Today is Wednesday; 24th of the Iranian month of Bahman 1397 solar hijri; corresponding to 7th of the Islamic month of Jamadi as-Sani 1440 lunar hijri; and February 13, 2019, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1078 solar years ago, on this day in 942 AD, Mohammad ibn Ra’eq, a military officer of Khazar origin who exploited the weakness of the Abbasid caliphate to become the first “Amir al-Umara” (Commander of Commanders), and has earned lasting notoriety for impairing the agriculture of Iraq for several centuries by blocking the Nahrawan Canal in his fight against a rival, was assassinated. He came into prominence in the reign of Mu’tadid-Billah (892-702) as a military officer and served the next ruler, the debauched Muqtadir-Billah (908-932), as Saheb ash-Shurta (Police Chief), before promotion as Hajeb (Chamberlain). On the deposition and murder of Muqtadir and accession of Qahir-Billah (932-934), he fell into disgrace. He nevertheless managed to be named governor of Basra, and on the accession of Radhi (934-940) returned to favour and obtained the governorship of Waset, before becoming “Amir al-Umara” in 936 – a post that entailed overall command over the army, as well as the supervision of the civil administration, hitherto the province of the vizier. Deposed by Turkic guards in 938, he regained the post in 941 under Muttaqi-Billah but was assassinated the next year – allegedly on the orders of Naser od-Dowla, the Hamdanid ruler of Mosul who succeeded him. The frequent coups and violent struggle for control of the caliphate had by this time greatly enfeebled the caliphs and reduced them to a purely symbolical role. The main pillars of support for Ibn Ra’eq were Turkish troops under Bajkam and Tuzun (former subordinates of Mardavij the Founder of the Ziyarid Dynasty of Iran), who now turned against him. In a vain bid to impede Bajkam's advance towards Baghdad, Ibn Ra’eq ordered flooding of the centuries-old irrigation system of the Sawad. The breach of the Nahrawan Canal was symbolic of the end of Abbasid power just as the breach of the Marib Dam was end of the prosperity of pre-Islamic Yemen.

915 lunar years ago, on this day in 525 AH, the Iranian mystic, jurist, and Persian poet, Abdullah bin Mohammad Mayaneji, known popularly as “Ain ul-Qozzat Hamedani”, was hanged in the western Iranian city of Hamedan at the relatively young age of 33. His forefathers were judges in Hamedan, and he himself attained this position at the age of 30. However, while in Baghdad, because of his outspoken views he fell afoul of al-Mustarshed, the 29^th self-styled caliph of the usurper Abbasid regime, and was arrested and imprisoned on the orders of the vizier of the Seljuqid Sultan. He was transferred to Hamedan and hanged next to his school. As a follower of the Sufi master, Ahmad Ghazali, he wrote many books. His important works are “Tamhidaat” (Preludes) and “Zubdat al-Haqaʾeq fi Kashf al-Khalaʾeq” (Essence of Truth).

896 lunar years ago, on this day in 544 AH, the Islamic scholar and judge, Abu’l-Fazl Qazi Ayyadh ibn Amir ibn Musa al-Yahsubi as-Sabti, was executed at the age of 68 and his body cut to pieces for his refusal to acknowledge Ibn Tumart, the leader of the al-Muwahidin, as the Mahdi – a false claim since the Awaited Mahdi is none other than Prophet Mohammad’s (SAWA) 12^th Infallible Heir (AS) who will reappear in end times, along with Prophet Jesus (AS), to establish the global government of peace, prosperity and justice. Born in Ceuta, during the rule of the al-Moravid Empire of Maghreb and Islamic Spain, he was the leading scholar of his times and later became a chief judge in Gharnata (Granada) in Islamic Spain. He led an uprising when the al-Muwahidin seized Ceuta, but was defeated and banished to Tadla and later to Marrakesh where he was finally killed. A student of Abu’l-Hassan ibn Siraj, he was the teacher of such famous scholars as the Spanish Muslim philosopher, scientist and jurist, Ibn Rushd (Averroes), and the polymath and Arabic grammarian, Ibn Madha. Qazi Ayyadh, who is revered as one of the seven saints of Marrakesh, wrote commentaries in far off North Africa on the hadith compendiums of the Iranian Sunni Muslim compilers, such as Ismael Bukhari and Muslim Naishapuri.

750 lunar years ago, on this day in 690 AH, the 8^th Mamluk Sultan of Egypt, al-Ashraf Khalil ibn al-Mansour Qalawoon, succeeded in expelling remnants of the European Crusader invaders from Palestine by ending their last stronghold in Akka – or Acre as it is also called – when the Christians broke the truce to indiscriminately slaughter Muslims.

670 solar years ago, on this day in 1349 AD, Christians expelled all Jews from Burgsdorf, Switzerland, because of the age-old enmity with the followers of Judaism for their slandering of Prophet Jesus and his mother, the Virgin Mary.

