The following is a basic timeline of the
Bábí and
Baháʼí religions emphasizing dates that are relatively well known. For a more comprehensive chronology of the timeline, see the
references at the bottom.
Siyyid Kázim dies. Before his death he instructs his students, including
Mulla Husayn, to find the Promised One, the
Mahdi.
1844 AD / 1 BE
The Báb's first religious experience, witnessed by his wife, is dated to about the evening of April 3.[2]
(1260 AH), May 22, evening, the
Báb declares his mission to Mulla Husayn in
Shiraz, Iran.
May 22–23, overnight,
ʻAbdu'l-Bahá is born to Navváb and Baháʼu'lláh.
By late September
Baháʼu'lláh accepts the Bábí religion.[3]
1845 AD / 2 BE
September, restrictions are enforced on the
Báb's movement within
Shiraz after he declares himself to be the
Mahdi publicly.
Government reports initiate coverage in the West first mentions the arrest and imprisonment of
Mullá 'Alíy-i-Bastámí of the Bábí religion. It was published in The Times of London November 1 and several times thereafter.[4]
April 10, the Báb is moved to the prison of Chihriq, due to his growing influence in Maku. He was largely kept there until a few days before his execution.
May 10,
Battle of Fort Tabarsi ends after a negotiated surrender in which the victors promise to let the Bábís go. Immediately afterward, the victors break their oath and kill many of the defenders.
Brief newspaper coverage of the Bábí religion reaches several newspapers in Britain and the United States in the autumn.[7]
1851 AD / 7-8 BE
Dr. Rev. Austin Wright sent materials of the Báb and a letter/paper about events related to the religion to the
American Oriental Society - he wrote the letter February 1851 and it was published June.[8] The letter/paper was published in June a Vermont newspaper as well.[9] Some of it was also translated into German by his supervisor, Rev. Justin Perkins, and was thought for many years to have not been published in English though even in its German form Wright had been named as the first person to write a paper on the Bábí-Baháʼí period.[10]: pp.10, 73
September to December, while imprisoned for four months in the
Síyáh-Chál in Tehran, Baháʼu'lláh receives the first intimations that he is the promised one foretold by the Báb.
January 12, Baháʼu'lláh is exiled from Tehran to Baghdad.
1854 / 11 BE
April 10, Baháʼu'lláh retreats to the
Sulaymaniyah mountains within Kurdistan due to a rising tensions between
Mírzá Yahyá and himself.
Henry Aaron Stern (1820-1885) published a book that mentions "Baba, the Persian socialist" for a couple pages.[14][10]: pp.14–15
1856 / 13 BE
After being discovered in Kurdistan,
Baháʼu'lláh returns to Baghdad, at the request of
ʻAbdu'l-Bahá.
Mary Sheil and
Sir Justin Sheil publish Glimpses of the Life and Manners in Persia which has a section on Bábísm of some 14 pages.[15][10]: pp.5, 8, 15
Arthur de Gobineau publishes book describing the Babí religion in French.
1867 / 24 BE
53 Baháʼís in Baghdad on March 16, 1867 petitioned the United States Congress for assistance for Baháʼu'lláh's release and for assistance for the Baháʼís in general.[16]
Abdu'l-Bahá writes the original Arabic text of Traveller's Narrative later translated and published in 1891.
1889 / 46 BE
February 25,
E.G. Browne mentions the Baháʼí Faith as part of a series academic talks and papers through 1889 in England.
1890 / 47 BE
E. G. Browne, a famed Cambridge orientalist interviewed Baháʼu'lláh and was His guest at Bahjí from 15 April to 20 April 1890. Browne was the only Westerner to meet Baháʼu'lláh and leave an account of his experience. In Browne's 1893 publication entitled A Year Among the Persians, he wrote a sympathetic portrayal of Persian society. After his death in 1926 it was reprinted and became a classic in English travel literature. Browne described Baha'u'llah as, "The face of Him on Whom I gazed, I can never forget, though I cannot describe it. Those piercing eyes seemed to read one's very soul; power and authority sat on that ample brow… No need to ask in whose presence I stood, as I bowed myself before one who is the object of a devotion and love which kings might envy and emperors sigh for in vain..."[17]
1892 / 49 BE
May 29,
Baháʼu'lláh dies, his mortal remains are placed in a
Shrine dedicated to him next to the
Mansion of Bahjí where he spent his final years. In his
will he appointed ʻAbdu'l-Bahá to be his successor and head of the Baháʼí Faith.
Shoghi Effendi launches the "Divine Plan" for the diffusion the
Baháʼí Faith across the globe.
Shoghi Effendi marries Mary Maxwell, later known as
Rúhíyyih Khanum, the daughter of a prominent Canadian Baháʼí.
1944 AD / 101 BE
Shoghi Effendi releases God Passes By to mark the 100th anniversary of the Baháʼí dispensation, which commenced with the Declaration of the Bab in 1844 AD / 1 BE.
November 4, Shoghi Effendi dies without children and without appointing a successor Guardian. The temporary role of 'Head of the Faith' is taken up by 27
Hands of the Cause with plans to complete the Ten Year Crusade and elect the
Universal House of Justice.
1960
Hand-of-the-Cause
Mason Remey claims to be Effendi's successor Guardian. The other living Hands of the Cause and almost all of the Baha'i community reject his claim.
1963
A wave of
persecution of Baháʼís in
Morocco ends in mid April with a royal pardon against death sentences for being Baháʼí in Morocco after months of diplomatic newspaper.[20] and television coverage in the United States.[21]
April 21, the first
Baháʼí World Congress takes place in London. The first Universal House of Justice is elected by representatives of 56 National Spiritual Assemblies gathered in Haifa, in synchronization with the end of the
Ten Year Crusade and the centenary of the Declaration of Baháʼu'lláh in the Garden of Ridván.[22][23]
The
Ruhi Institute reaches a milestone in development as a formal organization, although its efforts have been evolving since the 1970s by the
FUNDAEC Foundation.
1993 AD / 150 BE
March 21, the
Kitáb-i-Aqdas is released in English with notes, question and answers, supplementary materials and synopsis and codification. (1 Baha 150 BE)
Seventh election of the Universal House of Justice
1998
Eighth election of the Universal House of Justice
2000
January 19,
Rúhíyyih Khanum dies, representing the last remnant of the family of Baháʼu'lláh who remained loyal to Shoghi Effendi and the Universal House of Justice.
The Universal House of Justice announced the convocation in October of a series of 41 regional conferences around the world which finished by March 2009.[24]
Tenth election of the Universal House of Justice
2013
Eleventh election of the Universal House of Justice
^"American Oriental Society". The Literary World. New Haven, CT.: American Oriental Society: 470. June 14, 1851 [Feb 18, 1851].
ProQuest90101699.(
registration required)
^"A new Prophet"(PDF). Green Mountain Freeman. Vol. 8, no. 26. Montpelier, Vermont. June 26, 1851. p. 1 (5th col mid, 6th col top). Retrieved March 12, 2015.