ashgabat, 1932. © Baha’i World Centre.

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an unknown author, it illuminated the margins of the Islamic world. The book was saved from obscurity and gained prominence mainly due to Gulpayigani, who gave it to Aleksandr Tumanskii,139 as described in one of the letters included in this volume. Gulpayigani, who resided intermittently in Ashgabat, Bukhara and Samarkand, is viewed as perhaps the single most formidable Baha’i personality to shape the Baha’i communities of Turkestan.140 A vital role in establishing and expanding those Baha’i communities was also played by the Afnan merchant family in particular and Baha’i merchants in general. The Russian conquest of Turkestan, and the relative security subsequently established throughout those vast territories, attracted many Iranian merchants. Some of them were Baha’is, who viewed these new territories not only as places of refuge where they might practise their faith more freely, but also as new markets for commercial activity. The combination of religion and commerce, therefore, became a successful formula for the spread of the new faith. ‘Abdu’l-Baha, together with several prominent Baha’i merchants, including the Afnan family, founded Shirkat-i Umid (the Hope Company) in 1902 specifically to provide income for Baha’i believers as well as for the propagation of the faith.141 The company opened branches in Shanghai, Marv, Bukhara, Samarkand and Ashgabat, and was involved in various commercial activities, especially in the tea trade, employing many Baha’is in these localities.142 By the beginning of the twentieth century, and after having established and organized themselves in Ashgabat and other parts of Turkestan, the Baha’is were ready to begin their propagation campaign there, using their relatively extended and strong commercial presence and economic activity as the medium for approaching potential groups for conversion. One such group were the Shi‘i merchants. Like their Baha’i counterparts, Shi‘i merchants from Iran also recognized the economic opportunities in the new markets of Turkestan and many had also hurried to the new territories seeking economic gain. Given the limitations imposed by

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36 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS the Russian authorities – namely the prohibition against converting Christians – and the lack of interest of the native Sunnis, the Iranian Shi‘i émigré merchants and their families became the main target group. Through commercial activity and companies such as Umid, as well as because they spoke the same language, Baha’is actively promoted emigration to the new territories of Turkestan among Shi‘i merchants, as well as encouraging commercial transactions with Baha’i merchants, and eventually converting some of the merchants and their families to the Baha’i faith. A number of factors facilitated that process. The overall progressive orientation of the Baha’i faith and the high value it attached to socially beneficial labour, including economic activity, combined with the novel attitude towards interest (riba)143 and the strong mercantile leadership of the Baha’i communities in and outside Iran, created a positive and comfortable background for establishing contacts with Iranian Shi‘i merchants. Additionally, outside Iran, and especially in territories ruled by Christians, Iranians found themselves under fewer religious constraints, and thus freer to pursue their own commercial affairs. Moreover, by the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth centuries it was probably known to Muslims in general and Iranian Shi‘is in particular that under Russian rule they had to adopt a completely different code of social conduct – especially towards the Baha’is – than they were accustomed to in their home country. Furthermore, since many of the Baha’is were themselves merchants or traders, they knew how to approach their Shi‘i counterparts. All these were major factors facilitating the conversion of a considerable number of Shi‘i merchants and their families into the Baha’i faith. Two such early Baha’i merchants and spokesmen were Mirza Munir Nabilzadih144 and Mirza Mahdi Rashti, who were active mainly in Bukhara and Samarkand. They, like others, travelled through the main cities and towns of Turkestan to promote the Baha’i faith, mainly through the medium of commerce, addressing the Iranian émigré community. While in Samarkand in 1887/8,

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Rashti, together with a number of other Baha’i émigré merchants from Mashhad, coalesced the nucleus of the Baha’i community in that city, establishing, among other things, a Baha’i periodical and a library and reading room. He continued to visit Samarkand, as well as other cities in Turkestan, mainly to propagate the faith, but also on commercial business. At the beginning of 1902, and shortly after the founding of the Umid Company, Rashti, his son Zia’ullah and ‘Abd al-Baqi Yazdi were the first Baha’is to arrive in Shanghai, after a 28-day passage through Siberia and Manchuria, in order to set up a branch of the company there and to propagate the Baha’i faith.145 But if commerce attracted converts to the Baha’i faith, something more was required to keep them in the fold. This apparently was the task of Baha’is with greater knowledge of Baha’i doctrines – intellectuals such as Gulpayigani. He roamed the cities of Turkestan, moving from place to place, heading for ever more distant locations where new Baha’i communities were emerging.146 During his longest sojourn, in Samarkand, where he stayed for five years (1890–94), he helped convert Muslims, enhanced the knowledge of the Baha’is in the sacred writings of their faith, organized meetings and hosted Baha’i travellers, so that by 1892 the Baha’i community there numbered over 100.147 Marv was another Transcaspian city in which a Baha’i community sprang up in the late nineteenth century. Here too, the community was largely made up of Iranian Baha’i businessmen and tradesmen who moved there either to escape persecution, or in pursuit of economic profit, or both. In Marv, however, some of the Baha’i newcomers had earlier immigrated to other, more established cities in Transcaspia and were now seeking to expand their economic activities further into the hinterland. Typically, the Jazzab family, who had settled in Bukhara, opened a willow-processing factory in Marv.148 By 1907, the Baha’i community of Marv had increased to such a level that it was applying to the Russian authorities for a tract of land to establish a Mashriq al-Adhkar. In line with

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38 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS the Russians’ positive attitude towards the Baha’is elsewhere, this request was also approved by the Russian authorities. A tract of land was given to the Baha’is as well as a permit to build the desired building, but, failing to secure other necessary means, the project never materialized. However, the Baha’is of Marv did succeed in establishing a guesthouse and an elementary school.149 Information regarding Baha’i settlement in Tashkent seems to be unavailable, presumably because of the city’s remoteness from Iran and the other Baha’i settlements in Transcaspia. Conceivably, as in Marv, Baha’is from Iran who had first immigrated to Ashgabat, Bukhara or Samarkand later moved on to Tashkent, or expanded their commercial activity there. Curiously, the scant information regarding the early Baha’is in that city includes the fact that in contrast to the propagation efforts in other Transcaspian cities discussed above, two early converts to the Baha’i faith in Tashkent were local Christians by the names of Malok and Makanov.150 Baha’i Communities in the Caucasus After Iran lost its territories north of the Aras River, Azerbaijan was divided into Russian Azerbaijan (in the north) and Iranian Azerbaijan (in the south). The existence, on both sides of the border, of a population that was ethnically, religiously and linguistically identical was one of the main reasons why news of events related to the Babi/Baha’i faith in Iran spread quickly to Russian Azerbaijan. As a major trading centre and Iran’s gate to the Caucasus and Europe, Tabriz became the main corridor through which foreign news and influence spread southwards to Iran, and news from Iran made its way northwards to Europe. In the same manner Azeris, Armenians and Georgians, as well as the Russian authorities in the Caucasus, came to hear first about the Bab and the Babi movement and later about Baha’u’llah and the Baha’i faith. Already some years before the Bab’s declaration in 1844, due to similar millenarian expectations, at least some Azeris had been awaiting the arrival of a messianic figure. In the late 1830s Mulla

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10. Baha’is of Tashkent, 1932. © Baha’i World Centre.

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40 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS Sadiq Urdubadi151 had been preaching to the villagers of the region that the coming of the Mahdi was near. The enthusiastic reception of his message throughout the area, and as far as Georgia, alarmed the Russian authorities, who feared uprising among their new Muslim subjects. Mulla Sadiq was exiled to Warsaw and died there, but one of his disciples, Sayyid ‘Abd al-Karim, again began to preach the advent of the Imam.152 The Russians exiled Sayyid ‘Abd al-Karim to Smolensk, although he was later freed and lived in Astrakhan.153 The activities of these individuals seem to have played a role in preparing the ground for the spread of the Babi and later the Baha’i religion in the Caucasus. However, the Russians, who at the time were heavily occupied with Shamil’s rebellion farther north in Daghestan, regarded any propaganda activity among their Muslim population as disturbing. This fact explains why both Mulla Sadiq and Sayyid ‘Abd al-Karim were exiled to distant places, away from Muslim populations, and why Dolgorukov insisted that the Bab be moved from Maku, away from the Russian border.154 However, as was the case in Transcaspia, Baha’i communities and socio-religious activities in the Caucasus began to take shape only in the early years of the 1880s.155 This fact raises the question of why the Baha’is waited such a long time before they began to immigrate into the Caucasus, establish communities there and promote their faith among the local inhabitants. After all, they were being persecuted in Iran from the mid-1840s; why, then, did they wait four more decades before seeking the safe haven of Christian Russia? It should be recalled that, in contrast to Transcaspia, where Baha’i immigration immediately followed the Russian conquest of the region (in the early 1880s), Russia had already completed its conquest of the Caucasus by 1828. It could be that the Baha’i leadership gave priority to the consolidation of the faith in Iran; only when the Baha’i faith had rooted deeply and widely enough within Iranian society was it time to move into adjacent territories. Furthermore, the Muslim rebellion in the Caucasus led by Shamil (which was suppressed in 1859)

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may have deterred the Baha’is from promoting their faith there at a time of turmoil. In fact, it made no sense for the Baha’is to attempt to promote their faith in Russian Azerbaijan, which was predominantly Shi‘i, until a firmer Russian authority, which could provide protection to the Baha’is, was established. It was indeed only towards the end of the nineteenth century that a more organized and systematic promotion of the Baha’i faith began to be undertaken in different parts of Russia, the Caucasus included.156 With the exception of a few, such as Aqa Musa Naqiyov, who was a wealthy and respected landlord, most of the Baha’is in the Caucasus were either mid-level merchants, tradesmen and craftsmen, or farmers. They resided in major centres such as Baku, Tiflis (Tbilisi) and Yerevan, but also in towns and villages such as Nakhchivan, Balakhani (or Balakhanli), Shirvan, Goychay, Salyan, Khilli (now called Neftchala), Shaki, Shamakhi, Qarabagh, Qaraquzluq and Barda. Also, as was the case in Transcaspia, it was Baha’is who had come from Iran, and especially Iranian Azeris, who promoted the religion in the Caucasus.157 The Baha’is of Baku The most important Baha’i centre in the Caucasus grew up in Baku. According to documents mentioned in the memoirs of Colonel V. A. Kossogovskii, the second commander of the Persian Cossack Brigade, two of the early Babis in Baku were Sayyid Nasrullah Pedarog˘ lu and Mulla Sadiq Mulla Khalilog˘ lu, who were apparently residing in that city in 1858.158 Mulla Sadiq Shahid Badkubih’i159 was one of the early Baha’i promoters in the Caucasus. He had travelled to Iran in the 1880s and converted to the Baha’i faith in Qazvin.160 On his return to Baku from Palestine, where he visited Baha’u’llah, he brought with him some Baha’i books and writings, with which he began to promote the faith not only in Baku, but also in Ganja, Goychay and Balakhani, and succeeded in attracting numerous converts.161

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42 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS By 1890 Baha’i institutions in Baku began to take shape. In that year the house of Mir ‘Allam, a new convert, became the centre of Baha’i activities in Baku. By 1896 the house was expanded into a building with a large hall for Baha’i meetings and a guesthouse where Baha’i promoters and travellers could stay. A magnificent new building was built in 1905 with Baha’i funds under the supervision of Ustad ‘Ali Ashraf162 and Ustad Aqa Bala,163 the sons of Mulla Abu-Talib Badkubih’i Karimov. It was officially inaugurated in 1907 as the new Baha’i centre.164 Other Baha’i institutions in Baku included a school, built in 1917, adjacent to the centre, and two years later a new meeting hall was founded for gatherings and various activities, especially for the Baha’i youth.165 From the beginning, the institutionalization of the Baha’i faith in Baku was not a smooth process. The construction of the Baha’i centre in 1905 created much resentment among the local Muslims, and one midday a crowd of some 200 Muslims was incited by some of the local mullas to destroy the building. But the Baha’is had taken the necessary measures to foil such an act. Once the attack by the mob began, the labourers working at the Baha’i centre, together with a number of local Baha’is present at the site, began to beat back the attackers with batons, bricks and shovels, causing the attackers to flee the scene. Twenty-five of the assailants were captured, brought to the police and arrested. They were later released only after having given an undertaking (iltizam) not to take such actions again.166 After this event, and especially the Baha’is’ boldness in defending their centre as well as the Russian authorities’ willingness to arrest and punish the culprits, no one dared to make a similar attempt. But the local ‘ulama continued to incite the local Muslim population to harm the Baha’is; thus Baha’is often found themselves being verbally attacked, having dirt thrown at them or being refused the sale of commodities by Muslims. As a result, many Baha’is moved their residence to the vicinity of their centre, where Russian and Armenian Christians, as well as Jews, resided.167

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In Baku, the local Baha’i community also published a number of publications in Persian.168 While knowledge of Persian among the Azeri population was, at best, minimal at that time, most of the Baha’is of Baku came from Iran, and Persian was their native language. In fact, the purpose of these publications was to maintain and solidify contacts with the Baha’i communities in Iran and elsewhere (including Palestine, where a community of Baha’is had resided since Baha’u’llah was exiled there in 1868), and the language of the majority of the Baha’is in those localities was still Persian. With the movement of Baha’i promoters and teachers to and from Baku, that city soon became the centre of Baha’i activity not only for Russian Azerbaijan, but also for other communities, such as Tiflis (and elsewhere in Georgia) and Yerevan (and other localities in Armenia), as well as some 15 other towns and villages in the region.169 No doubt Baku’s proximity to Iran played a major role in endowing Baku with such an important status. The Baha’is of Tiflis One of the early Baha’is to reside in Tiflis, Georgia, was an Iranian merchant, Haji ‘Ali-Akbar Milani ibn Haji Ahmad. In 1878 he settled there and began to engage in trade. As more Baha’i immigrants arrived, a small Baha’i community arose, whose members established a cemetery for the use of the local Baha’i community, and were also able to convert some of the Armenian residents of Tiflis, a number of whom translated some of the Baha’i writings into Armenian.170 Although Tiflis’s main population was Christian, still it had a sizeable Muslim community, who did not view the growth of Baha’i presence and influence favourably. Mirza Hasan Tahirzadih, known as Shaykh ‘Abd al-Salam Shaykh al-Islam Tiflisi, was one of the leading Muslim clerics who rose up against the Baha’is, writing a refutation against Baha’u’llah’s Kitab-i Iqan (Book of Certitude) and against the Baha’i teachings. This refutation was answered by a reply from a Baha’i named Aqa Muhammad-Riza

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11. Mirza Hasan Tahirzadih, Shaykh Abd al-Salam. Courtesy Baha’i World Centre.

Qannad Yazdi, to which Shaykh ‘Abd al-Salam wrote another rebuttal, which in turn was countered in detail by Abu al-Fazl Gulpayigani, in his book Fara’id (Pearls).171 Other Baha’i Communities in the Caucasus During the lifetime of Baha’u’llah, the Baha’i faith found many followers in other parts of Russian Azerbaijan, with the largest communities (numbering in the hundreds) in Balakhani and Baku, and smaller communities (numbering in the tens) in Ganja, Barda and Salyan – all of which had their elected spiritual assemblies.172 However, more organized and systematic promotional activity throughout the Caucasus began with the ascendance of ‘Abdu’lBaha to Baha’i leadership in 1892. The general pattern adopted for the propagation of the Baha’i faith was first to send an Iranian Baha’i to a certain locality to promote the faith. Then, at a later stage, one or more of the local converts took up the task of propagation. One of such

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Baha’i promoters who operated in the Caucasus was Sayyid Asadullah Qumi. In 1893, while in the Qarabagh region, he succeeded in converting a local Shi‘i from Barda by the name of Mashhadi ‘Abdul (‘Abdullah) Qarabaghi, considered the first local Baha’i believer in that region. Then, Mashhadi ‘Abdul himself became a promoter of the Baha’i faith, and, roaming the region, he managed to convert many other Muslims, whether from Barda (where a Baha’i centre was established) or from other localities (such as Goychay, Balakhani and Shirvan).173 ‘Abdu’l-Baha wrote a number of letters to him, praising his work and encouraging him to continue promoting the faith so that ‘in Tiflis he would become an esteemed person, and in Yerevan the recipient of the bounty of God, in Ganja he will open the door of treasure, and in Shirvan he will roar like a formidable lion’.174 Another Azeri convert, who after his conversion became a notable promoter of the faith in the Caucasus, was Mirza ‘AliAkbar Nakhjavani. After returning to Baku from a visit to the West accompanying ‘Abdu’l-Baha, Nakhjavani translated some of ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s writings into Russian and played a major role in encouraging and consolidating Baha’i communities in the region. He also was instrumental in promoting the Baha’i faith among the Armenian population of the Caucasus.175 Conclusion Although the Babi movement had asserted a revolutionary message that broke sharply with Islamic orthodoxy and led to the stigmatization of the Babis as radicals and dangerous revolutionaries, once transformed by Baha’u’llah into a moderate and proreform religion, the Baha’i faith experienced heightened numerical expansion, as the movement appealed not only to former Babis but to Shi‘is and to religious minorities. Nevertheless, as believers in a post-Muhammadan revelation, Baha’is were still widely regarded as heretics, and thus persecution of, and opposition to, the Baha’is continued. Sometimes that opposition was exploited for financial

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46 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS or political gain, for at times of political unrest, popular discontent and frustration could be easily diverted towards the reviled Baha’is, as towards other religious minorities. Apart from the approximate number of 20,000 Babis who perished before Baha’u’llah’s declaration, all these factors led to the slaying of another several hundred Baha’is by the end of the Qajar period in 1925. Yet this harsh persecution failed to deter the spread of the Baha’i faith or the consolidation of the community. From the 1870s onwards, Baha’i institutions sprang up in communities throughout Iran; modern Baha’i schools flourished and local councils were established, as was a fund to assist Baha’i teachers (in 1907), and a savings fund for Baha’i children (in 1917). By the beginning of the twentieth century, Baha’is were well represented both horizontally and vertically in Iranian society. Despite the important role played by some Baha’is in the Constitutional movement, most Baha’is remained uninvolved in the political turmoil that buffeted Iranian society at the turn of the century. The post-Constitutional atmosphere in Iran, while not completely free of animosity, was less antagonistic towards the new faith and its believers, and this fact enabled the Baha’is in Iran to prosper – for a time. Two major events at the beginning of the twentieth century – the First World War and the October Revolution – had a crucial impact on the Baha’i communities in Iran, Transcaspia and the Caucasus. Although both events involved vast bloodshed and destruction, the fortunes of the Baha’is in Iran seemed to improve with the occupation of Iran by Russian and British forces, both of which viewed the Baha’is favourably, while the Baha’is living in the Soviet Union at first experienced even greater freedom of expression and organization. In both cases, the improvement in conditions was short lived and was followed by brutal repression. The situation under Soviet rule became so intolerable by 1928, when (as revealed in document 52 in Volume 2) a secret decision was taken by the Anti-religious Commission of the Central Committee of the

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Communist Party to ‘liquidate [the Baha’i faith] within the borders of the USSR’,176 that some Baha’is who had gone to Transcaspia and the Caucasus to escape persecution returned to Iran. The once-thriving Baha’i communities of Transcaspia and the Caucasus were dispersed, with many of their members imprisoned, disappeared or exiled to Siberia or the Arctic, while the women and children were deported to Iran.177 The monumental Mashriq al-Adhkar of Ashgabat was confiscated by the Soviet government and turned into a museum. After suffering serious damage from earthquakes, that structure, once the heart of a thriving Baha’i community, was razed.

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RUSSIAN ORIENTALISM AND BABI/BAHA’I STUDIES Boris Morozov

Oriental studies1 in Russia began to develop during the rule of Peter the Great (1682–1725), who was the first to understand that the acquisition of knowledge about the languages, literatures, and cultures of the Middle Eastern and Central Asian peoples both within and adjacent to its territories was essential for the needs of foreign as well as domestic policy. Originally, Russian Oriental studies developed in two main directions: the preparation of Russian specialists proficient in Oriental languages for service in the state apparatus, and the collection of Oriental documents, coins and so on. The first attempts to organize the teaching of Oriental languages in Russia were undertaken because of the critical need for interpreters for the Posol’skii Prikaz (that day’s equivalent of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs).2 Studying Arabic, Persian and Turkish – as well as other Oriental languages – was particularly considered to be important, and in the period 1715–24 several decrees were issued regarding sending students to Persia and Turkey to learn Oriental languages.3 The first decrees were issued at that same time regarding collecting Oriental manuscripts, maps and other materials, as well as translating and publishing books containing information concerning the East.4 Prince Dmitrii Kantemir (1673–1723), who

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50 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS knew Arabic, Persian and Turkish, wrote a book about Turkey and Islam, consulted Tsar Peter on all questions Oriental and even established the first publishing house to use Arabic script,5 thereby becoming Russia’s first Orientalist.6 But the founding of the first Russian Academy of Sciences in 1725 was the crucial breakthrough in Oriental studies. The first Chair in Ancient and Oriental Languages was occupied in 1725 by G. Z. Bayer, who held it until 1737.7 Although after 1747 human sciences were excluded from the Academy, a considerable amount of material regarding the East was collected during the eighteenth century and preserved in the Kunstkamera (the first Russian Museum, founded by Peter the Great) and Library. On 25 July 1803 the new Statute of the Academy was approved, and among other humanitarian disciplines Oriental studies were returned to the Academy. But it was not until 1830 that the first two Academician–Orientalist positions were established.8 So-called Eastern policy was always important for Russia, but in the beginning of the nineteenth century it became a matter of the first priority, and this urgency in turn spurred all possible efforts in Oriental studies. Count Sergei Uvarov (1786–1855), who in 1818 became president of the Academy of Sciences, became the driving force of Oriental studies. He worked out a project for founding an Oriental Academy (although it was never realized), created the so-called Oriental Room and convinced the famous German Orientalist Christian Martin Frähn to work there as its first director.9 During that same year, the Oriental Room became the Asiatic Museum of the Academy of Sciences. Owing to the active efforts of Frähn, who not only systematized the existing Oriental collections, but also did his best to acquire new documents and books,10 the Asiatic Museum became one of the most valuable depositories for all kinds of materials connected with the East. For instance, in 1819 Frähn initiated the purchase from French consul Joseph Rousseau of his collection of Arabic, Persian and Turkish manuscripts and later made descriptions of them. In 1834 and 1845 he also issued an instruction, via the

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Ministry of Finance, obliging traders to purchase Oriental manuscripts and send them to the Museum. In 1838, the Asian Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs contacted embassies and instructed them to acquire Oriental books for the Museum’s library. Frähn divided the Museum into three main sections: the Department of Manuscripts, the Library and the Archive of Orientalists – creating the structure which continues to this day at the Institute for Oriental Studies – and also worked out the principles for organizing the catalogue. One of his major achievements was to open the Museum to everyone interested in the East, Oriental languages and history. Parallel to collecting Oriental materials, a system of training specialists proficient in Oriental languages was developed. In all the existing universities in Russia – in St Petersburg, Moscow, Derpt (Iur’ev), Vilno, Kazan, Kharkov and Helsinki – there were Oriental disciplines, and various Oriental languages were taught.11 And in 1854 in St Petersburg University the first specialized faculty of Oriental languages was opened. Students were divided into five departments: Arabic, Persian, Turkish and Tatar; Mongol, Kalmyk and Tatar; Chinese; Hebrew and Arabic; and Armenian, Georgian and Tatar. In Moscow there was also the Lazarev Institute of Oriental Languages12 (1814–1917) and in Odessa the Institute of Oriental Languages associated with the Richelieu Lyceum (1837–55). In all of these institutions the process of teaching languages was combined with study of the history of the East, Oriental literature, and so on. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs had its own special Educational Department of Oriental Languages. In 1819 the Asian Department was created in the ministry, and many diplomats were at the same time engaged in Oriental studies: some of them taught languages; others collected and described Oriental documents while serving in the East. As a result, in 1823 Alexander I signed a decree creating a special Educational Department of Oriental Languages in the Asian Department to prepare diplomatic cadres

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52 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS for service in the East.13 The Asian Department as well had a very rich library and manuscript collection, which in 1918 was transferred to the Asiatic Museum. Special courses in which Oriental languages were taught were also associated with the Asian Department of the Headquarters of the Ministry of Defence in order to train specialists in Oriental languages for military purposes.14 In the last quarter of the nineteenth century, special courses for officers were organized jointly by the Ministry of Defence and the Asian Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. As a result, a certain number of places were reserved for officers at the Educational Department of Oriental Languages. All of the above-mentioned developments promoted the existence of a comparatively large number of specialists dealing with the East and resulted in establishing several important schools of Oriental studies. The Collection of Babi and Baha’i Materials Because Iran was considered to be a rather important part of Russian Oriental politics, Russia had a very developed diplomatic presence there – a mission in Tehran and consulates in practically all the large cities of the northern part of the country. Diplomats endeavoured to keep an eye on all the important events happening in Persia and immediately informed their superiors at the Persian Desk in the Asian Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Thus when the initial information about the Bab, publicity about his new teaching, and news of the Babi upheavals in various cities reached the Embassy, the fear that the further spread of Babism could destabilize Iran – and thus influence Russia’s position in the country – resulted in efforts to obtain full information about the Bab and Babism. Prince Dmitrii Ivanovich Dolgorukov, minister plenipotentiary to Persia (1845–54), instructed the consuls to collect all possible information and evidence about the Bab and his movement.15 As a result, the consuls in Tabriz (N. A. Anichkov),

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Rasht (L. A. Ivanovskii) and Astarabad (S. I. Cherniaev) started sending their reports to the Russian Mission in Tehran, from which Dolgorukov later sent his reports to St Petersburg. This sequence of events explains why in the collection of the Archive of Foreign Policy of the Russian Empire there are a comparatively large number of reports reflecting the events of early Babi history as well as of later persecutions, and even the life of Babis and Baha’is in various territories and in the Russian Empire.16 Russian diplomats even played a certain (although not always very consistent) role in the fate of Babis in Persia, originally by making representations to the shah, asking to move the place of the Bab’s imprisonment away from the borders of Russia,17 and making requests to the Persian government to undertake the most effective measures to quickly suppress the Babi uprisings – from the reports of Prince Dolgorukov to his superiors, it is absolutely clear that the Russians feared that riots and uprisings would destroy the shah’s power.18 Later, the Russians took steps to stop the torture and public executions of Babis.19 Again, however, from the reports it is clear that Dolgorukov was mainly concerned not with the fate of the Babis, but with the outcome of all these executions and their effect on the shah’s position. In 1852 Dolgorukov even tried to do his best to rescue Baha’u’llah from prison, proposing that he take refuge in Russian territory and even sending his representative to accompany him on his journey to Baghdad.20 Such attention by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs resulted in the fact that many Russian diplomats serving in Iran during different periods collected Babi and Baha’i documents and were interested in the tenets of the religion.21 Their collections, copies of reports and personal reminiscences were then utilized by Russian researchers of Babism. The first Russian scholar who undertook the systematic study of Babism was Mirza Aleksandr Kasimovich Kazem-Bek. In 1865 he published a book especially devoted to the Bab and Babism.22 This book was based on the recollections of witnesses of the events that

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54 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS occurred in Tabriz and Mazandaran, accounts which Kazem-Bek personally collected while visiting Persia; the history of the Babi movement published in Nasikh al-Tavarikh;23 materials regarding Babis collected by Bernhard Dorn in Mazandaran during his journey to Iran in 1860;24 two notes about Babis: one, written by the former student of Kazem-Bek, V. I. Sevriugin – who later served in Iran – and the other by A. N. Moshnin, dragoman of the consulate in Tabriz and former student at St Petersburg University, who also served in Iran during the persecution of the Babis; and certain Babi religious documents passed on by Nikolai Khanykov.25 The book describes the biography of the Bab in the general context of the views of Shaykhis and Shi‘ites, gives a detailed description of Babi uprisings, and attempts to analyse the specific role of the Bab and his teachings. The advantages of Kazem-Bek’s book are that he tried to use different sources (even if they were contradictory), concentrated and systematized all accessible information about the Bab and the activity of his followers, and endeavoured critically to analyse his views and teachings and to compare them with the views of his predecessors and followers. Kazem-Bek advanced a definite conclusion about the reformist character of the Bab’s teachings,26 but at the same time he seriously doubted his sacred essence and considered him to be the personification of a myth, while his own ideas were actually passed on by his followers to the masses in a distorted way.27 Already in the middle of the nineteenth century Kazem-Bek was arguing that Babism as a religious movement had not only religious but also social and political roots. He also maintained that the political aims of the Bab’s followers were directed against governmental policies of oppression and corrupt local officials; at the same time Kazem-Bek concluded that the implementation of these ideas (i.e., the riots and anti-government uprisings) had hardly anything to do with the Bab himself.28 In principle, Kazem-Bek’s attitude to the exploitation of the Bab’s teachings by his followers was rather negative. Trying to give a religious analysis of the teachings

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expressed in the Bab’s book, the Bayan, Kazem-Bek did not find in that work a finished religious system of principles, though he was actually the first one to express the concept (which later became rather popular) that Babism was close to Christianity.29 As the first systematic work, Kazem-Bek’s book became very important in the historiography of Babism, and for a long time it served as the conceptual basis for all research by Russian scholars regarding Babis and Baha’is. In a way, by its contents and even its chronological categories it pointed to further directions for research: (1) the necessity to collect and analyse original Babi documents and to compare them with the latest copies in order to identify the original views of Bab and their later transformation; and (2) the need for detailed study of the events of the early period of Babi history as well as the activity of the Bab’s followers after 1852 and their religious concepts and doctrines, including research on the development of Babism, new trends within it – especially the emergence of the Baha’i religion – and study of the actual situation of the Baha’i communities in Iran, Russia and other countries. Baron Rozen and His Circle These main trends were realized by Baron Viktor Romanovich Rozen, who was born on 21 February (5 March) 1849 in Reval (Tallinn) into an aristocratic though not wealthy family. In 1859 he entered a gymnasium for noble pupils (Ritter- und Domschule) and finished it in 1866. That same year he entered the Faculty of Oriental Languages of St Petersburg University, where he studied in the Arabic, Persian, Turkish and Tatar Department and specialized in Arabic and Persian languages. After he graduated from the university in 1870, for two semesters he attended the lectures of professor G. Fleishner at Leipzig University (the Course in Arabic). Though he was always more interested in Arabic, his graduate work was devoted to Persian literature.30 In 1872 Rozen received a master’s degree for the dissertation ‘Ancient Arabic Poetry and its Critics’ and started working as dotsent (senior lecturer) in the Chair of Arabic

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12. Baron Viktor Romanovich Rozen. Courtesy Baha’i World Centre.

Literature at St Petersburg University. In 1883 he received his doctorate in Arabic literature for the dissertation ‘Emperor Vasilii Bolgaroboitsa: Extracts from Yahya of Antioch’ and was appointed extraordinary, and later full, professor. To the very last days of his life, Rozen taught Arabic language and literature. From 1893 until 1902 he was dean of the Faculty of Oriental Languages. At the same time, Rozen was very active in the Academy of Sciences, where he held the position of Adjunct in ‘Muhammadan Languages and Literature’ (1879–82), later becoming Extraordinary Academician (1890) and in 1901 Ordinary (full) Academician.31 For a comparatively short period (1881–82) he was also Director of the Asiatic Museum.32 In 1876 Rozen was accepted as a member and in 1885 was elected head of the Oriental Department of the Imperial Russian Archaeological Society.33 One of his most important achievements in this field was founding the periodical Zapiski Vostochnogo otdeleniia Imperatorskogo russkogo arkheologicheskogo obshchestva (Transactions of

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the Oriental Department of the Imperial Russian Archaeological Society) in 1886.34 This journal, which was edited by Rozen up to his death, became an extremely important forum for Russian Orientalists. Because of its quality it ranked with the best European journals in Orientology. Practically all new findings as well as important results of research dealing with the East could be found in its pages. As an Orientalist Viktor Rozen left an extremely rich legacy.35 He published and translated texts of ibn-Kuteiba, al-Jahiz, alBekri, al-Tabari and many others.36 He prepared and edited catalogues of Arabic and Persian manuscripts from the collections of the Asian Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Asiatic Museum.37 He left numerous articles and reviews of the publications of his colleagues. His scientific erudition was enormous: his thorough work of decoding and analysing ancient manuscripts made him one of the best specialists in identifying the author of a work as well as the date of creation of the manuscript, and in correcting mistakes made by copyists. But probably his main contribution to Russian Oriental studies was the school of young scholars he trained and mentored. He was considered to be the ‘shaykh’ of Russian Orientalists. N. A. Mednikov wrote that his teaching was not limited by the walls of the university. Not only his current students but also his former pupils regularly visited the baron’s house. And to all of them he eagerly imparted the treasures of his knowledge: he watched over their studies and corrected their work, spending time which could have been devoted to his own research.38 Such an attitude created strong bonds between Rozen and his former pupils, many of whom preserved the connection for many years. Among his students (in addition to Mednikov) were the well-known Russian Orientalists Vasilii Vladimirovich Bartol’d, Nikolai Iakovlevich Marr, Sergei Fedorovich Ol’denburg, Valentin Alekseevich Zhukovskii and others. Rozen never limited himself to Arabic or Persian philology; his interests were much broader and included various trends of thinking in the Muslim world. One of such subjects – the Babis and

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58 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS Baha’is – became the focus of his interest for many years. He first became interested in the history and philosophy of this movement in 1877, when he personally described the Babi manuscripts that were at his disposal.39 From that time, and until 1894, he continued to actively explore this theme. The evidence of this interest can be seen in the Transactions, where out of 23 publications devoted to religious problems of Persia in the first ten volumes, 21 were actually devoted to various questions concerning Babis and their comparison with other existing religious sects in contemporary Persia.40 Rozen considered research on Babis, their documents, philosophy, history and contemporary situation to be one of his primary subjects and, being a very talented organizer, he used all his personal connections to pursue this task. He managed to interest his students and colleagues in this theme as well. He wrote letters to his former students, who worked as diplomats in Persia, Turkey and the Transcaspian Region, and asked them to collect every possible Babi or Baha’i document as well as any possible piece of information regarding the history or contemporary status of this community – and, indeed, one can see the answers to these requests in the letters that his former students Aleksandr Tumanskii, Vladimir Ignat’ev, Georgii Batiushkov and A. P. Orlov wrote to him, and which are published in this volume. He also wrote letters to official figures in Russian missions (even to those who were not close to him), asking them to collect information regarding Babis and to send it to him. Because he had been teaching Arabic all his life, a great many diplomats dealing with Iran or Turkey either knew him personally or at least had heard of Rozen. This fact, together with his eminent stature in the contemporary small world of Orientalists, resulted in his receiving various pieces of information, copies of reports (regarding Babis and Baha’is) that were sent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by the diplomats working in the above-mentioned countries. And, of course, he himself copied and used some documents from the Archive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. These copies Rozen col-

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lected in his private archive, which is now preserved in the St Petersburg Branch of the Archive of the Russian Academy of Sciences.41 He decided that Russian scientists were able to research the Babi/Baha’i phenomenon and managed to create a group of Orientalists (including professional scholars as well as amateurs), among them Valentin Zhukovskii, Aleksandr Tumanskii, Georgii Batiushkov and others, who not only found and published very interesting Babi and Baha’i documents, but who also contributed significantly to the disclosure of the main principles of the new religion as well as the history of the Babis. Reading the letters to Rozen (especially those from Tumanskii) that are published in the present volume, one can easily see how deeply involved Rozen was in the process of search for, and publication of, Babi and Baha’i documents. He gave methodological advice, explained difficult places in translations, sent necessary books and publications, helped to prepare articles for publication, edited and published those articles in Transactions and used his personal connections to further the process of research. He also established a very important personal connection with Edward Granville Browne, the well-known British scholar who studied the Babis and Baha’is. Their exchange of books, mutual reviews, arguments and, in a way, their scientific competition, only made their research more successful. In one of his articles Browne wrote that in his publications he was always taking into consideration the results of Rozen’s research and many times he had to adjust his own results to those published by Rozen.42 Rozen paid special attention to Baha’i documents. In 1893 he published a letter of Baha’u’llah titled ‘Poslanie “Blagie vesti”’ (Message ‘Glad-tidings’), in which the main principles of the teaching were formulated in very general form.43 This document was originally presented by Baha’is living in Ashgabat to the head of the Transcaspian Region, General Aleksei Nikolaevich Kuropatkin, and was later sent to Rozen by Vladimir Ignat’ev.44

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60 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS Although by 1894 Rozen had decided that his task, with respect to Babi and Baha’i documents, was mainly completed and he had begun to explore other themes, nevertheless he later prepared for publication a collection of messages of Baha’u’llah.45 But on 10 January 1908 Viktor Rozen died suddenly from pneumonia, and his last work was published posthumously under the editorship of P. K. Kokovtsov. From the team of researchers whom Rozen managed to involve in the study of Babis and Baha’is, it is necessary also to mention his former student and later very close friend, Valentin Alekseevich Zhukovskii.46 Zhukovskii studied at the Faculty of Oriental Languages of St Petersburg University and completed the course in Arabic, Persian, Turkish and Tatar languages in 1880, with Rozen as his teacher. In 1883 he received his master’s degree and that same year left for Iran, where he spent three years, intending to study Persian and Persian literature, to collect materials regarding Persian dialects and to acquire manuscripts for the library. He lived in Tehran, Isfahan and Shiraz. Later he visited Iran again in 1890 (Khurasan) and 1899 (Tehran), and he also visited the Transcaspian area several times.47 Of course, during his journeys Zhukovskii also collected, among other materials, documents and information regarding Babis and Baha’is. Though he was not really inspired by Babism and especially by the Baha’i religion, which he described as being of ‘extremely rational character’,48 he still dealt with this subject and even published three articles about it.49 The first two of these articles were devoted to the subject of the executions of Baha’is in Yazd. Zhukovskii quotes a letter from Yazd, received on 24 May 1891, found and sent by Vladimir Ignat’ev, which contained the description of the brutal killing of seven Baha’is. During Ramadan, seven Baha’is had been captured and put into the fortress, where mullas and ‘ulama tried to convince them to recant their faith and convert to Islam. All of them refused and avowed that they were Baha’is. Afterwards, the ‘ulama who had participated in the attempts to convert them wrote their

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decree to execute the Baha’is. It was carried out by order of the governor, Jalal al-Dawlih. Zhukovskii wrote that such executions of Baha’is were not rare in Persia and described several other episodes of killings during the time he was in the country. Unfortunately these articles only certify those facts without offering any further analysis or conclusion. Very different from these two articles was his third, which was devoted to the role of Consul Fedor Abramovich Bakulin in the history of Babism. It was originally a lecture entitled ‘On the History of Studying Babism’, which Zhukovskii presented at a meeting of the Oriental Department of the Imperial Russian Archaeological Society on 19 December 1913. The author begins this rather long article (67 pages) with a statement that the research undertaken on Babism in Russia would be impossible without the active contribution of Russian diplomats of various ranks who were serving in Persia. Zhukovskii gives many examples when important Babi or Baha’i documents were found and later passed on to researchers by diplomats: the notes of V. I. Sevriugin, A. N. Moshnin (dragomans in Tehran and Tabriz) and A. A. Mel’nikov (by that time undersecretary of the mission in Tehran, later Russian minister in Persia), used by Kazem-Bek in the preparation of his book50; a copy of the Bab’s Bayan in Arabic, which was transmitted by the head of the consulate in Tabriz, Nikolai Khanykov, to the Imperial Public Library and the copy of the same book in Persian sent by Bakulin to the Asiatic Museum and described by Dorn;51 manuscripts conveyed to Rozen by V. V. Bezobrazov (consul-general in Tabriz), I. G. Grigorovich (dragoman of the mission in Tehran), A. D. Levitskii (secretary and dragoman of the consulate in Astarabad), and so on; manuscripts passed on to the Library of the Educational Department; and many others. Later he describes the extremely valuable documentary contribution of Bakulin, which was partly passed on to the Asiatic Museum and partly given to Zhukovskii after Bakulin’s death by the family of his daughter. Actually Zhukovskii’s article is devoted

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62 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS to a detailed description of this collection. Among other very interesting documents, Zhukovskii mainly concentrated on the description of the documents dealing with Babis and Baha’is. Here he pays special attention to the extracts from the letters of A. F. Baumgarten52 to Bakulin. Baumgarten was interested in the teachings of Babis and Baha’is, collected their materials, and exchanged information with Bakulin. Among these letters, preserved by Bakulin in an album, there is also the photograph of a small sketch showing the dead body of the Bab. A photograph of this sketch was published in the article by Zhukovskii with a detailed description of it and also analysis of the controversial accounts of what happened to the corpses of the Bab and his follower who was killed with him. Zhukovskii had no information regarding where Bakulin received this sketch or who was its author. He inferred that it was done by a Persian Shi‘ite (due to the composition and writing – a Babi would not make a mistake in the name of the executed pupil of the Bab) and probably after some time given to Bakulin.53 In the article he also provides very interesting descriptions of original Babi and Baha’i documents from the Bakulin collection. His approach is very professional: for every document he gives the Arabic text and the Russian translation, and adds his own comments and analysis, comparing information contained in the documents with the facts already known to researchers. Among these documents are papers of Qurrat al-‘Ayn (Tahirih) as well as notes regarding her death;54 a note of 11 pages (dated not later than 1874) describing the life of Baha’u’llah and his relations with Azal;55 a letter of the Bab to his followers in Khurasan;56 a collection of various extracts;57 and the views of Baumgarten regarding Babism.58 Among the Russian diplomats whose contribution was so important to this research, there is a group who were in constant correspondence with Viktor Rozen and were personally involved in collecting and sending him Babi and Baha’i books and materials: Georgii Batiushkov, Vladimir Ignat’ev and A. P. Orlov.

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Georgii Batiushkov Georgii Batiushkov, a classmate of Rozen, was a career diplomat who spent many years in the East.59 From the documents of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, we know that during 1893–99 and at least from 1907 until 1909 he worked in Iran.60 From 1907 until 1910 he worked as First Dragoman of the Russian mission in Tehran. He was considered to be a very knowledgeable and experienced official, and in 1909 he accompanied the shah during his trip to Odessa.61 In 1908 he was temporarily appointed as an official dealing with border problems in the Transcaspian Region. In 1910 he was granted the rank of Deistvitel’nyi Statskii Sovetnik (Actual State Counsellor).62 From 1911 to 1914 he worked as head of the consulate-general in Beirut.63 During his stay in Iran he wrote six letters to Rozen describing the situation there, but only one of them was really devoted to Babis and Baha’is.64 Originally he collected materials about them for Rozen, but later (in 1897) he decided to publish an article himself.65 In this article Batiushkov, according his own words, gave ‘a short sketch of the history of the Babis, their origin and development, and the main principles of this teaching’.66 Unfortunately there was nothing new in it: the article only summarized already-known facts regarding history of the Bab, his teachings and his followers. Vladimir Ignat’ev Another correspondent of Rozen, and one of his former students, Vladimir Ivanovich Ignat’ev (1853–1902), graduated from St Petersburg University in 1876 and passed the entrance exams for the Educational Department of Oriental Languages. In 1878 he graduated and received an appointment to the Asian Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. From 1879 to 1883 he worked in Iran (first as a student of the Mission then as under-secretary, secretary and dragoman in Rasht, Tehran and Astarabad). In 1890 he was appointed as an official for border contacts in the Transcaspian Region and worked in Ashgabat until 1893.

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64 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS Later, in 1895, he was sent to Bukhara as head of the Political Agency, and while he was there, in 1899 he received the rank of Actual State Counsellor for organizing active struggle against the plague in the Samarkand area. He died suddenly in 1902. During his career Ignat’ev was decorated with many foreign orders.67 Altogether he wrote eight letters to Rozen during the period 1883–1900, but only four of them contain information about Babis or Baha’is.68 A. P. Orlov About A. P. Orlov, also a former student of Rozen, who originally worked as a secretary of the Russian consulate in Astarabad (during 1891) and later (in 1892) as a secretary and dragoman of the Political Agency in Bukhara, it has not been possible to locate any additional information.69 During those two years he wrote four letters, one of which deals with Babi and Baha’i documents. Aleksandr Tumanskii But of course the most interesting letters are those of Aleksandr Grigor’evich Tumanskii (1861–1920). Tumanskii was born into a noble, though not wealthy, family in St Petersburg Province. After studying for six years in the First Warsaw Gymnasium, he began his military career in 1879 as a volunteer artillerist in the First Battery of the Third Grenadier Artillery Brigade of the Guards.70 In 1880 he passed the officer’s exam at the Mikhailovskoe Artillery School and received his first officer rank of ensign. In 1884 he was recommended for entrance at the Academy of the Headquarters, passed the exams and studied there until October 1885, when he was expelled for not passing the year exam.71 In 1887 he passed the exams to enter the Course in Oriental Languages at the Educational Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but there were not enough vacancies, so it was not until the next year, in 1888, that Tumanskii started studying at the Educational Department of Oriental Languages, from which he graduated in 1891.72 While

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there, he became acquainted with Matvei Avel’evich Gamazov, head of the Educational Department, who managed to interest him in the research of Babism so strongly that in 1890 Tumanskii even applied to be sent to Ashgabat for his summer camp in order to seek out new information regarding this subject.73 During this expedition Tumanskii – now Lieutenant – not only managed to become acquainted with the Baha’i community of Ashgabat and to establish good relations with them, but he also collected several very interesting religious books and documents. By this same time, he had also become acquainted with publications of Babi documents by Viktor Rozen and later became acquainted with him personally. In 1891, after graduating from the Course in Oriental Languages, he was sent to Ashgabat to serve in the MilitaryAdministrative Department of the Transcaspian Region under General Kuropatkin (Head of the Transcaspian Region).74 While there, Tumanskii maintained his connections with Ashgabat Baha’is and continued collecting Oriental books and manuscripts.75 He served there until 1895. This was the period of his most fruitful contribution to research on Babis and Baha’is. Though he can be considered an amateur, his research on the subject became more and more serious and professional. He endeavoured to read all the existing literature about the religion and corresponded with well-known Orientalists Matvei Gamazov, Vasilii Bartol’d, Karl Zaleman and even Edward Granville Browne. Tumanskii’s correspondence with Rozen, published in this volume, shows how deeply interested Tumanskii was in the study of the history of Babism; the life of contemporary Baha’i communities in Palestine, Iran, Ashgabat, Bukhara and Samarkand; and in Oriental studies in general. Owing to his official obligations, he studied various sources regarding the history and customs of the Turkmen and other peoples of Central Asia. Rozen helped him significantly in his studies and at the same time considered his contribution to Oriental studies quite important and valuable. Tumanskii’s knowledge of Arabic was very good, and he also tried to master the different Turkic dialects spoken in Central

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13. Men and boys of the Baha’i community of Baku, 1914. In the fourth row, centre, is a Russian army officer. © Baha’i World Centre.

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Asia. With Rozen’s help, Tumanskii published several articles in Transactions, the majority of them dealing with Baha’is.76 In 1893 Tumanskii was elected a corresponding member of the Imperial Russian Archaeological Society. His largest and most interesting publication was the translation of the Baha’i sacred book, the Kitab-i Aqdas, and its completion took many years. As can be seen from his letters, he began his translation no later than 189277 and worked on it until 1899, when it was finally published.78 His work on this difficult text was very thorough; he compared different existing manuscripts of the Kitab-i Aqdas and tried to comment on and explain Baha’i terminology. In his introduction, Tumanskii described the history of the Bab and his followers, but the introduction is more interesting for Tumanskii’s attempt to concentrate on the activity of Baha’u’llah, the leader of ‘New Babism’ (as he called the Baha’i faith) and his contribution to the development of the teaching. Though Tumanskii’s attitude towards Babism and the Baha’i religion was very positive and he considered these teachings to be of great importance, he still refused to define the latter as a new religion.79 He was also very cautious in estimating the importance of the Kitab-i Aqdas itself. Nevertheless, his publications are considered to be very important contributions to the study of Babism and the Baha’i religion, not to mention that his translation of the Kitab-i Aqdas and several other tablets are still used by scholars today. In 1894 Tumanskii, again with the help of Rozen, was sent by the Ministry of Defence to Iran to conduct secret ‘research into the religious-political sect of Babis’.80 General Kuropatkin ordered him to collect material for military and economic purposes as well, though from Tumanskii’s letters it appears that he went on this journey mainly to collect information about the Baha’is. Originally it was to be a kind of secret mission. The Ministry of Defence planned to send him secretly as an expert to ascertain the actual status of the Baha’is in Persia, but later he was sent openly as a Russian officer collecting military-statistical data.81

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68 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS Recently I managed to locate his report in the Russian State Military-Historical Archive, which represents the results of his expedition, and the text of that report is published in Volume 2 of this collection. After his expedition to Persia,82 Tumanskii left Ashgabat in 1895 because he saw no further prospects for himself there and, attracted by new emerging possibilities, returned to service in the artillery.83 His further service proceeded quite successfully. Tumanskii was promoted to captain in 1895 and temporarily became the commander of the battery in 1897.84 In 1900 his military rank was exchanged for a civil one and he was appointed vice-consul in Van (Turkey), where he worked during 1900–05. After his return, Tumanskii was promoted to colonel and served in Tiflis (Tbilisi) in the Caucasian Military Region.85 In 1908 he was again sent to Persia for five months. That same year, he also participated in the work of the Commission of the Military Headquarters dealing with ‘working out the question of officers studying Oriental languages’.86 During 1911–12 Tumanskii was the head of the Regional Officers’ School for Oriental Languages. But by this time he was already very sick,87 and because of his illness he was first transferred to the reserve (in 1915), and in 1917 he resigned from military service with the rank of major general.88 At the same time, he never gave up his Oriental studies, continuing to study Iran, teaching Arabic to officers and even publishing several articles and brochures on various topics.89 During the revolution, Tumanskii and his family immigrated to Turkey, where he died in 1920. By the end of the 1890s Russian scientific interest in the history and teachings of the Babis and Baha’is was past its peak. Although after Rozen’s death several books and brochures dealing with the subject of Babis and Baha’is were published in Russia,90 none of them really presented any new or interesting documentary information about the subject.

