Today is Monday; 10th of the Iranian month of Khordad 1395 solar hijri; corresponding to 23rd of the Islamic month of Sha’ban 1437 lunar hijri; and May 30, 2016, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1424 lunar years ago, on this day in 13 AH, in the Battle of the Bridge in Iraq, the Sassanian forces led by Bahman Jaduyeh defeated the Arabs under the command of Abu Ubayd in the only major Persian victory against Muslims. The Arab Muslims had already taken Hira on the banks of the River Euphrates after defeating the Christian Arab allies of the Sassanians. Abu Ubaid encountered the main Iranian army near what is now Kufa. The two forces faced each other on opposing banks of the River Euphrates. As it was crossed by a bridge, the battle came to be known as “Harb al-Jisr” in Arabic. Abu Ubaid took the initiative and crossed the river. According to accounts, the sight of the elephants in the Persian army frightened the Arab's horses. An elephant apparently tore Abu Ubaid from his horse with its trunk and trampled him under foot. At this, and the inability of the Arab troops to push back the Persians who had formed a rigged line close to the bridge, the Arabs panicked and fled. This was, however, a temporary setback. In the subsequent battles the Sassanians were defeated, and the Iranian people accepted Islam almost en masse.

1133 lunar years ago, on this day in 304 AH, Seyyed Hassan al-Utrush, known as “Nasser li’l-Haq” (or Defender of Faith) passed away at the age of 75, after an eventful life and a 3-year reign as reviver of the Alawid state of Tabaristan in what is now the Caspian Sea Provinces of Gilan, Mazandaran and Golestan in northern Iran. His shrine in the city of Amol is still a site of pilgrimage. Born in Medina, he was fifth in line of descent from Imam Zain al-Abedin (AS), the great-grandson and 4th Infallible Heir of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). His mother was an Iranian lady from Khorasan. When Hasan ibn Zayd, a descendant of the Prophet’s elder grandson, Imam Hasan al-Mujtaba (AS), was invited by the people of the Caspian coast of Iran to set up his rule over Tabaristan, Hassan al-Utrush joined him, but after falling out with his successor, Mohammad ibn Zayd, he left for the east where he allied himself with the ruler of Khorasan, Mohammad ibn Abdullah al-Khujistani. Soon, however, Khujistani imprisoned and scourged him, as a result of which he lost his hearing and received the sobriquet "al-Utrush" or "the Deaf". On release from prison, he returned to Tabaristan, but had to flee to Rayy when Mohammad ibn Zayd lost the battle and his life near Gorgan against the Samanids of Bukhara, who ended the Alawid state and occupied the region for fourteen years. Hassan al-Utrush now engaged in Islamic missionary activities and his efforts led to the people of Gilan and the Daylamites to become Muslims. His efforts were crowned by success, as the mountain Daylamites and the Gilites east of the Sefid Roud River hailed him as their Leader. The Samanid ruler Ahmad ibn Isma'il sent an army to oppose the revival of the Alawid state of Tabaristan, but al-Utrush inflicted a crushing defeat upon the invaders at Burdidah on the River Burroud, west of Chalous. He made Amol his capital and extended his sway till Gorgan. The famous Iranian Islamic historian Abu Ja’far Tabari, has said about him: "The people had not seen anything like the justice of al-Utrush, his good conduct, and his fulfillment of the right". Hassan al-Utrush wrote an exegesis of the holy Qur’an titled “Tafsir al-Kabir”, and his grand-daughter Fatema, who was married to Seyyed Hussain ibn Musa (fifth in line of descent from Imam Musa al-Kazem (AS), the 7th Infallible Heir of the Prophet), was the mother of the celebrated scholars of Baghdad, Seyyed Murtaza alam al-Huda and Seyyed Razi, the compiler of Nahj al-Balagha – the famous collection of the sermons, letters, and maxims of the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali (AS).

945 lunar years ago, on this day in 492 AH, the Islamic city of Bayt al-Moqaddas was captured by the European Crusaders from the Fatemid Ismaili Dynasty of Egypt-Syria and North Africa, after a siege of over 40 days. The invaders savagely massacred men, women and children, numbering more than 70,000 people, including Iranian Muslims settled there.

764 solar years ago, on this day in 1252 AD, Ferdinand III of Castile died at the age 53 after a reign of 35 years during which he occupied one by one the Spanish Muslim cities of Badajoz, Merida, Cazorla, Ubeda, the old capital Cordoba (Qurtuba), Huelva, Murcia, Cartagena and finally Seville (Ishbiliya) the greatest of Spanish Muslim cities. Some other regions he kept as vassal states under Muslim governors, while in areas directly under his rule, Christian rule was heavy-handed on the new Muslim subjects. This eventually led to the Mudejar Uprisings of 1264-66, which resulted in mass expulsions of Spanish Muslim populations from their homeland. Ferdinand III was buried in the Mosque turned Cathedral of Seville and his tomb is inscribed in four languages: Arabic, Hebrew, Latin, and an early version of Castilian Spanish.

