Today is Wednesday; 19th of the Iranian month of Tir 1398 solar hijri; corresponding to 7th of the Islamic month of Zilqa’dah 1440 lunar hijri; and July 10, 2019, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1881 solar years ago, on this day in 138 AD, Roman Emperor Hadrian, died at the age of 62. Of mixed Spanish-Italian ancestry, he succeeded his father’s cousin Trajan as Roman Emperor in 117 and ruled for 21 years till his death in 138 AD. He is regarded as one of the Five Good Roman Emperors. Hadrian joined Trajan's expedition against the Parthian Empire of Iran as a legate on the emperor’s staff. Neither during the first phase, nor during the second phase of the war when the Romans were repelled from Mesopotamia or modern Iraq by the Iranians, did Hadrian do anything of note. He surrendered Trajan's gains in Mesopotamia, considering them to be indefensible against determined Parthian pressure. There was almost a war with Parthia around 121, but the threat was averted when Hadrian succeeded in negotiating a peace with Emperor Osroes I or Khosrow. He is best known for the Hadrian’s Wall he built in Britain for defence of Roman possessions against the Picts of what is now Scotland.

1001 lunar years ago, on this day in 439 AH, the prominent Hadith scholar, Abu’l-Hassan La’eb, passed away. He groomed a large number of students including the famous historian and hadith expert, Khatib Baghdadi, author of the voluminous “Tarikh al-Baghdad”, who has spoken highly of his teacher and has included in his masterpiece many outstanding merits of the Ahl al-Bayt or Blessed Household of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA).

920 solar years ago, on this day in 1099 AD, the Spanish warlord, Rodrigo Díaz de Viva, known popularly as “El Cid” – corruption of the Arabic word “al-Seyyed” (Lord) – was slain on the battlefield at the age of 55 in Valencia, while fighting against the al-Murabetoun (Almoravid) Berber Muslim army. A Castilian nobleman, fluent in Arabic and known to the Arabs as "Rudriq al-Qanbiyatur" (Rodrigo el Campeador), he became famous for his military prowess in the battles he fought for Christian kings as well as Muslim emirs. Initially, he helped enlarge Castilian territory at the expense of the Christian Sancho brothers, and the Spanish Muslims. When exiled by King Alfonso in 1081, he took up service under the Muslim rulers of Zaragoza, whom he helped to repel the attacks by Christian mercenaries of Aragon and Barcelona, thereby bolstering his military record. He was also victorious in battles against the Muslim rulers of Lerida and their Christian allies, as well as against a large Christian army under King Sancho Ramírez of Aragon. In 1086, when Alfonso was defeated by the al-Murabetoun Dynasty of North Africa, he lured El Cid to his side. Over the next several years, El Cid set his sights on the kingdom-city of Valencia (al-Balansiyya), operating more or less independently of Alfonso while politically supporting the Banu Houd and other Muslim dynasties. He gradually increased his control over Valencia and in 1092 made its Muslim ruler, al-Qader, a tributary. In 1094, with the death of al-Qader, he usurped power and ruled Valencia as an independent principality on the eastern Mediterranean coast of Spain that had a mixed population of Christians and Muslims. His final years were spent in fighting the al-Murabetoun, whom he could not defeat and lost his son and heir, Diego Rodriguez in combat in 1097. Two years later in 1099, he was slain, and was succeeded by his wife, Jimena Díaz, who in 1102 surrendered Valencia to the al-Murabetoun.

751 lunar years ago, on this day in 689 AH, the 7^th Mamluk (slave) Sultan of Egypt and Syria, al-Mansour Saif od-Din Qalawun, died at the age of 70 after a reign of 11 years. A Qipchaq Turk of Eurasia, who was sold into slavery during his teen years and ended up in the service of Egypt’s Kurdish Ayubid ruler, Sultan as-Saleh, he quickly rose into prominence, because of his abilities. Under his predecessor, Sultan Baybars, he displayed his military prowess in the victorious wars against the Mongols. In 680 AH, Qalawun decisively defeated the huge joint Mongol-Christian army of 80,000 led by Monke Timur, the brother of the Iran-based Abaqa Khan in the Second Battle of Homs, fought in western Syria. He also checked the ambitions of the usurper Crusader states on the coasts of Palestine and Lebanon. He was a great builder of mosques and public institutes, which are still intact in the Egyptian capital.

724 lunar years ago, on this day in 716 AH, the renowned Syrian calligrapher Mohammad Ibn Musa Ibn Ali al-Basees, passed away at the age of 65. Born in Damascus, he taught calligraphy for fifty years, and wrote many books. His copy of Holy Qur’an written in illuminated gold-plated letters has remained to this day in addition to several other works.

