The Babis
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Source: Bahá'í Library Online (bahai-library.com), curated by Jonah Winters. Used by permission of the curator. Original citation: Charles William Heckethorn, The Babis, bahai-library.com.
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THE

SECRET SOCIETIES
OF ALL AGES AND COUNTRIES

A Comprehensive Account of upwards of One Hundred
and Sixty Secret Organisations — Religious, Political,
and Social — from the most Remote Ages
down to the Present Time
Embracing the Mysteries of Ancient India, China, Japan, Egypt, Mexico,
Peru, Greece, and Scandinavia, the Cabbalists, Early Christians,
Heretics, Assassins, Thugs, Templars, the Vehm and
Inquisition, Mystics, Rosicrucians, Illuminati, Free
masons, Skopzi, Camorristi, Carbonari, Nihilists,
Fenians, French, Spanish,
And other Mysterious Sects

BY

CHARLES WILLIAM HECKETHORN

IN TWO VOLUMES

VOL. II

NEW EDITION

THOROUGHLY REVISED AND GREATLY ENLARGED

LONDON
GEORGE REDWAY
1897

REESE LIBRARY
UNIVEE CITY
ANALYTICAL                     TABLE            OF     CONTENTS
VOL . II .

The numbers preceding analytical headings refer to the sections.
PAGES

AUTHORITIES CONSULTED                                                          xi

BOOK XI

FREEMASONRY

I. THE LEGEND       OF   THE TEMPLE. — 383. Ancestry of Hiram Abiff.
384. Hiram , Solomon, and the Queen of Sheba.       385. Murder of
Hiram .                                                                3-7
II. ORIGIN AND TRADITIONS. —386. The First Masons. 387. Periods of
Freemasonry. 388. Freemasonry derived from many Sources . 389 .
True History of Masonry                                         8-12

III. RITES AND CUSTOMS. — 390. List of Rites. 391. Masonic Customs.
392. Masonic Alphabet                                                 13-15
IV. THE LODGE. — 393. Interior Arrangement of Lodge.      394. Modern
Lodge.    395. Officers.   396. Opening the Lodge                     16-18
V. GENUINE AND SPURIOUS MASONRY. — 397. Distinction between Genuine
and Spurious Masonry. 398. Some Rites only deserve Special
Mention                                                               19

VI, CEREMONIES OF INITIATION. -399. Ceremonies of Initiation      - The
Apprentice. 400. Ceremonies of Initiation - The Fellow - Craft.
401. Ceremony of Initiation and Story of Hirain's Murder – The
Master Mason . 402. The Legend Explained. 403. The Raising of
Osiris. 404. The Blazing Star                                   21-29

VII. TAE Holy ROYAL ARCH . -405. Officers. 406. Ceremonies. 407. Pass
ing the Veils                                                         30-33
VIII. GRAND MASTER ARCHITECT. —408. Ceremonial                      34-36
IX. GRAND ELECT KNIGHT OF KADOSH . - 409. The Term Kadosh . 410.
Reception into the Degree. 411. The Mysterious Ladder. 412. The
Seven Steps :                                                   37-39

9903 : 3
vi                               CONTENTS
PAGES

X. PRINCE OF Rose -Croix . — 413. Distinct from Rosicrucian, and has
various Names. 414. Officers and Lodges. 415. Reception in the First
Apartment.      416. Second Apartment. 417. Reception in the Third
Apartment                                                               40-43
XI. THE RITES OF MISRAIM AND MEMPHIS.—418. Anomalies of the Rite of
Misraim. 419. Organisation. 420. History and Constitution. 421 .
Rites and Ceremonies. 422. Rite of Memphis                          44-46
XII. MODERN KNIGHTS TEMPLARS.—423. Origin.       424.  Reviv  al of the
Order. 425. The Leviticon . 426. Ceremonies of Initiation           47-50
XIII. FREEMASONRY IN ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND. — 427. Freemasonry in
England. 428. Freemasonry in Scotland.    429. Modern Free
masonry                                             .
51-53

