The issue of "750 soldiers" is more complicated than might appear.
First, it is reported that the men stood in 3 rows. That makes it 250 men per row. Assuming that they stood shoulder to shoulder, each man must have needed a minimum of 75 cm space for himself and his arms/gun. That's a width of about 188 meters, or 210 yards, or just think of the length of 2 football fields. If you consider the picture of the barrack, clearly it was not that wide. Second, even if they could have taken that much space, only the men in the middle had a clear shot at the two prisoners (the Bab and Anis). The men beyond that, and certainly towards the endpoint of each row could not even see the target, so what were they shooting at?! Third, the 3 rows could not have shot simultaneously. Rather, one row shot and sat down. Then the row behind it (2nd row) shot and sat down. And then the 3rd row shot and was finished. But this won't work either since black powder makes very thick smoke with considerable sulfuric smell, which is nasty as all can get. As soon as the first row shot (supposedly, 250 shots!), the next two rows of soldiers would loose all visibility and would be gasping for air. Fourth, most firing squads consist of 5 to 8 soldiers. No military commander is going to waste that much powder and bullet for the execution of a single convict, regardless of the rank of the prisoner. So, most likely, the regiment consisted of 750 men, but actually about a half dozen or so of soldiers participated as the firing squad. The problem with this theory, however, is that all eyewitness accounts report that a very thick smoke covered the barrack and the adjacent rooftops, which means that probably more men were involved with the actual shooting, but nevertheless it couldn't have been too many -- certainly no more than a couple of dozen men. Are there other theories? Regards, ahang. Please respond to "Baha'i Studies" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent by: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: "Baha'i Studies" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> cc: Subject: Re: Martyrdom of the Bab "We don't even know for sure it was a miracle. Remember, the regiment in question had no wish to kill the Bab." Susan, Yes, it's true that the leader of the regiment did not wish to kill the Bab; however, I doubt that he could have ordered his 750 soldiers to shoot for the ropes and for all of them to actually miss the Bab and Mirza Muhammad Ali, while still hitting the rope. That would probably constitue a miracle in and of itself, let alone the miracle of 750 men keeping such an order secret. Patti __________________________________________________ You are subscribed to Baha'i Studies as: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Baha'i Studies is available through the following: Mail - mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Web - http://list.jccc.edu/read/?forum=bahai-st News - news://list.jccc.edu/bahai-st Public - http://www.escribe.com/religion/bahaist Old Public - http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED] New Public - http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED] This communication is for use by the intended recipient and contains information that may be privileged, confidential or copyrighted under applicable law. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby formally notified that any use, copying or distribution of this e-mail, in whole or in part, is strictly prohibited. Please notify the sender by return e-mail and delete this e-mail from your system. Unless explicitly and conspicuously designated as "E-Contract Intended", this e-mail does not constitute a contract offer, a contract amendment, or an acceptance of a contract offer. This e-mail does not constitute a consent to the use of sender's contact information for direct marketing purposes or for transfers of data to third parties. Francais Deutsch Italiano Espanol Portugues Japanese Chinese Korean www.invista.com/email_disclaimer.shtml
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"We don't even know for sure it was a miracle. Remember, the regiment in question had no wish to kill the Bab." Susan,
Yes, it's true that the leader of the regiment did not wish to kill the
Bab; however, I doubt that he could have ordered his 750 soldiers to shoot for
the ropes and for all of them to actually miss the Bab and Mirza Muhammad Ali,
while still hitting the rope. That would probably constitue a miracle in
and of itself, let alone the miracle of 750 men keeping such an order
secret.
Patti
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You are subscribed to Baha'i Studies as: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Baha'i Studies is available through the following: Mail - mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Web - http://list.jccc.edu/read/?forum=bahai-st News - news://list.jccc.edu/bahai-st Public - http://www.escribe.com/religion/bahaist Old Public - http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED] New Public - http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED] |
