The fortress of Chihriq where the Báb was imprisoned for
almost all of the last two years of His life is located in north-western Iran
in the region of Urumiyyih of the province of Azerbaijan. This was the second
fortress in which the Báb was imprisoned. The first one was called Maku. The
Báb called Chihriq the ‘Grievous Mountain’... to differentiate it from Maku
which He had called the ‘Open Mountain’ -- although the pattern of imprisonment
was similar, with initial strictness eventually giving way to comparative
freedom, as the warden, Yahya Khan, became devoted to his prisoner. The Báb
received large numbers of visitors at Chiriq, more than He had received at
Maku. He revealed many of His Writings in Chihriq, including the Arabic Bayan
and His powerful Tablet of ‘Sermon of Wrath’ to the then Persian Prime
Minister, Haji Mirza Aqas. It was during this period that a very knowledgeable
Persian, whom the Báb later gave the title of Dayyan (Judge), became a
believer. He is reported to have been unusual for his range of knowledge and
learning which included Syriac and Hebrew and was the recipient of the Báb’s
‘Tablet of Letters’ (Lawh-i-Hurufat). It was also during this period that
people in the town of Urumiyyih greeted the Báb very enthusiastically when He
went to the public bath and vied with each other in taking the water after He
had used it because the water was thus assumed to have acquired holiness.
(Adapted from 'A Basic Baha’i Dictionary', by Wendi Momen; and 'A Concise Encyclopedia of the Baha’i Faith', by Peter Smith)
