When rumors of a ‘saint’ living in Sulaymaniyyih reached Bábí friends in Baghdad they suspected it was Bahá’u’lláh and asked one of his relatives to locate and beg him to return to help the community. Acceding to their urgent requests, to which Yahya even added an appeal, Bahá’u’lláh returned to Baghdad on 19 March 1856. Return to Baghdad Over the next 7 years, Bahá’u’lláh undertook to transform the Bábí community. Through personal example, as well as encouragement and constant interaction with Bábís, Bahá’u’lláh "restored the community to the moral and spiritual level it had attained during the Báb’s lifetime". Growing numbers were drawn to join the reinvigorated Bábí movement. As Bahá’u’lláh’s renown as a spiritual guide and Bábí leader grew, Mirza Yahya remained withdrawn. The spread of Bahá’u’lláh’s reputation in Baghdad and surrounding areas, along with increased dissemination of his writings, attracted "[p]rinces, scholars, mystics, and government officials" to meet him, many "prominent in Persian public life." This development unnerved antithetical elements among Iran’s Islamic clergy, and again raised the "intense fear and suspicion" of the Iranian monarch and his advisors. Invitation to Constantinople The Persian government asked the Ottoman government to extradite Baháʼu'lláh back to Persia, but the latter refused. The Persians then pressed the Ottomans to remove Baháʼu'lláh from Baghdad which was near Iran’s border. The result was an invitation in April 1863 from Sultan ʻAbdu'l-ʻAzíz himself inviting Baháʼu'lláh to reside in the Ottoman capital Constantinople (now Istanbul). First announcement On 22 April 1863, Baháʼu'lláh left his house in Baghdad for the banks of the Tigris river and crossed to enter the verdant Najibiyyih garden-park on the other side, which a Baghdad admirer had offered for his use. There Baháʼu'lláh stayed for twelve days with family members and a few close followers chosen to accompany him. Upon arrival in the garden Bahá’u’lláh declared to his companions that he was "Him whom God shall make manifest", the one promised by the Báb, and announced that his mission as God’s latest manifestation in this world had commenced. Sojourn in Constantinople Bahá’u’lláh left the Riḍván garden on 3 May 1863 and proceeded with his family to Constantinople as guests of the Ottoman government, accompanied by a mounted government escort arranged for their protection by 'Ali Pasha, the Sultan’s prime minister. Other travelers included at least two dozen companions who requested Bahá’u’lláh’s permission to accompany him. Though not included in the Sultan’s