Today is Saturday; 19th of the Iranian month of Tir 1395 solar hijri; corresponding to 4th of the Islamic month of Shawwal 1437 lunar hijri; and July 9, 2016, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1498 solar years ago, on this day in 518 AD, Emperor Anastasius Dicorus of Byzantine or the Eastern Roman Empire, died issueless at the age of 88 in his capital Constantinople (present day Istanbul) after a reign of 27 years, and was succeeded by his Chief of Guards, Justin.  A palace official, he was raised to the throne on the death of Emperor Zeno by the latter’s wife, Queen Aelia Ariadne (daughter of Emperor Leo 1), who subsequently married Anastasius to grant legitimacy to his rule. During his reign, a 4-year inconclusive war was fought with Sassanid Iran in the aftermath of which the Roman eastern frontier underwent extensive re-fortification, including the construction of Dara, to counter the Persian fortress of Nisibis, in what is now south-central Turkey. Fought from 502 to 506, it was the first major conflict between the two superpowers since the Peace Treaty of 442, and would be the prelude to a long series of destructive wars over the next century that would result in the weakening of both the empires and their conquest by Arab Muslim armies with the rise of Islam. The cause of war was the demand by Qobad I, the 19th Sassanid Emperor, for money to pay his debts to the Hephthalites (eastern Iranian tribes and ancestors of the Pashtuns of Afghanistan-Pakistan). The situation between Rome and Iran was also exacerbated by recent changes in the flow of the Tigris in lower Mesopotamia (Iraq), sparking famines and flood. When Anastasius refused to pay, Qobad seized the city of Theodosiopolis, and then captured Amida (Diyarbakr in modern Turkey). The year 503 saw much warfare without decisive results: the Romans attempted an unsuccessful siege of Amida while the Iranians invaded Osroene and laid siege to Edessa with the same results. In 504 Anastasius gained the upper hand by retaking Amida, which made Qobad to agree to an armistice because of the invasion of Armenia in the Caucasus by the Huns. Fighting, however, continued until late 506 when a treaty was finally agreed and Rome made some payment to the Iranians. Although no large-scale conflict took place during the rest of Anastasius's reign, the building of Roman defenses in Anatolia, became a lasting source of controversy with the Persians, who called it violation of the Treaty of 422, by which both empires had agreed not to establish new fortifications in the frontier zone.

615 solar years ago, on this day in 1401AD, the Central Asian Turkic conqueror, Amir Timur (Tamerlane) destroyed the city of Baghdad, massacring 20,000 people. He was no notorious for his barbaric erection of towers of human heads, that when his forces took Baghdad, he spared almost no one, and ordered that each of his soldiers bring back two severed human heads.

261 solar years ago, on this day in 1755 AD, the Braddock Expedition occurred in what is now Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania, when British troops and colonial militiamen were ambushed and suffered a devastating defeat by French forces and their native Amerindian allies.

226 solar years ago, on this day in 1790 AD, during the Russo-Swedish War, the Second Battle of Svensksund occurred in the Baltic Sea, in which the Swedish Navy captured one third of the Russian fleet.

200 solar years ago, on this day in 1816 AD, Argentina gained independence from Spanish colonial rule following the war between Spain and Britain, and the occupation of Buenos Aires by the British forces. The Argentine people stood up against the British troops and after driving them out, finally declared their independence. Argentina covers an area of 2780092 sq km. It lies on the coastlines of the Atlantic Ocean South America, sharing borders with Chile, Bolivia, Paraguay, and Uruguay.

177 lunar years ago, on this day in 1260 AH, the prominent Indian Islamic scholar, Seyyed Mohammad Dildari, was born. He initially learned sciences under his father and later on under the renowned Islamic scholars of his day. Thereafter, he compiled numerous valuable books. Among the 40 works he left behind, mention can be made of “Emad al-Ijtehad” on jurisprudence.

