Today is Monday; 14th of the Iranian month of Mordad 1398 solar hijri; corresponding to 3rd of the Islamic month of Zil-Hijjah 1440 lunar hijri; and August 5, 2019, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1884 solar years ago, on this day in 135 AD, during the last of the three major Jewish-Roman wars, pagan Roman armies entered Betar in what was then the Roman province of Judea in Palestine, brutally slaughtering thousands of rebellious Jews to effectively end the revolt of Bar Kokhba. Followers of Prophet Jesus (PuH) did not support Bar Kokhba the Jew, whom the Talmud calls Ben Kusiba or false Messiah. 

1080 solar years ago, on this day in 939 AD, the Battle of Alhandic was fought between Ramiro II of León and Abdur-Rahman III at Zamora in Spain, resulting in a victory for the Muslim Emirate of Cordoba.

1078 lunar years ago, on this day in 362 AH, the prominent Iranian Islamic genius, Abu Rayhan Mohammad ibn Ahmad al-Birouni, was born in Kath, the capital of Khwarezm in Central Asia. His first 25 years were spent in his homeland where he studied jurisprudence, theology, grammar, mathematics, astronomy, medics and other sciences. Regarded as one of the greatest scholars of the medieval Islamic era, he was well versed in mathematics, astronomy, physical and natural sciences, and also distinguished himself as a geographer, historian, chronologist and linguist. While in Mazandaran at the Ziyarid court he wrote one of his important books: “al-Asaar al-Baqiyya an al-Qoroun al-Khaliyya” (Chronology of Ancient nations and Vestiges of the Past). With the conquest of the region by Mahmoud Ghaznavi he became court astrologer and accompanied the Turkish Sultan on his invasions of India, where he lived for several years and became acquainted with all things related to that land. He learned Sanskrit and wrote the famous Arabic book “Kitab Tahqiq ma li'l-Hind”, which is a highly analytical work. Of the more than hundred books and treatises known to have been written by him, some 65 percent are devoted to astronomy, mathematics, and related subjects like geography and geology. Birouni also devised his own method of determining the radius of the earth by means of observation of the height of a mountain which he carried it out at Nandana in India. He states in his writings (several centuries before Copernicus and Galileo) that the earth is round and spherical. In mineralogy, this great Iranian Muslim genius, who was a follower of Prophet Mohammad’s (SAWA) Ahl al-Bayt, succeeded in determining the specific density of many metals and minerals with remarkable precision. Almost all his works were written in Arabic except for “Kitab at-Tafhim”, in Persian, and in which he has scientifically proven the movement of the earth around the sun and the force of gravity. He died in Ghazni at the age of 78.

920 lunar years ago, on this day in 520 AH, one of the prominent Persian poets, Khaqani Shirvani, was born in the northwestern Iranian region of Shirvan, which is now in the Republic of Azerbaijan. He is considered amongst the great classical poets of Iran and composed different styles of poems. The na'at, a poem which he wrote in praise of Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny) at a time when his literary talent had reached its peak, procured him the title “Hassaan al-Ajam” (حسان العجم) or the Hassaan of Persia – a reference to Hassaan ibn Sabet, the famous Arabic poet who composed panegyrics in praise of the Prophet. In 551 AH, he went on Hajj pilgrimage and described the spiritual atmosphere of the holy city of Mecca and the rituals through composing beautiful odes. On his return he stayed in Iraq and met Iraqi scholars. His travels gave him material for his famous versified book entitled “Tohfat ol-Iraqain” (Gift of the Two Iraqs), that is, 'Persian Iraq' and 'Arab Iraq'. He also wrote the famous ode “Aiwan-e Mada'en” (The Portal of Ctesiphon), beautifully depicting his impressions of the remains of the Sassanid Palace near Baghdad. His collection of poems contains 18,000 couplets. In the later days of his life he turned into a recluse after the tragic death of his children and wife. He passed away in Tabriz in 595 AH.

741 solar years ago, on this day in 1278 AD, the siege of Algeciras ended in Spain with the victory of the Emirate of Gharnata (Granada) over the Christian kingdom of Castile.

714 solar years ago, on this day in 1305 AD, William Wallace, who led the Scottish resistance against England, was captured by the English near Glasgow and transported to London where he was put on trial and executed.

508 lunar years ago, on this day in 932 AH, Budapest the capital of Hungary surrendered to the Ottoman Turks under the leadership of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent who inflicted a crushing defeat on the Hungarians in the famous Battle of Mohacs. Till 1718 “Majaristan” as Hungary was called by the Turks was an Ottoman province. Although Islam in Hungary has a long history that dates back to at least the twelfth century, predating the Ottoman Empire, following the end of Turkish rule, Muslims were persecuted and either expelled or forced to become Christians. Today only a few thousand Muslims live in Hungary.

338 solar years ago, on this day in 1681 AD, Danish-Russian navigator, Vitus Jonassen Bering, was born in the Netherlands. He was commissioned by Czar Peter the Great to travel the coast of Asia to see if it was connected to North America. He sailed through the Bering Strait in 1728. He discovered Alaska on his second voyage in 1741, with several scientists on board, explored its coast, and discovered the Aleutian Islands. He died stranded during the winter following a shipwreck. The Bering Sea and Bering Island (where he died) are named for him.