XIV.Chevalier
FREEMASONRY  IN FRANCE. — 430. Introduction into France. 431 .
Ramsay.        432. Philosophical Rite.
433. The Duke
de Chartres .                                                           54-56
XV. THE CHAPTER OF CLERMONT AND THE STRICT OBSERVANCE. —434.
Jesuitical Influence. 435. The Strict Observance                  57 , 58
XVI. THE RELAXED OBSERVANCE.—436. Organisation of Relaxed Obser
vance .  437. Disputes in German Lodges. 438. Rite of Zinzendorf.
439. African Architects                                           59-60
XVII. THE CONGRESS OF WILHELMSBAD . — 440. Various Congresses. 441.
Discussions at Wilhelmsbad .     442. Result of Convention .   443.
Frederick William III. and the Masons                                   61-63
XVIII. MASONRY AND NAPOLEONISM . — 444. Masonry protected by Napoleon.
445. Spread of Freemasonry. 446. The Clover Leaves. 447. Obse
quiousness of Freemasonry. 448. Anti-Napoleonic Freemasonry        64-67
XIX. FREEMASONRY, THE RESTORATION AND THE SECOND EMPIRE. - 449.
The Society of “ France Regenerated .” 450. Priestly Opposition to
Masonry      451. Political Insignificance of Masonry.   452. Free
masonry and Napoleon III. 453. Jesuitical Manæuvres                       68–71

XX. FREEMASONRY IN ITALY. —-454. Whimsical Masonic Societies.        455 .
Illuminati in Italy.456. Freemasonry at Naples. 457. Details of
Document. 458. Freemasonry at Venice. 459. Abatement under
Napoleon. 460. The Freemasonry of the Present in Italy. 461. Re
form needed .                                                           72–77
XXI. CAGLIOSTRO AND EGYPTIAN MASONRY. — 462. Life of Cagliostro.
463. The Egyptian Rite. 464. Cagliostro's Hydromancy. 465. Lodges
founded by Cagliostro .                                           78-81
XXII, ADOPTIVE MASONRY. —466. Historical Notice. 467. Organisation.
468. Jesuit Degrees                                                     82 , 83
XXIII. ANDROGYNOUS MASONRY. — 469. Origin and Tendency. 470. Earliest
Androgynous Societies. 471. Other Androgynous Societies. 472.
Various other Androgynous Societies. 473. Knights and Nymphs of
the Rose . 474. German Order of the Rose. 475. Pretended Objects
of the Order. 476. Order of Harmony. 477. Mason's Daughter         84-90
CONTENTS                                         vii

PAGES

XXIV. SCHISMATIC RITES AND SECTS. – 478. Schismatic Rites and Sects.
479. Farmassoni. 480. The Gormogones. 481. The Noachites, or
Noachidæ . 482. Argonauts. 483. The Grand Orient and Atheism.
484. Ludicrous Degree                                             91-95
XXV. DIFFUSION OF THE ORDER. — 485. Freemasonry in Spain and
Portugal. 486. Freemasonry in Russia. 487. Freemasonry in Switzer
land. 488. Freemasonry in Sweden and Poland . 489. Freemasonry
in Holland and Germany. 490. Freemasonry in Turkey, Asia, Africa,
and Oceania. 491. Freemasonry in America                         96-99
XXVI. PERSECUTIONS OF FREEMASONRY. — 492. Causes of Persecution .
493. Instances of Persecution. 494. Anti -Masonic Publications 100-105
XXVII. FUTILITY OF MODERN FREEMASONRY. — 495. Vain Pretensions
of Modern Freemasonry. 496. Vanity of Masonic Ceremonial.
497. Masonry diffuses no Knowledge. 498. Decay of Freemasonry.
499. Masonic Opinions of Masonry. 500. Masonic Literature.
5000. The Quatuor Coronati Lodge                               106-110

BOOK XII
INTERNATIONAL, COMMUNE , AND ANARCHISTS
501. Introductory Reinarks. 502. Socialistic Schemes. 503. History of the
International. 504. Objects and Aims of International. 505. The
International in England. 506. The International Abroad. 507. The
International and the Empire. 508. The International and the War.
509. The International and the Commune. 510. Budget of the
International.    511. Attempt to Revive the International.            512 .
Anarchists                                                               III - 127

