May 1. On this date in 1848, a letter from Iran in French was published in the Journal de Constantinople, marking one of the earliest mentions of the Bab in a Western language publication. This occurred before the June 1848 Conference of Badasht.

 

May 1. On this date in 1848, a letter from Iran in French was published in the Journal de Constantinople, marking one of the earliest mentions of the Bab in a Western language publication. This occurred before the June 1848 Conference of Badasht.

It says:

D'après notre correspondance de Perse, datée de Teheran, 1er mai, que nous publions plus bas, …

De plus, il paraîtrait que les faits auxquels ces nouvelles se rapportent, auraient eu pour résultat d'encourager les partisans de Bab dans leur résistance á l'autorité religieuse du pays. Bab est un fou qui s'est annoncé en Perse, il y a quelque temps, comme le Mehdj (Messie), et par ses prédications dans l'Azerbaïdjan et le Ghilan, il avait réussi á grouper autour de lui environ 30,000 prosélytes. Le prince royal nommé en dernier lieu gouverneur de Tébriz, ayant pu, par la persuasion, obtenir (p. 2) que Bab confessàt son imposture, celui-ci a été jeté dans un cachot, apres avoir été soumis prèalablement à la torture, conformément aux lois du pays.

Il serait possible que ces mouvemens eussent des rapports avec les projets révolutionnaires de Sàlar…

Bien que les nouvelles que nous venons de donner sur la situation de la Perse, soieat puisées à des sources dignes de foi, nous pensons qu'avant d'y ajouter une complète créance, il serait convenable d'en attendre la confirmation par les lettres que le prochain courrier nous apportera de ce pays.…

with thanks to J. and Liam Winters at BLO, translates to :

According to our correspondence from Persia, dated May 1st from Teheran, which we publish below, …

In addition, it would appear that the facts to which this news relates has had the effect of encouraging the supporters of the Bab in their resistance to religious authorities of the country. The Bab is a madman who has announced himself in Persia, some time ago, to be the Mahdi (Messiah), and by his preaching in Azerbaijan and Gilan, he has succeeded in gathering around him about 30,000 converts. The royal prince named last governor of Tabríz, having been able, by persuasion, to get (p. 2) the Bab to confess his imposture. The latter has been thrown into a dungeon, after having previously been subjected to torture, in accordance with the laws of the country.

It is possible that these movements had relationships with revolutionary projects of Salar ...

Although the news that we have just given concerning the situation of Persia has been drawn from reliable sources, we believe that, before giving it complete credence, it would be proper to wait for confirmation from letters which the next post will bring us from that country.