303 solar years ago, on this day in 1716 AD, the battle of Petrovaradin in Serbia resulted in a decisive victory for Austrian forces in the war against the Ottoman Empire, which had assembled a large army of 150,000 in Belgrade for the Turkish advance into Europe.

256 solar years ago, on this day in 1763 AD, the Battle of Bushy Run took place in western Pennsylvania between the British led by Colonel Henry Bouquet and a combined force of the Amerindian tribes of Delaware, Shawnee, Mingo, and Huron. After a two-day seesaw struggle, the better armed British slaughtered a great many of native Amerindians and went on to relieve the garrison of Fort Pitt that was under siege. The battle was part of the 2-year war known as Pontiac’s Rebellion after the most prominent Amerindian Chief, who campaigned to drive out the Anglo-Saxon invaders from the Great Lake regions of what is now the US and Canada. The British resorted to brutal tactics, deception, massacres, and genocide, including spreading of epidemics, such as the smallpox virus for decimating the natives. The war demonstrated the possibilities of pan-tribal cooperation in resisting European expansion despite the conspiracies of the colonialists to divide Amerindian tribes. It was the first war between Europeans and Native North Americans that did not end in complete defeat of the Amerindians.

124 solar years ago, on this day in 1895 AD, German philosopher Friedrich Engels died in London at the age of 75. A close friend of his compatriot, Karl Marx, who coined the theory of Marxism, he was persecuted for political views and fled to Britain in 1850. The book “Communist Manifesto”, published in 1848 is the joint work of Engels and Marx.

113 solar years ago, on this day in 1906 AD, the movement of the Iranian people led by the ulema forced the Qajarid king, Mozaffar od-Din Shah to sign the Constitutional Decree that aimed to end injustice, oppression, and the interference of foreign states in Iran’s internal affairs. Prime Minister Ain od-Dowlah’s brutal suppression of public protests had led to the killing and wounding of scores of people. In protest, the ulema led by Ayatollah Seyyed Abdullah Behbahani and Ayatollah Seyyed Mohammad Tabatabai, staged sit-ins in Rayy and Qom. The Shah, fearful of the events, dismissed the premier and issued the Constitutional Decree. Later, British agents infiltrated the Constitutional Movement and diverted it from its path.

67 solar years ago, on this day in 1952 AD, Egyptian nuclear scientist, Sameera Musa, was killed in a mysterious accident in the US at the age of 35. It is widely believed that this budding Muslim lady scientist was the victim of foul play by the CIA and Mossad. After obtaining a doctorate in atomic radiation – the first woman to do so – she worked to make the medical use of nuclear technology affordable to all. She organized the Atomic Energy for Peace Conference and sponsored a call for setting an international conference under the banner "Atom for Peace". She used to say: "I will make nuclear treatment as cheap as Aspirin". She volunteered to help treat cancer patients at various hospitals. She was offered scholarship by the Fullbright Atomic Program of the US, but on visiting the US, she turned down several offers that required her to live there and be granted American citizenship. On the eve of her return home, she was invited to a trip to California, and on the way the car suddenly went down from a height of 40 feet, which killed her immediately. Later it was proved that the invitation letter was false, and besides the vanishing of the driver who jumped from the car just before it went down, it was revealed that Egypt's Jewish actress Raqya Ibrahim (Rachel Abraham), with connections to Israel, was behind Sameera's mysterious trip to California.

59 solar years ago, on this day in 1960 AD, the West African Muslim majority country of Burkina Faso became independent from French colonial rule. Formerly known as Upper Volta, it covers an area of more than 274,000 sq km. and shares borders with Mali, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin, and Niger. Over 70 percent of the people are Muslims.

31 solar years ago, on this day in 1988 AD, the battered and bruised Saddam of the repressive Ba’th minority regime of Baghdad, officially ended the 8-year war he had imposed on US orders on the Islamic Republic of Iran, 17 days after his formal acceptance of UN Security Council Resolution 598 during which he had made a last attempt to seize more Iranian territory by continuing hostilities and sending thousands of fully armed MKO hypocrites across the border. The valour and alertness of Iran’s Muslim combatants thwarted the plots of Saddam, who two years later was officially declared as aggressor of the 8-year war by the UN.

29 solar years ago, on this day in 1990 AD, during the 19th round of ministerial meetings of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) in Cairo, the Declaration of Islamic Human Rights was approved and this day was designated as the Day of Islamic Human Rights and Mankind’s Dignity. The Declaration consists of a prelude and 25 articles. It was the result of the objection of Islamic states to the flawed UN Declaration of Human Rights. The most important feature, which distinguishes the Declaration of Islamic Human Rights from the UN version, is the focus on spiritual rights and dignity of mankind on the basis of religion. The Declaration of Islamic Human Rights also emphasizes on the right of nations to struggle against colonialism.

12 solar years ago, on this day in 2007 AD, Iran showed off for the first time a new fighter jet, built using domestic technology. The "Azarakhsh" (Lightning), one of the first jet home-produced by Iran, made a successful flight in the central city of Isfahan.

AS/SS