108 solar years ago, on this day in 1908 AD, the religious scholar, philosopher, poet and outstanding orator of the subcontinent, Allamah Rasheed Turabi was born in Hyderabad. After obtaining BA from Osmania University and MA in Philosophy from Allahabad University, he learned religious sciences, and mastered Urdu, Persian and Arabic literature. On the political side, he started his career as a member of the working committee of the Hyderabad Legislative Assembly. Later on, he was nominated by the founder of Pakistan, Mohammed Ali Jinnah, as a member of the working committee of All India Muslim League. In 1949, following the fall of Hyderabad-Deccan to Indian forces in 1948, a year after independence from British rule, he migrated to Pakistan, where he left active politics, and devoted himself to religious erudition, especially discourses on Imam Husain (AS) and the tragedy of Karbala. His great knowledge of hadith, jurisprudence, and exegesis of the holy Qur’an enabled him to deliver more than 5,000 religious lectures and speeches. The most sought after Urdu public speaker of his times, he was indeed a persuasive and brilliant orator. He was a prolific author as well, and among his works is the book, “Tibb-e Ma’soomeen” which is a composition of antidotes from Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) and the 12 Infallible Imams. He also wrote the 2-volume book "The Forests of Hyderabad" on the jungles of the Deccan. Another of his work is the idiomatic translation of Imam Ali’s (AS) famous Letter of Instructions to his governor of the then Christian-majority Egypt, Malik Ashtar. This epistle is a guiding light for just and fair governance. Turabi’s masterpiece on “Ilm Rijal” or biographical evaluation of narrators of hadith, which he titled "Wasl-e Qowl" was published after his death in Karachi.

68 solar years ago, on this day in 1948 AD, after a month of cessation of hostilities, fighting broke out between Arabs and the illegal Zionist entity, which was supplied modern weapons by western regimes, especially the US. The usurper state of Israel occupied 78% of Palestinian soil, after uprooting 750,000 Palestinians from their homes and driving them into neighbouring states as refugees.

44 solar years ago, on this day in 1972 AD, the Palestinian author and activist, Ghassan Kan’ani, along with his nephew, was assassinated by the Zionist regime’s notorious spy agency, Mossad. A senior official of the People’s Front for Liberation of Palestine, he was a victim of a car bomb planted by the Mossad agents in the Lebanese capital, Beirut. Sixteen days later, Kan’ani’s deputy, Bassam Abu Sharif, was also critically wounded in a bomb explosion. The assassination of Palestinian officials around the world is pursued by the Zionist entity with the support of western regimes. These dastardly acts of terrorism have never been condemned by the US and other western regimes, despite their claim to human rights.

36 solar years ago, on this day in 1980 AD, the US attempt to stage the Nozheh Coup in Iran through mercenary elements in the armed forces affiliated to the Zionists and Saddam's Ba'thists, was discovered and foiled, two months after the miraculous failure of the well-planned airborne US invasion of Iran that floundered in the sands of Tabas. The coup plotters intended to stage attacks from the Nozheh air base in the vicinity of the city of Hamedan, against a number of important centers in Tehran, including the residence of the Founder of the Islamic Republic, Imam Khomeini (God bless him), military bases, IRIB headquarters, and other sensitive places. The plot was discovered and thwarted by the vigilant and alert forces in the army and the conspirators arrested. Imam Khomeini, in his speech at the Jamaran Huseinieh said: “They want to plot, and this type of plot. Even if we were not to neutralize it, people would suffocate it. Suppose their phantoms (aircraft) were able to take off, what then they could do. The nation is not asleep that a phantom or two could do anything.”

14 solar years ago, on this day in 2002 AD, on the approval of African leaders during the meeting in Durban, South Africa, the African Union replaced the Organization of African Unity that was set up in 1963 to support the independence of African countries and to solve their disputes. The African Union, on the model of the European Union, has taken into consideration the setting up of a parliament, an executive committee, a central bank, a monetary fund, and a court of justice, for the collective development of African states. Based in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, it holds annual summit in a member country.

5 solar years ago, on this day in 2011 AD, South Sudan formally seceded from Sudan, with western support as an independent country. The region of South Sudan, where the population is mainly Christian and animist, was involved in guerilla war with the central government of Sudan from 1955 till 1972, and again from 1983 till 2005, resulting in a large number of casualties. There are still major disputes between two countries, including the fate of oil-rich regions that overlap the joint border. South Sudan covers an area of 620,000 square km, and shares borders with Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Central Africa, and The Democratic Republic of Congo.

AS/ME