Today is Friday; 1st of the Iranian month of Shahrivar 1398 solar hijri; corresponding to 21th of the Islamic month of Zil-Hijjah 1440 lunar hijri; and August 23, 2019, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

2039 solar years ago, on this day in 20 BC, Emperor Augustus Caesar, who transformed the Roman Republic into an empire, held grand celebrations in Rome with games and feasts within the temple precinct of Vulcan, to mark the treaty with Emperor Farhad IV (Phrates IV) of Iran’s Parthian Empire, which returned after 33 years the legionary Eagle Standards captured by the Iranians in the Battle of Carrhae (presently in Turkey) – one of the most crushing defeats in Roman history. Augustus, who as a ten-year boy during the dictatorship of his grand uncle Julius Caesar, had memories of this decisive defeat inflicted on the Romans by the famous Iranian general, Surena, was also aware of the disastrous defeats suffered by Mark Antony in 34 BC when he tried to confront the Iranians in Levant and Anatolia. The treaty ensured peace in what are now Palestine, Syria, and Turkey.

1385 solar years ago, on this day in 634 AD, Abu Bakr, who assumed the caliphate (political rule of the Islamic state), following the passing away of the Almighty's Last Messenger, Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), died after a rule of 2 years, three months and 22 days. Son of Osman ibn Amer of the Tamimi clan of the Qureish, he is said to have given up idolatry and become a Muslim in the early days of the Prophet's proclamation of the divine mission, well after the initial private invitation to the near relatives. He found himself propelled to the caliphate at the dubious gathering of Saqifa Bani Sa'dah, where following a heated dispute and a fistfight among the Mohajer (migrants from Mecca) and Ansar (helpers from Medina) as to who should be the caliph, his friend Omar ibn Khattab suddenly pulled his hand and proclaimed him caliph. This action created the greatest-ever discord amongst Muslims, the scars of which are still evident on the body politic of the Ummah today. Many of the Prophet's companions questioned Abu Bakr's credentials in the absence of any ayah of the holy Qur'an or a statement from the Prophet in his favour. Most of them vividly recalled that only two months and ten days earlier on 18^th Zilhijja, 10 AH, while returning from his Farewell Hajj pilgrimage, the Prophet had halted at Ghadeer-Khom on God's express commandment to proclaim as vicegerent his dear cousin and son-in-law, Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS), regarding whose prime position in Islam and his God-given merits, God's Messenger had always emphasized upon. It is also an undeniable fact of Islamic history, as found in all reliable texts, the Prophet's daughter, Hazrat Fatema Zahra (SA), strongly protested the usurpation of the political right of her husband in an eloquently moving sermon, but sadly she became the target of the wrath of the new regime, which in a bid to force Imam Ali (AS) to swear allegiance to Abu Bakr, stormed her house with fire and crowbars and smashed upon her the door – as a result of which she suffered miscarriage, broken ribs, and eventual martyrdom. In short, before his death, Abu Bakr made a will in favour of his friend, Omar ibn Khattab, as the next caliph, ignoring the protests of many companions of the Prophet, such as Talha ibn Obaidollah.    

872 lunar years ago, on this day in 568 AH, the historian Jamal od-Din Abu’l-Hassan Ali ibn Yousuf ash-Shaybani, known popularly as Ibn Qifti, was born in the small Egyptian village of Qift. He studied in Cairo, and moved to Bayt al-Moqaddas and later to Aleppo in Syria, where he compiled most of his works. Some 26 of his works are known by their titles, of which only two survive. The first one is “Tarikh al-Hukama” (The History of Learned Men), which contains biographies of 414 physicians, philosophers and astronomers. The second extant work is a biography of about a thousand Muslim scholars. His lost works dealt mostly with historiography, including the “History of Cairo”; “History of the Seljuqs of Iran, Iraq, Syria & Anatolia”; “History of the Mirdasids of Syria”; “History of the Buwayhids of Iraq-Iran”; “History of Sultan Mahmoud Ghaznawi”, and separate histories of the Maghreb, and of Yemen.

