Today is Friday, 21st of the Iranian month of Khordad 1395 solar hijri; corresponding to 4th of the Islamic month of Ramadhan 1437 lunar hijri; and June 10, 2016, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1906 solar years ago, on this day in 110 AD, following 50 years of peace with the Parthian Empire, the Roman army under orders of Emperor Trajan attacked Armenia which was a northwestern province of the Iranian Empire. After two years, the Iranians liberated Armenia and drove out the Romans.

1384 lunar years ago, in 53 AH, the bloodthirsty Omayyad governor of Iraq and Fars, Ziyad Ibn Abihi (son of unknown father), died in Kufa at the age 53. Born in Ta’ef to a slave-girl, named Sumayya, used by her Arab master as a prostitute to augment his earnings, Ziyad, known as a person of doubtful paternity, became a Muslim (in name only) with the spread of Islam. His craftiness and brutal nature in handling the affairs of Fars (Iran), made Mu’awiyya, on usurping the caliphate, to procure as witness the former wine-seller of Ta’ef, Abu Maryam Sululi, and declare him as half-brother on the testimony that Ziyad was the result of the cohabitation of his father Abu Sufyan with the prostitute Sumayya while on a visit to Ta’ef. As an enemy of Prophet Mohammad’s (SAWA) Household, Ziyad terrorized the followers of Imam Ali (AS) in Iraq, and martyred some prominent figures. On his death he was succeeded in his position as governor by his equally bloodthirsty son, Obaidullah (also born out of wedlock), who has earned lasting damnation by perpetrating the heartrending tragedy of Karbala and the martyrdom of Imam Husain (AS).

861 lunar years ago, on this day in 576 AH, the Baghdadi grammarian, poet, and author, Mohammad Ibn Mohammad Ibn Muwaheb, famous as Ibn Khorasani, because of his origin in northeastern Iran, passed away at the age of 82. Among his works, mention could be made of a voluminous diwan of Arabic poetry.

829 lunar years ago, on this day in 608 AH, the poet and scholar Abu’l-Qasim Hibatollah bin Ja'far, known as Qazi as-Sa'eed Ibn Sana ul-Mulk, famous for the treatise "Dar at-Tiraaz" which he devoted to the genre of “muwas̲h̲s̲h̲ah” poetry, passed away in Cairo at the age of 63. He belonged to a distinguished scholarly family of Fatemid Egypt, and was well versed in hadith and the exegesis of the holy Qur'an in addition to Arabic grammar. He lived in the Egyptian port city of Alexandria as well, and for a time served as Qazi or judge in Damascus under the new Ayyoubid Dynasty, founded in Egypt and Syria by the Kurdish conqueror, Salaheddin Ayyoubi, in whose praise he composed some of his poems. His poetical compositions include an account of the Epic of Ashura (Moharram 10) and the tragic martyrdom of Imam Husain (AS), the grandson of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA).

826 solar years ago, on this day in 1190 AD, leader of the Third Crusade against Muslims, the self-styled Holy Roman Emperor Fredrick Barbarossa of Germany, drowned in River Saleph, known currently as Goksu Nehri in what is now Turkey. On the instructions of Pope Urban III, he had assembled a huge army in alliance with the kings of France and England, and marched overland towards Syria through the Byzantine Empire, but before reaching his cherished goal, i.e. the Islamic city of Bayt al-Moqaddas in Palestine, Barbarossa and his horse were struck by divine wrath and swept away to a terrible death that aborted the joint military campaign against Muslims. His leaderless army lost heart and fled, and many European Christian knights, afraid of the prospect of fighting Muslims, committed suicide.

