invitation, Mirza Yahya joined the group en route. After fifteen weeks Bahá’u’lláh arrived in the Ottoman capital on 16 August 1863. He was welcomed by various government ministers of the Sultan, and by prominent personalities who paid their respects. The Persian ambassador also sent emissaries to greet him the day after his arrival. At the time, it was customary for prominent government guests such as Bahá’u’lláh to "call on the prime minister and other high-ranking officials", during which the guests would seek favors, broker deals, and secure various forms of official support for themselves. When Bahá’u’lláh did not return any visits, Kamal Pasha, a former Ottoman prime minister, even reminded him of the custom. Bahá’u’lláh’s response was that he knew of the practice "but had no demands to make of anyone nor did he require favors from them; therefore there was no reason" for him to call upon anyone. Bahá’u’lláh’s independence and detachment from the situation was used by the Persian ambassador to maliciously misrepresent Bahá’u’lláh before the Ottoman court, and to press for his banishment from the capital. As a consequence, less than four months after arriving in Constantinople, the prime minister suggested the Sultan banish Baháʼu'lláh and his companions to Adrianople (now Edirne), which the ruler promptly approved. Expulsion to Adrianople On 12 December 1863, Baháʼu'lláh arrived in Adrianople with his family and other companions. His presence there, which lasted four and a half years, became a significant period for the further unfoldment of his mission among Bábís, and for the general proclamation of his cause. Over the next two years, writings which flowed from Bahá’u’lláh were broadly shared with Bábís in Iran. Bahá’u’lláh dispatched several trusted followers to Iran, and most of the Bábís came to recognize him as the leader of their faith. Emboldened by lack of persecution against Bábís, Mirza Yahya "decided to emerge from his self-imposed seclusion" to again pursue leadership ambitions which his envy of Bahá’u’lláh had kept burning. Convinced that Bahá’u’lláh’s death was necessary for his own advancement, Yahya’s first effort towards that end involved personally poisoning Bahá’u’lláh when he invited him for tea. His doing so caused a severe month-long illness that left Bahá’u’lláh with a tremor in his hand for the rest of his life. Though Bahá’u’lláh advised those who knew not to speak of what had happened, awareness of the incident grew, giving rise to strong agitation among Bábís.