Editing Bábism (section)

===Uprisings and massacres===
By 1848 the increased fervour of the Bábís and the clerical opposition had led to a number of confrontations between the Bábís and their government and clerical establishment.{{sfn|Smith|2000|pp=55-59}} After the death of [[Mohammad Shah Qajar]], the shah of Iran, a series of armed struggles and uprisings broke out in the country, including at Tabarsi.{{sfn|Smith|2000|pp=55-59}} These confrontations all resulted in Bábí massacres; Bahá'í authors give an estimate of 20,000 Bábís killed from 1844 to present, with most of the deaths occurring during the first 20 years.<ref name=":0293" /> The first major killings of Bábís recorded in history took place in [[Qazvin]]. Since then, attacks against the Bábís by prominent clerics and their followers became more common and some Bábís started to carry arms.<ref name=":0293">{{cite encyclopedia|title=MARTYRS, BABI|author=Peter Smith & Moojan Momen|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Iranica|volume=Online Edition|date=September 2005|url=https://iranicaonline.org/articles/martyrs-babi-babi|accessdate=1 May 2020}}</ref> In remote and isolated places the scattered Bábís were readily attacked and killed while in places where large numbers of them resided they acted in self-defense.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Shoghi |first=Effendi |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1262336126 |title=Gott geht vorüber |date=2019 |isbn=978-3-87037-634-5 |location=Hofheim |pages=37–38 |oclc=1262336126}}</ref> One of these attacks occurred in [[Babol]] of [[Mazandaran province|Mazandaran]] which led to the death of several Bábís and their opponents, as well as an armed conflict between Bábís and their enemies in fort [[Shaykh Tabarsi|Ṭabarsí]]. After that, two other big clashes between the Bábís and their opponents took place in the cities of [[Zanjan, Iran|Zanjan]] and [[Neyriz]] in the north and south of Iran, respectively, as well as a smaller conflict in [[Yazd]]. A total of several thousand Bábís were killed in these conflicts.<ref name=":0293" /> In the three main conflicts in Ṭabarsí, Zanjan and Neyriz, Bábís were accused by their enemies of revolting against the government.<ref name=":12" /> However, it seems unlikely that these actions were purely revolutionary.<ref name=":12">{{Cite book|last=Smith|first=Peter|year=2008|title=An introduction to the Baha'i faith|publisher=Cambridge University Press|place=Cambridge; New York|isbn=978-0-521-86251-6|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/181072578|page=13|oclc=181072578 }}</ref> In all three cases, the battles that took place were of a defensive nature, and not considered an offensive [[jihad]], as the Báb did not allow it and in the case of two urban conflicts (Neyriz and Zanjan), they were related to pre-existing social and political tensions within the towns.<ref name=":12"/><ref name=":0">''[https://bahai-library.com/walbridge_babi_uprising_zanjan The Babi Uprising in Zanjan],'' John Walbridge published in Iranian Studies, 29:3-4, pages 339-362 1996</ref> There is also no evidence of a coordinated plan of action.<ref name=":12"/> Wilson suggests that the Bábí uprisings were deliberate and that their clashes with authority were sometimes extremely brutal to respond to the tactics of the supporters of government.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wilson |first=Samuel Graham |title=Modern Movements Among Moslems |publisher=Fleming H. Revell Company |year=1916 |location=United States |pages=119}}</ref> In mid-1850 a new prime-minister, [[Amir Kabir]], was convinced that the Bábí movement was a threat and ordered the [[execution of the Báb]] which was followed by the killings of many Bábís.{{sfn|Smith|2000|pp=55-59}}

====Fort Tabarsi====
{{Main|Battle of Fort Tabarsi}}
[[File:Shaykhtabarsi 2008.jpg|right|thumb|upright=1.1|Shrine of Shaykh Ṭabarsí]]

Of the conflicts between the Bábís and the establishment, the first and best known took place in [[Mazandaran province|Māzandarān]] at the remote shrine of [[Shaykh Tabarsi]], about {{convert|22|km}} southeast of Bārfarush (modern [[Babol]]). From October 1848 until May 1849, around 300 Bábís (later rising to 600), led by Quddús and Mullá Husayn, defended themselves against the attacks of local villagers and members of the Shah's army under the command of Prince Mahdi Qoli Mirza.{{sfn|Smith|2000|p=331}} They were, after being weakened through attrition and starvation, subdued through false promises of safety, and put to death or sold into slavery.<ref name="EoI"/>{{sfn|Smith|2000|p=331}}

====Zanjan upheaval====
The revolt at the fortress of ʿAli Mardan Khan in [[Zanjan province|Zanjan]] in northwest Iran was by far the most violent of all the conflicts. It was headed by Mullā Muhammad 'Ali Zanjani, called [[Hujjat]], and also lasted seven or eight months (May 1850–January 1851). The Bábí community in the city had swelled to around 3,000 after the conversion of one of the town's religious leaders to the Bábí movement.{{sfn|Smith|2000|p=368}} The conflict was preceded by years of growing tension between the leading Islamic clergy and the new rising Bábí leadership. The city governor ordered that the city be divided into two sectors, with hostilities starting soon thereafter.{{sfn|Smith|2000|p=368}} The Bábís faced resistance against a large number of regular troops, and led to the death of several thousand Bábís.{{sfn|Smith|2000|p=368}} After Hujjat was killed, and the Bábí numbers being greatly reduced, the Bábís surrendered in January 1851 and were massacred by the army.{{sfn|Smith|2000|p=368}}

====Nayriz upheaval====
Meanwhile, a serious but less protracted struggle was waged against the government at [[Neyriz]] in [[Fars province|Fars]] by Yahya Vahid Darabi of Nayriz. Vahid had converted around 1500 people in the community and had thus caused tensions with the authorities which led to an armed struggle in a nearby fort.{{sfn|Smith|2000|p=260}} The Bábís resisted attacks by the town's governor as well as further reinforcements. After being given a truce offer on 17 June 1850, Vahid told his followers to give up their positions, which led to Vahid and the Bábís being killed; the Bábí section of the town was also plundered, and the property of the remaining Bábís seized.{{sfn|Smith|2000|p=260}} Later, in March 1853 the governor of the city was killed by the Bábís. These further events led to a second armed conflict near the city where the Bábís once again resisted troop attacks until November 1853, when a massacre of Bábís happened, with their women being enslaved.{{sfn|Smith|2000|p=260}}