At last came the orders for the removal of the Báb to Máh-Kú. That town was the birthplace of Ḥájí Mírzá Áqásí, although he is generally known as Íravání[DE] because his family originated there. The vast majority of the inhabitants of Máh-Kú and its environs were Kurds who were Sunní by persuasion. `Alí [_Kh_]án, the warden of the castle, was a Kurd, simple, rough and uncouth. He was arrogantly unbending at the start of the Báb's incarceration, and would not allow any follower of the Báb to stay in the town, even for one night. When [_Sh_]ay[_kh_] Ḥasan-i-Zunúzí reached Máh-Kú he found that the only shelter available to him was a mosque outside the town. But he was able to meet and exchange letters and messages with Siyyid Ḥasan, who came into the town each day with a guard to buy provisions, and thus for a while he maintained a link between the Báb and His people. [Footnote DE: From Íraván. See p. 117 and note.] But one day the Báb advised Siyyid Ḥasan that these secret contacts with [_Sh_]ay[_kh_] Ḥasan were to end; He Himself would tell `Ali [_Kh_]án to permit visitors to come and go in peace. Both men were greatly astonished, since they knew well the character and attitude of the warden, who had even tried to prevent the people of Máh-Kú from coming to the foot of the mountain to obtain a glimpse of the Báb. By now the Báb had won the love and esteem of these hardened frontiersmen, who had shown such marked hostility when He was first brought to their fortress, nor could `Ali [_Kh_]án prevent their gathering daily at the mountain's base to gaze upwards in the hope of receiving His blessing. At an early hour on the morning following the Báb's advice to Siyyid Ḥasan, the inmates of the castle were startled by an incessant and agitated knocking. It was `Ali [_Kh_]án, peremptorily pounding the gate and shouting at the guardsmen for admittance. A guard rushed in to say that the warden wished to come immediately into the presence of the Báb. Siyyid Ḥusayn presented the request, and the Báb replied that He would receive `Ali [_Kh_]án at once. The warden was visibly shaking, obviously caught up by some tremendous emotion. He threw himself at the feet of the Báb and begged to be relieved of his misery: