The Martyrdom of Tahirih

At the height of her popularity Tahirih was placed under house arrest in Tehran under the supervision of the governor Mahmud Khan-i-Kalantar.

Dignitaries, woman admirers, ladies of aristocracy, included princesses, thronged to meet her and benefit from her knowledge. Whatever their rank or class all who entered her presence humbly bowed before her.
One day, knowing that the hour of her martyrdom was approaching, Tahirih repaired to her chambers and after a day of prayer and fasting changed into a white wedding dress of silk she had saved for the occasion. Later that evening, just a few hours after sunset, she was summoned by Kalantar’s men and escorted on horseback to the Garden of Ilkhani next to the Russian legation, beside the British Embassy and the Turkish Legation, just outside the city walls of Tehran.

In this painting we see Tahirih being strangled with her own veil by Aziz Khan-I-Sadar, while his farashes (attendants) intoxicated with wine look on and are absorbed with their own acts of debauchery. In the distance we see the distinctive spiral columns of the Masjid Shah minarets signifying the event took place outside the city of Tehran. The owl in the tree represents the afterlife while the first sickle of the new moon is symbolic of spiritual rebirth.

After her martyrdom, with the help of a gardener, Kalantar’s son (who is seen on the left observing the scene while hiding behind a tree) concealed Tahirih’s body in a well that had recently been dug but had been left unfinished. The horse which Tahirih rode is seen grazing in the garden and the freshly dug well can be seen in the background.

From an original painting by Ivan Lloyd