Today is Wednesday; 22nd of the Iranian month of Ordibehesht 1395 solar hijri; corresponding to 4th of the Islamic month of Sha'ban 1437 lunar hijri; and May 11, 2016, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1411 lunar years ago, on this day in 26 AH, the valiant Standard-Bearer of the Immortal Epic of Karbala, Hazrat Abu’l-Fazl al-Abbas (AS), was born in Medina to the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS). His mother was the virtuous lady Omm al-Baneen Fatema bint Hezaam of the al-Kilabiyya clan noted for its courage and bravery. Imam Ali (AS) had married her several years after the passing away of his beloved wife, Hazrat Fatema Zahra (SA) the daughter of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). Hazrat Abbas (AS), who was over two decades younger than his older brothers, the Prophet’s grandsons, Imam Hasan (AS) and Imam Husain (AS), was very much attached to them since childhood. Out of respect for their immaculate lineage, he never called them brothers, but would refer to them as Lords and Masters. He was in Karbala like a shadow beside Imam Husain (AS), and while trying to fetch water for the thirsty camp of the Imam, he sacrificed his life, by first losing both his hands, but never tasted a drop of water even when he succeeded in reaching the bank of the River Euphrates. His shrine till this day stands as a sentinel to the shrine of Imam Husain (AS), with pilgrims from all over the world seeking his intercession with God Almighty by addressing him as “Bab al-Murad” or the Gateway of Needs. His birthday is marked in the Islamic Republic of Iran as “Roz-e Janbazan” or the Day of the Valiant Disabled Veterans. We congratulate all listeners on the auspicious birth anniversary of Hazrat Abbas (AS), and will present a special feature on his life later in our programme.

1148 solar years ago, on this day in 868 AD, the Buddhist scripture “Diamond Sutra” was printed in China, making it the first known dated printed book. It was made as a 16-ft scroll with six sheets of text printed from wood blocks and one sheet with a woodcut showing the Buddha with disciples and a pair of cats. The sheets measured 12 inches by 30 inches and were pasted together. The date is known from a colophon at the end stating it was “printed on 11 May 868, by Wang Chieh, for free general distribution” and that it was dedicated to his parents. The scroll was one of about 1,130 bundles of manuscripts found a thousand years later, walled up in one of the Caves of the Thousand Buddhas in Turkestan. It is now in the British Library.

1104 solar years ago, on this day in 912 AD, Byzantine Emperor, Leo VI, died shortly after suffering a humiliating defeat by the Muslim army that avenged his aggression on Cyprus. Of doubtful paternity, since his mother was the mistress of Emperor Michael III and at the same time the wife of the future Emperor Basil the Macedonian, he succeeded to the throne on the latter's death and ruled for 26 years till his own death in 912. His reign saw the loss of more territory to the Muslims in both Sicily and in Asia Minor, as well as islands in the Aegean Sea. The greatest setback for him was in 904, when the Greek Muslim admiral, Raseq al-Wardami, sailing from Syria, took control of Thessalonica, the second largest city of the Byzantium Empire. After a week's stay, during which he seized some 60 ships and forced the Christians to free over 4,000 Muslim prisoners, Raseq sailed back to the Levant. Raseq, who was born in a Christian family and named Leo by his parents, was an officer in the Byzantine navy before discovering the truth of Islam and joining the Muslims. Also known as Ghulam Zurafa, three years later in 907, he had sailed up the Dardanelles and besieged Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire, much to the horror of Emperor Leo VI. In May 912, just before the humiliated Leo VI died, Raseq al-Wardami and his fellow Greek Muslim admiral, Damian of Tarsus, known by his Muslim name, Ghulam Yazman, decisively defeated the Byzantine admiral, Himerios, off the island of Chios in the Aegean Sea, in retaliation for an attack by Christians on the Muslims of Cyprus.

