s in 1797, _Debats du proces,
&c._

(W. A. P.)

BABIISM, the religion founded in Persia in A.D. 1844-1845 by Mirza 'Ali
Muhammad of Shiraz, a young Sayyid who was at that time not twenty-five
years of age. Before his "manifestation" (_zuhur_), of which he gives in
the Persian _Bayan_ a date corresponding to 23rd May 1844, he was a
disciple of Sayyid Kazim of Rasht, the leader of the Shaykhis, a sect of
extreme Shi'ites characterized by the doctrine (called by them
_Rukn-i-rabi'_, "the fourth support") that at all times there must exist an
intermediary between the twelfth Imam and his faithful followers. This
intermediary they called "the perfect Shi'ite," and his prototype is to be
found in the four successive _Babs_ or "gates" through whom alone the
twelfth Imam, during the period of his "minor occultation"
(_Ghaybat-i-sughra_, A.D. 874-940), held communication with his partisans.
It was in this sense, and not, as has been often asserted, in the sense of
"Gate of God" or "Gate of Religion," that the title _Bab_ was understood
and assumed by Mirza 'Ali Muhammad; but, though still generally thus styled
by non-Babis, he soon assumed the higher title of _Nuqta_ ("Point"), and
the title _Bab_, thus left vacant, was conferred on his ardent disciple,
Mulla Husayn of Bushrawayh.

The history of the Babis, though covering a comparatively short period, is
so full of incident and the particulars now available are so numerous, that
the following account purports to be only the briefest sketch. The Bab
himself was in captivity first at Shiraz, then at Maku, and lastly at
Chihriq, during the greater part of the six years (May 1844 until July
1850) of his brief career, but an active propaganda was carried on by his
disciples, which resulted in several serious revolts against the
government, especially after the death of Muhammad Shah in September 1848.
Of these risings the first (December 1848-July 1849) took place in
Mazandaran, at the ruined shrine of Shaykh Tabarsi, near Barfurush, where
the Babis, led by Mulla Muhammad 'Ali of Barfurush and Mulla Husayn of
Bushrawayh ("the first who believed"), defied the shah's troops for seven
months before they were finally subdued and put to death. The revolt at
Zanjan in the north-west of Persia, headed by Mulla Muhammad 'Ali Zanjani,
also lasted seven or eight months (May-December 1850), while a serious but
less protracted struggle was waged against the government at Niriz in Fars
by Aga