Today is Wednesday; 18th of the Iranian month of Ordibehesht 1398 solar hijri; corresponding to 2nd of the Islamic month of Ramadhan 1440 lunar hijri; and May 8, 2019, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1100 lunar years ago, on this day in 340 AH, the Iranian Arabic literary figure, lexicographer, and theologian, Abdur-Rahman ibn Ishaq az-Zujaji an-Nahawandi, passed away in Damascus. He was a student of the celebrated Ibn Durayd, and among his valuable compilations, mention can be made of “Kitab al-Izzah” and “al-Jamal”.  In his other work, “al-Amali”, he has recorded the statements and maxims of the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS).

862 solar years ago, on this day in 1157 AD, Sultan Mo'iz od-Din Ahmad Sanjar, the last great ruler of the Iran-based Seljuq Empire that included Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan and parts of Turkey and Central Asia, died in the Khorasani city of Marv which is presently in Turkmenistan and was buried there. Son of Malik Shah I, he was born in Sinjar on what is now the Syria-Iraq border, and ruled for 36 years, initially as sultan of Khorasan until he gained the rest of the territory upon the death of his brother Mohammad I. He is regarded as one of the good rulers. His capital was Naishapur, and in addition to internal revolts, he faced external invasions from beyond the River Jaxartes in Central Asia, especially from the Sultan of Kashghar in what is now China, and the Qara Khitai Turks against whom he suffered a devastating defeat near Samarqand and lost all territory east of the Jaxartes. Oghuz Turks from Khuttal and Tukharistan captured Sanjar and held him prisoner for three years. A year after his escape he died and with him the Seljuqid Empire in Central Asia, Iran, and Iraq, ended after 120 years of domination by this Turkic tribe. A branch of the Seljuqs, however, survived in Anatolia (modern Turkey), and northern parts of Syria for another 150 years. Persian poetry flourished under Sanjar, and his court included some of the greatest Persian poets, such as Mo'izzi, Nizami Aruzi, and Anvari

738 lunar years ago, on this day in 702 AH, the Battle of Marj as-Saffar took place in Syria between the Mamluks of Egypt led by the Qipchaq Turkic Bahri ruler, Sultan Nasser ad-Din Qalawun, and an army of Mongols and Armenians sent by the Iran-based Ilkhanid Emperor, Ghazan Khan, whose general Qutlugh-Shah suffered a disastrous defeat near Kiswe, south of Damascus. The defeat ended Ghazan Khan's invasions of Syria. It is interesting to note that Ghazan Khan, the 7th ruler of the Ilkhanid Dynasty, although born a Buddhist, was baptized and raised as a Christian, and on ascending the throne, embraced the truth of Islam.

246 solar years ago, on this day in 1773 AD, Ali Bey al-Kabir, the Mamluk ruler who made Egypt independent of the Ottoman Empire for four years, was killed outside Cairo at the age of 45, a year after being removed from power. Born to a Christian priest in Abkhazia in what is now Georgia in the Caucasus, he was sold into slavery and as a 15-year old was brought to Cairo in 1743. Recruited as a Muslim into the Mamluk force, he gradually rose in ranks and influence, winning in 1760s the top office of “Shaykh al-Balad” (Chief of the Country). Attempting to gain complete control, in 1762 he sought to exile his rival Abdur-Rahman when the latter was conducting the Hajj caravan to Mecca, but was instead sentenced to exile at Gaza. Ali Bey started for that city, but on the third day made to the Hijaz where he was joined by a number of his followers, and from there travelled to Girga where he spent the next two years, until his supporters in Cairo effected his recall. In 1768, he deposed the Ottoman governor Rakım Mohammad Pasha and assumed the post of acting governor. He stopped the annual tribute to Istanbul and in an unprecedented usurpation of the Ottoman Sultan's privileges had his own name struck on local coins in 1769 (alongside the sultan's emblem), effectively declaring independence from Ottoman rule. In 1770 he gained control of the Hijaz and a year later temporarily occupied Syria, thereby reconstituting the Mamluk state that had been occupied in 1517 by the Ottomans. However, a few days after a major victory of his forces, in alliance with Dhaher al-Omar on 6 June 1771 against the Ottomans, Abu al-Dhahab, the commander of his troops in Syria, refused to continue the fight after an Ottoman agent stirred up mistrust between him and Ali Bey. As a result, Ali Bey lost power in 1772. During his time in power, he successfully expanded Egypt's trade with Britain and France. He also hired European advisers for his military, and bought European weapons.

225 solar years ago, on this day in 1794 AD, French scientist and one of the founders of modern chemistry, Antoine Lavoisier, was executed at the age of 51, following the French Revolution. He was a member of the French Academy, and during his research, he discovered the constituting elements of air, thereby classifying oxygen and its importance in combustion. This discovery led to foundation of the science of Thermo Chemistry. Many of the new chemical combinations are the result of his researches.

