Today is Tuesday; 26th of the Iranian month of Azar 1398 solar hijri; corresponding to 20th of the Islamic month of Rabi as-Sani 1441 lunar hijri; and December 17, 2019, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1111 solar years ago, on this day in 908 AD, Abdullah ibn Mu'taz, who ruled for only a single day and a night as caliph of the usurper Abbasid regime, was killed at the age of 47. He was installed by a faction of the powerful Turkic slave guards following the death of al-Muktafi, the 17th self-styled Abbasid caliph, and then deposed the next day by the vizier. He went into hiding, was found, and strangled to death by a servant of his relative, the 13-year old al-Muqtadir, who was now installed as caliph. Abdullah lived a hedonistic life, writing poetry devoted to pleasures of the immoral life he led – as is evident in his work “Kitab al-Badi”.    . He was a son of Mu'taz, the 13th self-styled caliph, who during his brief 3-year reign – before being deposed, brutally beaten and murdered by the Turkic guards – martyred Imam Ali an-Naqi (AS), the 10th Infallible Heir of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). Like the rest of the clan, Abdullah ibn Mu'taz was also notorious for his enmity towards the Prophet's blessed Ahl al-Bayt. He wrote an ode in praise of what he viewed as merits of the tyrannical and immoral Abbasids over the rest of the Bani Hashem. These superficial verses on the forged merits of the Abbasid usurpers was given a fitting answer in a brilliant piece of versified eulogy by the poet and scholar Ali ibn Mohammad at-Tannoukhi, who points to the God-endowed merits of the Ahl al-Bayt, whose virtues are praised in the holy Qur'an and Hadith.

1111 solar years ago, on this day in 908 AD, al-Abbas ibn al-Ḥassan al-Jarjara’i, a senior official and vizier of the Abbasid regime from October 904 was murdered during an abortive palace revolt by the rival faction led by the Jarrahids – converts from Christianity – intending to install the hedonistic Abdullah ibn Mu’taz, who was killed in less than 24-hours as caliph. As his surname shows, Abbas came from Jarjaraya, south of Baghdad, a locality that produced several viziers for the Abbasids of Baghdad as well as for the Fatemid Ismaili Shi’a caliphs of Egypt. Appointed by Caliph al-Muktafi as vizier, Abbas’s tenure of office was marked by a close alliance with the Banu al-Furat, whose leader Abu’l-Hassan Ali and who formed almost a Twelver Shi’a ‘secret politico-religious party’ within the heart of the caliphate, became his chief aide and designated successor. When al-Muktafi died in 908, it fell on Abbas and the senior bureaucrats to decide on his successor. In the end, Abbas heeded the advice of Abu’l-Hassan Ali, who counselled the selection of a weak person who would be easy to manipulate: al-Muktafi's 13-year-old brother Ja’far, who was installed as al-Muqtadir and ruled till 932.

736 solar years ago, on this day in 1273 AD, the famous Persian poet and mystic, Jalal od-Din Mohammad Balkhi Rumi, passed away at the age of 67 in Konya in what is now Turkey. Born to Iranian parents in Wakhsh, a town located on the river of the same name in Balkh, Khorasan (Wakhsh is now in Tajikistan while Balkh is in Afghanistan), the most important influences upon him, besides his scholarly father Baha od-Din Walad who was connected to the spiritual lineage of Najm od-Din Kubra, were the Persian poets Attar Naishapuri and Sana’i Ghaznavi. He was hardly ten years when the family had to flee Khorasan towards Iraq because of the barbaric Mongol invasion. After a sojourn in Baghdad and travel to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, followed by a brief stay in Damascus, he settled in Konya in Anatolia which was under the Persianate Seljuq Sultanate of Rum – hence his title Rumi. He produced his magnum opus the “Mathnawi” here, where his shrine has become a place of pilgrimage for Sufis. Known also as “Mowlavi” and “Mowlana”, his poems have been translated into many of the world's languages including English. His “Mathnawi” remains one of the literary glories of the Persian language. In addition to Persian literature, his poetry has influenced Urdu, Punjabi, Turkish, Pashto, Bengali, Chaghatai, and Sindhi languages. In his poems he has lauded the unsurpassed merits of Imam Ali (AS), the divinely-decreed vicegerent of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA).