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BAHA’U’LLAH, THE IRANIAN TUJJAR AND THE NEW APPROACH TO INTEREST Gad G. Gilbar

While the letters and reports written by Russian military officers and diplomatic officials which are contained in these two volumes do not focus on economic issues, significant economic aspects relating to the Baha’is in Iran and neighbouring territories under Russian control are revealed in them. These topics appear mainly in the context of political concerns and refer, inter alia, to the big merchants (tujjar). Aleksandr Tumanskii, a Russian army officer who showed great interest in Babi and Baha’i religion and history, noted in a detailed report (1894) that many merchants were to be found among the Baha’is in the provinces of Isfahan, Fars, Mazandaran and Khurasan,1 and the Russian consul in Baghdad reported that the main occupation of the Baha’is living in Iraq was commerce.2 The documents also refer to specific Baha’i tujjar families in major trading centres in Iran (Yazd and Isfahan) and Transcaspia (Ashgabat).3 One of the commercial companies owned by Baha’is, ‘Ittifaqiyyih’, is also mentioned.4 Furthermore, some of the closest followers of Baha’u’llah were prominent merchant-entrepreneurs, such as the Afnan brothers Haji Mirza Muhammad-‘Ali and Haji Mirza Muhammad-Taqi Vakil al-Dawlih.5 The important place

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70 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS that merchants in general and big merchants in particular held in the Baha’i communities in Iran and neighbouring countries apparently underlay an observation by Tumanskii’s superior, General Kuropatkin, that the Russian Empire could promote its commercial interests in Iran by developing a special relationship with them.6 The impression gained by Tumanskii and his colleagues of the prominent presence of merchants in Baha’i communities seems to reflect a dynamic development. Clearly, the big merchants (like converts from other Muslim as well as non-Muslim social groups) were drawn to the new universal concepts embedded in the Baha’i faith, which they adopted. The tujjar were also attracted to the revolutionary economic approach of Baha’u’llah, the founder of the Baha’i religion. The following pages give a brief account of one of his new ideas – the legitimization of interest (riba), and the meaning of this change for the big merchants.7 I shall preface this with a few comments on the economic developments that formed the setting for the affinity of the tujjar with Baha’u’llah’s new economic approach. A Period of Economic and Social Transformation The period of the spread of the Baha’i faith in Iran was one of profound economic and social transformation having to do with the country’s integration in the world economic system. Iran had maintained economic ties with foreign states before the nineteenth century, but the scope of the modern ties, and the concomitant economic, social and cultural developments as the century progressed, were of a new magnitude.8 Since reliable statistical data on Iran’s foreign trade were published from the start of the twentieth century only, the available information regarding the previous century is necessarily based on rough estimates.9 These indicate that between 1850 and 1914 total commercial imports and exports rose from £5 million to £20 million (£426 million to £1,420 million in 2009 retail prices).10 This was an impressive increase in the context of the Iranian economy in the pre-oil period, and it was achieved

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mainly between the mid-1870s and the mid-1910s. The surge in foreign trade led to many changes both in consumption and investment and in the structure of the economy. The most salient changes in production occurred in agriculture, manufacturing and commerce. A striking expansion in the cultivation of cash crops in the agricultural sector11 altered the rural economy of the country. Until the 1860s, agricultural production had been limited in diversity, with the majority of the peasants in most provinces concentrating on the cultivation of cereals. By the early 1900s, the rural economy had become far more diversified. Opium, tobacco, fruit and cotton were now major crops in various regions.12 The relative share of cash crops in the total agricultural output increased considerably in the second half of the century, contributing significantly to the country’s income from exports.13 Opium was probably the most important export item in the 1880s and 1890s, constituting 25 to 30 per cent of total visible exports.14 Another economic sector that enjoyed impressive growth in the last decades of the nineteenth century was carpet weaving, with a large proportion of the output exported, mainly to Europe.15 The increase in income from the export of woollen carpets was substantial: from £300,000 in the early 1870s to £880,000 in 1906 (c. 20 million to over £70 million in 2009 retail prices). At the beginning of the twentieth century, carpet weaving constituted about 13 per cent of Iran’s total visible exports.16 This growth in production was accompanied by a marked expansion of services, first and foremost commerce, but also banking and transportation.17 While the driving forces of the economic transformation of the Iranian economy were mainly external, namely supply and demand forces in the European and Asian markets, the main agents of economic change sprang from a local social group – the big merchants.18 The increase in agricultural production, particularly the expansion of opium cultivation, was largely a result of the tujjar’s enterprise. By financing the costs of opium cultivation, and by

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72 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS increasingly buying land, they acquired a leading pro-growth role in the cultivation, processing and export of this crop.19 Their role in the growth of carpet weaving was similarly dynamic. Although they were not the only entrepreneurs in this branch – foreign firms also invested in it – they were the dominant actors.20 Additionally, they were active during the period under discussion in introducing modern industrial enterprises in the country: for example, glass and porcelain factories built in Tehran and Tabriz, a silk reeling factory in Rasht, a cotton spinning mill in Tabriz and an electric power plant in Tehran.21 The tujjar also invested in means of land transportation and established navigation companies (the Nasiri and the Shahinshahi companies).22 Not all the tujjar’s initiatives and investments were business oriented. Transcending the quest for profits, they also invested in social services, particularly in education.23 Moreover, big merchants backed the emerging Iranian press that developed outside Iran in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in such places as Istanbul, Calcutta and Cairo.24 An important aspect of tujjar activity was their efforts to establish trade networks outside Iran. This contributed to the rise of Iranian settlements in important commercial centres in the Middle East, Central Asia and the Indian Ocean basin.25 Networks of Iranian merchants had already existed in those regions before the nineteenth century,26 but in the course of the century new networks arose, while the number of active merchants increased in the older settlements. By the end of the nineteenth century, Iranian settlements were to be found in Istanbul, Baghdad, Basra, Aleppo, Cairo, Astrakhan, Baku, Bombay and Herat, with smaller ones in Trabzon, Moscow, Marseilles, London, Calcutta, Hong Kong and other major cities.27 Some of the larger Iranian communities abroad set up cultural and welfare institutions of their own,28 and Persian-language newspapers were published there.29 The increase in the number and size of the colonies of the Iranian merchants throughout this period was a result of three

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main factors. The first of these was the expansion in commercial activity generally, and an increase in Iran’s foreign trade particularly. This development led to the creation or expansion of trade networks in commercial centres in the countries with which Iran traded. Most of these networks consisted of members of the extended families of big merchants. The networks allowed for savings in transaction costs, while contributing significantly to gathering information about market conditions, competitors’ activities and the economic and political conditions of the host region.30 The second factor was fear of infringement of private property rights by the Qajar authorities. The shah and provincial governors occasionally confiscated merchants’ assets – not only the assets of active merchants, but also property bequeathed to their heirs.31 The practice of seizing merchants’ assets, especially those of the big merchants, although not routine, worsened at times when the shah and the central treasury were hard pressed for cash flow. Merchants were not the only social group whose property was threatened by confiscation, but the tujjar were in greater danger than others of forfeiting their possessions because they were the only group in Iranian society with fluid assets of great magnitude.32 The merchants developed several methods of containing anticipated damage from confiscation, one of which was to invest part of their fortune outside Iran, mainly in commercial centres in neighbouring countries, inter alia, Transcaspia.33 The third factor was the migration (or flight) of Iranians persecuted by the authorities. Migration in this context occurred both on an individual basis, owing to specific circumstances, and in groups, owing to the oppression of entire communities on religious grounds.34 The migration of some Iranians who had adopted the Baha’i religion to the cities of Transcaspia (Ashgabat) and Transcaucasia (Baku), and the development of communities of Baha’i merchants there, are examples of migration in a setting of persistent persecution.35 Four factors thus contributed to the growth of settlements of Baha’i merchants in Transcaspia and Transcaucasia: (a) Baha’i big

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14. Photo montage of members of the Khidmat Company, Baku, 1913, below images of Sayyid Kazim Rashti and ‘Abdu’l-Baha. © Baha’i World Centre.

merchants had a strong commercial interest in maintaining trading representation in these places; (b) the transfer of capital to trading centres near Iranian territory but beyond the reach of Qajar control served the purpose of acquiring greater security for the property of Baha’i entrepreneurs who wished to continue their commercial activity in Iran; (c) religious persecution in Iran motivated Baha’i big merchants to look for a safer economic environment; and (d) the Russian authorities displayed a favourable attitude to Baha’is who settled in Russian territories.36 A New Perception of Interest The growing public standing of the tujjar during the later nineteenth century accentuated their resentment of certain features in the Islamic religion, alongside the censorious attitude of the ‘ulama

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towards some of their activities. Of the various issues particularly vexing to the big merchants was the Qur’anic proscription against interest. Beyond the various approaches and differences of opinion on the question of riba, both Sunni and Shi‘i jurists (fuqaha’), going back to the earliest generations of Islam, were of one mind: the imposition of riba on loans was forbidden by the Qur’an and was regarded as a grave sin.37 This abiding concept held by Muslim jurists down through the ages is based on various verses in four different suras of the Qur’an.38 The total rejection of interest in the Qur’an was explained by the jurists in the following way: there is no justification for profiting from barter; and if there is no justification for profiting from barter, then the principle is all the more applicable to cash transactions. It appears that the jurists did not acknowledge any factors that would justify receiving a recompense for the giving of a loan – whether the lender’s waiving of income from an alternative investment, the risk of losing the principal, or a possible decline in the value of the loan in real terms.39 The demand for loans, however, is unavoidable in certain circumstances – for example, the case of a farmer left without seeds before the sowing season, an artisan whose tools and raw materials were lost in a fire, a ruler who had insufficient funds to arm and feed his army in the face of an enemy at the gates of his capital, and so forth. There were those in the Muslim communities who had fluid resources at their disposal which could be used for the provision of loans, and since providing a loan embodies elements of relinquishment and risk, the potential lender expects to be recompensed by the borrower. The lender relinquishes the alternative uses of the loaned money – whether they be for immediate consumption or for investment – from which he can reap profits. From the standpoint of the lender, a loan has a price, while the borrower can use the sum he has borrowed to increase his own income by investing it. Moreover, providing a loan entails risks, as

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76 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS there is always the possibility that the borrower will be unable or unwilling to repay the loan, and there is also the danger of a decline in the value of the money (inflationary processes). For these as well as other reasons, the lender expects a reward in the form of interest for providing a loan.40 Interest was conceived at the convergence of the borrower’s constraints and needs and the lender’s demand for an appropriate consideration. The logic behind the existence of interest explains the fact that this economic practice was well developed in ancient societies. There is evidence of interest-bearing loans in Mesopotamia of the third millennium BC.41 Hammurabic law (c. 1800 BC) contains detailed ordinances that address maximal interest rates, loan repayment arrears and assets that could be expropriated (including enslavement of the borrower) for non-repayment of the principal and interest.42 Interest-bearing loans were also prevalent in the Hellenistic and Roman cultures.43 A radical change in attitude towards interest first became evident in the world view of Judaism and thereafter in early Christianity. There was no real distinction between interest and usury in the formative generations of these two monotheistic religions: any addition to the principal was considered to be usury and was forbidden.44 It was only in the twelfth century that the Catholic Church gradually began to accept an approach permitting the selective imposition of interest.45 Evidently, the institution of interest was present in Hijaz society in the pre-Islamic period.46 Later, from the first centuries of Islam onward, despite the Qur’anic prohibition, Muslims of all classes, in rural and urban societies alike, borrowed and loaned at various rates of interest, ranging from a few per cent to hundreds of per cent per annum. Not surprisingly, the interest-bearing loan market in the Muslim communities flourished particularly in locations and periods of wide-ranging economic and trade activity and with concomitant high rates of economic growth. There is clear evidence that in Muslim societies down through the generations,

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from the Umayyad state and the ‘Abbasid caliphate to the Qajar kingdom, interest-bearing transactions involving Muslim moneylenders played an important role.47 Yet, the Qur’anic commandment created internal tension in the Muslim communities at varying levels of intensity, ranging from uneasiness to outright contempt, condemnation and humiliation, reflected particularly in the attitude of the ‘ulama towards Muslims who charged interest on loans. A degree of cognitive dissonance48 appears to have existed among Muslims who were involved in providing, receiving, registering or adjudicating disputes over interest-bearing loans.49 To resolve this dilemma, several jurists in the Muslim world attempted to construct a bridge between the prohibition and the daily needs of the community in order to free it from the vexation deriving from unavoidable sinfulness.50 Of all the solutions proposed and accepted, often by only part of the community, two had the greatest influence: the first was interpretation, the hermeneutic tool generally employed in such situations,51 and the second was bypassing the issue by employing legal stratagems (hila, pl., hiyal),52 which enabled the imposition and payment of interest by disguising it so that neither lender nor borrower were in prima facie breach of the Qur’anic commandment. Were these ways and means able to free Muslims from unease regarding the Qur’anic prohibition and turn interest into a valid and legitimate measure in their economic transactions? It would seem that they were not.53 Throughout the generations, and no less in recent centuries than in earlier ones, ‘ulama in Iran and other Islamic countries repudiated interest-bearing loans.54 Baha’u’llah broke away from both Sunni and Shi‘i traditions in his attitude towards interest. His ideas created a new frame of reference in monetary and financial thinking, utterly different from Islamic concepts until then.55 His thoughts on charging interest, which were set down in the mid-1880s in the Ishraqat (Splendours), were written in the context of a dialogue with Baha’i believers:

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78 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS As to thy question concerning interest and profit on gold and silver … He – exalted be His Word – saith: Many people stand in need of this. Because if there were no prospect for gaining interest, the affairs of men would suffer collapse or dislocation. One can seldom find a person who would manifest such consideration towards his fellow-man, his countryman or towards his own brother and would show such tender solicitude for him as to be well-disposed to grant him a loan on benevolent terms. Therefore as a token of favour towards men We have prescribed that interest on money should be treated like other business transactions that are current amongst men. Thus, now that this lucid commandment hath descended from the heaven of the Will of God, it is lawful and proper to charge interest on money … He hath now made interest on money lawful, even as He had made it unlawful in the past. Within his grasp He holdeth the kingdom of authority.56 According to Baha’u’llah, interest is permitted, and charging it on loans is ‘lawful and proper’. It should be treated as any other legitimate transaction among parties. Baha’u’llah gave two weighty reasons to justify his new approach. The first is that people need monetary loans: the demand for loans is a necessity which cannot be ignored or denied. The second is that the desire for monetary gain is legitimate, and non-recognition of it is liable to cause economic dislocation and great difficulties. Baha’u’llah’s premise that profits originating in the ownership of capital assets are legitimate also underlies the notion that there is no wrong in profiting from advancing loans. His attitude to interest might have evoked unease among members of his community of believers, in view of the absolute prohibition on interest-taking in the orthodox Islamic perception. Presumably, this is the reason for his emphasis that demanding interest is legitimate (‘lawful’) even if in the past God declared it unlawful. The faithful

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need not wonder at the change in this matter, for authority in each and every concern is in God’s hands, and it is He who alters his commandments. Baha’u’llah did not lay down detailed rules with regard to what is permitted and forbidden in the area of loans at interest. He refrained from determining maximal interest rates, and he made no distinction between lawful and prohibited interest (usury), except for a general but highly significant statement that interest rates should be moderate and fair: ‘this is a matter that should be practised with moderation and fairness.’57 The idea of ‘fair interest’ allows a rather wide range of interest rates on a loan, yet clearly does not permit excessive rates of tens, not to say hundreds, of per cent annually.58 Baha’u’llah left it to the members of the Universal House of Justice to make decisions about various matters concerning interest,59 as they were pledged to ensure that matters proceed according to the approach he laid down. It was clear to him that the dynamics of future economic developments necessitated a system that could make decisions suited to changing social and economic circumstances. Baha’u’llah’s position on interest extricated the tujjar from a moral and practical dilemma. Moneylending with interest was a common practice in nineteenth-century Iran, with nominal annual interest rates generally at 18 per cent, although cases of lower or higher rates were not uncommon.60 The Iranian tujjar were major players in the credit market. They were the only socioeconomic group which kept large reserves of cash and precious metals (quasi-cash) to conduct their transactions, and they used some of these reserves to advance loans. The tujjar were not the only moneylenders in Iran but they were undoubtedly the dominant local factor. Demand for credit rose in the second half of the nineteenth century as a result of growing monetization, the expansion of economic activity generally, and the increase of commercial transactions in particular. The tujjar lent money to a wide range of social groups, from the ruling elite – the Qajar rulers and the

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80 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS senior bureaucracy – through senior ‘ulama and tribal leaders, to the lower strata through sarrafs (traditional bankers).61 Infringement of the Qur’anic proscription of charging interest prompted many ‘ulama not only to censure anyone engaged in moneylending with interest, but in some cases even to issue verdicts in the shari‘a court or as members of the karguzar majlis62 punishing the moneylenders for the sin of charging interest by releasing the debtor from paying the whole or part of the amount of the interest.63 In other words, giving loans was connected with a degree of uncertainty that went beyond the usual risks that lenders took when granting loans. This uncertainty regarding return on investment (interest) seems to have been one of the reasons for very high interest rates. Conceivably, Baha’u’llah’s new approach to interest might have had the effect of lowering interest rates in the Baha’i communities. In short, the prohibition of interest was a millstone around the neck of the tujjar, and Baha’u’llah’s new attitude towards riba constituted a redeeming change for both the Baha’i big merchants and their financial clients. Tujjar and the Clergy Relations between the Muslim tujjar and the ‘ulama in the nineteenth century were thorny and complex, a result of the mutual dependence of the two groups. The tujjar needed the goodwill of the ‘ulama in their commercial activity and in their relations with the authorities. For example, contracts drawn up by the tujjar often acquired binding authority in the shari‘a courts; business disputes between tujjar and their clients or suppliers were frequently brought to the mahkama (court); in cases of disagreement between the tujjar and foreign companies in which the karguzar was involved, the tujjar sometimes needed the ‘ulama’s backing;64 and they also invoked this support in their struggles against moves by the rulers that harmed their enterprises. Moreover, the social standing of the tujjar was influenced in no small measure by the attitude of the ‘ulama towards their business methods, profits and wealth.

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For their part, the ‘ulama needed the financial support of the tujjar. The sums of money that the Qajar state remitted to the ‘ulama were insufficient to maintain the religious, educational and welfare institutions they administered. Through awqaf (endowments) that the tujjar established, and in other ways, they helped finance institutions (e.g., madrasas) and events (e.g., the Muharram ceremonies) that were of great significance for the ‘ulama.65 This intricate reciprocal dependence involved ongoing friction, exacerbated by two developments in the nineteenth century which had a negative effect on relations between the two groups. First, several Muslim tujjar acted as commercial agents of European firms that exported their products to Iran.66 This commercial activity fostered the penetration of Western industrial products into the Iranian market, evoking fierce opposition by the ‘ulama, who adopted a hostile stance towards the consumption of Europeanmade goods.67 Second, the strengthening of the economic power and social standing of the tujjar in the Qajar state was reflected in the establishment of ‘councils of merchants’ representatives’ (majalis-i wukala-yi tujjar) in the summer and autumn of 1884 in the major cities of Iran. Inter alia, the councils were meant to take over some of the functions of the shari‘a courts in matters of trade and finance. Their creation, accordingly, stirred fierce opposition by a number of ‘ulama and their students in Mashhad, who did all in their power to frustrate the activity of the councils. In the conflict that developed between the ‘ulama and the tujjar during the closing months of 1884, the ‘ulama gained the upper hand, with the result that the councils were disbanded and their activity throughout Iran ceased entirely.68 This does not imply that the big merchants never cooperated with the ‘ulama, for example, in their struggle against foreign economic penetration, or to bring about fundamental reforms in the Qajar administration.69 These were important developments, but they occurred despite the tension and friction that prevailed between the tujjar and the ‘ulama.

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82 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS Significantly, a central principle in Baha’u’llah’s teaching was the avoidance of creating a clerical establishment. Baha’i communities are administered without religious functionaries. It is reasonable to suppose that in light of the contentious relations of the tujjar with the ‘ulama, this principle of the Baha’i religion held a strong attraction for the tujjar. Conclusion Around the mid-1880s, Baha’u’llah brought about a revolutionary change in Baha’i concepts of monetary and fiscal transactions: in a single move he turned interest into a justified and legitimate practice. This move came at a time of burgeoning prosperity in the tujjar’s operations. Iranian big merchants in the second half of the nineteenth century were breaking into new fields of economic activity and re-invigorating old ones, and some attained dizzying business success. It was important for them that their achievements not be tainted or jeopardized. More research is needed to fully understand the impact Baha’u’llah’s move had on the Baha’i commercial and financial world in Iran and neighbouring territories, and whether the new approach to interest within the Baha’i communities affected the financial and commercial attitudes of Muslim entrepreneurs in Iran and elsewhere. The key to these and other questions lies in documents that await further exploration by economic and social historians.

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LETTERS OF RUSSIAN OFFICERS AND OFFICIALS TO BARON VIKTOR ROZEN

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15. A page from letter 2 of Vladimir Ignat’ev. © St Petersburg Branch, Archive of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

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1 LETTERS OF VLADIMIR IGNAT’EV

1

Teheran 26 May 18831 Deeply esteemed Baron Viktor Romanovich, Your letter of 28 April came as a reproach to me for my unforgivable tardiness. I felt ashamed of myself. On my departure, almost four years ago, from Petersburg, with your permission I promised to write to you, and until now have not keep kept my word. It is difficult to find a reasonable excuse. I hope only for your forbearance and earnestly beg you to retain the same favourable disposition towards me that I enjoyed while I was in Russia, and which I cherished and shall always cherish. I am sincerely grateful to you that on Zhukovskii’s departure for his journey2 you remembered me. Believe me, I shall make every effort and do everything possible to make it easier for Valentin Alekseevich to fulfill the aim of his journey. During his entire stay in Teheran my flat will be at his full disposal. I am sure that the other members of our Mission – the majority of whom in fact are also alumni of our faculty – will treat him with the utmost solicitude. I. G. Grigorovich3 has also received your letter and is now looking for a suitable mirza for Zhukovskii. Unfortunately, the mulla who for some 20 years gave lessons to the members of the

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86 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS Russian Mission, and who used to travel with the late Spasskii,4 went to Kerbela [Karbala]5 last year, where he met a pious death. I studied Persian and Arabic with this same mulla. The sum allotted to Zhukovskii for his journey is quite small indeed. True, living in Persia is cheap, and in this respect Valentin Alekseevich will not have to make many expenditures, but travel here is dear and, you know, he cannot avoid it.6 He will, of course, go to Isfahan, for in Teheran as a matter of fact there is not much of interest. The high cost of travel in Persia has also been the reason why until now I have not been able to visit the South of Persia. They do not allow us official trips to become acquainted with the country, as was done before, and on one’s own means it is difficult. In four years, it is shameful to say, I have gotten to know only Teheran and Resht [Rasht]7 (in Resht I managed the consulate for half a year), and made an excursion to [Mount] Demovend [Damavand],8 to the summit of which, however, I was unable to climb – didn’t have enough strength. In Teheran itself there are neither old mosques nor other antiquities. I have hardly come across any ancient manuscripts, and, besides, they ask such high prices for them that one has to be a millionaire in order to buy them. The capital of Persia nowadays can serve as a dramatic example of the decline towards which a once glorious country of poets and flowers is hastening. I daresay there are still plenty of both now, but if the flowers have retained their former beauty, one can in no way say the same about the contemporary poetical works of Persia: they do not rise above mere meaningless verbiage. All the revenues of Persia are passing little by little into the hands of various European chevaliers d’industrie,9 who, under the pretext of being civilizers of an ignorant country, are congregating in Teheran from all corners of the rotten West. A great part of them do indeed achieve their aims – easy profits, in which they are assisted in no small measure by the newborn party in Persia, known by the name of Young Persia,10 which protects all manner of adventurers. The representatives of this party, among whom figure certain

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ministers of the Shah as well, after visiting Europe and becoming acquainted with the exterior of European civilization, imagined themselves to be Europeans and began to laugh at the backwardness of their compatriots, not noticing that they themselves had become playthings in the hands of their teachers, the Europeans. At present, at the head of these local adventurers stands the Frenchman [Fabius] Boital, who installed gas lighting in the main streets of Teheran, although no one knows for whom or for what, since in the Persian capital after 10 o’clock in the evening you won’t see anyone, apart from an enormous number of dogs. Recently, Boital received a concession for the construction of a railway from Resht to Teheran and is thus beginning to call himself the second Lesseps, although nobody believes in the realization of his project. The Shah [Nasir al-Din] in his old age is becoming more and more miserly; his passion for money is turning into a kind of mania. He divided the government of the state among his three sons,11 who have been granted the right to fleece both the living and the dead in order to bring in money for the Shah without any delay, and the more the better. Of course, industry cannot flourish in such conditions; it declines day by day. Of the famous old Persian carpets, shawls and silk wares there remains only a pitiful memory; present-day Persian carpets, for instance, are very bad. During my stay in Resht I had occasion to see for myself to what extent Gilian [Gilan] province,12 generously endowed by nature, which once served as the granary of Persia and was renowned for its silk wares, has been and is still being ruined permanently by the Persian governors-general. One cannot, of course, blame the people for this: the Persians are by nature quite capable, but who would work when he is not sure of the inviolability of his property! At any time the ferrashes [farrashes] of the governor-general can appear and seize from an ordinary resident the fruits of all his labours. In such a state of affairs, the efforts of all the denizens of Persian cities are concentrated on any conceivable way – most often by fraud – to acquire an easy tuman and hide it far enough

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88 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS away from the gaze of greedy administrators. Fraud and immorality in Persian cities are flourishing. For money, the majority of Persians would sell everything, even their wives. The sore of Persia is its clergy, against which even the Shah cannot do anything. They are truly parasites! The contemporary Persian language, particularly of business documents and the newspapers published here, as far as I can judge, has lost its former beauty and characteristic peculiarities, and in the construction of phrases has become closer to European languages. For us officials this is, of course, better and more convenient, but in a literary respect the former language was incomparably better. Nowadays one rarely happens to see a letter in which the author, while informing, for example, about the receipt of money, enumerates practically all the flowers and the planets in rhymed prose. The sect of the Babis has not ceased to exist. There are many of them, as they say, in Kazvin [Qazvin];13 quite a few as well in other cities, despite the persecutions. Unfortunately it is almost impossible to find out anything reliable about them: a Babi, out of fear, would not disclose his religious beliefs even to a European, as the very suspicion of membership in this sect entails the death penalty for the suspect if he is not quick enough to pay a ransom. Persian rulers have even managed to turn this sect into an item of income for themselves: when they need money, they immediately accuse any well-to-do man of Babism, and he pays. I. G. Grigorovich managed to make a copy of the Koran of the Babis,14 which he apparently has delivered to you. I have one Babi manuscript – the sayings of the Bab with commentaries in Persian,15 which I will bring to you. In the everyday life of the Persians, alongside the imitation of European customs, one often sees scenes taken straight out of Haji Baba.16 In provincial Persian cities there are without doubt even more of such scenes. Drunkenness here is developed to a powerful degree: almost everyone drinks, with very few exceptions, even women; the favourite drink is Persian fruit vodka and cognac.

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16. Nasr al-Din Shah. Courtesy Baha’i World Centre.

However, they avoid drinking openly; usually they do it dar khalvat [in private], yet there they drink themselves unconscious. Nowadays even the clergy turn a blind eye to this and take care only that there be no public drunkenness. The secular authorities view drinking even more indulgently as they also love to treat themselves with cognac: chih ‘ayb darad? [what harm is there?]. Teheran is becoming more and more like a European city: there are European shops where it is possible to get almost all the necessities, a hotel, and even cabs started to appear (so that the Shah was moved to exclaim: ‘Hala Tehran Farangistan shud’ [Now Teheran has become Europe]), although they didn’t last long. Several days ago the Shah ordered that every day before sunset on the square near the palace an orchestra should play music; thus now we even have our own Pavlovsk.17 Persian khanums are delighted with this order and gather in crowds daily to listen to the

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90 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS ferengian18 music (a military orchestra, trained European-style) and also az bara-yi tamasha [to watch] and even more for amorous intrigues. Self-satisfied local residents settle in the square sinih-yi aftab [sunning themselves]. I fear that it will bore you to read my long, but not very interesting writings, and so I am concluding about Persia. I offer you my sincere congratulations on the brilliant success of your doctoral dissertation. From Zhukovskii I hope to learn the details about our faculty. For what reason did S. I. Cherniaev attack Zhukovskii so during the debate? And Krylov,19 who was apparently preparing for his master’s examination, seems to have given up his academic career. Of the fate of my fellow students in the university, I learned only from your letter. Gorodetskii20 will probably make a career for himself; he is a practical and sensible fellow. I wrote to Fedoseev21 while still in Petersburg but have received not one line from him. The rumours that reached me about him were not entirely favourable. Pity, if he does not change his habits: his abilities are brilliant but remain unused. And Flerov22 fell victim to the weakness of many Russians in the East.23 I am expecting an appointment shortly, most probably as a secretary in the consulate in Astrabad.24 Movement here is very slow; my colleagues in Turkey, who came out of the Educational Department even later than I, have already been secretaries in the consulates for a long time. Last year I also nearly considered applying for secretary in Kashgar,25 where our present consul in Resht was supposed to be appointed consul, but they dissuaded me here. In about ten days we shall meet the new Envoy A. A. Mel’nikov.26 We are all glad about the appointment of precisely him and none other to I. A. Zinov’ev’s post. I wish you, deeply esteemed Viktor Romanovich, good health and all the best, and I ask that you remember from time to time one who sincerely admires and is deeply devoted to you, V. Ignat’ev

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2 Askhabad 13 December 189127 Deeply esteemed Viktor Romanovich, Already more than a year has passed since I arrived in Askhabad.28 Hoping for your forbearance towards my shortcomings, I will not try to justify myself for the fact that during such a long period of time I could not find time to write to you. My workload is very heavy indeed, far more so than I expected when accepting this appointment. Kuropatkin is an energetic fellow and makes everyone work. One must do him justice: in one year he has done more for the region than was done in ten years. The amount of work cannot, of course, serve as an excuse for my silence, but I did not have time to do anything apart from fulfilling my duties, for example, to deal with the Babis – and to collect material for a letter that could interest you. Such material you will not find in this letter either. But perhaps the enclosures in this letter will not be without interest for you. The local Babis endeavour with all their might to attract the attention of the authorities and to secure the sympathy and protection of Russia. They are up to 60 in number here.29 Many people have become interested in them, not knowing well, however, what sort of people they are. Even General Kuropatkin has become interested. In September they presented him with copies of a letter and a short note about their teaching, which they received from Akka30 from their chief preacher [Baha’u’llah]. Kurop[atkin]’s translator could not translate them because of not knowing Arabic, but he held onto them until now. With the permission of the Head of the Reg[ion] I took the copies from the translator and reported to Kurop[atkin] that I would send them to you. I myself do not have time to do it, and besides I would hardly be able to translate everything precisely, especially as I do not have an Arabic dictionary here.

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17. Baha’i kindergarten class in Ashgabat, 1883. © Baha’i World Centre.

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After I took the copies, Tumanskii presented himself to me with a request to hand them over to him for translation. I did not agree with this and suggested to him to obtain another copy from the Babis, from which he could translate. I am transmitting these copies to you and I ask you, deeply esteemed Viktor Romanovich, to return them to me when there is no further need for them. If you do need them, I will assign someone here to make additional copies and will send them to you. You may, of course, as I also stated to the Head of the Reg[ion], use these documents at your discretion, i.e., to print them or quote them, but only without mentioning that they were presented by the Babis to the Head of the Reg[ion]. This could gravely offend the Shah [Nasir al-Din], who is already angry with Kurop[atkin] for his protection of the Babis.31 If it does not cause any trouble or difficulties, would you be so kind as to send me the translation of the said documents, in order to show them to General Kurop[atkin]? I do not particularly trust Tumanskii’s knowledge and I fear that his translation may prove inaccurate. I became acquainted here with the more important Babis. I cannot say that they made a favourable impression on me. In essence, the vast majority of them are the same kind of swindlers as all the Persians. Neither do I believe in the sincerity of the religious convictions of the Babis of Askhabad. Here they boast of their belonging to the sect, whose doctrine is considered to be of high moral standard. After the incident of the murder of a Babi by a Persian,32 and also thanks to the news about the executions they are suffering in Persia, people here have started to regard them as martyrs. Kuropatkin also was inclined very favourably towards them. They have petitioned, and continue to petition, to be granted Russian nationality. They have approached me as well on this issue, appealing to the fact that while being of Persian nationality, they cannot show themselves in Persia – there they would immediately be seized – but at the same time because of their trading business it is necessary for them to go there. I replied to them that we could not grant them Russian nationality because

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94 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS of the Convention33 entered into with Persia, adding to this that even if they were granted Russian nationality, this would not change their situation, for even under such conditions, upon their appearance in Persia, their heads would still be chopped off. I showed them, by the way, the excerpts from Babi manuscripts printed in the editions of your catalogues. They were very pleased that they are of interest in Russia, and they even asked to be lent the book to peruse. Frankly speaking, their presence in Askhabad, and the favour displayed to them by the local authorities, reflects extremely unfavourably upon our relations with Persia. Because of 60 Babis we have angered the Shah, who has been trying to oppose the Head of the Region [Kuropatkin] wherever possible. It would be better to move them somewhere closer to Moscow. Here, rumours have spread that the prophet from Akka [Baha’u’llah] himself, having heard of the prosperity of his followers here, supposedly has the intention of visiting Askhabad in person or sending his envoy.34 However interesting it might be to see him, in the event that he should in fact get it into his head to realize his intention, I would consider it my duty to make every effort to prevent his coming to the Transcasp[ian] Reg[ion]. The supporters of the Babis tried to prove to the Head of the Region (before my arrival) that this sect has a great future, that the Babis could be very useful to us as their teaching consists of a transitional stage from Islam to Orthodoxy, etc. I cannot agree with the correctness of such views and I think (1) that the Babis have no future whatsoever, and, (2) that if a Muslim wished to convert to Orthodoxy, he would not at all need a transitional stage in the form of Babism. Some time ago Kurop[atkin] became to a considerable degree disillusioned with the Babis. A communication in Pers[ian] was intercepted here, which conveyed to Persia, probably for the English, various information. The Persian subject who had written these letters, and whom I interrogated, stated that he received a salary from one of the local Babis, the richest one, for composing letters; that he himself had already been a Babi twice but that now

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he had returned again to the fold of Islam. The distinguished Babi was arrested, but after some time released for insufficient evidence. I certainly don’t deny that among the contemporary Babis there are many entirely sincerely dedicated believers, ready to go to their death for their convictions, but there are hardly very many of those among the Askhabad Babis. Forgive me for expatiating so upon the Babis. Perhaps I judge not altogether impartially, but this may be excused me, as I see better than anyone else the harmful consequences for our relations with Persia of the prosperous residence in Askhabad, close to the very border, of 60 Babis. Enough about them. I cannot say that my situation here is pleasant. I am on the best of terms with Kurop[atkin], but I have to carry out his orders even when they contradict the views of our Ministry. The latter can accuse me of inability to influence Kurop[atkin], forgetting that Kuropatkin is not one to be so easily influenced. However, that does not particularly worry me: I do what I can and however I can. About my new superior, Count Kapnist, I don’t have the slightest idea, and this circumstance makes my position even more difficult. Please give my humble compliments to Olga Feodosievna and the Zhukovskiis. Deeply admiring and sincerely devoted to you, V. Ignat’ev P.S. I have just received news from Meshed [Mashhad]35 that in Mazendaran [Mazandaran] there is apparently a uprising by the Babis.36 Tumanskii asks to convey his regards to you. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for sending me the sixth issue of ‘Collections Scientifiques’37 and Izvestiia.38 14 December Forgive me for writing so badly and incoherently. In view of Kurop[atkin]’s forthcoming departure (in January) to Peter[sburg]

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96 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS there is feverish activity around here in the writing of various kinds of reports. It is my responsibility to compile a report on Persian affairs over the last two years. I must write so much that my hand sometimes refuses to function. Does the Asian Department still send out Izvestiia to our consuls? If not, then I will write to A. V. Blinov.39 I wish you all the best. Sincerely devotedly, V. Ignat’ev You may send back my enclosed manuscripts through the Department, i.e., by putting them in a packet and passing it on to Shul’zhevskii40 or to Blinov in the As[ian] D[epartmen]t, and they will send it on to me in the official packet.

3 Askhabad 6 April 189241 Deeply esteemed Viktor Romanovich, Forgive me, for the sake of God, that my answer to your letter has been so greatly delayed. Besides the urgent work before Kuropatkin’s departure, and then the compilation of the political reports that I have just recently sent to Petersburg, the reason for the tardiness was partly the fact that it was impossible to assign the transcription of the translation to the illiterate clerks in our chancery, and the only decent clerk, who had already transcribed one copy of the translation for Kuropatkin, was overloaded with work. First of all, I offer you my sincere gratitude for the translation, from myself personally and on behalf of Kuropatkin as well. He took the translation with him to Petersburg. Enclosed I am sending you copies of the original as well as copies of the translation

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prepared for you with the assistance of Tumanskii. All your corrections, according to Tumanskii, the Babis confirmed as accurate and explained the mistakes as from haste in transcribing. The first half of the second document, up to the word ‘intaha’ [ended], according to the Babis’ explanation, was taken down from the words of Behaullah by his secretary Khadimullah, who then speaks on his own behalf. I presented the translation to Kur[opatkin] along with a short memorandum in which I set forth your opinion on the documents. The prisoner of Akka evidently has changed his mind about coming here, if he ever had such an intention at all. Indeed, the Babis’ organization is good, and evidently they are all in constant contact amongst themselves and obey one authority. Undoubtedly Behaullah has reliable agents everywhere. The said two original documents, after making copies of them for Kuropatkin, were sent by the local Babis for distribution in Persia. As for the future of the Babis, I strongly doubt it. First of all, they themselves do not know how strong they are. They don’t know (or perhaps they conceal) how many they are.42 Our Envoy in Teheran, after the initiation of correspondence on the question of granting Russian nationality to the Babis living in Askhabad, informed the Head of the Region that only speculative judgements could be made about the prevalence of the Babis in Persia, but that there are grounds to suppose that the number of followers of the Bab reaches one million.43 They are dispersed in all strata of the population, not excluding the upper class. It is even more difficult to judge how successful the propaganda of the Bab’s teaching is at the present time. Among the Sunnites the number of followers of the sect is quite insignificant. One Persian here conveyed to me as reliable the fact that not long ago in Askhabad two Armenians (of the Armenian-Gregor[ian] confess[ion])44 became Babis. He did not want to tell me the names of these Armenians, as they, fearing – for perfectly well-grounded reasons – persecution on the part of the authorities as well as by

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98 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS their [former] co-religionists, carefully conceal their conversion to Babism. Here it was anticipated that Babism would be a transitional stage to Christianity, and it seems it was hoped that Babis, who had been shown so much kindness, would not only agree to convert to Orthodoxy themselves, but would also have a beneficial influence on other Muslims. It turned out, however, the other way round: Christians became Babis, but up to now, as far as I know, not one Babi has converted to Christianity. If others follow the example of these two Armenians, it will be necessary, of course, to take certain measures. Among the Muslims of the Transcaspian Region, both newcomers as well as natives (Tekins),45 the Babis’ teaching has not had the slightest success. One may suppose that in the highly probable disturbances in Persia after the death of the present Shah, [in the struggle] for the throne, one of the pretenders might resort to cooperation with the Babis, declaring himself in advance to be their protector. Most of all, one might expect that sort of step from Zillis-Sultan [Zill alSultan], whose funds have lately declined significantly. But if he were to resolve upon that, it would only be in the case of extremity, i.e., when all the rest of the population were on the side of his rival. And in that case, the Babis, of course, would not be of help to him. It goes without saying that neither Russia nor England has any interest in supporting the Babis, and to me it seems improbable that such an interest should ever (at least in the near future) emerge. The English, who are using all possible means to strengthen their influence in Persia, in particular among the population, nevertheless do not consider it advantageous for them to provide any kind of support to the Babis. Regarding the latest cruel executions of the Babis in Yezd [Yazd],46 not one of the European envoys has brought himself to make a statement to the Shah in favour of the oppressed, not of course from fear of provoking the displeasure of the Shah and his ministers – such displeasure is not so dangerous – but, from caution, as it seems to me, not to antagonize the majority of the population, who undoubtedly regard the Babis with hostility, and in particular the all-powerful clergy. And that

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the clergy in Persia are all-powerful is demonstrated by recent events in Persia with respect to the tobacco monopoly47 and other monopolies granted by the Shah to the English. I also cannot agree with you that our diplomats should have tried to use the Babis to threaten the Shah and, under the threat of our further protection of the Babis, to press him to comply with our demands. Firstly, such a threat could turn out to be, and without any doubt will turn out to be, ineffective, which would be embarrassing for us; and secondly, by using such a threat, as I said above, we would harm only ourselves, having antagonized the vast majority of Muslims and the clergy. And what if the Shah, responding to such a threat, answered us: ‘Very well, I will comply with all your demands if you do not accept the Babis and extradite those you have already accepted’? What position would we find ourselves in? Of course, we could not in any event extradite the Babis, as their extradition would not conform to the dignity of Russia as a Great Power. At the present time, the state of our affairs in Persia is significantly and rapidly improving. Frightened by the disorders48 which his friends the English prepared for him, the Shah is hurrying to return to his former course and gain Russia’s sympathy anew. During the last 2–3 months he has already given us several concessions on frontier issues in the Transcaspian Region.49 In view of this, I try with all my might to prevent raising the question of granting nationality to the Babis, about which they do not cease to dream, reminding the Head of the Region of themselves at every opportunity. Above I said that the teaching of Babism among the Tekins has not up to now had the least success. However, the ground for propaganda now is the most favourable of all. It is remarkable that the Tekins, who before our conquest of the Transcaspian area had been completely indifferent towards Islam, as well as towards all religions in general, are now becoming, with every year, more religious and even more fanatical. Probably a peaceful life, which they were not acquainted with before the coming of the Russians, has made of the Tekins, with their natural idleness and abundance of

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100 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS free time, to some extent philosophers and has motivated them to begin pondering religious questions. Such a state of affairs was promptly taken advantage of by the enlightened mullas of Bukhara, who for the purpose of propaganda started to appear in the Turkmenian auls, finding there quite a hearty welcome. Against such propaganda, measures have already been taken and several enlighteners from Bukhara were arrested. It is not in our interests to allow the Tekins to become fanatics, but fighting this evil is difficult. Since 1881 only one Tekin family has converted to Orthodoxy and its conversion did not arouse any dissatisfaction among the Tekins. There are none of our missionaries here and besides they are not needed, as they would hardly have any success; first it is necessary to teach the Tekins to read and write in Russian. In the existing school here there is not even one Tekin. I have not yet happened to meet any Tekins who understand Russian, with the exception of the horsemen of the Turkmenian militia, who know a few words related to military matters. Tumanskii continues to study the Babis and Oriental languages. He really is knowledgeable about the terminology of the Babis and I gladly give up my former mistrust in deference to his knowledge. Please give my humble compliments to Olga Feodosievna and to the Zhukovskiis if you see them. They have completely forgotten me. I wrote to Varvara Aleksandrovna,50 but have not received a single line from her in a long time. At Easter I am planning to visit Meshed, where I have not yet been. I have much work still, perhaps even more than before, for now I must write about everything to Kuropatkin in Petersburg. He will return no earlier than summer. The inhabitants of the Region are worried now with the appearance of cholera in Herat51 and its intention to move over into Khurasan,52 and then even into our territory. All possible measures are being taken against this unpleasant guest; the doctor has been sent to Meshed. I wish you all the best. Deeply admiring you and sincerely faithfully, V. Ignat’ev

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Your original translation of the Babi documents has remained here, in the dossier on the Babis.

4 Askhabad 5 May 189253 Deeply esteemed Viktor Romanovich, In answer to your letter of 20 April, which I received on the 2nd of May, I hasten to inform you that when printing the Babis’ documents, it would be, as it appears to me, more proper, from a political perspective, not to mention either my name or the fact that these documents were presented by the Babis to General Kuropatkin. Our Ministry, as you know, does not take an entirely sympathetic attitude towards the attempts of the Transcaspian authorities to render preferential protection to the Babis. The mention of my name, considering my official position here, will attach to the Babis’ transmission of Behaullah’s messages to me, to some degree, an official character, which is undesirable. In view of this, it would be better to limit oneself only to the indication that the messages were addressed to Babis living in Askhabad, from whom they came to you. Not long ago I met a Babi here who was a Russian subject, from Baku. He assured me that there are no less than 600 Babi Russian subjects living in Baku and that there were a considerable number of them in other cities of the Caucasian Region as well. I read the report about the meeting of the Oriental Department in Nov[oe] V[remia] of 2 [14] April,54 and then seriously questioned the soundness of the statement by General Komarov about 40 million in capital and about the readiness of the Babis to donate large sums for the construction, in the Transcaspian Region, of Christian churches and the establishment of secondary and higher (?) educational institutions.55 Until now the local Babis have indicated,

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102 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS as far as I know, readiness to build only a Babi mosque, which is almost completed already.56 The Head of the Region, they say, hoped that the Babis, enjoying our protection, would build an aryk at their own expense, which, with the scarcity of water here, would at the present time be much more useful for Askhabad than higher educational institutions, but the Babis do not seem to express willingness to donate any sums for this project. The other day something happened that could unfavourably affect the commerce of the local Babis. One of them – Haji Abdur-Rasul Yezdi [Abd al-Rasul Yazdi] – took the risk of going off to Persia, to the city of Sebzevar [Sabzivar],57 on commercial business. Although he carefully concealed there his membership in the Babis, nevertheless the Persians found out about it and immediately arrested him. Yesterday, about seven Armenian merchants appeared before me, extremely alarmed by the news of Abdur-Rasul’s arrest, declaring that he owed them significant sums of money and requesting to issue an order (?) by telegraph, on their account, that the Persian Government compel the detainee to settle all monetary accounts with them, i.e., in other words, not to cut off his head until he paid off his creditors. I telegraphed to the ConsulGeneral in Meshed, of course without saying Abdur-Rasul was a Babi. I don’t know what will happen. If the Armenians’ money is lost, our merchants will be afraid to have any commercial dealings with the Babis. The Babis reckon that in the event of their being granted Russian nationality, they would be able to travel to Persia in complete safety. Meanwhile, this particular circumstance would cause great difficulties for us, as the Persian Government, of course, would not think twice about dealing with the Babis in their usual manner, even as Russian subjects. I am instructed to go to the Persian border for negotiations with Vlasov58 regarding various border problems. I leave in a few days. I am on quite good terms with Tumanskii and ready to render him all the support in my power for the successful progress of his studies.

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Please convey my humble compliments to Olga Feodosievna and the Zhukovskiis. Wishing you all the best, I remain, deeply admiring and sincerely devoted to you, V. Ignat’ev On the 2nd I received via A. V. Blinov issues 1–4 of volume 6 of Transactions of the Or[iental] Department.59

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104 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS

18. Last page of letter 17 of Aleksandr Tumanskii. © St Petersburg Branch, Archive of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

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2 LETTERS OF ALEKSANDR TUMANSKII

1 Askhabad 11 March 18921 Most esteemed Viktor Romanovich! I don’t even know how to thank you and Mr E[dward G.] Browne for kindly sending me The Episode of the Bab,2 which contains practically everything that can be said about Babism. But especially interesting for me were the notes about Shiites. As I approach Babism closer, I have become convinced that I am almost a complete ignoramus about the Shiite form of Islam. I turned to Kremer, Tornau, Dozy, Müller – that is all I have, yet I remain dissatisfied and thus sent for Querry3 and began to gather information on the spot. Here they promised to get me Hada’iq al-Shi‘a4 (I still cannot decide whether it is not ‘Aqa’id al-Shi‘a,5 mentioned by Browne) and showed me the 16-volume collection of Muhammad Baqir Majlisi titled Bihar al-Anwar,6 the very sight of which sent me into a fright, though willy-nilly I shall have to plunge at least a little bit into this sea of darkness. Long, long ago I planned to take up my pen in order to give you a short ahwal-i ajmal [summary] of my stay here. But to write to you and not write anything about the Babis I considered a criminal infringement on your time.

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106 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS I was able to return to the Babis only at the middle of February; because of my service duties, until Kuropatkin’s departure I could do absolutely nothing about it. Since his departure, being completely free from any official duties I spend almost entire days in the company of Babis. Without a doubt I have gotten down to the realization of my old project, i.e., the translation into Russian of the Kitabe Akdes7 and other most important Lauhs, Munajats, Terazats8 and other similar fascinations. Until now this task has progressed rather sluggishly and during the whole month I translated half of the Kit. Akd., i.e., till the words ‘An ya Ard al-Kha’ nasma‘u fiki’ [O Land of Kha (Khurasan)! We hear from thee] … ’9 I would really like to prepare a small collection of the major writings of Beha Ulla [Baha’u’llah] with a translation into Russian, of course, with notes, and for an introduction – a small historical sketch based on the written sources which I have, and on some oral accounts I collected from witnesses of various events. The composition of the Babis [i.e., the Baha’i community] in Askhabad is very interesting. Many of them were witnesses and participants in very interesting events. There are even some who knew the Bab himself. The most interesting of the Babis is my acquaintance of last year, a Samarkand10 resident who came to Askhabad specially to help me translate the Kit. Akd. – Mirza Abul Fazl [Abu al-Fadl] Gulpayigani, who is mentioned in Tarikhe Jedid:11 ‘His Exalted Excellency Mirza Abu al-Fazl has written that while Isfahan was the dawning-place of the ascent of that Prophet, it was settled that a meeting be arranged, and in the presence of Mu’tamid al-Dawlih Manuchihr Khan’, etc. (according to the pagination of Browne’s text it is between pages 306 and 322, i.e., in ‘additional details concerning the conference at Isfahan’).12 My friend is one of the former Shiite Ulema, his brother is a Mujtehid [mujtahid] and [was] a participant in the meeting in Kazimein [Kazimayn]13 (Travellers Narr. II, 85–87). The beginning of Tarikhe Jedid is also the work of Abul Fazl, to the end of the third

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page* to the words ‘Therefore I also consider myself a dhimmi [protected by Islam]’. After this ta‘rif [account], I think it will not be without interest for you to learn certain details about the compilation of the Tarikhe Jedid and the justification of why it is called ‘Tarikhe Manukchi’: isnad [attribution] – Abul Fazl. The fire-worshipper14 Manukchi, during the first campaign of the English in Kabul,15 served in the British Army as a Tavildar Nizami (apparently, quartermaster). In view of the existing customs in the British Army and the disdainful attitude towards nonEnglishmen, Manukchi, despairing of a military career, resigned and left for Teheran, where he lived for more than 30 years. Manukchi devoted all his activity to relieving the condition of his co-religionists in Persia. He mainly devoted attention to the regulation of the jizya [poll tax] which the Gebrs paid, and succeeded in obtaining, at great pains, the right from the Persian Government to collect this tax himself directly. The surplus, which until then had ended up in the pockets of the Hakims, Manukchi turned into a fund, from the interest of which he established the well-known Gebr schools.16 All this, of course, could not have been done other than with the help of the British Government, of which Manukchi was a subject. But, recently, having, for some reason, become dissatisfied with his government, Manukchi had changed tactics and began to act not on his own, but through a Russian subject, the Tajir-bashi of the Armenians, Haje-Ivan. In the summer of 1890, when I was in Askhabad for the first time, the news arrived of his death. Living for a long time in Persia, Manukchi was an eyewitness to many events in the Babi movement, and he himself dealt with them with sympathy. During his stay in Baghdad he even met with Beha Ulla, who addressed two Lauhs to Manukchi.17 One is known to you – it is that Lauh which is found at the end of Mudunie,18 written in pure Persian. Another Lauh followed in gratitude for sending him the work of [sic] Manukchi A’yin-i Hushang19 – this Lauh I still do not have. *

According to my manuscript.

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108 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS In AH 1297 [1880] Mirza Abul Fazl became acquainted with Manukchi in Teheran. At this time Manukchi had set about publishing two historical works. One, a history of the pre-Islamic kings of Persia, which he commissioned Izmail Khan Zend20 to compose. The latter wrote the book Farazistan.21 As for the history of the Babis, he commissioned the Babi Mirza Husein Hamadani* to compile it. Manukchi himself could not write it as he did not know Arabic letters, but he wished to include in the history his own reminiscences and views. Mirza Husein Hamadani turned for advice to Mirza Abul Fazl, who advised him to follow the chronology of the Nasikh ut-Tavarikh22 including in this chronological outline the reminiscences of Manukchi. Abul Fazl himself, as I said above, wrote something in the nature of an introduction (‘unvan [preface]) to this history. Here one cannot omit mention of the editor of this history, Haji Seid Jevad Kerbelai [Sayyid Javad Karbala’i], to whom Mirza Husein Hamadani used to bring his drafts. This Haji was one of the most well-known Shiite scholars, descended from Seid Mehdi [Sayyid Mahdi], also a great scholar, known by the name ‘Bahr al-‘Ulum’.23 This Haji [Sayyid Javad Karbala’i] began his studies in Kerbela [Karbala] in his early childhood and was one of the students of Sheikh Ahmed Ahsai [Shaykh Ahmad Ahsa’i]. Later, over 10–12 years he attended the course of Kazem Reshti [Sayyid Kazim Rashti] and, eventually, became a Babi. He knew the Bab when he [the Bab] was still a child, and even before the izhar [manifestation] recognized his unusual qualities. My friend Abul Fazl embraced the light of Babism through him. Haji passed away in Kerman24 in 1299 [1881] at about a hundred years of age. That is all I can report to you for now about the Tarikhe Jedid. If you or Browne should require anything further, I will gladly inform *

Died in Resht in 1299 [1882/3], so the date of the creation of Tarikhe Jadid must have been between AH 1297 [1880] and 1299 [1882/3].

