Today is Friday; 29th of the Iranian month of Azar 1398 solar hijri; corresponding to 23th of the Islamic month of Rabi as-Sani 1441 lunar hijri; and December 20, 2019, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1377 solar years ago, on this day in 642 AD, Muslims decisively defeated forces of the 29^th and last Sassanid monarch of the Persian Empire, Yazdegerd III, near the western Iranian city of Nahavand, in the crucial battle called “Fath al-Fotouh” (Victory of Victories), since it ended the 416-year Sassanid rule over what is now Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, the Caucasus (Georgia, Armenia, Chechen and Daghestan), and parts of Central Asia and modern Turkey. According to the early Iranian Muslim historian, Abu Ja’far at-Tabari, Firouzan, who led the Persian army of 50,000 demoralized soldiers, was outmaneuvered by a force of 30,000 Arab Muslims. Yazdegerd fled to Khorasan where the people did not welcome him and after his failure to raise an army, he was murdered in 651 by a miller in Marv (presently in Turkmenistan). In addition to the firm faith of Muslims, what led to the defeat of Yazdegerd was the fact that the Iranians, who were fed up with the tyranny and corruption of Sassanid kings and the irrationality of Zoroastrian tenets, enthusiastically accepted the truth of Islam, given its egalitarian values of monotheism, justice, fraternity, and equality. Soon Iranian Muslims turned into flag-bearers for spread of the divine religion of Islam, its ethereal teachings, and its scientific and cultural endeavours.

1152 lunar years ago, on this day in 289 AH, Mu’tazid-Billah, the 16th self-styled caliph of the usurper Abbasid regime died at the age of 46 after a 10-year reign, during which he reversed the anti-Islamic policies of his uncle and predecessor, Mu’tamed, the murderer of Imam Hasan al-Askari (AS), the 11th Infallible Heir of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). Son of the regent Muwaffaq, he showed respect for the Prophet’s progeny and ordered the public cursing of the Omayyad caliphs (especially Mu’awiyya ibn Abu Sufyan and Yazid), and the disclosure of their anti-Islamic acts and misdeeds, from pulpits during the Friday Prayers. He also suppressed the Kharijites (renegades) for their acts of terrorism against Muslims, and was very harsh with them and other rebels; while sending presents and large sums of money to the semi-independent Alawid ruler of Tabaristan on the Caspian Sea coast of Iran because of his being a venerable descendent of the Prophet. The Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali (AS), in his prophecies had foretold about Mu’tazid.

1020 lunar years ago, on this day in 421 AH, following the death of Mahmoud Ghaznavi, the Turkic Sultan who had created an extensive empire encompassing the eastern half of Iran, most of Central Asia, and the northwestern parts of the Subcontinent; power dispute flared up among his twin sons, Mohammad and Mas’oud. Mohammad ascended the throne as per the will of his father, but when he refused his brother’s request for three of the provinces Mas’oud had won by his sword, civil war erupted. Mas’oud seized power, blinded Mohammad and imprisoned him, but was unable to preserve the empire following a disastrous defeat at the Battle of Dandanaqan by the Seljuq Turks who seized Central Asia and Iran. His last act was to collect treasures from all his forts in the hope of assembling an army to rule from India but his own forces plundered the wealth, forcing him to proclaim his blind brother as king again after ten years. The position of the two brothers was reversed; Mohammad from a prison was raised to the throne and Mas’oud from a throne was consigned to a dungeon where he was assassinated. Soon his son, Mawdoud, rebelled against his blind uncle defeated his sons at the Battle of Nangarhar, and seized the throne of Ghazna.

497 solar years ago, on this day in 1522 AD, the island of Rhodes in the Aegean Sea surrendered to the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman after a siege of several months, and the surviving Knights Hospitalers were allowed to leave. They eventually settled on Malta and became known as the Knights of Malta. The Turks found and released thousands of Muslim prisoners on Rhodes who were enslaved and forced to work in the building and defence of the almost impregnable fortress.

297 solar years ago, on this day in 1722 AD, Kangxi, the fourth emperor of the Qing dynasty of China, died at the age of 68. His 61-year reign makes him the longest-reigning emperor in Chinese history and one of the world’s longest-reigning rulers. However, since he ascended the throne at the age of seven, actual power was held for six years by four regents and his grandmother, Grand Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang. Kangxi is considered one of China's greatest emperors. He suppressed the Revolt of the Three Feudatories, forced the Kingdom of Tungning in Taiwan to submit, blocked Tsarist Russia on the Amur River and expanded the empire in the northwest. He also accomplished such literary feats as the compilation of the Kangxi Dictionary. His reign brought about long-term stability and relative wealth after years of war and chaos. By the end of his reign, the Qing Empire controlled all of China proper, Taiwan, Manchuria, part of the Russian Far East (Outer Manchuria), both Inner and Outer Mongolia, and Tibet proper.