621 solar years ago, on this day in 1398 AD, Sultan Naseer ud-Din Mahmoud Tughlaq's armies were defeated near Delhi by the fearsome Turkic conqueror Amir Timur, whose campaigns were marked by systematic slaughter and other atrocities on a massive scale as was the case in all the lands he conquered, including Iran. He crossed the Indus River at Attock (now in Pakistan) on 24 September 1398, and after defeating the Jats, the Ahirs, and the governor of Meerut, resolved to capture Delhi. Sultan Mahmoud's army had war elephants, armoured with chain mail and poison on their tusks. Timur loaded his camels with as much wood and hay as they could carry. When the war elephants charged, he set the hay on fire and prodded the camels with iron sticks, causing them to charge at the elephants howling in pain. The elephants faced with the strange spectacle of camels flying straight at them with flames leaping from their backs, panicked, turned around and stampeded toward their own lines. Timur capitalized on the disruption in the Indian Muslim army and secured an easy victory. Delhi, one of the richest cities at the time, was sacked and left in ruins, while artisans and scholars were carried off to Samarqand.

463 solar years ago, on this day in 1556 AD, the Moghal statesman and literary figure, Abdur-Rahim Khan-e Khanaan was born in Lahore to the famous Baharlu Turkman general, Bairam Khan, who had accompanied Emperor Humayun during his exile in Iran. His mother was the daughter of the Rajput Muslim chieftain, Jamal Khan of Mewat. Abdur-Rahim, following his father’s assassination, was raised at the court of Emperor Jalal od-Din Akbar, and became an accomplished scholar of Persian, Arabic, Turkic and Sanskrit languages. He translated Emperor Babar's memoirs “Tuzuk Babari” from Chaghatai to Persian as “Babarnamah”. He wrote books in Sanskrit on astrology, and named them “Kheta Kautukama” and “Dwawishd Yogavali”. He is famous today for his Hindi couplets known as “Dohe”.

374 solar years ago, on this day in 1645 AD, the celebrated Moghal Empress Noor Jahan died in Lahore at the age of 68. Born in Qandahar to Iranian nobleman, Mirza Ghiyas Beg Tehrani, who rose to prominence as E’temad od-Dowla in the court of Emperor Jalal od-Din Akbar in Agra, she was named Mehr un-Nisa at birth. A lady of outstanding beauty, she was married to migrant Iranian nobleman Ali Qoli Khan Istajlu titled Sher-Afgan (Lion-Thrower), who was in the service of the Safavid Emperor, Shah Ismail II (the Apostate), and on whose death had come to the Moghal court in India. On the murder of her husband in Bengal, she returned to the court and later became the consort of Emperor Jahangir. She was the power behind the throne, and a great patron of poetry, art, architecture, culture and social etiquette.

307 lunar years ago, on this day in 1134 AH, the Iranian poet and literary figure, Lotf-Ali Bayk Azar Bigdeli, was born in Isfahan. For a while he lived in Qom and Shiraz, and upon returning from the Hajj Pilgrimage, resided in his hometown, Isfahan. Despite famine and insecurity in the wake of internal wars plaguing Iran, he continued his studies under ulema and poets. An eloquent speaker well-versed in poetry, he compiled a large number of works, including a divan of poems, and “Atashkada-e Azar”, which is an anthology of contemporary and past poets.

249 solar years ago, on this day in 1770 AD, the famous German composer and musician, Ludwig van Beethoven, was baptized in his hometown Bonn. Grandson of his namesake, who was also a musician, he learned music, initially from his father Johann and then under prominent musicians of his era, such as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, Beethoven was hard of hearing and went deaf as of the age of 49. He composed nine symphonies; all of which are the most famous classical music symphonies. His 5th Symphony, because of its epical spirit, holds a special status among his works. He died at the age of 57.

