Exile followed in Constantinople and in Adrianople, where Bahá’u’lláh publicly proclaimed His mission. In Adrianople in 1863, He revealed the Tablet to the Kings (Súriy-i-Mulúk), warning the kings of East and West that disobedience to God would lead to their downfall. Later, the most powerful enemy of the Bahá’í Faith, Náṣiri’d-Dín Sháh, was assasinated on the eve of his jubilee. Sulṭán ‘Abdu’l-Ḥamíd II of Turkey, another potent foe, was deposed and imprisoned by the Young Turks.

Bahá’u’lláh was finally exiled in 1868 to the ancient prison at ‘Akká, Palestine, the St. Jean d’Acre of the Crusaders. Even the climate of this pestilential and disease-ridden spot seemed to improve during Bahá’u’lláh’s residence there. In the Holy Land, He wrote the Book of Aqdas, or Most Holy Book. In it He prescribes obligatory prayers, sets the dates for fasting and festivals, and condemns back-biting, idleness, and cruelty to animals. The book forbids the use of opium and alcohol for other than scientific purposes and prohibits slavery, begging and monasticism. It ordains monogamy and interdicts gambling. The writing of a testament is held to be a duty. Every