Today is Wednesday; 5th of the Iranian month of Tir 1398 solar hijri; corresponding to 22th of the Islamic month of Shawwal 1440 lunar hijri; and June 26, 2019, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1646 solar years ago, on this day in 363 AD, Roman Emperor Julian the Apostate was killed in the Battle of Samarra in Iraq on the retreat from his disastrous invasion of the Sassanid Empire and the inconclusive Battle of Ctesiphon fought on May 29, while the Iranian Emperor, Shapur II was in the east. Julian, who had renounced Christianity and reverted to paganism, was a victorious Roman general in France and Germany, and on becoming Emperor, attempted to seize Iraq with a force of 65,000 for possible infiltration into the Iranian Plateau. Unable to break the strong defenses of Ctesiphon or Mada’en near today's Baghdad, he retreated and was pursued by the Persian army, which engaged him near Samarra by attacking the rear guard of his army and then falling on the centre and the left wing of the Romans to completely defeat them. General Jovian was then declared Roman Emperor and had to make a humiliating peace with Shapur II by ceding five provinces to the Iranians and making a pledge against interfering in the affairs of Armenia. The great success for Shapur II (known as “Zu’l-Aktaaf” or Broad-Shouldered to the Arabs for his conquest years earlier of Yamama in Najd in the desert interior of Arabia), is represented in the rock-carving in Bishapur near Kazeroun in Fars Province, where under the hooves of the Persian Emperor's horse lies the body of Roman Emperor Julian, while a supplicant Roman, begs for peace.

1099 lunar years ago, on this day in 341 AH, the Iranian poet, Abu Ishaq Kesa-i Marvazi, was born in the Khorasani city of Marv (seized by Russia in 1884 and currently in Turkmenistan). He lived in the waning years of the Iranian Samanid Dynasty of Bukhara and the rise of the Turkic Ghaznavid Dynasty of Ghazna. Hence he has written poems in praise of the rulers of these two dynasties, before embracing the truth of the school of the Ahl al-Bayt. Thereafter he devoted his life to writing poetry on the merits of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) as well as his First Infallible Heir, Imam Ali (AS).

776 solar years ago, on this day in 1243 AD, the Battle of Kose Dagh near Arzinjan in northeastern Anatolia saw the defeat of Kaykhusrow II, the last effective sultan of the Seljuq Sultanate of Roum (modern Turkey), by the Mongol hordes of General Baiju – sent by Toregene the Great Khatoun and regent for her son, Guyuk Khan, following the death of Khaqaan Ogdei Khan. After succeeding his bloodthirsty father, Chengiz Khan as emperor, Ogdei sent armies in all directions, including Iran, which was overrun along with the Caucasus, before his forces invaded Anatolia, where Kaykhusrow offered friendship and tribute. After Ogdei’s death in 1240, the Mongols began to pressure the Sultan to come to Mongolia in person, provide hostages, and accept a governor. On his refusal, the Mongols attacked the Seljuq Sultanate in the winter of 1242-43 and seized Erzurum. Kaykhusrow called on his neighbours for help. The Armenian king of Cilicia supplied 1400 lancers, the Greek Emperor of Nicaea 400, the Grand Komnenos of Trebizond 200, and the Ayyubid prince of Aleppo sent 1000 horsemen. Kaykhusrow commanded the Seljuq army and irregular Turkmen cavalry, along with a group of Frankish mercenaries and some Georgian nobles, while the majority of Georgians were compelled to fight alongside the Mongols. The young Sultan’s ignoring of the advice of senior generals to wait for the Mongol attack proved a disaster. He started the attack with a force of 20,000, led by inexperienced commanders, and the Mongols, pretending a retreat, turned back, encircled the Seljuq army and defeated it. At this, many commanders and their soldiers, including Kaykhusrow, started fleeing the battlefield. After their victory, the Mongols took control of the cities of Sivas and Kayseri. The sultan fled to Antalya but was forced to make peace with Baiju and pay a substantial tribute to the Mongols. The defeat resulted in a period of turmoil in Anatolia and led to the decline and disintegration of the Seljuq Sultanate of Roum, which was a Persianate state and had separated from the Iran-based Great Seljuq Empire on the death of Malik Shah I.