241 solar years ago, on this day in 1778 AD, English chemist and physicist, Humphrey Davy, was born. His research led him to separate sodium, potassium, calcium, barium, and magnesium from other elements, and this was considered a major achievement in Europe, although Islamic scientists had already accomplished it a thousand years earlier. He founded the science of electrochemistry. He died in 1829.

229 solar years ago, on this day in 1790 AD, Mexico's greatest Aztec relic, a calendar stone was discovered in what is now Mexico City. The 24-ton "Sun Stone" bears carved astronomical symbols. Based on movements of the stars, it reflects the Aztecs' knowledge of astronomy and mathematics. Used to predict the seasons and natural events, it also regulated economic and social activities as well as religious ceremonies. Its making took 52 years (from 1427-to-1479), and it is 103 years older than the Christian Gregorian calendar. The Spanish invaders, who destroyed the Aztec civilization and forcibly Christianized the people, buried this colossal monument at the site of the Metropolitan Cathedral that stands today in the main plaza of Mexico City. This heritage of mankind was lost for 250 years, until it was accidentally uncovered during repair work at the Cathedral. The Aztecs and the Incas were culturally advanced societies that were wiped out by the Spanish invaders.

212 solar years ago, on this day in 1807 AD, French Emperor, Napoleon Bonaparte, issued the Milan Decree to enforce the Berlin Decree of 1806 which had initiated the Continental System for defeating the British by waging economic warfare by calling on European states to sever commercial ties with Britain. The decree authorized French warships and privateers to capture even neutral ships sailing from any British port or from any country that was occupied by British forces. This was in response to the measures adopted by London on November 11 that British cruisers have the right to search, detain, and subject to an arbitrary tax the ships of countries allied to France.

189 solar years ago, on this day in 1830 AD, the famous South American revolutionary, Simon Bolivar, died at the age of 47 in Colombia, where after initial burial his remains were transferred to his hometown Caracas in Venezuela. He played the key role in Hispanic America's successful struggle for independence from the Spanish colonial empire, and is today considered one of the most influential politicians in the history of the Americas. He led Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia to independence, and helped lay the foundations for democratic ideology in much of Latin America. Bolivar participated in the foundation of the first union of independent nations in Hispanic-America, a republic, which was named Gran Colombia, of which he was president from 1819 to 1830, and which included present day Colombia, Venezuela, Panama and Ecuador. Bolivar, who had become a member of the secretive Zionist outfit "Freemason" while studying in Europe in his youth, dreamt of unity of South America within a federation but failed to fulfill his goal. The country “Bolivia” is named in his honour.

116 solar years ago, on this day in 1903 AD, the first airplane after several experiments finally took off successfully and flew for almost a minute. Made by the Wright Brothers – Wilbur and Orville – it was tested in the US State of North Carolina. The history of aviation is as old as Man’s quest to fly since antiquity. The earliest known record is of Yuan Huangtou, a Chinese prince, who was briefly airborne by tying himself to a kite. In the heyday of Islamic science and civilization, there are records pertaining to the Spanish Muslim polymath, Abbas ibn Firnas, who flew from Jabal al-Arus Hill by employing a rudimentary glider in the 9th century AD – a thousand years before the airplane was invented

100 solar years ago, on this day in 1919 AD, Albert Porta a seismographer and meteorologist claimed that a conjunction of six planets on this date would spell the end of the world as a result of a magnetic current which would pierce the sun and engulf the earth in flames. As the date approached suicides and hysteria were reported in the western world. It all turned out to be a hoax, since no one can predict the future, which is known only to God the Creator.

