Battle of Fort Tabarsi

unicode|Shaykh Ṭabarsí, or more correctly the Shrine of Shaykh Tabarsí, was the location of a battle between the forces of the Shah of Persia and the Bábís, followers of the Báb over the period October 10 1848 to May 10 1849 when the prince resorted to a plan of betrayal to capture the remaining Bábís. It is located in Mazandaran Province, Iran.

Leading up to the Battle

Mullá Husayn-i-Bushru'i, one of the most prominent Bábís, marched with 202 of his fellow disciples, under instructions from the Báb, from Mashhad to the Shrine of Shaykh Tabarsí with the Black Standard raised, fulfilling an Islamic prophecy. The mission was most likely proclamatory but possibly also to rescue another Bábí leader, Quddús, who was under house arrest in Sárí. Upon arriving at the Shrine, the Bábís--now under imminent attack from government forces--built a small fort and set up inside it.

Differing accounts exist as to why the battle started. Bahá'í sources describe the building of the fort as a matter of self defence, whilst polemics describe it as an attempt to start an uprising and build a Bábí state. In any case, the forces of the Persian government soon surrounded the fort and the battle commenced.

During the battle

Over the weeks that followed, more and more Bábís joined the fort with numbers rising to perhaps six-hundred [Smith 2000] . Most notable of the late arrivals is Quddús who joined after being released by Tabarsí Bábís on October 20.

Bahá'ís see the battle, which was led by Mullá Husayn, as a heroic stand against oppressive government forces that lasted several months, although it is unclear whether the feeling at the time was the same.

After the battle

It is believed that eight of the disciples of the Báb also called the Letters of the Living were killed in the series of battles:

*Mullá Husayn-i-Bushru'i
*Muhammad-Hasan-i-Bushru'i
*Muhammad-Baqir-i-Bushru'i
*Mullá Mahmud-i-Khu'i
*Mullá Jalil-i-Urumi
*Mullá Ahmad-i-Ibdal-i-Maraghi'i
*Mullá Yusif-i-Ardibili
*Mullá Muhammad-'Aliy-i-Qazvini

Quddús was taken prisoner in the city of Barfurush. There the high priest rallied the townsfolk into a vicious frenzy. Quddus was then left to the hands of the mob who beat him to his death on May 16 1849. What remained of Quddus' body was gathered by a friend and buried nearby. [The Dawnbreakers pg. 411]

References

*cite book
author=Amanat, Abbas
year=1989
title=Resurrection and Renewal
publisher=Cornell University Press, 124 Roberts Place, Ithica, New York 14850
id=ISBN 0-8014-2098-9

*cite book
author=Nabíl-i-Zarandí
authorlink=Nabíl-i-A`zam
year=1932
title=The Dawn-Breakers: Nabíl’s Narrative
edition=Hardcover
editor=Shoghi Effendi (Translator)
publisher=Bahá'í Publishing Trust
location=Wilmette, Illinois, USA
id=ISBN 0-900125-22-5
url=http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/nz/DB/

*cite book
first=Peter
last=Smith
year=1999
title=A Concise Encyclopedia of the Bahá'í Faith
publisher=Oneworld Publications
location=Oxford, UK
id=ISBN 1-85168-184-1