745 solar years ago, on this day in 1274 AD, famous Iranian Islamic religious scholar and scientist, Mohammad ibn Mohammad ibn Hassan, known as Khwajah Naseer od-Din Tousi, passed away at the age of around 75 in Kazemain, Iraq, and was laid to rest in the holy mausoleum of Imam Musa al-Kazem (AS), the 7th Infallible Heir of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). Born in Tous, near the holy city of Mashhad in Khorasan, he was an outstanding philosopher, scientist, mathematician and astronomer, who made rich contributions to world culture and civilization. Even the Mongol invaders acknowledged his genius and Hulagu Khan, appointed him as his scientific advisor. Khwajah Naseer built the famous observatory at Maraghah. It had various instruments such as a 4-meter wall quadrant made from copper and an azimuth quadrant which was his unique invention. Using accurately plotted planetary movements, he modified Ptolemy's model of the planetary system based on mechanical principles. The observatory and its library became a centre for a wide range of work in science, mathematics and philosophy. He wrote some 80 books in Arabic and Persian on various topics including “Tajrid al-Eʿteqad” on theology, “Akhlaq-e Naseri” on ethics, “Sharh al-Isharaat Ibn Sina” on philosophy, “Kitab ash-Shakl al-Qatta” on mathematics, “at-Tadhkirah fi Ilm al-Hay'ah” on astronomy, etc. A 60-km diameter lunar crater on the southern hemisphere of the moon is named after him as "Naseereddin", while a small planet discovered in 1970 by Soviet astronomer Nikolai Stepanovich Chernykh has been named “10269 Tousi”

478 solar years ago, on this day in 1541 AD, Spain’s Francisco Pizarro, who through deceit and brutality conquered the Inca Empire of South America, was murdered in Lima by the son of his former companion, Diego Almagro, whom he had executed. Born out of wedlock, Pizarro sailed to South America to seek fortune, and in 1532, he led a band of Spanish marauders to ambush and capture the 13th Inca Emperor Atahualpa at the great plaza of Cajamarca in what is now Peru, killing counselors, commanders and thousands of unarmed attendants, following months of espionage and subterfuge. He treacherously executed Atahualpa through strangulation in 1533 despite receiving ransom for release of the Inca emperor that filled a room with gold and two rooms with silver, which he split amongst his closest associates after setting aside the Spanish king’s share. The Spaniards indulged in the mass rape of Inca women, and Pizzaro forced Atahualpa's wife to become his mistress, while distributing among his men, Incan noble women. Atahualpa’s death ended Inca resistance, ending the 300-year old empire and the flourishing native culture.

328 lunar years ago, on this day in 1112 AH, the renowned scholar, Seyyed Ne’matollah Jazayeri passed away at the age of 61 in Pol-e Dokhtar in south-western Iran, where his mausoleum is a site of pilgrimage. He traced his lineage to Imam Musa Kazem (AS), the 7^th Infallible Heir of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). Born in an island in the estuary of the Tigris-Euphrates Rivers near Basra; hence his epithet ‘Jazayeri’; he and his brother Seyyed Najm od-Din had their education in Shiraz. He transcribed books, corrected the transcriptions and wrote glosses, simultaneous with his studies, under great scholars as Sheikh Ja’far Bahrani, the celebrated Mullah Sadra Shirazi, and Seyyed Hashem Ehsai. After marriage, for higher studies he shifted to the Safavid capital, Isfahan, where his teachers were Mirza Rafi Tabatabaei, Sheikh Emad Yazdi, Mohaqeq Sabzevari, Sheikh Horr Ameli, Mullah Mohsen Faiz Kashani, and the famous Allamah Baqer Majlisi. He soon became a great scholar and groomed several students, besides writing books on a wide variety of subjects. After 8 years in Isfahan, he left for Iraq but because of restrictions placed by the Ottoman occupiers he did not stay there for long. Invited by the governor of Khuzestan, he moved to southwestern Iran where he established many mosques and religious schools. He served as Sheikh ol-Islam in the Shustar region, and also preached in southern Iraq where he strove to abolish the enmity amongst Arab tribes. His books include an exegesis of the holy Qur’an titled “Oqoud al-Marjaan”, “Riyadh al-Abraar fi Ma’refat al-Aimmat al-Athaar” (on biographies of the Infallible Imams), "Qissas al-Anbiyya" (Accounts of the Prophets), "Madinat-al-Hadith", "Hedayat al-Mo'menin" and “al-Anwar an-Nu’maniyya fi Ma’refat an-Nishaat al-Insaniyya”. He also wrote a commentary on "Sahifat as-Sajjadiyya", the collection of supplications of the Prophet’s 4^th Infallible Heir, Imam Zain al-Abedin (AS). Among his descendants are prominent religious scholars, academicians, and statesmen, spread over Iran, Iraq, Bahrain and the Subcontinent, including his great grandson, Seyyed Abu’l-Qassim Jazayeri Shushtari, titled “Mir Alam”, the early 19^th century prime minister of the state of Haiderabad-Deccan in southern India. In Lucknow in northern India, his descendants included the scholar Mufti Seyyed Mohammad Abbas Jazayeri Shustari (1809-1869) and his equally scholarly son, Mufti Seyyed Ahmad Ali. 