803 solar years ago, on this day in 1213 AD, Iranian philosopher and Sufi writer, Fakhr od-Din Ibrahim Iraqi, was born in Hamedan, western Iran. He spent many years in Multan, (present day Pakistan) as well as in Konya and Toqat in present day Turkey. He was highly educated in both theology and literary disciplines and not only knew the Holy Qur'an, hadith and its exegesis, but also Persian and Arabic literature. In Multan he became a disciple of the Head of the Suhrawardi Sufi Order, Shaikh Baha od-Din Zakariyya, married his daughter, and stayed for twenty-five years. He then traveled first to Mecca and Medina, and later visited Konya, where he became a good friend of the famous Persian mystical poet, Mowlana Jalal od-Din Rumi. He also met Sadr od-Din Qunawi, who helped to shape him intellectually, as Shaikh Baha od-Din Zakariyya had shaped him spiritually. After Rumi's death, he moved to Toqat, at a time when there was much upheaval on the Byzantine border. The local ruler did not like him because of his influence over the people; so he fled to Cairo in Egypt. Later he settled in Damascus where he died at the age of 78. His writings include “Lama’at” (Divine Flashes). His Diwan has been published in Iran under the title “Kulliyaat-e Iraqi”. Another of his works is the “Ushshaq-Namah” written during his stay in Multan and dedicated to the vizier Shams od-Din Juwayni.

687 solar years ago, on this day in 1329 AD, the Battle of Pelekanon resulted in a Byzantine defeat by the rising power of the Ottoman Turks, led by Orhan I. The defeat suffered by Emperor Andronicus III meant that no Byzantine army would again attempt to regain any territory in Anatolia or Asia Minor. The Ottomans built up a strong base from which they eventually swept away the Byzantine Empire as a whole, a century-and-a-half later.

230 solar years ago, on this day in 1786 AD, a landslide dam on the Dadu River created by an earthquake ten days earlier collapsed, killing 100,000 in the Sichuan province of China.

226 solar years ago, on this day in 1790 AD, British troops attacked and occupied Malaya. Upon the infiltration of Britain, the Dutch troops were forced to retreat from Malaya and even parts of Indonesia. In 1824, British sovereignty was firmly established in what is now Malaysia, while Indonesia remained a colony of the Netherlands called the Dutch East Indies. These two European powers wantonly looted the wealth of these two Muslim lands. Malaysia gained independence from British rule in 1956 while Indonesia gained independence in 1957.

211 solar years ago, on this day in 1805 AD, the First Barbary War ended when the Ottoman Pasha (governor) of Tripolitania (Western Libya), Yusuf Karamanli, signed a treaty ending hostilities with the United States, which was forced to pay huge war indemnity. The First Barbary War occurred off the coast of Tripolitania between the North African Berber Muslim states and the intruding US fleet. The principalities of Tripoli, Algiers, and Tunis, which were quasi-independent entities nominally under the Ottoman Empire, along with the semi-independent Sultanate of Morocco, defeated the US navy. The war lasted four years, and the US, as per the advice of France and Spain had to pay war indemnities in order to procure the release of its prisoners. In 1815, the US, now no longer engaged in hostilities with Britain, again attacked the North African states in the Second Barbary War. With Ottoman naval power on the wane and the Mediterranean Sea no longer the Turkish Lake of the past three centuries; the Barbary States were forced to seek peace by paying heavy damages to the US. Within decades, European powers built more sophisticated ships which the Turks and the Barbary States could not match in numbers or technology. These iron-clad warships of the late 19th century and the early 20th century ensured European dominance of the Mediterranean. As a result Algeria and Tunis were occupied by France, although the Turks continued to hold Tripolitania (Libya) till 1911, when it fell to Fascist Italy.

180 solar years ago, on this day in 1836 AD, French mathematician and physicist, Andre Marie Ampere, died. He lectured at the Paris Polytechnic and made important discoveries. He invented the electrical telegraph. He is known as the founder of electrodynamics, now known as electromagnetism. To honour his efforts in physics, the unit of electrical current has been named after him, as Ampere.

112 lunar years ago, on this day in 1325 AH, the prominent scholar Sheikh Hassan Ali ibn Haj Mahmoud Tehrani, passed away. He was a student of the scholar, Majd Shirazi.

104 solar years ago, on this day in 1912 AD, Iranian meteorologist and academic, Mohammad Hassan Ganji, was born in Birjand, in southern Khorasan, eastern Iran. He is credited as being the father of modern geography in Iran. He established the Iran Meteorological Organization in 1955 and served as the head of Iran's Department General of Meteorology from 1956 to 1968. He died in Tehran at the age of one hundred years.

