Never ... have we under any circumstances attempted to direct any offensive against our opponents. Not until they unchained their attack upon us did we arise to defend our lives. Had we cherished the ambition of waging holy war against them, had we harboured the least intention of achieving ascendancy through the power of our arms over the unbelievers, we should not, until this day, have remained besieged within these walls. The force of our arms would have by now, as was the case with the companions of Muḥammad in days past, convulsed the nations of the earth and prepared them for the acceptance of our Message. Such is not our way, however, which we have chosen to tread. Ever since we repaired to this fort, our sole, our unalterable purpose has been the vindication, by our deeds and by our readiness to shed our blood in the path of our Faith, of the exalted character of our mission. The hour is fast approaching when we shall be able to consummate this task.[15] The Year 1850 While Quddús and his companions were defending themselves at [_Sh_]ay[_kh_] Ṭabarsí, Bábís in other parts of Persia were increasingly the victims of an intense and systematic persecution on the part of both civil and ecclesiastical authorities. The reason was not far to seek and was stated by Sheil, once more at his post in Ṭihrán after a long period of absence, when he addressed Lord Palmerston on February 12th 1850: ... unluckily the proselytes are all of the Mahommedan faith, which is inflexible in the punishment of a relapsed Mussulman. Thus both the temporal and religious authorities have an interest in the extermination of this sect. It is conjectured that in Teheran this religion has acquired votaries in every class, not even excluding the artillery and regular Infantry--Their numbers in this city, it is supposed, may amount to about two thousand.[16] Sheil's dispatches took note of four occurrences in particular, in the year 1850: the execution of the Báb,[FF] the episodes of Nayríz and Zanján, and the public martyrdom of seven Bábís in Ṭihrán. [Footnote FF: See ch. 12.] The Episode of Nayríz