Today is Tuesday; 26th of the Iranian month of Mordad 1395 solar hijri; corresponding to 13th of the Islamic month of Zi’l-Qa’dah 1437 lunar hijri; and August 16, 2016, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1142 lunar years ago, on this day in 295 AH, al-Muktafi-Billah the 17^th self-styled caliph of the usurper Abbasid regime, died at the age of 33 after a 6-year reign. Son of the previous ruler, al-Mu'tadid, by a Turkic slave-girl, he started on a good note by abolishing his father’s secret prisons – the terror chambers of Baghdad – and gaining popularity through acts of generosity. It was during his rule that the Carmathian (Qarameta) sedition emerged, while hostilities continued with the Greeks, who were able to ravage at will the coasts of Syria, both by land and sea. The Byzantine legions led by ten golden crosses, each followed by 10,000 soldiers, left a trail of devastation and kidnapped thousands of Muslims. In Egypt, however, Muktafi met with success by ending the 37-year secessionist rule of the Tulunids –descendants of the Central Asian Turkic slave, Ahmad bin Tulun. In the last years of his reign he was immersed in pleasures and oppressed the people. As his health worsened he was confined to the sickbed for several months before his death.

1053 solar years ago, on this day in 963 AD, Nikephoros II Phokas seized the Byzantine throne in Constantinople and crowned himself emperor, ignoring the rights of the young sons of the deceased emperor, Romano – the future emperors, Basil II Constantine VIII – and then, despite the opposition of the patriarch, he  married their mother, the regent Empress Theophano. A notorious enemy of Muslims, Nikephoros Phokas, during his 6-year reign and before that as an army commander, had seized the Muslim emirate of the island of Crete, and led frequent raids into Syria against Sayf od-Dowla of the Hamdanid Shi’a Muslim dynasty of Aleppo. Several times he was beaten back with heavy losses. On the western front, after renouncing his payments of tribute to the Shi’a Muslim Fatemid dynasty of North Africa, he attacked Sicily, but was forced by defeats on land and sea to evacuate the island completely. In 967 he had to make peace with the Fatemids. In 1969, he was assassinated by his wife Theophano and her new lover – his own nephew (sister’s son), John I Tzimiskes, who now styled himself emperor.

929 lunar years ago, on this day in 508 AH, the Hanbali theologian Abdur-Rahman ibn Ali ibn Mohammad, known as Abu’l-Faraj Ibn Jowzi, was born in Baghdad. He claimed descent from the first caliph’s son Mohammad Ibn Abu Bakr, who was a loyal follower of the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS). He is famous for his theological stance against fellow Hanbalis for distortion concerning God's Attributes, and criticized them for tarnishing the image of Islam by making it synonymous with extreme anthropomorphism. His famous work in this regard is his “Daff' Shubah at-Tashbih”. He was a prolific writer and is said to have authored some 300 books and treatises, including one on the merits of Imam Ali (AS), in addition to a ten-volume history titled: “al-Muntazam fi Tarikh al-Muluk wa’l-Umam.” He passed away in 597 AH at the age of 89.

854 lunar years ago, on this day in 583 AH, the famous Iranian poet and scholar, Abu’l-Muzaffar Mohammad Ibn Mohammad Anvari Abiverdi, passed away. His Diwan of poetry is currently available and consists of several odes, which have been reprinted on several occasions. Among his famous poems is the one depicting the sorry state of Syria and Palestine at the hands of the Crusader occupiers, and his appeal to the Muslims to unite and rise against the usurpers of Islamic lands. Here are some of his verses:

“To shed tears is a man's worst weapon when swords stir up embers of war;

“Sons of Islam behind you are battles in which heads roll at your feet.

“Dare you slumber in the blessed shade of safety, where life is soft like orchid?

“While your Syrian brothers can only sleep on the back of the chargers or in the vultures' bellies!

“Must the foreigner feed on our ignominy, while you trail behind you the train of a pleasant life?

“When sword points are red with blood and at the hammering of swords on lances the hairs of children turn white.

“This is war and the infidel's sword is naked in his hand, ready to be sheathed again in man's necks and skulls.”

638 solar years ago, on this day in 1378 AD, the 4th emperor of the Ming Dynasty of China was born as Zhu Gaochi during the reign of his grandfather and founder of the dynasty, the Hongwu Emperor. In 1424, he succeeded his father, the Yongle Emperor, and took the title Hongxi Emperor, which means "Vastly Bright". During his brief reign of less than a year, he carried out wide-ranging reforms that made lasting improvements in China, such as reducing taxes to increase agriculture, moving the capital back to Nanking from Beijing, and halting the costly overseas voyages of the famous Muslim Admiral of Iranian origin, Shams od-Din, known in China as Zheng He – great-great-great-grandson of Seyyed Ajjal Shams od-Din, a Persian from Bukhara who served the Mongol Empire and was the Governor of Yunnan. Zheng He’s voyages were, however, resumed under the next emperor.

