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Some Facts and Figures Who is Who  Map of Iran
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| 1817 |
Bahá'u'lláh is born in Tehran, Persia (Iran).
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| 1819 |
The Báb is born in Shíráz, Persia (Iran).
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| 1844 |
The Báb declares himself to be a messenger of God in Shíráz
(22 May) and then after 18 people (known as the "Letters
of the Living") individually recognize Him, He declares his mission
publically (in December). Bahá'u'lláh becomes a follower
(in August) after receiving a 'Tablet' (ie a letter) from the Báb. |
| 1847 |
The
Báb is imprisoned in a remote prison. Heavy persecution and killing
of the Bábís begins. |
| 1848 |
Bahá'u'lláh
organizes and hosts the conference of Badasht. 81 Bábís
attend and it lasts 22 days, camped in an orchard on the hamlet's outskirts. They meet to implement the revelation of
the Bayán as a complete break from Islam. Here Táhirih
confronts Quddus and removes her veil in public.
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|
1848 -49 |
The
Bábís defend themselves in the shrine of Shaykh Tabarsí
for 7 months, defeating large numbers of soldiers. By the end of the year
there are 313 Bábís in the fortress. On assurances sworn
on the Qur'án. 202 Bábís are tricked into leaving
the shrine and are either killed or sold into slavery. |
| 1850 |
The
Báb is executed in Tabriz. In 1850 and 1851 many of his followers
are killed in persecutions throughout Iran. Several thousand Bábís
die in these years. |
| 1852 |
Bahá'u'lláh is imprisoned in an underground prison in Tehran.
He has a vision of a Maiden who announces that Bahá'u'lláh is the messenger of God for this age.
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|
1853 |
Bahá'u'lláh and his family are banished from Persia. He chose
Baghdad (then under Turkish rule) as his place of exile.
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| 1854 -56 |
There is unrest in the Bábí community and Bahá'u'lláh
leaves for Kurdistan living as a solitary mystic in the mountains. He comes
into contact with Sufi leaders there and wrote the "Ode of the Dove". |
| 1856 -63 |
He returns to Baghdad and revives and encourages the dispirited Bábí
community. He wrote (out of about 25 tablets written during this time) "The
Hidden Words" (1857-8), "The Seven
Valleys" (1856), "The Four Valleys"
(1856), "The Book of Certitude" (1862), and "The Tablet of
the Holy Mariner" (1863). |
| 1863 |
Bahá'u'lláh
is now exiled to Istanbul. Just before leaving Baghdad, he declares
to his trusted friends in a garden-park he called "The Garden of
Ridván" on the Tigris river, that he is the messenger
of God whom The Báb said would come. Bahá'ís celebrate
these 12 days as the "Days of Ridván"
(April 21 - May 2). Six months later the authorities banish Bahá'u'lláh
and his family to Adrianople (Edirne, Turkey) where they
live for 5 years. |
| 1868 |
Without warning they are then taken to Gallipoli by steamer, and are
sent to Akka, a prison city in Palestine (Israel). |
| 1870 |
Bahá'u'lláh moves from the prison barracks to a room and
later several rooms in various houses within the prison complex. He
is still a prisoner, but now it is easier for him to receive visitors.
Bahá'u'lláh wrote the "Kitáb-i-Aqdas" (c.1873) which prescribes obligatory prayers, sets the dates for fasting and festivals, condemns backbiting, forbids opium and alcohol other than for scientific or medical purposes, prohibits slavery, begging and monasticism, praises monogamy, commands the writing of a testament and obedience to one's government, and lists virtues, such as cleanliness, chastity, trustworthiness, hospitality, etc, as a basis for the Bahá'í religion. |
| 1877 -79 |
Bahá'u'lláh moves to the mansion of Mazra'ih, four miles north
of the city of Akka. He is still a prisoner under house arrest. |
| 1879 |
Bahá'u'lláh moves to Bahji, a mansion north of Akka. Here he
writes many letters and about 25 Tablets ("Tablet
of Carmel" (1891) and "Epistle to
the Son of the Wolf"(1891/2) are two of these). The British scholar,
E.G. Browne is one of the many visitors. He has four meetings with Bahá'u'lláh
in 1890 which he described. |
| 1889 |
Following the murder of a Bahá´í in Ashkhabad (Ishqabad,
capital of Turkestan near the Russian-Iranian border), the Russian government
intervenes with the result that the Baháís in Turkistan are
recognized as a separate religious community free of persecution. Their "Spiritual Board" (1895-6) is possibly the first Bahá´í assembly in the world. The community provided a traveller's hospice, schools for boys (1894) and girls (1897), kindergartens (1817-18), medical facilities, a cementery, a reading room and a library and built the first Bahá´í Temple (1902-7). The Bahá´í community was active here until about 1928 when the temple was confiscated and the schools closed by the Communist government. In 1938 the community of about 1,400 families was destroyed when most of the men were exiled to Siberian prisons and the remaining men, women and children were deported to Iran. The Bahá´í assembly reformed in 1989. |
| 1892 |
Bahá'u'lláh dies having appointed his eldest son, 'Abdul-Bahá
(who continued to live in the prison barracks until c.1896) as leader of
the emerging Bahá´í community. |
| 1894 |
Bahá´í activities begin in Chicago. The first assembly
is elected in 1901. |
| 1898 |
A Bahá´í school for boys is established in Tehran. The
first Western Bahá´í Pilgrims arrive in Akka (from
the U.S.). |
| 1899 |
Bahá´í activities begin in London and Paris. |
| 1905 |
Bahá´í activities begin in Germany. |
| 1908 |
The Young Turk Revolution led to the freeing of all Ottoman political prisoners,
so 'Abdul-Bahá is in less danger now. |
| 1909 |
The Bab's remains are interred in a 6 room Shrine on Mount Carmel in Haifa,
the newly developing city across the bay. In 1891 Bahá'u'lláh
had indicated the site for the Shrine. Abdul-Bahá was buried under
one of the rooms in 1921. The gold domed Shrine,
a landmark in Haifa today, was not completed until 1953. An American Bahá´í, Dr Susan Moody, and four Perisan Bahá´ís establish a hospital in Tehran. |
| 1910 |
'Abdul-Bahá visits Eygpt. A Bahá´í school for
girls is established in Tehran. |
| 1911 |
'Abdul-Bahá gives talks in London and Paris (August - December).
