Siyyid `Alí Muḥammad Shírází (, ; October 20, 1819 – July 9, 1850) was the founder of
Bábism, and one of three central figures of the
Bahá'í Faith. He was a merchant from
Shiraz,
Persia who, at the age of twenty-four (on the evening of May 22, 1844), claimed to be an inspired interpreter of the Qur'an within the Shaykhi school of
Twelver Shi'ism. He made bolder claims as time passed, and in 1847, during a trial in Tabriz, asserted a claim to be the Shi'i 'promised one' or
Qá'im (or
Mahdi). After his declaration he took the title of
Báb (, ) meaning "Gate" or "Door". He composed numerous letters and books in which he stated his messianic claims and defined his teachings, which constituted a new
sharí'ah or religious law. His movement eventually acquired thousands of supporters, was opposed by Iran's Shi'i clergy, and was suppressed by the Iranian government, leading to the persecution and killing of between two and three thousand of his followers, called Bábís. In 1850, at the age of thirty, the Báb was shot by a firing squad in
Tabriz.
