Today is Saturday; 22nd of the Iranian month of Tir 1398 solar hijri; corresponding to 10th of the Islamic month of Zil-Qa’da 1440 lunar hijri; and July 13, 2019, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

2606 solar years ago, on this day in 587 BC, the 18-month siege of the holy city of Bayt al-Moqaddas by the Babylonian tyrant, Nebuchadnezzar II (Bokht an-Nasar), to crush the revolt of the Israelite Zedekiah (Sadqiya), who had sided with Pharaoh Hophra of Egypt, despite being installed as king by Nebuchadnezzar during his earlier invasion of Judah a decade earlier, ended with the fall of the city, which was plundered and razed to the ground, including Solomon’s Mosque for the worship of the One and Only God. The Prophet of God, Jeremiah (Irmiya), had cautioned the evil Zedekiah against such an action that would only bring war, woe and destruction upon the Israelites, who disregarding the monotheistic laws of Prophet Moses had turned to a life of idolatry and vice. Zedekiah, along with his followers attempted to escape, but was captured, made to see his sons put to death, before his own eyes were pulled out, and carried fettered as a captive to Babylon, where he remained a prisoner until death. Nebuchadnezzar, who transported almost all the population of Palestine to Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq), reportedly went mad for a period of seven years, as a result of divine affliction during his reign of 43 years. It is worth noting that the executed Godless Iraqi tyrant, Saddam of the repressive Ba’thist minority regime, used to regard himself as a reincarnation of Nebuchadnezzar, who was said to have been weaned on sow's milk.

1051 lunar years ago, on this day in 389 AH, the Iranian Samanid Dynasty of Central Asia and Khorasan collapsed with the fall of its capital Bukhara (currently in Uzbekistan) to the Turkic chieftain Ilak Khan, son of Bughra Khan Qarakhanid, after 185 years of rule. The Samanid realm, founded by four Iranian brothers, who were appointed governors in different parts of northeastern Iran by the Abbasid caliph, Mamoun, was split up between the Qarakhanids who seized Transoxiana, and the Ghaznavids who had taken control of Khorasan and Afghanistan under Alpatigin the Turk; thereby making the Oxus River the boundary between the two rival Turkic empires. Abdul-Malik, Ibrahim, and Ya'qoub, the sons of the last ruler, Nooh Ibn Mansour Samani, managed to flee, but the fourth son who styled himself Isma'il II al-Muntasir was captured by the Qarakhanids. He, however, escaped from captivity and went to Khwarezm to gather support for reclaiming Bukhara, but was killed some six years later. The Samanids revived Persian culture by patronizing poets and scholars such as Rudaki, Bal'ami and Daqiqi. They propagated the Sunni schools of jurisprudence, repressed Ismailis, but were rather tolerant of Ithna Ash'ari or Twelver Shi'a Muslims. Islamic architecture and Islamo-Persian culture was spread deep into the heart of Central Asia by them. Following the first complete translation of the Qur'an into Persian, people in Central Asia began accepting Islam in significant numbers. Through zealous missionary work as many as 30,000 tents of Turks came to profess Islam and later under the Ghaznavids more than 55,000 tents of Turks became Muslim. The mass conversion of Turks to Islam eventually led to a growing influence of the Ghaznavids, followed by the Seljuqid Turks, who would later rule the region.

698 solar years ago, on this day in 1321 AD, the most prominent Sufi preacher of the Deccan (Southern India), Seyyed Mohammad Zaidi Hussaini, known popularly as “Band-e Nawaz Gesudaraz”, was born in Delhi into a family of migrants from Herat, Khorasan, that traced lineage to Martyr Zaid, the son of Imam Zain al-Abedin (AS) – the great-grandson and 4^th Infallible Heir of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). He was a disciple of Seyyed Naseer od-Din, titled “Chiragh-e Dehli” (Lamp of Delhi), and spent several years in Qandahar (currently in Afghanistan) and Baluchestan as a preacher, before returning to Northern India. In 1398, at the age of 77, he moved south to Daulatabad in the Deccan, owing to the attack of Amir Timur on Delhi, and finally settled down in Gulbarga, at the invitation of Taj od-Din Firouz Shah of the Bahmani Dynasty of Iranian origin. He died 24 years later at the age of 101, and his shrine in Gulbarga is a site of pilgrimage. He wrote about 195 books in Arabic, Persian and the Deccani form of early Urdu. His book on Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) titled “Me’raj al-Asheqin” for the instruction of the masses is regarded as the first one of its kind in vernacular language, rather than in Persian or Arabic. He was a devout follower of the Prophet’s Ahl al-Bayt. Although the original inscriptions of his mausoleum no longer exist or have been tampered with, his wife’s mausoleum has remained in its original form, and on its entrance is inscribed in stone, the testimony of the Oneness of God, the Mission of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), and the vicegerency of Imam Ali (AS).

614 lunar years ago, on this day in 826 AH, the astronomer and mathematician, Sibt al-Maridini, was born in Egypt. Named Mohammad by his father Mohammad Ibn al-Ghazal, his mother was the daughter of the reputed astronomer, Abdullah al-Mardini; hence he became known as "Sibt al-Maridini". He authored some fifty treatises in astronomy (sine quadrants, sundials, astronomical tables and prayer times) and wrote at least twenty-three books on mathematics. Among his works are "Sharh ar-Rahbiyah" and "Daqa’eq al-Haqa’eq".

