Now that Baha’u’llah was in Constantinople, the Persian Ambassador was making every attempt misrepresent and falsely accuse Him to the authorities to gain their support to banish Him even further. The situation of Baha’u’llah’s exile was tragic as well as humiliating. The officials did not even give sufficient time to Baha’u’llah and His companions for this long and extremely dangerous journey. The weather was very cold, and many rivers as a result were frozen. The only way for them to obtain water to drink or cleaning on this journey was by lighting a fire and melting the ice. The members of the party, which included women and children, were inadequately clad, yet some of them were made to ride in wagons normally used for carrying goods while others had to ride on animals.1

The Guardian Shoghi Effendi, in regards to this journey, writes:

Travelling through rain and storm, at times even making night marches, the weary travellers, after brief halts…arrived at their destination, on the first of Rajab 1280 A.H. (December 12, 1863), and were lodged in the Khan-I-‘Arab, a two-storey caravanserai, near the house of ‘Izzat,Aqa.” 2

The inhabitants, shortly after Baha’u’llah’s arrival in Adrianople, noticed His greatness and were deeply impressed by His genuine love and exalted character. Even the high-ranking city officials and men of culture and learning were attracted to Him and discovered for themselves that Baha’u’llah was “…the source of all knowledge and embodiment of all virtues,” and that “…such was were the marks of honour and esteem shown to Baha’u’llah that on occasions when He walked in the streets and bazaars the people spontaneously stood and bowed before Him.” 3

Despite the extreme difficulties faced from another exile, the outpourings of Baha’u’llah’s Revelation continued in Adrianople. “From the tone of these Tablets it became clear that the Revelation of Baha’u’llah had entered a new phase and that He…was now openly summoning the believers to Himself as the supreme Manifestation of God.” 4

Suriy-I-Ashab (Surih of Companions) was one of the early Tablets revealed in Adrianople. This lengthy Tablet in Arabic “…played a significant role in the unveiling of the station of Baha’u’llah to the Babis of Persia.” Another of the well-known Tablets that was revealed during this time is the Tablet of Ahmad, both the Arabic and Persian. The Tablet of Ahmad (Arabic) was revealed around 1282 A.H. (1865) in honour of Ahmad, native of Yazd. 5

The activities of Baha’u’llah’s enemies, who intended to impose upon Him the strictest of confinements, gathered momentum in early 1868. The most glorious, yet the most turbulent period in Baha’u’llah’s ministry, from 1863 to 1868, was drawing to a close, and those mainly responsible for Baha’u’llah’s final banishment, the Prime Minister, the Foreign Minister, succeeded in their efforts to banish Baha’u’llah to ‘Akka, and impose on Him life imprisonment within the walls of that prison city. 6

1 Adib Taherzadeh, The Revelation of Baha’u’llah, volume 2, Pg. 62
2 Adib Taherzadeh, The Revelation of Baha’u’llah, volume 2, Pg. 62
3 Adib Taherzadeh, The Revelation of Baha’u’llah, volume 2, Pg. 63
4 Adib Taherzadeh, The Revelation of Baha’u’llah, volume 2, Pg. 63-64
5 Adib Taherzadeh, The Revelation of Baha’u’llah, volume 2, Pg. 65
6 Adib Taherzadeh, The Revelation of Baha’u’llah, volume 2, Pg. 399