BOOK XIII
POLITICAL SECRET SOCIETIES

I. CHINESE SOCIETIES.-513 . Earliest Secret Chinese Societies. 514. More
recent Societies. 515. Lodges. 516. Government. 517. Seal of the
Hung League. 518. The Ko lao Hui .                                128-138
II. The COMUNEROS. — 519. Introductory Remarks. 520. Earliest Secret
Societies in Spain. 521. Freemasonry in Spain, the Forerunner of the
Comuneros. 522. The Comuneros. 523. Clerical Societies               139-142
III. THE HETAIRIA. —524. Origin. 525. The Hetairia of 1812. 526. The
Hetairia of 1814. 527. Signs and Passwords. 528. Short Career of
Galatis. 529. Proceedings of the Grand Arch. 530. Ipsilanti's Pro
ceedings. 531. Ipsilanti's Blunders. 532. Progress of the Insurrection.
533. Ipsilanti's Approaching Fall . 534. Advance of the Turks. 535.
Ipsilanti's Difficulties. 536. Ipsilanti's Fall . 537. Ipsilanti's Manifesto.
538. Ipsilanti's Imprisonment and Death . 539. Fate of the Hetairists.
540. Georgakis' Death. 541. Farmakis' Death. 542. Final Success of
the Hetairia .                                                             143-156
viii                              CONTENTS
PAGES

IV. THE CARBONARI.–543. History of the Association. 544. Real Origin of
the Carboneria . 545. The Vendita or Lodge. 546. Ritual of Initiation.
547. First Degree. 548. The Second Degree. 549. The Degree of
Grand Elect. 550. Degree of Grand Master Grand Elect. 551. Sig.
nification of the Symbols. 552. Other Ceremonies and Regulations.
553. The Ausonian Republic. 554. Most Secret Carbonaro Degree.
555. De Witt, Biographical Notice of. 556. Carbonaro Charter pro
posed to England.     557. Carbonarism and Murat.       558. Trial of
Carbonari. 559. Carbonarism and the Bourbons. 560. The King's
Revenge. 561. Revival of Carbonarism. 562. Carbonarism and the
Church. 563. Carbonarism in Northern Italy. 564. Carbonarism in
France . 565. Carbonarism in Germany. 566. Carbonarism in Spain.
567. Giardiniere                                                   157-177
V. MISCELLANEOUS ITALIAN SOCIETIES. — 568. Guelphic Knights. 569.
Guelphs and Carbonari. 570. The Latini . 571. The Centres 572 .
Italian Littérateurs. 573. Societies in Calabria and the Abruzzi. 574.
Ciro Annichiarico. 575. Certificates of the Decisi. 576. The Calderari.
577. The Independents. 578. The Delphic Priesthood. 579. Egyptian
Lodges. 580. American Hunters. 581. Secret Italian Society in
London . 582. Secret Italian Societies in Paris. 583. Mazzini and
Young Italy. 584. Mazzini, the Evil Genius of Italy. 585. Assassi
nation of Rossi. 586. Sicilian Societies. 587. The Consistorials. 588.
The Roman Catholic Apostolic Congregation. 589. Sanfedisti . 178-195
VI. NAPOLEONIC AND ANTI - NAPOLEONIC SOCIETIES. — 590. The Phila
delphians. 591. The Rays. 592. Secret League in Tirol. 593
Societies in Favour of Napoleon. 594. The Illuminati. 595. Various
other Societies. 596. The Accoltellatori                        196-201
VII. FRENCH SOCIETIES . — 597. Various Societies after the Restoration .
598. The Acting Company. 599. Communistic Societies. 600. Causes
of Secret Societies in France                                      202-206

VIII. Polish SOCIETIES. — 601. Polish Patriotism. 602. Various Revolu
tionary Sects.   603. Secret National Government                   207-209

IX . THE OMLADINA.-- 604. The Panslavists                                 210, 211
X. TURKISH SOCIETIES. - 605. Young Turkey. 606. Armenian Society 212, 213
XI . THE UNION OF SAFETY. — 607. Historical Sketch of the Society .       214-216
XII. THE NIHILISTS. — 608. Meaning of the term Nihilist. 6o9. Founders
of Nihilism . 610. Sergei Nechayeff. 611. Going among the People.
612. Nihilism becomes Aggressive. 613. Sophia Bardina's and other
Trials . 614. The Party of Terror. 615. Vera Zassulic. 616. Officials
Killed or Threatened by the Nihilists. 617. First Attempts against the
Emperor's Life. 618. Numerous Executions. 619. The Moscow Attempt
against the Emperor. 620. Various Nihilist Trials. 621. Explosion in
the Winter Palace. 622. Assassination of the Emperor. 623. The Mine
in Garden Street. 624. Constitution said to have been Granted by
late Emperor. 625. The Nihilist Proclamation. 626. The Emperor's
Reply thereto. 627. Attempt against General Tcherevin . 628. Trials
and other Events in 1882. 629. Coronation, and Causes of Nihilistic
*
CONTENTS                                       ix

