The Crier promises wealth to induce the Bábís to come out of the Fort
Seeing the Bábís unflinching stand in the face of constant attacks, the governor tried a new approach. He thought he could tempt the Bábís with promises of wealth. At frequent intervals, a crier would go to the vicinity of the fort and proclaim:
The governor of the province, and the commander-in-chief too, are willing to forgive and extend a safe passage to whoever among you will decide to leave the fort and renounce his faith. Such a man will be amply rewarded by his sovereign, who, in addition to lavishing gifts upon him, will invest him with the dignity of noble rank. Both the Sháh and his representatives have pledged their honour not to depart from the promise they have given. 53_ACT14
To this call, the besieged Bábís from the fort would laugh and with one voice respond with a resounding decline. In Nabíl’s words:
Though oppressed with hunger and harassed by fierce and sudden attacks, they maintained with unflinching determination the defence of the fort. Sustained by a hope that no amount of adversity could dim …54_ACT14
The siege is a stalemate; Hujjat writes to the Sháh
One of the first generals who had started the attack on the Bábís at the fort was the ambitious Sadru’d-Dawlih of Isfáhán, who had come with two regiments to Zanján on the initial order of the Grand Vazír, the Amír-Kabír. He had hoped, like the many other generals who will follow him, to win the favour of the Amír-Kabír and the Sháh by crushing the Bábís. However, as the fighting went on over the months, more and more of his men were killed, such that “filled with humiliation, he was forced, eventually, to admit his powerlessness to daunt the spirit of his opponents. He was degraded from his rank and gravely reprimanded by his sovereign.” 55_ACT14
Although the attacks and counterattacks continued daily, the siege of the Bábís seemed to be at a stalemate. At this stage, Hujjat was moved to address a written message to the Sháh, laying out his case and those of the Bábís of Zanján. Nabíl records parts of Hujjat’s message:
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