On the twelfth day of January 1853, Bahá’u’lláh and His family left Tihrán, together with two of His brothers - Mírzá Músá, known in later years as Áqáy-i-Kalím, and Mírzá Muhammad-Quli - and accompanied by a representative of the Imperial Government of Irán, and an official of the Russian Legation. Bahá’u’lláh’s youngest son, Mirzá Mihdi, the Purest Branch, then a young child, had to be left behind with relatives, and it was some years before he could be reunited with his parents. The Russian Government had offered Bahá’u’lláh a refuge in its own territories, but He chose to go to Iráq. The time allowed Him to prepare had been too short, and particularly so since He needed a long period of rest before embarking on this journey in the heart of winter, over the high peaks and mountain passes of western írán. He, His family and His brothers had not been able to provide themselves with all that was required for adequate protection against the intense cold of those heights.
- Hand of the Cause H.M.Balyuzi (‘Bahá’u’lláh, The King of Glory’)
