Today is Tuesday; 22nd of the Iranian month of Mordad 1398 solar hijri; corresponding to 11th of the Islamic month of Zil-Hijjah 1440 lunar hijri; and August 13, 2019, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1437 solar years ago, on this day in 582 AD, Maurice became Emperor of Byzantine or the Eastern Roman Empire in the midst of war with Iran’s Sassanid Empire, shortly after his marriage to Constantina the daughter of Emperor Tiberius II Constantine, who died the following day. He brought to an end the intermittent wars between the Iranians and Romans. The opportunity came in 590 when Prince Khosrow after overthrowing his father, Emperor Hormuz IV, and ascending the throne of Ctesiphon as Khosrow II was defeated by the rebellious general Bahram Chobin, who now siezed the Iranian throne. Khosrow fled to the Byzantine court in Constantinople. Maurice helped him regain the Sassanid Empire in 591 when the combined Byzantine-Persian army under generals John Mystacon and Narses defeated Bahram Chobin's forces near Ganzak at the Battle of Blarathon. Khosrow II took the title of Pervez and rewarded Maurice by ceding western Armenia up to the lakes Van and Sevan, including the large cities of Martyropolis, Tigranokert, Manzikert, Ani, and Yerevan. Maurice and Khosrow II signed a treaty called ‘perpetual peace’ which meant that for the first time in two centuries the Romans were no longer obliged to pay the Iranians millions of pounds of gold annually as tribute. In 602 after a 20-year reign Maurice was overthrown by the general Phocas, who usurped the throne and murdered him. Before being beheaded he was forced to watch his six sons executed. His eldest son and designated heir, Theodosius, fled to the Sassanid court for aid, prompting Emperor Khosrow Pervez to renew the traditional wars between the two empires, and resulting in Iran’s capture of Syria, Egypt and all of modern day Turkey, right up to the gates of Constantinople. Though Phocas was killed and replaced by Heraclius, the 26-year long war proved cataclysmic for both the empires, which within the next five years were overrun by Arab Muslims, who completely changed the demography and history of the region.

1415 lunar years ago, on this day in 25 AH, the famous Dua Sabah or the Morning Supplication to God Almighty, which is a treasure-trove of spiritual, philosophical, theological and related values, was written by the Commander of the Faithful, Prophet Mohammad’s (SAWA) divinely-designated Heir, Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS). According to a narration in Allamah Majlisi’s encyclopedic work “Behar al-Anwaar”, a leather scroll written in Kufic style of calligraphy bearing the signet of Imam Ali (AS). Over the centuries several commentaries have been written on this Supplication and the mysteries of monotheism it contains.

1233 lunar years ago, on this day in 207 AH, the well-known Muslim historian and narrator of hadith, Abu Abdullah Waqedi, died in Baghdad. It is said that he copied the works of Ibrahim bin Mohammad bin Abi Yahya, a disciple of the Prophet's 6th Infallible Heir, Imam Ja'far as-Sadeq (AS), by attributing them to himself. Among his works is the book titled "al-Maghazi" on the campaigns of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). He is the author of another renowned work, "Akhbar al-Makkah" or the History of Mecca.

722 solar years ago, on this day in 1297 AD, the powerful Mongol Muslim chieftain, Nawrouz, was executed for treason by Ghazaan Khan Mahmoud, the 7^th ruler of the Iran-based Ilkhanate Empire. He played an important role in the politics of 13^th century Iran. In 1289-1290, he revolted against the 4^th Ilkhanate ruler, Arghun Khan who defeated him, and forced him to take refuge in Transoxonia. In 1295, Nawrouz helped Ghazaan Khan Mahmoud to seize power from Baydu and ascend the throne in Maragheh as the 7^th Ilkhan. The two soon fell out with each other and Ghazaan eliminated the partisans of Nawrouz for treason in May 1297. He then marched against Nawrouz, then commander of the army of Khorasan, and vanquished him near Naishapur. Nawrouz took refuge at the court of the Malik Fakhr od-Din of Herat, who betrayed him and delivered him to the Ilkhan.