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19. From left: Haji Mirza Muhammad-Taqi Abhari and Haji Sayyid Javad Karbala’i. © St Petersburg Branch, Archive of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

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110 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS you. My source in this matter, I daresay, is of some interest in view of the fact that of those individuals who had a connection to the Tarikhe Jedid, only one is still alive – M. Abul Fazl. Next I turn to you with a request on behalf of the Babis. The point is that they wish to acquire from Browne 100 copies of the Persian text (vol. I) published by Browne of the Tarikhe Seiakh25 and about 50 copies of the second volume. If it is possible, please be so kind as to inform me of the cost of such a quantity of copies including all additional expenses. If it should not be possible to have 50 extra copies of the one [i.e., the first] text, then they will limit themselves to the request of 50 copies of the entire work. How is your publication of those letters, which you had been working on last summer, going, and do you have anything new? In this post I am writing to Matvei Avel’evich [Gamazov] and sending a manuscript of Tarikhe Seiakh, the handwriting of which is as good as Browne’s original, if not better. But then, that one was written by the hand of Zein ul Makaribin [Zayn al-Muqarrabin], which attaches a special importance to it in the sense of its correctness. For the publication of the Kitabe Akdes I would also like to use a photographic method, for which I will have a suitable copy. Moreover, I also succeeded in obtaining the autographs of Beha Ulla and the Bab. Apart from that, they also promised to send me a photograph of the house in Akka, although the portrait cannot be obtained. In Tarikhe Seiakh (I, p. 57; II, p. 45) the Russian consul’s drawing26 is mentioned. The Babis would greatly like to know who it was who drew it and whether this drawing is known to you. If it would be possible to make a copy or a photograph of it, this could give great pleasure to Beha Ulla. But enough, I have already exceeded the limits for a regular letter. I remain deeply respectful and faithfully yours, Tumanskii

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2 Askhabad 15 July 189227 Most esteemed Viktor Romanovich! It is fulfilled! The page has been turned. An hazrat su‘ud farmudih [His Holiness has ascended]. Beha Ulla has passed away. With such expressions did the Askhabad Babis inform me of the passing of Beha. The news of his death, which occurred in Behj [Bahji]28 in his qasr [mansion] near Akka on 16 May in the morning, according to the old style,29 arrived in Askhabad only on 24 June [i.e., 6 July]. No letters, no telegrams, tout court there was sent an enclosed testament and a marthiyyih [elegy] by [Mirza ‘AliAshraf Lahijani] ‘Andalib. I will send you a translation of these and a short introduction with our next outgoing post. If you find it possible, please be so kind as to include them in Transactions.30

20. Mirza ‘Ali-Ashraf Lahijani, ‘Andalib. © Baha’i International Community.

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112 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS I am very grateful to you, and when the occasion arises please be so kind as to pass on to E. G. Browne my sincere gratitude for sending me his pamphlet. In this letter I will say nothing, but another time there shall be something to say about it. I have been waiting a long time for Jani’s [Haji Mirza Jani Kashani’s] history. I can tell you one thing: the Babis very unwillingly give out old documents, considering them not entirely correct (Sic!).31 As for the Lawh-i Samsun,32 it is unknown in Askhabad, but a request has been sent to Bukhara, where Mirza Abul Fazl Gulpayigani, whom you already know, is now. The heat here is of course terrible. Once I stuck a thermometer in sand and exposed it to the sun. Took it out and what did I see? 57 ºR!?33 Cholera is treating us with mercy, and that’s no wonder: the city is young, not yet dirty, and also because of a series of energetic measures undertaken in time, with which the acting Com[mander in chief] of the Troops G. Fisher met this unwelcome guest.34 But I am closing; I am rushing for the train, as I must go on business to Kizil Arvat35 and several other places. Wishing you all the very best, I remain deeply respectful and faithfully yours, Tumanskii

3 Askhabad 3 August 189236 Most esteemed Viktor Romanovich! Knowing your responsiveness with regard to everything that has even the slightest relation to Oriental matters, I resolved to trouble you about a matter that I must undertake despite my utter unpreparedness for it. The likes of us Orientalists in the service here in the East cannot be very fastidious, and so, even though I am still

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quite far from completing what I set out to do on Babism at the beginning, I must take on another task, leaving the Babis as an incidental pursuit. The other day Kuropatkin charged me with collecting material on the legal customs of the Turkmen37 throughout the entire region. This work is extremely essential for the correct administration and monitoring of the native court: but, at the same time, you yourself can imagine how difficult it is for me due to my meagre preparedness for this work. Nomadic life, the Turkmenian language – all these are completely new things for me. That is why I dared to trouble you with the request to be so kind as to give me instructions, like what is best to start with, what to keep in mind, and whether there is any literature on customary law in general. As for the language, I have become somewhat acquainted with the conversational one, and for an even more thorough familiarity with the language I occupy myself with the analysis and translation of Turkmenian petitions, and, apart from this, the reading of a work of Turkmenian epic literature, namely, there came into my hands a Turkmenian variant of the legend of Ahmed and Yusuf,38 the Uzbek variant of which is found in extracts in Vambery’s chrestomathy.39 I hope that upon closer contact with the Turkmen I will get my hands on yet others of their works, and therefore it would be extremely important for me to know what exactly can be of interest. I am sending for Bakulin’s article40 about the Turkmenian poet Makhdum Kuli in ZKORIGO 41 and the article by Vambery in ZDMG 42 in this very post. Further than that, my knowledge does not extend, and if there is anything else, and provided that it is possible to send it by paying on delivery, please be so kind, Viktor Romanovich, or, if for any reason you are unable to do so, please be so good as to indicate someone to whom I could direct this request. I should very much like to carry out this task in such a way that it would be possible to derive the greatest possible benefit both for the service and, if it works out well, for science. In this respect, my hands are not tied since Kuropatkin has given me full freedom of action, and has promised to provide the

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114 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS resources necessary for it. Regarding the translation of the Kitabe Akdes, I do not know what to do. There are no resources for printing in the Region, nor is there even a printing house with Oriental type. At the same time, I am not really in a hurry; Abul Fazl is coming and then I will look over the translation once again. The Lawh-i Samsun is definitely unknown to anyone here, and besides, the Babis maintain that Baha was never in Samsun.43 Then, wishing you all the best and mainly that our Asian guest44 will bypass your lands, I remain deeply respectful and faithfully yours, Tumanskii

4 Askhabad 20 September 189245 Most esteemed Viktor Romanovich! Excuse me that I have been somewhat late with my reply. The reason for this was that I was waiting for the arrival of the Babis who had gone to Akka (zawwar [as pilgrims]) and who were there for the passing of Beha. Five of them went, namely, Aqa Mirza Abu al-Hasan Afnan,* Aqa Sulayman Kalimi,†46 Mirza Ja‘far Shirazi,47 Mirza Baqir Bassar‡48 and Aqa ‘Askar Rashti.49 They came to Akka five days before the demise of Hazrat [His Holiness] and were there all the time. According to what they said there was no discord between the Aksans [Aghsan] and actually couldn’t be as the order of inheritance of ‘arsh [the deceased] is firmly established both in the Kitab-i Aqdas and in the will.50 During the first days after the death of * † ‡

I.e., a relative of the Bab. A former Jew. A blind poet, author of the ode in honour of the sovereign, known to you.

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Beha, all the Babis of Akka followed the instructions of the Kitab-i Aqdas and, finally, on the ninth day they gathered in the qasr and in their presence Abas Efendi [‘Abbas Effendi, ‘Abdu’lBaha] opened the envelope, sealed with Beha Ulla’s seal, and taking out the will, gave it to the nephew of Beha Ulla, Mejd Uddin [Majd al-Din], to read ba husn al-ilhan [with most melodious voice]. Besides this, the Babis provide as evidence of the impossibility of discord the upbringing of the family and the relations existing amongst the members of the family. Muhammed Ali during the entire time of their stay in Akka did not engage in the slightest disharmony with the rest of the members of the family. But on the other hand, the Babis also point to the conversion of Ezel’s son, Muhammed Efendi, to Behaism as an important success. Regarding the Lawh-i Samsun, a request has been written to Akka, and on its arrival I will send it to you without fail. The lawh you are printing exists in Askhabad and is called Lawh-i Sayyid Mahdi.51 I am enclosing my note about this Mehdi, written at the dictation of Mirza Yusuf Reshti.52 Regarding the printing of the Kitabe Akdes, I accept your decision with delight and upon receipt of an accurate text I will send it to you together with the translation and notes. There is one grammatical turn in the Kitabe Akdes which confuses me and I cannot get information about it, namely ba‘ada’lladhi [‘afterwards’ or ‘then’]. It seems that this is incorrect and it should be b‘aduma. This is repeated several times and our Askhabad Arabists cannot resolve this question for me, and neither could I find the solution in de Sacy.53 I am much obliged for your practical advice regarding the collection of legal customs: it perfectly suits the local conditions. Grodskov54 I have, and the programme and Leontovich I’ve sent for.55 Besides that, I have Kovalevskii’s Law and Custom in the Caucasus56 and several collections of laws of the Caucasian highlanders. But the difficulty for me lies elsewhere. I would like to become acquainted with some sort of work on nomadic life in

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116 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS general and also somewhat with the historical past. Müller’s second volume,57 i.e., which has to do with our Central Asia, I have already studied thoroughly, as well as the history of Khiva,58 and the university notes of Veselovskii (all three issues). Apart from that, I have read everything that has to do with the Guz [Oghuz]59 in Ibn ul Asir [Ibn al-‘Athir],*60 Abul Gazi on Uzbek rule,61 looked through Utbi and Beihaki [Bayhaqi] and Grigor’ev’s ‘Karakhanids’.62 But this of course only in such measure as not to be altogether in the dark regarding the past of the country and its people. Right now the duty lies before me to put together a programme, which will need to be presented no later than 2 October, and then of course I’m off to the auls, where I will try to spend no less than a year. Then, thanking you again for your instructions, I remain, faithfully yours, Tumanskii [Enclosure] Aqa Sayyid Mahdi Dahaji [of Dahaj] (near Yazd) In 1300 [1882/3] Sayyid ‘Ali-Akbar, his [Dahaji’s] nephew, was imprisoned in Tehran together with Mr Mirza Abu alFazl Gulpayigani and some others; and in the same year Mr Mirza ‘Ali Khan was arrested in Mazandaran, brought to Tehran and executed; and in the same year Mr Haji Nasir Qazvini and Mr Mirza Yusif Rashti with some others were imprisoned in Rasht. Haji Nasir passed away in prison and his body was stoned by the people of Rasht and his eyeballs were taken out, his ears and nose and mouth torn apart. Now Aqa Sayyid Mahdi is in Akka.

*

I have the Bullock edition.

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5 Askhabad 3 November 189263 Most esteemed Viktor Romanovich! For the sake of God, do forgive me for my prolonged silence! As my excuse I can only cite the most terrible mood that overtook me from the minute I presented the programme. All this time I was a man positively morally ill. The reasons for such a mood are indeed difficult to tell in a few words. There are my personal, and servicerelated, reasons, and ones that have to do with those people with whom I must have dealings here, and many others. Well, let it pass; sometime perhaps I shall tell you about it. And now please magnanimously excuse me, great sinner that I am. First of all, permit me to thank you from the bottom of my heart for your recommendations and for the books you sent. Leontovich I sent off to you, while Trans[actions] of the Geog[raphic] Soc[iety]64 I ask you to let me keep a while, until the question of my work becomes clarified. The thing is that I am beginning to doubt somewhat the seriousness of my superiors’ intentions to get down to dealing with the local juridical realities; it appears that they only needed the programme. Why I don’t know. Now this programme is being passed from one district head to another, and when it returns, it will be necessary to await their conclusion. Then I will make a copy of it and of these remarks and will send them to you. Until then I sit by the sea, wait for the weather to change, and sit in a court where Armenian lawsuits are heard.65 Now I turn to the Babis. The Lawh-i Samsun has not yet arrived. To read the name of Aqa Sayyid Mahdi, it should be Dahaji (Dehji).66 I await with impatience the Lauhs you published in order to gather biographical and other information regarding these Lauhs. If possible, send them in sections, i.e., as they are printed, so as not to delay publication. My address will be the

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118 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS same even in case I am away, and thanks to the convenience of communications in the region I can always come to Askhabad once a week, because, moreover, if there is going to be any work it will be carried out first in the area of the Askhabad district. i.e., among the Teke tribe.67 I am very grateful for your explanations of ba‘ada’lladhi [‘afterwards’ or ‘then’]. I have now fully understood this ‘Persianism’. Here is how I have translated the places where ba‘ada’lladhi is encountered: ‘Then behold the mercy and benevolence of God, for He commands you what is beneficial for you, though He needs not the worlds’;68 ‘We command this to you despite the fact that we have need neither of you, nor of any other (of those that dwell) in the heavens or on earth.’69 ‘Remember Kerim, when we summoned him to God. He became too proud because he submitted to his own passion after we sent him that which consoled the eye of testimony in the world and the confirmation of God was fulfilled for those who are in the heavens and on earth.’70 These are the only instances of the use of ba‘ada’lladhi in the Kitab-i Aqdas. Please allow me to bring in your explanation in the notes. Regarding the printing, I recently received from Mirza Abul Fazl a letter in which he asked to delay the publication a little in view of the apprehensions of Gusne Aazem [The Most Great Branch, i.e., ‘Abdu’l-Baha] regarding the consequences that could ensue for them. I am enclosing a copy of this letter. In response to this letter, I wrote to Mirza [Abu al-Fazl] that he should reassure his chief [‘Abdu’l-Baha] that there cannot be any danger for them in a translation into Russian and that until I receive permission from Hazrat, I will not publish. I need to get along for now with them, as the biography of Beha Ullah will be ready soon and it will be interesting to get this thing. Only don’t write to Browne about this, otherwise he will grab it first. If it should be possible I will translate it together with extracts from Tarikhe Jedid (Manukchi) and Mekaleis Seiakh [Maqalih-yi Seiakh].71 This will be used as a sort of introduction to the Kitabe Akdes;

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these translations will go faster than the Kitabe Akdes and perhaps by next September will be finished, and then it will be possible for me to take leave and come to Petersburg. But, of course, this is pia desideria [a cherished desire] … I perused your letter to V. I. Ignat’ev. You were misled by rahanih,72 and I did not know how to understand huri or khuri, but if it is khuri, then what that means. Now indeed your reading and translation of khuri [‘priest’] are very clear to me. As far as Beha Ullah’s claim to regulate the attitude of Christians to the question of clerical marriage and the question of monasticism, it seems to me it is not so unexpected. In setting out to found a new religion of such an eclectic character as neoBabism, it was not, I think, possible for Baha’u’llah to relinquish every shadow of proselytism. Besides, this same Lauh bears the title ‘Lawh-i Nida’ [Tablet of the Divine Call], i.e., a tablet of ‘appeal’, and yet another title, with an allusion to Christian terminology, ‘Bisharat’ [Glad-Tidings]73 There is no particular news regarding Babism, except for the brief report received about the murder in Yezd of four people.74 There are no details yet; if there should be, I will inform you. I await A. P. Orlov and I will certainly give him a letter [of introduction] to the Babis in Bukhara; there are several [Baha’i] people there who are in trade who may be useful to A. P. and amongst them he will be persona gratissima. Just now received your parcel with the books by N. I. Veselovskii, for which I send you, and ask to convey to N. I. Veselovskii, my sincere gratitude. I now have assembled here (together with the books of various people in Askhabad) a small library dealing with Turkmenian subjects. I sent for Tarikh-i Munajjim Bashi [History of the Chief Astrologer] and also wrote to Constantinople to look for Ughuznama [Book of the Oghuz].75 And so I await your Lauhs and close by wishing you all the best. Faithfully and with heartfelt respect, Tumanskii

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21. Mirza Abu al-Fazl Gulpayigani. © Baha’i World Centre.

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[Enclosure] From Samarkand, to the attention of the esteemed officer of the glorious and mighty government of Russia, His Excellency Mirza Alexander Tumanskii, may God exalt him continuously. From the most humble writer Abu al-Fazl Gulpayigani, 3 Rabi‘ al-Awwal 1310 [25 September 1892]. In the name of God! My immensely cherished, illumined and learned sir: I pray to the almighty God that Your Highness may be constantly successful in improving the fortunes of society and the protection of the realm of humanity, so that your efforts may be adorned with increased dignity and prized accomplishments. During the time that I have been deprived of meeting you and conversing with you, I have constantly wished to express my best wishes through correspondence. Unfortunately, as you are aware, the perils of the last year have prevented me from doing so, until now that the clouds of calamity and afflictions in this land have scattered and I have left Bukhara and arrived in Samarkand and received the tablet from the Beloved Master, the Most Great Branch, His Holiness Abbas Effendi, may God illumine the world with his effulgence and glorious countenance. Since in that tablet there was mention of the publication of the Kitab-i Aqdas, it is now opportune to convey the instructions of the Beloved, that perchance I may gain the privilege of your response. In that mighty tablet the request is made that Your Excellency delay the publication of this Kitab-i Aqdas, as the mere act of publication would open the gates of

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122 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS turmoil and cause great afflictions for the friends. No doubt Your Highness is aware of the animosity and mischief of the Islamic sects towards the Babis, specially the Arabs residing in the Holy Land, who are renowned for their brutality and aggression even more than savages. End.

6 Askhabad 7 January 189376 Cordially esteemed Viktor Romanovich! I congratulate you on the recent holidays and the coming New Year and offer sincere wishes for the all the very best. Excuse me for my prolonged silence, but, truly, there was nothing qabil-i ‘arz [worth mentioning]; neither en fait de Babis, nor regarding Turkmenian subjects. Just now I am sending you the Lawh-i Samsun, for which I have waited a long time. I cannot offer any notes on it, especially as you know this Lauh was not even known to the Askhabad Babis. Only, in the eighth line (first page) in the words sata’ahadhahum ‘adhab fitna ‘azim [‘the punishment of a great calamity will befall them’] they see a hint of the Russian–Turkish war.77 Besides this I am enclosing herewith two letters in the Persian language, written in Hebrew letters. They refer to those events involving Jews and Jewish Babis78 which occurred this summer in Hamadan,79 and which were covered in the newspapers. Additionally they are an example of the Jewish-Persian spoken language. But inasmuch as I do not know the Hebrew alphabet, I have tried to transcribe these letters with the help of the Babis. But my Jewish-Babi (Aga Suleiman Shalfurush)80 stubbornly refused to understand my intention to transcribe the text letter by letter, but

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in Persian letters, trying all the time to convey its ‘ibarat [style] more eloquently ba vaz‘-i fasihtar [in a more eloquent manner], which completely drove me to despair. And this is why I am sending you all the notes as they are: perhaps you will come across something interesting. In any case, the Shiite gentlemen are committing terrible atrocities! I personally, during all this time, have dealt very little with the Babis and only recently, little by little, I have made a start on the translation of one (also chronological-historical) of the poems of Nebil [Nabil-i A‘zam] addressed to a certain Fazil,81 whom I touched on in my report regarding Beha’s will. I propose to use this poem as an introduction to one of the Lauhs which I also intend to translate. This Lauh is addressed to the above-mentioned Fazil and touches upon various philosophical questions and, mainly, elucidates the attitude of the Babis towards the philosophy of the school of Mulla Sadra and Mulla Hadi Sabzevari (Ishraqi). When it is ready I will send it to you for Transactions. About the risalih [treatise] dealing with the biography of Beha Ulla,82 I received the news that it is ready and has been sent to me. About it, of course, I will try to give you a detailed report. A curious thing happened with my programme. After having travelled about for nearly three months from Askhabad to Merv [Marv]83 (to Arendarenko)84 and back, it has now returned to me and I must make a report about it to the Head of the Region! There are no interesting comments. They spoke approvingly; moreover, Arendarenko added that it was desirable that this task be assigned to one person and as quickly as possible. But Kuropatkin’s opinion is, up to now, still unknown to me. The odd thing is only that after the presentation of this programme I was charged with the management (i.e., analysis and report) of absolutely all the petitions and complaints of the Turkmen; and in the directive it is stated: ‘as he has mastered (?) Asian dialects!!’ Too quickly indeed! Can it really be that just the presentation of a programme makes me experienced enough to be delegated such an important and

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22. Baha’i children with several adults, Iran, c. 1900. © Baha’i World Centre.

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responsible duty? But in the military service there is no room for debate! But if this is a device for carrying out the programme, then I daresay it cannot be called a success. True, it is possible to collect a lot of information, but only by better preparation than I possess. Then, wishing you all the best, I remain sincerely devoted to you, Tumanskii P.S. I will send you the programme shortly; if you find time, please be so kind as to look it over and to inform me of your comments. Perhaps in the future something from it may prove useful.85 [Enclosures] Incident in Hamadan Second page, seventh line starts with the words: And the other event concerning the friends in Hamadan is as follows: a month ago, Mulla ‘Abdullah caused some mischief by taking a few Jews, about 40 of them, to his house and converting them to Islam. Also, on a number of occasions he conspired with some hooligans to kill all of them and to cut the Jews to pieces. Finally, he made a ruling that all [the Jews] had to obey 33 rules. First, all of you [Jews] should wear patches,* then you should not go out on rainy days;86 your women must not wear any face covers and must shave their heads, [or] use henna; [men] must not shave their beard [etc.]. All [the Jews] accepted the [terms]. Now, as far as the friends [Baha’is] are concerned, they are all in hiding, [but] some were caught, taken to him [i.e., to Mulla ‘Abdullah] and their heads were shaved; some others were beaten up a lot with a stick. *

A badge made of red cloth to distinguish Jews from Muslims.

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126 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS Especially, Aqa Yari together with Mirza ‘Ali and Habibullah, who were beaten up very much. According to what was written from Hamadan, Habibullah, a 12-year-old child, was ordered to say insults* against the [Baha’i] Faith. He refused. Then they put fire [probably a burning coal] on his tongue. In short, such oppression has not taken place in any other land. [Up to now] the Kalimiha† of Hamadan have spent nearly 100 tumans on telegraph, sending telegrams to nearby areas, yet no reprieve from the hand of this tyrant has been found. Letter from Teheran [dated] 25 Rebi ul’ Evvel [Rabi al-Awwal] 1310 [17 October 1892], from Aga [Aqa] Suleiman Attar Hamadani to Aga Suleiman Shalfurush Hamadani living in Askhabad. *** Second letter, tenth line from the top: If you enquire about the ‘Hamadan Upheaval’, the account is as follows: On the 20th of Eylul some of the Israelites had gone to the field, and upon their return, some guim‡ [i.e., Muslims] had gone to see Mulla ‘Abdullah, complaining that these [Jews] had become inebriated and bothered some guim. They took them [the Jews] to the akhund§ [Mulla ‘Abdullah] [and] beat them up; then he had them delivered to the authorities and they were charged.¶ At the same time, * † ‡ § ¶

To curse B. U. [Baha’u’llah] Jews. The [derogatory] term for all non-Jews, except Christians, who are called ‘aril, i.e., uncircumcised. A Mujtehid. A fine.

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which is the evening of the 28th of the month of Eylul, they took all the Israelites to the akhund [who told them that they] must wear a patch or else he would issue an order for their execution on the next day. There were more than 2000 people gathered, and they must have accepted* [the order], for all wore [the patch]. The humiliation of the Jews reached a low level. Aqa Yari was about to be [arrested and] taken [to Mulla ‘Abdullah]; [but] he went by himself. The akhund asked him what is your religion and he said Islam. Then he told him that he should deny† for they say that he is a Babi, [but] Yari did not deny. His steadfastness surprised all those who were present. Among this stupid crowd he said that he does not insult anyone’s religion, for whatever religion they have is [sacred] for them. Then he [Mulla ‘Abdullah] ordered to take him to the authorities and beat him up with a stick. They also arrested Dai Eili‡ and took him to Aqa Yari. He did not deny either. They were in prison and in chains for a few days. They paid bail of 50 tumans and were released, in spite of the fact that the order for their execution had already been issued. At times, [life] becomes very bitter [i.e., miserable] for the friends, but really Aqa Yari had made all the friends proud.§ His steadfastness and kindness should be applauded. No one had any hope that he would come out alive. Letter from Aga Mehdi Zerger [Aqa Mahdi Zargar] the Jewish Babi to Aga Suleiman Shalfurush.

* † ‡ §

[Illegible]. [Deny] Babism. The above-mentioned Mirza Agi, the uncle of Aga Mehdi, the author of the letter. I.e., not to defame the Babis.

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128 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS 7 [January 1893]87 Most esteemed Viktor Romanovich! Along with my congratulations on the recent holidays and sincere wishes for all the best, I offer you my heartfelt gratitude for everything you sent, as well as for your detailed letter. I am planning to make use of your advice, holding to it literally. Now I understand even more clearly that ‘qui ne su se borner ne su jamais écrire.’88 Therefore, from the moment I received your letter, I have limited myself only to the translation of the Kitabe Akdes, which I have already finished. To this translation I propose to attach the translation of the Lawh-i Yusif ,89 in which are indications on the teaching about the future life, several lawh about prayer as well as samples of the same, and extracts from the Kalimat-i Firdaws.90 I will place all these extracts in the notes to the corresponding verses of the Kit. Akd., which I also have ready, only some of them need to be developed. As for the notes in my previous letter, they are offered to you for your full disposal, as is everything else that might interest you in the future. Manukchi’s full name (as an addition to Browne’s note) is Manikji Limji Hushang Hataria Farsi. His father’s name is Limji; Hataria, according to the Babis, means ‘merchant’ in Hindi. Hushang is the clan name. Another historian of the Babis, Haji Mirza Jani Kashani, is of interest as the first historian of Babism, but only of Babism in the time of the Bab, as he died in 1852 among the Teheran victims accused of the attempt on the life of the Shah. He is the brother of a certain Haji Mohammed Ismail, the same person to whom the Lawh-i Ra’is91 was addressed (i.e., he is the so-called Sahibi Lawh-i Ra’is [Master of the Tablet to the Chief]). Mirza Jani came from rich merchants of the city of Kashan,92 and the Bab, on his way from Isfahan to Teheran, stopped in Kashan at Jani’s

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home. Jani became acquainted with Beha in the Teheran prison,93 where they were both held on suspicion of participating in the attempt. Regarding the ordering of Browne’s publication, my Babis turned out to be quite negligent94 as at first they wanted such a considerable number of copies but they are now evidently undecided as to whether to order Browne or not. I of course refrain from any interference in this, letting them turn to me themselves with this or that question. I do beg your pardon for bothering you with this question. If they make up their minds about it, I will write to Egers [Eggers],95 who knows me a little. Not long ago I returned from a trip, during which I incidentally visited the ruins of one unknown city. This city is located 30 versts from the Bekharden railroad station96 to the north. (Bekharden is not far from the aul Durun or Derun97 mentioned by Abul Gazi Behadur [Abu al-Ghazi Bahadur] Khan).98 These ruins at the present time lie amidst the sands. There are no buildings left, but traces of the foundations are still recognizable in some places. The city was large, many burned bricks; sometimes one even comes across marble fragments. There is some basis for supposing that a major part of it is buried by sand. The Turkmen call it ‘Shahr-i Islam’ [City of Islam] and bury their dead nearby during their wandering in the sands. I am very grateful to you for the offprints.99 Of those that you still have, please be so kind as to pass on several copies to Matvei Avel’evich [Gamazov] for those of our professors who would like to have them. One copy, please, pass on with my compliments to S. O. Ol’denburg, and if any are left, if it is no trouble to you, please send them on to the following address: SPB [St Petersburg], No. 6, Milionnaia Street100 Apartment of His Ex[cellency] I. A. Kalachov.101 I am sending you with this letter a small manuscript written by Abul Fazl. It contains a description of the Askhabad incident and the trial, written by the Babis themselves.102 The tone is quite

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130 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS moderate and the evaluation of our judicial order by a Persian is interesting. This note was written specially for the Babis living in Persia and its author is Mirza Abul Fazl Gulpayigani. For now there is nothing else I can tell you. Oh! There is something else. My assumption regarding the identity of the poets Ruha103 and Rawhani104 was completely baseless. According to reports, these are two completely different persons. Then, wishing you all, all the best, I remain faithfully yours, Tumanskii

8 Askhabad 13 February 1893105 Most esteemed Viktor Romanovich! I am very grateful to you, and also beg you to convey my gratitude to the tireless E. G. Browne for the book he sent, ‘27 Babi Manuscripts’,106 which as a matter of fact prompted the note enclosed with this letter, ‘On the Question of the Authors of the Tarikhe Manukchi’.107 If you find it possible, please be so kind as to put this note in Transactions. I had to compose it in somewhat of a hurry, and thus, if you find any faults in it, I apologize in advance and beg you not to be very strict with me. I beg leniency because this Kuropatkin of mine is a bit out of his mind and is now cracking the whip over me. At present, in the same train with this letter, I am tearing off to the Balsh–Beurma108 area to carry out an inquiry about a murder. In several days an extraordinary people’s court is convening, etc. In a word, I am up to my neck in work, though I go about it as if in the dark. Reluctantly I foresee that of all these good intentions nothing will result. But that’s the service! You can’t refuse it and can’t debate much, and I am already considered to be excessively argumentative. I instructed the Babis to

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prepare information regarding your Lauhs and when I return from my business trip (i.e., in about 5–6 days) I shall put it in order and send it to you posthaste. Now I can say that Lauh No. 32 is the very Lauh about which I wrote to you earlier, that it was addressed to the late Fazil,109 whose biography Nebil [Nabil-i A‘zam] wrote. This biography in 302 verses bears the title ‘The biography of Mr Nabil-i Akbar, upon him be the glory of God’. ‘Nabil-i Akbar’ is the title of Fazil; the poet Nebil is called ‘Nabil-i A‘zam’. The beginning is: The adornment of every epistle, utterance and exposition Is the life-bestowing name of the Merciful Lord. The end is: O Thou life giver, with thy grace Answer this prayer anon.’110 But excuse me, I am in a hurry. With the next post I will write you some more. A. P. Orlov was with me for several days. I provided him with a letter [of introduction] to the Bukhara Babis. There are two more of your students, my good friends, Golikov and Kliucharev.111 Golikov has shown himself to advantage with Kuropatkin, but he is not satisfied with his occupation, i.e., rather, clerical service, and would like to enter our institute. Couldn’t this somehow be arranged? However, I am closing. Ignat’ev is flourishing. Faithfully yours, Tumanskii P.S. Happy Pancake Week!112

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132 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS 9 Askhabad 31 March 1893113 Most esteemed Viktor Romanovich! I received the latest volume of Transactions and the separate issues,114 for which I offer you my sincere thanks together with my greetings upon the coming joyous holiday, which I hope that you spend in the best way possible. With your offprints I did everything in accordance with your letter. Vladim[ir] Ivan[ovich] Ignat’ev instructed me to give you his respects and to thank you for the offprints. The Transactions are very interesting, apropos of which, allow me to express one wish. Would it not be possible to find room for a short review of the foreign periodicals in the Oriental field? For us provincials this would be very interesting, i.e., I mean the main ones, such as Asiatic Journal, Journal Asiatique, and Zeitschrifte der Morgenländ[ischen] Gesel[lschaft]. Regarding the fifteenth glad-tiding115 I must say that it is known to the Askhabad Babis. According to Asadov,116 it was sent afterwards, but they did not show it to me until now. The Babi anticholera talisman is not known here, and Asadov supposes that it might be one of the numerous talismanic writings of the Bab.117 Please forgive me, for the sake of God, that I still have not sent the notes on your texts, but the fact is that daily I have been awaiting and still await the arrival of Abul Fazl Gulpayigani, of whom I have news that he will probably come for the festival of Ridwan, and then, after I obtain information from him, I shall send it to you posthaste. If you send me the remaining texts, la ba’s [no problem], then by the middle of May I will be able to present all the comments to you. Apparently I am still not able to rid myself of the Turkmenian business.118 The fact is that I turned over all the initiative in this

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question to my superiors. Let them do what they wish. I advised only, for a start, to become acquainted with the manuscript Shajarih-yi Tarakamih [The Genealogical Tree of the Turkmen],119 about which you wrote that it merited attention. It was sent for from Tashkent120 and passed on to me. For now, I copied it all. There are several obscure places, partly due to damage from age, partly due to my insufficient scrutiny as of yet. The language is somewhat distinct from the language of Shajarih-yi Turk121 in the edition[s] of De Maison [Desmaisons] and Fren [Frähn],122 i.e., comparing the first 19 pages (of 42 pp.) of those common to Shajarih-yi Turk, what is most striking is the difference in orthography, which reminds me more of the orthography of the Turkmenian petitions which I peruse in great numbers. Using the Khiva bazaar and the dictionaries by Budagov, Vambery and Vel’iaminov-Zernov,123 I will try to translate it. By its contents, as it appears to me, it is of rather great interest, not only regarding our Turkmen, but also in general, for the western branch of the Turkic peoples. The historical part of it is limited to ancient history from Adam to Oguz-Khan,124 inclusive. It is completely the same as in Shajarih-yi Turk, while it further proceeds to the history of the Khans who ruled the Oguz (Guz) tribe, whose capital was IangiKend125 near the mouth of the Syr-Daria126 (could it be El-Hadisa? of Masoudi,127 mentioned by N. I. Veselovskii in his lithograph[ed] lectures 1889–1890, course 2, p. 345?). I now propose to limit myself only to its translation without any historical comparisons. Thus I leave the history in peace. For us, i.e., the adm[inistration] of the Transcaspian Region,128 only the overall picture of the Turkmenian tribes outlined by Abul Gazi is interesting; it will help us to understand the contemporary intertribal relations of the Turkmen, and this is mainly what I had in mind in recommending to send for this manuscript, all the more so as it is the only known work of Orient[al] historiog[raphy] devoted to the Turkmen. I am now extremely interested in becoming more familiar with the report of Mr Bartol’d about Kokurt Name,129 as this name, i.e.,

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134 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS Kokurt, is also found in Abul Gazi, where he appears as the vizier of three Oguz-Ili Khans.130 If it is possible, please be so kind as to send me the offprint of Mr Bartol’d’s report, if such is published. Then, wishing you again all the best for the coming holidays, I remain sincerely faithful, Tumanskii P.S. Kliucharev serves in the State office of the Transcaspian railroad and receives 60 r[ubles] per month but has been promised a raise in the near future. Golikov receives 100 r[ubles] and has the position of chief clerk in the Office of the Head of the Region. For a survey of the Region for 1882–90 he received the Order of Stanislav, third class.131 Convincing him turned out to be rather easy, all the more so as he is once again on good terms with his superiors and they value him as a good and clever worker. Only both of them cannot start studying languages. However, they hired a servant – an Azerbaijani – and now practise Turkish with him.

10 Askhabad 21 July 1893132 Most esteemed and dear Viktor Romanovich! For the sake of God, forgive me for so prolonged a silence, but my extremely uncertain position is to be blamed for it. Now I was going to go to Petersburg, now I was staying here. My superiors assigned me to this and that and the other task and it has now ended in their banishing me to Mangyshlak133 to temporarily serve in the post of deputy head of the district. The sad news of the passing of the unforgettable Matvei Avel’evich [Gamazov] reached me via the newspapers, and to tell you

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the truth, it was not, for me, altogether unexpected, in view of the death of the very person closest to him, his sister, and the endlessly melancholy tone of his last letter to me, where he seemed to have a presentiment of the proximity of his passing. His ardently faithful and grateful student wishes that he may rest in peace. What is to become of our institute?134 Its fate worries me somewhat. It will be a pity if they close it, which as I heard, they had in mind. I also heard that apparently the new director will be a certain Mr Petrov;135 somehow I have never heard anything about him. I received the page proofs of my note and simply burned with shame for my blunder in that I allowed my friends to let me down in such a way. I will send you the corrections to the text from Mangyshlak. I received your Lauhs and I will now say a few words about them. The overwhelming quantity of various writings, left as a mirath-i marghub [esteemed heritage] by Beha to his followers, exceeds all imagination and I don’t know who will be in a position to investigate all this real ‘sea’ of verbosity. Maybe only the so-called muballighin [propagators]; well, that is their business. The first attempt in this direction was made in Akka: the Kitabe Akdes and several Lauhs were published, which I am forwarding with this letter. The publication was done, as you will see, in the Oriental way,136 and as much as I racked my brains over it and as much as I questioned the Babis, I could not detect anything resembling a system. Only one thing can be said: that the large Lauhs are at the beginning then the smaller and smaller ones. This is why one must be glad that there are still Lauhs whose chronology can be determined. i.e., attribute them to a certain period – and the most interesting one. As for information about Lauhs, I have become convinced that when it is obtained while questioning people, such information is not particularly reliable. What is left is only the information regarding persons to whom these Lauhs were addressed. And while questioning people in this way, I ran across the existence of a very interesting small handwritten chronicle dealing with the arrests and persecution of the Babis in many places in Persia during the year

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136 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS AH 1300 [1882/83]. This chronicle is the work of a certain Mirza Ali Asger [Mirza ‘Ali Asghar]137 and is written very simply, in language almost conversational, the handwriting shikeste, on Russian notepaper. However, I will give you a more detailed account from Mangyshlak and I will bring the manuscript itself, inshallah [God willing], when they give me leave, i.e., by autumn, in September or October. As for the information obtained by enquiries, it has been very unsuccessful, of course here largely my fault. Please forgive me and don’t judge me too strictly. The whole time I was constantly distracted by various duties related to the service or having some connection with it. I finished the translation of Shejerei Terakime with a small exception, i.e., two poems, which have presented considerable difficulties for me until now, but I rather expect to get some help from the Mangyshlak Turkmen, all the more so as the one that wrote the manuscript (i.e., the scribe) has moved from Khorezm138 to Mangyshlak and, from the general character of the overall manuscript, must have been a Turkmenian ishan. Now I’ll tell you how things are getting on with this work and with my superiors. The fact is that at the very beginning of my court practice dealing with native cases, I presented to the Head of the Region a report in which, among other things, I underscored the necessity for the individuals administering the native court to have a somewhat greater acquaintance with Shariat and its practices than that possessed by your humble servant. Upon this followed the resolution that my superiors prefer the study of the adat to the ‘sciences of the Bukhara and Khiva mullas’, and that such work they would very gladly assign to me. This is what prompted the creation of the programme. When the programme was put together, I was requested to implement it from the end, i.e., from the part that presumes knowledge of the previous material. The programme in its main sections contained the following: (1) Clan life and tribal organization, (2) Family, (3) Nomadic life and property relations, (4) Auls, the settled way of life and the dawning of communal life, (5) Islam: Shariat and Sufism, (6) Violation of legal norms and the

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native court. And so I was requested to start my study straight from the last chapter. Of course it is, in its own way, a mockery; I just don’t know what provoked this, and I saw that nothing would come of this, apart from a beneficial though aimless trip round the district courts of the region. I also saw that ‘he’139 would not let me go to the auls and would not give me any freedom even at the beginning. After taking this all into consideration, and not wanting this to be an altogether wasted business, I proposed to him that, as material for the first part, I should translate the Shejerei Terakime, to which he readily agreed, and there and then gave an order to write a letter to Turkestan about the dispatch of this manuscript. I remained, as before, in charge of Turkmenian disputes. When the manuscript arrived, they forwarded it to me through the office, enquiring when could I return it. I decided that in about three or four months I could finish this work. But as soon as three months had elapsed, I received a letter from the office in which they demanded that I present the work in whatever shape it was in. My work was in the following shape: the text all copied and checked, mistakes located and the places common to the Shejerei Turk checked against the text of De Maison [Desmaisons], a translation made of the entire manuscript, except for the above-mentioned two small poems (tartim) and the names of the tribal birds (ongons) which for the most part are from the falcon and hawk family (and the identification of which, as it seems to me, can be done only by an ornithologist); also there are two or three words that I don’t know. Whatever it was possible to compare with the Shejerei Turk and the introduction by Reshid ed [Rashid al-] Din was done; so far I have not had any other materials for commentaries, i.e., I mean the Arabic geographers which, as it seems to me, could be useful for it. Ibnul Asir [Ibn al-‘Athir] and Beiheki [Bayhaqi] I have, but I still have not familiarized myself with them sufficiently regarding the Turkmen, and thus I have hardly made any comments, except those most necessary. They demanded my work in this state; I sent off the translation. Right at this time came my appointment to Mangyshlak. I applied

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138 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS for leave; they twice refused, and now here I am, compelled to go to Mangyshlak with the hope of getting leave in some two or three months. In any case, the text and the draft of the translation remain in my possession; besides, I also managed to copy and check the history of the Juchids140 and the stories about Khoja Tesevi141 and some other sheikhs in the same manuscript. Oh yes, I completely forgot to tell you that I visited Bukhara and Samarkand. I went to Bukhara because I had learned that another copy of Shejerei Terakime was circulating there, but it turned out to be an incomplete, bad and new manuscript copy of Shejerei Turk. In Bukhara I acquired several manuscripts, well-known ones, but I acquired them because of their low price and because I reckoned it wouldn’t hurt to have them with me. Namely, a history of Herat, Rawzat al-Janat142 (Lib[rary] of the I[mperial] S[t] P[etersburg] Un[iversity]), Nuzhat al-Qulub143 – not an altogether complete copy, with a geographical map, a description of Bukhara and the history of the Samanids,144 composed according to Nershekhi [Narshakhi]145 and Khezain-ul Ulum146 (new manuscript), and a description of the tombs of Bukhara, and Tarikhe Mukim Khani.147 Besides this, Mirza Abul Fazl put at my disposition a manuscript which seems to be new. The manuscript consists of three manuscripts: two geographical Persian ones, and one that is called Jami‘ al-‘Ulum148 (mentioned by Hoji Khalfa149). If you wish150 more, I will inform you in more detail about these manuscripts later from Mangyshlak. One is called ‘Hudud al-‘Alam min al-Mashriq ila al-Maghrib’;151 the name of the author was effaced by some barbaric hand; the manuscript is very ancient (from the thirteenth century), written in the tenth century. I am writing so briefly as all my things are already packed; tomorrow I leave for Mangyshlak. Once again, forgive me! I am very grateful for the offprints. I remain deeply admiring and faithfully yours, A. Tumanskii P.S. My address: Transcaspian Region, F[ort] Aleksandrovsk.152

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11 Fort Aleksandrovskii 14 September 1893153 Most esteemed Viktor Romanovich! I received your letter of 18 August here in Mangyshlak and for now will briefly answer your questions. First of all, I will touch on the geographical manuscript. I cannot resolve the question as to whether this is the Persian translation of Ibn Haukal154 or not, because apart from al-Iakubi’s155 Kitab al-Buldan156 I do not have any geographical works. I am enclosing here a short description, which will be sufficient for you to resolve this question. But, all the same, I think that this is something else, written for a certain sovereign Abul Heres Muhammed, son of Ahmed.157 I could not find any information about him in Ibn ul Asir [Ibn al-‘Athir], but it seems to me that this is one of the sons of Muiz ud Doule Buiid [Mu’iz al-Dawlih Buyid]. However, al-‘ilm ‘andakum [you know best]. Another geographical manuscript, bound together with the previous one, was written for Sultan Ala Uddin Abul Feth Mohammed.158 But I don’t know whether for Alauddin Mohammed Gurid (1203–1206) or for Khorezmshah, or for yet some other Alauddin Mohammed. It was written in Ramazan of AH 663 (June 1265) by the weakest of God’s servants, Mas‘ud bin Muhammad bin Mas‘ud al-Kirmani.159 But here there is an addition, evidently by the same hand: ‘It was compared with the manuscript from which it was copied, and [proved not to be] correct but flawed.’ It seems to me I already wrote you that it is a supplement to the Atlas Jamih-yi Naqsh*160 and which is called Jahan Nama.161 It consists of 27 lists, the same format as Hudud al-‘Alam. The descriptions are not nearly so detailed as there, and there are narratives *

Which I don’t have.

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140 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS about various ghara’ib [foreigners] and ‘aja’ib [wonders]. I quote a small extract for you: The Manqishlagh, one of the Turkish tribes, left their area because of a conflict that erupted between them and Ghazan.162 They reached the environs of Siyah Kuh [Black Mountain]163 near the Sea of Abaskun.164 There they found water wells and grazing grounds and settled down. They are called Manqishlagh and their leader is called the khan. Mirza Abul Fazl bought this manuscript in the spring in Bukhara from a merchant for 12 rubles and presented it to me during my stay in Bukhara, and I in return gave him a silver teaset of the same value. Now regarding the Babis. The last inscription on the collection of Lauhs, written in khatt-i badi‘ [new script] I don’t know; I know only that it is the name of one of the editors. When I get to Askhabad, I will try to get another three or four copies. I am planning to go to Askhabad with the next steamer, i.e., Sunday, 17 September. I will spend several days in Askhabad, and afterwards, if they let me, I will go to Petersburg, where I will arrive at the middle of October. About Mangyshlak I can tell you little as, other than the fort, I went nowhere. It was necessary to spend the entire time doing office work. I also saw few Kirghiz;165 they are almost all now in their summer nomad camps in the Urals region.166 This is the saddest place one can imagine; not without reason does it serve as a place of exile. Then, wishing you all the best and perhaps till we meet soon, I remain, faithfully yours, Tumanskii A short description of the Persian geographical manuscript.167 Over the title: ‘Kitab-i Hudud al-‘Alam min al-Mashriq

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ila al-Maghrib’. Further on the title page it continues: ‘its owner is he who copied it, ‘Abd al-Mudhhib [sic], in need of Exalted God’s compassion (Abu al-Mu … ‘Abd al … and M bin … ‘Ali (?) Farmi … born of Haram (?).178 Format 18 x 28 cm; in 40 pages; paper now called in Central Asia khandalykskaia,169 very thick, yellowish. The most ruined pages: 27, 28 and more than others 29, 39 and 40. From page 39 a piece 11 cm long is torn off from the lower edge (13 cm). On page 40 the edges are seriously damaged, but on this page as well as on others they are mended with a thinner and darker paper. On p. 40 there is a table: ‘Jadwal Daqayiq al-Kusur’ [Table of Minutes of Fractions]. The work itself ends on p. 39. The manuscript begins with a table of contents, which I cite here: Bism Allah al-rahman al-rahim. Fihrist-i babha-yi kitab va nahiyatha [In the name of God the Compassionate, the Merciful. List of contents of the book’s chapters and the regions].* A – Introduction to the Book; B – On the Creation of the Earth and the Extent of Its Flourishing and Desolation; C – Notes on Seas; D – Notes on Islands; E – Notes on Mountains; F – Notes on Rivers; G – Notes on Deserts and Sands; H – Notes on the World’s Regions; I – Region of China; J – Region of India; K – Region of Tibet; L – Region of Caucasus and Tatar; M – Region of Yaghma170; N – Region of Kirgyzistan; O – Region of Balkh.171

*

Letters, but the words under the line are written in red ink [i.e., the letters A, B, C, etc. are written in red ink].

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23. Some Baha’is of Qazvin, Iran, c. 1890. © Baha’i World Centre.

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12 Askhabad 21 December 1893172 Most esteemed Viktor Romanovich! Here I am again in my Askhabad refuge, again dealing with the Babis, and, thank God, I haven’t received any particular assignments so I can devote myself again to my old pursuit. I began of course with the Kitabe Akdes; I am comparing the canonical publication with the manuscript and noting variants, which are interesting only inasmuch as they show the variation in the grammatical opinions of the editors of this book. I will complete this work, together with the final editing of the translation, during this or the beginning of next week, and then I will start working on the notes. The Babis who went to Akka have not returned yet, so there is no fresh news from there. Abul Fazl is in Samarkand and the rest are in good health and doing well. About trips to Persia, nothing new has been heard. Kuropatkin does not, apparently, have anything against it, and beyond that, what Allah wills. The Babis [in Askhabad] with their tales of Persia strongly inflame in me the desire for this journey to take place and depict for me the prospect of a very interesting journey, inshallah. Of course, of recommendations there will be no lack; even now it is already announced in many places about my impending arrival. In this very post I am writing to [Fedor Aleksandrovich] Fel’dman173 about some changes in my itinerary, which I consider necessary. The fact is that already it is impossible to make a secret trip because all the business was conducted openly, and even before my arrival in Askhabad almost everyone already knew about my impending mission and, of course, drew the conclusion that my main aim is – the Babis. The public found out about it from the region-wide directive, where it was announced that I had resigned the post of deputy head of the Mangyshlak District due to a proposed official trip to Persia. I am

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144 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS only counting on the negligence of the Persians themselves, but I am only afraid of one thing, that the English could begin to meddle. But what will be, will be! What about our institute? Has the Ministry [of Foreign Affairs] been delivered of any director or it is still carrying him in its belly? Is there any news from Browne and what are his relations with the Babi Behais? Did they reconcile or become even more estranged – which I suppose the more probable, as a result of his publication of Ezel’s portrait and writings.174 Then, wishing you all the best for the coming holiday, I remain faithfully yours, Tumanskii

13 Askhabad 1 January 1894175 Most esteemed Viktor Romanovich! I hasten to thank you for sending me Browne’s book,176 which I received in good order. Please, when you have an opportunity, be so kind as to pass on my sincere gratitude to E. G. Browne, whose evaluation of my more than modest work definitely puts me to shame.177 His book is of the highest degree of interest, but its culmination, in my view, is what he reports according to Jani [Haji Mirza Jani Kashani]178 about Beha and Ezel. It is my misfortune that I have such a limited command of the English language. But, in any case, I will try to study thoroughly the most important places. I am done with the text and the text of the translation of the Kitabe Akdes, so I can send you the Arabic text,* which is *

My copy of the canonical publication also has numbering of the verses correlating with the translation and the text proposed for publication.

