Sacred Sites
Zanjan
Babi Sites
Citation Formats
General Reference
APA Style
BibTeX
Zanjan was the site of the largest of the Babi upheavals of 1850, a nine month siege that began on 5 May 1850 when several thousand Babis, led by the cleric Mulla Muhammad Ali Zanjani (known as Hujjat-i-Zanjani), fortified part of the city against a Qajar government force reported in the tens of thousands. Hujjat died of his wounds three days before the Babi surrender that December, after which fewer than a hundred surviving defenders were executed, making Zanjan the bloodiest single episode of the Babi persecutions.
Facts
Site
Type of SiteThe fortified quarter of Zanjan the besieged Babi community held during the nine month siege of 1850; recorded here as a city quarter significant to Babi history rather than a site of ongoing devotional use. Type of Site DetailGovernment forces besieging the quarter resorted to heavy artillery bombardment and undermining, digging tunnels beneath fortified houses to plant explosive charges and collapse them, tactics contemporary accounts describe as disproportionate to the roughly two thousand Babi defenders and their families sheltering inside, and which reduced much of the quarter to rubble well before the eventual surrender. 1 Geography
LatitudeApproximate reference point, rounded to one decimal place; this marks the site's general location for a map, not a survey-grade or precise boundary measurement. LongitudeApproximate reference point, rounded to one decimal place; this marks the site's general location for a map, not a survey-grade or precise boundary measurement. Attestation
HistoricityAttested in Babi and Qajar-era historical accounts 1 Status
Status TodayHistorical; not practised continuously 1 UNESCO World Heritage Location
Cross-Tradition Connections
Belongs to Tradition
Contained In
Related To
Sources
1. The Sources for Early Babi Doctrine and History
Denis MacEoin, Brill, 1992on the 1850 Zanjan upheaval
2. UNESCO World Heritage List
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO World Heritage CentreView the Source 3. Encyclopaedia Britannica (online academic reference)
Encyclopaedia Britannica editors, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc., 2024View the Source A Concise Encyclopedia of the Baha'i Faith
Peter Smith, Oneworld Publications, 2000s.v. Zanjan, Hujjat-i-ZanjaniView the Source Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.
View At A Past Year
The atlas records no dated fact of its own for this entry, so there is no other year to choose.