280 solar years ago, on this day in 1739 AD, the historic Battle of Karnaal was fought near a village of the same name, some 110 km north of Delhi, between the Iranian army of Nader Shah Afshar and the army of the Indian Moghal ruler, Mohammad Shah, known as “Rangeeleh” or colourful, because of his patronizing of singers and dancers, at the expense of negligence of state affairs. The Iranians won a decisive victory losing only 2500 soldiers, while the death toll of the Indian army was over 20,000. The cause of the invasion was the failure and inability of Mohammad Shah to prevent the entry into Moghal-controlled Kabul and the eastern areas of Afghanistan and Punjab, of Hotaki and Ghilzai rebel leaders who were driven out from Iran by Nader Shah, following his ending of the Afghan occupation of the country. When a series of letters from Nader Shah did not entail any positive result or response from Mohammad Shah, the Iranian army began its invasion from Qandahar, and after taking Kabul and Peshawar, marched unopposed all the way till Karnaal, where the Indian army was defeated in little more than three hours. The battle began after one o'clock in the afternoon, with a discharge of arrows from both sides. The superior artillery power of the Iranians that continued for two hours threw the Moghals and their war elephants into disarray. Moghal forces began to disintegrate and of their commanders, Khan-e Dowraan was killed, while Sa’adat Khan Burhan ol-Molk was taken prisoner. The Iranian cavalry was swifter and out-maneuvered the Moghals. As the Indian morale plummeted, soldiers started to flee while Indian camp followers looted their own camps. Mohammad Shah was taken prisoner but was treated with respect by Nader Shah, who entered Delhi along with him and after a stay of some weeks, returned to Iran by restoring the Moghal ruler his rule, but taking with him the fabulous Koh-e Noor Diamond, the Darya-e Noor Diamond, the famous Peacock Throne, the Tent of Pearls and other jewels.

253 solar years ago, on this day in 1766 AD, Thomas Robert Malthus, English economist and demographer, was born in Westcott, Surrey. Although an Anglican Christian priest, his theories, as is evident from his work “An Essay on the Principle of Population”, betrayed his lack of belief in the Infinite Power of the Almighty Creator. He wrote “population would always outrun the food supply and would result in famine, disease or war to reduce the number of people.” His views became controversial, across economic, political, social and scientific thoughts, while his reputation as economist dropped for the rest of his life. He died in 1834.

136 solar years ago, on this day in 1883 AD, German songwriter and musician, Richard Wagner, died at the age of 70. He started his career by writing operas. During the political developments of the late 1850s, he joined the revolutionaries but their failure made him leave Germany and live in exile for 13 years.

114 lunar years ago, on this day in 1325 AH, the Iranian religious scholar Mirza Yahya bin Mirza Mohammad Shafee’ Isfahani passed away at the age of 75. He was a student of the famous Ayatollah Sheikh Morteza Ansari Dezfuli. He wrote a large number of books, including “Tafzil al-A’imma ala'l-Malaeka” on the superiority of the Infallible Imams of the household of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) over the angels and the other prophets.

108 solar years ago, on this day in 1911, the famous Urdu poet of the subcontinent, Faiz Ahmed Farooq, popular by his penname “Faiz”, was born in Karachi in undivided India. He learned Arabic, Persian, Urdu languages and the holy Qur’an, but because of the social injustice, turned towards Marxism. He was politically active both before and after the founding of Pakistan. He opposed the dictatorial rule of General Zia ul-Haq and was imprisoned and exiled for his views, which he expressed through poetry and novels. He passed away in Lahore at the age of 73.  Among his important works are "Naqsh-e Faryadi", "Dast-e Saba", and "Zindan-Namah". 

88 solar years ago, on this day in 1931 AD, British Viceroy, Lord Irwin, inaugurated the new capital of British India, which four years earlier in 1927 was officially named “New Delhi”, since it was built on the outskirts of the old Indian Muslim capital Delhi. The foundation stone of the city was laid on 15th December 1911 and it was planned by two leading British architects, Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker, who in their designs incorporated Iranian styles including Persian paintings on the ceiling of what is now called Rashtrapathi Bhavan or Presidential Palace. New Delhi houses the national government and administrative buildings, and has a population of 250,000, while Old Delhi, which is a national heritage of over six-and-a-half centuries of Muslim rule, and where Persian was the dominant language for over 600 years, has a population of 16 million. The previous capital of the British colonialists, who had entered Moghal-ruled Subcontinent as traders, before gradually occupying it through deceit and wars, was Calcutta in Bengal.

