Early Life
Mirza 'Ali Muhammad, Who afterwards assumed the title of Bab (i.e. Gate), was born at Shiraz, in the south of Persia, on the 20th of October 1819 A.D. He was a Siyyid, that is, a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad. His father, a well-known merchant, died soon after His birth, and He was then placed under the care of a maternal uncle, a merchant of Shiraz, who brought Him up. In childhood He learned to read, and received the elementary education customary for children. At the age of fifteen He went into business, at first with His guardian, and afterward with another uncle who lived at Bushihr, on the shore of the Gulf of Persia. (15:1)

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