775 solar years ago, on this day in 1244, Bayt al-Moqaddas (Jerusalem), was besieged and liberated once again by the Muslims shortly after King Frederick II had taken its control without a fight during the 6^th Crusade, along with Bethlehem, Nazareth and several other towns, as per a treaty with the Ayyubid Sultan al-Kamel. Soon, the Ayyubid ruler invited the Khwarazmian clan to liberate it.

642 lunar years ago, on this day in 798 AH, the Ottoman army led by Sultan Bayezid I “Yildrim” (Thunderbolt), inflicted a crushing defeat on an alliance of Christian powers led by Hungary’s King Sigmund I with as many as 130,000 of Europe 's best trained soldiers. In the Battle of Nicopolis, near River Danube, the European army lost 100,000 soldiers, while 20,000 Christian troops fled the battlefield leaving behind as captives about ten thousand of their co-religionists, many of whom became Muslim.

637 solar years ago, on this day in 1382 AD, the Mongol Muslim ruler, Tokhtamysh Khan of the Golden Horde laid siege to Moscow, the capital of the Grand Russian Duchy in order to avenge the defeat of the Mongols at the Battle of Kulikovo in 1380. The fall of Moscow three days later resulted in the death of 24,000 Russian soldiers. A descendant of Orda Khan and an ally of Amir Timur (the famous Central Asian Turkic Conqueror), Tokhtamysh had assumed power in the White Horde in 1378, and then annexed the Blue Horde to form the Golden Horde, which soon annihilated an army sent by Muscovy. After defeating Lithuania, in 1383 Tokhtamysh thirsted for territorial ambitions in the Caucasus, Iran and Central Asia, by turning against his ally, Timur, who resolved to punish him. The war between the two dragged on for 16 years and led to a series of defeats for Tokhtamysh, who was pursued and killed in Tyumen, Siberia, in 1406.

505 solar years ago, on this day in 1514 AD, the decisive Battle of Chaldiran was fought between Shah Ismail Safavi I of Iran and Sultan Salim I of the Ottoman Empire in the plain of the same name between the two northwestern Iranian cities of Tabriz and Khoy. The Safavids, while on the verge of victory against the Ottomans, who were all prepared to flee the battlefield in the face of cavalry charges, faltered at the last moment when confronted by canons, which enabled the Turks to defeat the Iranians. The Ottomans briefly occupied Tabriz, but retreated on news of regrouping of the Safavids for the counterattack. Another factor that influenced the outcome of the battle was the calm on the subdued European front of the Ottoman Empire in the west, in contrast to the invasion of Iran's northeastern frontier in Khorasan by the Uzbeks that forced the Safavids to divide their forces to confront the threat at the other end of the empire. Chaldiran was the first battle between the two empires which intermittently fought each other for over 250 years for control of the Caucasus, parts of Anatolia and Iraq. It is considered one of the decisive battles and if the Iranians had won it they would have easily gained control of Anatolia and Syria where the Safavid Sufi order had large number of adherents amongst the Turkic speakers. In fact, it was this popularity of the Safavids in what is now Turkey that made a frightened Sultan Salim ruthlessly persecute and kill the followers of the Prophet's Ahl al-Bayt – as many as 70,000. Two years later in 1516, despite his treaty with the Mamluk Dynasty, Selim deceptively attacked Syria and occupied Egypt in 1517, as pre-emptive measures to prevent any tilt towards the Safavids, especially after Shah Ismail sent a delegation to the Republic of Venice through Syrian ports on the Mediterranean Sea.

424 solar years ago, on this day in 1595 AD, during the Long War (1591–1606), Wallachian Prince Michael the Brave after some resistance against the Ottoman army of Sinan Pasha in the Battle of Calugareni retreated northward. The advancing Turkish Muslims captured the Romanian capital, Bucharest, and the next important city of Targoviste as well as Stoienesti.

