The first period (1844–1853) [of the first century of the
Bahá’í Era] … is characterized by nine years of fierce and relentless contest,
whose theatre was the whole of Persia, in which above ten thousand heroes laid
down their lives, in which two sovereigns of the Qájár dynasty and their wicked
ministers participated, and which was supported by the entire Shí’ah
ecclesiastical hierarchy, by the military resources of the state, and by the
implacable hostility of the masses.
(Shoghi Effendi, ‘God Passes By’)
