This book is a study of the life of ‘Abdu’l-Baha ‘Abbas (1844-1921) in its regional and social context – the turbulent, heterogeneous and multilingual Levant that was his home in exile for a half-century. It opens with his role as secretary and shield to his father, Baha’u’llah, the prophet-founder of the Baha’i Faith, after their banishment from Iran and 1868 incarceration in Acre. It traces the rising arc of ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s social relations in Ottoman Greater Syria; his writings on contemporary issues; some of the early challenges of his ministry; the themes he raised in Lebanon and Egypt, but also in Europe and North America; his preparations for World War I; and the contacts and correspondence of his last years. ‘Abdul-Baha’s broad, deep and extensive engagement in the region emerges, replete with contacts, friendships and partnerships with leading figures, intellectual exchange, and initiatives in education, agriculture and community life. The study reframes his relations with the Arab world and his orchestration of the global growth of the Baha’i Faith even as it weaves the experience of the early Baha’i community of the Middle East back into the historical tapestry of the region in late Ottoman times.