PAGES                                                                                PAGES

en of                 Inactivity. 630. Colonel Sudeikin shot by Nihilists. 631. Attempt
ion.                  against the Emperor at Gatshina. 632. Trial of the Fourteen . 633.
of               Reconstruction of the Nihilist Party. 634. Extension of Nihilism .
Sig.                  635. Decline of Nihilism . 636. Nihilistic Proceedings in 1887. 637 .
ns .                  Nihilism in 1888. 638. Slaughter of Siberian Exiles, and Hunger
ree .                 Strikes. 639. Occurrences in 1890. 640. Occurrences from 1891 to
-ro                   Present Date.      641. Nihilistic Finances.   642. The Secret Press.
of                   643. Nihilistic Measures of Safety. 644. The Nihilists in Prison.
g's                   645. Nihilistic Einigrants. 646. Nihilistic Literature. 647. Trials of
he
Nihilists                                                         217-256
in               XIII. GERMAN SOCIETIES. — 648. The Mosel Club.       649. German Feeling
En .                  against Napoleon. 650. Formation and Scope of Tugendbund. 651 .
157-177               Divisions among Members of Tugendbund. , 652. Activity of the
Tugendbund. 653. Hostility of Governments against Tugendbund 257-262
9.
XIV. THE BABIS . -654. Bab, the Founder. 655. Progress of Babism .
.                    656. Babi Doctrine. 657. Recent History of Babism .         263-269
i.
n
XV. IRISH SOCIETIES.-- 658. The White Boys. 659. Right -Boys and Oak
Boys. 660. Hearts-of- Steel, Threshers, Break-of-Day-Boys, Defenders,
United Irishmen , Ribbonmen .     661. Saint Patrick Boys.   662. The
Orangemen. 663. Molly Maguires. 664. Ancient Order of Hibernians,
665. Origin and Organisation of Fenianism .     666. Origin of Name.
667. Fenian Litany.     668. Events from 1865 to 1871. 669. The Soi
=8-195                disant General Cluseret.     670. Phenix Park Murders, and Conse
quences. 671. Dynamite Outrages. 672. The National League. 673.
Comic Aspects of Fenianism . 674. Events from 1888 to 1896. 675 .
Most Recent Revelations                                       270-287
5-201

--- 206                                           BOOK XIV
MISCELLANEOUS SOCIETIES
676. The A B C Friends.     677. Abelites. 678. Academy of the Ancients.
679. Almusseri. 680. Anonymous Society. 681. Anti-Masonic Party.
213                  682. Anti -Masons. 683. Apocalypse, Knights of the. 684. Areoiti.
216                   685. Avengers, or Vendicatori. 686. Belly Paaro. 687. Californian
Society. 688. Cambridge Secret Society. 689. Charlottenburg, Order
of, 690. Church Masons. 691. Congourde, The. 692. Druids, Modern.
693. Duk - Duk .  694. Egbo Society. 695. Fraticelli . 696. Goats ,
The. 697. Grand Army of the Republic. 698, Green Island. 699.
rugari. 700. Hemp-smokers, African . 701. Heroine of Jericho.
702. Human Leopards. 703. Hunters, the. 704. Huséanawer. 705.
Indian (North American ) Societies. 706. Invisibles, the. 707. Jehu ,
Society of. 708. Karpokratians. 709. Klöbbergöll. 710. Knights,
the Order of. 711. Know -Nothings. 712. Ku -Klux -Klan . 713. Kurnai
Initiation.   714. Liberty, Knights of. 715. Lion, Knights of the.
716. Lion, the Sleeping. 717. Ludlam's Cave . 718. Mad Councillors.
719. Magi , Order of the. 720. Maharajas. 721. Mano Negra . 722.
x

CONTENTS
PAGES
Melanesian Societies.      723. Mumbo - Jumbo. 724. Odd Fellows.
725. 0 -Kee - Pa .   726. Pantheists . 727. Patriotic Order Sons of
America. 728. Phi -Beta-Kappa. 729. Pilgrims. 730. Police, Secret.
731. Portuguese Societies. 732. Purrah, the. 733. Pythias, Knights
of. 734. Rebeccaites. 735. Redemption, Order of. 736. Red Men .
737. Regeneration, Society of Universal . 738. Saltpetrers. 739.
Sikh Fanatics. 740. Silver Circle, Knights of the. 741. Sonderbare
Gesellen, 742. Sophisiens. 743. Star of Bethlehem . 744. Thirteen,
the . 745. Tobacco gical     ety. 74 Tu            ety of the. 747
Utopia. 748. Wahabees                                            288-326

ADDENDA ET CORRIGENDA

VOL I.

