Section Five: The Siege Intensifies
The news of the Martyrdom of the BĂĄb
While the siege was in progress, the news of the Martyrdom of the BĂĄb in TabrĂz eventually reached the Fort. 58_ACT14 Although heartbroken, the BĂĄbĂs knew what path lay ahead for them as well. The thought of following in the footsteps of their Beloved and their other comrades across the country from TabarsĂ to NayrĂz, is what now sustained them.
The deceit and fearmongering of the Governor achieve their ends
The ShĂĄh, a young man of seventeen, was already upset at the BĂĄbĂ resistance in other parts of the country. Receipt of the message from Hujjat – which had been replaced by the falsified anti-government message by the governor of ZanjĂĄn – enraged the ShĂĄh. He ordered that several regiments be immediately dispatched to ZanjĂĄn, and that Hujjat and all his supporters be killed. No one was to survive. 59_ACT14
The Grand VazĂr, the AmĂr-KabĂr, was already fully in favour of the destruction of the BĂĄbĂs, having not long before ordered the Martyrdom of the BĂĄb. He now ordered several generals from different areas to head to ZanjĂĄn with their regiments.
What followed next was wave after wave of various regiments coming to ZanjĂĄn. The lead was taken by Muhammad KhĂĄn, who had the title of AmĂr-TĂșmĂĄn. He came to Zanjan âat the head of five regiments and equipped with a considerable amount of arms and ammunitions ⊠to demolish the fort and wipe out its occupants.â60_ACT14
The reinforced attacks on the Fort prove lethal to the BĂĄbĂs
The attacks by such a large number of regiments of infantry and cavalry together with heavy canons delivered lethal blows to the BĂĄbĂs encampment. Describing one such encounter, NabĂl records:
Headed by their kad-khudĂĄs [head of an area or village] and preceded by four regiments, a vast multitude of people marched, to the sound of a flourish of trumpets and the beating of drums, in the direction of the fort. Undaunted
Table of Contents