216 solar years ago, on this day in 1803 AD, the Louisiana Purchase was completed as the vast territory, acquired by the French from the Spanish just 20 days ago, was formally transferred from France to the United States during ceremonies in New Orleans. This effectively doubled the size of the existing US.

196 lunar years ago, on this day in 1245 AH, the Iranian religious scholar and poet, Allamah Ahmad Naraqi, passed away at the age of 60 in Kashan and his body was taken holy Najaf in Iraq for burial besides his father, the famous Mullah Mahdi Naraqi, in the sacred mausoleum of the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS). He studied under his father in the city of Kashan, before leaving for Iraq for higher studies at the seminary of holy Najaf where he reached the status of Ijtehad. His teachers included Seyyed Mahdi Bahr al-Uloum and Sheikh Ja’far Kashef al-Gheta. Among his students mention could be made of Ayatollah Sheikh Murtaza Ansari Dezfuli, Aqa Mohammad Baqer Hezar Jaribi, and his own brother, Mahdi, known as Aqa Buzurg Naraqi. On his father’s death in Najaf, he returned to Iran and took over administrative affairs of the Kashan Seminary. He was an authority on jurisprudence, hadith, theology, Ilm-ar-Rijal or analytical biography of scholars and narrators, mathematics, astronomy, philosophy, Arabic literature and poetry, as well as Persian literature and poetry. He was fluent in Arabic, Hebrew and Latin and his knowledge about different sciences is evident in his various books. One of his books titled “Sayf al-Ummah wa Burhan al-Millah”, which was written to answer questions raised by British pastor Henry Martin shows his knowledge of Christianity and his mastery in answering deviated thoughts. Among his other works mention could be made of “Me’raj as-Sa’adah”, and “al-Asrar al-Hajj”.  He lived during the weak rule of Fath Ali Shah Qajar, when the Russians occupied large parts of Iran’s Caucasus and treated the local Muslims in the worst possible way. Mullah Ahmad Naraqi, along with other aware and politically conscious ulema helped influence the declaration of war by Iran against Russian forces and eventually at the end of Muharram 1242 AH (corresponding to 1826 AD), some of the areas occupied by Russia as per the dubious Gulistan Treaty, were liberated by Iran.

99 solar years ago, on this day in 1920 AD, the jurisprudent and Source of Emulation, Mullah Fathollah bin Mohammad Namazi Gharavi, known as Shaikh osh-Shari’ah Isfahani, passed away at the age of 71 in Najaf, Iraq, and was laid to rest in the courtyard of the holy shrine of the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS). Born in Isfahan in a family of scholars from Shiraz, after initial studies he enrolled at the seminary of holy Mashhad, where his teachers included Mullah Haidar Ali Isfahani, Mullah Abdul-Jawad Khorasani Modarris Kabir, and Mullah Ahmad Sabzevari. Here he established himself as a budding scholar with dynamic views. At the age of 30, he went to Iraq for higher studies at the famous seminary of holy Najaf, where his teachers were Mirza Habibollah Rashti and Shaikh Mohammad Hussain Faqih Kazemi. He soon became an authority on different branches of Islamic sciences, and the Marja’ or Source of Emulation. He wrote several books and groomed many scholars, such as Seyyed Abdul-Hadi Shirazi, Shaikh Mohammad Hassan al-Muzaffar an-Najafi, Aqa Bozorg Tehrani, and Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Hussain Tabataba'i Boroujerdi. Sheikh osh-Shari’ah Isfahani was also politically active against the colonialists, issuing fatwas on Italy’s aggression on Libya, the Russian attack on Khorasan and shelling of the holy shrine of Imam Reza (AS) in Mashhad, the invasion of the Ottoman state by the allied European powers during World War 1, and the landing of British troops in Basra and their occupation of Iraq. Along with Ayatollah Mirza Mohammad Taqi Shirazi, he led the uprising of the Iraqi people against the British, and besides supervising the affairs he was the link between the chiefs of the nomads involved in the war. He rejected any political, military, economic and cultural domination of Islamic lands by the colonialists. 

