Today is Tuesday; 24th of the Iranian month of Dey 1398 solar hijri; corresponding to 18th of the Islamic month of Jamadi al-Awwal 1441 lunar hijri; and January 14, 2020, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

2103 solar years ago, on this day in 83 BC, Roman general and politician, Marcus Antonius (Mark Antony), was born in Rome. His father and namesake was Marcus Antonius Creticus, son of the noted orator of the same name murdered during the Marian Terror of 87–86 BC. His mother was Julia Antonia, a distant cousin of the dictator Julius Caesar. Antony's early life was characterized by a lack of proper parental guidance – his mother having remarried after his father’s death. He spent his teenage years wandering through Rome with his brothers and friends gambling, drinking, and in love scandals. As an associate of Publius Clodius Pulcher and his street gang, by age twenty Antony had amassed an enormous debt. He escaped his creditors and fled to Greece in 58 BC, where he studied philosophy and rhetoric at Athens. In 57 BC, he joined the military staff of Aulus Gabinius, the Proconsul of Syria, as chief of the cavalry, thus starting his military career. In 55 BC, he was with Gabinius when the latter in support of the ousted Emperor Mithridates III of Iran’s Parthian Empire headed toward Mesopotamia (Iraq) but changed mind midway and turned back, probably on hearing of the reputation of the famous Iranian general Surena sent by the rival Parthian Emperor Orodes II – two years later in 53 BC, Surena would inflict a shattering defeat on the Roman Empire in the famous Battle of Carhhae in what is now Harran in Turkey. Gabinius, on the insistence of Antony, instead marched to Egypt on the orders of the powerful general Pompeii to restore to the throne Ptolemy XII who had been ousted by his daughter Berenice – the elder sister of Cleopatra whom Antony met for the first time in Alexandria as a 14-year old and who later in life would become his lover. Back in Rome, through Clodius he secured a position on Caesar's military staff in 54 BC, and in Gaul (France) demonstrated excellent military leadership. Later Antony and Caesar developed friendly relations which would continue until the latter’s assassination in 44 BC, when he formed with Caesar's grand-nephew and heir, Octavian (later Augustus Caesar), and Marcus Lepidus a triumvirate to defeat the assassins – who were supported by the Parthian Empire of Iran. The three divided the Roman domains amongst themselves, with Antony’s lot being the eastern provinces including Greece, the Levant, and the client kingdom of Ptolemic Egypt, whose promiscuous queen, Cleopatra, the mistress of the assassinated Caesar, he took as his lover – a factor that brought about his downfall and his being branded as a traitor by the Senate in Rome. Without the permission of the Senate, he invaded Iranian possessions in what are now Palestine, Syria, Turkey and Armenia, with an army of about 100,000 Roman and allied troops that were financed by Cleopatra. Although after capturing Jerusalem and surrounding areas in 37 BC, he installed Herod as puppet king of Judaea, replacing the Parthian appointee Antigonus, the campaign proved a disaster. After defeats in battle, the desertion of his Armenian allies and his failure to capture Parthian strongholds, he retreated to Egypt in 36 BC and again in 34 BC, as his army lost more than a quarter of its strength. Soon his ties deteriorated with Octavian, whose sister Octavia he divorced and against whom he faced defeat after defeat until he committed suicide in Egypt at the age of 53.

1113 lunar years ago, on this day in 328 AH, the Spanish Muslim theologian and poet, Ahmad ibn Mohammad Ibn Abd Rabbihi, passed away. His great anthology, titled “al-Iqd al-Fareed” (The Unique Necklace), is a voluminous work divided into 25 sections. The 13th section is named the middle jewel of the necklace, and the chapters on either side are named after other jewels. It is a masterpiece of Arabic literature. Although he was descended from Spanish Christian converts to Islam, spent all his life in Spain and did not travel to the Islamic East like some other Spanish Muslim scholars, it is evident from the contents that he was well versed in the affairs of the Eastern Islamic world extending into Khorasan, Central Asia and present day Pakistan. He has also chronicled the merits of the Ahl al-Bayt or Infallible Household of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) and detailed the seditious events in the early days of Islam when the caliphate was hijacked from the Prophet’s family. His poems are found scattered in many books, and here is a translation from Arabic of one of his couplets titled “The White Complexion”

