Table of Contents
Section Five: The Siege of Fort Khájih
The First Attack on the Fort
The governor Zaynu’l-‘Ábidín Khán dispatched his own elder brother to head the regiment and to surround and lay siege to the fort. The regiment consisted of a thousand men, both infantry and cavalry, all of whom were well-trained in the art of warfare and the regiment was equipped with an ample store of munitions.
Shortly after the siege had begun, Vahíd ordered a small group of the companions to ride out of the fort and disperse the besiegers. To the surprise of all the trained men in the regiment, this small band with extraordinary rapidity broke up their formation forcing their dispersal. Only three of the companions were killed in that encounter, but the besiegers fled.
The news of the events at Nayríz and this defeat reached Shíráz and its governor, Prince Fírúz Mírzá. Shíráz and Nayríz are both in the province of Fárs and about 200 km /125 miles apart, although Shíráz is significantly larger and more important being the capital of the province. Its governor, Prince Fírúz Mírzá therefore held a higher rank and had much more power and resources than the governor of Nayríz. The Prince was concerned about a potential spread of the Bábí uprising, but for now he just sent his messengers to the Nayríz governor ordering him to just exterminate the Bábí occupants of the fort as soon as possible. On receiving these orders, the governor decided an easier path would be to have Vahíd and the other Bábís just leave the area. The governor sent one of the Prince’s attendants to Vahíd, urging him to depart from Nayríz together with his companions. Vahid responded to him:
Tell him that my two children, together with their two attendants, are all the company I have with me. If my presence in this town will cause mischief, I am willing to depart. Why is it that, instead of according us the welcome which