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numbered by verses and variants noted. I hope you will find it satisfactory. With regard to the comments, I would propose to put the greater part of them in the form of footnotes, leaving several longer ones in the form of appendices. Now, Viktor Romanovich, allow me to share with you my personal joy. I have met the one whom in a very short while I shall call my wife. My fiancée is fearlessly determined to go with me to Persia, but you cannot imagine what I am having to go through at the thought of the moral obligation that I must take upon myself. But I hope you will help me here a bit by asking Fel’dman to limit my itinerary to Teheran, Isfahan, Shiraz, Kirman, Yezd, Teheran. To be sure, for the sum that will be allotted to me, this will be quite a lot; and thus I will avoid the risk of travelling with my wife through places where one may expect an attack by Kurds or semiindependent Turkmen.179 Moreover, travelling through Khurasan presents enormous difficulties for a woman. Perhaps after becoming acquainted with, and getting somewhat accustomed to, the conditions of travelling in Persia, at first under easier conditions, we will risk taking that way if necessary. But now, note that I myself am only familiar in theory with the conditions of the journey and because of this I cannot possess the confidence that is necessary for it. In the meanwhile, we have decided that our wedding will take place on the day when we shall have to leave for Petersburg on Fel’dman’s summons, so I shall be coming to Petersburg already a married man. Truly, do not judge me severely. Homo sum ex nihil – etc.!180 But this was already prepared long ago, and my future wife, on account of her education and development, not only will not stand in the way of my pursuits, but also, due to her own sympathy, could even be my collaborator. Now she and I are studying the Persian language together, of course out of simple necessity. There is yet another difficult aspect. This journey of mine is still only an ‘episode’. The results that will be achieved are unknown, although I make bold to think that they will be satisfactory. But what then? In all the ministries and departments, one can always count on the work more or less providing for one’s

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146 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS needs, but with the current organization of Oriental affairs in the military department it is all very doubtful and shrouded in the darkness of uncertainty, which also has a heavy effect. I have already served for 13 years as an officer, but till now nothing has changed for the better in my position as a subaltern officer. However, I have probably bored you with my lamentations. But don’t be too hard on me. You are, at this moment, after the passing of the unforgettable Matvei Avel’evich, the only person to whom I can express that I want only to work in the specialty for which I was trained,181 and would like, of course, that this work might provide for the existence of my future family. To be sure, in this there is neither insatiable ambition nor careerism! The school and you have singled me out for my work; I am deeply grateful to you and to it, and I have received in this respect such complete moral satisfaction as neither Stanislavs182 nor ranks could provide, and my one wish now is only to be worthy of this distinction and to have the opportunity and strength to justify it in the future. Then, offering you once again wishes for the very, very best, I beg you to give my sincere compliments and holiday greetings to your wife. I remain, faithfully yours, A. Tumanskii

14 Askhabad 2 February 1894183 Most esteemed Viktor Romanovich! I received your letter of 15 January of this year and I offer you and your wife sincere gratitude from myself and my fiancée for your congratulations and good wishes. Our wedding will take place between 23 February and 2 March. I thank you for the advice, but, as you called it a matter for dis-

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cussion, I will venture to express to you several considerations in this regard. The fact is that, before, my journey was supposed to be of a secret character, even from our Ministry of Foreign Affairs; I was to go as a secret agent, bearing all the possible consequences that might arise from it. Then, of course, it would have been recklessness to take a wife with me and to risk exposing her to terrible danger. But now, since in Petersburg they didn’t take the trouble to arrange this business secretly (Askhabad was only consistent, issuing an order about my mission), my trip cannot be carried out otherwise than with the knowledge and protection of our representatives in Persia.184 Needless to say, it is possible to make the collection of statistical–geographical data the aim of the journey, without breathing a word about Babism. That way I shall be obliged to go to Persia as a ‘Russian officer’. With these conditions, of course, come many positive aspects, i.e., absolute immunity,185 the privilege of respect by the official authorities, full assistance from our representatives; but there are also certain inconveniences, the most important of these being that it will be much more expensive – it will be necessary to spend a lot for pishkeshes. Thanks to this circumstance (i.e, going as an officer), I, of course, can risk taking my wife with me. All the more so since, as my mission was decided upon earlier, the aim of my journey would be the main Persian centres – Teheran, Isfahan, Shiraz, Kirman and Yezd. Aside from Kirman and Yezd, notable for somewhat greater wildness, the area as a whole doesn’t present any special difficulties for travelling. This is why, in case it is positively impossible to go to Kirman and Yezd with my wife, I can leave her in Shiraz or Isfahan and go on to these areas alone. There you have the reasons, Viktor Romanovich, that give me the resolve to get married now. And besides, I am not so certain of this journey. Thus I have no strength to again postpone for the future something for which I have already waited two years. Indeed, life is not as long as Fel’dman thinks, and it was possible to think about [undertaking] this mission before, when I was absolutely free and really had a

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148 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS burning desire to travel the world and to seek out strong sensations. I am not, of course, thinking of turning down this mission, but I frankly demand that it be organized properly, otherwise of course I won’t make a move. I would sooner go into some other service than expose myself and one who is dear to me to the consequences of the thoughtlessness of other people. I will send you the Kitabe Akdes with the translation and footnotes with the next post. Of the appendices, three are now ready, namely, extracts from the Lauh to Kerim Khan (the Sheikhi [Shaykhi]),186 the translation of the Lauh on elementary reality basit al-haqiqa [elementary reality],187 where Beha Ulla touches on pantheism, and the Lauh regarding Sufis. I propose to include some other Lauhs, containing ahkam [laws], despite the statement by B.U. [Baha’u’llah] that [La] ‘tahassabun inna nazalnakum al-ahkam’ [Think not that we have revealed unto you a mere code of laws] (Kit. Akd.). Of these I have translated the so-called Ishraqat188 and continue to translate others. There is no special news, only a certain revival in visits of the Babis to Akka can be noted and a risale [risalih] from Ghusne Aazem [‘Abdu’l-Baha] was received, titled Risalih-yi Siyasiyyih189 about which I will give you a report as I am planning to include its contents in the introduction. What have you heard about our ill-fated institute? Who will be or already is director? Please be so kind as to tell me, and also whether I may consider myself a corresponding member of your society190 or whether during the balloting I was blackballed. Once again, I thank you for your warm and compassionate attitude towards me, great sinner that I am, and I send you and your wife my sincere greeting as well as from my fiancée, whom I have already managed to win over, sight unseen, to you and to our enterprise. Please give my regards to the Zhukovskiis and tell Mme Zhukovskaia that I held her up as the ideal for my fiancée, who is now very much inspired by her example. Where are, and what is happening with, Bartol’d and Ol’denburg? Nevertheless, it is time

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to finish. Al-salam wa al-baha’ ‘alaikum [peace and glory be upon you], yours faithfully, Tumanskii P.S. If you should happen to find out anything new about my mission or about the summons,191 please be so kind as to send me a short telegram. How is your article about the geographical manuscript going?

15 Askhabad 8 February 1894192 Most esteemed Viktor Romanovich! I wrote my last letter to you in complete hopelessness, under the influence of which I viewed everyone and everything in a dismal mood. The telegram of 4 February turned my outlook upsidedown and I already don’t think ‘that Fel’dman considers human life to be too long’. Now it seems that there are no obstacles that cannot be overcome. And in fact, more favourable conditions for the trip would be hard to imagine. Besides the official support, which I certainly do not refuse, and which according to all information will in no way be unneeded, I will also make use of the assistance of the native Babis. This matter is organized thus: Akka193 is informed about my journey and from there a tauqi‘ [decree] will be sent for circulation, in which full assistance to me will be made obligatory for all believers. I just don’t know how to thank you for all this. My fiancée and I are in indescribable rapture. The Babis also rejoice and, reciting zikrs, promise me the most interesting of journeys. One of them will be sent from Askhabad, who will accompany me in my travels. As for my marriage, I am taking the risk not to postpone it and to take my wife

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24. Early view of Baha’is in Iran. © Baha’i World Centre.

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with me. In case it should be really and completely impossible to go somewhere, I already have several places in Persia where it will be possible to leave her temporarily and to visit such places alone. Therefore on 2 March we are getting married and that same day we leave for Petersburg. I think it best to bring the Kitabe Akdes with me, as well as the supplementary material. Once again, then, I thank you for this mission, for which I am completely indebted to you. I remain, Faithfully yours, Tumanskii

16 Askhabad 1 March 1894194 Most esteemed Viktor Romanovich! So it has happened at last. In my last letter I wrote to you having only received a short telegram from Fel’dman in which he notified me that my journey had been approved on the previous basis. Therefore I presumed that I would be summoned to Petersburg. But this did not happen. In some respects it is better; in others, worse. It is better in the respect that it does not demand additional expenses either from the state or from me, because on the travel allowance granted it would only be possible to reach a place. Another good aspect is that I can start out in early spring and therefore shall be able to make use of the best time of the year for travel. It is worse only in that here I cannot prepare myself well enough for the journey on account of the absence of any libraries. But I hope that, as before, you will not refuse me your guidance. Now regarding my wife and marriage. On Sunday the 4th is my wedding. After the wedding my wife and I will go to Bukhara for several days, and then will return to Askhabad, and on 19 March

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152 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS we will set out for Persia. Further, if it proves to be impossible to travel with my wife (which I presume to be very likely), I will settle her in Teheran and will go the rest of the way alone. I intend to execute my itinerary in the following way. From Uzun Ada195 I go to Astarabad,196 from Astarabad via Shahrud to Teheran. In Teheran I make a short stop and go to Yezd, Kirman, Shiraz and via Isfahan back to Teheran, where I plan to stay about a month and then go to Askhabad. I presented to Headquarters here a short note on my journey and I am sending a copy to Fel’dman. From Headquarters I am also receiving certain instructions of a military character, so everything is getting settled. With this letter I am sending you the translation, text and notes of the Kitabe Akdes. Of the appendices, for now I am sending you the second, although the first and the third are ready, but in such an untidy state that I find it difficult to send them. I will try, during this remaining time, to clean them up a bit and then, before my departure, I will send you the rest. With regard to the introduction, I plan to limit myself to the shortest, so it will be good or bad but still a complete number. I would propose to put all the notes under the lines [as footnotes]. That is why I numbered them according to the numbers of the verses and marked in blue pencil the places in the text to which the notes apply. I didn’t happen to find out anything new during this time. Oh – no! I quite unexpectedly came across a manuscript copy of Abul Gazi’s [Abu al-Ghazi’s] history of the Turkmen, so that, with the copy of the text I have from the Turkestan library, I now have two texts and I can correct my translation. This manuscript copy is in rather good condition, but completely new, [written] not more than 70–80 years ago, and at the beginning differs somewhat from the Turkestanian one. The difference is that those places where Abul Gazi speaks of himself as the author of the history of the Turkmen are completely omitted. For this manuscript I am obliged to my friend, a Karakalla197 police officer, Staff Captain198 Abdul Aziz Dovletshin (he is Bashkir199 and has an excellent command of the

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25. Group of young Baha’i boys in Isfahan, c. 1894. © Baha’i World Centre.

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26. Group of Baha’is in Tehran, 1909. © Baha’i World Centre.

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Turkmen Goklan200 dialect). I am reporting about this in more detail to Bartol’d, from whom I recently received a very kind letter from Tashkent and an offprint of his ‘Korkud’, of which, having seen the figure ‘1’ on its cover, one can heartily hope for the further continuation. With regard to the Persian manuscript ‘Hudud al-‘Alam’, I would ask to leave it with you for now, but at the same time please be so kind as to convey to Mr [Karl Germanovich] Zaleman that in case of any accident that might happen to me in Persia, i.e., death, the manuscript immediately becomes the property of the Asiatic Museum.201 And if I return alive and well then I will plan to work on it; first, it will give me a chance for a more thorough acquaintance with the Arab geographers, and, second, I don’t much expect to find anything better of that sort in Persia. If you find time to write to me, please be so kind as to address letters already to Teheran, to the Embassy. There is where I would ask you to send the proof-sheets, if there is no obstacle to that. Please give my warmest greetings to your wife wa al-baha’ ‘alaikum [and glory be upon you], Faithfully yours, Tumanskii

17 Teheran 6 June 1894202 Most esteemed Viktor Romanovich! I am sending you, with this letter, my first appendix to the translation of the Kitab-i Aqdas. Please be so kind as to correct the translation of v[erse] 378 of the Kit. Akd. accordingly. Tomorrow I leave for Hamadan – Burujird203 – Chehar Mehall204 – Isfahan. I stayed overlong in Teheran due to family circumstances. I had to

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156 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS send my wife back to Russia, to her relatives, on account of her indisposition.205 I am going on alone. On 30 November my mission ends. From Isfahan I go to Shiraz – Neiriz [Nayriz]206 – Bender Abbas207 – Kirman – Yezd – Teheran. I am in constant contact with the Babis. Managed to obtain from the family of the late Jani a copy of his history. A good manuscript copy, missing the first three pages. I hope to get them. Nothing specially interesting. If you are not very busy, write me sometime, to Teheran – your letters will be there for me when I arrive. All the best. Faithfully yours, A. Tumanskii

18 Teheran 9 November 1894208 Most esteemed Viktor Romanovich! I know that I have had a letter from you, but at the same time I don’t know its contents and will get it only when, inshallah, I have an answer from you to this letter. Thanks to more zeal than sense, your letter was sent by our vekil [vakil] in Yezd to Shiraz when I had already left there. That the letter was from you I learned from Batiushkov, who of course recognized your handwriting. Well, I have finished my journey – almost. I cannot say that it was an easy one. There was no apparent danger anywhere, thank God, but enough of privations, in particular the trip from Neiriz to Bender Abbas and from there to Kirman. Not one European lives in B[andar] Ab[bas]: all European affairs are handled by civilized Indians and Gebrs. In spite of this, the journey was not without interest. Besides the fact that I got to visit Hamadan, Burujird, Isfahan, Shiraz, Kirman, Yezd, Kashan and Kum [Qum],209 I had an opportunity to become more closely acquainted with part of

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158 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS the nomadic population of Persia. As for manuscripts and other similar documents, I ascertained that, passing through, it was very difficult to obtain anything. It is necessary to stay awhile in one place, then it is possible to find something interesting. Apart from this, the book markets of Hamadan, Isfahan and Shiraz are thoroughly scoured by the English and other Europeans. Regarding the Babis, I can inform you that, almost everywhere they are found, I had dealings with them, and this will constitute the subject of a special note that will be included in my report.210 As for written documents, the main result I already reported to you, i.e., the finding of ‘Tarikhe Jani’ [Jani’s Chronicle], but I fear that my manuscript has undergone a certain amount of editing and has lost the tone which is so characteristic of the Paris manuscript.211 Comparison, of course, will settle this question. But I am glad all the same about this find of a major and fundamental historical memorial of the Babi movement. I wrote you that at the beginning of my manuscript several pages are missing. While in Kashan, I learned from one of the members of Jani’s family that there is another complete copy in the Kashan area and I was promised copies of the missing pages. We shall see if they keep their promise. But, apparently, the missing pages do not take anything away from the historical part of the manuscript and consist of part of the introduction istidlaliyyih [deductive] which continues on the first pages that I have. Apart from this, I managed to obtain two historical poems: one from the early work of Nebil [Nabil-i A‘zam], the other – ascribed to the Persian Princess under the takhallus [pseudonym] ‘Fitnih’212 and distinctive in the way it describes the loss of authority of Subhe Ezel [Subh-i Azal] among the sect. The poem is also from the early period of Behaism. Then there are some other non-Babi manuscripts, but I will inform you about them next time, when I have come home and examined them. Please be so kind as to inform me what fate befell my translation of the Kitabe Akdes. I did not, you see, get your letter after all.

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Please be so kind as to send on the geographical Persian manuscript ‘Hudud al-‘Alam’ to Askhabad if you don’t need it. I am now setting straight off for Askhabad and from there, in any case, I will not go anywhere for the duration of two or three months, in view of the condition of my wife’s health. After that perhaps I may go to Tashkent and perhaps to Petersburg. A family man cannot sit about without a place of work, so it is necessary to find something. I will not stay long in Teheran now and will go via Mazandaran to Askhabad where I must report no later than 30 November. So if you decide to let me know about yourself, please be so kind as to address correspondence to Askhabad. What of our institute and how has the new director been running things? Please give my compliments to your wife and the Zhukovskiis. How is Ol’denburg’s health? What about the Congress in Geneva?213 Did you go there? Then, wishing you all the best, I remain, deeply admiring you and faithfully yours, A. Tumanskii

19 Askhabad 22 December 1894214 Most Esteemed Viktor Romanovich! I don’t know if you received my letter from Teheran, written when I knew that there was a letter to me from you but which by mistake was sent to Shiraz. A little later I received it (your letter of 19 August 1894). I am writing to you from Askhabad, where I recently returned. My travelling has come to an end, in the course of which I had to do over 3,600 v[ersts] on horseback. During the last two weeks since my return, I rested physically from all the adversities of this long trip, after which a small exception was that

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28. Baha’i men in Tehran, including Haji Mirza Muhammad-Taqi Abhari, Haji Akhund and Haji Amin, c. 1903. © Baha’i World Centre.

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I presented a report to Kuropatkin about my journey with a brief review of the material I collected during my travel;215 his gratitude to me for this was announced in an order to the troops of the Region. Of the results with regard to Babism, i.e., of the collection of manuscripts on the history of Babism, I already informed you in my last letter. I will add just one other historical document, namely, a copy of part of an unpublished work by the late Ali Kuli [‘Ali-Quli] Mirza (Itizad us-Saltane [I‘tizad al-Saltanih]), titled Kitab-i Mutanabbi’in,216 touching upon the Babi movement. In due time, inshallah, I shall present you with a more detailed account of the materials obtained, while right now I am busy processing the purely military material, which, in my situation, takes precedence in importance. Your letter of the 20th of August relates that my translation of the Kitab-i Aqdas has gone to the printers, so that at present there is hope that part of it is already printed. If it is no trouble for you, please be so kind as to send me what is already printed, so that this will prompt me to compose an introduction, which I somehow cannot yet get down to do. Is there any news from Cambridge217 or from anywhere else in this connection? I subscribed to the Orientalische Bibliographie,218 so I will now follow the news myself. Lastly, I take this opportunity to wish you all the best for the coming holiday. Regarding my further plans, I can inform you that until February [1895] I will stay in Askhabad. Thanks to our young monarch,219 a very pleasant change occurred in my service status, i.e., from Staff Captain of the Young Guard I have become Staff Captain of the Old Guard, in other words, I received an additional rank.220 This happened thanks to the fact that the battery [artillery unit] to which I belonged was given the privileges of the Old Guard. As a consequence of this, there is now no urgent necessity for me to look for a position in the Administration, and for me it is now more advantageous to return again to the ranks.

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162 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS Then, wishing you again all the best, I remain, faithfully and admiringly yours, Tumanskii

20 Askhabad 16 January 1895221 Most esteemed Viktor Romanovich! I received your letter of 18 Dec[ember] 1894, the manuscript ‘Hudud ul’ Alem’ and the Transactions of the O[riental] Dep[artment], for which I offer you my sincere gratitude. I am a little late with this letter, for which I beg your pardon. But I have an excuse for this – a rather important event in my family life, namely, the appearance of a new member of the family in the person of a little daughter. At present I am completely busy with the preparation of the report. I am planning to divide my report in two. One, of a purely military character, which will contain topographical and ethnographical data as well as surveys of the routes; the other report, on Babism, I plan to present only on completion of the printing of the translation of the Kitabe Akdes. The material for this report will be my personal impressions, gained from the acquaintance of Babis in Resht, Kazvin, Teheran, Hamadan, Isfahan, Shiraz, Neiriz, Yezd and Kashan. Besides these places I also met Babis in other intermediate places, namely in Melair (Doulet Abad)222 on the way from Hamadan to Burujird. There are also a lot of them in the area of Isfahan, namely in Nejaf-Abad,223 in Sideh,224 in Abadeh.225 In Fars226 they concentrate in Zergan,227 Servistan228 and in Neiriz. In southeastern Fars there are none of them whatsoever, the same as in Bender Abbas. I also noted a complete absence of them in Burujird. In Kirman there are only

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a few of them, although a rather large number of them in Sirjan229 and Rafsinjan.230 In Yezd and its surroundings, there are also rather a lot of them. In general the total number of them cannot exceed 100 or 150 thousand and the number given by Curzon and cited by Browne231 is, in my opinion, exaggerated. But this does not in the slightest lessen their importance. At the present time, Babis are particularly numerous in Teheran, among whom are found very high-ranking and influential individuals. Furthermore, Babism serves as a banner round which elements dissatisfied with the existing regime gather. Among these, one encounters very influential khans and leaders of the nomadic tribes, and, to be specific, I personally know two very influential khans from the Bakhtiars232 and one sheikh amongst the Banu Shayban233 Arabs of Fars. However, I will inform you about all this in detail later. Apart from this, I have two interesting documents that can typify contemporary Babis: one – a circular message by Ghusne Aazem [Ghusn-i A‘zam, i.e., ‘Abdu’l-Baha], of a political character,* and the other, which I found in the archive of our Mission, a secret instruction to a certain Babi about the measures necessary for a safe passage to Akka.234 Recently I read in the newspapers that there is a rumour that apparently for the aim of expanding our cultural-economic relations with the East, it is proposed to open evening courses in Oriental languages in all the Universities (!?). What is this? Is it a real fact, marking a new turning point in the outlook of our society regarding our tasks in the East, or is it simply a rumour and nothing more? At the same time, upon my arrival in the region I found that during this year there was no enrolment of officers in our courses. Is Fel’dman planning to finish off the institution he has grown weary of, little by little? It is just like him. I enclose with this the imprints of the carnelian seals235 that I bought in Burujird. According to the man who sold them to me, *

It is called Risalih-yi Siyasiyyih.241

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164 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS they were found to the southwest of Burujird in the area known by the name of Deshte Alishter236 where, according to the inhabitants, in antiquity there was a large city, and now, by washing, a large number of silver and gold coins and other objects can be found. Of these seals, I am most of all interested in No. 3. If they are of interest, I will send them to you as well as the coins that I acquired there and in Hamadan (Persian coins of the pre-Islamic period). Have you written anything about ‘Hudud ul’ Alem’? I intend to work on translating it into Russian, leaving the analysis of the proper names until such time as I, inshallah, settle myself in Petersburg. Now with the transfer to the Guards artillery there is a possibility for me to serve in Petersburg. Only one thing frightens me – that is the high cost of life in Petersburg and the difficulty for a family man to serve in the Guards, especially if he has income only from the service. Of course, in Petersburg it is possible to have supplemental occupations, but it is still highly doubtful … Did you finish your collection of Lauhs, and is there anything new from Cambridge? The deciphering of the Yenisei inscriptions237 delighted me so much that, according to my wife, I am happier about that event than the birth of my daughter. But she is being unfair. In any case, it is such a step in Turkology, the consequences of which it is indeed difficult to estimate. The letters of this alphabet remind me of the tamgas which are used even today by the Kirghiz and other Turks. However, it is time to finish my extended missive by wishing you all the best. I remain, faithfully yours, Tumanskii

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21 Askhabad 21 March 1895238 Most esteemed Viktor Romanovich! I have not written to you until now as I was hesitating regarding my arrival; mainly I was waiting for our General [Kuropatkin] to come from Persia in order to meet with him and talk over with him my future prospects in the Region. Now I have finally become convinced that my further stay in the Region makes no sense, as our General is very far from the thought of doing anything serious, and there is no notion on my part of taking a position in the military-government administration.239 And, frankly speaking, after having had a good look at the various petty tyrannies worthy of the pen of the late Shchedrin240 – I would say, more frankly, dirty tricks – I have lost any desire even to approach such a milieu. And so – to continue on as a freelance won’t do either. Therefore, shortly following this letter I will probably report to you, and then we will chat about this topic in more detail. My wife and child, of course, for now I will leave in Askhabad. Peter[sburg] really scares me, but I have the opportunity of returning to Warsaw, to the same battery. But then it’s goodbye to Orientalia. There is one more option, but I have little hope for it and I think it will pass me by. The situation is that I read in the newspapers that Colonel Kal’nin, who served as a deputy military agent in Constantinople, a former student in our courses, was appointed military attaché to Athens, thus a vacancy has become open to which I could be appointed (both by rank and by qualification), if – if – Fel’dman should want it. But alas! That is the main thing! Of course, my appointment is out of the question until the presentation of my report, but it is now in shape such that a few more touches and it

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166 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS will be finished, and I plan to hand it over upon my arrival in Petersburg. I am sending you with this letter two issues with my attempts at popularizing translations of Muslim authors. I took [illegible] as a basis, and the rest you will see yourself. The lack of local literary resources forced the Transcaspian Review241 to resort to me and thus I had to write something, and besides, I consider this writing as Vorarbeit [preliminary work].242 I am not responsible for misprints. With pleasure I read in the newspapers about the appearance of Mednikov’s translation of Müller.243 Then, wishing you all the best, inshallah, until we meet, Faithfully and deeply admiring you, A. Tumanskii

22 Krasnoe Selo 22 June 1896244 Most esteemed Viktor Romanovich! I received your letter of 31 May, but I learned your address only recently from V. V. Bartol’d. I already sent him the beginning of the article on the geographer and in a few days will send the end of it.245 Not long ago in al-Ahram246 there was an article about the Babis (No. 5524), in which, incidentally, the following was said:247 There was nothing despicable left that they did not attribute to them – namely the Baha’is – and no vice which they did not ascribe to them, and therefore the rumours increased, and thoughts became agitated, and their situation was unclear for the most honourable of the Europeans. Then a group of distinguished and fair-minded people arose to examine

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the doctrines of the Babis and study their habits, and among them the famous scholar, Baron Rozen, one of the greatest professors in the schools of Petersburg. And he sent Captain Aleksandr Tumanskii, one of his students, to the city of Askhabad and to Iran. And this [Tumanskii] lived with the Babis more than three years and learned all their rules and habits; and he took their books and printed and distributed them in Russia and other European countries. And among them [i.e., the Europeans] Mr. Browne Edward, teacher of Oriental languages at Cambridge University; and this [Browne] also travelled to Iran in AH 1303 [1886], lived among the different peoples who live in Iran, studied the habits of all of them, and took Babi books. Then he travelled to Syria and visited Akka, attained the presence of Baha’u’llah and returned to Europe and published all his observations in scientific journals. Then, what can I tell you about myself ! We are shooting well … Wishing you all the best and successful medical treatment for Baroness Olga Feodosievna, I remain faithful and admiring you, A. Tumanskii P.S. Your nephew was assigned to the 4th battery of our brigade and is now in our military camp, where I saw him.

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168 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS 23 Dudergof (Krasnoe Selo), Orekhovaia Dolina, 89/91 11 July 1896248 Most esteemed Viktor Romanovich! With the bustle of camp life, I am a bit late in sending the continuation of my article to V. V. Bartol’d. Only days ago I managed to send off the second part, and the end of it I think I shall be able to send this week as well. General Headquarters, as I recently learned, intends to publish a translation of Etudes orientales by I. G. Nofal’249 in the Russian language, and because of this event it was assigned to me to compile a report on ‘what new and useful is contained in the works of I. G. Nofal’ in comparison with the commentaries on Muslim law in Hidaya’.250 I was therefore given a copy of the Grodekov rendering of the English translation of Hidaya. That is all the news I can tell you. I am shooting well as usual – but I’m wrong, actually shooting is already finished and an exercise with the infantry is beginning. Your nephew scrupulously attends all the exercises in camp together with his fellow-Pages.251 They have already finished the soldiers’ course and they will now start serving as officers. Then, wishing you and Baroness Olga Feodosievna all the best, I remain faithful and deeply admiring you, A. Tumanskii

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24 Dudergof 2 August 1896252 Most esteemed Viktor Romanovich! From the time I received your last letter I have been busy exclusively with [army] service and thus this time cannot tell you anything interesting. Also, for the above-mentioned reason, I still have not managed to finish the article about the geographer. All the time is spent in camp exercises, and even if I manage to return home for a few hours, I am usually so tired that I cannot even think about any studies. As they say, they are cracking the whip over us. I hope you are satisfied with my intensified activity?! But, joking aside, I am extremely ashamed that I still cannot send the end of the article to V. V. Bartol’d. When are you planning to return again to us in the North, where now an African heat lingers? Wishing you all the best, I remain faithfully yours, A. Tumanskii

25 Dudergof 29 July 1897253 Most esteemed Viktor Romanovich! I received the last proof-sheets; I hope that the previous proofs reached you in good order. The texts of ‘Persian Questions’254 I have, since I found the manuscript from which the copies that you possess had been made. Today with consternation and with regret I read in Novoe Vremia255

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170 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS about the misfortune that befell K. G. Zaleman.256 This is some fateful bad luck for our researchers of Central Asia! What does he plan to do and how serious is his condition? Surely what promised to be a very interesting expedition will not take place now. And it is a pity. I am certain that the appearance of KGZ in eastern Bukhara would have produced a lot of new and interesting information. About myself there is nothing at all to tell you – we are only serving [in the army] and doing nothing else, it is even becoming quite boring. Then, wishing you all the best, I remain faithful and admiring you, A. Tumanskii

26 Dudergof 16 August 1897257 Most esteemed Viktor Romanovich! I am sending you herewith the last two pages of the proofs, and I beg your pardon that I delayed them. But I absolutely could not find a free minute to look them over with a clear head. They pestered us to death with moving from place to place and various manoeuvres. We are moving to the city around the 1st of September and will live on the Vyborg Side,258 31 Nizhegorodskaia Street, Flat 16. About the introduction, I can tell you that until the end of camp I shall not be able to send anything to you, but then, i.e., after the 25th, I will devote myself to it. Faithful and admiring you, A. Tumanskii P.S. Enclosed I am also sending the text of the Kalimats.259

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27 St Petersburg 9 August 1899260 Most esteemed Viktor Romanovich! I did not write you from the country as I did not spend much time in one place. I have now returned for good to Petersburg and I am not planning to go anywhere. Today I expected to find you at the Academy, which is why I made for the Asiatic Museum,261 but on enquiry I learned that you weren’t at the administration today, and thus I did not even go to ask for you at your flat. Having an ardent desire to see you, I turn to you with the request to be so kind as to inform me when you intend to be in Petersburg and where I could visit you. I gave the index to Karl Germanovich [Zaleman] before my departure with the request to deliver it to the printers. Please give my compliments to the Baroness and accept assurances of my absolute devotion, A. Tumanskii

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29. First page of the letter of A. P. Orlov. © St Petersburg Branch, Archive of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

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3 LETTER OF A. P. ORLOV

Astrabad 26 July 18921 Most esteemed Viktor Romanovich, As you see from the heading of the letter, I am writing to you from Astrabad, where I have been for two months now, performing the duties of secretary of the local consulate, which is being managed during the absence of Consul Kokhanovskii2 by one of your own students, L. A. Piper.3 My transfer from Resht [Rasht] to Astrabad took place in May; during this time I managed to become acquainted with one of the local Babis, who is now my muallim [mu‘allim; teacher] in connection with Persian language and Babi bibliography. Through the mediation of my teacher I acquired several manuscripts of Babi and Behaist content, which, after a while, when the cholera quarantine restrictions are over, I will send to Petersburg to add to your collection of manuscripts, but now I will limit myself to reporting some information that will enable you to judge, if only approximately, the contents of these writings. First – The format is approximately 12 in4 in a black leather cover, written in clear naskh, with diacritical marks, without a title; it consists of a series of chapters or suras, each beginning with the stereotype Bismillah al-rahman al-rahim [In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate], 164 pages. According to the explanation of my tutor, this is the short Arabic Beian [Bayan]5 (all together my Babi reckons 12 Beians, of them 7 Arabic and 5

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174 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS Persian); whether it presents a similarity to the ‘livre des préceptes’,6 translated by Gobineau, or not, I don’t believe I can judge as I do not have Gobineau’s book and I am using only your description of the Institute’s manuscripts. For a sample, I quote the beginning: In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate. I bear witness that there is none other God but God, alone and without partner. I bear witness that verily Muhammad is his servant and his messenger. Bless thou, O my God, Muhammad and his family. Peace be upon you, O family of Ta’-Sin-Mim, and God’s mercy and his blessings. Peace be upon you, O family of Ta’-Ha, and God’s mercy and his blessings. Peace be upon you, O family of Ya’-Sin, and God’s mercy and his blessings. Peace be upon you, O family of the House of Power and the abode of the perfect word and the source of might and manifestation of power, and God’s mercy and his blessings. Peace be upon you, O family of the Will and its sister [i.e., Determination] and the pillar of Destiny and its root [i.e., Decree], and the ordainer of confirmation [i.e., Permission] and its decree [i. e., Term] and the surveyor of the Book and its signs, and God’s mercy and his blessings. How can I reckon your praise when God has closed the door of praise between me and you, and yet how can I fail to praise your bounties when God has placed nothing between me and you?7 etc. Second – The MS (of which I ordered a copy) is a work by Beha [Baha’u’llah]; without a title; according to the contents, it represents a collection of short messages in Arabic and Persian, among them one, an appeal to Zoroastrians, with an exhortation to follow the new teaching; I cannot include even one extract from this book as at present it is not in my hands.

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Third – A manuscript, and according to the statements of my Babi and by comparison with the text published in your ‘Collections Scientifiques’8 it is undoubtedly the Iqan.9 This book, as it is well known, and moreover as you have four copies of it in your hands and in the Institute, I am keeping for myself, for perusal during my leisure time and for checking against the text you published in the third vol. of ‘Coll. Scient.’ No. 2 (p. 32). Lastly, of the two sheets enclosed with this letter, the first, marked by me with the letter ‘A’, represents the beginning of the Sura of Joseph’s dream: the Surih-yi Khab-i Yusif,10 from the pen of the Bab. This work, as my teacher reports, was written by the Bab during the time of his imprisonment in Maku,11 consequently, during the period between 1847 and 1850; it consists of six sections, each of them beginning with the saying: Bismillah al-Rahman al-Rahim [In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate]; the attached excerpt is the first one of six such sections; the last two lines belong to the second of those sections, which was supposed to follow the first one. The second sheet, marked with the letter ‘B’, represents a short message by Beha from Akka to his Persian followers with a prediction of cholera and plague: vaba va al-ta’un [cholera and pestilence], that are to befall Persia (the message was written more than half a year ago) and it is accompanied by a prayer (from the words Huwa alMushfiq al-Karim [He is the Kind, the Generous]), the reading of which should protect every faithful Babi from falling ill with these diseases. This work, thus, in the best possible way answers the needs of this time of cholera we are living through now! Already my first, so to speak, collision with Babi–Behaist manuscripts betrays the insufficiency of the resources that I have on ‘Babistics’; apart from your excellent descriptions of the manuscripts in the Institute library I have almost nothing. In this respect, most esteemed Viktor Romanovich, you will be rendering me an enormous iltifat [favour] by acquiring for me and sending the following printed resources on this question, which I am lacking,

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176 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS namely: (1) Religions et philosophies dans l’Asie centrale by Cte de Gobineau;12 (2) both of Browne’s articles in J. of the R. A. S.13 and also if possible, Dorn’s description of the Babi manuscript belonging to the Pub[lic] Library,14 and Huart’s Descr[iption] of three Babi MSS.15 True, I still have my own handwritten synopses and short extracts from the books of Gobineau and Browne, but the main things, i.e., the texts, are missing. Excuse me, most esteemed Viktor Romanovich, for deciding to burden you with such errands; my uncle, as a non-Orientalist, cannot help me with it; and my regular correspondent and middleman in the area of ‘Oriental’ books – Iu. Batiushkov,16 has not written to me for more than two months, so I remain in complete ignorance about where he is now. Likewise, until now I have not received an answer to my letter to V. A. Zhukovskii, which I wrote back at the beginning of May and addressed to Petersburg.17 Not knowing, Viktor Romanovich, your summer address, I am sending this letter to the University, trusting that from there sooner or later it will reach you. What’s the word about putting out ‘good’ books, and in particular the new issue of ZVOIRAO?18 What’s new in the University and in our faculty? Where and what sort of positions have your latest graduates found or are they finding? Who will be under the aegis of Matvei Avel’evich?19 From the newspapers I know about the proposed congress of Orientalists in Lisbon in September;20 will you participate in it? You probably already know from the newspapers about the appearance of cholera in Astrabad; it started in the city last week originally with 2–3 fatal cases daily, but since Sunday the 24th it suddenly intensified and now manifests itself in figure of 10–15 fatal cases. Residents are fleeing the city; the Persian authorities have also started little by little to evacuate, but Leonid Adolfovich21 and I, despite both the heat and the epidemic, are stoically staying in the city, assuming that if in the Book of Fate any of us is destined to perish of cholera, then that will happen outside the city as well. Moreover, in the regular summer residence of the Consulate

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in the mountains, Ziiarst,22 an epidemic has already broken out, so one cannot even think of moving there. How are you spending the summer, most esteemed Viktor Romanovich? Are you planning to return to the city soon? By the way, I lost your Petersburg address or, rather, forgot the number of your house, though I remember that it is in Nadezhdinskaia,23 and so please remind me of it. I hope that sometime during a free minute you will scribble me a few lines in answer to this letter, and so, apologizing for the negligence and haste in which it is written. I remain, in anticipation of your answer, Faithfully yours, A. P. Orlov Please give my compliments to the Baroness. Piper asks to testify to his respect for you. My address: Baku, Russian Imperial Consulate in Astrabad, for A. P. Orlov.

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30. First page of the letter of Georgii Batiushkov. © St Petersburg Branch, Archive of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

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4 LETTER OF GEORGII BATIUSHKOV

Teheran 30 January 18941 Huwa Allah [al-]abda’ [al-]abha [He is God, the Most Wondrous, the Most Glorious] Most esteemed Viktor Romanovich, I fell greedily upon my copy, which I received in the last post, of the eighth v[olume] of ZVOIAO,2 in which I could read familiar names, though some new ones can be found as well, such as Bok, Druzhinin, Loparev and [illegible],3 whose tulu’ [rise] occurred after my time. I was surprised to see once again the familiar name – though not seen for a while in the pages of your ‘órgan’* – N. O. Katanov4 – what results (apart from the ‘divinatory’ ones that are also accessible to me thanks to ZVO5) has he reported, and especially upon his return? As you can easily guess, of the remaining articles I was most of all interested in the letter of A. Tumanskii.6 The volume came exactly during the second week of my deliberate acquaintance with one of the most knowledgeable and respected Babis in *

I add the accent in order to avoid misunderstanding [i.e., confusion with the musical instrument].

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31. Haji Mirza Hasan Taliqani, Adib. © Baha’i World Centre.

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Teheran, the same Mirza Hasan Adib who put together the Persian grammar book which he sent to Valentin Alekseevich [Zhukovskii] through me, and who participated in the publication of Namih-yi Danishvaran [The Book of Scholars]7 (discontinued after the first volume8 as it was a governmental publication, and in Persia this was tantamount to ruination, for any enterprise requiring expenses and not promising enormous profits would not enjoy the sympathy of the Shah, nor of his ministers), and who is the author of other historical works, va ghayrih [and others]. I found out about his belonging to ‘them’: an ta’ifih [that sect, i.e., the Baha’is], as we say out of precaution, as a result of his extremely liberal opinions on Islam and his readiness to introduce me to one of the chief Ahl-i Haqq9 (who by the way still avoids this meeting), and to Babis. By the way, there was a distribution of the legacy of a Babi Russian subject (there are masses of them in the Caucasus) who kept a rather large number of Bab[i] manuscripts and books. I, obviously, tried to secure these papers, as unnecessary for the settlement, and thereby saved many books that due to the publicity could have been substantially threatened, as the government and the clergy regard them with much suspicion, of which the incident in Baku can serve as proof.10 This legacy will be doubly useful: first of all, I am becoming acquainted with the contents of the alwah [tablets], which in great number were addressed to various people* and consist almost entirely of admonitions and advice; and I am finding out about the existence of various books and prayer books. Apart from that, in return for such a favour, they very gladly bring me, and promise, books and copies. Thus I already have the Kitab-i Aqdas [Most Holy Book] – something like our code of laws, the Iqan,11 and the Kitab-i Haykal [Book of the Temple], which contains, apart from the Surih-yi Haykal [Tablet of the Temple],12 letters to the kings and many others – the book was printed in Bombay in [AH] *

And you know I must read them in order to find out whom they are addressed to, and return them to their owners.

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182 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS 1308 [AD 1890/1] (it costs, of course, 19 krans13), and they also promised to bring me copies from the Akka archive (copies of all letters and messages are kept in Akka). To my extreme regret, not only do I not have ‘Catal. and Descript. of 27 Babi. MSS’,14 which could not be found here, but I also do not have the seventh volume of ZVO* in which there is probably an analysis of this article; thus I am deprived of the opportunity to find out exactly which Bab[i] books are still not held by the libraries and I ordered on credit to copy the prayer book containing daily prayers (there are three kinds)15 with instructions for certain positions and motions that are to accompany their reading. For a sample, I enclose for you here a small prayer to be found in one of the books I acquired. From my Babi I found out, among other things (perhaps now this is already rather old news for you, having read ‘Catalogue’ and Vol. 7), about additional titles of works by Baha’ (according to the list in Browne’s articles in Journal As[iatique]), and namely: Jawahir al-Asrar [Gems of Divine Mysteries],16 Lawh-i Hikmat [Tablet of Wisdom],17 Sahifih-yi Muti‘addiyih,18 Tibyan,19 Lawh-i Siraj [Tablet to Siraj]20 and Kitab-i Haykal [Book of the Temple], about which I already wrote above. I also want to mention some titles of the works of Ghusn-i A‘zam [the Most Great Branch, i.e., ‘Abdu’lBaha], which my Hasan21 extensively praises for intelligence, knowledge and other qualities, Madaniyyih,22 Javab az sual-i haybih-yi jadid23and Haft Vadi [The Seven Valleys].24 Lastly, about Subh-i Azal, they say that he now drags on a wretched existence as his children – almost the only disciples he has – are far from giving him the right to hope for a bright future; although they travelled all over the place and, incidentally, they visited *

I cannot entirely blame my brother for this, who could not have known that these books were not out, and whom I instructed (hoping for your kind assistance) to send the books on to me here according to your instructions.

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Constantinople often, they do not display any tendency to occupy themselves with the salvation of souls – their own or others. The rest of the Babis had already become convinced of the meaning of the words [of] Nuqtih-yi Awli [the Primal Point],25 that Baha had to go into concealment for nine years in order to escape certain death;26 consequently by this period his [Subh-i Azal’s] role is limited, and thus only those books that were written during this time are recognized as sacred – Mustayqiz27 and munajat [prayers]. Speaking of books, shouldn’t it, in Tumanskii’s translation – if only in parentheses or in the notes – explain the name ‘Supehr’ [Sipihr] as Lisan al-Mulk, the author of Nasikh al-Tavarikh;28 and ‘Hedaiet’ [Hidayat] as Riza-Quli Khan, the author of Rawzat al-safa,29 since this might not be known to everyone interested in Babis. The same Babi fully substantiated your conjecture (in Coll. H.30) regarding the meaning of 152, to which he added that sometimes this name substitutes for the number 9, because b + h + a + ’ equal 9.31 It is for this Babi that I asked V. A. [Zhukovskii] if it would be possible to get his publication (as I remember, the Ikan [Iqan]) in a photographic form. If this would be difficult for you for financial (I note a certain lack of confidence on your part, regarding the financial transactions and that is the only way I can explain to myself why the seventh volume was not delivered and I fear I cannot count on receiving the ‘Catal. of 27 B. MSS’) or other reasons, then perhaps you would advise that I turn to Browne directly, Alayhu baha [glory be upon him], so that he might send the book to Teheran via the Mission. As a form of bribe in advance, I enclose a sample of a prayer, and next time I hope to send the prayer book (if they do not find the original, then a copy of it) and perhaps a copy or the alwahi mutifarriqih [various tablets] themselves from the abovementioned inheritance. Many of them are not without interest and were probably not included in the 27 books,32 but help in the elucidation of the attitude of 9 [Baha’u’llah] towards his flock.

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32. Group of Baha’is in Tabriz, Iran. © Baha’i World Centre.

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Proportionate to the quantity of ‘their’ books that I have in mind, my hopes grow for the fulfilment of my humble requests both regarding the dust of your feet,33 and regarding my Babi and the Minister of the Press; actually, as for the latter, an official paper has been put out commanding that his works and the works of the Shah be sent to the IVIa [Institute of Oriental Languages] on the condition of reciprocity. What is the news, in the Oriental world, of the ‘rotten West’? Is the review of Turkish manuscripts of the IVIa coming to a successful conclusion and what is the news in our faculty since it passed into the hands of the Arabs?34 One of the local ‘young scholars’, the dragoman of the French Mission and a student of all the celebrities in Paris, asked me, by the way, if Berezin’s publication of Rashid-ed-Din and Mir-AliShir [Nava’i] was progressing, and I, of course, in spite of all my respect for this famous Russian scholar, could not answer this question. Do they consider Linovskii35 by now sufficiently prepared to occupy the position of director of our I[nsti]tute,36 and will they publish Gamazov’s dictionary37 as Shishkin and Kapnist38 promised? Please give my regards to Olga Feodosievna, who I hope is in perfect health, as well as to ‘Baron Rozen’ (as Vitia used to call himself),39 and compliments to all our mutual acquaintances: the Zhukovskiis, the Marrs,40 Ol’denburg, etc., etc. Faithfully yours, G. Batiushkov

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‘Abdu’l-Baha (‘Abbas Effendi) (1844–1921), eldest son of Baha’u’llah. Born in Tehran, ‘Abdu’l-Baha accompanied his father throughout his exiles and became head of the Baha’i faith in 1892 after the death of Baha’u’llah, according to the latter’s will (Kitab-i ‘Ahdi). ‘Abdu’l-Baha remained in the vicinity of Acre, Palestine, as a religious prisoner of the Ottoman government until he was released in 1908 after the Young Turk Revolution. In 1911–13 he went on a speaking tour of Europe and North America to spread the Baha’i teachings. In 1920 he was knighted (although he never used the title) for his humanitarian efforts in Palestine during World War I. Under his direction, the first Baha’i House of Worship (Mashriq al-Adhkar) was constructed in Ashgabat. He wrote several books including A Traveller’s Narrative and The Secret of Divine Civilization. Abu al-Ghazi Bahadur Khan (1603–1663), ruler of Khiva and Chagatay and author of the histories Shajarih-yi Tarakimih (Genealogy of the Turkmen) and Shajarih-yi Turk (Genealogy of the Turks). He was the son of a ruler from the Uzbek dynasty of the Shaybanids. As a result of struggles over the throne, he lived for a decade in exile in Iran, where he learned Persian and collected historical information. In 1644/5 he became khan of Khiva. After a series of expeditions against the Turkmen, he subdued some of these tribes in Qara Kum and Mangyshlak. Abu al-Hasan Mirza Qajar Shaykh al-Ra’is (c. 1848–1920), Qajar prince, poet and intellectual. He was a grandson of Fath-‘Ali Shah, the son of Muhammad-Taqi Mirza Hisham al-Saltanih and the uncle of Muhammad Shah. He received a clerical education and became a mujtahid. His mother had been a Babi and he became a Baha’i. As a result of his pro-constitutionalist ideas and probably also his Baha’i identity he had to leave Khurasan, going to Central Asia and Istanbul. He later returned but was imprisoned in 1892, after which he returned to

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188 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS Istanbul, where in 1892 he joined the pan-Islamist circle led by Sayyid Jamal al-Din al-Afghani and wrote a book promoting Afghani’s ideas. He visited ‘Abdu’l-Baha in Acre and travelled to India, returning to Iran, where he played a prominent role in the Constitutional Revolution (1905–08) and served in the Majlis (Parliament). He was imprisoned by Muhammad-‘Ali Shah but was later released and lived in Tehran the rest of his life. Abu al-Husayn Ahmad Mu’iz al-Dawlih (915–967), founder of Buyid rule in Iraq, which lasted a century. Considered to be a competent ruler and military leader, he gave stability to the country and advanced its economic interests, including restoring irrigation systems. Afnan, Haji Mirza Muhammad-Taqi Vakil al-Dawlih (d. 1911), son of Sayyid Muhammad, a maternal cousin of the Bab, and a prominent merchant in Yazd. He was appointed consular commercial agent for Russia and was subsequently granted the title ‘Vakil al-Dawlih’ (Representative of the Government). His family became one of the most influential merchant families in Iran. In 1909, ‘Abdu’l-Baha, who held him in high esteem, asked him to go to Ashgabat to supervise the construction of the Mashriq al-Adhkar. Later he spent time in Haifa, where he died. Afnan, Haji Mirza Sayyid Hasan (d. 1892), brother-in-law of the Bab, known as the ‘Great Afnan’. One of his sons married Baha’u’llah’s daughter, and another married ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s daughter. He was a merchant but was very erudite. In the early 1880s, while on his way to Acre, he passed through Ashgabat, where he recognized the commercial opportunities which that city and region offered after the conquest by Russia. He bought a large amount of property there, some of which was later used by his sons to develop their commercial activity, as well as to establish and propagate the Baha’i faith. Ahsa’i, Shaykh Ahmad (1753–1826), founder of the Shaykhi School of Shi‘a Islam. Born in al-Ahsa, Arabia, he became learned in religious studies and at age 20 went to the Shi‘i shrines in Iraq. Returning eventually to Iran, his ideas attracted many adherents, some among the ruling Qajar family, including Fath-‘Ali Shah. He was accused by orthodox theologians of teaching heretical doctrines. Shaykh Ahmad’s teachings were esoteric and complex; he maintained that the Hidden Imam existed not in the physical world but in a spiritual world of archetypes, and that ‘resurrection’ was also to be understood spiritually rather than physically. After his death, His successor Sayyid Kazim Rashti did not appoint

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another to follow him, and when the Bab appeared, many Shaykhis became Babis. The rest split into three rival factions, with the majority following Haji Muhammad Karim Khan Kirmani, and what remained of Shaykhism ultimately became submerged again in orthodox Shi‘ism. Ala’ al-Din Muhammad (d. 1220), ruler of the Khwarazmid Empire, 1200–20. The son of a slave who became viceroy of the province of Khwarazm, he conquered Iran, which had been held by the Seljuk Turks, and defeated the Kara-Khitan Khanate. His attempt to overthrow Caliph al-Nasir in Baghdad was thwarted when his army was caught by a blizzard in the mountains. After he killed the envoys sent by Genghis Khan, Genghis sent an army to sack his cities. He fled, dying on an island in the Caspian Sea soon thereafter. Ali-Kuli Khan Nabil al-Dawlih, Mirza (1879–1966), eminent Iranian Baha’i, translator and diplomat. At age 17 he was a translator in the prime minister’s secretariat. In the late 1890s he became a Baha’i and was the English-language secretary of ‘Abdu’l-Baha (from 1899 to 1901). He served as Iran’s minister in Washington (1902), and later consul and chargé d’affaires (1910–11). He was given the title ‘Nabil al-Dawlih’ (1911) by Ahmad Shah. He later headed the Iranian embassy in Istanbul as minister plenipotentiary, was chief minister of the crown prince’s court in Tehran (1921–23), and served as minister plenipotentiary to the republics of the Caucasus. ‘Ali-Quli Mirza I‘tizad al-Saltanih (1822–1880), forty-seventh son of Fath-‘Ali Shah, who influenced scientific and educational developments and introduced modern elements into Iran. He was director of the Dar al-Funun educational institution and Iran’s first minister of sciences, controlling state-run education as well as communications and publishing. He also supervised Iran’s first public European-style hospital, the staterun newspapers, telegraph lines and factories, and governed Malayir and Tuysirkan. He supervised the creation of Iran’s first modern encyclopedia and wrote historical works including Kitab al-Mutanabbi’in (Book of Those Pretending to Be Prophets), which contained a section on the Babi religion, and works on the history of Iran and Afghanistan. ‘Andalib (Mirza ‘Ali Ashraf Lahijani), (1853–1919), prominent Iranian Baha’i from Lahijan, in Gilan Province. He was famous as a poet and known as the ‘Nightingale’ (‘Andalib). He was imprisoned for two years for his faith. After his release, he travelled to various cities, meeting E. G. Browne several times in Yazd. He died in Shiraz.

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190 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS Azal (Mirza Yahya Nuri) (1831–1912), younger half-brother of Baha’u’llah. He became a Babi in 1844 and was given various titles, including ‘Azal’ (Eternity), by the Bab, who designated him the head of the Babi community until the appearance of ‘him whom God shall make manifest’. He is referred to by some authors as ‘Subh-i Azal’ (Morning of Eternity). In 1852 he was associated with the leader of a militant group of Babis that attempted to assassinate Nasir al-Din Shah. When Baha’u’llah was exiled, Azal fled Iran in disguise, and in Baghdad he remained apart. In 1856 he ordered the murder of Dayyan. He went with Baha’u’llah to Edirne and there began to work against him, even attempting to kill him by poisoning. When Baha’u’llah made public his claim to be ‘he whom God shall make manifest’, Azal then made his own claim to prophethood. While most Babis became followers of Baha’u’llah (and were subsequently known as Baha’is), a small number followed Azal (and were known as Azalis). In Edirne, the accusations by Azal and his followers to the Ottoman government resulted in the banishment of Baha’u’llah to Acre, and Azal to Cyprus. Azal lived on the island until the end of his life. Bab, the (Sayyid ‘Ali-Muhammad Shirazi) (1819–1850), founder of the Babi religion. He was born in Shiraz and entered the family business, becoming a merchant. On 23 May 1844 he announced to the Shaykhi, Mulla Husayn Bushru’i (who became his first believer), that he was the promised figure whom the Shaykhi disciples of Sayyid Kazim had been seeking. The Bab initially emphasized his claim to be the gate (bab) to the Hidden Imam (the Qa’im, or Mahdi), but later he openly declared that he was the Qa’im himself. He went further, claiming prophetic revelation, but emphasized the coming of another messianic figure to follow him, whom he called ‘him whom God shall make manifest’. The Bab’s doctrines radically undermined the authority of the Shi‘i ‘ulama and the shah; the government and religious establishment sought to suppress the movement, which had attracted thousands of followers. Successive waves of persecution and violent clashes ensued, and many Babis were killed. The Bab was imprisoned in Maku, near the Russian border, but was subsequently moved to Chahriq. In 1848 he was interrogated by the ‘ulama in Tabriz and declared an apostate. In 1850 the Bab was executed by firing squad in Tabriz. The Bab wrote numerous works, the most important of which is the Bayan (Exposition). Baha’u’llah (Mirza Husayn-‘Ali Nuri) (1817–1892), founder of the Baha’i religion. Born in Tehran to a noble family, he became a Babi in 1844. He was one of the principal figures at the Conference of Badasht (1848), where he took the name ‘Baha’. After the attempt on the life of

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Nasir al-Din Shah (1852), he was among those imprisoned in the SiyahChal dungeon, where he experienced a vision considered the beginning of his revelation. Found innocent of the assassination attempt, he was released but was sent into exile with his family and a number of companions. He went first to Baghdad, where his increasing influence as the spiritual leader of the Babis led to his further exile to Istanbul in 1863. Shortly before his departure from Baghdad, he disclosed to some of his companions that he was the one promised by the Bab. After a few months in Istanbul, he was sent to Adrianople (Edirne), where he made public his claim to be he whom God shall make manifest. He was further banished to Acre in 1868, living in the vicinity of the city for the remainder of his life. Baha’u’llah’s writings, considered divine revelation by his followers, include thousands of letters as well as longer works, chief among which is the Kitab-i Aqdas (The Most Holy Book), his book of laws. Bahr al-‘Ulum, Sayyid Muhammad Mahdi bin Murtaza Tabataba’i Burujirdi Najafi (1742–1797), one of the most revered scholars of Islam. Born in Karbala, he studied in Karbala and Najaf, and lived in Iran for a time. He was highly respected during his time for his knowledge, and his descendants include many important ‘ulama. Bakulin, Fedor Abramovich (1846–1879), Russian diplomat and Orientalist. After graduating from the Lazarev Institute of Oriental Languages, he began working in Iran (1865–79), where he was secretary, dragoman and finally consul in Astarabad. During his time in Iran he managed to obtain and later to send to the Asiatic Museum many interesting documents, among them several Babi and Baha’i manuscripts. He was the author of several articles on Oriental topics. Bartol’d, Vasilii Vladimirovich (1869–1930), Russian Orientalist. Born in St Petersburg to a Russianized German family, he studied at the Faculty of Oriental Languages at St Petersburg University under Viktor Rozen, specializing in the history of the Middle East (1887–91). He began teaching at the university in 1896 and worked there until the end of his life. Bartol’d published 670 works, including 247 articles in the Encyclopedia of Islam. His main contribution to the study of Central Asia and Iran was in medieval history. Baumgarten, A. F. commissioner and representative of the Russian trading house of Morozov. He lived for a long time in Shahrud, Iran. He was interested in the Babi and Baha’i religions, collected their materials and exchanged information with Fedor Bakulin.

