Today is Saturday; 23rd of the Iranian month of Mordad 1395 solar hijri; corresponding to 10th of the Islamic month of Zi’l-Qa’dah 1437 lunar hijri; and August 13, 2016, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1434 solar years ago, on this day in 582 AD, Maurice became Emperor of Byzantine or the Eastern Roman Empire in the midst of war with Iran’s Sassanid Empire, shortly after his marriage to Constantina the daughter of Emperor Tiberius II Constantine, who died the following day. He brought to an end the intermittent wars between the Iranians and Romans. The opportunity came in 590 when Prince Khosrow II after overthrowing his father, Emperor Hormuz IV, and ascending the throne of Ctesiphon was defeated by the rebellious general Bahram Chobin, who now siezed the Iranian throne. Khosrow fled to the Byzantine court in Constantinople. Maurice helped him regain the Sassanid Empire in 591 when the combined Byzantine-Persian army under generals John Mystacon and Narses defeated Bahram Chobin's forces near Ganzak at the Battle of Blarathon. Khosrow II took the title of Pervez and rewarded Maurice by ceding western Armenia up to the lakes Van and Sevan, including the large cities of Martyropolis, Tigranokert, Manzikert, Ani, and Yerevan. Maurice and Khosrow II signed a treaty called ‘perpetual peace’ which meant that for the first time in two centuries the Romans were no longer obliged to pay the Iranians millions of pounds of gold annually as tribute. In 602 after a 20-year reign Maurice was overthrown by the general Phocas, who usurped the throne and murdered him. Before being beheaded he was forced to watch his six sons executed. His eldest son and designated heir, Theodosius, fled to the Sassanid court for aid, prompting Emperor Khosrau II Pervez to renew the traditional wars between the two empires, and resulting in Iran’s capture of Syria, Egypt and all of modern day Turkey, right up to the gates of Constantinople. Though Phocas was killed and replaced by Heraclius, the 26-year long war proved cataclysmic for both the empires, which within the next five years were overrun by Arab Muslims, who completely changed the demography and history of the region.

1048 lunar years ago, on this day in 389 AH, the Iranian Samanid Dynasty of Central Asia and Khorasan collapsed with the fall of its capital Bukhara (currently in Uzbekistan) to the Turkic chieftain Ilak Khan, son of Bughra Khan Qarakhanid, after 185 years of rule. The Samanid realm, founded by four Iranian brothers, who were appointed governors in different parts of northeastern Iran by the Abbasid caliph, Mamoun, was split up between the Qarakhanids who seized Transoxiana, and the Ghaznavids who had taken control of Khorasan and Afghanistan under Alpatigin the Turk; thereby making the Oxus River the boundary between the two rival Turkic empires. Abdul-Malik, Ibrahim, and Ya'qoub, the sons of the last ruler, Nooh Ibn Mansour Samani, managed to flee, but the fourth son who styled himself Isma'il II al-Muntasir was captured by the Qarakhanids. He, however, escaped from captivity and went to Khwarezm to gather support for reclaiming Bukhara, but was killed some six years later. The Samanids revived Persian culture by patronizing poets and scholars such as Rudaki, Bal'ami and Daqiqi. They propagated the Sunni schools of jurisprudence, repressed Ismailis, but were rather tolerant of Ithna Ash'ari or Twelver Shi'a Muslims. Islamic architecture and Islamo-Persian culture was spread deep into the heart of Central Asia by them. Following the first complete translation of the Qur'an into Persian, people in Central Asia began accepting Islam in significant numbers. Through zealous missionary work as many as 30,000 tents of Turks came to profess Islam and later under the Ghaznavids more than 55,000 tents of Turks became Muslim. The mass conversion of Turks to Islam eventually led to a growing influence of the Ghaznavids, followed by the Seljuqid Turks, who would later rule the region.

719 solar years ago, on this day in 1297 AD, the powerful Mongol Muslim chieftain, Nawrouz, was executed for treason by Ghazaan Khan Mahmoud, the 7^th ruler of the Iran-based Ilkhanate Empire. He played an important role in the politics of 13^th century Iran. In 1289-1290, he revolted against the 4^th Ilkhanate ruler, Arghun Khanm who defeated him, and forced him to take refuge in Transoxonia. In 1295, Nawrouz helped Ghazaan Khan Mahmoud to seize power from Baydu and ascend the throne in Maragheh as the 7^th Ilkhan. The two soon fell out with each other and Ghazaan eliminated the partisans of Nawrouz for treason in May 1297. He then marched against Nawrouz, then commander of the army of Khorasan, and vanquished him near Naishapur. Nawrouz took refuge at the court of the Malik Fakhr od-Din of Herat, who betrayed him and delivered him to the Ilkhan.

