Today is Tuesday; 1st of the Iranian month of Mordad 1398 solar hijri; corresponding to 20th of the Islamic month of Zil-Qa’dah 1440 lunar hijri; and July 23, 2019, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1170 lunar years ago, on this day in 270 AH, founder of the short-lived Tulunid Dynasty of Egypt, Ahmad Ibn Tulun, died after a 17-year rule during which he killed at least 18,000 Muslims. His father, Tulun, was a Turkic slave sent as part of tribute by the Iranian governor of Bukhara to the Abbasid caliph, Ma'mun. Ibn Tulun received military training in Samarra and was appointed commander of the special forces of the tyrannical caliph, Mutawakkil. After serving in military campaigns against the Byzantine Empire in Tarsus, he gained the favor of Musta'in, and in the reign of the next caliph, Mu'taz, he was sent as governor to Egypt. Since, the Egyptia capital, al-Fustat, was too small to accommodate his army, he founded a new city nearby called “Madinat al-Qatta'i” (the Quartered City), to serve as his capital. It was laid out in the style of the grand cities of Iran, including a large public square, a palace, and a large ceremonial mosque, which was named after Ibn Tulun. This city was razed to the ground on the fall of the Tulunid Dynasty, and only the mosque has survived. Ibn Tulun asserted independence from Baghdad by minting coins in his name and seizing control of large parts of Syria. He defeated an Abbasid army sent against him. Within two decades after his death, the inefficient rule of his son and grandsons led to the collapse of his dynasty.

1070 lunar years ago, on this day in 370 AH (980 AD), Iranian Islamic genius, Abu Ali Hussain Ibn Abdullah Ibn Sina, was born near Bukhara, capital of the Iranian Samanid Dynasty – presently in Uzbekistan. He memorized the Holy Qur'an at a young age and soon mastered logic, medicine, astronomy, geometry, and philosophy, such that at the age of 18 years, he was an authority in all the sciences of his day. After curing the Samanid King, Nouh ibn Mansour, of an ailment, he was allowed to use the large royal library at Bukhara. Because of his political views and religious inclinations towards the Prophet's Ahl al-Bayt, he found himself persecuted by Sultan Mahmoud of Ghazna. As a result he joined the Buwaiyhid court in Rayy before settling in Hamedan and later Isfahan where he served as vizier. Known as Avicenna to medieval Europe, his works were translated into Latin and for several centuries were taught at most western universities. His books include: “ash-Shefa” on philosophy; “al-Qanoun fi't-Tibb” (Canons of Medicine), and "Isharaat wa'l-Tanbihat" (Remarks and Admonitions). He wrote almost all his works in Arabic and of the few in his native Persian is the "Danishnama-e Alai" (Book of Knowledge for [Amir] Ala od-Dowlah). It covers such topics as logic, metaphysics, music, and other sciences of his time. He passed away in Hamedan at the age of 58.

1059 lunar years ago, on this day in 381 AH, the famous Greek Muslim general and statesman of the Fatemid Ismaili Shi'ite Muslim dynasty of Egypt and North Africa, Jowhar bin Abdullah as-Siqili, or the Sicilian, passed away. He conquered Egypt and built Cairo including the famous al-Azhar Mosque and academy. Born a Christian on the island of Sicily near Italy, he embraced the truth of Islam and joined the service of the Fatemids, soon rising into prominence as “al-Kateb” (the Chancellor) and “al-Qa'ed” (the General). He subdued North Africa as far as the Atlantic coast and then turned towards the east to wrest control of Egypt from the Ikhshidid Turkic governors of the Abbasid caliphate. He built Cairo as the new capital of the Fatemids, by publicly bearing testimony in the Azaan, or the call to prayer, to the imamate of Imam Ali (AS) after the Prophethood of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). The phrase "hayya ala khayr il-amal", meaning ‘hasten to the best of deeds’, which was dropped from the Azaan by the second caliph, was also revived and echoed from the minarets of "al-Azhar", which is a derivative of "az-Zahra" or the Radiant, the famous epithet of Hazrat Fatema (SA) the Immaculate Daughter of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA).