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192 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS Bayhaqi, Abu al-Fazl Muhammad ibn Husayn Katib (995–1077), eleventh-century Iranian historian. Born in Khurasan, he studied in Nishapur and entered the service of the Ghaznavid rulers as a secretary in the chancery, where he spent most of his life (although he fell out of favour and was imprisoned). He is known for his 30-volume history of the Ghaznavid dynasty known as Tarikh-i Bayhaqi or Jami‘ al-Tavarikh, of which only a part is extant. Berezin, Il’ia Nikolaevich (1818–1896), Russian Turcologist and professor at St Petersburg University, author of Rashid-Eddin. Sbornik letopisei (Rashid-Eddin: Collection of Chronicles). Boital, Fabius French engineer and entrepreneur who pursued contracts to introduce modern technology in different parts of the Middle East and beyond. In 1863 he won a bid to instal a kerosene street-lighting system in Moscow. He secured concessions from the Iranian government to establish electric and gas factories in Tehran, introducing the first gas lighting in Tehran (1881). In 1882 he won the bid for the Tehran–Rasht railway, although the Russians, who opposed other nations controlling concessions in northern Iran, blocked the transport of commodities between Europe and Iran through the Caucasus, thus bringing Boital’s endeavour to a halt. Browne, Edward Granville (1862–1926), well-known English Orientalist. Educated at Eaton and Pembroke College, Cambridge, he graduated in medicine but became interested in Oriental studies. He was elected Fellow of Pembroke College in 1887. During a visit to Iran in 1887–88, he became interested in the Babi movement and met Baha’is and Azalis, writing A Year Amongst the Persians (1893). In 1890 he visited Azal in Cyprus and Baha’u’llah in Acre. Browne was passionately involved in Iranian politics; disappointed that the Baha’is remained aloof from involvement, he gave his support to the Azalis. Browne published an annotated translation of ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s A Traveller’s Narrative (1891); The Tarikh-i Jadid or New History of Mirza ‘Ali Muhammad the Bab (1893); Kitab-i Nuqtat al-Kaf (1910) and Materials for the Study of the Babi Religion (1918), as well as other works on Iranian subjects. He was appointed lecturer in Persian and later (1902) became Sir Thomas Adams Professor of Arabic at the University of Cambridge. Cherniaev, Sergei Ivanovich (1818–1888), Russian Orientalist who worked in the Asian Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was appointed consul in Astarabad in 1846, consul-general in Tabriz in

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1857 and served as director of the diplomatic office in Tiflis from 1863 to 1868. He was a lecturer in Persian language and literature in St Petersburg University during 1871–88 and wrote several books about the history of Iran. Curzon, George Nathaniel (1859–1925), eminent British statesman of the early twentieth century. Educated at Eaton and Balliol College, Oxford, he became MP for Southport in 1886. His extensive travels included a long journey through Iran in 1889, after which he wrote several books including Persia and the Persian Question, Russia in Central Asia and the Anglo-Russian Question. He served in many positions including viceroy of India (1899–1905) and Lord Privy Seal (1915–16). He was a member of the War Cabinet (1916–18) and minister of foreign affairs (1919–24). He was made Earl Curzon of Kedleston, Viscount Scarsdale (1911) and Marquess (1921). Dahaji, Sayyid Mahdi a prominent Baha’i from Dahaj in Yazd Province who visited Baha’u’llah in Baghdad, Edirne and Acre, and was caretaker of Baha’u’llah’s house in Baghdad for a time. He received several tablets from Baha’u’llah but was egotistical and had ambitions to leadership. After Baha’u’llah’s death he joined with Mirza Muhammad‘Ali in rejecting ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s authority. Dolgorukov, Prince Dmitri Ivanovich (1797–1867), also known as ‘Dolgorukii’, Russian diplomat who served as secretary of the Russian legation in Madrid, the Hague, Naples and Istanbul, and was minister in Tehran (1846–54) during the period of upheavals and persecutions connected to the spread of the Babi movement and the execution of the Bab. Dorn, Johannes Albrecht Bernhard (Boris Andreevich) (1805– 1881), philologist-Orientalist who taught at the University Leipzig, later in Kharkhov, and then in the Asian Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1834–43) and at St Petersburg University (1838–42, 1855–57). Dozy, Reinhart Pieter Anne (1820–1883), Dutch Arabist and lexicographer, known for his history of Muslim Andalusia titled Histoire des mussulmans d’Espagne and Essai sur l’histoire de l’Islamisme. From 1850 Dozy was a professor of history at the University of Leiden. Fel’dman, Fedor Aleksandrovich (1835–1902), Russian general of the infantry who was in charge of the courses in Oriental languages in the

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194 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS Asian Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, head of the Military-Scientific Committee at General Headquarters (1881–96) and director of the Aleksandrovskii Lyceum (1896–1900). Frähn, Christian Martin (Khristian Danilovich) (1782–1851), German Orientalist who worked in Kazan University (1807–1817) as a teacher of Oriental languages, went to St Petersburg in 1817 and was director of the Asiatic Museum from 1818 to 1842. Gamazov, Matvei Avel’evich (1812–1893), Russian diplomat, translator, teacher of Turkish in the Educational Department of Oriental Languages of the Asian Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and head of the department from 1872–93. He was Aleksandr Tumanskii’s teacher. Gulpayigani, Mirza Abu al-Fazl (1844–1914), eminent Iranian Baha’i scholar, teacher and author. Born near Gulpayigan, he came from a clerical family and was educated in Arak, Karbala, Najaf and Isfahan. He taught for a time at a religious college in Tehran (of which he was later made head). In 1876 he became a Baha’i, as a result of which he was imprisoned for five months and lost his teaching position. He later taught at a Zoroastrian school established by Maneckji Limji Hataria and served as Maneckji’s secretary. He was imprisoned again in 1882–83 and in 1885, and after his release he travelled extensively, including to Ashgabat, Bukhara and Samarkand, to spread the Baha’i faith. He went to Acre in 1894 and subsequently lived several years in Cairo. After visiting France and the United States (1901–04), he returned to Cairo, where he lived for the rest of his life. He wrote a number of treatises and books, including Fara’id (Priceless Jewels), a rebuttal to the shaykh al-Islam of Tiflis. Hamadani, Mirza Husayn (d. 1881), author of the Tarikh-i Jadid (translated and published by E. G. Browne in 1893). Hamadani served as secretary to an Iranian government official and was in the entourage of Nasir al-Din Shah on his first trip to Europe, after which he remained for a time in Istanbul. He was imprisoned in Tehran in 1874, and after his release in 1880 he was employed as secretary to Maneckji Limji Hataria, who asked him to write a history of Babism. Hamadani, Rashid al-Din Fazlullah (1247–1318), Iranian statesman and the greatest historian of the Ilkhanid period. Born in Hamadan and trained as a physician, he served in the Mongol court during the reign of the Ilkhan Abaka (1265–82). He converted from Judaism to

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Islam at around age 30. He wrote the Jami‘ al-Tavarikh (Compendium of Chronicles), the most important historical source about the Mongol Empire, particularly regarding the Ilkhans of Hamadani’s own period. Hataria, Maneckji Limji (1813–1890), Parsi Zoroastrian merchant, scholar and activist for his community, also known as Maneckji Sahib. Born in India, he went into commerce at a young age and became a wealthy merchant. In 1854 he was sent to Iran to improve the conditions of persecuted Zoroastrians there. In 1882, as a result of his efforts, the shah lifted the jizya (poll tax) on Zoroastrians. Hataria encouraged Zoroastrians to organize societies and was instrumental in the founding of modern schools for his community. He met Baha’u’llah in Baghdad in 1854, and during 1876–82 Mirza Abu al-Fazl Gulpayigani was his secretary. Hidayat, Riza-Quli Khan (1800–1871), Iranian literary historian, administrator and poet of the Qajar period. In 1838 Muhammad Shah made him the tutor of his favourite son. In 1847 he was appointed governor of Firuzkuh and in 1851 he entered the service of Nasir al-Din Shah, who named him deputy director of the new elite educational institution, the Dar al-Funun. Hidayat lived the latter part of his life in Tabriz, where he was tutor to the future shah, Muzaffar al-Din Mirza. He wrote several volumes and a considerable amount of poetry. Ibtihaj al-Mulk (Mirza Ibrahim Khan Tafrishi) aide to Fathullah Khan Akbar Sipahdar-i A‘zam Rashti and the controller of Iran’s northern customs, who in the early constitutional period became MP, then minister and later prime minister of the later Qajar period. Ibtihaj alMulk was murdered because of his close relations with the British and his conversion to the Baha’i faith. Isfahani, Haji Muhammad-Riza (d. 1889), prominent Baha’i of Ashgabat. He came originally from Khurasan, later moving to Isfahan, where he was a merchant. Because of his active promotion of the Baha’i faith he was imprisoned but later released. He visited Baha’u’llah in Acre and asked him to allow him to sacrifice his life for him. Baha’u’llah reportedly told him that was not necessary, but he insisted. He was told to go to Ashgabat, where he became a prominent member of the community of Baha’i émigrés there. In 1889 he received a tablet from Baha’u’llah which alluded to a coming attack on one of the Baha’is. Two months later he was murdered by Shi‘i thugs while a crowd cheered the killers. At the subsequent trial, those who had committed the act of murder were sentenced to death and others to exile in Siberia. The Baha’is

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196 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS interceded and the death sentences were mitigated to exile. Baha’u’llah, in his Lawh-i Dunya, expressed approval of his followers’ intercession on behalf of their enemies. ‘Izz al-Din Abu al-Hasan ‘Ali ibn al-‘Athir (1160–1233), Muslim historian, who lived most of his life in Mosul. He spent some time with Saladin’s army in Syria fighting the Crusaders. He is most known for his historical works including one on the Zangi (Atabak) dynasty of Mosul, and al-Kamil fi al-Tarikh (The Complete History), covering the beginning of the world to the year 1231. Kapnist, Dmitrii Alekseevich, Count (b. 1837), Russian diplomat. He was adviser to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1881–91) and head of the Asian Department of the Ministry (1891–97). Karbala’i, Haji Sayyid Javad (d. 1882), prominent and learned Babi and later Baha’i. A grandson of Bahr al-‘Ulum, he had been a Shaykhi and a disciple of Sayyid Kazim Rashti. He had known the Bab from childhood and became a Babi in 1844 in Karbala. He met Baha’u’llah there in 1851 and was close to him during the years Baha’u’llah was in exile in Iraq. After Baha’u’llah left for Editne, Karbala’i went to Iran and died in Kirman. Kashani, Haji Mirza Jani (d. 1852), merchant from Kashan who was one of the earliest disciples of the Bab and the first Babi in Kashan. When in 1847 the Bab was being moved from Isfahan to the prison at Maku, Kashani and his brothers bribed the Bab’s escort to allow the Bab to be their guest for two days and two nights. Later, Kashani was among those who attempted to join the Babis at the besieged shrine of Shaykh Tabarsi in Mazandaran, but was seized and imprisoned until a ransom was paid. After the death of the Bab, he spent two years writing a history of the movement. In the aftermath of the failed attempt on the life of the shah, he was imprisoned in the Siyah-Chal dungeon with Baha’u’llah and was executed together with 27 others. Kashani, Haji Muhammad Isma‘il half-brother of Haji Mirza Jani and one of the brothers in whose home the Bab stayed briefly. After Baha’u’llah’s declaration, he became a Baha’i, promoting the faith and transcribing its texts. Baha’u’llah gave him the titles ‘Dhabih’ (Sacrifice) and ‘Anis’ (Companion). He travelled to Edirne to visit Baha’u’llah but arrived at the time when soldiers were not admitting visitors, and was only able to see Baha’u’llah in Gallipoli. Returning to Iran, Kashani’s

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activities promoting the faith caused him to be imprisoned. He died in Tabriz. The Surih-yi Ra’is was revealed by Baha’u’llah in his honour. Kashani, Mirza Aqa Jan (Khadimullah) (c. 1837–1901), Baha’u’llah’s personal attendant and secretary for 40 years. He was born into a family of merchants and as a young man made and sold soap for a living. He became a Babi as a youth. He met Baha’u’llah in Karbala and was the first to believe in him. He accompanied Baha’u’llah through his exile, eventually to Acre. Baha’u’llah gave him the title ‘Khadimullah’ (Servant of God). Near the end of Baha’u’llah’s life, Aqa Jan became arrogant and his behaviour displeased Baha’u’llah, who dismissed him. After the death of Baha’u’llah, Aqa Jan joined Muhammad-‘Ali, turning against ‘Abdu’l-Baha. Katanov, Nikolai Fedorovich (1862–1922), Russian Orientalist, a graduate of the Faculty of Oriental Languages at St Petersburg University (1888). During 1889–92 he spent time in Siberia, Mongolia, China and Turkestan researching Turkic tribes. He was appointed extraordinary professor in 1893, teaching Turkic-Tatar languages. Katib Chelebi (Haji Khalifa Mustafa bin ‘Abdullah) (1609–1657), Ottoman Turkish historian and bibliographer. He was with the Turkish army in Baghdad in 1625 and at the siege of Erzurum. His works include Kashf al-Zanun (Index of Opinions), a bibliographical encyclopedia covering the sciences, which included the titles of thousands of books in Arabic, Persian and Turkish; a world history which listed events up to the year AH 1085; a history of the Turkish Empire from 1594 to 1655; a history of the maritime wars of the Turks and a geographical work that used European atlases. Kazem-Bek, Mirza Aleksandr Kasimovich (Muhammad-‘Ali) (1802–1870), well-known Russian Orientalist and corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences (1835). He taught languages in the universities of Kazan (1826–49) and St Petersburg (1849–69) and in the Educational Department of Oriental Languages of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1867–70). He was the author of many works on the history of the Caucasus, Iran, Central Asia and the history of Islam, including a work on the Babi movement. Khanykov, Nikolai Vladimirovich (1822–1878), Russian diplomat and Orientalist. He studied Oriental languages on his own and in 1841 was attached to the Russian embassy to Bukhara. During the late 1840s–

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198 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS early 1850s he served in the Caucasus in the diplomatic department. At the same time, he conducted research in the fields of history, geography and ethnology. He was elected a corresponding member of the St Petersburg Academy of Sciences in 1852. In 1853 he was appointed head of the consulate-general in Tabriz, where he worked until 1857, when he was sent to the Caucasus. He resigned in 1866. He was the author of many scientific books and publications and collected a number of Babi manuscripts. Kirmani, Haji Muhammad Karim Khan (1810–1871), Shaykhi leader and opponent of the Babis. The son of a wealthy Qajar prince, he claimed leadership of the Shaykhi School after the death of Sayyid Kazim Rashti. He claimed to receive his knowledge from divine sources and emphasized the perpetual need for a ‘Perfect Shi‘i’ (implicitly himself) to guide the people – his interpretation of the Shaykhi principle of the ‘Fourth Support’ (Rukn al-Rabi‘). His ideas were controversial even among the Shaykhis and aroused the opposition of the ‘ulama and fear that he intended to overthrow the government. As a result, he practised dissimulation of his actual doctrines. He was summoned to Tehran and closely watched for a time. A fierce opponent of the Bab, he declared him to be an infidel and wrote several books against him. He also opposed the introduction of Western ideas and science, as well as contact with Europeans. Komarov, Aleksandr Vissarionovich (1830–1904), major general in the Russian infantry. He served for a lengthy period in the Caucasus and was head of the Transcaspian Region (1883–90) during the episode of the murder of Haji Muhammad-Riza Isfahani in Ashgabat. He wrote several books about the law of the mountaineers of Daghestan and devoted much time to numismatics. Kremer, Baron Alfred von (1828–1889), distinguished Austrian Orientalist and statesman. He was educated at the University of Vienna and visited Syria and Egypt. He taught Arabic at the Polytechnikum and subsequently became a diplomat, serving as vice-consul (1858) and then consul in Cairo (1859) and in Galatz (1862), becoming consul-general in Beirut (1870). He was a member of the International Commission on the Egyptian Debt (1876). He then served as minister of commerce (1880–81). Von Kremer wrote Geschichte der herrschenden Ideen des Islams (Leipzig, 1868), in which 20 pages are devoted to the Bab and his teachings. Kuropatkin, Aleksei Nikolaevich (1848–1925), Russian general who distinguished himself in the Russo-Ottoman War of 1877–78. He was military governor of the Transcaspian Region (1890–98); minister of

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war (1898–1904) and commander in chief of the Russian army during the Russo-Japanese War (1904–05). He was blamed for the defeat, dismissed and was out of the service for ten years. Subsequently he was the commander of the Army Corps and of the Northern Front during World War I and governor of Turkestan (1916–17). Following the revolution of 1917, he lived in his native village, Sheshurino, and was a teacher in the local school. Lesseps, Ferdinand de (1805–1894), French engineer, diplomat and businessman known for his ambitious projects. He served as French consul in Cairo (1833), Alexandria (until 1837) and Rotterdam (1839), and as minister in Madrid (1848–49). After retiring from the diplomatic service, he secured a concession from the Egyptian government for the construction of the Suez Canal (1854), and during 1859–69 he administered it. In 1879–88 he engaged in an attempt to build a canal across Panama without locks, but the project failed. A bribery scandal ensued (1893), in which de Lesseps was found guilty. Majd al-Din, Mirza (d. 1955), nephew of Baha’u’llah and opponent of ‘Abdu’l-Baha. He was the son of Mirza Musa Aqa-yi Kalim, Baha’u’llah’s brother. Majd al-Din was an ally of Muhammad-‘Ali in his intrigues against ‘Abdu’l-Baha. He lived to be more than 100 years old. Majlisi, Muhammad Baqir (1628–1699), the most important and influential Iranian Shi‘i cleric of his time. Born in Isfahan, the son of one of the main figures in Islamic jurisprudence of the Safavid era, he earned a teaching certification from Mulla Sadra at age 14. He became shaykh al-Islam of Isfahan – the highest religious and executive appointed rank of the time, in 1678. He wrote over 100 books including the 110-volume collection of hadith, Bihar al-Anwar (Oceans of Light). Makhdum-Quli Firaghi (1733?–1782?), Turkmen poet. Born in Marv Goklan, the son of a famous poet, he studied in Khiva. Under the pseudonym ‘Firaqi’ (The Separated One), he wrote more than 10,000 lines of verse, much of it on religious and moral themes. Manuchihr Khan Mu’tamid al-Dawlih (d. 1842), courtier of Fath‘Ali Shah. An Armenian born in Tiflis, he converted to Islam, became a confidant of Fath-‘Ali Shah and was employed in the royal harem, becoming court chamberlain. He was appointed governor of Kirmanshah in 1836 and by 1838 was governor of Isfahan. At his death he was one of the richest men in Iran.

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200 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS Marr, Nikolai Iakovlevich (1864–1934), well-known Russian Orientalist, philologist and ethnographer, a member of the St Petersburg Academy of Sciences (1909), professor at St Petersburg University (from 1900) and director of the Academy of Material Culture, later renamed the Institute of Archaeology (1919–34). Milani, Mirza ‘Ali-Akbar Khan Ruhani, Muhibb al-Sultan Iranian Baha’i who was manager and proofreader of the royal printing house founded by Muzaffar al-Din Shah, and later headed the Administrative Court before being discharged in 1912 due to pressure from the ‘ulama and his rivals. He served as secretary of Tehran’s Baha’i Spiritual Assembly. During the early years of Riza Shah’s reign he founded a modern printing house for the publication and distribution of Baha’i scriptures. Muhammad Effendi one of the sons of Mirza Yahya Azal, who left Cyprus in the 1880s and moved to Istanbul. He travelled to Acre in 1884 and became a follower of Baha’u’llah. Muhammad-‘Ali, Mirza (1853–1937), second surviving son of Baha’u’llah, and half-brother of ‘Abdu’l-Baha. He was born in Baghdad, in the first year of the exile. As a youth in Edirne he showed an ambition for leadership, claiming his writing to be divine revelation equal with Baha’u’llah – for which he was severely rebuked by his father. He later became known for transcribing some of Baha’u’llah’s writings and for his calligraphy, but used his skills to alter passages in a book he was entrusted to publish in Bombay. Baha’u’llah gave him the title ‘Ghusn-i Akbar’ (the ‘Greater Branch’) and in the Kitab-i ‘Ahdi gave him a rank below that of ‘Abdu’l-Baha. Muhammad-‘Ali worked to undermine ‘Abdu’l-Baha, even plotting against his life and endeavouring to have him imprisoned again by the Ottoman authorities. After ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s death (1921), Muhammad‘Ali failed in his attempt to claim leadership of the Baha’i community. He died alone and was buried as a Muslim. Muhammad-Husayn Mirza Mu‘ayyid al-Saltanih, Prince (d. 1910/11), Iranian official who held various positions including governor of Isfahan, Qum and Khuzistan; headed the telegraph offices in Tehran and Isfahan and was the head of the Imperial Council during the reign of Muhammad-‘Ali Shah. He died in Nasiriyyih (now Khurramshahr). Apparently, in his travels he met ‘Abdu’l-Baha in Palestine and wrote a book on the Baha’i religion after his return to Iran.

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Muhammad-Riza Mu’tamin al-Saltanih chief treasury official and chief minister in the province of Khurasan during the 1870s and 80s. Around 1885 he was a candidate for prime minister, but his enemies ruined his chances after they revealed that he and his brother were Baha’is. Two years later, however, he was reinstated as chief minister of Khurasan. Muhammad-Taqi, Mirza, Lisan al-Mulk Sipihr (1792–1880), court historian of the Qajar period and literary figure. Born and educated in Kashan, he later entered the service of a son of Fath-‘Ali Shah, who gave him the name ‘Sipihr’. He subsequently became a government official and held several positions under Muhammad Shah, at which time he began work on the history for which he is known, Nasikh al-Tavarikh. Nasir al-Din Shah gave him the title ‘Lisan al-Mulk’ (Tongue of the State). Müller, August (1848–1892), German Orientalist and philologist. Born in Stettin, he was educated at the University of Halle and the University of Leipzig. In 1882 he became professor of Oriental philology at the University of Königsberg. He was the author of works on Hebrew and Arabic grammar, Arabic poetry and Greek philosophy in Arabic translation. He also wrote a history of Islam titled Der Islam im Morgen- und Abendland and published an edition of Essential Information about the Generations of Physicians by Ibn Abi Usaybi‘a (d. 1269). In 1887 he became editor of the journal Orientalische Bibliographie. Nabil-i Akbar (Mulla Muhammad Qa’ini) (1829–1892), learned Iranian Baha’i, also known as ‘Fazil-i Qa’ini’ (Learned One of Qa’in). He was born into a clerical family and had a traditional religious education, in addition to which he studied with the philosopher Haji Mulla Hadi Sabzivari. On the way to further studies in Najaf, he met a Babi and subsequently became a believer. He visited Baha’u’llah in Baghdad and reportedly recognized his superior station before 1863. Returning to Iran, he was highly respected at first but aroused the hostility of the ‘ulama for promoting the Babi faith, and he was imprisoned and tortured. He later visited Baha’u’llah in Acre, and Baha’u’llah wrote the Lawh-i Hikmat (Tablet of Wisdom) to him. In danger in Iran, he moved to Ashgabat, spent some time in Samarkand, and died in Bukhara. Nabil-i A‘zam (Muhammad Zarandi) (1831–1892), prominent Baha’i poet and chronicler. He became a Babi in about 1847 and later was a transcriber and disseminator of the Bab’s writings. In the early 1850s, he put forward a claim to Babi leadership but withdrew it after

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202 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS meeting Baha’u’llah in Baghdad. While Baha’u’llah was in Edirne, he sent Nabil to Iran to announce his claim to be ‘he whom God shall make manifest’ to the Babis there. Nabil eventually went to live in Acre. After Baha’u’llah’s death, in grief he drowned himself in the sea. He is best known for his historical narrative of the Babi period, published in English as The Dawn-Breakers. Nasir al-Din Shah Qajar (1831–1896, r. 1848–1896), ruler of Iran for almost 50 years. His reign saw the upheavals and armed clashes in various parts of the country such as Nayriz and Zanjan, in reaction to the rise of the Babi movement, which he determined to destroy. In 1852 he survived an assassination attempt by several Babis in revenge for the execution of the Bab, and the shah retaliated with further persecutions, imprisoning Baha’u’llah and sending him into exile. Under the influence of his first prime minister, Amir Kabir, Nasir al-Din began to introduce reforms. His reign saw the first telegraph and postal services, newspapers and the first school offering modern Western-influenced education. He made three trips to Europe (1873, 1878 and 1889), where he was impressed by modern Western technology. Later in his reign, however, he resisted reform. His granting of concessions to foreign companies, particularly the Tobacco Concession, resulted in strong opposition and he was forced to cancel them. He became increasingly unpopular and was assassinated in 1896. Nava’i, Mir ‘Ali Shir (1441–1501), fifteenth-century Chagatay poet, who wrote under the pen name of ‘Nava’i’, and an important Central Asian cultural and political figure. Considered to be the greatest representative of Chagatay Turkish literature, he composed nearly 30 works, of which he is known mainly for his poetry. Nofal’, Irinei Georgievich Christian Arab from Syria who moved to Russia about 1860, becoming a professor of Arabic and Muslim law in the Educational Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Ol’denburg, Sergei Fedorovich (1863–1934), Russian Orientalist. He was a member of the St Petersburg Academy of Sciences (from 1900) and the author of numerous works on the history, ethnography, religions and art of the East. Rashti, Sayyid Kazim (1798–1843/4), leader of the Shaykhi School after the death of its founder, Shaykh Ahmad Ahsa’i. Born in Rasht, he became the shaykh’s leading disciple, following him to Kirmanshah and

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Iraq, where he took up residence in Karbala, living there for the rest of his life. He further developed Shaykh Ahmad’s teachings and consolidated the group of Shaykhis in Iraq, Iran and Arabia. During this period, he faced opposition by the ‘ulama. At the end of his life, feeling that the advent of the Qa’im was near, he sent his disciples, including Mulla Husayn Bushru’i, out to search for him. After his death, many Shaykhis followed Bushru’i in becoming Babis. Sabzivari, Mulla Hadi ‘Ishraqi (1797–1873), Iranian mystical philosopher and poet of the Qajar era, an exponent of the philosophy of Mulla Sadra. His works include Ghurar al-Faraid, a treatise on logic in verse and the commentary Asrar al-Hikma (Secrets of Wisdom). He also wrote commentaries on Mulla Sadra and on Rumi. Sadra, Mulla (Sadr al-Din al-Shirazi) (c.1571–1640), seventeenth-century Iranian mystical philosopher. Born in Shiraz and educated in Isfahan, he wrote 45 works, the most important of which is known as al-Asfar al-Arba‘a (The Four Journeys). He framed his exposition of philosophy and theology in the mystical context of the journey of the soul. His ideas were denounced in his time as heretical. He died in Basra while on pilgrimage to Mecca. Spasskii, Grigorii Ivanovich (1783–1864), Russian Orientalist, historian, archaeologist and corresponding member of the St Petersburg Academy of Sciences (1810). Tahirih (Qurrat al-‘Ayn, Fatimih Baraghani) (c. 1817–1852), the only woman among the first disciples of the Bab known as the ‘Letters of the Living’ and an accomplished poet. Born in Qazvin into a clerical family, she received an education unusual for a woman of the time and was well versed in literature and theological subjects. She was married at 14 to her cousin and had three children. She became a follower of Sayyid Kazim, who gave her the name ‘Qurrat al-‘Ayn’ (Solace of the Eyes), and in 1844 she became a believer in the Bab, and subsequently became known as ‘Tahirih’ (the Pure One). After she became a Babi, she was divorced by her husband, who became hostile towards her as she remained an outspoken proponent of the Bab’s teachings. When her uncle, Mulla Muhammad-Taqi Baraghani, was murdered, her enemies accused her of involvement. At the Conference of Badasht she caused consternation by appearing unveiled. After the attempt on the life of the shah in 1852, she was arrested, secretly strangled and her body was thrown into a well.

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204 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS Taliqani, Haji Mirza Hasan (Adib) (1848–1919), eminent Iranian Baha’i. Born in Taliqan, he received a traditional clerical education and was also known for his erudition in literature. He assisted members of the royal family with some of their literary works and taught at the Dar alFunun, Iran’s first technical college, where he also was the imam jum‘ih. He was an accomplished poet and was given the title ‘Adib al-‘Ulama’ (Litterateur of the ‘Ulama). He became a Baha’i around 1889. When the Baha’i National Spiritual Assembly of Iran was formed, he served as its chair. He also played an important part in founding the Tarbiyat Baha’i Schools in Tehran. Tornau, Baron Nikolai (1812–1882), Russian bureaucrat. After graduating from the Tsarskoe Selo Lyceum, he worked in central Russian legal institutions and was then assigned to the governor-general of Livonia, Estland and Courland. He later made a name for himself by codifying Islamic laws. ‘Utbi, Abu Nasr Muhammad bin ‘Abd al-Jabbar al- (c. 961–1036 or 1040), secretary and historian of the early Ghaznavid period. He was born in Rayy and served in the Samanid bureaucracy at Nishapur, where he was secretary to the Turkish general, Abu ‘Ali Simjuri and the Ziyarid Qabus bin Vashmgir, and later was in the service of Sabuktagin. He is known for his only extant work, al-Kitab al-Yamini, a history of the reigns of Sabuktagin and Yamin al-Dawlih Mahmud up to 1020. Vámbéry, Arminius (Armin) (1832–1913), Hungarian Orientalist, philologist and traveller. At the age of 20 he went to Istanbul, where he became a private tutor of European languages and later served as secretary to Fu’ad Pasha. In 1863–64, dressed as a Sunni dervish, he made a journey through Iran and Central Asia, about which he wrote Travels in Central Asia. He was a professor of Oriental languages at the University of Budapest from 1865 until his retirement in 1905. Veselovskii, Nikolai Ivanovich (1848–1918), Russian archaeologist and Orientalist. A professor at St Petersburg University (from 1890), and a corresponding member of the St Petersburg Academy of Sciences (from 1914), he researched the cities of Central Asia. Vlasov, Petr Mikhailovich Russian diplomat who served many years in Iran. He was consul in Rasht, was appointed consul-general in Mashhad (1889) and served as Russian minister in Tehran (1902–03).

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Yassawi, Khoja Ahmad (1093–1166), Sufi mystic and poet, founder of the first Turkish Sufi order. He was born in Sayram, Kazakhstan, and his major work is Divan-i Hikmat (Book of Wisdom). Yazdi, Haji ‘Abd al-Rasul Baha’i merchant and one of the first group of four Baha’is who arrived in Ashgabat in 1884. Fleeing Yazd in 1877 due to the persecution of Baha’is there, he resided in Sabzivar, but in 1884 he was forced to leave for the same reason. He continued his mercantile activity in Ashgabat, as did many other Iranian Baha’i merchants, and became one of the leading members of the growing Baha’i community in that city. He later adopted the surname ‘Aliev’. Yazdi, Ustad ‘Ali-Akbar Banna (d. 1903), one of the first Baha’is to emigrate from Iran to Ashgabat and the designer of the Mashriq alAdhkar in that city. He was a master builder (banna) by profession and in addition to designing the Mashriq al-Adhkar, he oversaw the initial stages of its construction (1902). He visited ‘Abdu’l-Baha’ in Acre in 1893. He wrote a book, Tarikh-i ‘Ishqabad (History of Ashgabat) describing the lives of Baha’i immigrants to Ashgabat and the reasons underlying their migration there. He also wrote Mighnatis (The Magnet), explaining the Baha’i faith. After 20 years in Ashgabat, he returned to Yazd but three months later was murdered during the anti-Baha’i pogrom of 1903. Zaleman (Saleman), Karl Germanovich (1849–1916), Russian Orientalist and philologist. He was a member of the St Petersburg Academy of Sciences (1895), author of many works on Persian philology and director of the Asiatic Museum (1890–1916). Zayn al-‘Abidin, Mulla (Zayn al-Muqarrabin) (1818–1903), eminent Iranian Baha’i. Born into a clerical family in Najafabad, he became a preacher and mujtahid, but when in 1851 he became a Babi, he experienced opposition and went to Baghdad. He met Baha’u’llah there and was among the Baha’is exiled to Mosul in 1870. After being released, he went to Acre, where he lived the rest of his life. He transcribed many of Baha’u’llah’s tablets and was so meticulous that manuscripts in his handwriting are considered to be accurate. He posed a number of questions to Baha’u’llah concerning laws of the Kitab-i Aqdas, and the questions and answers are included in an appendix to that book. Zhukovskii, Valentin Alekseevich (1858–1918), Russian Orientalist specializing in Persian language and dialects, literature, folklore,

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206 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS history and ethnography. He travelled in Iran (1883–85), was a professor at St Petersburg University (1886–1918), dean of the Faculty of Oriental Languages (1902–11) and director of the Educational Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1905–17). From from 1899 he was a corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences. His wife, Varvara Aleksandrovna, who assisted her husband in his studies, wrote her own works about the lives and status of Iranian women. Zill al-Sultan (Mas‘ud Mirza) (1850–1918), the fourth-eldest son of Nasir al-Din Shah. He became governor of Mazandaran and Fars at a young age. From 1874 he was governor of Isfahan, eventually becoming governor of more than two-thirds of the country. Although excluded from the succession because of his mother’s status, he aimed to become the crown prince. As an Anglophile, he had the support of Britain, but he lost power (1888) and was reduced to a much lesser status, retaining only the governorship of Isfahan. After the Constitutional Revolution he was exiled to Europe, returning some years later. Zill al-Sultan tried unsuccessfully to involve the Baha’is in his political schemes. When it was personally advantageous he sometimes permitted, or was directly involved in, persecuting and killing Baha’is. Zinov’ev, Ivan Alekseevich (1835–1917), Russian diplomat and Orientalist. He graduated from the Lazarev Institute of Oriental Languages and served in the Archive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, obtaining a master’s degree from St Petersburg University (1855). He was minister in Tehran (1876–83), director of the Asian Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1883–91), ambassador to Turkey (1897– 1909), and author of several books on Russian foreign policy in the East.

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GLOSSARY

Adat (Ar.) customary traditional law in Central Asia. Afnan (Ar.) ‘twigs’ (of the sacred tree); the title Baha’u’llah gave to the maternal relatives of the Bab and which their descendants continued to use as their surname. Aghsan (Ar.; sing., ghusn) ‘branches’ (of the sacred tree); the term for the male descendants of Baha’u’llah, including ‘Abdu’l-Baha, whose title was ‘Ghusn-i A‘zam’ (the Most Great Branch). Akhund (Pers.) a religious leader, preacher or scholar. Aqa (Pers.) sir, master. Aryk (Turk.) the local name for the irrigation channel system widespread in Central Asia, Kazakhstan, Transcaucasia and the Arab countries. Aul (Russ.) a Central Asian village. Dragoman (Russ.) a translator and interpreter who mediated between Western diplomatic missions and governments in the Middle East. Farrash (Ar.) lit., ‘spreader of the carpets’; a servant, attendant, footman, or steward. Gebr a term for Zoroastrians; from Pers. Gabr, deriving from Ar., kafir (infidel). Ghulam (Ar.) servant. Guim (Judeo-Pers., from Heb., goyim) non-Jews. Hakim (Ar., Pers.) governor. During the Qajar period, all governorships, whether of provinces or smaller geographical areas, were given to members of Qajar families. Hazrat (Ar.) lit., ‘presence’; a respectful title of address; for a religious figure, ‘your holiness’. Inshallah (Ar.) God willing. Ishan (Pers.) a master or shaykh of a sufi order in Central Asia. Jizya (Ar.) the poll tax or tribute normally paid by recognized religious minorities to the state in countries ruled by Islamic law. In exchange for the tax, non-Muslim citizens were permitted to practise their

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208 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS faith and have a measure of communal autonomy, protection from outside aggression and a number of exemptions from duties usually levied on Muslim citizens (such as military service). Kalimat (Ar.) words, sayings; the name of a tablet of Baha’u’llah, Kalimat-i Firdawsiyyih (Words of Paradise). Kalimi (Pers.; pl., Kalimiha) Jew; lit., ‘interlocutor’; from the designation of Moses as the one who conversed with God. Khan (Pers.) originally a Mongolian title for royalty and nobility; subsequently, a title of the nobility and tribal chiefs; also an honorific meaning ‘gentleman’. Khanum (Pers.) feminine of khan; lady. Khatt-i Badi‘ (Pers.) ‘new script’: a modified form of the Arabic alphabet devised by Mirza Muhammad ‘Ali. Kran see Qiran Lawh (Ar.) tablet; a term referring to Baha’i holy scriptures. It is used in the title of certain writings revealed by Baha’u’llah and ‘Abdu’lBaha and is also used to refer to their written work generally. Mahdi (Ar.) ‘the rightly guided one’; messianic figure in Islam who is to appear before the Day of Judgement, conquer the world and bring a reign of justice. In Shi‘ism the Mahdi is also known as the ‘Qa’im’ (he who arises). Mirza (Pers.) shortened form of mirzadih or amirzadih, meaning ‘born of a prince’, a title given to noblemen and others of high birth. From the Qajar period onwards, the title was placed after the name of a prince. When placed before a name, it is equivalent to ‘Mr’. Used as a noun in the documents, it means ‘secretary’. Mu’allim (Ar.) teacher. Mujtahid (Ar.) one who is trained in Islamic jurisprudence and qualified to deliver independent authoritative decisions on questions of Islamic law. Mulla (Pers.) someone with a religious education who performs the functions of a clergy in the Shi‘i community, including leading prayers, performing marriages and funerals and interpreting religious law. Munajat prayer, referring to scriptural texts used in devotional prayer, as contrasted to the obligatory prayer. Naskh (Ar.) calligraphic style featuring a flexible, rounded script, sometimes called ‘broken’ kufic. Ongon (Turk.) totemic bird belonging to the Turkmen clans. Piastre (orig., Ital.) European name for the Turkish monetary unit, kurus¸. In 1844 the kurus¸ became a sub-division of the lira (pound). It contained 1 gram of silver, with 100 kurus¸ to 1 gold lira. At the end of the nineteenth century, the piastre was equivalent to 2 pence sterling.

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Pishkish (Pers.) originally a present from an inferior to a superior (usually from the governors to the Iranian sovereign), but later more generally referring to a present given to a person whose goodwill and services were necessary in order to get things done. Qasr (Ar.) large house; mansion. Qiran (Pers.) kran, the unit of silver coinage in Iran, introduced in 1825, with 10 qirans to 1 gold tuman. Ridwan (Ar.) lit., ‘paradise’; the Baha’i 12-day sacred festival period commemorating Baha’u’llah’s stay (21 April–2 May 1963) in the Najibiyyih or Ridwan Garden in Baghdad, during which he first announced his prophetic station to those present. Risala (Ar.; Pers., Risalih) treatise. Sayyid (Ar.) descendant of the Prophet Muhammad. Shari’at (Pers.; Ar., Shari‘a) the systematized code of Islamic law, compiled during the seventh–twelfth centuries, containing the main religious obligations of Muslims and the norms of state, civil and criminal law. Shaykh (Ar.) lit., ‘elder’; title used for a wise or respected elder, a person of authority, tribal chief, scholar or leader of a Sufi order. Shaykh al-Islam (Ar.) in the Ottoman Empire, the chief mufti (legal scholar) of Istanbul, appointed by the sultan, with the power to issue binding fatwas (legal opinions). In Iran, a leading member of the ‘ulama appointed by the shah, presiding over the religious courts in major cities. Shaykhi a follower of the doctrines of Shaykh Ahmad Ahsa’i, founder of the Shaykhi School. Shikastih (Pers.) lit., ‘broken’; a style of cursive, short-hand Persian calligraphy which developed from the nasta‘liq style. Sura (Ar.) chapter; originally chapters of the Qur’an. The term is also used in the titles of some works of the Bab and Baha’u’llah. Tajir-bashi (Pers., Turk.) head merchant. Tamga (Turk.) seal, mark or brand; runic characters used as marks of clan ownership by Turkic tribes including the Krygyz, and found on objects such as coins, pottery and grave inscriptions. Tuman (Pers.) Iranian monetary unit; specifically, a gold coin of the Qajar period equivalent to 10 silver qirans. ‘Ulama (Ar., sing., ‘alim) Islamic religious scholars and interpreters of Islamic doctrine and law. The term includes judges, preachers and leaders of prayer (imams). Vakil (Ar.) agent, representative, deputy, attorney. Verst (Russ.) obsolete Russian unit of distance equal to 1.0668 km. Zikr (Ar.) remembrance, mention; praise, glorification.

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Abbreviations ARAN(SPF) Arkhiv Rossiiskoi Akademii nauk, Sankt-Peterburgskii filial (Archive of the Russian Academy of Sciences, St Petersburg Branch), St Petersburg, Russia AVPRI Arkhiv vneshnei politiki Rossiiskoi Imperii (Archive of Foreign Policy of the Russian Empire), Moscow, Russia NAUK National Archives of the United Kingdom RGASPI Rossiiskii gosudarstvennyi arkhiv sotsial’no-politicheskoi istorii (Russian State Archive of Sociopolitical History), Moscow, Russia RGIA Rossiiskii gosudarstvennyi istoricheskii arkhiv (Russian State Historical Archive), St Petersburg, Russia RGVIA Rossiiskii gosudarstvennyi voenno-istoricheskii arkhiv (Russian State Military-Historical Archive), Moscow, Russia

1 2 3 4 5 6

7

The Baha’i Faith and Its Communities in Iran, Transcaspia and the Caucasus Smith, The Baha’i Faith, 17–18; Cole, ‘Bahai Faith I. The Faith’, Encyclopaedia Iranica, 3: 438. Smith, The Baha’i Faith, 20. Smith, The Baha’i Faith, 21. On the nature and implications of the Bab’s multiple and successive claims, see Saiedi, Gate of the Heart. Abbas Amanat, ‘Qajar Iran’, 20–1. Abbas Amanat, ‘Qajar Iran’, 22. More broadly, during the late eighteenth and the nineteenth centuries, messianic expectations increased within many religions. For a detailed discussion of such movements, see Sharon, ‘New Religions’, 3–4. Abbas Amanat, ‘Qajar Iran’, 22.

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212 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS 8 Smith, The Baha’i Faith, 32. For an analysis of the laws of the Bayan, their context and symbolic significance, see Saiedi, Gate of the Heart, chs. 13 and 14. 9 Smith, The Baha’i Faith, 35–6. 10 Smith, The Baha’i Faith, 37. For a comprehensive discussion of the Bab’s theology including the concept of manifestation, see Saiedi, Gate of the Heart, ch. 10. 11 See Nabil-i A‘zam, The Dawn-Breakers, chs. 19–22. 12 On the events surrounding the execution of the Bab, see Nabil-i A‘zam, The Dawn-Breakers, ch. 23. 13 Nabil-i A‘zam, The Dawn-Breakers, 599–600. 14 The number 19, equivalent to the words wahid (God’s unity) and wujud (God’s absolute being), is emphasized in the Babi and Baha’i religions. 15 Smith, The Baha’i Faith, 58. 16 As Denis MacEoin states, ‘Much of the original animus against Baha’is was rooted in fears roused by Babi militancy between 1848 and 1853’ (‘Bahai Faith. VII. Bahai Persecutions’, Encyclopaedia Iranica, 3: 462). 17 See, for example, the dispatch from Henry Longworth, British Consul at Trabizond, which illustrates that this confusion existed in the minds of many; and the report from Rev. Dr. Robert Bruce to the Church Missionary Society (London), 19 November 1874, stating that ‘the sect of Baabis which is now increasing in Persia is that called Baha’i – their chief is now in prison in Acca ...’ (in Momen, Babi and Baha’i Religions, 362–3; 244). 18 In his secret report on the Baha’is, Aleksandr Tumanskii uses the term ‘Behaists’ in the title (and once within the text) and refers to the religion of Baha’u’llah as ‘New Babism’ once, but he continues throughout the report to use ‘Babi’ to refer to ‘Baha’i’. However, he stresses that these ‘new Babis’ were now the majority of the Babi community: ‘After reforming the teachings of the Bab, Baha’u’llah became the founder of the sect of New Babism, to which the major part of the Babis of Persia now belong; the smaller part, which remained loyal to the old teaching, has as leader the brother of the above-mentioned Baha’u’llah – Azal.’ 19 Baha’u’llah, Gleanings, 303; see Saiedi, Logos and Civilization, 242. 20 Baha’u’llah, Kitab-i-Aqdas, para. 144, p. 72. 21 Smith, The Baha’i Faith, 72–3. 22 Kitab-i-Aqdas, para. 121, p. 63. 23 Smith, Concise Encyclopedia, 128–9. 24 Smith, The Baha’i Faith, 70–1.

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25 Smith, The Baha’i Faith, 70–1. Baha’u’llah, Kitab-i-Aqdas, para. 189, p. 88. 26 Abbas Amanat, ‘Qajar Iran’, 22. 27 For a discussion of Zoroastrian converts to the Baha’i faith, see Sifidvash, Pishgaman-i Parsi-Nizhad; and Vahman, ‘Conversion of Zoroastrians’. 28 For a discussion of Jewish converts to the Baha’i faith, see Mehrdad Amanat, ‘Messianic Expectations’. For a discussion of the conversion of Jews of Hamadan and Kashan – the two Jewish communities with the highest rates of conversion to the Baha’i faith – see Ishraq-Khavari, Tarikh-i Amri-yi Hamadan, and Mousa Amanat, Abna’-i Khalil-i Kashan. 29 Momen, Babi and Baha’i Religions, 274–7. 30 Momen, ‘Baha’i Community of Ashkhabad’, 279. See also Abbas Amanat, ‘Historical Roots’. 31 Baha’u’llah’s brother-in-law, Mirza Majid-i Ahi, was apparently not a Babi, however (Momen, Babi and Baha’i Religions, 6n.) The Bab’s cousin, Haji Mirza Muhammad-Taqi Shirazi (Afnan) Vakil alDawlih, was a leading merchant in Yazd, where he was also the Russian consular agent (see pp. 19 and 27–8, above). 32 See Shahvar, The Forgotten Schools, ch. 2, for more details of such relations and contacts. 33 Several contemporary Iranian prime ministers, such as Mirza Husayn Khan Qazvini Mushir al-Dawlih (served 1871–73) (Cole, Modernity, 81; according to Cole, Mirza Husayn Khan ‘is said to have upbraided one of Baha’u’llah’s Muslim brothers for being embarrassed about the [family] relationship’ – see Isfahani, ‘Tarjumih-yi Ahval’, 143–50 and Fayzi, La’ali-yi Dirakhshan, 120–1, qtd. in Cole, Modernity, 210 n. 11); and Mirza ‘Ali-Asghar Khan Amin al-Sultan Atabak-i A‘zam (served 1885–92 and 1896–1907) (‘Abdu’l-Baha, Ma’idih-yi Asimani, 5: 261; ‘Abdu’l-Baha, Tazkarat alWafa’, 211 [Memorials of the Faithful, 136, 138]; Sulaymani, Masabih-i Hidayat, 3: 474) revealed a sympathetic attitude toward the Baha’is. See Tumanskii, ‘Report’, in vol. 2; Shahvar, The Forgotten Schools. 34 On the important role played by the clerics who converted to the Baha’i faith in propagating the faith in Qajar Iran, see Cole, ‘Evolution of Charismatic Authority’. 35 For a discussion of affinity between the principles of the Baha’i faith and reformist thought in the pre-Constitutional and Constitutional periods in Iran, see Cole, ‘Iranian Millenarianism’. 36 Baha’u’llah estimated the number of Shi‘i clerics who had converted to the Babi faith as nearly 400 (Kitab-i Iqan, 223).

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214 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS 37 The names of a number of prominent figures appear in the eightvolume Tarikh-i Zuhur al-Haqq – the chronicle and biographies of leading Baha’is written by Asadullah Fazil Mazandarani. They include Muhammad-Riza Mu’tamin al-Saltanih (Bamdad, Sharh-i Hal, 3: 405); Mirza Ibrahim Khan Tafrishi Ibtihaj al-Mulk; Mirza Sayyid ‘Abdullah Tafrishi Intizam al-Saltanih (appointed chief of police in 1891, replacing the Comte de Montfort, he was given the title ‘Intizam al-Saltanih’ (lit., ‘one who puts the kingdom in order’) (Bamdad, Sharh-i Hal, 2: 283–4); Dust-‘Ali Khan Mu‘ayyir alMamalik, a son-in-law of Nasr al-Din Shah (Ishraq-Khavari, Nurin-i Nayyarin, 63); Prince Muhammad-Husayn Mirza Mu‘ayyid alSaltanih (formerly Mu‘ayyid al-Dawlih), (Sulaymani identifies him as ‘Prince Mu’ayyid al-Saltanih and his son Mu’ayyid al-Dawlih’ [Masabih-i Hidayat, 2: 266]; see Mazandarani, Zuhur al-Haqq, 8: 403–4); Mirza ‘Ali-Akbar Khan Ruhani Milani Muhibb al-Sultan (Mazandarani, Zuhur al-Haqq, 8: 482–3); Haji Abu al-Hasan Mirza Shaykh al-Ra’is Qajar (Cole, Modernity, 102–3, and Cole, ‘Provincial Politics’); Haji Muhammad-Taqi Mirza Afnan Vakil al-Dawlih (Rabbani, ‘The Afnan Family’) and Mirza ‘Ali-Quli Khan Nabil alDawlih (see ‘Mirza Ali-Kuli Khan’), among many others. 38 These included the governor of Bushire (Iran’s southern seaport) and mayor of Tabas (an important city in the province of Yazd); Baha’is were also provincial officials in Tabriz and in Shiraz. 39 Rassekh, ‘Faza-yi Jami’ih-yi Baha’i’. 40 Curzon, Persia, 1: 499. 41 Browne, Materials, xvi; and Introduction, x. 42 Ignat’ev to Rozen, 6 April 1892. 43 Tumanskii to Rozen, 16 January 1895. 44 Tumanskii, ‘Report’, in vol. 2. 45 Tumanskii, ‘Report’, in vol. 2. For a more detailed discussion of this issue, see Smith, ‘A Note’. 46 Tumanskii, ‘Report’, in vol. 2; Shahvar, The Forgotten Schools, ch. 2 and table 1. 47 Including Rasht, Qazvin, Tehran, Hamadan, Isfahan, Shiraz, Nayriz, Yazd, Kashan, Malayir, Najafabad, Sidih, Abadih, Zarqan, Sarvistan, Kirman, Sirjan and Rafsanjan (Tumanskii to Rozen, 16 January 1895). 48 Ra’fati, ‘Bahai Faith. V. The Bahai Community of Iran’, Encyclopaedia Iranica, 3: 455. 49 Ra’fati, ‘Bahai Faith. V. The Bahai Community of Iran’, Encyclopaedia Iranica, 3: 455. On those informal and modern Baha’i schools, see Shahvar, The Forgotten Schools, chs. 1, 3 and 4 and table 1.