469 solar years ago, on this day in 1551 AD, Abu’l-Fazl Allami, the Persian scholar, vizier and close confidante of Moghal Emperor Jalal od-Din Mohammad Akbar of Hindustan (northern subcontinent), was born in Agra. He was the younger brother of the equally gifted scholar and Persian poet, Shaikh Abu’l-Faiz “Faizi”. After mastering Persian and Arabic as well as other sciences, Abu’l-Fazl came to Akbar’s court in 1575 and was influential in the latter’s liberal views on religion. Along with his elder brother, he known as one of the Nine Jewels (Navaratnas) of Akbar’s court. Abu’l-Fazl led a Moghal army in its wars in the Deccan, but while returning to Agra was assassinated at the age of 51 by a Rajput named Vir Singh Bundela on the orders of Prince Salim (later Emperor Jahangir) the prospect of whose accession to the throne he used to oppose. He authored in Persian the “Akbarnama”, the official history of Akbar's reign in three volumes, (volume 3 is known as “Ain-e Akbari”). Among his other works is a Persian translation of the Christian Bible, and “Ruqa’aat-e Abu’l-Fazl”, which is a collection of his private letters to his father, mother and brothers, as well as to the emperor, to the three princes – Murad, Daniyal, and Salim (Jahangir), to Akbar’s queens and daughters, and to several notable contemporaries. Another of his famous works is “Inshe-e Abu’l-Fazl”. Also known as “Maktubaat-e Allami” it contains the official dispatches written by him at the court. It contains Emperor Akbar's letters to Emperor Shah Abbas of Iran, Abdullah Khan Uzbeg the ruler of Turan (Transoxiana), Burhan Nizam Shah the King of Ahmadnagar, Raja Ali Khan the ruler of Khandesh, and certain Moghal nobles such as Abdur-Rahim Khan-e Khanaan.

278 solar years ago, on this day in 1742 AD, English astronomer and mathematician, Edmond Halley, died at the age of 85. He is best known for recognizing that a bright comet (later named after him) had appeared several times on a periodical basis. He calculated its orbit and successfully predicted its return. He identified the proper motion of stars, studied the moon's motion and tides, realized that nebulae were clouds of luminous gas among the stars, and that the aurora was a phenomenon connected with the Earth's magnetism. The so-called Halley’s Comet, which appears after an interval of 74-to-79 years, was believed to have been first recorded in 466 BC. Chinese, Babylonian, Greek, and Islamic astronomers have regularly recorded its observations long before Edmond Halley.

259 solar years ago, on this day in 1761 AD, the Afghans led by Ahmad Shah Abdali Durrani inflicted a crushing defeat on the Marathas at the 3rd Battle of Panipat, fought about 95 km from Delhi that changed the course of Indian history. The Marathas' French supplied artillery was no match for the "Zamburak" mounted artillery of Ahmad Shah – who as a veteran general of Nader Shah Afshar of Iran had participated in the latter's capture of Delhi in 1739. The Marathas of southwestern India, emboldened by the breakaway of the two important provinces of Bengal and Haiderabad-Deccan from the Mughal Empire, had quickly expanded their influence in the north as far as Punjab and the borders of Kashmir, bringing them into direct confrontation with the Afghans. Ahmad Shah with his two Indian allies – Najeeb od-Dowla Rohilla of the Doaab, and Shuja od-Dowla, the Nawab of Awadh – decided to crush the Maratha marauders, whose pillaging and looting of lands had alienated from them the Sikhs, the Jats, and even fellow Hindu Rajputs. The battle is considered one of the largest fought in the 18th century. The 250,000- strong Maratha army was annihilated and large numbers fled the battlefield. The earlier two decisive Battles of Panipat that also changed the course of Indian history were fought in 1526 and 1556. The first saw the defeat of the Afghan king, Ibrahim Lodhi of Hindustan (Northern Subcontinent) and establishment of the Mughal Empire by the Timurid ruler of Kabul, Zaheer od-Din Babar Shah – a protégé of Shah Ismail I of Iran. The second saw the victory of Bayram Khan Turkman, the guardian and general of Jalal od-Din Akbar Shah over Hemu, the Hindu general of the Afghan rulers of Delhi and led to the restoration of Mughal rule in the aftermath of Humayun Shah’s sudden death shortly after return from Iran and recapture of Hindustan with aid provided by Shah Tahmasp Safavi.

145 solar years ago, on this day in 1875 AD, Albert Schweitzer the physician was born in Alsace in France. He established a hospital in Gabon, spending the rest of his life assisting and medically treating the disadvantaged people of Africa. He wrote several books, including "The Philosophy of Civilization". Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1953, he died in 1965.

122 solar years ago, on this day in 1898 AD, Lewis Carroll, the British logician, mathematician, photographer, and novelist, remembered for the book “Alice's Adventures in Wonderland” (1865), died at the age of 65. His real name was Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, and after graduating from Oxford University, he taught mathematics and wrote treatises there until 1881. He was the author of several mathematics books, including “A Syllabus of Plane Algebraical Geometry” (1860), and “Euclid and his Modern Rivals” (1879).