671 lunar years ago, on this day in 766 AH, the prominent Iranian Islamic scholar, Qotb od-Din Mohammad bin Mohammad Raazi, passed away in Damascus Syria. Born in Varamin near Rayy, south of modern Tehran, he was a student of the famous Allamah Hilli, and in turn was the teacher of the celebrated Shaheed Awwal or First Martyr, Sheikh Mohammad Jamal od-Din al-Makki al-Ameli. He wrote several books including “Sharh ash-Shamsiya”. Abu Sa’eed, the last Ilkhanid ruler of Iran, greatly respected him.

632 solar years ago, on this day in 1384 AD, the Hongwu Emperor of Ming China, Emperor Dong, heard a case of a couple who tore paper money bills during a quarrel – a case considered equal to the act of destroying stamped government documents, which by law necessitated one hundred floggings by a bamboo rod. The emperor, however, decided to pardon them, since their intention was not to tear up the money. Paper currency first developed in Tang Dynasty China during the 7th century (618–907), as merchants and wholesalers desired to avoid the heavy bulk of copper coinage in large commercial transactions. True paper money appeared in China in the 11^th century during the Song Dynasty. The usage of paper currency later spread throughout the Mongol Empire – including Iran. Paper banknotes were introduced for the first time in Europe by France’s Napoleon Bonaparte in the early 1800s.

409 lunar years ago, on this day in 1028 AH, the prominent and pious Iranian scholar, Seyyed Mirza Mohammad Ibn Ali Astarabadi, passed away in Mecca, where he was settled, after residing for long in holy Najaf, Iraq. He was a prolific writer and among his books mention could be made of "Sharh Ayaat al-Ahkaam" on explanation of selected passages of the holy Qur'an and a book on Rijal or the science of evaluation of hadith narrators.

204 solar years ago, on this day in 1812 AD, US General William Hull, despite having a larger number of troops, surrendered Detroit without a fight to the British Major General Isaac Brock and his native Amerindian allies under the Shawnee leader, Tecumseh. Many Amerindian people in the Northwest Territory were inspired to take arms against US outposts and settlers. The British held Detroit for more than a year before their small fleet on Lake Erie was defeated, which forced them to abandon the western frontier of Upper Canada.

147 solar years ago, on this day in 1869 AD, the Battle of Acosta Nu occurred in which a Paraguayan battalion of 6,000 children was massacred by the Brazilian Army during the Paraguayan War. In Paraguay, Children's Day is celebrated on August 16. It is a national holiday to commemorate the memory of the children who lost their lives in the Battle of Acosta Nu/Campo Grande.

128 solar years ago, on this day in 1888 AD, notorious British intelligence operative, Thomas Edward Lawrence, was born out of wedlock to a baron – the result of illicit relations with his daughter’s governess. He joined the army and was trained as a spy. Known as "Lawrence of Arabia", his job was to befriend, deceive and destroy Muslim rulers in Arabia. During the years 1910 to 1914, under guise as a member of an archeological delegation in Iraq, Syria, and Palestine, he sowed the seeds of sedition between the Arabs and Turks as part of the British policy to disintegrate the Ottoman Empire. It was through his designs that the artificial country called Jordan was created for Abdullah, the son of the British agent, Sharif Hussain of Hejaz; while another son, Faisal, was first made king of Syria, and four months later when driven out from Damascus, was installed as king of Iraq in order to crush the aspirations of the Shi'ite Muslim majority. Next, when Sharif Hussain was driven out from the Hijaz by the Wahhabi desert brigand from Najd, Abdul-Aziz Aal-e Saud, another artificial state called Saudi Arabia was created, on condition that no objection would be raised to the British plan to create for European Zionists an illegal entity called Israel in Palestine. Lawrence has shamelessly referred to part of these plots during World War I in his book titled: “Seven Pillars of Wisdom”. He died in an accident at the age of 47.

110 solar years ago, on this day in 1906 AD, an 8.6 magnitude earthquake in Valparaiso, Chile, left an estimated 20,000 people dead.

102 solar years ago, on this day in 1914 AD, revolutionary leader, Emiliano Zapata, overran Mexico. Zapata, who remains an iconic figure in Mexico, as a nationalist symbol and symbol of the neo-Zapatista movement, was killed in 1919.