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50 See Fazel and Foadi, ‘Baha’i Health Initiatives’. 51 Hassall, ‘China’; Cole, ‘Bahai Faith. I. The Faith’, Encyclopaedia Iranica, 3: 439; Momen, ‘Jamal Effendi’. 52 See Cole, ‘Iranian Millenarianism’; Milani, ‘Baha’i Discourse’; and Amini, ‘Naqsh-i Aqaliyyatha’. 53 ‘Abdu’l-Baha, Risalih-yi Madaniyyih. See also Scharbrodt, Islam and the Baha’i Faith, for an interesting study of Baha’i reformist and modernist ideas and their appeal to Islamic modernists. 54 Douglas Martin, Persecution of the Baha’is, 14. 55 See Shahvar, The Forgotten Schools, chs. 3 and 4 and tables 1–3. 56 Smith, ‘A Note’, 296–8. 57 Firuz Kazemzadeh, ‘Iranian Relations with Russia’. 58 Probably the most symbolic act of this ‘game’, as far as Iran was concerned, was the division of the region into three spheres of influence on 31 August 1907 by Britain and Russia, which also indicated the extremities of these two powers’ influence and involvement in Iran. 59 Firuz Kazemzadeh, ‘Iranian Relations with Russia’, 324–41; Greaves, ‘Iranian Relations’. 60 See Dolgorukov to Nesselrode, 4 February and 24 December 1848, in Firuz Kazemzadeh, ‘Excerpts’, 18; Kazem Kazemzadeh, ‘Two Incidents’, 23–4; Momen, Babi and Baha’i Religions, 72. Apparently Dolgorukov’s fears were not only based on the commotion which the Bab’s appearance and his movement had created in Iran, but also on the earlier case of Mulla Sadiq, discussed below (see ‘Russia’). A few months after Dolgorukov’s appeal, and nine months after being imprisoned in Maku, the Bab was transferred to the fortress of Chahriq, into the custody of Yahya Khan, a brother-inlaw of Muhammad Shah (see Smith, Babi and Baha’i Religions, 216). 61 Firuz Kazemzadeh, ‘Excerpts’, 19–21; Momen, Babi and Baha’i Religions, 92–5. 62 Firuz Kazemzadeh, ‘Excerpts’, 21–4; Momen, Babi and Baha’i Religions, 114–27. 63 Anichkov to Dolgorukov, 25 July 1850 (doc. 5 in vol. 2). 64 Ackerman and Hassall, ‘Russia and the Baha’i Faith’, 158–9; Kuznetsova, Auza’-i Siyasi, 153–4, qtd. in Ra’fati, ‘Diyanat-i Baha’i dar Rusiyyih’, 4. 65 Firuz Kazemzadeh, ‘Excerpts’, 17. 66 Firuz Kazemzadeh, ‘Excerpts’, 17. 67 Dolgorukov to Seniavin, 12 August 1852, in Firuz Kazemzadeh, ‘Excerpts’, 24. It seems that there were a few factors which brought Dolgorukov to act strenuously for Baha’u’llah’s release. One reason is attributed to Dolgorukov’s own daughter, who feeling greatly dis-

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68 69 70 71

72

73

74

75 76

77 78

79

80

tressed at the danger to Baha’u’llah’s life, pleaded with her father for his intervention. Another reason could have been connected to the fact that Baha’u’llah’s brother-in-law was serving as a secretary in the Russian legation (see Nabil-i A‘zam, The Dawn-Breakers, 604; Ra’fati, ‘Diyanat-i Baha’i dar Rusiyyih’, 4). ‘History of the Baha’i Faith’, 1; Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, 104. For the text of this tablet, see Baha’u’llah, Kitab-i Mubin, 57–61; Baha’u’llah, Summons, 83–8. Momen, Babi and Baha’i Religions, 376, 378–85. As Hassall points out, Ira Lapidus, the American historian, also holds the view that the Russians supported the Baha’is. Although Lapidus does not provide evidence for that view, he claims it was one of the reasons for the pre-Constitutional protests in the bazaars (A History, 475, qtd. in Hassall, ‘Notes’, 45 n. 13). As Hassall also observes, if the Russians really did support the Baha’is they surely would have done more to actually prevent the massacres that occurred. See Durri, ‘Mutali’at-i Tarikhi’, 125–50, and Morozov, ‘Russian Orientalism and Babi/Baha’i Studies’, in this volume, for a detailed account of Russian historiography on the Babi and Baha’i religions. For further details on Russian scholars’, intellectuals’ and artists’ attitude towards, and encounters with, the Baha’i faith, see Root, ‘Diyanat-i Baha’i’; Ra’fati, ‘Diyanat-i Baha’i dar Rusiyyih’, 29–53. For a detailed account of Russian interest in, and conquest of, the Caucasus, see Firuz Kazemzadeh, ‘Iranian Relations with Russia’, 314–40. Bregel, ‘Central Asia VII. In the 18th–19th Centuries’, Encyclopaedia Iranica, 5: 199–200. Bregel, ‘Central Asia VII. In the 18th–19th Centuries’, Encyclopaedia Iranica, 5: 200–2. On the Akhal–Khurasan convention and the circumstances that brought it about, see Ramazani, Foreign Policy of Iran, 57–8; and Planhol, ‘Boundaries. II. With Russia’, Encyclopaedia Iranica, 4: 405. Spuler, ‘Ashkhabad’, Encyclopaedia Iranica, 2: 750. In 1898 the governorate of Transcaspia was named Turkestan. The name was changed again after the October Revolution of 1917, when the new Bolshevik government named it the Soviet Republic of Turkmenistan, which in 1992 became the independent Republic of Turkmenistan. Soucek, ‘Baku. I. General’, Encyclopaedia Iranica, 3: 566; Abbas Amanat, ‘Central Asia VIII. Relations with Persia in the 19th Century’, Encyclopaedia Iranica, 5: 206. Atabaki, quoting Russian official figures, states that between 1876

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82 83 84 85

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87

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and 1890 an average of 13,000 Iranians annually acquired work permits and visas to enter Russia legally. By 1896, this figure had reached 56,371. These figures do not include illegal immigrants. They also apply to the number of Iranians who went to all parts of Russia, not only to Transcaspia (‘Incommodious Hosts’, 148). For a detailed account of the involvement of Russian officials on behalf of the Babis and Baha’is in Iran, see Hassall, ‘Notes’, 44–5; Ackerman and Hassall, ‘Russia and the Baha’i Faith’, 158–60; and Momen, Babi and Baha’i Religions, 376, 378–85. Hassall, ‘Notes’, 47. Ignat’ev to Rozen, 13 December 1891. On Haji Mirza Muhammad-Taqi Shirazi, see Rabbani, ‘The Afnan Family’; and Shahvar, ‘For God’. Little research has been published about the Baha’is of Ashgabat and Transcaspia in the period under discussion. See Ra’fat, ‘Jami’ih-yi Baha’i-yi ‘Ishqabad’; Lee, ‘The Rise’; Momen, ‘Baha’i Community of Ashkhabad’; Momen, Babi and Baha’i Religions, 296–300; Ra’fati, ‘Bahai Faith VI. The Bahai Community of Ashkhabad’, Encyclopaedia Iranica, 3: 460–1; and ‘History of the Baha’i Faith’. For information in more general studies on the Baha’is of Russia, including the territories that formed part of the former USSR, see Durri, ‘Mutali‘at-i Tarikhi’; Ra’fati, ‘Diyanat-i Baha’i dar Rusiyyih’; Hassall, ‘Notes’; Ackerman and Hassall, ‘Russia and the Baha’i Faith’; Herrmann and Shodiev, ‘History of the Baha’i Community’; and ‘Russia’. Lee, ‘The Rise’, 3. According to Lee, the migration to Ashgabat could have been prompted by this report from Muhsin Afnan, who had passed through Russia and possibly Ashgabat on the way to Palestine. Conceivably, it, together with earlier positive reports about Ashgabat (e.g., by Haji Mirza Hasan Afnan in 1881/2), led Baha’u’llah to encourage Baha’is to immigrate there. See Yazdi, Tarikh-i ‘Ishqabad, cited in Lee, ‘The Rise’, 2. The reason for the flight to Sabzivar may have been the presence there of Haj Mirza Ibrahim Shari‘atmadar, a well known local mujtahid who was sympathetic to the Baha’i faith, and the assumption that he would use his influence to protect the Baha’is (Momen, ‘Baha’i Community of Ashkhabad’, 282; Ra’fat, ‘Jami’ih-yi Baha’iyi ‘Ishqabad’, 62). Lee, ‘The Rise’, 2; Ra’fati, ‘Bahai Faith VI. The Bahai Community of Ashkhabad’, Encyclopaedia Iranica, 3: 460; Momen, ‘Baha’i Community of Ashkhabad’, 281–2; and ‘History of the Baha’i Faith’, 1. For detailed accounts of these and other early Iranian Baha’is who immigrated to Ashgabat, see Yazdi, Tarikh-i ‘Ishqabad.

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218 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS 89 Yazdi, qtd. in Lee, ‘The Rise’, 2; Ra’fat, ‘Jami’ih-yi Baha’i-yi ‘Ishqabad’, 61. According to Ra’fat, other members of the Afnan family also bought tracts of land in Ashgabat (63). 90 Ra’fat, ‘Jami’ih-yi Baha’i-yi ‘Ishqabad’, 62–3. 91 Momen, ‘Baha’i Community of Ashkhabad’, 282 Given the prominence of the Shirazi/Afnan family among the Iranian Baha’is in general and the Iranian Baha’i mercantile community in particular, it could be that the very fact that the family moved some of their commercial activities to Ashgabat was ample reason for many other Baha’i merchants and traders to do the same. 92 Momen, ‘Baha’i Community of Ashkhabad’, 281. 93 Mazandarani, Zuhur al-Haqq, 8: 983; ‘History of the Baha’i Faith’, 1. 94 At the end of the nineteenth century, the size of the Baha’i population in Iran was widely estimated to be approximately 100,000 in a general population of 10 million, thus forming approximately 1 per cent of the total population. By contrast, at the time of the Russian conquest in 1881, Ashgabat was a village of about 500 huts, with a population probably around 2,500 – growing to 4,000 in 1884; 8,000 (of whom 4,000 were troops) in 1886; 10,000 in 1888; and 19,428 by 1897. See Smith, ‘A Note’, 296–8; Curzon, Persia, 1: 86 n; Boulangier, Voyage à Merv, 136; Allworth, Central Asia, 98; Momen, ‘Baha’i Community of Ashkhabad’, 280; Ra’fat, ‘Jami’ih-yi Baha’iyi ‘Ishqabad’, 60–1; and Spuler, ‘Ashkhabad’, Encyclopaedia Iranica, 2: 750. 95 Ra’fati, ‘Bahai Faith VI. The Bahai Community of Ashkhabad’, Encyclopaedia Iranica, 3: 460. 96 Such a pressure card indeed seems to have existed, one of its supporters being Baron Rozen himself; see Ignat’ev to Rozen, 6 April 1892. Ignat’ev was against using such a card, for he believed that it could backfire as it could either instigate the vast majority of the Shi‘i population and clergy against Russia, or it could move the shah to condition further concessions to Russia on the Russians extraditing the Baha’is and handing them over to the Iranian government. 97 Momen, ‘Baha’i Community of Ashkhabad’, 283. 98 Lee, ‘The Rise’, 5. 99 Lee, ‘The Rise,’ 5–6; ‘Alizad, ‘Tarikh-i Amr-i Mubarak’, qtd. in Ra’fati, ‘Bahai Faith VI. The Bahai Community of Ashkhabad’ Encyclopaedia Iranica, 3: 461; Momen, ‘Baha’i Community of Ashkhabad’, 283; ‘History of the Baha’i Faith’, 2. 100 Momen, ‘Baha’i Community of Ashkhabad’; Balyuzi, ‘Abdu’l-Baha, 109. The Muslims told the Russian authorities that MuhammadRiza Isfahani had publicly cursed the holy Imams, and that his

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107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118

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assassins, being deeply religious men, could not abide his insults (Mihrabkhani, Zindigani-yi Mirza Abu al-Fazl, 176). Under Komarov the Transcaspian Region was still under the supervision of the Government of the Caucasus (see Curzon, Persia, 1: 83; Momen, Babi and Baha’i Religions, 298). Lee, ‘The Rise,’ 7; Mihrabkhani, Zindigani-yi Mirza Abu al-Fazl, 182–3. Memo by Bax Ironside, 17 December 1889 FO 60 502, qtd. in Momen, Babi and Baha’i Religions, 298. Lee, ‘The Rise,’ 8; Momen, ‘Baha’i Community of Ashkhabad’, 283–4; Ra’fati, ‘Diyanat-i Baha’i dar Rusiyyih’, 6. Baha’u’llah, Epistle, 77–8; Ra’fati, ‘Diyanat-i Baha’i dar Rusiyyih’, and ‘Bahai Faith VI. The Bahai Community of Ashkhabad’, Encyclopaedia Iranica, 3: 461. Memo by Bax Ironside, 17 December 1889 FO 60 502, qtd. in Momen, Babi and Baha’i Religions, 299. For contemporary accounts of this important case, see Mihrabkhani, Zindigani-yi Mirza Abu al-Fazl, 170–204; Fayzi, La’ali-yi Dirakhshan, 213–17; Viktor R. Rozen’s account, in Browne, A Traveller’s Narrative, 2: 411–12; and memo by Bax Ironside, 17 Dec. 1889, FO 60/502 (qtd. in Momen, Babi and Baha’i Religions, 297–9). Churchill’s memo of 3 September 1890: FO 248 501, qtd. in Momen, Babi and Baha’i Religions, 299–300. Kuropatkin to Biutsov, 12 July 1896 (doc. 34 in vol. 2). Kuropatkin to Biutsov, 12 July 1896 (doc. 34 in vol. 2). Ignat’ev to Rozen, 13 December 1891. Ignat’ev to Rozen, 13 December 1891. Kuropatkin to Biutsov, 24 July 1897. Biutsov to Aleksandr Aleksandrovich, 16 March 1897. Lee, ‘The Rise’, 12–13. Momen, ‘Baha’i Community of Ashkhabad’, 283. Ignat’ev to Rozen, 6 April 1892. Ignat’ev to Rozen, 6 April 1892. Momen, ‘Baha’i Community of Ashkhabad’, 284. On these institutions, see ‘Abdu’l-Baha, ‘Utterances of Abdul-Baha’, 136. Mazandarani, Zuhur al-Haqq, 8: 981; Ra’fati, ‘Diyanat-i Baha’i dar Rusiyyih’, 8; Momen, ‘Baha’i Community of Ashkhabad’, 285; Lee, ‘The Rise’, 3. On this institution, see Momen, ‘Mashreq al-Adkar’, Encyclopaedia Iranica, www.iranica.com/articles/mashreq-adkar. According to one Baha’i source, it was on 28 November 1902 (see Armstrong-Ingram, Music, Devotions, 11). Sources differ concerning when the foundation stone was laid –

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whether in 1902 or 1904 – and the identity of the person who laid it – General Subotich or General Kuropatkin. Most likely the foundation stone was laid at the end of 1902 by Subotich. All sources record the end of 1902 as the beginning of the construction work, and the laying of the foundation stone would have taken place first. As to the identity of the person who laid the stone, the man in the photograph of the ceremony (represented on the jacket of this volume) does not appear to be Kuropatkin, who had been military governor of Transcaspia/Turkestan from 1890 to 1898, but was appointed minister of war in 1898 (a post he held until 1904), while Subotich held the governorship of Turkestan from 1898. However, according to another source, Mirza Muhammad-Taqi Afnan himself identified the Russian governor of Turkestan as ‘Molonikh’ [Molonich?]. See Mazandarani, Zuhur al-Haqq, 8: 995–1002; Momen, ‘Baha’i Community of Ashkhabad’, 285; Ra’fat, ‘Jami’ihyi Baha’i-yi ‘Ishqabad’, 66; Ra’fati, ‘Diyanat-i Baha’i dar Rusiyyih, 8; Kalmykov, Memoirs, 152; Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, 300; Hassall, ‘Notes’, 49; and Muhammad-Taqi Afnan to ‘Abdu’lBaha, letter 1/152 in Muhammad-‘Ali Fayzi, Kitab-i Khandan-i Afnan, 108. Sources do not mention Volkov’s first name. Fayzi, Kitab-i Khandan-i Afnan, 102–4; Balyuzi, ‘Abdu’l-Baha, 110; Ra’fati, ‘Diyanat-i Baha’i dar Rusiyyih, 8; Momen, Babi and Baha’i Religions, 442–3, and ‘Baha’i Community of Ashkhabad’, 285; Hassall, ‘Notes’, 49; Lee, ‘The Rise’, 11. Rabbani, ‘Conversion’; ‘The Universal Appeal’, 263. Momen, ‘Baha’i Community of Ashkhabad’, 286. Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, 300. Momen, ‘Baha’i Community of Ashkhabad’, 286; Ra’fat, ‘Jami’ihyi Baha’i-yi ‘Ishqabad’, 69. Lee, ‘The Rise’, 11–12. Sayyid Mahdi Gulpayigani was sent to Ashgabat by ‘Abdu’l-Baha to replace his uncle, Abu al-Fazl, who was called to Haifa. Sayyid Mahdi was the editor of Khurshid-i Khavar (Sun of the East), the first Baha’i periodical in Asia. He was recognized by Baha’is as well as non-Baha’is as a distinguished scholar, intellectual and philosopher (Lee, ‘The Rise’, 12). Shaykh Muhammad-‘Ali Qa’ini of Khurasan was sent to Ashgabat by ‘Abdu’l-Baha and was head of the Baha’i boys’ school there (Lee, ‘The Rise’, 12). Momen, ‘Baha’i Community of Ashkhabad’, 286–8. Lee, ‘The Rise’, 12.

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133 Lee, ‘The Rise’, 9, 13. 134 Momen, ‘Baha’i Community of Ashkhabad’, 297. 135 On Jazzab Khurasani; his family; conversion to the Baha’i religion; commercial activities in Iran, Russia and the Ottoman Empire; meeting with Tolstoy; and a brief biography, see Sulaymani, Masabih-i Hidayat, 7: 448–502. 136 Mihrabkhani, Zindigani-yi Mirza Abu al-Fazl, 207. 137 Tapuri, Yadmandihha-yi Mahdi Rashti, 158. 138 Mihrabkhani, Zindigani-yi Mirza Abu al-Fazl, 206. 139 Mihrabkhani, Zindigani-yi Mirza Abu al-Fazl, 207–12. On the group of Russian historians and scholars, including Tumanskii, who became interested in the Babi and Baha’i religions, see Durri, ‘Mutali’at-i Tarikhi’, 125–50. For the period after the 1917 October Revolution in this context, see Root, ‘Diyanat-i Baha’i, 90–9; and Ghadirian, ‘Count Leo Tolstoy, 15–21. 140 Tapuri, Yadmandihha-yi Mahdi Rashti, 158. 141 Tapuri, Yadmandihha-yi Mahdi Rashti, 13. 142 Ra’fati, ‘Diyanat-i Baha’i dar Rusiyyih’, 11. 143 First allowed by the Bab in the Bayan, and later affirmed by Baha’u’llah in the Ishraqat (Splendours) (1885). 144 On Mirza Munir Nabilzadih, see Sulaymani, Masabih-i Hidayat, 4: 220–316. 145 Tapuri, Yadmandihha-yi Mahdi Rashti, 12–13; Mazandarani, Zuhur alHaqq, 8: 1066, 1175. 146 Mihrabkhani, Zindigani-yi Mirza Abu al-Fazl, 214–5. 147 Mihrabkhani, 214–23; Mazandarani, Zuhur al-Haqq, 8: 1065–9. 148 Sulaymani, Masabih-i Hidayat, 6: 410; Ra’fati, ‘Diyanat-i Baha’i dar Rusiyyih’, 13. 149 Nabilzadih, Ma’athir al-Munir, qtd. in Ra’fati, ‘Diyanat-i Baha’i dar Rusiyyih’, 13–14. 150 Mazandarani, Zuhur al-Haqq, 8: 1076. Makanov received a tablet from ‘Abdu’l-Baha and also translated a number of tablets into Russian. 151 Urdubad, a village on the Aras River, in an area seized by Russia in 1828. 152 Abbas Amanat, Resurrection and Renewal, 86–7. 153 Momen, ‘Russia’. 154 Kazem Kazemzadeh, ‘Two Incidents’. 155 Ra’fati, ‘Diyanat-i Baha’i dar Rusiyyih’, 14. 156 Ra’fati, ‘Diyanat-i Baha’i dar Rusiyyih’, 16–17. 157 ‘Baha’i Faith History’, 2; Ra’fati, ‘Diyanat-i Baha’i dar Rusiyyih’, 14, 16. 158 Kossogovskii, Khatirat-i Kolonel Kossogovski, 90.

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222 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS 159 ‘Badkubih’ is the Persian word for ‘Baku’. 160 Samandar, Tarikh-i Samandar, 264. 161 Nadiri, ‘Qafqaziyyih’ 1860, 1863–4. See also Ishraq-Khavari, Muhazirat, 1: 194–200; and Mazandarani, Zuhur al-Haqq, 8: 1055–6 for additional information on Mulla Sadiq. 162 According to Nadiri, Ustad ‘Ali Ashraf was a well-known architect, who designed and built most of the big governmental and national buildings (‘Qafqaziyyih‘, 1867). 163 According to Nadiri, although Aqa Bala was an ustad (master) in construction, he became known mainly due to his physique, boldness and bravery; he physically protected Baha’is and Baha’i property from harassment and attacks by the local Muslims (‘Qafqaziyyih’, 1868, 1869). For his photograph, see vol. 2, p. 103. 164 Nadiri, ‘Qafqaziyyih’, 1861, 1866; Ra’fati, ‘Diyanat-i Baha’i dar Rusiyyih’, 14. 165 Nadiri, ‘Qafqaziyyih’, 1866. 166 Nadiri, ‘Qafqaziyyih’, 1861. 167 Nadiri, ‘Qafqaziyyih’, 1861–2. 168 Ra’fati, ‘Diyanat-i Baha’i dar Rusiyyih’, 14. 169 Ra’fati, ‘Diyanat-i Baha’i dar Rusiyyih’, 15. 170 Mazandarani, Zuhur al-Haqq, 8: 1050–64. 171 Ra’fati, ‘Diyanat-i Baha’i dar Rusiyyih’, 16. 172 ‘Baha’i Faith History’, 2. 173 Ra’fati, Diyanat-i Baha’i dar Rusiyyih’, 17. 174 See two of ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s tablets to Mashhadi ‘Abdul Qarabaghi, one undated and the other dated 9 Rabi‘ II 1328/20 April 1910, both qtd. in Ra’fati, ‘Diyanat-i Baha’i dar Rusiyyih’, 17–18. 175 Mazandarani, Zuhur al-Haqq, 8: 1057–8. 176 ‘Protocol No. 105’, in vol. 2, p. 160. 177 See Holley, ‘Survey’, 36–43; ‘Survey: International’, 33–43. Russian Orientalism and Babi/Baha’i Studies 1 Though originally the term ‘Oriental studies’ in Russia included the Far East, this discussion concerns only Middle Eastern studies. 2 See Kulikova, Vostokovedenie, 12, 60–2. 3 See, for instance, Decree (No. 2978) of 18 January 1716 regarding sending five students from the ‘Latin schools’ to Persia with the Embassy of Artemii Volynskii to study Oriental languages (Polnoe sobranie zakonov Rossiiskoi Imperii (hereafter cited as PSZRI), s. 1, vol. 5, 189); Decree of the Senate of 28 August 1724 regarding sending four students of the Moscow Academy to Tsar’grad (Con-

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4 5

6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

15

16

17 18 19 20

223

stantinople) to study Turkish (Ivanov, ‘Dopolnitel’nye svedeniia; etc.). See Kulikova, Vostokovedenie, 13–14, 63–6. This publishing house was used during the Persian war of Peter the Great (1722) to print leaflets and proclamations in Persian and Turkish (Pekarskii, Nauka i literatura, 1: 187). Bertel’s, Introduction, Aziatskii muzei, 7. Kopelevich, Osnovanie peterburgskoi Akademii, 91–2, 141–2. PSZRI, s. 2 (1825–81), 5: 103–4. See Bertel’s, Introduction, Aziatskii Muzei, 2–20; Kulikova, Vostokovedenie, 28–9, 430. See Bertel’s, Introduction, Aziatskii Muzei, 18–20. For details, see Kulikova, Vostokovedenie, 39–52. For details, see Baziiants, Lazarevskii institut. AVPRI, coll. (fond) 6, series (opis) 1, file (delo) 94, pp. (ll.) 57–9. Oriental languages were taught in the Asian school which existed in Omsk since 1789; in the special military school in Orenburg, where from 1823 until 1875 Arabic, Persian and Tatar as well as basic knowledge of the Qur’an were taught; in Novocherkassk, where since 1843 there had been a department for preparing military translators in Caucasian languages; etc. (see Kulikova, Vostokovedenie, 54–5). For instance, he wrote to the consul in Tabriz, Anichkov: ‘The Babi teaching, which by the day is gaining more followers in Persia, must attract our exceptional attention, and thus I most humbly beg Your High Honour to utilize all measures at your disposal for the collection of all possible information on the dogmas and progress of this teaching and to communicate it to me for comparison with that which I managed to gather in Teheran. The presence of the Bab himself in Tabriz may perhaps offer you, Kind Sir, the opportunity to obtain the most reliable information about this extremely interesting subject’ (vol. 2, pp. 5–6.) See AVPRI, coll. 194, series 528/1, file 2049; coll. 40, series 528-a, file. 318; etc. Some of the dispatches dealing with the Babi uprisings were published in the book by M. S. Ivanov, Babidskie vosstaniia v Irane (Babi Uprisings in Iran). Some of those dispatches are included in vol. 2 of the present collection. See Ackerman and Hassall, ‘Russia and the Baha’i Faith’, 159. See Ivanov, Babidskie vosstaniia, 139–40, 145, 146, 154, etc. Ivanov, Babidskie vosstaniia, 151–2, 158–9. Ackerman and Hassall, ‘Russia and the Baha’i Faith’, 159–60. At the same time, in official Persian newspapers it was written that actually Dolgorukov’s people captured Baha’u’llah and turned him

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21

22

23 24 25 26

27 28 29 30

31 32

33

34 35

over to the shah’s soldiers (see Zhukovskii, ‘Rossiiskii Imperatorskii Konsul’, 59 n. 4). Among those diplomats it is necessary to mention ministers A. I. Medem and D. I. Dolgorukov; head of the consulate-general in Tabriz N. V. Khanykov; senior dragoman of the mission in Tehran V. I. Sevriugin; consuls F. A. Bakulin, C. I. Cherniaev, A. A. Mel’nikov and many others. See Kuznetsova, ‘K istorii izucheniia’, 91. Kazem-Bek, Bab i Babidy: Religiozno-politicheskie smuty v Persii v 1844– 1852 godakh (The Bab and the Babis: Religious-Political Riots in Persia during 1844–1852), published in St Petersburg by V. N. Maikov. Contemporary history of Persia written by Mirza Muhammad-Taqi Lisan al-Mulk Sipihr. Though Kazem-Bek did not consider the material valuable (see Bab i Babidy, v). See Kazem-Bek, Bab i Babidy, v–vi, 184. Especially regarding the high moral principles of the teaching, the creation of a unique moral society, the necessity of reforms in Islam as well as in the governing of the country, his desire to stop oppression, his attitude towards women, etc. (see Kazem-Bek, Bab i Babidy, 42–3). Kazem-Bek, Bab i Babidy, 43, 168–9. Kazem-Bek, Bab i Babidy, 164–6, 169. Kazem-Bek, Bab i Babidy, 170–4. His first scientific work, ‘A Full Estimation of the Shah-Nama’ was awarded with a gold medal (see Veselovskii, Baron Viktor Romanovich Rozen, 5). See Kulikova, Vostokovedenie, 28, 106. See Order of the President of the Academy of Sciences F. P. Litke appointing Rozen director (19 May 1881) and the decree of Tsar Alexander III on his dismissal from this position due to his request (8 March 1882) in Kulikova, Vostokovedenie, 109. By that time, the Russian Imperial Archaeological Society was considered to be one of the most serious scientific organizations. It was founded in 1846 and in the 1880s was divided into three main departments: Slavic–Russian; Classical–Byzantine and West European; and Oriental (see Sovetskaia istoricheskaia entsiklopediia, 1: 839, and Veselovskii, Istoriia russkogo arkheologicheskogo obshchestva). Altogether, from 1886 until 1921 (when publication of Zapiski ceased), 21 volumes were published. For the full list of his publications, see Krachkovskii, ‘Spisok trudov’, 39–48.

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36 See Rozen and Girgas, Arabskaia khrestomatiia; Kunik and Rozen, Izvestiia al-Bekri; Rozen and de Goeje, Annales. 37 Les manuscrits arabes de l’Institut des langues orientales; Les manuscrits persans de l’Institut des langues orientales; Notices sommaires des manuscrits arabes du Musée asiatique; Les manuscrits babys de l’Institut des langues orientales; etc. 38 Mednikov, ‘Baron V. R. Rozen’, 2. 39 See their description in Rozen, Les manuscrits arabes. 40 Marr, ‘Rozen i khristianskii Vostok’, 11–12. 41 The Archive was founded in 1728 and became the main depository of documents of the Academy of Sciences. The Archive keeps a halfmillion files structured in 750 manuscript groups and 16 archival collections of the sixteenth to twentieth centuries. Among them the central place is occupied by records of the Academy’s governing bodies (from its foundation until 1932) and records of all St Petersburg academic institutions in the period from the beginning of the eighteenth century until 1950. The Archive also contains the personal papers of scientists and scholars (among them the documents of Johann Kepler, Leonard Euler, M. V. Lomonosov, N. I. Vavilov and many others). The collection of Baron Rozen (Collection 777) contains many of his documents (among them Babi and Baha’i documents) and letters he received from various correspondents (altogether there are 1591 letters from 214 correspondents). The majority of these letters were transmitted to the Archive according to the will of Baron Rozen’s widow – Olga Feodosievna Rozen – after her death in 1929. Many letters, such as those of Tumanskii, contain attached materials. 42 Browne, ‘Some Remarks’, 260. 43 Zapiski, 7 (1893), 183–92. 44 For more details, see letters from Ignat’ev to Rozen (nos. 2–4), in this volume. 45 Rozen, Pervyi sbornik. 46 See Ol’denburg, ‘Valentin Alekseevich Zhukovskii’. 47 See Bushev, ‘Zhizn’ i deiatel’nost’’. 48 Ol’denburg, ‘Valentin Alekseevich Zhukovskii’, 2062. 49 See Zhukovskii, ‘Nedavnie kazni babidov’, ‘Raz’iasneniia’ k stat’e’, and ‘Rossiiskii Imperatorskii Konsul’. 50 See Zhukovskii, ‘Rossiiskii Imperatorskii Konsul’, 33. 51 See Mélanges asiatiques, 5: 176–7, 224–6 and 279–80. 52 A. F. Baumgarten lived for a long time in Shahrud, where he worked as a commissioner and representative of the trading house of Morozov, and informed Bakulin about different events, among them events concerning Babis.

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226 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS 53 54 55 56 57 58 59

60 61 62

63

64 65 66 67 68 69

70 71 72

73 74 75

Zhukovskii, ‘Rossiiskii Imperatorskii Konsul’, 44–7. Zhukovskii, ‘Rossiiskii Imperatorskii Konsul’, 48–54. Zhukovskii, ‘Rossiiskii Imperatorskii Konsul’, 55–63. Zhukovskii, ‘Rossiiskii Imperatorskii Konsul’, 64–74. Zhukovskii, ‘Rossiiskii Imperatorskii Konsul’, 74–87. Zhukovskii, ‘Rossiiskii Imperatorskii Konsul’, 88–9. Unfortunately, even after very intensive search it was not possible to locate the complete personal file of Georgii Batiushkov; thus many facts concerning his life are still unknown. Between these years he worked as consul in Damascus (AVPRI, coll. 144, series 489, file 1000-b, p. 5). AVPRI, coll. 144, series 489, file 1000-b, p. 5, p. 15. A very high rank according to the Russian Table of Ranks, equivalent to the military rank of major general. See Sovetskaia istoricheskaia entsiklopediia, 16: 53. AVPRI, coll. 208, series 819, file 184, pp. 6–37. I have been unable to locate any facts about his later career. About his private life I discovered that he was married and had a daughter, Tatiana. Around 1910 he, together with his brothers Nikolai, Fedor and Dmitrii, bought the coal mines in Kizil-Kiia (Uzbekistan), which were later, in 1914, valued at about 3 million rubles (AVPRI, coll 208, series 819, file 684). See letter from Georgii Batiushkov in this volume. Batiushkov, ‘Babidy. Persidskaia sekta’. Batiushkov, ‘Babidy. Persidskaia sekta’, 336. AVPRI, coll.159, series 464, file.1520, pp. 1–8. See pp. 85–103 in this volume. Actually the only file in which he is mentioned contains only information regarding his appointment to Astarabad and later to Bukhara (see AVPRI, coll. 194, series 528/1, file 667, pp. 1–14). See the Service List (Posluzhnoi spisok) of A. G. Tumanskii, RGVIA, coll. 409, series 1, file 1728/2, pp. 17-rev.–18). Service List of A. G. Tumanskii, p. 18. Service List of A. G. Tumanskii, p. 18-rev. Though in an article about Tumanskii in the Sovetskaia istoricheskaia entsiklopediia (14: 502), it is mentioned that he also graduated from the Faculty of Oriental Languages of St Petersburg University, it is unlikely he studied there, because it does not correspond with his military service. For details, see his ‘Short Note Regarding Baha’is or Contemporary Babis’ of 1890 in vol. 2 (doc. 32). RGVIA, coll. 409, series 1, file 1728/2, p. 19. Among them, the most interesting and valuable find was the manuscript by an anonymous Persian geographer of the tenth century,

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77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87

88

89

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titled ‘Khudud al-Alam’ (also known as ‘Tumanskii’s Manuscript’), which he received from Mirza Abu al-Fazl Gulpayigani in Bukhara in 1893. Tumanskii, ‘Dva poslednikh babidskikh otkroveniia’ (Two Recent Babi Revelations); ‘Poslednee slovo Bekha-Ully’ (The Last Word of Baha’u’llah); ‘Iz pis’ma A. G. Tumanskogo (V. R. Rozenu o povedenii sem’i Bekha’ullakha posle ego konchiny)’ (From a Letter of A. G. Tumanskii [to V. R. Rozen regarding the Behaviour of the Family of Baha’u’llah after His Passing]; ‘K voprosu ob avtorakh istorii babidov, izvestnoi pod imenem Tarikh-e Manukchi, ili Tarikh-e Dzhedid’ (On the Question of the Authors of the History of the Babis Known under the Name ‘Tarikh-i Manikji’ or ‘Tarikh-i Jadid’); and ‘Novootkrytyi persidskii geograf X stoletiiai i izvestiia ego o slavianakh i russakh’ (A Newly Discovered Persian Geographer of the Tenth Century and His Information on the Slavs and Russians). See his first letter, dated 11 March 1892, in which he already mentions his work on this translation. Tumanskii, Kitabe Akdes. Tumanskii, Kitabe Akdes, iii. RGVIA, coll. 401, series 5, file 36 (1895), pp. 17-rev.–18. See letters 12, dated 21 December 1893, and 14, dated 2 February 1894, in this volume. About this expedition, see Tumanskii’s letters for the year 1894, in this volume, and his reports (vol. 2, docs. 32 and 33). See his letters of 16 January and 21 March 1895 and his Service List (RGVIA, coll. 409, series 1, file 1728/2, p.19). RGVIA, coll. 409, series 1, file 1728/2, pp. 19–20. RGVIA, coll. 409, series 1, file 1728/2, pp. 20–20-rev. RGVIA, coll. 400, series 1, file 3723, pp.1–1-rev. In his file there is a medical certificate stating that he had chronic heart disease, emphysema and other serious medical problems (RGVIA, coll. 409, series 1, file 1728/2, pp.15–16). He actually received this rank according to the order of the commander of the Caucasian Military Region on 17 March 1917 together with his resignation after serving 36 years and 6 months (see RGVIA, coll. 409, series 1, file 1728/2, p. 6). For instance, Abu-l-Gazi Bakhadur-Khan. Rodoslovnaia Turkmen (Abu alGhazi Bahadur Khan: Genealogy of the Turkmen [Ashgabat, 1897]); Na pamiat’ 25-letiia vziatiia Samarkanda (In Commemoration of the Twenty-fifth Anniversary of the Taking of Samarkand [Samarkand, 1898]); Arabskii iazyk i kavkazovedenie (Arabic Language and Caucasian Studies [Tiflis, 1911]); etc.

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228 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS 90 For instance, see Umanets, Sovremennyi babizm; Atrpet, Imamat – the majority of the book is devoted to Babism (pp. 87–208); Atrpet, Babidy i bekhaity; etc.

1

2

3 4 5 6

7 8 9 10 11

12 13 14

15 16 17

Baha’u’llah, the Iranian Tujjar and the New Approach to Interest Tumanskii, ‘Report’ (vol. 2, p. 80). For other references to Iranian Baha’i big merchants in the late Qajar period, see, for example, Rittikh, Otchet o poezdke v Persiiu, 81; Balyuzi, Edward Granville Browne, 94, 102 n. 4, 114; Momen, ‘A Preliminary Survey’, table 1, 50–1, and ‘Baha’is and the Constitutional Revolution’, 348. ‘Information from P. E. Panafidin’ (vol. 2, p. 35). The report is undated. It would seem it was written around the turn of the nineteenth century. See pp. 102, 114, 128, 241 n. 47, and vol. 2, pp. 48, 70, 80, 204 n. 23 and 207 n. 14. See vol. 2, pp. 110–12. Afnan, ‘The Goodly Gifts’, 17–19. See also vol. 2, pp. 80 and 97. Tumanskii, ‘Report’ (vol. 2, pp. 82, 210 n. 46). Tumanskii’s conclusion regarding the prominence of tujjar in Baha’i communities in Iran is corroborated by other sources. See Momen, ‘A Preliminary Survey’, table 1, 50–1. Issues relating to interest that were elaborated and developed after Baha’u’llah’s lifetime are not discussed in this study. Gilbar, ‘The Opening Up’, 76–89. See Yaganegi, Recent Financial, 89. Issawi, Economic History of Iran, 130–1. On the expansion of cash crops, see Lambton, ‘Filaha, iii-Persia’, Encyclopaedia of Islam, 2nd edn, 2 (1965), 904; Gilbar, ‘Persian Agriculture’, 323–46, 354–7; Nowshirvani, ‘Beginnings’, 547–91; Roger T. Olson, ‘Persian Gulf Trade’, 173–89, 413–19; Schneider, Beiträge zur Wirtschaftsstruktur, 416–31, 435–77. Gilbar, ‘The Opening Up’, 78. Issawi, Economic History of Iran, 136 (table). It appears from Issawi’s calculations that exports of cash crops in the 1880s constituted about 62 per cent of Iran’s total visible exports (Iran, 136 [table]). On the growth of the carpet-weaving industry in the late nineteenth century, see Helfgott, Ties that Bind, 147–234. Gilbar, ‘The Opening Up’, 77; cf. Issawi, Economic History of Iran, 136. Shirazi, Athar-i ‘ajam, 537; Lorini, La Persia economica, 350–1; Jamalzada, Ganj-i shaygan, 98; Abdullaev, Promyshlennost’, 36.

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18 W. J. Olson, ‘Mazanderan Development Project’, 38–55; Mahdavi, For God, 126–34. 19 On the role of Aqa Muhammad Mihdi Arbab al-Isfahani Malik alTujjar in the advancement of opium exports from Iran, see his Nisfi jahan, 125. See also Najm al-Mulk, Safarnama-yi Khuzistan, 92. 20 de Vries, ‘Persian Carpet Weaving’, 732; Beyens, Commerce et Industrie, 38; Rittikh, Ochet o poezdke v Persiiu, 210; Edwards, The Persian Carpet, 55–6; Abdullaev, Promyshlennost’i, 68; Vaziri, Jughrafiya-yi Kirman, 36, 189. 21 Jamalzada, Ganj-i shaygan, 93–6; Abdullaev, Promyshlennost’i, 127; Ashraf, Mavani‘-i ta’rikh, 82–6; Kazembeyki, Society, Politics and Economics, 85. 22 Jamalzada, Ganj-i shaygan, 99; Lorimer, Gazetteer, 2, 1726–8; Shahnavaz, Britain and the Opening, 171–3; Walcher, In the Shadow, 75–6. 23 Bakhash, Iran, 313–14; Ashraf, Mavani‘-i ta’rikh, 28. 24 Algar, Religion and State, 236; Pistor-Hatam, ‘Iran and the Reform Movement’, 570–4, and ‘Die Presse als Instrument’, 52–4. 25 Gilbar, ‘Muslim Tujjar’, 184–5. 26 Wink, Al-Hind, 71ff. 27 Sasani, Yadbudha-yi safarat-i Istanbul, 94–5, 103, 105–7; Luesink, ‘The Iranian Community’, 198. 28 Yadegari, ‘Iranian Settlement’, 98–114; Luesink, ‘The Iranian Community’, 193–200. 29 Luesink, ‘The Iranian Community’, 196. 30 Mahdavi and Afshar, Asnad-i tijarat, 10ff.; Mahdavi and Afshar, Yazd dar asnad, 20, 36, 50ff.; Mahdawi, For God, 69–71; Gilbar, ‘Commercial Networks’, 184–5. 31 I‘timad al-Saltana, Ruznama-yi khatirat, 541, 604. 32 See, for example, the confiscation of Amin al-Darb’s fluid assets (or part of them) in December 1896, in Mahdavi, For God, 152–4. 33 Brugsch, Im Lande der Sonne, 180–1. 34 Momen, ‘A Preliminary Survey’, 37–8; Afnan, ‘The Goodly Gifts’, 14. 35 Head of the Civil Authority in the Caucasus to the Minister of Internal Affairs (vol. 2, pp. 105 and 107–8). 36 See pp. 21–6, above, and vol. 2, pp. 94–7. 37 The issue of riba has been examined by numerous Muslim and nonMuslim scholars. Scores of studies devoted either wholly or partially to this subject have been published in recent decades. See, inter alia, Santillana, Istituzioni di diritto musulmano, 60–6; Draz, ‘L’usure’, 143–57; Schacht, ‘Riba’, Encyclopaedia of Islam, 2nd edn, 6 (1995), 491–3; Rahman, ‘Riba and Interest’, 1–43; Brunschvig, ‘Conceptions monétaires’, 113–43; Qureshi, Islam and the Theory, 44–122;

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39 40

41 42 43 44

45 46 47

48

49 50

Abu Zahra, Buhuth fi al-riba, 53–4; ‘Atr, al-Mu‘amala al-masrifiyya, 53–80; Chapra, Towards a Just System, 55–66; Saleh, Unlawful Gain, 11–39. See Qur’an 30:39; 4:61; 3:130 and 2:280–4. On the stages in the development of the Prophet Muhammad’s position on riba, see Schacht, ‘Riba’, 491. Thomas, ‘What Is Riba?’, 131. The theoretical literature on the various economic aspects of interest and its effect on economic activity is extensive. See the comprehensive review by Lutz, The Theory of Interest, 3–229. Garfinkle, ‘Shepherds, Merchants, and Credit’, 9–10. Van de Mieroop, ‘Old Babylonian Interest’, 357–8; Roth, Law Collections, 97–9, 103. Homer, A History, 32–55; Cohen, Athenian Economy and Society, 44–6, 207–16. Jewish religious law permitted the charging of interest on loans given to non-Jews but prohibited the imposition of interest on loans given by Jews to their co-religionists. In the sixteenth century a standard form of legalization of interest imposed on Jewish borrowers was established. See Stein, ‘Development of Jewish Law’, 4–5; Noonan, The Scholastic Analysis, 1–37; ‘Usury’, Encyclopaedia Judaica, 16 (1971), 28–34. On the attitude of Jewish religious authorities to cambio and interest in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, see Arbel, ‘Yehudim’, 174–92. Noonan, Scholastic Analysis, 193–5. Kister, ‘Some Reports’, 78; Ibrahim, Merchant Capital, 61–2. For details on interest-bearing loans among Muslims during the eighth to fifteenth centuries, see Labib, ‘Geld und Kredit’, 236–7; Schacht, ‘Hiyal’, Encyclopaedia of Islam, 2nd edn, 3 (1971), 511; Ashtor, Social and Economic History, 86, and ‘Le taux d’intérêt’, 198–204. According to cognitive dissonance theory, a person will experience dissonance when he is conscious of doing what he perceives to be a foolish or unethical act. This situation is bound up with emotions of varying intensity, discomfort and distress. The individual will therefore try to avoid such a situation, or, alternatively, activate various defence mechanisms. See Festinger, Cognitive Dissonance, 9–29; Aronson, ‘Return of the Repressed’, 304–6. For an evident case of cognitive dissonance on the part of the imam of Haifa in the early twentieth century, see Yazbak, Haifa, 185. Rida, Fatawa, 2: 606, 608–9; al-Sanhuri, Masadir al-haq, 3: 4ff.; Çag˘ atay, ‘Riba and Interest’, 63–4.

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51 A number of other terms in Iran denoted interest, in addition to the Qur’anic term riba. Sud, bahra and tanzil were prevalent terms. See Greenfield, Das Handelsrecht, 54. 52 Numerous studies have been conducted on hiyal. See, e.g., Schacht, Introduction to Islamic Law, 78–82, and ‘Hiyal’, 510–13; see also alMasri, al-Jami‘ fi usul, 172–9, detailing the various types of stratagems. 53 Of particular importance, due to their great influence, are the writings of Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (1058–1111), who totally rejected interest (see Ihya ‘ulum al-din, 2: 78–9). See also Ghazanfar, Medieval Islamic Economic Thought, 36–7. 54 See, e.g., the attitude of Muhammad Mahdi Niraqi to gaining wealth through charging interest, in Cole, ‘Ideology’, 26. For the objection to interest by the ‘ulama in the Ottoman Syrian provinces in the eighteenth century, see Rafeq, ‘Relations’, 82–3. 55 Signs of change in the attitude towards interest in Iran had already been manifested in the teachings of the Bab. See Bayan, 5: 18. 56 Baha’u’llah, Tablets, 132–3. 57 Baha’u’llah, Tablets, 134. 58 In quite a few cases, Muslim lenders charged interest rates that were much higher than 18 or 20 per cent per annum. See Gilbar, ‘The Qadi’. 59 Baha’u’llah, Tablets, 134. 60 See, for example, Polak, Persien, 188; Stolze and Andreas, Die Handelverhältnisse Persiens, 39; Brugsch, Im Lande der Sonne, 241; de Fournoux, ‘L’industrie, le commerce’, (2) 35; Wilson, Persian Life, 283. 61 Ashraf, Mavani‘-i ta’rikh, 27; Mahdavi and Afshar, Asnad-i tijarat-i Iran, 134. 62 A non-shar‘i court chaired by the karguzar that dealt with disputes between foreigners and Iranians. See Greenfield, Das Handelsrecht, 23–4. 63 Gilbar, ‘The Qadi’. 64 See, for example, decisions in ‘The Shabankara Case’, enclosure No. 3 in 4/164, Trevor to Barckay, Bushire, 14 January 1909, FO 248/990, NAUK; Nouraei and Martin, ‘The Karguzar and Disputes’, 156; Gilbar, ‘Resistance to Economic Penetration’, 17. 65 Litvak, Shi‘i Scholars, 36, 84, 92, 182. 66 Ashraf, Mavani‘-i ta’rikh, 55. 67 Jamalzada, Ganj-i shaygan, 98; Pistor-Hatam, ‘Islamic Trading Companies’, 322–3; Walcher, In the Shadow, 200–2. 68 Adamiyat and Natiq, Afkar-i ijtima‘i, 356–61; Gilbar, ‘Rise and Fall’, 661–5.

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232 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS 69 Gilbar, ‘The Big Merchants’, 288–91; Vanessa Martin, Islam and Modernism, 41–2; Bayat, Iran’s First Revolution, 24, 133; Moaddel, ‘Shi‘i Political Discourse’, 459; Afary, Iranian Constitutional Revolution, 31–2. Letters of Vladimir Ignat’ev 1 ARAN(SPF), coll. 777, series 2, file 186, pp. 1–8-rev. 2 Ignat’ev refers to the journey of well-known Russian Orientalist V. A. Zhukovskii to Persia in 1883–85. During this journey Zhukovskii studied Persian dialects, folklore, history, etc. 3 I. G. Grigorovich: First Dragoman of the Russian mission in Tehran, and a former student of Rozen. 4 Ignat’ev probably refers to Grigorii Ivanovich Spasskii. 5 Karbala: the capital of Karbala province and one of the holiest cities for Shi‘a Muslims as a result of its the location of the Battle of Karbala in 680 and site of the tombs of Imam Husayn and his halfbrother ‘Abbas ibn ‘Ali. Iranians strongly influenced Karbala’s development and lived there in large numbers, comprising up to 75 per cent of the population by the early twentieth century. 6 The main cause of the increased cost of travel was the lack of carriageable and safe roads; travellers were usually required to employ more than one animal, as well as guards for protection. 7 Rasht: the capital of Gilan province in northwestern Iran and its commercial centre. 8 Damavand: a dormant volcano in Mazandaran, northern Iran, 66 km northeast of Tehran, the highest mountain in the country and the highest volcano in Asia (5,670 m). 9 Ignat’ev refers to the various European concessionaries and their economic ‘invasion’ of Iran during the last two decades of the nineteenth century. 10 No such party existed in nineteenth-century Iran. In 1921/2, the Iranian scholar and historian Mahmud Afshar Yazdi founded the Anjuman-i Iran-i Javan (Young Iran Society), but this was much after the date of Ignat’ev’s letter and thus the period which he refers to. Conceivably, Ignat’ev was referring to Iranian Freemasons or reformists. The source of the name ‘Young Persia’ is also unclear. 11 These sons would be Mas‘ud Mirza Zill al-Sultan, governor of Isfahan; Kamran Mirza Nayib al-Saltanih Amir Kabir, governor of Tehran (1861), commander in chief of the army (1868), and minister of war (1871); and Muzaffar al-Din Sultan, governor of Azerbaijan, who ascended the throne after the death of his father in 1896. 12 Gilan: province in Iran around the delta of the Safid-Rud River, on

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18 19 20 21 22 23 24

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the Caspian Sea. From 1724 to 1734 Gilan was annexed by the Russians, who eventually left it because of its inhospitable climate. Qazvin: capital city of the province of Qazvin, located 165 km from Tehran. The city was founded by the Sasanian king Shapur II in AD 250 and was for a time capital of the Safavid Empire. Since no distinction is made between Babis and Baha’is, and different books have been referred to as the ‘Qur’an of the Babis’, it is difficult to know exactly which book he is referring to. Possibly he was referring to the Qayyum al-Asma’, known as the Commentary on the Sura of Joseph, the earliest work of the Bab, which the Bab began to compose on the night of his declaration (23 May 1844) in the presence of his first follower, Mulla Husayn, and which was subsequently copied extensively and distributed widely by his disciples, so that it came to be regarded as the ‘Qur’an’ of the Babis. Written in Arabic in Qur’anic style, the book is quite lengthy (111 chapters with over 9,300 verses). However, if by ‘Babis’ Ignat’ev meant ‘Baha’is’, then undoubtedly he was referring to the Kitab-i Aqdas. Momen notes that among the manuscripts sent by Nikolai Khanykov in 1864 to the Imperial Oriental Library was one given the title ‘The Qur’an of the Babis’, which was later identified by Azal as the Bab’s Kitab al-Asma’ (Book of Names) (Babi and Baha’i Religions, 16). There is no book titled ‘Sayings of the Bab’, but Ignat’ev may be referring to the Persian Bayan, in which each chapter begins with a statement in Arabic followed by an elaboration in Persian, which could have appeared to be a ‘commentary’. Probably a reference to the satirical novel by James Morier, The Adventures of Hajji Baba of Ispahan, published in 1824. The book ridicules the decadence, hypocrisy and corruption prevalent in Iran at the time of Fath-‘Ali Shah. Pavlovsk: the residence of the Russian tsars near St Petersburg, built in 1777, and famous for its beautiful park and palaces. It is mentioned in this context as a locale of public outdoor entertainment. ‘Ferengian’: from farangi (Pers.), ‘European’. Krylov: a former fellow student of Ignat’ev. Gorodetskii: a former fellow student of Ignat’ev. Fedoseev: a former fellow student of Ignat’ev. Flerov: a former fellow student of Ignat’ev. Apparently he means a drinking problem. Astarabad: the capital of the province then called Astarabad, now Gulistan, in Iran, located approximately 400 km north of Tehran. In 1937 the name of the city was changed to ‘Gurgan’.