405 solar years ago, on this day in 1614 AD, during the Fettmilch Uprising, Jews were expelled from Frankfurt in what was then the Holy Roman Empire, following the plundering of the Judengasse, because of the heavy interest rates charged by the Jews as well as their slandering of the fundamentals of Christianity, such as the insulting of Prophet Jesus and his virgin mother, Mary (peace upon them).

257 solar years ago, on this day in 1762 AD, the poet Andrea Chenier was born. During the struggles of French revolutionaries he was executed in 1794 on the charge of opposition to the suppressive policies of the radical figure, Robespierre.

228 lunar years ago, on this day in 1212 AH, the 2^nd Qajarid king of Iran, Fath-Ali Shah, assumed power following the death of his childless uncle, Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar. During his 37-year misrule, Iran lost extensive territories in the Caucasus to the Russians, in Khorasan to the Afghans, and in Baluchestan to the British. Bahrain in the Persian Gulf was seized by pirates, who set up the Aal-e Khalifa minority regime on this island. The pleasure-loving Fath Ali Shah did not even provide military aid to his energetic son, Crown Prince Abbas Mirza, who after retaking from the Russians what is now known as the Republic of Azerbaijan, was badly defeated and forced to concede more parts of Iran.

198 solar years ago, on this day in 1821 AD, after 11 years of war, Spain granted Mexico independence as a constitutional monarchy. Soon an expansionist US seized large parts of Mexico, which today form most of the southern states, such as Texas, California, etc.

186 solar years ago, on this day in 1833 AD, the British Parliament passed a law abolishing slavery in its colonies by Aug 1, 1834. This would free some 700,000 enslaved black Africans, including those in the West Indies. The Emancipation Act also allowed blacks to enjoy greater equality under the law in Canada as opposed to the US. Some 46,000 white people were paid a total of 20 million pounds in compensation for freeing their slaves.

180 solar years ago, on this day in 1839 AD, Britain seized Hong Kong Island from China as it prepared for war with the Qing Empire. The ensuing 3-year conflict would be known as the First Opium War. British occupation of Hong Kong ended on 30 June 1997. China assumed control declaring it a special administrative region with autonomy under the principle of one country two systems.

90 solar years ago, on this day in 1929 AD, Palestinians, both Muslims and Christians, rose against the illegal Jewish migrants of Europe in the city of al-Khalil in what is now the West Bank of River Jordan. The British occupation authorities were forced to relocate the Zionists, but continued to hurt Arab feelings by bringing from Europe and illegally settling hundreds of thousands of more Jews, until the illegitimate birth of the Zionist entity in 1948.

80 solar years ago, on this day in 1939 AD, a 10-year non-aggression pact was concluded between Adolf Hitler of Nazi Germany and Joseph Stalin of the Soviet Union. Less than two years later, Hitler violated the pact by launching his invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941.

77 solar years ago, on this day in 1942 AD, as many as 40,000 German troops lost their life in the gory Battle of Stalingrad – present day Volgograd – following Hitler's massive assault on this Soviet city which fiercely resisted the Nazis. The failure to take Stalingrad marked the turning point in World War 2 and finally led to the defeat of Germany.   

53 solar years ago, on this day in 1966 AD, Lunar Orbiter 1 took the first photograph of Planet Earth from orbit around the Moon.