Page 36 — Buddha's Image ; Work on Buddhist Religion ; Budda's Birth
place recently discovered                                         327
Page 45— Temple of Hathor                                                      327
Page 142 — Family of Waldo                                                     328
Page 168—Vehm , Lindner's work on the                                          328
Page 169-Beati Paoli - John of Parma                                           328
Page 198— Astrological Society in London                                       328
Page 230 — Master Pianco and the Rosicrucians                                  329
Page 231 -Asiatic Brethren and their Custodian of Archives                     329
Page 258 — Meaning of term Garduna .                                           329
Page 270 — The Camorra, Laws against the                                       329
Page 273—The Camorra, Grant's “ Stories of Naples and the Camorra ”            330
Page 315– The German Union : Bahrdt and his mysterious correspondents 330

VOL. II.

Page 60—African Architects and their sections .                                330
Page 132— Tae -ping-wang, the Chinese Artista                                  331
Page 139—Europe after the Congress of Vienna                                   331
Page 159– The Carbonari : the author of “ The Memoirs of the Secret
Societies of the South of Italy, particularly the Carbonari ” .    331
Page 207—Polish Patriotism : Courrière's opinion thereof .                     331
Page 259-Baron von Stein on the Tugendbund and secret societies - Baron
von Stein, Privy Councillor to the Count Palatine of Cologne 332
Page 260—The Tugendbund and the German rising                                  332
Page 278–Fenians : O'Leary's “ Recollections of Fenians and Fenianism          333
Page 299 — Human Leopards ; why so called - many secret societies on West
coast of Africa                                                 333
Page 301 —Indian ( North American ) Societies : the legend of Manabozko
and Chibiabos                                                   333
XIV

THE BABIS

654. Bab, the Founder. — His name—for Bab is a title—was
Ali Mohammed, and he is said to have been a Seyyid, or
descendant of the family of the Prophet. He was born in
1819 at Shiraz, where his father was a merchant.                  Ali at
first engaged in trade himself, but in 1840 he began to
preach his new doctrine, declaring himself to be the Bab,1
i.e. Door of Truth , the Mahdi. In 1843 he made the
pilgrimage to Mecca, but on his return was arrested by
order of the Shah, and from 1844 to 1849 kept in semi
captivity at Ispahan and Tauris, at which latter place he was
sentenced to be shot. He was suspended by cords from the
walls of the citadel, and a dozen soldiers were ordered to
fire at him . When the smoke from their discharges was
dispelled the Bab had disappeared — a cleverly -managed
manæuvre to establish a miracle.             But he was soon after
reapprehended, and again condemned to death. The details
of his execution are not known ; it is reported that he was
shot. His long captivity and mysterious death were favour
able to the spreading of his doctrine, as also the fact that
during his life he was subject to occasional fits of frenzy,
and in the East — and sometimes in the West-- a madman is
considered to be inspired. And the Bah, like all prophets,
did not disdain availing himself of mundane means to pro
pagate his new doctrines ; he was greatly assisted therein by
the eloquence, combined with marvellous personal beauty, of
Kurratu’l 'Ayn, a young lady of good family, who early em
braced Babism, and suffered martyrdom for it (655). The
Bab was examined as to his teaching in 1848 by Nasreddin,
then Crown Prince of Persia, afterwards Shah , and a number
of Mullahs, the result of which inquiry was that he was
sentenced to the bastinado, in consequence of which it is
1 Bab in Arabic and Chaldean means door, gate, or court ; hence we have
Babylon , the court of Bel ; Babel-Mandeb, the gate of sorrow, probably so
called on account of its dangerous navigation and rocky environs.
264                  SECRET SOCIETIES