1022 solar years ago, on this day in 997 AD, Nuh II, ruler of the Iranian Samanid Empire of Central Asia died in his capital Bukhara at the age of 34 after a reign of 21 years that saw the gradual decline of the dynasty, as a result of rebellions by refractory governors and encroachment by the Qarakhanid Turks from the north. Shortly after his ascension, the Qarakhanids invaded and captured the upper Zarafshan Valley, where the Samanid silver mines were located. Four years later in 980 they struck again seizing the important trade town of Isfijab (presently in southern Kazakhstan). In the southwest in 982 Nuh II mobilized an army in Khorasan that was initially successfully against the fellow-Iranian Buwaiyhid Empire, but his forces were subsequently crushed. An invasion of Samanid state was prevented only by the sudden death in Baghdad of the powerful Buwaiyhid ruler, Adhud od-Dowla Daylami. In 991, Boghra Khan, the Qarakhanid ruler launched a full-scale invasion of the Samanid Empire, and the next year briefly occupied Bukhara, but his death emboldened Nuh II to retake his capital. The invasion of Transoxania signaled a definitive shift from Iranian to Turkic predominance in Central Asia, although the Qarakhanids became assimilated into the Perso-Arab Muslim culture of the region. In Khorasan, Nuh II’s rewarding of territories to the former Samanid vassal, Sebuktagin and his son Mahmoud of Ghazna, for providing military help against rebellious governors, further weakened the empire. Son and successor of Mansour I, on his death Nuh II was succeeded by his son, Mansour II. The 180-year rule of the Samanid Dynasty saw the birth of modern Persian language and literature in Arabic script, in addition to the patronizing of Arabic language for religious texts.

984 lunar years ago, on this day in 456 AH, North African Arabic poet, literary figure, and critic, Abu Ali Qairawani, passed away at the age of 66. Born in Morocco, he did his higher studies in Qairawan, in what is now Tunisia. His poems are mainly odes depicting the different phases of his social and literary life. He created a new approach in criticism of literary works. Books written by him include a biography of poets.

700 solar years ago, on this day in 1319 AD, Knights of the Christian Hospitaller Order won a naval encounter against the Aydinid Turks off the island of Chios in what is now Greece. Founded in 1308 by Aydinoghlu Mohammad Bey on the western coast of modern Turkey on the decline of the Seljuq Sultanate of Roum, the Aydinids, during their century-odd sway until absorption by the expanding Ottoman Empire, were a major naval power and kept the Christian Genoese and Venetian fleets in check in the Aegean Sea. The dynasty that controlled the port of Smyrna (modern Izmir) has left important architectural works, principally in Birgi and Seljuk, its capital cities. The modern city of Aydın was named after the dynasty.

647 solar years ago, on this day in 1372 AD, Krishnaraja of Yijaynagar, whose seizure of the fortress of Mudkul brought about war with the Bahmani Kingdom of Iranian origin of the Deccan in southern India, was decisively defeated by Mohammad Shah I. After being driven all the way to his capital, the Raja begged for peace to persuade the Bahmani Sultan to lift the siege and return to Gulbarga.

198 solar years ago, on this day in 1821 AD, Christian rebels stormed the Monemvasia Castle in the Ottoman Province of “Yunanistan” (as the land known as Greece today was called during almost four centuries of Turkish rule), and massacred over 3,000 Muslims. The rebels, taking advantage of the weakness of the Ottoman Empire, resorted to organized killings of Muslims and destruction of mosques that made the Sultan in Istanbul call on the Egyptian governor, Mohammad Ali Pasha, to crush the rebellion. The Egyptian forces led by the governor’s son, Ibrahim Pasha, arrived in “Yunanistan” and quickly restored order to this Ottoman Province by crushing the rebels. This gave a pretext to Britain, France and Russia to intervene and internationalize the rebellion, which because of direct European military measures forced the Egyptians and Ottomans to retreat by 1830, when as per the London Protocol, a new country with the ancient name of Greece, was created. The Greeks immediately set about the ethnic cleansing of Turks and Muslims through massacres and expulsion, as well as conversion of mosques into Churches, so that today hardly any trace of several centuries of Ottoman rule remains.