997 lunar years ago, on this day in 440 AH, the Iranian mystic and poet, Abu-Saeed Abi’l-Khair, passed away at the age of 83 in his native Khorasan. He was an expert on the exegesis of the Holy Qur’an, in addition to hadith, and jurisprudence, and was very deeply devoted to the Prophet’s Ahl al-Bayt. The important details of his thoughts and life are known from the book “Asrar at-Tawhid” (Mysteries of Monotheism) written by his grandson, Mohammad Ibn Munawwar, after his death. He was also an accomplished poet, and mostly composed quatrains.

983 lunar years ago, on this day in 454 AH, Mo’iz ibn Badees, the 4th ruler of the Zirid dynasty of Morocco died after a reign of 46 years during which he turned against his own benefactors the Fatemid Ismaili Shi’ite dynasty. In the first year of his reign, during the regency of his aunt, as many 20,000 Shi'ite Muslims were massacred at the fall and destruction of Mansuriya, the former seat of government of the Fatemids near Kairouan, Tunisia. Ibn Badees earned notoriety for his persecution, suppression and killing of followers of the Prophet's Ahl al-Bayt.

754 lunar years ago, on this day in 683 AH, the Iranian statesman, Shams od-Din Mohammad ibn Baha od-Din Mohammad ibn Mohammad Juwaini was martyred by the Mongol ruler, Arghun Khan on the alleged charges of poisoning of his father Abaqa Khan, who actually died of excessive drinking. A vizier and Sahib-Divan or Minister of Finance for 22 years under three Ilkhans – i.e. Hulagu, Abaqa and Ahmad Tekuder –both his grandfather Mohammad and his father Baha od-Din, had held the post of Sahib-Divan for Mohammad Jalal od-Din Khwarezmshah and Chingiz Khan's son Ogedei Khan respectively. Born in Juwain, near Naishapur in Khorasan, he was a skillful political and military leader, who is also known to have patronized arts and culture. His brother is the famous historian Ata Malik Juwaini, the author of "Tarikh-e Jahan-Gusha".

743 lunar years ago, on this day in 694 AH, Ghazan Khan, the 7th ruler of the Iran-based Ilkhanid Dynasty that included Iraq, Armenia, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, and parts of Turkey, Syria and Georgia, embraced the truth of Islam along with over 100,000 Mongols. He changed his name to Mahmoud and ruled for nine years during which he demolished the temples built by the Buddhist occupiers of the Muslim lands. He was the son of Arghun. His principal wife was Kokechin, a Mongol princess sent by Kublai Khan, and escorted to Iran from China by Marco Polo. Military conflicts during Ghazan's reign included war with the Egyptian Mamluks for control of Syria, and battles with the Mongol Chaghatai Khanate for control of Central Asia. A man of high culture, Ghazan spoke several languages, and reformed many elements of the Ilkhanid realm, especially in the matter of standardizing currency and fiscal policy.

712 solar years ago, on this day in 1304 AD, Mahmoud Ghazan, the seventh ruler of the Mongol Empire's Ilkhanate division that was based in modern-day Iran, and included Iraq and parts of Central Asia and the Caucasus, died. He was the son of Arghun and grandson of Abaqa, continuing a line of rulers who were direct descendants of the fearsome Genghis Khan. Considered the most prominent of the Ilkhans, he is best known for accepting the truth of Islam in 1295 when he ascended the throne – though to a Buddhist father and raised by his mother as a Christian. On conversion to Islam at the hands of Ibrahim ibn Mohammad ibn Hamawaiyh Khorasani al-Juwaini, he changed his first name to Mahmoud, and Islam gained popularity within Mongol territories beyond Iran. His principal wife was Kokechin, a Mongol princess sent to Iran by his distant cousin Kublai Khan the ruler of China, and escorted by the famous Italian traveler Marco Polo. Military conflicts during Ghazaan's reign included war with the Egyptian Mamluks for control of Syria, and battles with the Mongol Chaghatai Khanate of Central Asia. He also had diplomatic contacts with Europe. His capital was Maragheh in today's Zanjan Province, west of Tehran.

