Shah
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The title Shah means, in effect, king or emperor. Like the Russian and Bulgarian word "Tsar", it probably comes from the title Caesar, used by the Romans.
In Bahá'í history[edit]
During the lifetimes of the Báb and Bahá'u'lláh, Persia was under the control of the Qajar dynasty. This dynasty was established by a force of Shi'ite Turkmen tribes in the 1700s. Although this dynasty was overthrown during the twentieth century, the usurper Reza Pahlavi claimed the title Shah, as did his son, who was eventually deposed in 1979.
The Shahs of the period were: Muhammad Shah (1834-1848) and Nas'ru-Din Shah (1848-1896). Muhammad Shah wished to investigate the claims of the Báb and sent one of his most trusted theologians to interview Him.
Muhammad Shah[edit]
Nas'ru-Din Shah[edit]
It was Nas'ru-Din Shah that two Bábís tried to assassinate in 1852. Hasan Balyúzí retells a pilgrim's note from late in Bahá'u'lláh's own life, in which the Blessed Beauty explains that because of this assassination attempt, the Shah was allowed a much longer life than would otherwise have been the case. Bahá'u'lláh is also reported as saying that every time the Shah stroked his skin, he could feel the pellets inside, which meant that he was continually reminded of the event, which fuelled his mistrust of the Bábi/Bahá'í movement.
Nas'ru-Din Shah was actually assassinated in 1896, while away from Tehran. To keep the news of this event secret for a few days, the courtiers propped up his body and continued driving the carriage home, with the dead Shah in place.
As a religious title[edit]
In Zoroastrian theology, prophecies point to the Shah Bahram, the Figure who would appear at the time of the end.