296 solar years ago, on this day in 1723 AD, a year after the Afghan occupation of Iran and the virtual collapse of the powerful Safavid Dynasty, the Russians advanced upon the frontiers of the Persian Empire in the Caucasus, seized Daghestan, laid siege to the Iranian city of Baku, bombarded it and forced it to surrender. Soon with the rise of Nader Quli Beg (later Nader Shah) as the powerful general of Shah Tahmasp II, Iran was freed from the Afghan usurpers and Iranian border territories liberated from the Ottoman and Russian occupation. Baku returned to Iranian sovereignty and by the treaty of Ganja in 1735, Moscow agreed to withdraw from Daghestan. In 1796 Baku was occupied by the Russians but retaken the next year by the Qajarids, who in the 1813 War lost it to Russia again. Baku is currently the capital of Republic of Azerbaijan. The name "Azar" is Persian for fire, while ‘Baijan’ which is actually an Arabic corruption of the Persian word "Payegaan" – since the letters “P” and “G” have no equivalent in Arabic and were replaced by “B” and “J” – means Guardian of Land. Azerbaijan means “Land of Fire”, probably because of oil wells around Baku that at times spewed fire, as recorded by ancient texts, including the travels of Marco Polo.

279 solar years ago, on this day in 1740 AD, a combined force of Spanish, free blacks and allied Amerindians defeated a British garrison at the Siege of Fort Mose near St. Augustine during the War of Jenkins' Ear.

208 lunar years ago, on this day in 1232 AH, the jurisprudent and theologian, Mullah Ali Akbar Eiji Isfahani, passed away. He groomed students and authored several books, including “Zubdat-al-Ma’aref”.

183 solar years ago, on this day in 1836 AD, French revolutionary poet, Rouget de Lisle, died. He served in the French army, and wrote epic poems. His poem “La Marseillaise” is the national anthem of France.

110 lunar years ago, on this day in 1330 AH, the Ottomans withdrew from Libya in conformity with the Treaty of Ouchy after losing the war with invading Italy.

92 solar years ago, on this day in 1927 AD, the sound film industry was born after years of strenuous efforts. In 1926, different sounds and musical pieces were successfully used in movies, and a year later filmmakers succeeded in entering the voices of actors in films. The world’s first sound movie was “The Jazz Singer”.

74 solar years ago, on this day in 1945 AD, an International Conference in the US city of San Francisco, attended by 50 mostly western countries, ratified the United Nations Charter. The draftees claimed of preventing incidents that lead to war, but the fact is that the World Body has failed to achieve its goals because of its domination by big powers, especially the US. One of the major flaws of the UN is the veto power of the five self-imposed permanent members of the Security Council. The General Assembly, made up of representatives of world states, has no executive power to enforce its resolutions.

59 solar years ago, on this day in 1960 AD, the Island of Madagascar, off the southeastern African coast, gained independence from 64 years of French colonial rule. There were several uprisings, one of which in 1947 led to the killing of almost 90,000 people by the French. The majority of people are Malagasy, tracing their origin to Borneo in Southeast Asia. Muslims form over 10 percent of the population. The first Muslims to arrive were Arabs and Somalis in the 9th century. The written history of Madagascar began with the Arabs, who established trading posts along the northwest coast by the 10th century and introduced Islam and the Arabic script that was formally used to transcribe the Malagasy language in a form of writing known as “Sorabe”. Today the language is written in the Latin script imposed by the French and the majority of people are Christians – a legacy of European colonial rule. It is worth noting that over 90% of wildlife of Madagascar is found nowhere else on Earth.

21 solar years ago, on this day in 1997 AD, the UN designated the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture. The decision was taken by the UN General Assembly at the proposal of Denmark, which is home to the world-renowned International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT). Since then nearly 100 organizations in countries all over the world mark the day each year with events, and speeches against the crime of torture, and to honor and support victims and survivors throughout the world. In the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Organization for Defending Victims of Violence (ODVV) organizes the event.

AS/SS