705 solar years ago, on this day in 1311 AD, Alfonso XI, the king of Castile, Leon and Galicia, who was notorious for his enmity towards Spanish Muslims, was born to Ferdinand IV of Castile and his wife Constance of Portugal. In 1313 he became an infant king on the death of his father, under a regency council. In 1325 he assumed power, made a bloody purge of all potential rivals to his throne, and immediately launched military attacks on the Muslim dynasties of Spain. For the next quarter century until his death in 1350 during the 5^th unsuccessful Siege of Gibraltar because of the Great Plague (seen as divine affliction by Muslims), he used to terrorize Spanish Muslims. In 1344 he occupied the Muslim kingdom of Alegeciras. Four years earlier after a string of defeats at the hands of the joint army of Marinid Muslim Berbers of Morocco and the Emir Yusuf I of Granada, he had resorted to ruse, treachery and use of Christian mercenaries from all over Europe to win the Battle of Rio Salado. He was ruthless and bloodthirsty.

611 lunar years ago, on this day in 826 AH, the astronomer and mathematician, Sibt al-Maridini, was born in Egypt. Named Mohammad by his father Mohammad Ibn al-Ghazal, his mother was the daughter of the reputed astronomer, Abdullah al-Mardini; hence he became known as "Sibt al-Maridini". He authored some fifty treatises in astronomy (sine quadrants, sundials, astronomical tables and prayer times) and wrote at least twenty-three books on mathematics. Among his works are "Sharh ar-Rahbiyah" and "Daqa’eq al-Haqa’eq".

495 solar years ago, on this day in 1521 AD, Tenochtitlan – present day Mexico City – fell to the Spanish invaders led by Hernan Cortes, who unleashed a great slaughter of the native Mexicans and destroyed their palaces, temples, homes and hearths, in his greed for gold.

480 solar years ago, on this day in 1536 AD, Buddhist monks from Kyoto's Enryaku-ji temple set fire to 21 Nichiren temples throughout Japan in what is known as the Tenbun Hokke Disturbance. The Buddhists, despite their massive propaganda to be peaceful, have a violent history of mass massacres and destruction. In China, the Buddhist dynasties have a long history of internecine wars for power. The bloodthirsty Mongolian warlord, Chingiz Khan, who devastated large parts of Asia including the Muslim world, massacring millions of people, was a Buddhist. Today, Buddhist monks in Myanmar (Burma) are cruelly killing the Rohingya Muslims and destroying mosques, homes, and businesses.

407 lunar years ago, on this day in 1030 AH, the famous jurisprudent, Shaikh Fakhr od-Din Mohammad Ibn Shaikh Hassan Ibn Shaikh Zayn od-Din Shaheed Thani (the Second Martyr), passed away in holy Mecca and was laid to rest in the now destroyed Jannat al-Mu’alla Cemetery near the tomb of Omm al-Momineen, Hazrat Khadija (SA), the loyal wife of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). He lived most of his life in Mecca and was a prolific writer. Among his works are commentaries on Shaikh at-Ta’efa Tusi’s “al-Istibsaar” and “at-Tahzeeb” – two of the four principal books of hadith and jurisprudence. This talented grandson of the Second Martyr was also an excellent poet in Arabic and has written a moving elegy on the Chief of Martyrs, Imam Husain (AS) – which Shaikh Hurr al-Ameli has included in his book “Amal al-Amel”.

185 solar years ago, on this day in 1831 AD, enslaved black African, Nat Turner, who was descended from highly civilized people of Ghana kidnapped by Europeans and sold in the Americas, saw a solar eclipse and interpreted it as a sign of God to launch an uprising against the Anglo-Saxon racists. Eight days later, after assembling the freedom-seeking black people enslaved in the US, he started his uprising in Southampton County, Virginia, by freeing many African people from slavery. The uprising was brutally crushed after a few days by the White racist government. Turner survived in hiding for over two months afterwards, but was hunted down and hanged. His corpse was flayed, beheaded and quartered by the white Americans who went on to massacre over 200 black people in the southern states, where state legislatures passed new laws prohibiting education of the so-called slaves as well as free black- people, in addition to restricting rights of assembly and other civil rights for them.