80 solar years ago, on this day in 1939 AD, Akbar Adibi, Iran’s Father of Electronics, was born in Songhor in Kermanshah Province. After obtaining masters in Electrical Engineering from Tehran University in 1965, he worked for the Alestom Power Plant and taught at the university. In 1973 he left for the US, where at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) in 1973, he obtained two Master of Science degrees – the first in Microprocessor-based Computer Systems and the second in Solid State and Semiconductor Device. He completed his PhD in 1977 on Barrier Solar Cells. On return to Iran he resumed his job of lecturer at Tehran Polytechnic, which after the victory of Islamic Revolution became the Amir Kabir University. His notable achievements are: The creation of Iran’s first Solar Cell in 1978, more than 100 articles in internal and international publications, becoming Full Professor in 1995, earning the prestigious Khwarezmi National Prize for his contribution as one of the best projects in 1995, earning the respected title of "The Most Recognized and Elite University Professor of Iran" in 1996, and being named the "Father of Electronics and VLSI in Iran". He was a member of numerous academic societies, including; New York Academy of Sciences, New York Planetary Society, Optical Society of America, and Iran's IEEE Student Branch Counselor. He was involved in many industry-based projects, namely; the design and implementation of a 32 channel PCM system, the design and construction of a DSP-based high voltage network protection system, and the design of a DCS-based control, until his death due to heart failure on August 26, 2000. Adibi is the author of several technical books such as “Pulse Techniques”, “Theory and Technology of Semiconductor Devices”, and “Digital Electronics”. He believed that electronics and VLSI technology could help Iran lower its dependency on oil.

79 lunar years ago, on this day in 1360 AH, the prominent Islamic scholar and poet, Ayatollah Mirza Abu-Abdullah Shaikh al-Islam Zanjani, passed away at the age of 51 in his hometown Zanjan. Son of the prominent scholar, Shaikh ol-Islam Mirza Nasrollah Zanjani, he completed his religious studies, including philosophy, in his hometown. At the age of 21, along with his brother, Mirza Fazlollah Zanjani, he left for Iraq for higher studies at the famous seminary of holy Najaf, where his teachers included Ayatollah Seyyed Hassan as-Sadr Ameli, Ayatollah Seyyed Mohammad Kazem Yazdi, Grand Ayatollah Shaikh osh-Shari’a Isfahani, Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Abu’l-Hassan Isfahani, Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Mohammad Firouzabadi, Grand Ayatollah Shaikh Abdul-Karim Ha’iri Yazdi, and Grand Ayatollah Mirza Mohammad Hussain Nai’ni. After 8 years he returned to Iran on attaining the status of Ijtehad and settled in his hometown Zanjan. Five years later he went on a year-long journey through Iraq, Syria, Palestine and Egypt, and after performing the Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca he returned to Zanjan where for the next ten years he busied himself in grooming students and writing books and articles in both Persian and Arabic. He again visited Egypt, where he held discussions in Cairo with university professors and the ulema of the famous al-Azhar Academy, which appreciated his scholarship and printed some of his works on the holy Qur'an in Arabic. On his return he became professor of ethics, rational sciences and religious studies at Tehran University, where after a year of teaching he returned to Zanjan because of heart problems and spent the rest of his life. Abu Abdullah Zanjani was a member of several academies in Iran, Iraq, Egypt and Syria. He authored several books including “Tarikh al-Qur’an”, commentary in Arabic on the famous Iranian polymath Khwaja Naseer od-Din Tusi’s “Baqa an-Nafs ba’d Fana al-Jasad” (Immortality of the Soul after Perishing of the Body), “Farhang-e Iran Pish az-Islam” (Iran’s Pre-Islamic Culture), “Azamath-e Husain ibn Ali” (Greatness of Imam Husain) and “Life and Works of the Great Iranian Philosopher Mullah Sadr od-Din Shirazi” – written in Arabic and published in Egypt and Syria.

74 solar years ago, on this day in 1945 AD, during the closing months of World War 2 warplanes of the Allied forces began bombing the German city of Dresden. The British used 873 heavy bombers in Operation Thunderclap to firebomb the city, killing 135,000 people. A look at aerial maps of the city before and after the terror attacks clearly shows the large white oil tanks owned by British-controlled Shell Oil. These tanks remained entirely untouched by the bombardment.

48 solar years ago, on this day in 1971 AD, during the Vietnam War, a frustrated US unable to defeat the Vietnamese people, ordered troops of the artificial South Vietnamese state to invade neighbouring Laos by providing them air and artillery support, on the pretext that Vietcong freedom fighters were operating from Laotian soil. US stratagems ended in failure and American troops had to disgracefully withdraw from Vietnam in April 1975, thereby ending the 20-year disastrous war.

37 solar years ago, on this day in 1982 AD, the Río Negro massacre took place in Guatemala, resulting in the killing of more than 5,000 Amerindians of the Maya Achi tribe in and around the village of Río Negro alone, because of the refusal of the natives to vacate their ancestral lands.

28 solar years ago, on this day in 1991 AD, during the Persian Gulf War, US warplanes fired two laser-guided smart bombs to destroy the Amiriyah civilian shelter in Baghdad, killing over 400 men, women and children on the pretext of targeting a military communications outpost. The US is the most blatant violator of human rights and known for its wanton killing of world people.

AS/SS