718 solar years ago, on this day in 1301 AD, the impregnable and strategically located Rantambhore Fortress in what is now the Rajasthan State of India was captured by Sultan Ala ud-Din Khilji. Built on a mountain peak by the Jats, it was occupied by the Rajputs, from whom the Muslims captured it for the first time in 1226 during the reign of the Turkic slave-king, Sultan Shams od-Din Altamash. Ten years later the Rajputs seized it, and managed to retain it for the next 65 years in the face of repeated sieges by the Sultans of Delhi. With the decline of Muslim power in northern India, following the invasion of the Central Asian conqueror, Amir Timur, the Rajputs again took over Ranthambore, which in 1532 was conquered by Sultan Bahadur Shah of Gujarat. In 1559, it passed into the hands of the Mughal Emperor, Jalal od-Din Akbar, whose matrimonial relations with the Rajputs meant the control of the Kachwaha Maharajas of Jaipur over it since the 17th century. Today this massive fortress is part of the World Heritage Site and is in the midst of a national reserve for protection of tigers.

464 lunar years ago, on this day in 976 AH, the Ottoman naval commander, Turgut Pasha, liberated the fort of Jerba near Tunis from Spanish occupation after a 63- day siege. Earlier in 960 AH, he had taken control of the Mediterranean island of Corsica and the city of Catania in Malta to free some seven thousand Muslim captives. As Chief Admiral of the Ottoman navy after the death of Khayr od-Din Pasha (Barbarosa or Redbeard to Europe), he was made governor of Algiers and later Beyglarbeigi of Tripoli in what is now Libya – a city which he greatly adorned and made it the most beautiful of the Mediterranean coast.

278 solar years ago, on this day in 1741 AD, Alaska was discovered by Danish explorer, Vitus Bering. Bound for Russia in his ship, he discovered Alaska, northwest of Canada. Oil-rich Alaska was part of Czarist Russia until the year 1867, when it was sold for $7 million to the US.

213 solar years ago, on this day in 1806 AD, the Indian “sepoys” (English corruption of the Persian word 'sipahi' for soldier), rose against the British East India Company in Vellore, south India, in the first instance of large scale resentment against European colonial rule in the Subcontinent, predating by half-a-century the Indian Rebellion of 1857. The crafty British, who entered as traders, had spread their political and military tentacles in different parts of India, including the Deccan or the South, after treacherously attacking Fath Ali Khan Tipu Sultan of Mysore and seizing his dominions. The Vellore Uprising, though brief and brutally crushed by the British, was due to imposing of the dress code on the sepoys that offended both the Muslims and Hindus, since it required Muslims to shave their beards and the Hindus to wear European hats instead of the traditional turban. This fueled the already simmering nationalist sentiments and the sepoys stormed Vellore Fort, killed or wounded 200 British troops, raised the flag of Mysore Sultanate, and declared Fath Haider (the imprisoned son of the slain Tipu Sultan), as king. The uprising was poorly-organised and this enabled the British to rush reinforcements from nearby Madras and brutally crush the uprising, resulting in the death of over 800 Indians in a few hours.

178 lunar years ago, on this day in 1262 AH, the prominent theologian, Ayatollah Fadai Astani, passed away. He widely travelled after mastering Islamic sciences, and was an authority on theology and jurisprudence. He groomed many students and wrote several books. A Diwan of poems has remained from this pious scholar.

168 solar years ago, on this day in 1851 AD, French artist, Louis-Jacques-Mande Daguerre, who invented the daguerreotype – the first practical process of photography – died at the age of 63. The first permanent photograph was made in 1826/27 by his compatriot, Joseph-Nicephore Niepce, but was of poor quality and required about eight hours' exposure time. The process that Daguerre developed required only 20 to 30 minutes. The two became partners in the development of Niepce's heliographic process from 1829 until the latter’s death in 1833. Daguerre continued his experiments and discovered that exposing an iodized silver plate in a camera would result in a lasting image after a chemical fixing process.

163 solar years ago, on this day in 1856 AD, Serbian-American inventor, electrical engineer, mechanical engineer, and physicist, Nikola Tesla, best known for his contributions to the design of the modern alternating current (AC) electricity supply system, was born in village of Smiljan, in present day Croatia in what was then part of the Austria-Hungarian Empire. He migrated to the US in 1884. Having discovered the benefits of a rotating magnetic field, the basis of most alternating-current machinery, he expanded its use in dynamos, transformers, and motors, because alternating current could be transmitted over much greater distances than direct current. He died in the US at the age of 87.

148 solar years ago, on this day in 1871 AD, French novelist, critic, and essayist, Valentin Louis Georges Eugene Marcel Proust, was born near Paris. He wrote the novel “A la Recherche du temps Perdu” (In Search of Lost Time; earlier translated as Remembrance of Things Past), published in 7 parts 1913-to-1927.