159 solar years ago, on this day in 1857 AD, a major uprising occurred in India against the British. Although there was growing resentment over the years against the high-handed policies of the British, including replacement of the Persian language with English in order to severe the cultural bonds with Iran and Afghanistan, the incident that acted as the spark was the report that rifle cartridges were greased with pig and cow fat – the former unlawful for the Muslims and the latter sacred to the Hindus. This made the native soldiers, called Sepoys by the British – corruption of the Persian word 'Sepahi' – revolt against their colonial officers at Meerut. The incident soon escalated into open rebellions largely in the upper Gangetic plain and central India, with the major hostilities confined to present-day Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, northern Madhya Pradesh, and the Delhi region. Other parts of British-controlled India, such as Bengal, the Bombay Presidency, and the Madras Presidency, remained largely calm. In Punjab, the Sikhs backed the British by providing soldiers against fellow Indians. The large semi-independent states of Hyderabad-Deccan, Mysore, Travancore, and Kashmir, as well as the smaller ones of Rajputana, did not join the uprising. In some areas, such as Awadh, the uprising took on the attributes of a patriotic revolt against British presence, since a year earlier the Naishapuri Iranian-origin dynasty of Wajed Ali Shah had been removed from power. The uprising, which the British called 'Mutiny' and which modern India calls 'The First War of Independence', ended a year later in June 1858, as the British resorted with untold atrocities. The prime casualties were the Muslims of northern India, including the last titular Mughal Emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar, the figurehead of the uprising, who was exiled to Burma, but not before the British shot three of his sons in front of him, and later sadistically presented their decapitated heads, placed in trays as Nowrouz gift, for the aging father. The three hundred-year-rule of the Timurid Dynasty thus ended, and India was directly placed under the British crown with Queen Victoria as Empress.

152 solar years ago, on this day in 1864 AD, Anglo-Irish novelist, Ethel Lilian Boole, who after marriage to an anglicized Russian émigré, Wilfrid Michael, adopted his surname “Voynich”, was born in Cork. She was a supporter of several revolutionary causes, and was a significant figure, not only on the late Victorian literary scene, but also in Russian émigré circles. She often led a morally-loose life, and is best known for her novel “The Gadfly”, which became popular in her lifetime, especially in Russia.

112 solar years ago, on this day in 1904 AD, Spanish surrealist painter and founder of the Cubism Style, Salvador Dali, was born. His talent in painting became apparent in his youth and thereafter he catapulted to global fame. Dalí attributed his love of everything that is gilded and excessive, as well as oriental clothes to a self-styled "Arab lineage", claiming that his ancestors were descended from the Muslim Moors. He died in 1989.

104 solar years ago, on this day in 1912 AD, the famous Urdu novelist, Saadat Hassan Manto was born in Ludhiana in what is now India's Punjab state. He is best known for his short stories, such 'Bu' (Odour), "Khol Do" (Open It), "Thanda Gosht" (Cold Meat), and his magnum opus, "Toba Tek Singh". For a while he lived in Bombay and wrote film scripts, before migration to Pakistan in 1948. He died in Lahore in 1955. In his short life, Manto published twenty-two collections of short stories, one novel, five collections of radio plays, three collections of essays, two personal sketches.

81 solar years ago, on this day in 1935 AD, the first TV transmitter was officially launched in the German city of Berlin. Due to the efforts of one of the main inventors of television, Powell Nipco, in transforming waves into picture, this transmitter was named after him.

