letter which the _Sh_ah had himself addressed to the
Bab, dated Rabi'u'_th_-_th_ani 1263 (March 19-April 17, 1847), and which,
though couched in courteous terms, clearly indicated the extent of the
baneful influence exercised by the Grand Vizir on his sovereign. The plans
so fondly cherished by Manu_ch_ihr _Kh_an were now utterly undone. The
fortress of Mah-Ku, not far from the village of that same name, whose
inhabitants had long enjoyed the patronage of the Grand Vizir, situated in
the remotest northwestern corner of A_dh_irbayjan, was the place of
incarceration assigned by Muhammad _Sh_ah, on the advice of his perfidious
minister, for the Bab. No more than one companion and one attendant from
among His followers were allowed to keep Him company in those bleak and
inhospitable surroundings. All-powerful and crafty, that minister had, on
the pretext of the necessity of his master's concentrating his immediate
attention on a recent rebellion in _Kh_urasan and a revolt in Kirman,
succeeded in foiling a plan, which, had it materialized, would have had
the most serious repercussions on his own fortunes, as well as on the
immediate destinies of his government, its ruler and its people.

Chapter II: The Bab's Captivity in Adhirbayjan

The period of the Bab's banishment to the mountains of A_dh_irbayjan,
lasting no less than three years, constitutes the saddest, the most
dramatic, and in a sense the most pregnant phase of His six year ministry.
It comprises His nine months' unbroken confinement in the fortress of
Mah-Ku, and His subsequent incarceration in the fortress of _Ch_ihriq,
which was interrupted only by a brief yet memorable visit to Tabriz. It
was overshadowed throughout by the implacable and mounting hostility of
the two most powerful adversaries of the Faith, the Grand Vizir of
Muhammad _Sh_ah, Haji Mirza Aqasi, and the Amir-Nizam, the Grand Vizir of
Nasiri'd-Din _Sh_ah. It corresponds to the most critical stage of the
mission of Baha'u'llah, during His exile to Adrianople, when confronted
with the despotic Sultan 'Abdu'l-'Aziz and his ministers, 'Ali Pa_sh_a and
Fu'ad Pa_sh_a, and is paralleled by the darkest days of 'Abdu'l-Baha's
ministry in the Holy Land, under the oppressive rule of the tyrannical
'Abdu'l-Hamid and the equally tyrannical Jamal Pa_sh_a. _Sh_iraz had been
the memorable scene of the Bab's historic Declaration; Isfahan had
provided Him, however briefly, with a haven of relative peace and