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234 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS 25 Kashgar: an oasis city in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China. The city was under Islamic rule from the tenth century until 1759, when it was occupied by the Chinese. Islam however, remains the religion of the majority of the population. 26 Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Mel’nikov: Russian minister in Iran during 1883–86. 27 ARAN(SPF), coll. 777, series 2, file 186, pp. 13–17. 28 Askhabad (also ‘Ishqabad; now Ashgabat): a city founded in 1861, which became the capital of the Transcaspian (and from 1897, Turkestan) governorate after the occupation by Tsarist Russia. In the early 1880s many Iranian Baha’is began to emigrate to the city. See pp. 18–21, above. 29 Ignat’ev must be mistaken in the figure he provides for the number of Baha’is in Ashgabat, as by the time he wrote this letter (13 December 1891), the Baha’i population of the city had grown to over 1,000, and in the mid-1880s it was estimated at 400–500. See p. 20, above; Mazandarani, Zuhur al-Haqq, 8: 983; ‘History,’ 1; and Momen, ‘Baha’i Community of Ashkhabad’, 282. 30 Akka: Acre, an ancient port city on the coast of Mediterranean Sea, north of Haifa. In the late nineteenth century it was part of Ottoman Syria and was used as a place of exile and imprisonment. Baha’u’llah was exiled to in Acre in 1868. 31 See vol. 2, pp. 58–61. 32 Reference is to the murder on 8 September 1889 of Haji MuhammadRiza Isfahani, a prominent Baha’i in Ashgabat. See pp. 21–4, above. 33 A reference to the convention signed between Russia and Persia in 1844, which specified that nationals of both countries could change their nationality to the other only with the consent of their own government. For further details, see the exchange regarding not giving Babis Russian nationality, in vol. 2 (doc. 30). 34 At this time Baha’u’llah was still a religious prisoner of the Ottoman government and confined to the vicinity of Acre. It was not until after the Young Turk Revolution and deposing of Sultan ‘Abd alHamid II (in 1909) that ‘Abdu’l-Baha was freed and able to travel abroad. 35 Mashhad: a city in north-eastern Iran, capital of the province of Khurasan, and the location of one of the most important Shi‘i shrines, the tomb of the Eighth Imam, ‘Ali al-Riza. 36 Mazandaran: a province to the south of the Caspian Sea bounded on the west by Gilan and on the east by what in Qajar times was the province of Astarabad. The district was a centre of Babism in the mid-nineteenth century, and the location of the Babi upheaval of 1848–49, which was ruthlessly suppressed by government forces.

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37 Collections scientifiques de l’Institut des langues orientales du Ministère des affaires étrangères, vol. 6. 38 Probably a reference to Zapiski Vostochnogo otdeleniia Russkogo imperatorskogo arkheologicheskogo obshchestva (Transactions of the Oriental Department of the Imperial Russian Archaeological Society), since Izvestiia Vostochnogo otdeleniia Imperatorskogo arkheologicheskogo obshchestva (Herald of the Oriental Department of the Imperial Archaeological Society) – a periodical that appeared irregularly – was published in St Petersburg during 1858–60 only. Altogether, only five issues were published. 39 A. V. Blinov: an official of the Asian Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 40 Shul’zhevskii: an official of the Asian Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 41 ARAN(SPF), coll. 777, series 2, file 186, pp. 18–22. 42 Here we have a possible explanation of why Ignat’ev’s evaluation of the number of Baha’is in Ashgabat in the early 1890s was so low (60), compared to a more realistic one (1,000). Conceivably he simply questioned the Baha’is about the size of their community in Ashgabat, and they chose to downplay its true size. A possible reason could have been extreme caution vis-à-vis the Iranian Shi‘i community in Ashgabat and possibly the Muslim population at large, as well as the Russian authorities. Well aware of the sensitivities regarding their faith, the Baha’is may have preferred not to reveal their true numbers in order to avoid creating a sense of threat to other communities. Another possibility is that they were aware of the tension between Iran and Russia – and especially between Nasir al-Din Shah and Kuropatkin – over the Russian authorities’ favourable treatment of the Baha’is, and preferred downplaying the size of their community to the point that it was negligible and posed no threat at all. Yet another explanation might be related to the vocation of many of the Iranian Baha’is living in Ashgabat: many were merchants who continued to maintain part of their business in Iran. They might have thought that providing correct data about the size of the Baha’i community would create the impression that all, or most, of the commerce between Iran and Transcaspia was in Baha’i hands, an impression that could have damaged their business. 43 The source of this estimate of the number of Baha’is in Iran is unclear, but apparently it seemed a quite realistic figure both in Russian and in British official circles. See Curzon, Persia, 1: 499. 44 Armenian-Gregorian Church: one of the oldest Christian churches, founded by Bishop Grigor in 301. It is close to Greek Orthodoxy in its theological and dogmatic concepts.

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236 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS 45 Tekins: part of the Turkmen people, belonging to the Teke tribe. 46 Yazd: a provincial, commercial and agricultural centre in Iran. Yazd was a major centre of Baha’i activity. Ignat’ev refers here to the execution of seven Baha’is, who in Baha’i history are known as the ‘Seven Martyrs of Yazd’, on 19 May 1891. They were executed by order of the governor of Yazd, Jalal al-Dawlih, at the instigation of Shaykh Hasan Sabzivari, a local mujtahid. However, the persons behind it are thought to have been Zill al-Sultan and his son Jalal al-Dawlih. 47 The tobacco monopoly and protest: In 1890 Nasir al-Din Shah granted a monopoly on Iran’s tobacco to a British company. Agitation against the concession incited widespread protests, often led by Shi‘i ‘ulama, and a boycott of tobacco in response to a fatwa from Grand Ayatullah Mirza Hasan Shirazi. The unrest was so great that in 1892 the shah was forced to cancel the concession. The episode, which was the first successful anti-government movement in Iran, ultimately resulted in increased Russian influence, to the detriment of the British, more political power for the clergy, and was a step towards the Constitutional Revolution. 48 Ignat’ev probably refers to the riots over the Tobacco Concession. 49 See Asnad-i Ravabit-i Iran, xxviii-xxxi and 3 (which lists all the documents related to territorial and marine borders between the two countries); Ramazani, Foreign Policy of Iran, 57–8; and Planhol, ‘Boundaries. ii. with Russia,’ Encyclopaedia Iranica, 4: 403–6, for these and other Iranian concessions at the Irano-Russian border. 50 Varvara Aleksandrovna Zhukovskaia: the wife of V. A. Zhukovskii. 51 Herat: a city in western Afghanistan, approximately 500 km from Ashgabat, with Mashhad, in Khurasan, halfway in-between. 52 Khurasan: the northeastern and the largest of the Iranian provinces. Until 1857 it included western Afghanistan. Its capital, Mashhad, is a site of pilgrimage and the holiest place for the Shi‘a in Iran. 53 ARAN(SPF), coll. 777, series 2, file 186, pp. 23–5-rev. 54 Novoe Vremia (New Time): one of the most popular daily newspapers in pre-revolutionary Russia, published from 1868 to 1917. 55 Ignat’ev refers to an article published on 2 April (old style) 1892 in Novoe Vremia describing a session of the Archaeological Society devoted mainly to the Babis. General information about the Babis presented by Baron Rozen and General Komarov included mention by Komarov that Babis support each other and for this purpose have 40 million rubles in capital, managed by ‘members of the House of Justice’. Komarov also stated that the Babis who live in Ashgabat, where they have acquired a reputation as honest traders and entrepreneurs, have frequently requested permission to obtain Russian

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57 58

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3

4 5 6

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nationality and have expressed readiness to donate large sums for the construction of Christian churches and the establishment of secondary schools and institutions of higher education in the Transcaspian Region. Ignat’ev probably refers to the Baha’i meeting hall, which had already been built (along with other institutions, such as a public bath) in the centre of Ashgabat. He is certainly not referring to the Baha’i Mashriq al-Adhkar, whose foundations were laid only in 1902, and which was eventually completed in 1907. Sabzivar: a town in Khurasan province, Iran, located some 160 km west of Mashhad. Probably a reference to Petr Mikhailovich Vlasov, who was then Russian consul-general in Mashhad, an Iranian frontier post, and later (1902–03) served as minister in Tehran. See Firuz Kazemzadeh, Russia and Britain, 207–8. Transactions of the Or[iental] Department (Zapiski Vostochnogo otdeleniia Imperatorskogo russkogo arkheologicheskogo obshchestva [ZVOIRAO]): a periodical published for Russian Orientalists. Letters of Aleksandr Tumanskii ARAN(SPF), coll. 777, series 2, file 458, pp. 1–4-rev. A Traveller’s Narrative Written to Illustrate the Episode of the Bab, Browne’s annotated translation of Maqalih-yi Shakhsi-yi Sayyah, the historical narrative of early Babi and Baha’i history written by ‘Abdu’l-Baha in 1886 and first published anonymously in Persian in 1890 in Bombay. Querry: Tumanskii is referring to a work by A. Querry, French consul in Tabriz, titled Droit Musulman: Recueil de lois concernant les musulmans schyites (Muslim Law: Compendium of Laws concerning Shi‘i Muslims). Hada’iq al-Shi‘a (Gardens of Shi‘a): title of a book by Yusif bin Ahmad Buhrani (d. 1772/3). ‘Aqa’id al-Shi‘a (Tenets of Shi‘a): Title of a book by Mulla Ahmad bin Muhammad Ardabili (d. 1585). Bihar al-Anwar (Oceans of Light): a 110-volume collection of Shi‘i hadith (traditions), consisting of an encyclopedia of historical topics, narrations, hadith, and commentary on verses of the Qur’an. The Kitab-i-Aqdas (The Most Holy Book) is the central book of the Baha’i faith, written by Baha’u’llah. The book was completed around 1873 and contains the laws that are to govern Baha’i society and the obligations binding on believers; the appointment of

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8 9 10

11

12

13

14 15

‘Abdu’l-Baha as Baha’u’llah’s successor; and the establishment of the House of Justice, as well as discussion of other topics, ethical exhortations and social principles. See p. 6, above. Tarazat (Ornaments): a tablet of Baha’u’llah. Tumanskii included it as an appendix to his translation of the Kitab-i Aqdas. Kitab-i Aqdas, para. 94, p. 54. Samarkand: city in Uzbekistan. From 1868 it was part of Russia; from the mid-1880s it was part of the Turkestan (formerly Transcaspian) Region, and the destination of a large number of Iranian Baha’i emigrants. Tarikh-i Jadid (New History): an account of the history of the Babi and early Baha’i religions. It was commissioned by the Zoroastrian Maneckji Limji Hataria (and is therefore also referred to as Tarikh-i Manikji) and written by Mirza Husayn Hamadani in 1882. Mirza Abu al-Fazl Gulpayigani helped with the production of the book. It was translated into English by E. G. Browne and published under the title The Tarikh-i-Jadid or New History of Mirza ‘Ali Muhammad the Bab in 1893. The quotation in English, ‘additional details concerning the conference at Isfahan’, is from A Traveller’s Narrative, 2: 197, referring to Note J (2: 264–8). At this point in Tumanskii’s text, in another hand is written: ‘contents p. 265, vol. 2’. Kazimayn: a town originally three miles from Baghdad but now part of that city, near the bank of the Tigris, the location of the tombs of the seventh and ninth Imams, and hence a major site of Shi‘i pilgrimage. The ‘meeting’ referred to by Tumanskii was a gathering of the Shi‘i mujtahids of Karbila and Najaf, with the purpose of inciting a violent attack on Baha’u’llah and the Babi exiles in Baghdad. The plot was foiled by the refusal of the most eminent mujtahid of the time, Shaykh Murtaza al-Ansari (1781–1864), to go along with the plan (see Browne, A Traveller’s Narrative, 85–7, and Balyuzi, Baha’u’llah, 143–7). ‘Fire-worshipper’, meaning ‘Zoroastrian’. The reference is to the First Anglo-Afghan War (1838–42), one of the first major conflicts in the Great Game of the Anglo-Russian struggle for domination of South and Central Asia during the nineteenth century. The British Indian army sought to depose Dost Mohammad Khan, amir of Kabul, and restore the former ruler, Shah Shuja, who was friendly to the British. However, Afghan tribes, hostile to a British puppet in Kabul and a British invasion and occupation, rebelled and managed to bring about the retreat and annihilation of the entire British garrison at Kabul.

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16 ‘Gebr’: Zoroastrian. Before Maneckji’s arrival, there had been no educational initiative among the Zoroastrians, and poverty had forced them to send their children to work rather than school. But by 1857, three years after his arrival, two small primary schools had been established, and in 1865 an intermediate school was founded in Tehran. In 1870, despite intense opposition by local Muslims, the state lifted the official ban on Zoroastrian schools. By 1882 there were 12 schools, including a boarding school in Tehran, staffed by Parsi Zoroastrian teachers from India as well as their own graduates, that provided a secular education as well as Zoroastrian religious studies. 17 These two tablets were published in English in Baha’u’llah, Tabernacle of Unity. 18 Mudunie: a reference to the treatise by ‘Abdu’l-Baha titled Asrar alGhaybiyya li-Asbab al-Madaniyya (The Secret of Divine Civilization), on modernization in Iran. Written in 1875, the work was published anonymously in Bombay in 1882 and widely circulated. In this work ‘Abdu’l-Baha urges Iran to adopt reforms in part as found in the West, while he also stresses the fundamental role of religion in society. 19 A’yin-i Hushang (The Rule of Hushang): Hushang is a mythical king of Iran who appears in several of the Yashts of the Avesta, where he is depicted as the first lawful king, favourite of the gods, originator of agriculture and founder of Babylon, Susa and Rayy. 20 Muhammad Isma‘il Khan Zand: a prolific Persian writer who wrote about pre-Islamic Iran. 21 Farazistan (The Highland): the book covered the period from the beginning of Mahabad to the fall of the Sasanid dynasty. 22 Nasikh al-Tavarikh (Effacer of Chronicles): the title of a history by Mirza Muhammad-Taqi Lisan al-Mulk Sipihr and commissioned by Muhammad Shah. It was used extensively by early chroniclers of the Babi movement, such as de Gobineau, Kazim-Bek and Browne. See Gulpayigani, ‘Treatise for Tumansky’, 77–8. 23 Bahr al-‘Ulum (Sea of Knowledge): Sayyid Mahdi bin Murtaza Tabataba’i Burujirdi Najafi. 24 Kirman: capital of the Iranian province of the same name. Towards the end of Nasir al-Din Shah’s reign there appears to have been considerable intellectual activity in Kirman. The Shaykhis gained many adherents in Kirman in the nineteenth century, as did the Babis. In the mid-nineteenth century, the office of shaykh al-Islam in Kirman was held by Ridawi sayyids who were Shaykhis. 25 Tarikh-i Seiakh: a reference to Maqallih-yi Shakhsi-yi Sayyah (A Traveller’s Narrative).

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240 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS 26 Tumanskii refers to a small drawing of the executed Bab made by an artist for the Russian consul. The photograph of this drawing was included in the album of documents collected by F. A. Bakulin. Originally, Bakulin received this photograph from his correspondent, A. F. Baumgarten, who worked in Shahrud as a representative of the trading house of Morozov. The drawing shows the remains of two bodies and has three inscriptions in Persian: (1) ‘Seiid Muhammed Ali the Bab’; (2) ‘Seiid Khusein, son of Aga Seiid Ali Zunuzi’; (3) ‘The leg of Seiid Husein’. For a description of this drawing, see Zhukovskii, ‘Rossiiskii Imperatorskii Konsul’. 27 ARAN(SPF), coll. 777, ser. 2, file 458, pp. 5–6. 28 Bahji: the location of the mansion where Baha’u’llah resided from September 1879 until his death in 1892. There Baha’u’llah wrote works such as Epistle to the Son of the Wolf and many important tablets. It was also here that Baha’u’llah was visited by E. G. Browne in 1890. When Baha’u’llah died, he was buried in a room in a building next to the Mansion, which became the point to which Baha’is turn in prayer. 29 Baha’u’llah’s death occurred on 29 May 1892 according to the Gregorian calendar. 30 See p. 237 n. 59, above. 31 ‘(Sic!)’ in original. In a letter to Tumanskii published in English as ‘Treatise for Alexander Tumansky’ (dated 31 October 1892), Gulpayigani discusses the distortion introduced into histories, particularly the Tarikh-i Jadid, but he mentions that Kashani’s original work was accurate (77–9). 32 Lawh-i Samsun (Tablet of Samsun): a tablet written by Baha’u’llah in the city of Samsun, Turkey, where he stayed for several days while travelling from Baghdad to Istanbul. The tablet is also called ‘Lawh-i Hawdaj’ (Tablet of the Howdah). 33 The temperature is cited according the Réaumur scale: 57 ºR = 45.6 ºC. 34 G. Fisher: commander in chief of the troops of the Transcaspian Region. 35 Kizil Arvat: a village in the Krasnovodsk district near Kopetdag Mountain. 36 ARAN(SPF), coll. 777, series 2, file 458, pp. 7–8-rev. 37 Turkmen: people inhabiting Turkmenistan, with some living also in Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey and several Arab countries. Mostly Sunni Muslims, for many years they posed a major threat to both Russians and Iranians, whom they considered to be non-Muslims and therefore legitimate targets for pillage, robbery and even enslavement

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and slave trafficking. The Russian occupation of the area required studying the Turkmen more thoroughly for the purposes of better administration. Probably a reference to the Mongol sultan, Ahmad Jalayir (1382– 1410), who lost Baghdad to Tamerlane, and Qara Yusuf of the Qara Quyunlu (Black Sheep) Turkmen. Although they were allies against Tamerlane for a time, eventually Qara Yusuf had Ahmad executed when he attempted to take over Qara Yusuf ’s territory in Azerbaijan (Peter Jackson, ‘Jalayerids’, Encyclopaedia Iranica, www.iranica.com/articles/jalayerids). A reference to Vámbéry’s C´agataische Sprachstudien, enthaltend grammatikalischen Umriss, Chrestomathie und Wörterbuch der C´agataische Sprache. The article mentioned is ‘Pesni u turkmen i poet ikh MakhdumKuli’ (Songs of the Turkmen and Their Poet Makhdum-Kuli). Abbreviation of Zapiski Kavkazskogo otdela Imperatorskogo russkogo geograficheskogo obshchestva (Transactions of the Caucasian Department of the Imperial Russian Geographic Society) Abbreviation of Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft (Journal of the German Oriental Society), a periodical published in Leipzig, Germany. Tumanskii probably refers to Vámbéry’s article, ‘Die Sprache der Turkomanen und der Diwan Machdumkulis’ (The Language of the Turkmen and the Divan of Makhdum-Kuli). As noted above (p. 240 n. 32), however, Baha’u’llah did spend a few days in Samsun while on his way from Baghdad to Istanbul. Meaning cholera. ARAN(SPF), coll. 777, series 2, file 458, pp. 9–11. Aqa Sulayman Kalimi: a Baha’i of Jewish extraction living in Ashgabat. Mirza Ja‘far Shirazi (Hadioff): a merchant in Ashgabat who became a Baha’i in 1888 and paid for the construction of the Pilgrim House on Mt Carmel in Haifa. Mirza Baqir Bassar Rashti: a Baha’i poet from Rasht. His sister, Layla Bihishti, was also a Baha’i and one of the female poets of the period. Aqa ‘Askar Rashti: probably Aqa ‘Ali-Asghar Rashti, who settled in Ashgabat after leaving Rasht, where he had been imprisoned for his faith. Baha’u’llah wrote his last will and testament in the Kitab-i ‘Ahd (Book of the Covenant). It was written in Arabic in Baha’u’llah’s handwriting, and on the ninth day after his passing was read to a group of witnesses as well as to a large gathering of Baha’is. Among its provisions were the appointment of ‘Abdu’l-Baha as Baha’u’llah’s

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52 53

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56 57

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successor to lead the Baha’i community, the specification of a subordinate station for his younger son Mirza Muhammad-‘Ali, and the assertion that his family had no right to the property of others. See Baha’u’llah, Tablets of Baha’u’llah, 217–23. Tablet to Sayyid Mahdi Dahaji: a tablet written by Baha’u’llah during his later years (Tablets of Baha’u’llah, 193–201). In it, Baha’u’llah reaffirms that religion should be propagated only by speech and utterance, warns against creating strife and turmoil and discusses the power of speech. Mirza Yusif Rashti: one of the Baha’is who helped Tumanskii during his early study of the Baha’i faith. Baron Silvestre Antoine Issac de Sacy (1758–1838), a French Orientalist and author of Grammaire arabe (1810) and Anthologie grammaticale arabe (1829). The reference is to the book by N. I. Grodskov, Kirgizy i karakirgizy Syr-Dar’inskoi oblasti. T. 1 – Iuridicheskii byt (Kirgiz and Kara-Kirgiz of the Syr-Dar’ia Region. Vol. 1 – Juridical Life). Tumanskii refers to the work by Fedor Ivanovich Leontovich, Adaty kavkazskikh gortsev. Materialy po obychnomu pravu Severnogo i Vostochnogo Kavkaza (Customary Law of the Mountain Peoples of the Caucasus: Materials of the Common Law of the Northern and Eastern Caucasus). Tumanskii refers to the book by Maksim Maksimovich Kovalevskii Zakon i obychai na Kavkaze (Law and Custom in the Caucasus). Reference is to the German Orientalist August Müller, the second volume of whose two-volume work on the history of Islam, Der Islam im Morgen- und Abendland, discussed the khanates of Central Asia. Khiva: a city in the Khwarazm region; from the end of the sixteenth century until 1920 the capital of the Khiva khanate; from 1873, a protectorate of Russia. It is unclear whether Tumanskii is referring to a book called History of Khiva, or whether he means that he had read about the subject. Oghuz: a term generally used by Arabic writers to identify the Turkish Oghuz people, who originated in a seventh-century AD confederation of nine clans which opposed the western Turks’ empire and formed a new one that eventually spread westwards, coming to be known by Western writers as the Oghuz. Some were incorporated into the Mongol Empire but many Turkmen who were descended from the Oghuz were expelled, and subsequently the name ‘Oghuz’ dropped out of use though the designation ‘Turkmen’ continued to be used. Tumanskii is probably referring to‘Izz al-Din Abu al-Hasan ‘Ali Ibn al-‘Athir, author of al-Bahir, on the Zangi (Atabak) dynasty of Mosul,

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62

63 64

65 66

67 68 69 70 71 72 73

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and al-Kamil fi al-Tarikh, an annalistic history of the world up to the year AH 628/1231. Uzbeks: the people who inhabit Uzbekistan; some also live in Afghanistan. They were under Mongol rule from the thirteenth to the fifteenth centuries. The Uzbek state of the Shaybanids was established in the fifteenth century, later becoming divided into the Bukhara and Khiva khanates. Tumanskii is probably referring to Abu al-Ghazi’s most famous work, the Shajarih-yi Tarakamih (or Shejereh-yi Terakime), composed in 1659, based on Rashid al-Din Fazlullah Hamadani (1247–1318) and the Oghuznama. Tumanskii himself translated this work into Russian that year (1892). Tumanskii refers to the ruling Karakhanid dynasty (927–1212) in the early feudal state of the Karakhanids, which existed in Eastern Turkestan and Southern Tian Shan from the tenth century until 1212. The history of this state was described by V. V. Grigor’ev in his book Karakhanidy v Maverannafe po Tarikh-e Monajjem Bashi (The Karakhanids in Maverannaf according to the Tarikh-i Munajjim Bashi). ARAN(SPF), coll. 777, series 2, file 458, pp.12–16. Transactions of the Russian Geographic Society (Zapiski Russkogo geograficheskogo obshchestva), a periodical published by the Russian Geographic Society, founded in 1845. Tumanskii refers to the juridical claims of Armenians living in the Transcaspian Region. Sayyid Mahdi Dahaji; reference is to the note written in Persian about Sayyid Mahdi Dahaji which Tumanskii attached to his letter of 20 September 1892. Teke: one of the main Turkmen tribes. Kitab-i-Aqdas, para. 59, p. 40. Kitab-i-Aqdas, para. 97, p. 55. Kitab-i-Aqdas, para. 170, p. 81. Reference in this passage is to Haji Muhammad Karim Khan Kirmani. I.e., Maqallih-yi Shakhsi-yi Sayyah (Tarikh-i Seiakh) (A Traveller’s Narrative). It is not clear what Tumanskii is saying here. Lawh-i Bisharat (Tablet of Glad-Tidings), also called ‘Lawh-i Nida’ (Tablet of the Divine Call): a tablet in Persian written by Baha’u’llah at Bahji. It contains 15 sections called ‘Glad-Tidings’. In it he abolishes various religious laws and practices including holy war, restrictions on association with those of other faiths, and mendicancy; exhorts Baha’is to be loyal citizens; delineates the sphere of the House of Justice; urges a universal language and script and the establishment of the ‘Lesser Peace’; and expresses approval of constitutional monarchy. The portions Tumanskii refers to specifically are

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76 77 78 79

80 81 82 83

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those in which Baha’u’llah calls upon Christian monks and priests to give up seclusion and to marry, and in which he prohibits the confession of sins to other human beings (Tablets of Baha’u’llah 19–29). The word Tumanskii had asked Rozen about, khuri, relates to this tablet. Given the date of Tumanskii’s letter (3 November 1892), it seems that he is referring either to the 1891 incident of the ‘Seven Martyrs of Yazd’, or to other cases in which Baha’is were murdered around that time. See Momen, Babi and Baha’i Religions, ch. 20. Ughuznama, or Oghuznama (Book of the Oghuz), a volume of epic legends of the Oghuz tribes, part of Jami‘ al-Tavarikh by Rashid alDin Fazlullah. Originally written in Persian, it chronicles the invasion and settlement of the Oghuz Mongols in Azerbaijan as well as the spread of the Turkish language and culture there. ARAN(SPF), coll. 777, series 1, file 87, pp. 1–2-rev. Tumanskii probably interprets this as a prophecy of the RussoTurkish war of 1877–78, in which the Turkish army was defeated. Jews who converted to the Baha’i faith. Hamadan: capital of Hamadan Province, located miles west-southwest of Tehran. An important city in ancient times, located on the trade route between Mesopotamia and the east, it was home to one of the largest and oldest Jewish communities in Iran, some of whom converted to the Baha’i faith during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Aqa Sulayman Shalfurush (shawl or scarf seller): probably one of the Ashgabat Baha’is from a Jewish background. Fazil-i Qa’ini (Learned One of Qa’in), one of the titles given to Muhammad-i Qa’ini, better known as Nabil-i Akbar. Tumanskii probably refers to Aqa Husayn-i Ashchi’s biography of Baha’u’llah. Marv: an oasis city in Central Asia and an important trading centre on the caravan routes between Western and Central Asia and Mongolia and China. In 1884 the Marv oasis was occupied by the Russian army. The Transcaspian railway line passed through Ashgabat and Marv. Arendarenko: probably the surname of one of the officials of the Transcaspian Region. Several documents are attached to this letter – Tumanskii’s notes in Persian (translated and included here) and the Judeo-Persian texts referred to in the letter (ARAN(SPF), coll. 777, series 1, file 87, pp. 3-rev.–10-rev). Some Muslims believe that on rainy days ‘unclean’ Jews spread disease.

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87 ARAN(SPF), coll. 777, series 2, file 459, pp. 1–3-rev. The date appears to be written in Rozen’s hand. 88 ‘Qui ne sut se borner ne sut jamais écrire’ (He who cannot limit himself will never know how to write), a quotation from L’Art poetique by Nicolas Boileau (1636–1711). 89 The Lawh-i Yusif (Tablet of Joseph) was written by Baha’u’llah during the Acre period (1868–77). In it he explains the meaning of concepts including the beginning and end of creation, the path to God, resurrection, paradise and hellfire. 90 Kalimat-i Firdawsiyyih (Words of Paradise): a tablet written by Baha’u’llah around 1890. Among the topics covered in this tablet are religion as the basis of social order, the need to exercise justice, wisdom, unity and moderation, the qualities befitting rulers, the need of a universal language, asceticism, the legislative authority of the House of Justice, and the alarming excesses of Western civilization (Baha’u’llah, Tablets of Baha’u’llah, 55–80). 91 Tumanskii has apparently confused two tablets with similar names, both addressed to the Ottoman Grand Vizier ‘Ali Pasha. The Lawhi Ra’is (Tablet to the Chief) was written by Baha’u’llah in Persian soon after his arrival in Acre in 1868. The Sura al-Ra’is (Sura to the Chief) was written a few months earlier in Arabic while en route from Adrianople to Gallipoli, in honour of Haji Muhammad Isma‘il Kashani (Taherzadeh, Revelation of Baha’u’llah, 2: 411–13 and 4: 33–4). 92 Kashan: a city in Isfahan Province, located some 230 km south of Tehran and some 150 km north of Isfahan. 93 Reference is to the Siyah-Chal, the infamous dungeon of the Qajar period where Baha’u’llah was confined in the aftermath of the attempt on Nasir al-Din Shah’s life by several radical Babis. 94 The word used is khalatnik, referring to the kaftan worn by people in Central Asia, and here meant disdainfully. 95 Eggers: of Eggers and Co. in St Petersburg, a publisher of Orientalist works. 96 Bakharden: a station on the Transcaspian railroad line, around 1,000 km from Samarkand. It is near the settlement of Aul Bakharden, inhabited by Turkmen of the Teke tribe. 97 Aul Durun: the ruins of Durun, located some 5–6 km from the Bakharden Station. 98 Abu al-Ghazi: see p. 243 n. 61, above. 99 Tumanskii refers to offprints of his own article, ‘Dva poslednikh babidskikh otkroveniia’ (Two Recent Babi Revelations). 100 Milionnaia Street: one of the main streets in St Petersburg, close to the Winter Palace.

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246 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS 101 I. A. Kalachov: this person has not been identified. 102 Tumanskii refers here to the murder of Haji Muhammad-Riza Isfahani in Askhabad on 8 September 1889 by Iranian Shi‘is, and the trial that followed (see pp. 22–4, above). The manuscript mentioned was published in Mihrabkhani, Zindigani-yi Mirza Abu al-Fazl, 171–89, and in English in Gulpayigani, ‘Martyrdom’. 103 Ruha: This person has not been identified. 104 Rawhani: A famous Baha’i female poet of the period who wrote under the name Rawhani Bushru’i. 105 ARAN(SPF), coll. 777, series 2, file 459, pp. 4–5-rev. 106 Reference is to E. G. Browne‘s ‘Catalogue and Description of 27 Babi Manuscripts’. 107 Tumanskii refers here to his article ‘K voprosu ob avtorakh istorii babidov, izvestnoi pod imenem Tarikhe Manukchi, ili Tarikhe Jedid’ (On the Question of the Authors of the History of Babis Known under the Name Tarikh-i Manikji or Tarikh-i Jadid). 108 ‘Balsh-Beurma’: probably a district in the Transcaspian Region. The name as written cannot be identified. 109 Fazil-i Qa’ini (Learned one of Qa’in), one of the titles given to Muhammad-i Qa’ini, better known as Nabil-i Akbar. 110 See Ra’fati, ‘Mathnavi-i Nabil-i Zarandi’. 111 For information about these students of Rozen, see Morozov, ‘Russian Orientalism and Babi/Baha’i Studies’, in this volume. 112 Pancake Week (maslenitsa): In Russia, a holiday comparable to Carnival, the week before Lent, which is the last week during which dairy products are permitted. 113 ARAN(SPF), coll. 777, series 2, file 459, pp. 6–8-rev. 114 Tumanskii refers here to vol. 7 of ZVOIRAO where his articles ‘Poslednee slovo Beha-Ully’ (The Latest Word of Baha’u’llah) and ‘Iz pis’ma A. G. Tumanskogo [V. R. Rozenu o povedenii sem’i Beha’ullaha posle ego konchiny]’ (From a Letter of A. G.Tumanskii [to V. R. Rozen regarding the Behavior of the Family of Baha’u’llah after His Death]) were published. 115 Tumanskii refers here to the tablet by Baha’u’llah entitled ‘Bisharat’ (Glad-Tidings). The fifteenth section refers to forms of government. 116 Asadov: Mirza ‘Abd al-Karim-i Ardabili (Asadov), one of the earliest Baha’i merchants to emigrate from Iran to Ashgabat, and one of those who helped Tumanskii most in his early studies of the Baha’i faith. 117 About the talismanic writings of the Bab, see Saiedi, Gate of the Heart, 330–1. 118 The word used, turkmenshchina, is derisive.

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119 See p. 243 n. 61, above. 120 Tashkent: a city in Uzbekistan; it became part of the Russian Empire in 1865. 121 Shajarih-yi Turk (Genealogical Tree of the Turks): title of a book written by Abu al-Ghazi Bahadur Khan, ruler of Khiva and a Turkish historian. It was completed after his death by someone else in 1665. The book marks the beginning of Khiva historiography. 122 C. M. Frähn published the work as Historia Mongolorum in Kazan in 1825; Baron P. I. Desmaisons published a French translation (Histoire des Mongols) in St Petersburg in 1871–74). 123 Tumanskii refers to the following works: Budagov, Sravnitel’nyi slovar’ turetsko-tatarskikh narechii so vkliucheniem upotrebitel’neishikh slov arabskikh i persidskikh i s perevodom na russkii iazyk (Comparative Dictionary of Turkish–Tatar Languages, including the Most Useful Arabic and Persian Words with Translation into Russian); Vámbéry, Etymologisches wörterbuch der turco–tatarischen sprachen (Etymological Dictionary of the Turko-Tatar Languages); and V. V. Vel’iaminov-Zernov, Slovar’ dzhagataisko-turetskii (Chagatai-Turkish Dictionary). 124 Oghuz Khan: mythical ancestor of the Turkic people, who is thought to be the same as the Hun Emperor Mete. 125 Yengikent: literally, ‘New Village’, later known as Jand, a medieval Islamic town on the lower Syr Darya (Jaxartes) in Central Asia. The town is first mentioned by tenth-century geographers as an Oghuz settlement. It is probably one of the three Oghuz Turk towns mentioned by the tenth-century Arab geographer Ibn Hawqal as ‘alQarya al-Haditha’ (New Village). It was conquered by the Seljuqs in 1043/4, by the Mongols in 1220, and ceased to exist by the end of the fourteenth century. 126 Syr Darya: a river in Central Asia, also known as the Jaxartes. The river flows some 2,220 km west and northwest through Uzbekistan and southern Kazakhstan to the Aral Sea. 127 Al-Haditha (Ar.): ‘new’, probably a short version of ‘al-Qarya alHaditha’ (New Village). Masoudi: al-Mas‘udi (896–956), the wellknown Arab historian, who may have been the first to coin that term in Arabic. 128 The Transcaspian Region was formed in 1881 from the previous Transcaspian Department of the Caucasian Military Region. It consisted of the Akhaltekin, Krasnovodsk and Mangyshlak districts. The Marv, Tedzhen and Pend districts were added in 1884–85. From 1890 the Transcaspian Region was under the jurisdiction of the War Ministry, and in 1897 it became part of the Turkestan Region. 129 Tumanskii is referring to the Kitab-i Dede Kurkut (The Book of Grand-

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father Kurkut), a heroic legend, also known as Oghuznama among the Oghuz Turkish people. A collection of 12 tales in prose interspersed with verse passages, it is the oldest surviving specimen of the Oghuz epic, compiled and refined in the fifteenth century. Bartol’d published the text with Russian translation under the title Kitabi Korkud serially in Transactions, beginning with vol. 8 in 1893–94. Oghuz Illi (Turk.): country, confederation or nation of the Oghuz. The Order of St Stanislaus was founded in Poland in 1765. It became a Russian decoration in 1831 and was considered the lowest of the orders, with three classes (the third being the lowest). It was awarded to low-ranking officials. ARAN(SPF), coll. 777, series 2, file 459, pp. 9–14-rev. Mangyshlak: a mountainous peninsula on the eastern shore of the Caspian Sea; it was inhabited by several Turkish (apparently Oghuz) tribes around the first half of the tenth century and, according to Turkmen tradition, belonged to the Golden Horde in the fourteenth century. In 1834 the Russians established a fortress with a permanent garrison there, but Mangyshlak was not completely incorporated into the Russian Empire until after the occupation of the Krasnovodsk region in 1869 and the surrender of Khiva in 1873. After the Russian conquest of Turkmenia in 1881 the district became part of the Transcaspian Region. The institute to which Tumanskii refers is not quite clear. Most likely it is the Educational Department of Oriental Languages of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, mainly because of his reference to the death of M. A. Gamazov, who headed this department from 1872 to 1893. In fact it was not Petrov but Ivan Aleksandrovich Ivanov who was appointed head of the department in 1894, and worked there until 1905. He taught Arabic language and Muslim law. Tumanskii means ‘in a bad way’, in a disorderly way. It is not clear to which ‘Ali-Asghar Tumanskii refers here. However, the reference could be to Mirza ‘Ali-Asghar Faridi-yi Usku’i. Khorezm (Khwarazm): the name originally given to a region consisting of a series of states centred on the Amu Darya River delta of the Aral Sea. It was under Persian influence until 1878, it was invaded and annexed by Russia. Tumanskii probably refers here to Kuropatkin. Juchids: the Mongol dynasty named for Juchi (1184–1287), son of Genghis Khan. Khoja Tesevi: probably a reference to Khoja Ahmad Yassawi. Probably Rawzat al-Janat fi Ahwal al-‘Ulama’ wa al-Sadat (Garden of Paradise on the State of the ‘Ulama and the Descendants of the

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Prophet) by Allamih Sayyid Mirza Muhammad Baqir Musavi Chahar-suqi bin Mirza Zayn al-‘Abidin Khansari (1811–1895), a biographical dictionary and an important traditional source on the early Shi‘a. Khansari was a prolific writer of works on Arabic syntax, Islamic doctrine, jurisprudence, ethics, and other subjects, the most well known of which is Rawzat al-Janat, completed in 1869. Nuzhat al-Qulub (Hearts’ Delight), written in 1340 by Hamdallah ibn Abi Bakr Mustawfi Qazvini, a Shi‘i historian of the fourteenth century. The book, based largely on earlier material, describes Iran and Mesopotamia in the period of Sultan Abu Sa’id the Ilkhan, the great-grandson of Hulagu, conqueror of Baghdad. Samanids: a Persian dynasty that ruled in Transoxania and then in Khurasan, with its capital in Bukhara, from 819 to 1005. Muhammad ibn Ja‘far al Narshakhi (899–960), author of a tenthcentury topographical and historical work about Bukhara. Khaza’in al-‘Ulum (Treasury of the Sciences): a work by Abu alHasan Abd al-Rahman ibn Muhammad al-Nishapuri, passages of which were incorporated in Narshakhi’s history of Bukhara. Tumanskii probably refers to Tazkirih-yi Muqim Khani, also called Tarikh-i Muqim Khani, by Muhammad Yusif Mu’min Munshi bin Kwajih Baqa’ Shabarghani. It is a historical, cultural and social account of Transcaspia (1500/1–1704/5) under the Shaybanids (1501/2–1599/600) and Ashtarkhanids (1598/9–1784/5). Jami‘ al-‘Ulum wa al-Hikam (Compendium of Knowledge and Wisdom): a comprehensive collection of sciences and wisdom in commentary on 50 hadiths, written by Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali (1335–1393). Possibly Tumanskii is referring to Haji Khalifa Mustafa bin ‘Abdullah, known as Katib Chelebi. In the Russian original only half a word (pozhe-) appears, apparently because Tumanskii hurriedly neglected to finish the probable word – pozhelaete (wish). ‘Hudud al-‘Alam min al-Mashriq ila al-Maqrib’ (Regions of the World from East to West): a geography book and one of the earliest works of Persian prose, written anonymously in AD 982 for a prince of Guzgan (northwest Afghanistan). This manuscript (sometimes referred to as ‘Tumanskii’s Manuscript’), was bought, after Tumanskii’s death, by Vasilii Bartol’d from Tumanskii’s widow in 1924. That same year Bartol’d passed it on to the Manuscripts Preservation Department of the Institute of Oriental Studies in St Petersburg, where it remains now. A facsimile edition was published in Russia by Bartol’d in 1930 (Khudud al-alem). It was later researched and translated into English by Vladimir F. Minorsky and published in 1937.

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250 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS 152 Fort Aleksandrovsk (or the Aleksandrovskii Fort): the oldest Russian settlement in Transcaspia. Founded in 1846, it later became a strategic stronghold and a city. It was located in the centre of the Mangyshlak district. 153 ARAN(SPF), coll. 777, series 2, file 459, pp. 15–16-rev. 154 Muhammad Abu al-Qasim ibn Hawqal: a tenth-century geographer, traveller and chronicler, author of al-Masalik w-al-Mamalik (The Roads and the Countries) (977) later titled Surat al-Ardh (The Face of the Earth). which included descriptions of Muslim Spain as well as Italy and the Byzantine Empire. The complete work was published in Leiden in 1873. 155 Ahmad al-Ya‘qubi (d. 897): an early Arab historian and geographer. Three of his works are extant: the Tarikh, a history of the world; the Kitab al-Buldan (see n. 156, below); and a short work titled Musshakalat al-Nas li-Zamanihim on the influence of the caliphs on the lives and tastes of peoples of their time. 156 Kitab al-Buldan (Book of the Countries): a geographical work by Ahmad al-Ya‘qubi, the extant portion of which contains descriptions of important cities in Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and part of Arabia; distances between them; tax revenues; and personal observations. 157 Abu al-Harith Muhammad bin Ahmad bin Farighun: one of the rulers of the Farighunid dynasty of Guzgan. 158 No ruler of this specific name was found. Given the repetitive use of the personal name ‘‘Ala’ al-Din Muhammad’ it seems that Tumanskii wishes to refer only to one person bearing that name but is not sure whether he is a Gurid, Khwarazmshah or other ruler. 159 The Kirmani referred to here is probably the same individual referred to in n. 161 below, who copied the book titled Jahan Nama by Muhammad bin Najib Bukran Khurasani. 160 Jamih-yi Naqsh (Garment of Map). It is not clear what this title refers to. 161 Jahan Nama (Book of the World): possibly Tumanskii refers here to the title of a book by Mustafa bin ‘Abd-Allah Khalifa, also known as Katib Chelebi (Haji Khalifa) . But, given the Khwarazmshahs context, it is more likely that he is referring to another book with the identical title, written by Muhammad bin Najib Bukran Khurasani, which was dedicated to Sultan ‘Ala’ al-Din Khwarazmshah. That book was reproduced in 1235/6 in Mas‘ud bin Mas‘ud Kirmani’s handwriting some 58 years after it was written by Muhammad bin Najib Bukran Khurasani. The book is valuable for its information on thirteenth-century Iran and neighbouring peoples.

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162 Ghazan: a Turkmen dynasty of Mongolian origin. 163 Mangyshlak was first referred to as ‘Siyah-Kuh’ (Black Mountain) in the ‘Hudud al-Alam’ (Encyclopedia of Islam, vol. 7, ‘Mangishlak’). 164 In Medieval times the Caspian Sea was referred to as ‘Bahr-i Abaskun’ (Sea of Abaskun) after the port of Abaskun which then existed on its southwestern shore (Encyclopaedia Iranica, www.iranica. com/articles/abaskun). 165 Kirghiz (or Kyrgyz): a Turkish people, mentioned in the earliest Chinese accounts of Central Asia – from the second century AD – as under the Kien-Kuen people. The name ‘Kyrghyz’ first appears in the Orkhon inscriptions of the eighth century when the Kirghiz lived on the Upper Yenisei River. Conquered by the Mongols in the thirteen century, by the sixteenth century they were mostly ruled by Kazakhs. They came under Russian rule in 1864. 166 The Urals: mountain range in west-central Russia extending for about 2,100 km from the Kara Sea in the north to the Ural River in the south. 167 ARAN(SPF), coll. 777, series 2, file 459, pp. 17–18-rev. 168 Tumanskii has incorrectly copied some of the text here. Vladimir Minorsky, in his preface to the English translation of the work, describes this section of the manuscript as follows: ‘The unique manuscript was copied in 656/1258 by Abu’l Mu’ayyad ‘Abd alQayyum ibn al Husayn ibn ‘Ali al-Farisi … The same half-erased name appears on the title page: sahibuhu katibuhu al-‘abd al-mudhnib almuhtaj ila rahmati’llahi ta ‘ala Abul-Mu ... ‘Abd al- ...’ (xli). 169 Khandalykskaia: It is not clear what Tumanskii is referring to here. 170 Yaghma: an area in Turkestan. 171 The text continues with an example from the manuscript. 172 ARAN(SPF), coll. 777, series 2, file 459, pp. 19–20-rev. 173 In Tumanskii’s preface to his translation of the Kitab-i Aqdas, he thanks Fel’dman, who at the time of publication was director of the Aleksandrovskii Lyceum, for organizing his trip to Persia. 174 Tumanskii refers here to Browne’s relations with the Baha’is after Browne, disappointed that the Baha’is would not take an active role in Iranian politics, as he had hoped they would do, gave his support to the Azalis. See Balyuzi, Edward Granville Browne. 175 ARAN(SPF), coll. 777, series 2, file 459, pp. 21–4-rev. 176 Tumanskii here refers to Browne’s publication of the Tarikh-i-Jadid, published that year (1893). 177 In that book, Browne writes: ‘Thanks to Lieutenant Toumansky of the Russian Artillery, to whose energetic and successful researches

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amongst the Babis of ‘Ishkabad science owes so much … ’ (Tarikh-iJadid, xxxiii). Reference is to the historical account by Haji Mirza Jani Kashani. Meaning Turkmen tribes living in Persia. Homo sum ex nihil (Lat.): ‘I am a man out of nothing.’ Tumanskii has evidently conflated two Latin sayings: ‘Homo sum, humani nihil a me alienum puto’ (‘I am a man and nothing human is alien to me’) and ‘Ex nihilo nihil fit’ (‘Nothing comes out of nothing’). Tumanskii’s training was at the Educational Department of Oriental Languages of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; see pp. 64–5, above. By ‘Stanislavs’ (the Order of St Stanislaus) Tumanskii means ‘decorations’ or ‘awards’. See p. 248 n. 131, above. ARAN(SPF), coll. 777, series 2, file 460, pp.1–4-rev. Namely, Russian diplomats in Iran. Russians, like many other European nationals, enjoyed capitulatory rights in Iran, which gave them immunity from being prosecuted by the local legal system. Reference is to the tablet to Haji Muhammad Karim Khan Kirmani known as the Lawh-i Qina (Tablet of the Veil). Lawh-i Basit al-Haqiqa (Tablet of Elementary Reality): A tablet from the Acre period, in which Baha’u’llah discusses the philosophical question of ontological monism (wahdat al-wujud, ‘oneness of being’), a view held by the followers of Ibn Arabi (d. 1240), notably Mulla Sadra and the Sufis. The title is taken from the formulation of Mulla Sadra, ‘The simple reality is all things.’ Ishraqat (Splendours): a tablet by Baha’u’llah from the late Acre period (1873–92). Written in response to questions of Jalil Khu’i, it calls upon the followers of the Bab to recognize the station of Baha’u’llah as the Bab’s promised one; discusses various topics including the infallibility of the Manifestation, Azal’s rebellion, and moral principles necessary to a just society; makes interest lawful (abrogating the Islamic prohibition thereon); and lists nine ‘splendours’ including the role of religion as the moral basis of social order, the establishment of the ‘Most Great Peace’, the need for a universal language, the obligation to educate one’s sons and daughters, the authority of the House of Justice and unity as the purpose of religion (Tablets of Baha’u’llah, 99–134). Risalih-yi Siyasiyyih (Treatise on Politics): the title of a work written by ‘Abdu’l-Baha, in 1892/3. The Risalih-yi Siyasiyyih argues that the role of the clergy is to provide moral and ethical guidance but not to govern, which is the role of the civil government. He cites Baha’u’llah’s

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directive of loyalty and obedience to government, linking it to statements in the Bible and the Qur’an, and recounts episodes in Iranian and Ottoman history of the destructive interference of the clergy in politics, including the failed holy war against Russia that lost Iran its Caspian territories. He also discusses the role of the clergy in religious persecution and tyranny and emphasizes the need for civil government to be guided by ethical principles and to safeguard the welfare of the people. Tumanskii was elected a corresponding member of the Imperial Russian Archaeological Society in 1893. Presumably, the summons to St Petersburg that he expected to receive from Fel’dman. ARAN(SPF), coll. 777, series 2, file 460, pp. 5–6-rev. Namely, ‘Abdu’l-Baha, who resided in Acre then. ARAN(SPF), coll. 777, series 2, file 460, pp. 7–9-rev. Uzun Ada: a station built in 1886 on the eastern shore of the Caspian Sea, south of Krasnovodsk, as the original western terminus of the Transcaspian Railway. Britain perceived Russia’s construction of that railway line as a threatening move in the ‘Great Game’ (Gerace, Military Power,182). Astarabad: a city in northern Iran near the Caspian Sea, since 1930 known as Gurgan. In 1723 it was transferred to Russia and in 1732 it was returned to Persia. Karakalla (Kara-Kala): a settlement in the Krasnovodsk district of Turkmenia. Staff Captain: an officer rank in the Russian army (excluding the cavalry) during 1801–1917. Bashkir: a Turkic ethnic group residing in Bashkortostan, in the southern Ural mountains. Goklan: A Turkmen tribe mainly inhabiting part of the Khiva Oasis. Farmers and silk producers in the nineteenth century, they tended to side with the Russians in the Russian campaigns against the Teke and other tribes the Goklan considered their traditional enemies. Asiatic Museum: a scientific institution founded in 1818 in St Petersburg, which preserved a rich collection of manuscripts and books in various Oriental languages and had very good library. In 1930 it became the foundation for the creation of the Institute of Oriental Studies at the Academy of Sciences. ARAN(SPF), coll. 777, ser. 2, file 460, pp. 10–10-rev. Burujird: a town in Iran situated on the road connecting Hamadan with Ahwaz via Khurramabad.