29 solar years ago, on this day in 1990 AD, prominent Iranian literary figure, Pervez Natel Khanlari, passed away at the age of 75. Son of the Qajarid era nobleman, Mirza Abu’l-Hassan Khan E’tesaam al-Mamalik of Natel near Babol in Mazandaran, he had a good schooling and showed his flair for Persian literature, obtaining a doctorate degree from Tehran University in 1943. He then studied linguistics at Paris University for two years, and on return to Iran began his academic career. He founded a new course at Tehran University, named history of Persian language at Tehran University. Khanlari was founder and editor of the widely-circulated “Sokhan” literary journal from the early 1940s to 1978. In the early 1960s during his brief tenure as Minister of Education, he came up with the novel idea of giving male high school graduates the option of serving as de facto teachers in villages and townships, in lieu of their two-year military service, which led to the formation of the Literacy Corps. The programme covered over 2.2 million children between the ages of 6 and 12 who had not yet attended school, as well as a million adults, but was scrapped due to the opposition of the US embassy and the dreaded SAVAK secret police. In 1964 he founded the Bonyad-e Farhang-e Iran (Iranian Culture Foundation), which after the victory of the Islamic Revolution, was merged, along with other cultural institutions, to form Moʾassasa-ye Motaale’at va Tahqiqaat-e Farhangi (Institute of Cultural Studies and Research). Besides writing books and editing classical Persian works, he translated a number of books into Persian from English, French and Arabic. The 4-volume “Tarikh-e Zabaan-e Farsi” (Persian Language and its History), was his seminal work and the culmination of his systematic investigation in Persian lexicography and the historical development of the Persian language. Among his translations, mention could be made of Abu Ali Ibn Sina’s “Makharej al-Horouf” from Arabic. His critical editions of classic texts include “Samak-e Ayyar” (5 volumes with introduction and notes), and the “Dastanhā-ye Bidpāy”, a Persian version of “Kalila wa Demna” by Mohammad bin Abdullah Bukhari (12th century).

29 solar years ago, on this day in 1990 AD, the Republic of Armenia declared independence on the eve of the disintegration of the Soviet Union. This Caucasus region, called Armenistan in Persian, was an integral part of successive Iranian empires throughout history, and at times was an arena of contest between the Romans and the Sassanids, and later the Safavids and the Ottomans. Russia seized it from Iran in the 19^th century. The majority of people of Armenia are Christian, with a small Muslim minority.

21 solar years ago, on this day in 1998 AD, prominent revolutionary official, Seyyed Asadollah Lajavardi, was martyred by MKO hypocrites, at his shop in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar, at the age of 53. Born in a religious family, he studied theological sciences before working as a draper. From his teens, he was an avowed opponent of the British-stalled and US-backed Pahlavi regime, as a result of which he was arrested several times by SAVAK. Once he was sent to Evin prison for attempting to blow up the office in Tehran of the Israeli airline El Al. After the victory of the Islamic Revolution, he was appointed the chief prosecutor of Tehran. In June 1981, he was given the added post of warden, which he held till 1985, transforming prisons into rehabilitation centres and ideological schools. He inspired inmates to study Islam, realize the errors of their ways, and do penance before returning to society.

19 solar years ago, on this day in 2000 AD, the scholar, Hojjat al-Islam Mirza Hassan Ghaffari, passed away at the age of 74. Born in Tabriz, northwestern Iran, he was a product of the Qom seminary. Following victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, he settled in Tehran and played an active role in promoting religious sciences. He is the author of several books, including “Hadith from the Shi’a Perspective”, and “Scientific Endeavours”.

8 solar years ago, on this day in 2011 AD, Libyan dictator, Mu’ammar Qadhafi, was overthrown after the National Transitional Council forces took control of Bab az-Azizia compound with assistance from NATO airplanes and US backing against the eccentric military colonel whom the West had installed in 1969 and now discarded him after having fully exploited him.

1^st of Shahrivar (of the Iranian calendar): is commemorated in the Islamic Republic of Iran as “Bu Ali Sina Day” and consequently “Physicians Day” in honour of the great Iranian-Islamic polymath Abu Ali Hussain ibn Abdullah Ibn Sina (Avicenna to medieval Europe) who flourished over a millennium ago, and in addition to being a pioneering medic who wrote 40 works on medicine, was a philosopher, mathematician, astronomer, alchemist, physicist, geographer, geologist, psychologist, Islamic theologian, jurist, logician, linguist, poet, and minister of state of the Buwaiyhid Dynasty. His philosophical masterpiece is “ash-Shif’a”, while his medical magnum opus “al-Qanoun fi’t-Tibb” (Canons of Medicine) was taught in European universities till the 18^th century and is still studied in Islamic lands. Born around 980 AD near the ancient Iranian city of Bukhara (currently in the Republic of Uzbekistan), he passed away in 1037 at the age of 58 in Hamadan, western Iran, where his mausoleum stands.

AS/SS