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Declaration of the Báb

1844 · Shiraz (Iran)

On 23 May 1844 in Shiraz, the Báb declares his mission to Mullá Husayn, the first of his eighteen Letters of the Living. The Bábí Faith spreads across Persia on the claim that the promised one has come and that a greater revelation stands behind his own.

Tagged: Bahá'í Bábí Faith

The Event

Date
1844 (exact)
Also called
The Báb's declaration to Mullá Husayn
Era
The Bábí Era; Standard periodization of Bahá'í history
Location
Shiraz; today Iran
Traditions
Bahá'í
Streams
Bábí Faith
Key figures
The Báb, Mullá Husayn
Key texts
Qayyúmu'l-Asmá

How the Tradition Tells It

The declaration's date, the evening of 22 May extending to 23 May 1844, is kept as the community observes it; the Bábí calendar begins from this year.

Connections

Illustration for Birth of the Báb History Event Birth of the Báb 1819 follows

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-1103; confidence 0.95; accessed 2026-10-28.

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