704 lunar years ago, on this day in 733 AH, the hadith scholar and literary figure Sharaf od-Din Hussain ibn Abdullah Tayyebi, passed away. He wrote an Exegesis of the Holy Qur'an.

620 lunar years ago, on this day in 817 AH, the prominent Persian poet and literary figure, Noor od-Din Abdur-Rahman Jami was born in the city of Jam, in Khorasan, northeastern Iran. He went to Samarqand to learn Islamic sciences, literature and history, and visited several other lands, before settling in Herat. He has left behind a large number of works in prose and verse, including “Baharestan”. Jami, who passed away in 898 AH at the age of 81, has also composed beautiful odes in praise of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) and the Ahl al-Bayt.

593 solar years ago, on this day in 1423 AD, Austrian mathematician and astronomer, Georg von Peurbach, was born near Linz. He studied the Islamic scientist, Ibn Haytham’s book “On the Configuration of the World”, and replaced the Greek scientist Ptolemy's chords in the table of sines with the Islamic Arabic numerals that were introduced 250 years earlier in place of Roman numerals and which today are in use in the whole world (e.g. 1,2,3,4,5 etc).

585 solar years ago, on this day in 1431 AD, during the Hundred Years War the 19-year-old Joan of Arc was burned at the stake by an English-dominated tribunal in Rouen, France. The Roman Catholic Church marks this day as the celebration of Saint Joan of Arc, the French national heroine, known as Jeanne d’Arc. Also called the Maid of Orleans, she started her uprising for the liberation of parts of French territory from the occupation of England. She led the French army to several important victories, paving the way for the coronation of Charles VII. She was captured by the Burgundians, transferred to England in exchange for money, put on trial by the pro-English Bishop of Beauvais for charges of insubordination and heterodoxy, and burned as a heretic.

509 lunar years ago, on this day in 928, Shah Beg Arghun, who established his rule over Sindh, died after invading Gujarat, and was succeeded by his eldest son, Shah Hussain. A Persianized Mongol, Shah Beg initially ruled Qandahar as a nominal vassal of the Timurid rulers of Herat, but with the rise of another Timurid prince, Zaheer od-Din Babar in Kabul, he realized the futility of holding on to Qandahar and in order to carve out a separate state, invaded Sindh. He defeated Jam Firuz of the Samma dynasty.

423 solar years ago, on this day in 1593 AD, English poet and dramatist, Christopher Marlowe, was reportedly stabbed to death. It was later speculated that his death was faked and that he fled to Italy and continued writing plays that were produced by William Shakespeare. The mystery has never been solved. Marlowe was the foremost Elizabethan tragedian of his day. He greatly influenced William Shakespeare. Among his plays are: “Dido, Queen of Carthage”, “Tamburlaine” in two parts on the fearsome Turkic conqueror Amir Timur, “The Jew of Malta”, “Doctor Faustus” and the “The Massacre at Paris”.

381 solar years ago, on this day in 1635 AD, the Thirty Years War ended with the signing of the Peace of Prague. It was principally fought in Central Europe, involving most of the countries of Europe that were once part of the Holy Roman Empire. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history, and one of the longest continuous wars in modern history. Initially, religion was a motivation for war between Protestant and Catholic states. In this general phase, the war became less specifically religious and more a continuation of the Bourbon–Habsburg rivalry for European political pre-eminence, leading in turn to further warfare between France and the German powers. A major consequence of the Thirty Years' War was the devastation of entire regions, denuded by the foraging armies. Famine and disease significantly decreased the population of the German states, while Italy and most of the combatant powers were bankrupted. The result was the Peace of Westphalia in 1648.

238 solar years ago, on this day in 1778 AD, French philosopher, François Voltaire, died at the age of 83. He popularized the English scientist Isaac Newton's work in France by arranging a translation of "Principia Mathematica" to which he added his own commentary. Voltaire's commentary bridged the gap between non-scientists and Newton's ideas at a time in France when the pre-Newtonian views of Descartes were still prevalent. Although a philosopher, Voltaire advocated rational analysis. He died on the eve of the French Revolution.

154 solar years ago, on this day in 1862 AD, Azarbaijani philosopher and renowned poet of the Caucasus region, Mirza Ali Akbar Zain al-Abedin Taherzadeh, known by his penname Saber, was born in the city of Shervan in what is now the Republic of Azerbaijan, which before the Russian occupation in the first half of 19th century was an integral part of Iran. He was fluent with the Azeri, Persian, Arabic, and Russian languages, and wrote many ghazals in imitations of Persian poets, particularly Nizami Ganjavi. In 1885, he embarked on a tour of several cities of Iran and Central Asia. Political satire was an important part of his work, and the butt of his satire ranged from Emperor Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany to Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar of Iran, and from the Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid to the defeat of Russian armies by Japan as well as the scenes of social and domestic life at home. Part of Saber’s life coincided with the Constitutional Revolution in Iran and his vibrant and biting political satire was recited by the Constitutionalists in the trenches of Tabriz. He also made a fine verse translation of some passages of Ferdowsi’s “Shahnama” into Azeri. Many of Saber’s poems are in admiration of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) and the Infallible Imams of the Ahl al-Bayt.