202 solar years ago, on this day in 1817 AD, British physician and paleontologist, James Parkinson, published his “Essay on the Shaking Palsy”, and was the first to describe in detail in modern medical terms, the neuromuscular disease which is now known by his name as “Parkinson's Disease”, although throughout history, physicians of different cultures and civilizations have written about this disease. Its symptoms are a generalized slowness of movement, a tremor or slight shaking on one side of the body when at rest, some stiffness of the limbs, and problems of gait or balance. Several early sources describe symptoms resembling “Parkinson’s Disease”. An Egyptian papyrus from the 12^th century BC mentions a king drooling with age. An Ayurvedic medical treatise from India supposed to date back to the 10th century BC describes a disease that evolves with tremor, lack of movement, drooling and other symptoms. In the first Chinese medical text, written by Huang Di Nei Jing Su Wen more than 2,500 years ago, the symptoms of this disease are mentioned. The famous Greek physician Galen also wrote about this disease. Among the Islamic physicians, Abu Ali Sina the Iranian multi-sided genius and Ibn Rushd the Spanish polymath have also described this disease.

146 solar years ago, on this day in 1873 AD, English philosopher and economist, John Stuart Mill, died at the age of 67. He learned logic and economics under his father and thereafter worked as a journalist and a writer. He was elected as representative to the House of Commons for a single term. Stuart Mill followed the views of the French philosopher Auguste Comte and believed in the originality of experience. In economics, he supported profiteering coupled with some vague concept of social justice. The books he wrote include “Principles of Political Economy”.

117 solar years ago, on this day in 1902 AD, due to eruption of Pelee Volcano in southern France, the city of Saint-Pierre, situated on the foothills, was buried. In this catastrophe which lasted only three minutes, almost 30,000 people lost their lives. This volcano was dormant for several years and its eruption took place suddenly. It has remained dormant as of the year 1902 eruption.

95 solar years ago, on this day in 1924 AD, Grand Ayatollah Abdul-Hussain Lari passed away at the age of 77 and was laid to rest in Jahrom. He completed his higher studies in holy Najaf, Iraq, where after attaining the status of Ijtehad, he was deputized to Iran’s Fars Province by Grand Ayatollah Mirza Hassan Shirazi – famous for his fatwa against tobacco to save Iranian economy from British exploitation. Ayatollah Lari led the people of Shiraz and Fars during the Constitutional Revolution, and firmly backed the people of Tangistan, near Bushehr, in the struggle against the British invasion of 1915. He groomed many students and wrote 40 books on jurisprudence, theology, Hadith, and social issues.

74 solar years ago, on this day in 1945 AD, World War II formally ended in Europe with German forces agreeing in Rheims, France, to an unconditional surrender and the end of Adolf Hitler's Third Reich. On 30 April Hitler had committed suicide during the Battle of Berlin, and so the surrender of Germany was authorized by his replacement, President of Germany Karl Dönitz. World War II, which is considered as the most destructive wars in history, claimed the life of 55 million people, and inflicted major losses.

74 solar years ago, on this day in 1945 AD, Algerian Muslims while celebrating in Setif, Algeria, news of victory of the Allied forces in Europe over the Germans, and at the same time demanding independence of their country, were attacked by French occupation forces, resulting in hundreds of deaths. The French also lost 103 soldiers. Five days later, the French military, including the notorious Foreign Legion, carried out summary executions of Algerians, while inaccessible Muslim villages were bombed by French aircraft, and the cruiser Duguay-Trouin standing off the coast in the Gulf of Bougie, shelled Kerrata. In jails, Algerian prisoners were lynched by French guards or randomly shot. As a result, over 12,000 Algerian men, women and children, were massacred. Some figures speak of as much as 45,000 deaths. This bloody incident intensified demands for Algerian independence and nine years later in 1954, the general uprising started against French colonial rule. Finally in 1962 after much bloodshed and the killing of at least one million Algerian Muslims, the French were forced to grant independence to Algeria.

68 solar years ago, on this day in 1951 AD, Iranian poet, researcher, and translator, Rashid Yasami, passed away. He founded the magazine “Daneshkadeh” with the cooperation of the celebrated Iranian poet, Malek osh-Sho’ara Mohammad Taqi Bahar. He published his writings in this magazine and other magazines as well. Yasami has left behind numerous compilations and translations, including “The History of Iranian Literature”, and “Iran in the Sassanid Era”.

37 solar years ago, on this day in 1982 AD, the town of Hoveizah in Khuzestan, southwestern Iran, was liberated from Ba’thist occupation by Iran’s Muslim combatants during the Bayt al-Moqaddas Operations, which would eventually lead to the liberation of the once-thriving port city of Khorramshahr. Among the heroes of Hoveizah was Hussain Alam-Hoda, who defended the town till the last drop of his blood.

13 solar years ago, on this 2006 AD, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad wrote to US President George Bush, proposing "new solutions" to differences between the two countries, in the first letter from an Iranian head of state to his US counterpart in 27 years. This bold move went unanswered because of the timidity of Bush and the lack of confidence in the powers that controlled him, especially the Israeli lobby that has continued to target Iran, through manufactured crises, since the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979.

AS/SS