410 lunar years ago, on this day in 1030 AH, the famous jurisprudent, Shaikh Fakhr od-Din Mohammad Ibn Shaikh Hassan, a grandson of the celebrated Shaikh Zayn od-Din Shaheed Thani (the Second Martyr), passed away in holy Mecca and was laid to rest in the now destroyed Jannat al-Mu’alla Cemetery near the tomb of Omm al-Momineen, Hazrat Khadija (peace upon her), the loyal wife of Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny). He lived most of his life in Mecca and was a prolific writer. Among his works are commentaries on Shaikh at-Ta’efa Tusi’s “al-Istibsaar” and “at-Tahzeeb” – two of the four principal books of hadith and jurisprudence. This talented grandson of the Second Martyr was also an excellent poet in Arabic and has written a moving elegy on the Chief of Martyrs, Imam Husain (AS) – which Shaikh Hurr al-Ameli has included in his book “Amal al-Amel”.

319 solar years ago, on this day in 1700 AD, the Treaty of Istanbul was signed between Czarist Russia and the Ottoman Empire, ending the 14-year long Russo-Turkish War that had begun in 1686. Peter the Great saw the futility of continuing the war without his European allies against the Turks, and secured his occupation of the Azov region, thereby ending 230 years of Muslim rule, and gaining a vital outlet for Russia on the Black Sea. The treaty was superseded by the Treaty of the Pruth in 1711, which returned Azov to the Ottomans and remained with them until the 1783 war when the Russians again occupied it.

248 solar years ago, on this day in 1771 AD, the 3-year scientific voyage of the British sailor, James Cook, to the southern hemisphere ended. A team of biologists on his ship studied the plants, animals, and residents of the lands visited, while astronomers observed the Planet Venus during this long journey, which had commenced on July 26, 1768.

141 solar years ago, on this day in 1878 AD, as per the Treaty of Berlin, the European powers redrew the map of the Balkans. As a result, Serbia, Montenegro and Romania became completely independent of the Ottoman Empire.

105 solar years ago, on this day in 1914 AD, the prominent scholar of Persian literature and Iranian studies, Mohammad Moin, was born in Rasht, the capital of Gilan Province, in a religious family. He learned Arabic at a young age, and completed his studies at Tehran's Dar al-Fonoun Academy, where he obtained BA in literature and philosophy in 1934. He went to Belgium and graduated in applied psychology, anthropology and cognitive science. On returning to Iran he did his doctoral research under Ibrahim Pour-Davoud at Tehran University, and received a PhD with honours in Persian literature and linguistics. He is the first doctoral graduate in Persian literature from Tehran University. In 1942, he began lecturing at Tehran University, where he was later appointed full professor and subsequently promoted as Distinguished Professor to the Chair of Literary Criticism and Research in Literary Texts. In 1946, with the start of publication of the famous Persian lexicon “Lughat-Nameh Dehkhoda” by Allamah Professor Ali Akbar Dehkhoda, he began cooperation with him and contributed valuable articles to the project, for which he was awarded by several world universities and academic-literary foundations. His magnum opus is the six-volume "Farhang-e Moin" (Moin Dictionary). He passed away in 1971 and was buried in Astaneh Ashrafiyeh.

75 solar years ago, on this day in 1944 AD, Hungarian mathematician and educator, Erno Rubik, famous for inventing “Rubik's Cube”, was born in Budapest. In 1974 he invented the Cube which consists of 26 small cubes that rotate on a central axis. It has nine coloured cube faces, in three rows of three each, form each side of the cube. When the cube arrangement is randomized, the player must then return it to the original condition of faces with matching colours, which is one among 43 quintillion possible configurations.

29 solar years ago, on this day in 1991 AD, prominent Iranian thinker, Allamah Seyyed Taher Seyedzadeh Hashemi, passed away in Kermanshah, western Iran. He strove to promote Islamic teachings and in addition to compiling numerous books, he was a highly capable calligrapher. He was fluent in Arabic, Persian and Kurdish languages and wrote numerous odes in these three languages.

23 solar years ago, on this day in 1996 AD, some Iranian cities saw an influx of thousands of lizards and snakes over the past three months. Rising levels of groundwater were cited as possible reasons.

19 solar years ago, on this day in 2000 AD, the prominent scholar, Ayatollah Seyyed Mohammad Waheedi Shabestari, passed away at the age of 84. He studied at the Qom Seminary under leading scholars, such as Sheikh Mahdi Mazandarani and Mirza Mohammad Ali Shahabadi, and mastered jurisprudence, theology, philosophy and gnosis. He settled in his hometown Shabestar, in northwestern Iran, and embarked on promotion of the teachings of the Ahl al-Bayt of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) in West Azarbaijan and Kurdistan Provinces, where he built several mosques and hussainiyehs. He was active in the Islamic movement against the despotic regime of the British-installed and American-backed Pahlavi Shah.

11 solar years ago, on this day in 2008 AD, Iran announced the country is exploring a newly discovered oil field believed to contain more than 1 billion barrels of crude oil.

7 solar years ago, on this day in 2012 AD, Iran’s famous film and theater director, Hamid Samandarian, passed away in his hometown Tehran, at the age of 81. He staged numerous dramas, including “No Exit” by Jean-Paul Sartre. He trained several Iranian actors and directors including; Ezzatolah Entezami, Reza Kianian, Golab Adineh, Mahdi Hashemi, Parviz Pour-Hussaini, and Ahmad Aghalou.

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