106 solar years ago, on this day in 1913 AD, Rumania entered the Second Balkan War and four days later the Ottoman Empire joined the general assault on Bulgaria. Faced with four fronts, Bulgarian armies were defeated piecemeal and the government at Sofia was forced to seek peace. Atrocities were widespread. For example, in pursuing the Bulgarian army Greek forces systematically burnt to the ground all Macedonian villages they encountered, mass-murdering their entire populations. Likewise, when the Greek army entered Kukush (Kilkis) and occupied surrounding villages, about 400 old people and children were imprisoned and killed. Nor did the Serbian "liberators" lag behind in destruction and wanton slaughter throughout Macedonia. In Bitola, Skopje, Shtip and Gevgelija, the Serbian army, police and chetniks (guerrillas) committed their own atrocities.

79 solar years ago, on this day in 1940 AD, during World War II, following the German occupation of France, Field Marshal Petain took charge of his defeated country as Prime Minister under Nazi protection, and transferred the capital from Paris to the central city of Vichy. Although Petain was one of the heroes of World War I, his serving of the Germans tarnished his image and led to his rejection by most French people. The free France National Committee under General Charles de Gaulle was set up in London to continue struggle against German occupation. After end of World War II, Petain was accused of treason and sentenced to death, and later commuted to life imprisonment. He died in prison in 1951.

72 solar years ago, on this day in 1947 AD, Leader of the All India Muslim League, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, considered the Founder of Pakistan, was recommended by British Prime Minister Clement Attlee, as the first Governor-General of the new country to be born on August 14 the same year. A lawyer by profession and a brilliant orator, he led the struggle for a separate Muslim state in the Subcontinent, after leaving the Indian National Congress on being disillusioned by the policies of M.K. Gandhi. Born in Karachi into an Ismaili Khoja Shi’ite Muslim family of Gujarati origin on 25th December 1876, he later became an Ithna Ash’ari (Twelver) Shi’ite, and died in Karachi on 11th September 1948 after serving as Governor-General of Pakistan for a year and a month. Revered as “Qa’ed-e Azam” (Great Leader), his portrait still adorns Pakistan’s currency notes, while in Iran and Turkey, highways are named in his honour.

66 solar years ago, on this day in 1953 AD, the jurisprudent, philosopher and gnostic, Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Zahed Qomshei, popular as “Abu’l-Ma’aref”, passed away at the age of 80 in his hometown Qomsheh, south of Isfahan. After completing his religious studies in Isfahan, he travelled throughout Iran and abroad in quest of acquiring gnosis, before returning to his hometown, where he groomed a large number of students.

46 solar years ago, on this day in 1973 AD, the Bahamas Islands in the Caribbean Sea gained independence from 190 years of British occupation. Occupied by the Spanish after Christopher Columbus sighted them, they exchanged hands between Britain and Spain in the 17th and 18th centuries, until the formal British annexation in 1783. The Bahamas are situated north of Cuba.

39 solar years ago, on this day in 1980 AD, dedicated Iranian military personnel, who a day before had discovered the US attempt to stage a coup through its agents in the armed forces affiliated to the Zionists and Saddam's Ba'thists, completely foiled the plot and arrested the conspirators, two months after the miraculous failure of the well-planned airborne US invasion of Iran that floundered in the sands of Tabas. The coup plotters intended to stage attacks from the air base in the vicinity of the western city of Hamedan by attacking several important centers in Tehran, including the residence of the Founder of the Islamic Republic, Imam Khomeini (God bless him), military bases, IRIB headquarters, and other sensitive places. Imam Khomeini, in his speech at the Jamaran Husseinieh said: “They want to plot, and this type of plot. Even if we were not to neutralize it, people would suffocate it. Suppose their phantoms (aircraft) were able to take off, what then they could do. The nation is not asleep that a phantom or two could do anything.”

11 solar years ago, on this day in 2008 AD, the Islamic Republic of Iran test-fired more long-range missiles overnight in a second round of exercises meant to show that the country can defend itself against any attack.

3 solar years ago, on his day in 2016 AD, the acclaimed Iranian poetess,    Mahdieh Elahi-Qomshei, penname “Atesh”, passed away at the age of 79 in Tehran. Daughter of the gnostic Sheikh Mahdi Qomshei and sister of the scholars Hussain and Morteza Qomshei, she initially studied under her father, and helped him in classifying the verses of Persian poets with the ayahs of the holy Qur’an. She was later groomed by such prominent scholars as Jalal Homaei, Dr. Shafaq, and Allamah Mohammad Taqi Ja’fari. Renowned for her studies on the Persian poet and gnostic, Mowlana Jalal od-Din Roumi, she composed poems of her own and published them in book-form under various titles, such as “Spring of Devotion”, “Temple of Devotion”, and “Karbala the Valley of Devotion” – the last named is a collection of elegies on history’s greatest tragedy that is the martyrdom of Imam Husain (AS) in Karbala.

AS/SS