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254 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS 204 Chahar Mahali: the second-smallest province of Iran, located in the Zagros mountains in the south-west. Sparsely populated, it is the summer home of the nomadic Bakhtiari tribe. 205 Tumanskii’s wife was pregnant. 206 Nayriz: a town in the province of Fars in southern Iran (in 1872 its population was estimated at 3,500). Nayriz was the centre of the Babi upheavals of 1850 and 1853 led by Sayyid Yahya Darabi. An active Baha’i community lived there in the 1890s. 207 Bandar ‘Abbas: an Iranian port city at the entrance to the Persian Gulf, both strategically and commercially important as the terminal point of trade routes from Yazd and Kirman to the north, and Lar, Shiraz and Isfahan to the north-west. 208 ARAN(SPF), coll. 777, series 2, file 460, pp. 11–13. 209 Qum: the capital of the province of Qum. It is considered a holy city in Shi‘a Islam as it is the site of the shrine of Fatima, sister of Imam ‘Ali, and is the location of Iran’s largest seminary. 210 For the text of Tumanskii’s reports, see vol. 2, docs. 32 and 33. 211 A reference to the manuscript of Nuqtat al-Kaf in the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris, which E. G. Browne thought was Jani’s chronicle (see Browne, Tarikh-i-Jadid, xxx and Appendix 2). 212 Princess Shams-i Jihan, granddaughter of Fath-‘Ali Shah, a poet known as ‘Fitnih’, who became a follower of Baha’u’llah after meeting him in Baghdad. A poem of hers (to which Tumanskii may be referring here) is found in Mazandarani, Zuhur al-Haqq, 6: 412–14. 213 Tumanskii refers to the Tenth International Congress of Orientalists, which took place in Geneva that year (1894). 214 ARAN(SPF), coll. 777, series 2, file 460, pp.14–15-rev. 215 See vol. 2, docs. 32 and 33. 216 Kitab-i Mutanabbi’in (The Book of Those Pretending to be Prophets): a historical work by I’tizad al-Saltanih about those who made claims to prophethood, drawing on Sipihr’s Nasikh al-Tavarikh for most of the content regarding the Babis and thus reflecting the latter work’s biases (Abbas Amanat, ‘I‘tezad-al-Saltana’, ‘Aliqoli Mirza’, Encyclopaedia Iranica, www.iranica.com/articles/etezad-al-saltana). 217 I.e., from E. G. Browne. 218 Orientalische Bibliographie: a 26-volume serial bibliography of Oriental studies published in Berlin, 1887–1911. 219 The new Russian tsar, Nicholas II (1868–1918), who became tsar in 1894 and ruled until 1917. 220 The Guard, as it was originally called, was the most elite unit in the

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Imperial Russian Army. It was created by Peter the Great from the Preobrazhenskii and Semenovskii regiments and was composed generally of nobility. According to the Table of Ranks of 1722, the officers of Guard regiments were upgraded by two ranks compared to the same rank in the regular troops. In 1813 the Guard was divided into the ‘Old Guard’ and the ‘Young Guard’, and the officers of the Young Guard were upgraded by only one rank. In 1884 this upgrading was cancelled in the Young Guard, while in the Old Guard it was reduced to only one rank. ARAN(SPF), coll. 777, series 2, file 460, pp. 16–19. Malayir, also called Dawlatabad: a town in the province of Hamadan. Najafabad: a town in the province of Isfahan located 28 km west of Isfahan. Sidih: a town in the province of Isfahan located some 16 km west of Isfahan. Abadih: a town situated at an elevation of 6,200 feet in a fertile plain on the high road between Isfahan and Shiraz. Fars: Iran’s major province in the south. Shiraz, its capital, was the site of the announcement by Sayyid ‘Ali-Muhammad on 23 May 1844, that he was the Bab, or ‘Gate’ (to divine truth). Zarqan: a village in the province of Fars located some 35 km northeast of Shiraz. Sarvistan: a town in the province of Fars located some 75 km southeast of Shiraz. Sirjan: formerly Sa‘dabad, once the major city in the province of Kirman. Rafsanjan: a city in the province of Kirman, on the Yazd road, 120 km west of the city of Kirman. Curzon estimated that there were at least half a million Iranian Baha’is and probably closer to a million. The Bakhtiyaris are a combination of various groups who in the tenth century migrated from Syria to Iran, and are probably Kurdish in origin. They live in an area that ranges from Isfahan to Maydan-i Naftun in Khuzistan. Banu Shayban: a mostly nomadic Beduin Arab tribe, one of the subtribes of the Rabi‘a (which, together with the Mudhar, formed the Northern Arabian tribes). Tumanskii published this document in the supplementary material included in his edition of the Kitab-i Aqdas, Kitabe Akdes, xviii–xvix.

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256 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS 235 The semiprecious stone carnelian was used in signets and seals by the ancients. 236 Alashtar (Alishtar), an area said to have been inhabited for 4,000 years. 237 Yenisei: a river 3,487 km long in northern Asia on the border of western and eastern Siberia, which empties into the Karskoe Sea. The Yenisei inscriptions: a memorial text in the Orkhon-Yenisei Turkish runic language written on the Orkhon stones. The texts were researched and decoded by V. Thomsen in 1893 and published in 1894 by V. V. Radlov. 238 ARAN(SPF), coll. 777, series 2, file 460, pp. 20–21-rev. 239 The military administration of civilian areas, mainly in border areas or recently conquered territories. All of Central Asia remained under military administration until the Revolution. 240 Mikhail Evgrafovich Saltykov-Shchedrin (1826–1889): Russian satiric writer. Here Tumanskii refers to Istoriia odnogo goroda (The History of a Town) (1870), in which the author presented grotesque portraits of the officials of a town called ‘Sillyville’ which were caricatures of famous figures in Russian history. 241 Transcaspian Review: the local newspaper in the Transcaspian Region. 242 The word is not entirely clear. 243 Reference is to August Müller’s Der Islam im Morgen- und Abendland, titled in Russian Istoriia islama s osnovaniia do noveishikh vremen (History of Islam from Its Founding to Modern Times). 244 ARAN(SPF), coll. 777, series 2, file 460, pp. 22–3; Krasnoe Selo, or Dudergof: a settlement near St Petersburg established during the rule of Peter the Great; from 1824 it was the permanent location of the Guards’ summer camp. 245 The article was later published by Tumanskii as ‘Novootkrytyi persidskii geograf X stoletiia i izvestiia ego o slavianakh i russakh’ (A Newly Discovered Persian Geographer of the Tenth Century and His Information regarding the Slavs and Russians). 246 Al-Ahram (The Pyramids): Egyptian newspaper founded in 1875 and long regarded as the leading Arabic-language daily newspaper. 247 It is likely that this article was written by Mirza Abu al-Fazl Gulpayigani, who was living in Cairo at the time and writing articles in the Egyptian press. 248 ARAN(SPF), coll. 777, series 2, file 460, pp. 24–5. 249 Études orientales: Legislation musulmane. Filiation et divorce is a book about Islamic law written by Irinei Georgievich Nofal’. 250 Hidaya: a reference to Hedaya, or Guide: A Commentary on the Mussulman Laws, translated by Charles Hamilton. B. D. Grodekov produced a Russian translation from the English text in 1893.

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251 Pages: Tumanskii is referring to graduates from the Corps of Pages, an educational institution that was attended by children of the Russian aristocracy. 252 ARAN(SPF), coll. 777, series 2, file 460, pp. 26–26-rev. 253 ARAN(SPF), coll. 777, series 2, file 460, pp. 27–8. 254 A reference to the Tablet of Seven Questions (Lawh-i Haft Purshish), which Tumanskii included in the third appendix of his Russian edition of the Kitab-i Aqdas, along with the tablets of Ishraqat, Tarazat, Tajalliyat and Kalimat-i Firdawsiyyih. Tumanskii explains that he obtained the manuscript from Baha’u’llah’s son-in-law, Haji Sayyid ‘Ali Afnan, who was in Ashgabat in December 1891. The tablet was in answer to questions of Ustad Javan-Mard, a Baha’i who had converted from Zoroastrianism and who had been a student of Maneckji Limji Hataria; an English translation is published in Baha’u’llah, Tabernacle of Unity, 57–64). 255 Novoe vremia: see p. 236 n. 54, above. 256 Karl Germanovich Zaleman, director of the Asiatic Museum, led an expedition to Bukhara in 1897. After reaching Margelan, as he himself wrote, he ‘had an unhappy adventure’ (apparently he broke his leg) and as a result could not travel to the mountain areas. See Zaleman’s report of his expedition in Mélanges asiatiques. 257 ARAN(SPF), coll. 777, series 2, file 460, pp. 29–29-rev. 258 Vyborg Side: a district of St Petersburg. 259 A reference to Kalimat-i Firdawsiyyih (Words of Paradise), a tablet of Baha’u’llah, which Tumanskii included in an appendix to his edition of the Kitab-i Aqdas. See p. 245 n. 90 above. 267 ARAN(SPF), coll. 777, series 2, file 460, pp. 30–1. 268 Asiatic Museum: see p. 253 n. 201, above. Letter of A. P. Orlov 1 ARAS(SPB), coll. 777, series 2, file 325, pp. 2–3-rev. 2 Collegiate Counsellor C. Kokhanovskii was the Russian consul in Astarabad. 3 Leonid Adolfovich Piper: acting Russian consul in Astarabad in 1882. 4 Apparently, inches. 5 The Arabic Bayan was written by the Bab in Maku (with the last sections possibly after he was moved to Chahriq) and is a shorter, condensed version of the Persian Bayan. The text was left incomplete, to be finished by ‘him whom God shall make manifest’. See Saiedi, Gate of the Heart, 35, 261. 6 ‘Livre des préceptes’: The title given by Gobineau to his French

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8 9

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translation of a portion of the Arabic Bayan which was printed as an appendix to Les Religions et les philosophies dans l’Asie centrale. These are the first lines of a prayer known as ‘Jami’ih-yi Saghirih’, written by the Bab while in Shiraz, in the early period of his mission. The prayer was to be read while visiting the tombs of the Shi‘i Imams, and was probably intended to demonstrate to the Shi‘i population (and clerics) that the Babis also believed in the Imams (see Mazandarani, Asrar al-Athar, 3: 6). The Bab here makes reference to the seven stages of divine creative action: Will, Determination, Destiny, Decree, Permission, Term, and Book – a frequent motif in his writings (see Saiedi, Logos and Civilization, ch. 2, and Gate of the Heart, ch. 8). Collections scientifiques de l’Institut des langues orientales du Ministère des affaires étrangères. The Kitab-i Iqan (The Book of Certitude), written in Baghdad in 1862 by Baha’u’llah in answer to questions posed by an uncle of the Bab about the prophetic claim of his nephew. It is regarded as Baha’u’llah’s major doctrinal work, and as the completion of the Persian Bayan. In it Baha’u’llah describes how the seeker after religious truth can attain objectivity, and explains concepts such as progressive revelation and the fulfilment of prophecy. ‘Surih-yi Khab-i Yusif ’: It is not clear which work Orlov is referring to. There is no known work by the Bab entitled ‘Sura of Joseph’s Dream’. The Commentary on the Sura of Joseph (the Qayyum alAsma’), which the Bab began on the night he declared himself to be the Promised One in the presence of Mulla Husayn (23 May 1844) in Shiraz, is much longer than the text Orlov describes and was written before the Bab was imprisoned in Maku. Maku (Mah-Ku): a small town in the province of Azerbaijan, Iran, close to the Russian and Turkish borders. The Bab was imprisoned in the fortress near Maku for nine months (July 1847–April 1848). When the Russian government requested that he be moved away from the border, the Bab was transferred to Chahriq. Joseph Arthur Comte de Gobineau, Les Religions et les philosophies dans l’Asie centrale, first published in 1865. Gobineau’s book, which described the rise of the Babi movement and identified it as a significant phenomenon deserving of serious study, became very popular and made a strong impression on many Europeans, including poets and academics, thus playing an important role in awakening interest in the Babi movement among such scholars as E. G. Browne. E. G. Browne, ‘The Babis of Persia’ and ‘Catalogue and Description of 27 Babi Manuscripts’. Two works by Dorn are possibilities here: ‘Die vordem Chanykov’-

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sche, jetzt der Kaiserlichen öffentlichen Bibliothek zugehorige Sammlung von morgenlandischen Handschriften’; and ‘Nachträge zu dem Verzeichniss der von der Kaiserlichen öffentlichen Bibliothek erworbenen Chanykov’schen Handschriften und den da mitgetheilten Nachrichten über die Baby und deren Koran’. Clément Huart, ‘Notes sur trois ouvrages Babis’. Clément Huart was a nineteenth-century French Orientalist. ‘Iu’ for ‘Iurii,’ the diminutive of Georgii. Along the margin of this page is written: ‘Please inform me later of the price of these books and of the postage.’ See p. 237 n. 59, above. The reference is to Matvei Avel’evich Gamazov. In fact, the Ninth Congress of Orientalists was held in September 1892 in London. The reference is to Leonid Adolfovich Piper. Ziiarst (Ziyarat-i Khasih Rud): located some 15 km southeast of Astarabad (Gurgan). Nadezhdinskaia Street (from 1936, Maiakovskogo Street): a street in the centre of St Petersburg.

Letter of Georgii Batiushkov 1 ARAS(SPB), coll. 777, series 2, file 25, pp. 11–14-rev. 2 See p. 237 n. 59, above. 3 Batiushkov mentions members of the editorial board of Zapiski whose names he saw in the eighth volume as participants in the meeting of the board that took place on 28 February 1893: V. G. Bok, V. G. Druzhinin and Kh. M. Loparev. See Zapiski, 8 (1893), 1. 4 Nikolai Fedorovich Katanov, who published two articles in that volume: ‘Gadan’ia u zhitelei Vostochnogo Turkestana, govoriashchikh na tatarskom iazyke’ (Divination among the Inhabitants of Eastern Turkestan Who Speak the Tatar Language), and ‘Tatarskie skazaniia o semi spiashchikh otrokakh’ (Tatar Legends about Seven Sleeping Lads). 5 Batiushkov uses a short version of the abbreviation ZVOIRAO. 6 Batiushkov refers to an article by A. G. Tumanskii, ‘K voprosu ob avtorakh istorii babidov, izvestnoi pod imenem Tarikhe Manukchi, ili Tarikhe Dzhedid’ (On the Question of the Authors of the History of the Babis Known under the Name ‘Tarikh-i Manikji’ or ‘Tarikh-i Jadid’). 7 The Book of Scholars: the first modern Persian encyclopedia, compiled under the patronage of I‘tizad al-Saltanih, a son of Nasir al-Din Shah

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and his first minister of education. The project was begun in 1877 and covered figures of importance, including Muslims and nonMuslims, in the fields of scholarship, medicine, poetry and mysticism from the start of Islam up to the Qajar period. One of the authors, Mirza Hasan Taliqani (Adib), was a Baha’i but was dismissed after I‘tizad al-Saltanih’s death. The project was discontinued in 1906/7. As indicated above, the project did not stop after the publication of the first volume, but continued for another six volumes. Ahl-i Haqq (Ar.): ‘people of God (Truth)’, a secret syncretistic religion based on Shi‘ism, Founded in the fourteenth century, it is prevalent mainly in western Iran among the Kurdish population, the lower classes, nomads, rural dwellers and dervishes. The incident could not be traced. The Kitab-i Iqan (The Book of Certitude). See p. 258 n. 9, above. Surih-yi Haykal (Sura of the Temple): a major tablet of Baha’u’llah, first written in Edirne but later revised in Acre and combined with his tablets to Pope Pius IX, Emperor Napoleon III, Tsar Alexander II, Queen Victoria and Nasir al-Din Shah, and arranged in the form of a five-pointed star, representing the human temple. In this tablet Baha’u’llah describes the Manifestation of God as a mirror reflecting the sovereignty of God in the human realm (Summons, 1–137). The ‘of course’ used here by Batiushkov refers to the number 19, which is symbolically important in the Babi–Baha’i faith, thus indicating that it is no surprise that a Baha’i book costs 19 krans (qirans). Here Batiushkov refers to E. G. Browne’s ‘Catalogue and Description of 27 Babi Manuscripts’. According to the Kitab-i Aqdas, the believer should recite one of three obligatory prayers daily, two of which are to be said at specific times of the day. The third (long) prayer may be said at any time. Prayer is to be preceded by ablutions, and recited while facing in the direction of the tomb of Baha’u’llah at Bahji. Jawahir al-Asrar (Gems of Divine Mysteries): a tablet in Arabic by Baha’u’llah written in Baghdad c. 1860/1, for Haji Sayyid Muhammad Yusif Sihdihi Isfahani, a prominent Shi‘i cleric, in reply to his questions such as how the promised Mahdi could have been ‘transformed’ into the Bab, i.e., return in a different human form. The tablet describes the stages of spiritual quest, comments on biblical prophecies and Qur’anic passages about the Mahdi, and discusses various theological themes. Lawh-i Hikmat (Tablet of Wisdom): a tablet written by Baha’u’llah in answer to questions from the Baha’i philosopher Aqa Muhammad Qa’ini (Nabil-i Akbar) in Acre in 1873 or 1874. In it Baha’u’llah

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exhorts the reader to exemplify divine virtues including generosity, wisdom, unity, patience, truthfulness and love for all mankind; discusses the origin of creation; and argues that the fundamentals of philosophy, as reflected in Plato and Aristotle, derive from the Prophets of God (Tablets, 135–52). Sahifih-yi Muti’adidih: sahifih (‘book’ or ‘epistle’) is the designation used for several of the Bab’s works, but muti‘adidih (‘various’ or ‘numerous’) does not make sense. Batiushkov may have meant to refer to the Bab’s Sahifih-yi Adliyyih (Book of Justice). Tibyan (Ar.): ‘Manifestation’, ‘Explanation’. No known Babi or Baha’i work of the period bears such a title. Possibly Batiushkov simply made a mistake and was actually referring to the Bayan, although that work is by the Bab. Lawh-i Siraj (Tablet to Siraj): a long tablet addressed to Mulla ‘AliMuhammad Siraj of Isfahan, a follower of Azal. It was written in Edirne between 1864 and 1868 and answers Siraj’s questions as to why Azal could be evil since the Bab conferred exalted titles and status on him. Baha’u’llah explains that all titles and qualities are dependent on faithfulness and become nullified when the individual turns away from God (Taherzadeh, Revelation of Baha’u’llah, 2: 262–3). ‘My Hasan’: Batiushkov probably refers to Mirza Hasan Adib. Madaniyyih: i.e., Asrar al-Ghaybiyya li-Asbab al-Madaniyya (The Secret of Divine Civilization). See p. 239 n. 18, above. Javab az su’al-i haybih-yi jadid: it is not clear what Batiushkov is referring to. No title of a work could be identified which bears a resemblance to those words. Haft Vadi (The Seven Valleys): a treatise by Baha’u’llah, written in Baghdad sometime after his return from Kurdistan (1856) in reply to a letter by Shaykh Muhi al-Din of Khanaqin. It describes the seven stages (‘valleys’) of the journey of the seeker towards God, using the terminology of Farid al-Din ‘Attar’s poetic work, Mantiq alTayr (The Conference of the Birds) (1177). ‘Primal Point’: a frequently used title of the Bab, referring to his station as the manifestation of the Primal Will of God, the creator and origin of all things. The sentence is ambiguous because of the presence of the words written in Persian. At the hands of Azal, who challenged Baha’u’llah for the leadership of the Babi community after the Bab’s death. Azal conspired against Baha’u’llah, including attempting to kill him by poisoning. Mustayqiz (Sleeper Awakened): a work written by Azal in the 1850s as a rebuttal to a treatise refuting his claim to be the successor of the Bab, written by Mirza Asadullah Khu’i Dayyan, whom Azal ordered

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murdered. It includes extensive quotations from the Bab’s writings and is the only source for quotations from the writings of Dayyan. Nasikh al-Tavarikh: see p. 239 n. 22, above. Rawzat al-Safa: Rawzat al-Safa-yi Nasiri, a work commissioned by Nasir al-Din Shah, consisting of an edition of, as well as a threevolume supplement to, Mirkhvand’s Rawzat al-Safa. It is an important source for Qajar history, containing much reference to Babi history, including Babi trials. A reference to the series, Collections scientifiques de l’Institut des langues orientales du Ministère des affaires étrangères. The Arabic letters ba (numerically equivalent to 2), ha (equivalent to 5), alif (equivalent to 1) and the Arabic letter-sign hamza (equivalent to 1). Evidently the 27 manuscripts mentioned by E. G. Browne in his article, ‘Catalogue and Description of 27 Babi Manuscripts’. Probably a reference to a self-deprecating comment Batiushkov had made to Rozen. Batiushkov is playfully alluding to the fact that in 1893 Viktor Rozen, who was a professor of Arabic, was appointed dean of the Faculty of Oriental Languages at St Petersburg University. He held that post until 1902. Linovskii could not be identified. It was not Linovskii but Ivan Aleksandrovich Ivanov who was appointed head of the Educational Department of Oriental Languages of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (often referred to as the ‘Institute’ by many of Rozen’s correspondents) in 1894, and worked there until 1905. At the same time, he taught Arabic language and Islamic law. Conceivably, the Linovskii referred to in the text had been one of the candidates for the post. Batiushkov probably refers here to Matvei Avel’evich Gamazov’s book, Kratkii voenno-tekhnicheskii russko-frantsuzsko-turetsko-persidskii slovar (Short Military-Technical Russian–French–Turkish–Persian Dictionary), which had already been published. It is likely that Batiushkov is referring to N. P. Shishkin, a highranking official in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who was later (1896) appointed deputy minister, and Count Dmitrii Alekseevich Kapnist. Here Batiushkov apparently teases Rozen because he used the title ‘Baron’ officially. A reference to Nikolai Iakovlevich Marr and his family.

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INDEX Italic numbers denote illustrations; bold numbers denote entries in biographical notes

Abadih 162, 214n47 Abaskun, Sea of 140 ‘Abd al-Karim Ardabili, Mirza (Asa dov) 132 ‘Abd al-Karim, Sayyid 40 ‘Abd al-Salam, Shaykh, Shaykh alIslam Tiflisi 43–4, 44 ‘Abdu’l-Baha 6, 12, 28, 35, 44, 45, 74, 115, 118, 148, 163, 182, 187, 188, 189, 193, 197, 199, 200 ‘Abdullah, Mulla 125, 126 Abhari, Mirza Muhammad-Taqi 109, 160 Abu al-Ghazi Bahadur Khan 116, 129, 133, 134, 152, 187, 227n89, 243n61 Abu al-Harith Muhammad bin Ahmad 139 Abu al-Hasan Mirza Qajar Shaykh al-Ra’is 187, 214n37 Abu al-Husayn Ahmad Mu’iz alDawlih 139, 188 Acre (‘Akka) 6, 91, 94, 97, 110, 111, 114–5, 135, 142, 148, 149, 163, 182 Adib see Taliqani, Haji Mirza Hasan (Adib) Adrianople see Edirne Adventures of Hajji Baba of Ispahan,The 88 Afnan, Haji Mirza Muhammad-‘Ali 69 Afnan, Haji Mirza Muhammad-Taqi (Shirazi) Vakil al-Dawlih 19, 27, 28, 69, 188 Afnan, Haji Mirza Sayyid Hasan 20, 188

Afnan, Haji Sayyid ‘Ali 257n254 Afnan, Mirza Abu al-Hasan Afnan 114 Afnan, Mirza Mahmoud 32 Afnan, Sayyid Muhsin 19 Afnan family 22, 28, 32, 35, 69 Aghsan 114 Ahl-i Haqq 181 Ahmad and Yusuf, story of 113 Ahmad Jalayir 241n38 Ahram, al- (Cairo) 166 Ahsa’i, Shaykh Ahmad 2, 108, 188, 202, 203 Akhal-Khurasan Convention 18 Akhund, Haji 160 ‘Ala’ al-Din Muhammad 139, 189 Aleksandrovsk, Fort 138, 139 Alexander I, Tsar 51 Alexander II, Tsar 16 Alexander III, Tsar 224n32 ‘Ali, Mirza 126 ‘Ali Khan, Mirza 116 Ali-Kuli Khan Nabil al-Dawlih, Mirza 189, 214n37 ‘Ali-Quli Mirza I‘tizad al-Saltanih 161, 189 ‘Allam, Mir 42 Amin, Haji 160 Amin al-Sultan 24 ‘Andalib, Mirza ‘Ali-Ashraf Lahijani 111, 111, 189 Anichkov, Nikolai Andrianovich 52–3 Ansari, Shaykh Murtaza al- 238n13 Anti-religious Commission 46–7

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282 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS Aqa Jan Kashani, Mirza, (Khadimullah) 97, 197 ‘Aqa’id al-Shi‘a 105 Aqasi, Haji Mirza 2–3, 15 Archive of Foreign Policy of the Russian Empire 53, 58 Archive of the Russian Academy of Sciences xiv, 59 Arendarenko 123 Armenia 14, 43 Armenians 27, 38, 43, 45, 97–8, 102, 107, 117, 199 aryk 102 Asadov, Mirza ‘Abd al-Karim-i Ardabili 132 Asghar, Mirza ‘Ali 136 Ashgabat (Askhabad) 18–19, 65, 68, 112, 115, 118, 119, 140, 159, 161, 167 Baha’is of 20–27, 28, 29, 31–2, 33, 34, 35, 47, 59, 69, 73, 92, 93–5, 97, 101–2, 106, 111, 122, 129–30, 132, 143, 149 Ashraf, Ustad ‘Ali 42 Asiatic Museum 50–1, 56, 155, 171, 191 Astarabad 53, 64, 90, 152, 173 Astrakhan 40, 72 ‘Attar, Farid al-Din 261n24 auls 18, 100, 116, 129, 136, 137 awqaf 81 A’yin-i Hushang 107 Azal, Mirza Yahya 5, 6, 62, 144, 158, 182, 183, 190, 192, 212n18, 233n14, 252n188, 261n20, 261n26, 261n27 Azalis 5, 190, 192, 251n174 Azerbaijan 18, 38, 41, 43, 44 Bab, the 1–4, 15, 54, 110, 190, 198 Babi (term) 5 Babi movement 3, 54–5 Babis/Baha’is in al-Ahram 166–7 immigrate to Ashgabat 19–20 and E. G. Browne 144, 167 among elite 163, 214n37 establish funds 46 and foreign governments 8

intercede for Shi‘is 24, 195–6 in Iran 12–13, 88, 162–3 liquidated in Soviet Union 46–7 numbers of 9, 10, 13, 91, 97, 163 order books 110, 129 persecution of 4, 7–8, 11, 15, 16, 17, 20, 22–3, 24, 42, 46, 60–1, 73–4, 88, 93, 97, 98, 123, 125–7, 135 and Russian nationality 19, 93–4, 97, 99, 102, 234n33 Badasht, Conference of 190, 203 Badkubih’i, Mulla Sadiq Shahid 41 Baghdad 5, 16, 53, 69, 72, 107, 190, 191, 193 Baha’i religion 1, 6–7 conversions to 7, 8, 9, 11, 26–7, 36, 38, 41, 98 future of 94 and Orthodoxy 25, 55, 94, 98 propagation of 35–6, 40–1, 43, 44–5, 98, 99 and reform in Iran 12 see also Babis/Baha’is Baha’u’llah 4–7, 53, 91, 94, 97, 110, 119, 144, 183, 190–1, 196, 197 death of 111, 114 and immigration to Ashgabat 19 on interest 77–80, 82 writings of 106, 115, 119, 128, 135, 174, 200, 205 Bahji 111 Bahr al-‘Ulum 108, 191 Bakharden 129 Bakhtiyaris 162, 163 Baku 18, 19, 72, 177, 181 Baha’is of 5, 41–3, 44, 66, 74, 101 Bakulin, Fedor Abramovich 17, 61, 62, 113, 191 Balakhani 41, 44 Balsh-Beurma 130 Bandar ‘Abbas 156, 162 Banu Shayban 163 Barda 41, 44, 45 Baronovskii, M. 16 Bartol’d, Vasilii Vladimirovich 57, 65, 133–4, 148, 155, 166, 168, 169, 191, 249n151 Bashkirs 152

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INDEX Bassar, Mirza Baqir 114 bath-houses 11, 27 Batiushkov, Georgii 63, 156, 176, 178, 179, 181–3, 185 Baumgarten, A. F. 62, 191 Bayan, the 3, 61, 173–4 Bayer, G. Z. 50 Bayhaki, Abu al-Fazl 137, 192 Berezin, Il’ia Nikolaevich 185, 192 Bezobrazov, V. V. 61 Bihar al-Anwar 105 Bisharat 119, 132 Biutsov, Yevgenii Karlovich 24, 26 Blinov, A. V. 96 Boital, Fabius 87, 192 Bok, V. G. 179 Britain 14, 94, 98, 99, 107, 144, 158, 206 British army 107 Browne, Edward Granville 5, 9, 59, 65, 105, 108, 110, 112, 118, 128, 129, 130, 144, 163, 167, 166, 183, 189, 192, 240n28, 258n12 Bukhara 32, 36, 37, 64, 100, 112, 119, 138, 170 Burma 11 Burujird 155, 156 Cairo 72, 194, 256n247 capitulatory status 23 carpet weaving 71, 72, 87 Caspian Sea 20 Catholic Church 76 Caucasus 14, 15, 17, 18, 38, 40–7, 181 Chahar-Mehali 155 Cherniaev, Sergei Ivanovich 53, 90, 192–3 chevaliers d’industrie 86 China 11 cholera 100, 112, 132, 173, 175, 176–7 Christian churches 101 Christianity 25, 55, 76, 98, 101; see also Orthodox Church Christians 2, 12, 26–7, 36, 38, 119, 126 clergy see ‘ulama clerical marriage 119 cognitive dissonance 77

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collective security 7 Communist Party 47 Congresses of Orientalists 159, 176 Constantinople (Istanbul) 5, 72, 119, 183, 191 Constitutionalist movement 12, 46 Convention of 1844 94 conversion by force 4 Cossack Brigade 41 Crimean War (1853–56) 18 Curzon, George N. 9, 163, 193 Cyprus 6, 190, 192, 200 Daghestan 40 Dahaji, Sayyid Mahdi 116, 117, 193 Dai Eili 127 Damavand, Mount 86 Dasht-i Alashtar 164 Dayyan, Mirza Asadullah Khu’i 190, 261n27 Derpt (Iur’ev) 51 Desmaisons, Baron P. I. 133, 137 divorce 4, 6 Dolgorukov, Prince Dmitrii Ivanovich 15–16, 40, 52–3, 193 Dorn, Bernhard 17, 54, 61, 176, 193 Dovletshin, Staff Captain Abdul Aziz 152–3 Dozy, Reinhart Pieter Anne 105, 193 drunkenness 88–9 Druzhinin, V. G. 179 Dudergof 168, 169, 170 Durun 129 Dust-‘Ali Khan Mu‘ayyir al-Mamalik 214n37 Edirne (Adrianople) 5, 190, 191, 196, 202 education 7, 11, 72, 202, 239n16 Educational Department of Oriental Languages 51–2, 61, 63, 64, 65, 90, 163 Eggers 129 Egypt 11, 14, 189, 199 English, the 94, 98, 99, 107, 144, 158 see also Britain Études orientales 168 extortion 8, 88

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284 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS Fara’id 44 Farazistan 108 Fars 11, 69, 162, 163 Fedoseev 90 Fel’dman, Fedor Aleksandrovich 143, 145, 147, 149, 151, 152, 163, 165, 193–4 Fisher, G. 112 Fitnih (Princess Shams-i Jahan) 158 Fleishner, G. 55 Flerov 90 Frähn, Christian Martin 50–1, 133, 194 France 14 Gamazov, Matvei Avel’evich 65, 110, 129, 134–5, 146, 176, 185, 194, 259n19, 262n37 Ganja 41, 44, 45 Georgia 14, 40, 43–4 Gilan Province 87 Gobineau, Joseph Arthur Comte de 174, 176, 239n22, 257n6 God 4, 78, 79, 118, 174, 260n12 Goklan 155 Golikov 131, 134 Gorodetskii 90 governance 7 Goychay 41, 45 Great Game, the 14, 238n15, 253n195 Grigorovich, I. G. 61, 85, 88 Grinevskaya, Isabel 17 Grodekov, B. D. 168 Grodskov, N. I. 115 Guard, Imperial Russian 64, 161, 164, 256n244 Gulpayigani, Aqa Sayyid Mahdi 31 Gulpayigani, Mirza Abu al-Fazl 31, 32, 35, 37, 106–7, 108, 110, 112, 114, 116, 118, 120, 129–30, 132, 138, 140, 143, 194, 256n247 Habibullah 126 Hada’iq al-Shi‘a 105 Haft Vadi 182 Hamadan 122–3, 125–7, 155, 156, 158, 162 Hamadani, Aqa Sulayman ‘Attar 126

Hamadani, Aqa Sulayman Shalfurush 122, 126, 127 Hamadani, Mirza Husayn 108, 194 Hamadani, Rashid al-Din Fazlullah 137, 185, 194 Hammurabic law 76 Hataria, Maneckji Limji 107–8, 118, 128, 194, 195, 257n254 He whom God shall make manifest 4, 5, 190, 202 Hedaya 168 Helsinki 51 Herat 72, 100, 138 Hidayat, Riza-Quli Khan 183, 195 House of Justice 6, 79, 236n55, 238n7, 243n73, 245n90, 252n188 House of Worship see Mashriq alAdhkar Huart, Clément 176 ‘Hudud al’Alam’ 32, 35, 138, 139–41, 155, 158 Husayn, Mirza, of Zanjan 8 Ibn Arabi 252n187 Ibn Hawqal, Muhammad Abu alQasim 139 Ibtihaj al-Mulk (Mirza Ibrahim Khan Tafrishi) 214n37, 195 Ignat’ev, Vladimir Ivanovich 9, 19, 25, 27, 63–4, 84, 85–103, 119, 131, 132 Imam, Twelfth 1–2, 3, 40, 188, 190 Imams 218n100, 258n7 Iman, Haji, of Zanjan 8 Imperian Russian Archaeological Society 56, 57, 61, 67, 236n55 Institute for Oriental Studies 51 Institute of Oriental Languages 185 interest 4, 6, 36, 70, 74–80 international tribunal 7 Iran 2, 3, 70–1, 108 Baha’is in 124, 150, 157, 162–3 corruption in 87–8 decline of 86 emigration from 18, 19, 73 foreign trade 70–3 travel in 145 Isfahan 12, 24, 156, 158

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INDEX Baha’is of 8, 10, 11, 16, 69, 153, 162 Isfahani, Haji Muhammad-Riza 22–5, 195, 246n102 Isfahani, Muhammad-Riza Arbab bin Muhammad-Kazim 20 Ishraqat 77–8, 148, 221n43 Islam 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 11, 23, 24, 25, 60, 74–5, 77, 94, 95, 99, 125 see also Shi‘a Istanbul (Constantinople) 5, 72, 119, 183, 191 Ivanov, Ivan Aleksandrovich 248n135 Ivanovskii, L. A. 53 ‘Izz al-Din ibn al-Athir 116, 137, 139, 196 Jahan Nama 139 Jalal al-Dawlih 236n46 Jami‘ al-‘Ulum wa al-Hikam 138 Jamih-yi Naqsh 139 Jami’ih-yi Saghirih 258n7 Javan-Mard, Ustad 257n254 Jawahir al-Asrar 182 Jazzab family 37 Jesus Christ 4 Jews 7, 12, 122, 125–6 jizya 107, 195 Juchids 138 Judgement, Day of 2 Kabul 107 Kalimat-i Firdawsiyyih 128, 170 Kalimi, Aqa Sulayman 114 Kal’nin, Colonel 165 Kantemir, Prince Dmitrii 49 Kapnist, Count Dmitrii Alekseevich 95, 185, 196 Kara-Kala 152 Karakhanid Dynasty 116 Karbala 108, 194, 197, 203 Karbala’i, Haji Sayyid Javad 108, 109, 196 karguzar majlis 80 Karimov, Mulla Abu-Talib Badkubih’i 42 Karimov, Ustad Aga Bala Badkubih’i 42

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Karimov, Ustad ‘Ali Ashraf Badkubih’i 42 Kashan 156, 162 Kashani, Haji Mirza Jani 112, 128–9, 144, 156, 158, 196 Kashani, Haji Muhammad Isma‘il 128, 196–7 Kashani, Mirza Aqa Jan (Khadimullah) 97, 197 Kashgar 90 Katanov, Nikolai Fedorovich 179, 197 Katib Chelebi (Haji Khalifa Mustafa bin ‘Abdullah) 138, 197 Kavkaz 24 Kazakhs 26 Kazan 51 Kazem-Bek, Mirza Aleksandr Kasimovich 17, 53–5, 197 Kazimayn 106 Khalilog˘ lu, Mulla Sadiq Mulla 41 Khanykov, Nikolai Vladimirovich 15, 17, 54, 61, 197–8, 224n21, 233n14 Kharkov 51 khatt-i badi‘ 140 Khaza’in al-‘Ulum 138 Khidmat Company 74 Khilli 41 Khiva 116, 133, 136, 187, 243n61, 247n121, 248n133, 253n200 Khurasan 11, 22, 24, 60, 62, 69, 100, 106, 145 Khurasani, ‘Azizullah Jazzab 32 Khurramshahri, Ustad MuhammadRiza 20 Khwarazm 136, 189 Kirghiz 140, 164 Kirman 108, 152, 156, 162 Kirmani, Haji Muhammad Karim Khan 118, 148, 189, 198 Kirmani, Mas‘ud bin Muhammad 139, 250n161 Kitab al-Buldan 139 Kitab-i ‘Ahdi 187 Kitab-i Aqdas 6, 114, 115, 135, 191 see also under Tumanskii, Aleksandr ‘Kitab-i Dede Kurkut’ 133 Kitab-i Haykal 181, 182 Kitab-i Iqan 43, 175, 181, 183

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286 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS Kitab-i Mutanabbi’in 161 Kizil Arvat 112 Kliucharev 131, 134 Kokhanovskii, C. 173 Kokovtsov, P. K. 60 Komarov, General Aleksandr Vissarionovich 23, 24, 101, 198, 236n55 Kossogovskii, V. A. 41 Kovalevskii, Maksim Maksimovich 115 Kremer, Baron Alfred von 105, 198 Krylov 90 Kunstkamera 50 Kurds 145, 260n9 Kuropatkin, General Aleksei Nikolaevich 24, 25, 59, 65, 67, 91, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 100, 101, 106, 113–4, 123, 130, 131, 137, 143, 161, 165, 198–9 language, international 7 Lazarev Institute of Oriental Languages 51 Lawh-i Basit al-Haqiqa 148 Lawh-i Haft Purshish 169 Lawh-i Hikmat 182 Lawh-i Nida 119 Lawh-i Ra’is 128 Lawh-i Samsun 112, 114, 122 Lawh-i Sayyid Mahdi Dahaji 115 Lawh-i Siraj 182 Lawh-i Yusif 128 legal customs 115 Leipzig University 55 Leontovich, Fedor Ivanovich 115 Lesseps, Ferdinand de 87, 199 Levitskii, A. D. 61 Linovskii 185, 262n36 Livre des préceptes 174 Loparev, Kh. M. 179 mahafil-i shawr 11 Mahdi see Imam, Twelfth majalis-i wukala-yi tujjar 81 Majd al-Din, Mirza 115, 199 Majid-i Ahi, Mirza 213n31 Majlisi, Muhammad Bakr 105, 199 Makhdum-Quli Firaghi 113, 199

Makanov 38 Maku 15, 40, 175, 190, 196, 215n60, 257n5 Malayir 162 Malok 38 Mangishlak 134, 135, 136, 137–8, 139, 140, 143 Manifestation 4, 108, 260n12, 261n25 Manqishlagh, the 140 Manuchihr Khan Mu’tamid alDawlih 106, 199 manuscripts 49, 50, 51, 57, 60, 86, 138, 139–41, 152, 155, 158, 161, 173–5, 181 Marr, Nikolai Iakovlevich 57, 200 Marv 37, 38 Mashhad 23, 37, 81, 95, 100, 102 Mashriq al-Adhkar (House of Worship) 6, 27, 29, 30, 34, 47 Mas‘udi, al- 133 Mazandaran 4, 11, 54, 69, 95, 116, 159 Mednikov, N. A. 57 Mel’nikov, A. A. 61, 90 merchants 6–7, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 35, 36, 37, 41, 43, 70, 72–3, 102, 128, 205 see also tujjar messianic expectations 2, 3, 4, 38 Milani, Haji ‘Ali-Akbar ibn Haji Ahmad 43 Milani, Mirza ‘Ali-Akbar Khan Ruhani, Muhibb al-Sultan 200, 214n37 missionaries 100 monasticism 119 Morozov, trading house of 225n52 Moscow xiii, xv, 25, 51, 72, 94, 192, 222n3 Moses 4 Moshnin, A. N. 17, 54, 61 Muhammad, Prophet 1, 4, 45, 174, 230n38 Muhammad Effendi 115, 200 Muhammad Shah Qajar 2 Muhammad-‘Ali, Mirza 115, 200 Muhammad-Husayn Mirza Mu‘ayyid al-Saltanih, Prince 200, 214n37

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INDEX Muhammad-Riza Mu’tamin alSaltanih 201, 214n37 Muhammad-Taqi, Mirza, Lisan alMulk (Sipihr) 183, 201 Muhi al-Din, Shaykh 261n24 Müller, August 105, 116, 166, 201 murder trial 23, 129–30, 195–6 Mustayqiz 183 Nabil-i Akbar (Mulla Muhammad Fazil-i Qa’ini) 123, 131, 201 Nabil-i A‘zam (Muhammad Zarandi) 123, 131, 158, 201–2 Nabilzadih, Mirza Munir 36 Nadezhdinskaia St 177 Najafabad 162 Nakhchivan 41 Nakhjavani, Mirza ‘Ali-Akbar 45 Naqiyov, Aqa Musa 41 Narshakhi, Muhammad ibn Ja‘far al138 Nasikh al-Tavarikh 54, 108, 183, 201, 254n216 Nasir al-Din Shah Qajar 25, 87, 89, 89, 93, 94, 99, 202, 261n29 assassination attempt on 4, 128–9 assassination of 26 and murder trial verdict 23–4 Nasiri Company 72 Nava’i, Mir ‘Ali Shir 185, 202 Nayriz 15, 162 Nicholas II, Tsar 161 Nofal’, Irinei Georgievich 168, 202 nomads 3, 21, 113, 115–16, 140, 158, 163, 260n9 Novocherkassk 223n14 Novoe Vremiia 101, 169 Nuzhat al-Qulub 138 October Revolution 46 Odessa 51 Oghuz 116, 133, 248n133 Oghuz Khan 133 Ol’denburg, Sergei Fedorovich 57, 129, 146, 159, 202 Omsk 223n14 opium 4, 71–2 Orenburg 223n14

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Oriental Academy 50 Orientalische Bibliographie 161 Orlov, A. P. 58, 62, 64, 119, 131, 172, 173–7 Orthodox Church 25, 94, 98, 100, 119 Ottoman Empire 5, 11, 187, 190 Pages, Corps of 168 pantheism 148 Pavlosk 89 Pedarog˘ lu, Sayyid Nasrullah 41 ‘Perfect Shi‘i’ 2 Persia see Iran Persian language 88 ‘Persian Questions’ 169 Peter the Great, Tsar 13–14, 49–50 Petrov, Mr 135 Piper, Leonid Adolfovich 173, 176, 177 plague 175 Posol’skii Prikaz 49 prayer 3, 6, 11, 128, 182, 183 Primal Point, the 183 private property rights 73 Qa’ini, Mulla Muhammad Fazil-i, Nabil-i Akbar 123, 131, 201 Qa’ini, Shaykh Muhammad 31 Qa’ini, Shaykh Muhammad-‘Ali 31 Qajars 2–3, 14, 79, 81 Qarabagh 41, 45 Qarabaghi, Mashhadi ‘Abdul 45 Qaraquzluq 41 Qazvin 88, 162 Baha’is of 142 Qazvini, Haji Nasir 116 Querry, A. 105 Qum 156 Qumi, Sayyid Asadullah 45 Qur’an 3, 75, 76, 77 ‘Qur’an of the Babis’ 88 Qurrat al-‘Ayn 62, 203 Rafsanjan 163 Rasht 12, 86, 87, 162 Rashti, Mirza Mahdi 36 Rashti, Mirza Yusif 115

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288 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS Rashti, Sayyid Kazim 74, 108, 188–9, 190, 202–3 Rashti, Zia’ullah 37 Rawhani Bushru’i 130 Rawzat al-Janat 138 Rawzat al-Safa 183 Religions et les philosophies dans l’Asie centrale, Les 176 revelation 3, 4, 191, 200, 258n9 Richelieu Lyceum 51 Ridwan 132 Risalih-yi Siyasiyyih 148, 163 Ritter- und Domschule 55 Riza-Quli Khan 183, 195 Rousseau, Joseph 50 Rozen, Baron Viktor Romanovich xiv, 17, 55–60, 56, 167 Rozen, Olga Feodosievna 225n41 Ruha 130 Russia attitude towards Babis/Baha’is 6, 14–17, 21, 26, 53, 93 conquers Central Asia 17–18 diplomats of, and Babis 15–16, 52–3, 58 intellectuals of 17 laws of 26 Ministry of Defence 52, 6 Ministry of Foreign Affairs 51–3, 57, 144, 147 Oriental studies in 49–68 protection of Babis/Baha’is by 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 24, 25, 91, 93, 98, 99, 101 recognizes Baha’i religion 24 relations with Iran 13–14, 21, 23, 25, 94, 95, 99 Russian Academy of Sciences 50, 56 Russian State Military-Historical Archive 68 Russian–Turkish War 122 Sabzivar 20, 102 Sabzivari, Mulla Hadi 123, 201, 203 Sabzivari, Shaykh Hasan 236n46 Sacy, Baron Silvestre Antoine Issac de 115 Sadra, Mulla 123, 199, 203

Sadykhov, Haji Abu-Talib 25 St Petersburg xiii, xv, 17, 23, 64, 119, 129, 134, 140, 145, 151, 159, 164, 167, 171, 177 St Petersburg University xiii, xiv, 51, 55, 56, 60, 63, 191, 192, 193, 197, 200, 204, 206, 226n72 Salyan 41, 44 Samanids 138 Samarkand 20, 36–7, 121, 138, 143 Samsun 114, 117 Sara-yi Rashti 20 sarrafs (traditional bankers) 80 Sarvistan 162 schools 101–2 Baha’i 11, 12–13, 27, 28, 33, 38, 42, 46 Secret of Divine Civilization, The 12, 107 secularism, 3 Sevriugin, V. I. 54, 61 Shahinshahi Company 72 Shahr-i Islam 129 Shahrud 152 Shajarih-yi Tarakimih 133, 136, 137, 138 Shajarih-yi Turk 133, 137, 187 Shaki 41 Shamakhi 41 Shamil 40 Shanghai 37 shari‘a 3, 80, 81, 136 Shari‘atmadar, Haj Mirza Ibrahim 217n87 Shaykhi School 2, 188, 190, 203 Shchedrin, Mikhail Evgrafovich Saltykov- 165 Shi‘a 2, 3, 4, 77, 105, 123, 188, 189, 190, 213n36 Shiraz 2, 19, 60, 145, 147, 152, 156, 158, 159, 162, 190, 203, 214n38 Shirazi, Haji Mirza Muhammad-Taqi (Afnan), Vakil al-Dawlih 19, 27, 28, 69, 188, 213n31 Shirazi (Hadioff), Mirza Ja‘far 114 Shirazi, Sayyid ‘Ali-Muhammad see Bab, the Shirkat-i Umid 35 Shirvan 41, 45

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INDEX Shishkin, N. P. 185 Shul’zhevskii 96 Siberia 23, 24, 47 Sidih 162 Sirjan 163 Siyah-Chal 129, 191, 196 Siyah Kuh 140 Smolensk 40 Spasskii, Grigorii Ivanovich 86, 203 Stanislaus, St, Order of 134, 146 Subh-i Azal see Azal, Mirza Yahya Subotich, Dmitrii I. 27 Sudan 11 Sufis 136, 148, 205 Sunnis 17, 26–7, 36, 75, 77, 97 Surih-yi Haykal 181 Syr Darya River 18, 133 Tabriz 3, 4, 15, 38, 54, 72, 190 Baha’is of 13, 184 Tafrishi, Mirza Sayyid ‘Abdullah, Intizam al-Saltanih 214n37 Tahirih 62, 203 Tahirzadih, Mirza Hasan 43–4, 44 Taliqani, Haji Mirza Hasan (Adib) 179, 180, 181, 204, 260n7 tamgas 164 Taqi Khan, Mirza, Amir Kabir 15, 202 Tarazat 106, 257n254 Tarikh-i Jadid 106–8, 110, 118, 194, 246n107 Tarikh-i Munajjim Bashi 119 Tarikh-i Muqim Khani 138 Tashkent 38, 159 Baha’is of 39 Tehran 85, 86, 87, 89, 107, 108, 126, 128, 129, 145, 147, 152, 155, 156, 159, 179, 181, 183, 192 Baha’is of 8, 11, 24, 154, 160, 162, 163 Tekins (Teke) 98, 99–100, 118 Tiflis (Tbilisi), Baha’is of 43–4 tobacco 4 Tobacco Concession 99, 202 Tolstoy, Count Leo 17, 221n135 Tornau, Baron Nikolai 105, 204 Transactions of the Oriental Department of

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the Imperian Russian Archaeological Society 56–7, 58, 59, 67, 103, 111, 123, 130, 132, 162, 176 Transactions of the Russian Geographic Society 117 Transcaspian Railway 20, 32, 253n125 Transcaspian Region 18, 98, 99, 101 Transcaspian Review 166 Traveller’s Narrative, A 110, 118 tujjar 69, 71, 73–5, 79–82 see also merchants Tumanskii, Aleksandr Grigor’evich 9, 69, 70, 93, 97, 100, 102, 104, 105, 167, 179 elected to archaeological society 148 and ‘Hudud al-‘Alam’ 35, 138, 139–41, 155, 159, 162, 164, 166, 169 and Kitab-i Aqdas 6, 67, 106, 110, 114, 115, 118–9, 121–2, 128, 143, 144, 148, 151, 152, 155, 158, 161, 162 marriage of 145, 146, 147, 149, 151 military career 64–5, 67–8, 161, 164, 165, 168, 169, 170 programme of 116, 117, 123, 125, 136–7 secret mission to Iran 67–8, 143, 145, 147, 148, 149, 151–2, 155–6, 158, 159, 162 wife of 155–6, 159, 161, 162, 164 249n151 Turkestan 36, 216n78 Turkey see Ottoman Empire Turkmen 26, 65, 113, 123, 129, 133, 137, 145 Ughuznama 119 ‘ulama 2, 4, 8, 11, 12, 16, 22, 23, 25, 42, 74–5, 77, 80–2, 88, 89, 98–9, 106, 181, 236n47 Urduabadi, Mulla Sadiq 39–40 usury 76, 79 ‘Utbi, Abu Nasr Muhammad bin ‘Abd al-Jabbar al- 116, 204

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290 THE BAHA’IS OF IRAN, TRANSCASPIA AND THE CAUCASUS Uvarov, Count Sergei 50 Uzbeks 116 Uzun Ada 25, 152 Vámbéry, Arminius 113, 133, 204 Van (Turkey) 68 Varqa, Mirza ‘Ali-Muhammad 8 Varqa, Ruhullah 8 Veselovskii, Nikolai Ivanovich 116, 119, 133, 204 Vilno 51 Vlasov, Petr Mikhailovich 102, 204 Volkov 27 women 3–4, 6, 31, 89–90 World War I 46 Yahya Khan 215n60 Ya‘qubi, Ahmad al- 139 Yari, Aqa 126–7 Yassawi, Khoja Ahmad 138, 205 Yazd 8, 12, 24, 60–1, 98, 119, 152, 156, 162, 163 Seven Martyrs of 236n46, 244n74 Yazdi, ‘Abd al-Baqi 37 Yazdi, Aqa Muhammad-Riza Qannad 43–4 Yazdi, Haji ‘Abd al-Rasul, bin Muhammad-‘Ali Yazdi 20, 102, 205 Yazdi, Ustad ‘Ali-Akbar Banna 20, 27, 205

Yengikent 133 Yenisei inscriptions 164 Yerevan 43 Young Persia 86–7 Zaleman, Karl Germanovich 155, 170, 171, 205 Zand, Isma’il Khan 108 Zanjan 4, 15 Zapiski Kavkazskogo otdela Imperatorskogo russkogo geograficheskogo obshchestva 113 Zapiski Vostochnogo otdeleniia Imperatorskogo russkogo arkheologicheskogo obshchestva see Transactions of the Oriental Department of the Imperial Russian Archaeological Society Zargar, Aqa Mahdi 127 Zarqan 162 Zayn al-Muqarrabin 110, 205 Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft (ZDMG) 113, 132 Zhukovskaia, Varvara Aleksandrovna 100, 148, 206 Zhukovskii, Valentin Alekseevich 57, 59, 60–2, 85–6, 90, 100, 176, 181, 183, 205–6 Zill al-Sultan, Sultan-Mas‘ud Mirza 98, 232n11, 236n46, 206 Zinov’ev, Ivan Alekseevich 90, 206 Ziyarat-i Khasih Rud 177 Zoroastrians 7, 12, 107, 156, 174