84 solar years ago, on this day in 1935 AD, the Muslim revolutionary, Sheikh Mohammad Izz od-Din al-Qassaam, attained martyrdom near Haifa in Palestine at the age of 53. Born in Jableh in the Latakia Governorate of the Ottoman Province of Syria, he was a follower of the Qaderi Sufi order. After studying at Egypt’s al-Azhar Academy he returned home to become prayer leader and teacher at a mosque. After Italy's seizure of Libya from the Turks in 1911, he recruited dozens of volunteers, but Turkish officials prevented him from going to Libya. He joined the Ottoman army when World War I broke out, and served as a chaplain. After the war, he organized a local defense force to fight the French occupation of Syria, but internecine fighting forced him to take refuge in the mountains to plan guerrilla warfare. He was a key figure in the 1921 Syrian uprising against the French when Faisal, a son of the British agent, Sharif Hussain, was brought from Hejaz and installed king in Damascus. Al-Qassaam was sentenced to death after the failure of the revolt. When the French occupiers besieged the city, he fled via Beirut to Haifa in British occupied Palestine. Already in his forties, he concentrated his activities on mobilizing Islamic resistance against the colonialists. His followers were mainly the landless farmers drifting in to Haifa from Upper Galilee, where land purchases by the illegal Zionist migrants from Europe was creating a crisis. He joined the Istiqlal or Independence Party and in 1929 was appointed the marriage registrar in Mufti Amin al-Hussaini's Supreme Muslim Council Sharia Court in Haifa, a role that allowed him to tour the northern villages, whose inhabitants he encouraged to set up agricultural cooperatives. In 1930 he established ‘Black Hand’, a combatant organization for fighting the British occupiers as well as the illegal Zionist migrants. He arranged military training for peasants and by 1935 had enlisted nearly 800 men. In November 1935, fearing arrest after a British constable was killed in a skirmish with some of his followers he fled with his men to the hills between Jenin and Nablus. The British cornered al-Qassaam in a cave near Ya'bad, and in the ensuing battle he was martyred. The manner of his last stand assumed legendary proportions in Palestinian and other Arab circles as the symbol of resistance. The al-Qassaam Brigades of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance were named after him for the struggle to liberate their homeland from the Zionist usurpers.

68 solar years ago, on this day in 1951 AD, Oman gained independence from British rule. Oman used to be a part of various Persian Empires, both before and after the advent of Islam. In the 16th century it was occupied by the Portuguese, who were expelled in 1622 by a joint Iranian-British army. Iran also briefly ruled Oman from 1737 to 1749, when power was seized by the Aal-e Sa’eed Tribe of the Abadhi sect of the Khwarej. As of late 19th century, Britain colonized Oman and in 1904 declared it as its protectorate. Oman, with its capital of Muscat, covers an area of over 212000 sq km. It lies on the southern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, sharing borders with Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and the UAE. It is separated from Iran by the Hormuz Strait.

62 solar years ago, on this day in 1957 AD, the acclaimed Iranian musician, Abu’l-Hassan Saba, passed away. He was also highly interested in painting, literature, and flowers, in addition to being an expert on traditional Iranian music. He wrote books on Iranian musical instruments and their history.

51 solar years ago, on this day in 1968 AD, US novelist, John Steinbeck, died at the age of 66. The bitter incidents of his life cover his novels, which depict the hardships of the underprivileged strata of US society. His famous novel is “Grapes of Wrath”.

36 solar years ago, on this day in 1983 AD, Donald Rumsfeld, who was later to acquire lasting notoriety as US War minister, and was one of the architects of the American invasion and occupation of Iraq, visited Saddam in Baghdad to prepare the ground for supply of satellite photos of Iranian troop deployments on the fronts of the imposed war, and finalize shipment of a variety of US war materials.

20 solar years ago, on this day in 1999 AD, Macao reverted to Chinese control after over four centuries of occupation by Portugal, which had rented it in 1557 from the Ming Dynasty of China, and went on to occupy it in 1887. Macau lies on the western side of the Pearl River Delta across from Hong Kong, which is about 64 kilometers to the east, and it is also bordered by Guangdong of Mainland China to the north and the South China Sea to the east and south. Although only 650,000 live there, it has a population density of 20,497 persons per square kilometer, making it one of the most populated places in the world. Macau is one of the world's richest cities, and as of 2013 its GDP per capita by purchasing power parity is higher than that of any country.

15 solar years ago, on this day in 2004 AD, remnants of Iraq’s repressive Ba’th minority regime, in alliance with US occupation forces, carried out car bomb blasts in the  holy cities of Najaf and Karbala, resulting in the martyrdom of 67 people and wounding more than 120.

8 solar years ago, on this day in 2011 AD, five Iranian engineers working on an electricity power plant in Jandar, close to the city of Homs, Syria, were abducted by Takfiri terrorists backed by Saudi regime, the US and Israel. Two others working for Iran Power Plant Projects Management Company (MAPNA) were taken when they went to investigate their colleagues' disappearance. Through Iran’s intense diplomatic efforts, especially with Turkey, the Iranian hostages were released and returned home after months of captivity.

AS/SS