said he recanted and revoked all his claims ; but as we have
none but Mussulman historians—his enemies—to rely on, as
the examination was held with closed doors, we may doubt
this statement .
655. Progress of Babism . — The Bab's teaching had not only
theological, but also political aims. Persian rulers have
always been conservative, but Babism was reformatory, and
the common people readily embraced it, as it seemed favour
able to the breaking down of the despotic powers exercised
by provincial governors, by whom the country was fearfully
oppressed. When, therefore, the Babis considered them
selves strong enough they seized Mazanderan , about fourteen
miles south - east of Barfurush ; but the Shah's troops having
cut off all supplies, they had to surrender, and were all slain.
This was in 1847. In 1848, on the accession of the late            }
Shah a thousand Babis rose against him ; they, however,
were defeated by Mehdi Kouli Mirza, uncle of the new Shah,
and the three hundred survivors who surrendered cruelly
slaughtered , though they had been promised their lives.
Moulla Mohammed Ali, a Bab leader, in 1849 converted
seven thousand of the twelve thousand inhabitants of Zanjan,
seized the town , and drove the governor from the citadel ;
eighteen thousand royal soldiers were sent against him , and
more than eight thousand of the combatants killed , and the
surviving Babis had to surrender, and were put to death
with horrible tortures. In 1850 a follower of Bab, ambitious
rather than fanatical, Sayid Yahya Darabi, preached Babism
at Niriz, and gathered round him two thousand followers,
with whose help he hoped to hold the town.      But the Shah's
troops attacked him ; he was assassinated by being strangled
with his own girdle ; the starved -out Babis had to yield, and
were all cruelly butchered . In 1852 some Babis attempted
to murder the Shah ; the inquiry following thereon proved
that at Ispahan and in all the great towns of Persia there
was a vast association of Babis and Loûtis, whose object was
the overthrow of the reigning dynasty. All convicted of
Babism were seized,and executed openly or in secret ; terrible
scenes were enacted by the Shah's orders in many towns of
Persia during a reign of terror, which lasted nearly two
years. The Shah's anger at the attempt, but especially his
alarm , was so great, that to test the loyalty of his subjects
he devised the “devilish scheme," as one writer calls it, of
making all classes of society share in the revenge he took
on the Babis.     Thus the man who had fired the shot which
wounded the king was killed by the farrashes_literally, the
THE BABIS                           265
carpet -spreaders, but officially, the lictors of Eastern rulers.
They first tortured him by the insertion of lighted candles
in incisions made in his body.        When the candles were
burnt down to the flesh , the fire was for some time fed by
that.   In the end he was sawn in two.       The Master of the
Horse and the attendants of the royal stables showed their
loyalty by nailing red -hot horse-shoes to the feet of the
victim handed over to them, and finally « broke up his head
and body with clubs and nails.” Another Babi had his eyes
plucked out by the artillerymen, and was then blown from a
gun. Another Babi was killed by the merchants and shop
keepers of Teheran, every one of whom inflicted a wound
on him until he died . Vambéry, in his “ Wanderings and
Experiences in Persia ,” mentions one Kasim of Niriz, who
was shod with red-hot horse-shoes, had burning candles
inserted in his body, all his teeth torn out, and was eventu
ally killed by having his skull smashed in with a club. These
are but a few specimens of the cruelties inflicted by order of
the amiable gentleman who, on his visits to this country, was
so loudly cheered by the assembled crowds.          Among the
victims of that persecution was Kurratu'l 'Ayn (the Consola
tion of Eyes), a beautifuland accomplished woman, who pro
fessed and preached Babism. The manner of her death is
uncertain ; some say she was burnt, others that she was
strangled. Dr. Polak, who actually witnessed her execution ,
in his “ Persia, the Land and Its Inhabitants," simply says,
“ I was a witness to the execution of Kurratu'l 'Ayn , which
was performed by the Minister of War and his adjutants ;
the beautiful woman underwent her slow death with super
human fortitude.”     He gives no details as to the manner of
it. In spite of this persecution, or rather, in consequence
of it, Babism spread with astonishing rapidity throughout
Persia, even penetrating into India . Not only the lower
classes, but persons of education and wealth have joined the
sect.   The only portion of the Persian population not
affected by its doctrines appear to be the Nuseiriyeh and
the Christians.
656. Babi Doctrine. — It is contained in the Biyyan , the
“ Expositor,” attributed to the Bab himself, and consisting
of three parts written at different periods. It is to a great
extent rhapsodical, frequently unintelligible. It abounds
with mysticism, degenerate Platonism , beliefs borrowed
from the Guebres, vestiges of Magism, and in many places
displays the influence of a transformed Christianity and
French philosophy of the last century, propagated as far
266                     SECRET SOCIETIES

