Prince Dmitriy Ivanovich Dolgorouki played a pivotal historical role in safeguarding Bahá'u'lláh during the intense period of Bábí persecution in Persia following the August 1852 attempt on the life of Náṣiri'd-Dín Sháh.
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Prince Dolgorouki served as the Minister Plenipotentiary and Envoy of the Russian Empire to Persia, maintaining the Russian Legation's summer residence in the village of Zargandih.
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When fanatical violence erupted in Tehran following the attempt on the Shah's life, Bahá'u'lláh traveled to Zargandih and stayed at the home of His brother-in-law, Mírzá Majíd (who served as secretary to Prince Dolgorouki), adjacent to the Russian minister's residence.
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When Náṣiri'd-Dín Sháh sent officers to the Russian Legation demanding that Bahá'u'lláh be delivered directly into the hands of royal guards, Prince Dolgorouki explicitly refused. Instead, he requested Bahá'u'lláh to proceed to the residence of the Grand Vizier, Mírzá Áqá Khán Núrí, while formally notifying the Grand Vizier that he would hold him personally responsible for Bahá'u'lláh's life, safety, and physical protection.
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While Bahá'u'lláh was chained in the subterranean dungeon of the Síyáh-Chál, Prince Dolgorouki monitored His condition through legation agents. He sent a stern message through his interpreter demanding an official interrogation of the arrested conspirator, Aẓím, to record formal testimony establishing Bahá'u'lláh's absolute innocence. Bahá'u'lláh Himself testifies: "In the days when this Wronged One was sore-afflicted in prison, the minister of the highly esteemed government of Russia... undertook with utmost dedication to secure My deliverance. Several times permission for release was granted, yet some of the divines of the city prevented it. Finally, through the minister's attention and efforts, deliverance was achieved...".
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Upon Bahá'u'lláh's release, Prince Dolgorouki offered Him asylum within the Russian Empire. When Bahá'u'lláh declined in favor of exile to Iraq, Dolgorouki appointed an official representative from the Russian Legation to escort Bahá'u'lláh and His family safely across Western Persia to the Ottoman border.
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In Lawḥ-i-Malik-i-Rús (Tablet to Czar Alexander II / Súriy-i-Haykal), Bahá'u'lláh explicitly commemorated Prince Dolgorouki's intervention:
"O Czar of Russia! ...Whilst I lay, chained and fettered, in the prison of Tihran, one of thy ministers extended Me his aid. Wherefore hath God ordained for thee a station which the knowledge of none can comprehend except His knowledge. Beware lest thou barter away this sublime station."
Sources:
- Bahá'u'lláh, Lawḥ-i-Malik-i-Rús (Tablet to Czar Alexander II), BH01042, cited in Summons to Kings and Rulers (ca. 1868).
- Bahá'u'lláh, Tablet revealed in 'Akká (1307 A.H.), cited in Writings of Bahá'u'lláh in 'Akká, year 1307 A.H., part IV.
- Bahá'u'lláh, Tablet detailing His release from the Síyáh-Chál, cited in Writings of Bahá'u'lláh in 'Akká, year 1307 A.H., part IV.
- Bahá'u'lláh, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf (1891), quoting the Tablet to Czar Alexander II.
- Bahá'u'lláh, Writings of Bahá'u'llah (Date unknown), account of Zargandih and Russian Legation.
- Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, Chapter VI (Arrival at Zargandih and legation connection).
- Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, Chapter VI (Prince Dolgorouki's refusal to surrender Bahá'u'lláh & warning to Grand Vizier).
- Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, Chapter VI (Quoting Tablet to Czar Alexander II regarding Minister's aid).
- Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, Chapter VI (Conditions inside the Síyáh-Chál).
- Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, Chapter VI (Russian Legation intervention and interrogation of Aẓím).
- Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, Chapter VI (Aẓím's testimony exonerating Bahá'u'lláh).
- Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, Chapter VII (Offer of Russian asylum and legation escort to Baghdad).
- Historical index, God Passes By (Record of British and Russian Envoys to Persia: Prince Dolgorouki, 1831, 1846).
- Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, Chapter VI (Events at Niyávarán and Zargandih).
- Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, Chapter IX (Proclamation to World Leaders — Czar Alexander II).
- Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, Chapter VII (Legation escort during exile to Iraq).
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