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Birth of Bahá'u'lláh

1817 · Tehran (Iran)

Mírzá Husayn-'Alí, later Bahá'u'lláh, the Glory of God, is born in Tehran on 12 November 1817 to a court family of Núr. A leading disciple of the Báb from 1844, he becomes the figure the Báb's writings foretold, and the Bahá'í Faith counts its revelation from his declaration in 1863.

Tagged: Bahá'í Bábí Faith

The Event

Date
1817 (exact)
Also called
Mírzá Husayn-'Alí
Era
The Bábí Era; Standard periodization of Bahá'í history
Location
Tehran; today Iran
Traditions
Bahá'í
Streams
Bábí Faith
Key figures
Bahá'u'lláh

How the Tradition Tells It

The birth date follows the community's calendar: 12 November 1817, the second day of Muharram 1233 in the Islamic reckoning.

Primary Sources

  • The tradition's own record of the event.

Secondary Sources

  • MacEoin, Denis. The Messiah of Shiraz: Studies in Early and Middle Babism. Leiden: Brill, 2009.
  • Momen, Moojan. The Baha'i Faith: A Beginner's Guide. Oxford: Oneworld, 2008.
  • Shoghi Effendi. God Passes By. Wilmette: Baha'i Publishing Trust, 1944 (the community's own history, cited as such).
  • Smith, Peter. An Introduction to the Baha'i Faith. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008.
  • Warburg, Margit. Citizens of the World: A History and Sociology of the Baha'is in Britain and North America. Leiden: Brill, 2006.

Provenance: HIST-1101; confidence 0.95; accessed 2026-10-28.

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