179 solar years ago, on this day in 1840 AD, the Province of Canada was created by the British by merging Upper and Lower Canada, following rebellions and fears of breakaway from the crown like the 13 colonies of New England that seceded from London’s rule to set up the United States of America (USA). In 1867 with the inclusion of more British colonies of the remote and almost uninhabited areas of Northern America, the Confederation of Canada was formed, extending from the US borders till the Arctic Circle.

140 solar years ago, on this day in 1879 AD, the acclaimed German Orientologist and Iranologist, Ernst Herzfeld, was born. He was an expert in deciphering the writings and languages of ancient nations, and lectured for several years at Berlin University on the history of Persia and Mesopotamia. He managed to read and translate the cuneiform inscriptions at the ruins of Persepolis. He published almost 190 books, treatises, and articles on the history and language of Iran and the divine religion of Islam. Among his important books, mention can be made of “Iran in the Ancient Times”. He died in 1947.

74 solar years ago, on this day in 1945 AD, France’s Marshal Henri Petain, who had headed the pro-Nazi Vichy government during World War Two, went on trial, charged with treason. He was condemned to death but his sentence was commuted. He died in prison on this date in 1951.

67 solar years ago, on this day in 1952 AD General Mohammad Najib led the Free Officers Movement (formed by Colonel Jamal Abdun-Nasser, the real power behind the coup) in overthrowing King Farouq and thus ending a century and half rule of the Khedive dynasty of Egypt founded by the Ottoman Albanian General, Mohammad Ali Pasha.

52 solar years ago, on this day in 1967 AD, the 12th Street Riot in Detroit, Michigan, in the predominantly African American inner city, resulted in the death of 43 people, injury to over 2000 others, and homelessness of 5,000 black people. Over 1,400 buildings were burned.

49 solar years ago, on this day in 1970 AD, Qaboos Ibn Sa’id became Sultan of Oman after overthrowing his father, Sa’id Ibn Taimur. Educated at Pune (India) and Britain, he never remarried after divorcing his wife after a brief marriage in the 1970s, nor has he any children.

20 solar years ago, on this day in 1999 AD, Morocco's King Hassan II died at the age of 70 after ruling for 38 years. He was a repressive ruler and brutally suppressed any opposition. At the same time, he was over friendly with the enemies of Islam, especially the illegal Zionist entity, despite the claim of his family to be descendents of Imam Hasan al-Mujtaba (AS), the elder grandson and 2nd Infallible Successor of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA).  He was succeeded by his son, Mohammad VI.

12 solar years ago, on this day in 2007 AD, Mohammad Zaher Shah, the former King of Afghanistan, died as a private citizen in Kabul at the age of 93. In 1973, he was deposed by his cousin, brother-in-law, and former Prime Minister Mohammad Daoud Khan, while in Italy for eye surgery, after a reign of 40 years – having ascended the throne in 1933 on the assassination of his father, the British-installed Mohammad Nader Shah. On his return to Afghanistan in 2002 after an absence of 29 years, Zaher Shah was given the honourary title “Father of the Nation”.

9 solar years ago, on this day in 2010 AD, the largest recorded hailstone in the US fell in Vivian, South Dakota, 20 cm in length, weighing 880 grams and a 47.3 cm circumference. A larger hailstone fell in the Gopalganj District of Bangladesh on 14 April 1986 weighing 1.02 kg that killed 92 people during a hailstorm.

8 solar years ago, on this day in 2011 AD, in Bahrain, the venerable religious leader, Ayatollah Seyyed Abdullah al-Ghoreifi disclosed that agents of the repressive Aal-e Khalifa minority regime have demolished 30 mosques during their so far 5-month-old state terrorism against the long suppressed Shi’ite Muslim majority of that Persian Gulf island state.

3 solar years ago, on this day in 2016 AD, over a hundred men, women and children were martyred and three hundred others injured when Saudi-backed Takfiri terrorists triggered two bomb blasts in the Deh Mazang area near Kabul, the Afghan capital, in the path of a peaceful protest march by the Shi’a Muslim Hazara ethnic community, demanding the changing of the TUTAP power project.

AS/SS