56 solar years ago, on this day in 1960 AD, the Island of Cyprus gained its independence from British rule as per the Zürich and London Agreement between Britain, Greece and Turkey, with quotas on ethnic basis for government posts and public offices, which were violated by the Greek majority. The present division of the island occurred in 1974, following the massacre of over 125 Muslims in Cyprus and the plot to merge it with Greece, prompting the Turkish government to dispatch troops to seize the northern part of the island, which since then is known as the Turkish Democratic Republic of Cyprus. Arabs and Greeks had fought for over 300 years over Cyprus, which was occupied in 1191 by King Richard of England who a year later sold the island to the Knights Templar, who in turn sold it to Guy of Lusignan. His brother and successor Amalric was recognized as King of Cyprus by the Holy Roman Emperor. Following the death in 1473 of James II, the last Lusignan king, the Republic of Venice assumed control of the island, and formally annexed Cyprus in 1489. The Ottoman Turks started their bid to drive out the Venetians and in 1539 almost succeeded before withdrawing. In 1570, the island finally became part of the Ottoman Empire and remained so for the next three centuries, until it was leased to the British in 1878 on condition of protecting the decaying Turkish Empire from Russian attacks. In 1923, after the Ottomans had been pressured to give up all of their European territories, except Istanbul, Britain forced the truncated state of Turkey to relinquish all claims to Cyprus, and in 1925 declared it as a crown colony.

55 solar years ago, on this day in 1961 AD, the great Muslim scholar and linguist of the subcontinent, Maulavi Abdul Haq, passed away in Karachi, Pakistan at the age of 91. Born in Hapur near Ghaziabad in northern India, he is regarded as “Baba-e Urdu” (or Father of Urdu), because of his untiring efforts to make it the lingua franca of the Subcontinent. He was also well-versed in Persian, Arabic, English and the Deccani Urdu dialect of southern India. A product of Aligarh Muslim University, he went to Hyderabad-Deccan, where his activities included teaching and translating, since he viewed Urdu as the cultural and political identity of Muslims of the subcontinent. Following establishment of Osmania University in Hyderabad in 1917 by the ruler, Asef Jah VII, under Abdul-Haq's influence all subjects at the university, including medicine, science and technology were taught in Urdu and the institution became a patron of Urdu and Persian literature and the linguistic heritage. He published numerous works of Urdu poetry, as well as treatises on linguistics, Islam, history, politics and philosophy. After his retirement in 1930, he compiled and edited a comprehensive and authoritative English-Urdu dictionary. He strongly protested the campaign by India's Hindu nationalists to promote the use of Hindi as the national language of British India. Abdul-Haq became a fierce critic of Mohandas Gandhi and the Indian National Congress, and joined the All India Muslim League led by Mohammad Ali Jinnah. In November 1947, he migrated to Pakistan, where he launched journals, set up libraries and schools, and published a large number of books. Abdul- Haq's work, especially helped preserve the distinct Deccani or "Old Urdu" linguistic and literary traditions of Hyderabad and southern India.

35 solar years ago, on this day in 1981 AD, Mullah Saleh Khosravi, a religious leader of Iran’s ethnic Kurdish minority, was martyred by US mercenaries, along with his 18-year old son, at the Jame’ Mosque in the western city of Sanandaj (Kurdistan)  before start of the evening congregational prayers. A follower of the Sunni school, he joined the grassroots Islamic movement of the Iranian people under the leadership of the Father of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (RA), braving imprisonment several times by the British-installed and US-backed Pahlavi regime. On the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979, he defended national solidarity and Islamic unity, opposing the anti-revolutionary activities of the mercenary outfits in Kurdistan.

26 solar years ago, on this day in 1990 AD, in the process of exchange of prisoners of war (POWs), the first group of Iranian POWs returned home as part of implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 598 that ended the 8-year war the US had imposed on Iran through Saddam. The POW exchange which Saddam had hindered for two years took place after his occupation of Kuwait and subsequent isolation in the region and the world. This day is marked as Day of Azadegan (Freed POWS). It is worth noting that some 7,000 Iraqi POWs sought refuge in Iran under supervision of the International Red Cross, refusing to return to their homeland because of the tyranny of the Ba’th minority regime.

23 solar years ago, on this day in 1993 AD, Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Abdul-A'la Musavi Sabzevari, passed away in holy Najaf, Iraq, at the age of 83. Born in the northeastern Iranian city of Sabzevar, Khorasan, he learned Islamic sciences in his hometown until the age of 14 before moving to holy Mashhad, the provincial capital, to continue his studies. After completing his basic studies, he left for Iraq to pursue higher studies at the famous Islamic seminary of holy Najaf in Iraq, where he studied philosophy and jurisprudence under the prominent scholar, Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Hussain Na’ini of Iran. He soon attained the status of Ijtehad and for almost 50 years taught at the seminary. He was a firm supporter of the Father of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (RA), and in 1992 following the passing away of Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Abu'l-Qassim Khoyi, he became Chief of the Najaf Seminary. He has left behind several compilations, including the two-volume book: “Tahzib al-Osoul”, and the 21-volume exegesis of the holy Qur'an: “Mawaheb ar-Rahman fi Tafsir al-Qur'an”.

AS/ME