as Persia through masonic lodges, though they were never
tolerated in Persia.          We shall see further on how one
recently established came to grief. The Babi Koran in
culcates, among other superstitions, the wearing of amulets,
men in the form of a star, women in that of a circle ; the
cornelian is particularly recommended to be put on the
fingers of the dead, all which implies a return to Aramean
Paganism . The book maintains the divinity of the Bab ;
he and his disciples are incarnations of superior powers;
forty days after death they reappear in other forms.
“ God ," says the Biyyan, “ created the world by His Will ;
the Will was expressed in words, but words are         composed
of letters ; letters, therefore, possess divine properties.  In
giving their numerical value to the letters forming the words
expressing God, they always produce the same total, viz.
19.    Hence the ecclesiastical system of the Babis ; their
colleges are always composed of 19 priests; the year is
divided into 19 months, of 19 days each ; the fast of the
Ramadan lasts 19 instead of 30 days. During his life Ali
Mohammed chose eighteen disciples, called “ Letters of the
Living,” who, together with himself, the“ Point ” (the Point
of Revelation, or “ First Point," from which all are created,
and unto which all return ), constituted the sacred hierarchy
of nineteen, called the “ First Unity.” Now, Mirza Yahya
held the fourth place in this hierarchy, and on the death of
the “ Point,” which occurred, as already stated,in 1849, and
the first two “ Letters,” rose to be chief of the sect ; but
Beha, whose proper name is Mirza Huseyn Ali of Nur, was
also included in this unity, and he asserted that he was the
one by whom God shall , as Bab had prophesied, make His
final revelation ; for, be it observed, the BabiKoran , which at
present consists of eleven parts only, shall, when complete,
contain nineteen , and when that revelation is made, Babism
will be finished, and with it will come the end of this pre
sent world ; for, according to the belief of his followers,the
Bab was the forerunner of Saheb -ez -Zeman , the Lord of
Ages, who resides in the air, and will not be seen till the
day of resurrection . In consequence of the claim of Beha
the sect was split up into two divisions, the Behais and the
followers of Mirza Yahya Subh-i-Ezel (the Morning of Eter
nity ), and after him called Ezelis. The majority of the sect
are Behais, and the exiled chief Yahya lives at Famagusta,
1 I find this mentioned by one writer only, Professor de Filippi, in his
Viaggio in Persia nel 1862," published in the Italian periodical Politecnico,
vol. xxii. p. 252, where there is a lengthy account of the Babis.
THE BABIS                                  267
in Cyprus, where Mr. Browne, the translator of the work
OF
“ A Traveller's Narrative," visited him in 1890, as he also
visited Beha, at Acre, shortly after. The Babis are so far in
ut
advance of their Eastern brethren that they wish to raise
the status of woman, maintaining that she is entitled to the
same civil rights as man ; and one of their first endeavours
to attain that end is that of abolishing the veil. Various
charges, as against all new sects, are made against them ;
they are accused of being communists, of allowing nine
husbands to a woman , of drinking wine, and of other un
lawful practices; but proofs are wanting. It is said that
Jena       they have special modes of salutation , and wear a ring of
peculiar form , by which they recognise one another. They
arrange their hair in a characteristic manner, and, as a rule,
are clothed in white, all which practices, on the part of
people who have to conceal their opinions, appears very
strange to outsiders.          The Bab forbade the use of tobacco,
of the    but the prohibition was withdrawn by Beha. Though only
half a century old , the sect already possesses a mass of con
troversial writings on points of faith — for in all ages men
have disputed most on what they understood least. The
ated      Babis may yet become a great power in the East ; in the
care
meantime they afford us an excellent opportunity of watch
Tabia      ing within our own day the genesis and development of a
3th
new religious creed , in which vast power and authority is
conferred on the priests, greatly overshadowing that of the
,
ii hurt
king himself, unless he is a member of the sect, which , in
fact, if the creed becomes paramount, he must be to pre
serve his dignity ; for, according to the teaching of the
founder, he who is not a Babi has no right to any posses
sion , has no civil status. To enhance the influence of the
nica       priests, divine service is to be performed with the utmost
pomp ; the temples are to be adorned with the costliest
productions of nature and art .
But it is certain the doctrines of the Babis suit neither
the Sunnites nor the Shiites , the latter of whom are the
til the
dominant religious party in Persia, and who particularly
objected to the Bab's claim of being the promised Mahdi,
Biche    whose advent was to be ushered in by prodigious signs,
di tahun   which, however, were not witnessed in the Bab's case. The
Eter
latter also was opposed by the new Sheykhi school. Early
According to the doctrine of the Sunnites , the Imamate , or vice
regency of the prophet , is a matter to be determined by the choice and
election of his followers ; according to the Shiites, it is a matter altogether
spiritual, having nothing to do with popular choice or approval.
268                  SECRET SOCIETIES