49 solar years ago, on this day in 1967 AD, the Six-Day War ended, a day after the illegal Zionist entity’s final offensive in Syria’s Golan Heights and Damascus’ agreeing to a ceasefire, with large parts of its territory, as well as that of Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan, occupied by Israel. With military backing from the US, the Zionist entity ceased Gaza and the Sinai from Egypt, Old Bayt al-Moqaddas (Jerusalem) and the West Bank from Jordan, the Golan Heights from Syria, and southern parts of Lebanon. The Israelis violated all international norms by killing 300 Egyptian prisoners of war.

42 solar years ago, on this day in 1974 AD, the founder of the association of guidance and support for blind Iranians, Dr. Mohammad Khaz'ali, passed away. He lost his eyesight in childhood due to contraction of small pox and studied at the school of the blind. Given his strong memory, he excelled in his scientific studies and obtained a PhD in Law at Tehran University. He was fluent in Arabic, French and English. He wrote several books, including the translation titled “The Philosophy of Islam”. He was active in welfare projects for blind people across the globe, serving as member of the Middle East Executive Committee at The National Council for Welfare of the Blind and The International Union of the Blind.

26 solar years ago, on this day in 1990 AD Hojjat al-Islam Sheikh Ali Mazari was martyred by the enemies of Islam in Sistan-Baluchestan Province in southeastern Iran. He started his activities against the Shah’s despotic regime during the Khordad 15 Uprising of June 5, 1963, following the detention of the Father of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (God bless him). After the victory of the Islamic Revolution, he set up cultural associations in mosques to guide youths, and founded numerous schools and libraries in the deprived regions.

24 lunar years ago, on this day in 1413 AH, Ayatollah Mirza Hashem Amoli, passed away at the age of 91. Born near Amol in Mazandaran, he studied in Tehran under Ayatollah Seyyed Hassan Modarres for twelve years, before moving to holy Qom. After achieving Ijtehad, he moved to holy Najaf in Iraq and stayed there for about thirty years. He moved back to Qom around 1963, and firmly supported the Father of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (God bless his soul) in the struggle against the despotic rule of the British-installed and American-backed Pahlavi regime. His famous students include Mostafa Mohaqeq Damad, Mohammad Mohammadi Gilani, Ayatollah Mohammad Mofatteh, and Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi. Ayatollah Amoli was the father of Dr. Ali Larijani, the Speaker of the Iranian parliament (Majlis) and of Ayatollah Sadeq Larijani, the Judiciary Head.

17 solar years ago, on this day in 1999 AD, scientists reported wintertime cloud of air pollution the size of the US over the Indian Ocean. The soot and sulfur cloud covered an area of 3.8 million sq. miles

16 solar years ago, on this day in 2000 AD, Syrian President Hafez al-Assad, passed away at the age of 70. He was instated as air force commander of Syria in 1964 and appointed defence minister in 1967 in the aftermath of the 6-day war imposed by Israel. Following a coup in 1970, he was elected leader of the Ba'th Party and was subsequently elected as president in a referendum. During his 30 years as president, he developed Syria and brought stability to a country where governments used to last not more than a year because of coups and counter-coups. He carried out reforms and played a major role in the 1973 war along with Egypt against the illegal Zionist entity, but because of massive US and western support for Israel, Syria was defeated and the Golan Heights continued to be occupied. The main feature of his foreign policy was refusal to compromise with Israel. He was a member of the Alawite Muslim sect and a firm supporter of the Islamic Revolution of Iran, a factor that made the West and Arab reactionary regimes despise him. After him, his son Bashar al-Assad was elected as president and is steadfastly serving the Syrian people despite the massive invasion of Syria by thousands of heavily armed terrorists from around the world, supported by Israel, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, France and Britain.

9 solar years ago, on this day in 2007 AD, Iran announced it will help build five new refineries across Asia with a total capacity of 1.1 million barrels per day in a bid to strengthen ties in the region. The countries selected by Iran are China, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and Syria.

AS/ME