78 solar years ago, on this day in 1942 AD during World War 2, US president, Franklin Roosevelt, and British prime minister, Winston Churchill, as the main leaders of the Allied Powers held a summit in Casablanca, Morocco, to plan attacks on Fascist Italy including the bombardment of Sicily and other places by the American air force.

71 solar years ago, on this day in 1949 AD, the Durban riots occurred in South Africa against Indians predominantly by Zulus (at the instigation of the ruling whites) resulting in the massacre of 142 people, and injury to 1,087 others. It also led to the destruction of 58 shops, 247 dwellings and one factory – all owned by Indians. The Indian business area was attacked with an assortment of improvised weapons. As the looting took place, a number of white Europeans encouraged the black people to attack, and subsequently joined the looting. The riot then spread to the peri-urban areas of Durban where numerous acts of murder, arson, rape, and looting took place. The Indians were accused of black-marketeering, opposition to the economic expansion of the Africans, and social and racial humiliation of the blacks by Indian landlords, but in reality Indians were treated far worse by Europeans because they were given the terms coolie and the jealousy that blacks and whites showed because Indians started going from extremely poor and servitude status to being their owners through close knit networks and pre planning steps in business. The Indians were descendants of low caste groups from places like Bihar, and were despised by both the whites and the blacks who resented the rise of dark skin inferior looking people.

45 solar years ago, on this day in 1975 AD, the famous jurisprudent, Ayatollah Seyyed Abu’l-Hassan Rafi’i Qazvini, passed away at the age of 83. Born in Qazvin, he studied in Tehran and then in holy Qom under the famous scholar, Ayatollah Abdul-Karim Ha’eri Yazdi, mastering various branches of Islamic sciences. He authored several books.

41 solar years ago, on this day in 1979 AD during the crucial days of the Islamic Revolution, the beleaguered British-installed and US-backed Pahlavi potentate, Mohammad Reza Shah, unable to crush the people’s resolve to overthrow his dynasty, resorted to the ruse of abdicating power in favour of his 18-year old son by setting up a regency council, in a bid to deceive the people. But the ever-alert Iranian people took to the streets to denounce his plot, and voiced support for the Father of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (RA). On this day, from his brief exile in Paris, the Imam announced that soon a revolutionary government would be established. This made the head of the so-called regency council, Jalal od-Din Tehrani, to fly to France to meet Imam Khomeini, who set two conditions for receiving him: First resignation from his post, and second announcement of illegitimacy of the regency council. With Tehrani’s resignation the regency council was practically dissolved.

29 solar years ago, on this day in 1991 AD, the notorious Zionist spying agency, Mossad, in a terrorist act in Tunisia, assassinated Salah Khalaf Abu Ayad, a senior leader of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), along with two other Palestinian officials. The assassination smelled of treason on the part of the Tunisian regime of the now ousted Zain al-Abedin bin Ali and some Palestinian leaders, because later in the same year in October, PLO Chief, Yasser Arafat, started the so-called peace talks with the illegal Zionist entity, Israel.

25 solar years ago, on this day in 1995 AD, the poet and researcher Dr. Abdul-Wahhab Noorani Shirazi passed away at the age of 71. Grandson of the famous poet of the Qajarid era, Vesaal Shirazi, he obtained his doctorate in Persian literature from Tehran University, and served as professor in the same field at Shiraz University. He edited and published classical works such as “Mosibat-Nameh” of the famous poet Farid od-Din Attar Naishapuri. Among his other works mention could be made of “Hazar Mazar” and “Fawa’ed as-Solouk”.

23 solar years ago, on this day in 1997 AD, the famous Iranologist, Dr. Ahmad Tafazzoli, passed away. After graduating in Persian literature from Tehran University, he studied ancient Iranian languages at London University and obtained doctorate in this field. His researches earned him national and international awards.

22 solar years ago, on this day in 1998 AD, Mohammad Imami Qazi, who is famous for his translation of books from foreign languages into Persian, especially French, passed away at the age of 84.

9 solar years ago, on this day in 2011 AD, Tunisia’s pro-US-Israeli dictator, Zain al-Abedin bin Ali, faced with a popular uprising, fled the country for Saudi Arabia along with his family and billions of dollars of public wealth. On taking power in 1987 he slavishly served American interests by brutally suppressing the Tunisian Muslim people, for which he was rewarded with asylum by Saudi Arabia. His ouster freed Tunisia from over half a century of anti-Islamic rule and triggered uprisings in other countries, such as Egypt, Libya, Bahrain, Yemen, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia.

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