46 solar years ago, on this day in 1970 AD, as per UN Security Council Resolution 278, Bahrain was declared an independent state, following a so-called opinion poll conducted among tribal leaders and selective groups in the 33-island Persian Gulf archipelago by Vittorio Winspeare-Giucciardi, Manager of the United Nations office in Geneva, in the aftermath of Tehran's demand for a referendum to determine the Bahraini people's views for return to Iran's sovereignty. Throughout history, dating from pre-Islamic times, Bahrain has been an integral part of Iran. After the advent of Islam and weakening of the Abbasid caliphate, Bahrain was part of the Baghdad-based Iranian Buwaiyhid Empire, followed by the sovereignty over it of Seljuqid Iran, Ilkhanid Iran, Safavid Iran, Qajarid Iran, as well as the brief rules in between by Nader Shah Afshar and Karim Khan Zand. It was in the early 1800s, during a period of weakening of Qajarid rule that Bahrain was seized by pirates of the tribe of Aal-e Khalifa who were driven from their area of operation in the Khor Abdullah waterway between Kuwait and Iraq by the Ottoman Turkish governor of Basra. The Aal-e Khalifa brutally subdued the Shi'ite Muslim majority of Bahrain, both Arabs and Iranians, and sought British protection to prevent Iran from retaking it. Iran, however, continued to protest to Britain for its occupation of what Tehran considered a part of its soil. After World War 2 and in view of Britain's plan to withdraw from all its colonial possessions in the Persian Gulf, Iran pressed hard for a referendum that unnerved the Aal-e Khalifa minority regime and made it further repress the aspirations of the Bahraini people. Iran's parliament passed a bill in November 1957 declaring Bahrain to be the 14th province of Iran, with two empty seats allocated for its representatives. At this time, Britain set out to change the demographics of Bahrain through its policy of “de-Iranisation” which included importing a large number of different Arabs and others from British colonies as labourers. Demonstrations in 1956 forced the Aal-e Khalifa rulers to leave Manama (the capital) for the village of Refae al-Gharbi where only the Sunni Arab minority resides. Mass demonstrations against the detested rule of the Aal-e Khalifa regime have continued periodically in Bahrain, despite its sellout by the British-installed and American-supported Pahlavi Shah following the so-called opinion poll of 1970 by the UN. Following the victory of the Islamic Revolution, Iran has followed a policy of peace and dialogue, but with firm insistence on the aspirations of the people of Bahrain, who like all other nations of the world want to determine their own destiny. Today Bahrain is again the scene of mass rallies for independence, while the ruling minority regime, along with mercenaries hired from abroad and with the help of the Saudi invasion troops, is shedding innocent blood and even desecrating mosques and burning copies of the holy Qur'an.

31 solar years ago, on this day in 1985 AD, MKO terrorists, acting under orders of Global Arrogance, especially the US, martyred and injured scores of innocent men, women and children by detonating a bomb at the busy Nasser Khosrow Street in the centre of the Iranian capital. The explosion gutted a two-storied building and destroyed a garment factory, resulting in the martyrdom of 9 people and injury to 45 others. Three years earlier in 1982, the MKO terrorists, as part of their anti-people activities, had also detonated a massive bomb blast at Nasser Khosrow, destroying a 5-storeied hotel and three passing buses, including a double-decker, resulting in the martyrdom of around a hundred people and injury to over 700 others. The blast, which left a crater 20 feet long, 13 feet wide and 6 feet deep, caused damage to seven other hotels in the busy area.

18 solar years ago, on this day in1998 AD, India set off the first of three underground atomic blasts in the Thar Desert in Rajasthan near the Pakistan border – its first nuclear tests in 24 years. Abdul-Kalam, who later became the president of India, led the teams of scientists who developed missiles designed for India’s atomic warheads.

4 solar years ago, on this day in 2012 AD, prominent Iranian mathematician, Parvez Shahriyari, passed away at the age of 86. Born in Kerman into a Zoroastrian family, he wrote or translated some 200 books in the field of mathematics, and was an internationally acclaimed figure. He was editor of the journal “Riyazi wa Mardom” (Mathematics and the Masses), as well as the cultural magazines “Cheesta”. In 2002, the Islamic Republic of Iran awarded him with the title “Immortal Mathematician”.

AS/ME