148 solar years ago, on this day in 1868 AD, a massive earthquake near Arica, Peru, caused an estimated 25,000 casualties, and the subsequent tsunami caused considerable damage as far away as Hawaii and New Zealand.

117 solar years ago, on this day in 1899 AD, the famous English filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock was born. His films were mainly horror movies, such as “North from Northwest”, “A Man Who Knew Too Much”, and “Vertigo”. He died in 1980.

106 solar years ago, on this day in 1910 AD, the famous English Nurse, Florence Nightingale, died at the age of 90. She established modern nursing practice. Her contributions to public health included developing methods of applying and displaying statistics to demonstrate the need for improvements. Her mission began from experience during the Crimean War as a nurse at British hospital in Turkey where she witnessed appalling conditions endured by the sick: overcrowding, poor sanitation, lack of basic supplies, even malnutrition. Through her determination and influence, by the war's end in Jul 1856, she had greatly improved the comfort of the patients, increased efficiency and reduced the death toll. Throughout her life, she continued to advocate reform in the military medical system, supported by her compelling, novel graphical display of statistics and advice on hospital planning and organization.

98 solar years ago, on this day in 1918 AD, Noor Mohammad Hassan-Ali, the first Trinidadian of Indian origin to hold the office of President and the first Muslim head of state in the Americas, was born in San Fernando. After graduating from Canada and qualifying as a lawyer from Britain, he returned to his homeland Trinidad to practice law and after serving as a member of the Senate, rose to become the Chief Judge. He won the 1987 elections and served as president for two 5-year successive terms till 1997. As a Muslim, Hassan-Ali chose not to serve alcoholic beverages during functions at the President's House. He was married to Mrs. Zalayhar Mohammed and had two children, Khalid and Amena. He died on August 25, 2006.

79 solar years ago, on this day in 1937 AD, the Battle of Shanghai began as the first of the twenty-two major engagements between the National Revolutionary Army of the Republic of China and the Imperial Japanese Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War. It was one of the largest and bloodiest battles of the entire war, described as Stalingrad on the Yangtze. It lasted 3 months, 1 week and 6 days before ending on November 26, 1937, involving over a million troops and resulting in huge casualties. The Chinese suffered 200,000 killed and 83,500 injured or missing, while 91 of their planes were downed. The Japanese suffered 70,000 killed and 22,640 injured or missing, losing 85 planes and 51 ships. The battle can be divided into three stages. The first stage lasted from August 13 to August 22, during which the Chinese attempted to eradicate Japanese troop presence in downtown Shanghai. The second stage lasted from August 23 to October 26, during which the Japanese launched amphibious landings at Jiangsu coast and the two armies fought a Stalingrad-type house-to-house battle, with the Japanese attempting to gain control of the city and the surrounding regions. The last stage, ranging from October 27 to the end of November, involved the retreat of the Chinese army in the face of Japanese flanking maneuvers, and the ensuing combat on the road to China's capital, Nanjing.

55 solar years ago, on this day in 1961 AD, construction work started in the divided German city of Berlin for the famous wall by the communist authorities of East Germany to prevent influx of American spies and capitalist ideas. The wall completely cut off (by land) West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin until the dismantling process started in November 1989.

30 solar years ago, on this day in 1986 AD, the exegete of the holy Qur’an, Ayatollah Ali Najafi Kashani, passed away in his hometown Kashan at the age of 65. A product of the famous seminary of holy Najaf in Iraq, where he attained the status of Ijtehad, on return to Iran, after a three-year stay at the seminary of holy Qom, he took up teaching in Kashan. Among his books is “Sincerity, the Greatest Merit”.

6 solar years ago, on this day in 2010 AD, the Bosnia's war crimes court confirmed charges of genocide for 4 former Serb army soldiers over the brutal killing of at least 800 Bosnian Muslims from Srebrenica in July, 1995. Franc Kos, Stanko Kojic, Vlastimir Golijan and Zoran Goronja all served with the Serb army's 10^th commando unit and were involved in the genocide of Bosnian Muslims, who were massacred in tens of thousands.

2 solar years ago, on this day in 2014 AD, at the International Congress of mathematicians in South Korea, Iranian mathematician Prof. Maryam Mirzakhani of Stanford University, US, became the first woman to be awarded the Fields Medal for her work in understanding the mathematical symmetry of curved surfaces and saddle-shaped spaces.

AS/ME