708 solar years ago, on this day in 1311 AD, Alfonso XI, the king of Castile, Leon and Galicia, who was notorious for his enmity towards Spanish Muslims, was born to Ferdinand IV of Castile and his wife Constance of Portugal. In 1313 he became an infant king on the death of his father, under a regency council. In 1325 he assumed power, made a bloody purge of all potential rivals to his throne, and immediately launched military attacks on the Muslim dynasties of Spain. For the next quarter century until his death in 1350 during the 5^th unsuccessful Siege of Gibraltar because of the Great Plague (seen as divine affliction by Muslims), he used to terrorize Spanish Muslims. In 1344 he occupied the Muslim kingdom of Alegeciras. Four years earlier after a string of defeats at the hands of the joint army of Marinid Muslim Berbers of Morocco and the Emir Yusuf I of Granada, he had resorted to ruse, treachery and use of Christian mercenaries from all over Europe to win the Battle of Rio Salado. He was ruthless and bloodthirsty.

498 solar years ago, on this day in 1521 AD, Tenochtitlan – present day Mexico City – fell to the Spanish invaders led by Hernan Cortes, who unleashed a great slaughter of the native Mexicans and destroyed their palaces, temples, homes and hearths, in his greed for gold.

483 solar years ago, on this day in 1536 AD, Buddhist monks from Kyoto's Enryaku-ji temple set fire to 21 Nichiren temples throughout Japan in what is known as the Tenbun Hokke Disturbance. The Buddhists, despite their massive propaganda to be peaceful, have a violent history of mass massacres and destruction. In China, the Buddhist dynasties have a long history of internecine wars for power. The bloodthirsty Mongolian warlord, Chingiz Khan, who devastated large parts of Asia including the Muslim world, massacring millions of people, was a Buddhist. Today, Buddhist monks in Myanmar (Burma) are cruelly killing the Rohingya Muslims and destroying mosques, homes, and businesses.

188 solar years ago, on this day in 1831 AD, enslaved black African, Nat Turner, who was descended from highly civilized people of Ghana kidnapped by Europeans and sold in the Americas, saw a solar eclipse and interpreted it as a sign of God to launch an uprising against the Anglo-Saxon racists. Eight days later, after assembling the freedom-seeking black people enslaved in the US, he started his uprising in Southampton County, Virginia, by freeing many African people from slavery. The uprising was brutally crushed after a few days by the White racist government. Turner survived in hiding for over two months afterwards, but was hunted down and hanged. His corpse was flayed, beheaded and quartered by the white Americans who went on to massacre over 200 black people in the southern states, where state legislatures passed new laws prohibiting education of the so-called slaves as well as free black- people, in addition to restricting rights of assembly and other civil rights for them.

151 solar years ago, on this day in 1868 AD, a massive earthquake near Arica, Peru, caused an estimated 25,000 casualties, and the subsequent tsunami caused considerable damage as far away as Hawaii and New Zealand.

120 solar years ago, on this day in 1899 AD, the famous English filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock was born. His films were mainly horror movies, such as “North from Northwest”, “A Man Who Knew Too Much”, and “Vertigo”. He died in 1980.

109 solar years ago, on this day in 1910 AD, the famous English Nurse, Florence Nightingale, died at the age of 90. She established modern nursing practice. Her contributions to public health included developing methods of applying and displaying statistics to demonstrate the need for improvements. Her mission began from experience during the Crimean War as a nurse at a British hospital in the Ottoman Empire where she witnessed appalling conditions endured by the sick: overcrowding, poor sanitation, lack of basic supplies, even malnutrition. Through her determination and influence, by the war's end in July 1856, she had greatly improved the comfort of the patients, increased efficiency and reduced the death toll. Throughout her life, she continued to advocate reform in the military medical system, supported by her compelling, novel graphical display of statistics and advice on hospital planning and organization.

101 solar years ago, on this day in 1918 AD, Noor Mohammad Hassan-Ali, the first Trinidadian of Indian origin to hold the office of President and the first Muslim head of state in the Americas, was born in San Fernando. After graduating from Canada and qualifying as a lawyer from Britain, he returned to his homeland Trinidad to practice law and after serving as a member of the Senate, rose to become the Chief Judge. He won the 1987 elections and served as president for two 5-year successive terms till 1997. As a Muslim, Hassan-Ali chose not to serve alcoholic beverages during functions at the President's House. He was married to Mrs. Zalayhar Mohammed and had two children, Khalid and Amena. He died on August 25, 2006.

96 lunar years ago, on this day in 1344 AH, the great Gnostic, Ayatollah Mirza Jawad Maliki Tabriz, passed away. Born in Tabriz to the prominent scholar Mirza Shafi, after preliminary studies in his hometown he left for Iraq for higher studies at the famous seminary of holy Najaf, where his teachers included Akhund Khorasani, Muhaddith Noori, and Akhund Hamedani. On return to Iran he stayed in Tabriz, and during the Constitutional Movement he moved to holy Qom, where he groomed several students such as Ayatollah Bahaeddini, Sheikh Abbas Tehrani, and the Father of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (RA). His works include “al-Muraqabaat”, “Asraar as-Salaat” and “Risalay-e Liqaollah”.