A Bahá´í teaching council is elected in India. |
| 1912 |
'Abdul-Bahá sails from Alexandria to New York (March - April).
'Abdul-Bahá visits 32 U.S. cities and 185 of his talks are recorded.
(April - December). He visits Montreal for 10 days (August).
He sails to Liverpool (December), visits E.G. Browne in London, and
gives a talk in Oxford. |
| 1913 |
'Abdul-Bahá then visits Edinburgh, London, Bristol, Paris, Versailles,
Stuttgart, Bad Mergentheim, Budapest, Vienna, Marseilles, returning to Haifa
via Egypt in October. |
| 1914 |
Daniel Jenkyn, a U.K. Bahá'í travels around the Netherlands
for two weeks giving talks. |
| 1920 |
'Abdul-Bahá is knighted by the British Empire for his humanitarian
work during the war for famine relief. He accepts this but never uses the
title. |
| 1921 |
'Abdul-Bahá dies on November 28th leaving his grandson, Shoghi Effendi
to be the Guardian of the Bahá Faith. |
| 1921 -57 |
Shoghi Effendi works towards creating the first Universal House of Justice
(the elected leadership of the Bahá'í community) by stimulating
the global spread of the Bahá'í Faith and appointing individuals
from various backgrounds to an international committee based in Haifa. At
his death in 1957 there are Bahá'ís in approximately 230 countries
with members from over 40 ethnic groups. |
| 1948 |
The first local spiritual assemby of the Netherlands is established in Amsterdam.
The BIC (Bahá'í International Community) came into existence as the representative agency at the UN for the then 8 national Bahá'í Communities. Consultative status was granted with the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in 1970, and with the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) in 1976. BIC now has offices in Haifa, Geneva, Paris, London and New York with specialist branches for the Environment (1989) and for Women (1992), and representation in 7 regional UN offices. They have produced the quarterly magazine, One Country since 1989, which is now produced in Russian, French, Chinese, Spanish, German, and English. |
| 1963 |
The first nine-member Universal House of Justice is elected by representatives
from the 56 countries where there are established national Bahá'í
communities. |
| 1953 |
The second Bahá'í Temple is completed
in Wilmette (Chicago, U.S.A.). The third in 1961 in Kampala, Uganda; the
fourth in 1961 in Sydney, Australia; the fifth in in 1964 in Frankfurt,
Germany; the sixth in 1969 in Panama City, Panama; the seventh in 1984
in Apia, Samoa; the eighth in 1986 in New Delhi, India. Currently there
seven Bahá'í temples because one in Turkmenistan was demolished
in 1963. A new temple in South America is in the planning stage. |
| 1??? |
Some specific Dutch facts and figures Arjan?? the first Bahais in Leiden,
the first NSA with then Bahais in ? Dutch cities/townships, , anything else??
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| 2002 |
The Bahá'í Faith is the second most widely spread religion
in the world, its 5 or 6 million followers scattered in almost every country
and territory on the globe. |
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Some related books: see also Bahá´í Books A Basic Bahá'í chronology by Glenn Cameron (with W. Momen), George Ronald Publishing, Oxford, U.K., 1996. ISBN: 0-85398-404-2 Detailed lists of events with references from 1753 to 1996. A Concise Encyclopedia of the Bahá'í Faith by Peter Smith, Oneworld Publications, Oxford, U.K., 2000. ISBN: 1-85168-184-1 An A to Z of Bábí and Bahá'í facts and figures. The Báb by H.M Balyuzi Various reprints since 1973. George Ronald Publishing, Oxford, U.K. Summary of book. Bahá'u'lláh by H.M Balyuzi Various reprints since 1963. George Ronald Publishing, Oxford, U.K. Summary of book. 'Abdul-Bahá by H.M Balyuzi Various reprints since 1971. George Ronald Publishing, Oxford, U.K. Summary of book. The Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh by Adib Taherzadeh Book 1 (1853 -63), Book 2 (1863 - 68), Book 3 (1863 - 68) George Ronald Publishing, Oxford, U.K. Detailed accounts, with quotations and references from each period of Bahá'u'lláh's life. |
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