in this century Sheykh Ahmad of Ahsa preached a new doc
trine, considered heterodox by true believers ; still he found
many adherents, and on his death , about the year 1827, was
succeeded by his disciple Haji Seyyid Kazim of Resht. He
died in 1844, prophesying the coming of one greater than
himself.    Then Mirza Ali Mahammad , who came in contact
with some disciples of the deceased Seyyid Kazim, saw his
opportunity, and proclaimed himself the Bab ; the old Shey khi
party strongly supported him.     But some of the followers of
Seyyid Kazim did not accept the new prophet, and became,
as the new Sheykhi party, his most violent persecutors. The
Bab consequently called the leader of the latter party the
“ Quintessence of Hell-fire ," whilst he, in his turn, wrote a
treatise against the Bab, entitled, “ The Crushing of False
hood .”    From such mutual courtesies the transition to mutual
recrimination and accusation of objectionable teaching and
practice is easy, and consequently quite usual, and therefore
not to be too readily believed.
657. Recent History of Babism .      The fearful reprisals the
late Shah in 1852 took on the sect of the Babis , whatever
may be thought of their moral aspect, appear to have had
the desired political effect. From that day till the recent
assassination of the Shah , the outcome of old grievances,
and of an uncalled - for renewal of a fierce persecution , they
have committed no overt act of hostility against the Persian
Government or people, though their number and strength
are now double what they were in 1852. But this has not
softened the feeling of the Shah or of the Mullahs against
them . This was clearly shown in 1863.         In that year a
Persian who had travelled in Europe suggested to the Shah
the establishment of a masonic lodge, with himself as the
grand master, whereby he would have a moral guarantee of
the fidelity of his subjects, since all persons of importance
and influence would no doubt become members, and masonic
oaths cannot be broken . The Shah granted permission,
without, however, being initiated himself; a lodge, called
the Feramoush -Khanek , the “ House of Oblivion "      since on
leaving the lodge the member was supposed to forget all
he had seen in it — was speedily opened , and the Shah urged
all his courtiers to join it.   He then questioned them as to
what they had seen in it, but their answers were unsatisfac
tory ; they had listened to some moral discourse, drunk tea,
and smoked. The Shah could not understand that the terrible
mysteries of Freemasonry, of which he had heard so much ,
could amount to no more than this ; he therefore surmised
THE BABIS                          269
en die    that a great deal was withheld from him, and became dis
satisfied.   This dissatisfaction was taken advantage of by
some of his friends who disliked the innovation, and they
suggested to him that the lodge was probably the home of
the grossest debauchery, and, finally, that it was a meeting
place of Babis. Debauchery the Shah might have winked
at, but Babism could not be tolerated. The lodge was imme
diately ordered to be closed, and the author of its establish
CER       ment banished from Persia. In quite recent times the Babis
have undergone grievous persecutions. In 1888 Seyyid
Hasan and Seyyid Huseyn were put to death by order of
the then Shah's eldest son, Prince Zillu's Sultan, for refusing
to abjure Babism . When dead their bodies were dragged
by the feet through the street and bazaars of Ispahan , and
cast out of the gate beyond the city walls. In the month of
October of the same year Aga Mirza Ashraf of Abade was
murdered for his religion, and the Mullas mutilated the poor
body in themost savage manner. In 1890 the Babi inhabi
mbio      tants of a district called Seh-deh were attacked by a mob,
and seven or eight of them killed, and their bodies burnt
‫من ب‬
arba      with oil. But it appears that on various occasions the Shah
restrained the fanaticism of would -be persecutors of the
Babis ; it did not, however, save him from the vengeance
sworn against him by the sect for former persecutions. On
Park
the Ist May 1896 Nasreddin Shah, the Defender of the
Faith, was shot in the mosque of Shah Abdul Azim, near
Teheran, and died immediately after he was brought back to
the city. The assassin , who was at once arrested, was Mirza
Mahomed Reza of Kirman, a follower of Jemal-ed-din, who
was exiled for an attempt at dethroning the Shah in 1891 .
After Jemal's departure Mahomed Reza was imprisoned ;
after some time he was set free, but continuing to speak
against the Persian Government, he was again imprisoned,
but some time after obtained his release, and even a pension
from the Shah.    He confessed that he was chosen to kill the
Shah, and that he bought a revolver for the purpose, but had
to wait two months for a favourable opportunity. His execu
tion, some months after the deed - has it inspired the Babis
with sufficient dread to deter them from similar attempts in
the future ?

K
I
W
-- The Babis (Used by permission of the curator)