85 lunar years ago, on this day in 1355 AH, prominent Islamic scholar of India, Seyyed Abu’l-Hassan Ali, titled Mumtaz ul-Ulema, passed away in his hometown Lucknow. Son of the scholar Seyyed Ibrahim Shams ul-Ulema, for higher studies he went to holy Najaf in Iraq, where his teachers were such leading scholars as Ayatollah Seyyed Kazem Yazdi, Akhund Mullah Mohammad Kazem Khorasani, Sheikh Zain ol-Abedini Mazandarani, and Ziya od-Din Iraqi. On his return to India he spent his time in teaching, and writing books, such as “Ithbat an-Nubuwwa” on Prophethood.

82 solar years ago, on this day in 1937 AD, the Battle of Shanghai began as the first of the twenty-two major engagements between the National Revolutionary Army of the Republic of China and the Imperial Japanese Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War. It was one of the largest and bloodiest battles of the entire war, described as Stalingrad on the Yangtze. It lasted 3 months, 1 week and 6 days before ending on November 26, 1937, involving over a million troops and resulting in huge casualties. The Chinese suffered 200,000 killed and 83,500 injured or missing, while 91 of their planes were downed. The Japanese suffered 70,000 killed and 22,640 injured or missing, losing 85 planes and 51 ships. The battle can be divided into three stages. The first stage lasted from August 13 to August 22, during which the Chinese attempted to eradicate Japanese troop presence in downtown Shanghai. The second stage lasted from August 23 to October 26, during which the Japanese launched amphibious landings at Jiangsu coast and the two armies fought a Stalingrad-type house-to-house battle, with the Japanese attempting to gain control of the city and the surrounding regions. The last stage, ranging from October 27 to the end of November, involved the retreat of the Chinese army in the face of Japanese flanking maneuvers, and the ensuing combat on the road to China's capital, Nanjing.

66 solar years ago, on this day in 1953 AD, the British-installed and American-backed Pahlavi potentate of Iran, Mohammad Reza, secretly dismissed the popular Prime Minister, Dr. Mohammad Mosaddeq, and replaced him with Major General Fazlollah Zahedi, on the orders of his masters in London and Washington following the nationalization of Iran’s oil industry that was a loss for colonial powers. Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, in a bid to be safe from the consequences of the dismissal of Mosaddeq, traveled to northern Iran, and after the plot to dismiss Mosaddeq failed, he fled to Iraq and consequently to Italy. Six days after his humiliating escape from the country, a coup was plotted and implemented by the US and Britain on August 18, 1953, leading to the fall of Mosaddeq and restoration of the Pahlavi regime. Thereafter, the Shah continued his repressive and autocratic policies against the Iranian people, while the US and Britain continued to plunder Iran’s riches, especially its oil reserves, more than ever.

58 solar years ago, on this day in 1961 AD, construction work started in the divided German city of Berlin for the famous wall by the communist authorities of East Germany to prevent influx of American spies and capitalist ideas. The wall completely cut off (by land) West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin until the dismantling process started in November 1989.

41 solar years ago, on this day in 1978 AD, massive rallies were staged by the Iranian people against the Shah’s despotic regime in the central city of Isfahan, making the frightened Pahlavi regime impose martial law on this historical city.

9 solar years ago, on this day in 2010 AD, the Bosnia's war crimes court confirmed charges of genocide for 4 former Serb army soldiers over the brutal killing of at least 800 Bosnian Muslims from Srebrenica in July, 1995. Franc Kos, Stanko Kojic, Vlastimir Golijan and Zoran Goronja all served with the Serb army's 10^th commando unit and were involved in the genocide of Bosnian Muslims, who were massacred in scores of thousands.

5 solar years ago, on this day in 2014 AD, at the International Congress of mathematicians in South Korea, Iranian mathematician Prof. Maryam Mirzakhani of Stanford University, US, became the first woman to be awarded the Fields Medal for her work in understanding the mathematical symmetry of curved surfaces and saddle-shaped spaces. Mirzakhani died on July 14 this year at the age of 42 following a breast-cancer surgery in the US, which did not allow her to go to Iran despite her longing to return to her homeland.

AS/SS