During the five-year period that Baha’u’llah spent in Constantinople and Adrianople marks a significant part of His ministry. It was during this short time that some of His well-known Tablets were revealed, and the “…sun of His Revelation mounted to its zenith and, in the plenitude of its splendor, shed its radiance upon the whole of mankind.”

Istanbul (Constantinople):
16th of August, 1863, marks the arrival of Baha’u’llah and His companions to Constantinople, then the capital city of the Ottoman Empire. He and his family had stayed here for a period of four months. It was during His residence here that, because of the false accusations made by a Persian Ambassador, the agreeable attitude of the authorities changed to that of animosity and bitterness.

During this same eventful period, however, marks a “…significant milestone in the enfoldment of His Mission…” in a sense that the “…initial phase of the proclamation of the Message of Baha’u’llah to the kings and rulers of the world was ushered in by the revelation of a Tablet addressed to Sultan Abdu’l Aziz and his ministers sternly rebuking them for their actions against the new-born Faith of God and its Leader.”1

Baha’u’llah arrived in Constantinople (Istanbul) in a perceptible majesty and was received by the authorities with great honor as He disembarked from the ship. He was driven with all the members of His family to the residences of Shamsi Big, an official who was present at the port and who was appointed by the Government to entertain its guests.

The residence of Shamsi Bey was a two storey building located in the area of Hırka-I Sharif mosque. This house, because of the size of Baha’u’llah and His fifty-four companions, proved to be small. As a result, He was soon moved to a more spacious house – the three-storey residence of Veysi Pasha near the mosque of Sultan Pasha. Neither of these houses, unfortunately, is today in its original form.2

Many of the high-ranking authorities that visited Baha’u’llah during this time had expected Him to supplicate their help in obtaining support of the Government for Himself and His Cause. They soon, however, noticed that not only was He not remotely interested, but was “…far removed from the expedient practices current among men, and that His standards were exalted above human statesmanship.”3

One of the well-known works which Baha’u’llah revealed in Constantinople is the Mesnevi. It has been stated that this work is “…a masterpiece of Persian poetry, noted for the beauty and power of its composition, and acclaimed as one of the most soul-stirring among His Poems…” and that in it Baha’u’llah has “…unveiled the mysteries of a vast and limitless Revelation, disclosed some of the realities of the world of man, and indicated how he can achieve the summit of glory.” 4

1 Adib Taherzadeh, The Revelation of Baha’u’llah, volume 2, Pg. 1
2 Adib Taherzadeh, The Revelation of Baha’u’llah, volume 2, Pg. 3
3 Adib Taherzadeh, The Revelation of Baha’u’llah, volume 2, Pg. 4
4 Adib Taherzadeh, The Revelation of Baha’u’llah, volume 2, Pg. 29