60 lunar years ago, on this day in 1381 AH, Ayatollah Sheikh Hashim Mudarris Qazvini passed away. Born in Qazvin, after completing his religious studies in his hometown, he joined the Islamic seminary at Isfahan for higher studies, before moving six years later to holy Mashhad, where he taught for forty years. Among his students was the future Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.

36 lunar years ago, on this day in 1405 AH, Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Ahmad Khwansari passed away at the age of 96 in Tehran and was laid to rest in the holy shrine of Hazrat Fatema al-Ma’soumah (SA) in Qom. His lineage goes back by 30 ancestors to Imam Musa Kazem (AS), the 7th Infallible Heir of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). His father Mirza Yusuf and his grandfather Mirza Baba were both religious scholars. His initial teachers were his elder brother Seyyed Mohammad Hassan and his sister's husband, Seyyed Ali Akbar Bidihindi. At the age of 16 he travelled to Iraq for higher studies at the seminary of holy Najaf, where his teachers included Akhond Khorasani, Sheikh ash-Shari’ah Isfahani, Mirza Mohammad Hussain Na'ini, Ziya od-Din Iraqi, Seyyed Mohammad Kazem Tabataba'i al-Yazdi, and Sheikh Abdul-Kareem Ha'iri Yazdi. On his return to Iran, he taught theology, Islamic philosophy, and jurisprudence at the seminary of holy Qom. For a while, he was sent by Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Hussain Boroujerdi to Tehran, where beside his religious activities, he joined the ulema in the struggle against the despotic rule of the British-installed and US-backed Pahlavi regime. His students included the philosopher, Ayatollah Martyr Morteza Motahhari. He wrote several books, the most important of which is “Jame’ al-Madarek” in Arabic in the field of jurisprudence in 14 volumes that took some three decades to complete, and is a commentary on “al-Mukhtasar an-Nafe’” of Muhaqqiq Hilli.

28 solar years ago, on this day in 1991 AD, the body of the martyred Iranian Oil Minister Mohammad Javad Tondgoyan was returned to Iran by the Ba’th minority regime of Baghdad, which had captured him at the oil installations in Khuzestan in the initial days of the 8-year war imposed on the Islamic Republic by Saddam on the orders of the US. Baghdad continued to deny any information about him to the International Red Cross but subjected him all the time to imprisonment and torture against the clauses of the Geneva Convention.

27 solar years ago, on this day in 1992 AD, the illegal Zionist entity banished 415 members and leaders of the Islamic Jihad Movement and the Palestine Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, to the border areas of southern Lebanon, where the exiles had to endure cold and shortage of food and medicine. These inhuman measures angered Muslims worldwide, forcing the UN Security Council to issue Resolution 977 castigating the Zionist entity and calling for return home of the Palestinian exiles. Israel relented and allowed the 415 exiles to return home, since it was alarmed to see the Palestinians developing crucial ties with the Lebanese people, especially after coming into contact with members of the legendry anti-terrorist movement, the Hezbollah, a factor that strengthened the revolutionary spirit and steadfastness of Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

16 solar years ago, on this day in 2003 AD, in a blatant act of Islamophobia and encroachment on the right of women to protect their dignity in public, French President Jacques Chirac announced his decision to pass a law banning Islamic headscarves in public schools. This lawless attitude of France and other European regimes towards Islam and women’s freedom shocked the civilized world and has led to wide scale protests.

9 solar years ago, on this day in 2010 AD, the alleged self-immolation of a Tunisian youth, Tareq Tayyeb Mohammad bin Bu Azizi, sparked the liberation movement against the US-supported dictatorial rule of Zain al-Abedin bin Ali, who finally fled the country and sought asylum in Saudi Arabia. The uprising soon spread to Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Bahrain, Jordan, Morocco, and Saudi Arabia. Bu Azizi was an educated 26-year old vendor, who in protest to the humiliating seizure of his goods by a municipality officer allegedly set himself on fire in front of the municipality premises. With the release of this report, tens of thousands of Tunisians gathered next to the Labour Ministry protesting the high unemployment rate and dire economic conditions.

AS/SS