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Martyrdom of the Báb

1850 · Tabriz (Iran)

On 9 July 1850 the Báb is executed by firing squad in the barrack square of Tabriz, after years of imprisonment at Mákú and Chihríq. The Bábí community is scattered by persecution, and its remnant gathers around Bahá'u'lláh.

Tagged: Bahá'í Bábí Faith

The Event

Date
1850 (exact)
Also called
Execution of the Báb
Era
The Bábí Era; Standard periodization of Bahá'í history
Location
Tabriz; today Iran
Traditions
Bahá'í
Streams
Bábí Faith
Key figures
The Báb

How the Tradition Tells It

The community's account of the execution includes the episode of the first volley, in which the Báb was found unharmed and speaking with his secretary; secular accounts treat the detail as tradition, and both stand in the literature.

Connections

Illustration for Declaration of the Báb History Event Declaration of the Báb 1844 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-1104; confidence 0.95; accessed 2026-10-28.

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