SUCCESSIVE STAGES IN THE TRANSFER OF THE
REMAINS OF THE BáB FROM PERSIA TO THE
HOLY LAND AND THE ERECTION OF HIS
MAUSOLEUM ON MOUNT CARMEL
Execution of the Báb in Tabríz and the exposure of His mangled body on the edge of the moat outside the city, July 9, 1850.
Wrapping of His remains in a cloak, their secret removal to the silk factory owned by one of the believers of Mílán and their deposition in a small wooden casket, July 11, 1850.
Transportation, in accordance with Bahá'u'lláh's instructions, of the casket to Ṭihrán and its concealment in the shrine of Imám-Zádih Ḥasan.
Removal of the remains to the home of Ḥájí Sulayman K̲h̲án and their subsequent transfer to the shrine of Imám-Zádih Ma'súm.
Instructions issued by Bahá'u'lláh, while in Adrianople, to Mullá-'Alí Akbar-i-Sháhrmírzádí and Jamál-i-Burújirdí, to transfer the casket to a safer hiding place, and its temporary concealment within a wall of the Masjid-i-Máshá'u'lláh outside the gates of the capital, 1867-1868.
Detection of the hiding place of the casket and its smuggling into Ṭihrán and its deposition in the house of Mírzá Ḥasan-i-Vazír, a believer and son-in-law of Ḥájí Mírzá Siyyid 'Alíy-i-Tafríshí, the Majdu'l-Ashráf.
Discovery of the hiding place by a number of believers and the consequent removal of the casket by Ḥájí Sháh Muḥammad-i-Manshádí, surnamed Amínu'l-Bayán, in accordance with Bahá'u'lláh's instructions, to the shrine of Imám-Zádih Zayd, and its burial beneath the floor of the inner sanctuary, whence it was again removed to a series of private homes in Ṭihrán.
Bahá'u'lláh's visit to Mount Carmel, the revelation of the Tablet of Carmel, and the appointment by Him, in the presence of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, of the site to serve as the permanent burial-place for the remains of the Báb.
Despatch of Mírzá Asadu'lláh by 'Abdu'l-Bahá with specific instructions to transport the body of the Báb to the Holy Land, and the transfer of the remains to Iṣfahán, and thence, via Kirmánsháh, Baghdád and Damascus, to the Holy Land, arriving at their destination on January 31, 1899, fifty lunar years after the Báb's execution in Tabríz. |
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Purchase by 'Abdu'l-Bahá of the site designated by Bahá'u'lláh, and the construction of a marble sarcophagus by the Burmese believers in accordance with 'Abdu'l-Bahá's suggestion, designed to receive the body of the Báb.
Laying of the foundation-stone of the Shrine of the Báb by 'Abdu'l-Bahá with the participation of Ibráhím Khayru'lláh, while on his pilgrimage to 'Akká, following the establishment of the Faith in the United States of America, 1899.
Construction by 'Abdu'l-Bahá of six chambers constituting the initial stage in the erection of the Mausoleum of the Báb.
Downfall of Sultán 'Abdu'l-Ḥamíd II, whose Commission of Inquiry had visited the Shrine and was contemplating its destruction; the release of'Abdu'l-Bahá from His incarceration and the placing by Him of the wooden casket in the marble sarcophagus on the day coinciding with the inauguration of the first American Bahá'í Convention, March 21, 1909.
Purchase of extensive properties on the slope of Mt. Carmel in the immediate vicinity of the Shrine of the Báb and their permanent dedication to His memory.
Construction of three additional chambers marking the completion of the preliminary structure contemplated by 'Abdu'l-Bahá.
Opening of terraces stretching from the Shrine to the foot of Mount Carmel; the exemption by the British High Commissioner of the entire area dedicated to the Mausoleum of the Báb from taxation; the establishment of the Palestine Branches of the American and Indian National Spiritual Assemblies; and the subsequent transfer of a part of the dedicated properties to the name of these newly formed branches.
Entombment of the remains of the Purest Branch and of the mother, sister and wife of 'Abdu'l-Bahá in the vicinity of the Shrine, as a prelude to the establishment of the World Administrative Centre of the Faith in that same neighbourhood.
Unveiling of the model designed by W. S. Maxwell for the superstructure of the Shrine, on the occasion of the centenary celebrations of the Declaration of the Báb, in Haifa on May 23, 1944.
Placing of successive contracts for the masonry and ornamentation of the Arcade and Parapet of the Shrine, amounting to approximately eight hundred tons, and their transportation from Italy to Haifa.
Completion of the Arcade and Parapet of the Shrine on the occasion of the centenary of the Báb's martyrdom, July 9, 1950.
Completion of the Octagon of the Shrine, March, 1952.
Placing of a fragment of plaster from the ceiling of the Báb's prison cell in the Castle of Mah-Ku beneath the gilded tiles of the dome of the Shrine by Shoghi Effendi on the ninth day of Ridván, April 29, 1953.
Completion of the Shrine of the Báb, the greatest enterprise undertaken at the World Centre of the Faith, in October, 1953, the last month of the Holy Year commemorating the Centenary of the inauguration of Bahá'u'lláh's prophetic Mission.
During the period of the Ten Year Plan it is estimated the number of visitors to the Shrine and surrounding gardens exceeded 1,500,000. |
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