122 lunar years ago, on this day in 1315 AH, the scholar and Arabic poet, Seyyed Ja’far al-Hilli, passed away at the age of 39. He wrote moving elegies on the tragedy of Karbala.

104 lunar years ago, on this day in 1334 AH, the jurist and pious scholar, Shaikh Baqer ibn Mullah Mohammad Qomi, passed away. He was in Samarra for a long time and then returned to holy Najaf where he used to lead the congregational prayers.

104 solar years ago, on this day in 1912 AD, US inventor and aviator, Wilbur Wright, with his brother Orville, invented the first powered airplane, Flyer, capable of sustained, controlled flight (17 Dec 1903), died at the age of 45. Orville made the first flight, airborne for 12 seconds. Wilbur took the second flight, covering 853-ft (260-m) in 59 seconds. By 1905, they had improved the design, built and made several long flights in Flyer III, which was the first fully practical airplane (1905), able to fly up to 38-min and travel 24 miles (39-km). Their Model A was produced in 1908, capable of flight for over two hours of flight. The history of aviation is as old as Man’s quest to fly since antiquity. The earliest known record are of kite flying from China around 200 BC, when a general flew a kite over enemy territory to calculate the length of tunnel required to enter the region. It is also said, Yuan Huangtou, a Chinese prince, 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. Some six centuries after Ibn Firnas, the Italian Leonardo da Vinci developed a hang glider design in which the inner parts of the wings are fixed, and some control surfaces are provided towards the tips (as in the gliding flight in birds). In 1783, with the first successful floating of a balloon with a person on board, the aviation industry was born and led to the invention of the airship, the zeppelin and the modern aircraft.

103 solar years ago, on this day in 1913 AD, the First Balkans War ended with the Treaty of London, and the emergence of Albania as an independent nation. It began in October 1912, and pitted the Balkans League, made up of Serbia, Greece, Montenegro and Bulgaria, against the weakened Ottoman Empire. As a result, almost all remaining European territories of the Ottoman Empire were seized by Christian powers and partitioned among them.

35 solar years ago, on this day in 1981 AD, President Zia ur-Rahman of Bangladesh was assassinated. A highly decorated officer of the united Pakistan army, he organized Bengali resistance against the brutal crackdown on what was then East Pakistan by the Pashtun-Punjabi army units of West Pakistan. Later he had the honour of announcing the Declaration of Independence of Bangladesh on 26 March 1971 at Kalurghat, Chittagong, and the next day repeated an edited version of the declaration on behalf of independence leader, Sheikh Mujib ur-Rahman – who was killed in a coup in 1975. On 21 April 1977, Major-General Zia ur-Rahman as Chief of Staff of the armed forces, took charge of the government, following Justice Sayem's resignation, and later in 1977 became the seventh President of Bangladesh. He issued a proclamation order amending the secular constitution drafted by Mujib ur-Rahman, by increasing the direct influence and role of Islam in state affairs. In the preamble, he inserted the salutation "Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim" (In the Name of Allah, the All-Beneficent, the All-Merciful). In Article 8(1) and 8(1A) the statement “absolute trust and faith in Almighty Allah” was added, replacing the commitment to secularism. He further introduced provisions to allow Muslims to practice the social and legal injunctions of the Shari’ah and Sunnah. In Article 25(2), he introduced the principle that “the state shall endeavor to consolidate, preserve and strengthen fraternal relations among Muslim countries based on Islamic solidarity.” Islamic religious education was introduced as a compulsory subject in Bangladeshi schools, with provisions for non-Muslim students to learn of their own religions. He established a multiparty system, and also reached out to the hill tribes, the Hindu and Buddhist religious minorities, and the Urdu-speaking Bihari Muslim ethnic minority.

24 solar years ago, on this day in 1992 AD, the researcher and lecturer of Tehran’s Sharif University of Science and Technology, Dr. Jalal Samimi, following twenty years of study, discovered the five sources of Gama Rays at the centre of the Milky Way Galaxy. Born in the city of Zabul, southeastern Iran in 1940, he obtained PhD in Physics, and conducted several experiments in regard to nuclear emulsion.

21 solar years ago, on this day in 1995 AD, Ayatollah Sheikh Azizollah Khosrowi Zanjani passed away at the age of 87. A student of the Father of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (RA), he followed the footsteps of his teacher in the struggles against the despotic Pahlavi regime. After establishment of the Islamic Republic, he strove to serve the goals of the system of government in Iran.

AS/ME