The Bahá’í Faith was heralded by a young man named Siyyid Ali Muhammad, who became known as the Báb. The Báb declared His mission on 23 May 1844, closing the Prophetic Cycle and opening the new Cycle of Light and Truth, destined to last at least 500,000 years. The Bábi and the Bahá’í dispensation are the first two dispensations of the many to come in this new cycle. The Báb directed His followers to spread the new teachings throughout the Persian Empire in the mid-nineteenth century.