Today is Monday; 8th of the Iranian month of Shahrivar 1395 solar hijri; corresponding to 26th of the Islamic month of Zi'l-Qa'dah 1437 lunar hijri; and August 29, 2016, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1037 solar years ago, on this day in 979 AD, Fazlollah Abu Taghlib al-Ghazanfar, titled Uddat od-Dowla, the third ruler of the Hamdanid Shi’a Muslim Emirate of Mosul in Iraq, was killed following his defeat in battle near Damascus in Syria. Son of the famous Nasser od-Dowla, his reign was troubled, being marked by conflicts with some of his brothers, antagonism with the various branches of the Buwaiyhids of Iran for influence in Baghdad, and attacks by the Byzantine Empire. His relations with the Iranian Buwaiyhid emir of Iraq, Izz od-Dowla Bakhtiyar, were initially hostile, but the two later concluded an alliance. In 978, Jazira and the emirate of Mosul was occupied by the Buwaiyhids of Shiraz under Adhud od-Dowla, and he fled to the Fatemid-controlled parts of Syria, where he tried to secure the governorship of Damascus, and became involved in local rivalries which resulted in his defeat in battle and death.

715 lunar years ago, on this day in 722 AH, the Iranian Sunni Hanafi scholar, Sa'd od-Din Mas'oud ibn Omar Taftazani, was born in Taftazan near the northeastern Iranian city of Qochan in Khorasan Province. He studied in Herat, Gulistan, Khwarezm, Samarqand and Sarakhs. He mainly resided in Sarakhs, which today straddles the Iran-Turkmenistan border. He was active during the reign of the Turkic conqueror Amir Timur, and was attached to his court. He died in Samarqand at the age of 70 and was buried in Sarakhs. He wrote books and treaties on grammar, rhetoric, theology, logic, law and the exegesis of the holy Qur'an. His works were used as textbooks for centuries in Ottoman madrasahs. The bulk of his writing is in Arabic, although he wrote a commentary of the Qur'an in his native Persian and translated the poems of the famous Persian poet, Mosleh od-Din Sa'di of Shiraz, into Turkic.

495 solar years ago, on this day in 1521 AD, the Ottoman Turks, a year after accession of Sultan Suleiman,captured Belgrade fort in Serbia and transformed it into a major city in Europe by building schools, libraries, markets, mosques, baths, and other public amenities. Belgrade was a predominantly Muslim city for over three centuries until it was occupied by Christians who destroyed its wonderful Islamic architecture and killed and expelled its mostly European Muslim population.

490 solar years ago, on this day in1526 AD, the Ottoman Turks led by Sultan Suleiman defeated Hungary in the Battle of Mohacs, in which Louis II, the last Jagiellonian king of Hungary and Bohemia, lost his life. The Muslim victory led to the partition of Hungary for several centuries between the Ottoman Empire, and the Habsburg Monarchy of Austria. Only in the 20th century would Hungary regain its political independence.

475 solar years ago, on this day in 1541 AD, the Ottoman Turks during the reign of Sultan Suleiman captured Buda, the capital of the Hungarian Kingdom, and for almost the next century-and-a-half ruled it Budin Eyalet.

384 solar years ago, on this day in 1632 AD, the English philosopher and physician, John Locke, was born. He spent over 20 years developing the ideas he published in his most significant work, “Essay Concerning Human Understanding” in which he analysed the nature of human reason, and promoted experimentation as the basis of knowledge. He was against absolute monarchies and believed that the ruling systems should gain the approval of the majority of people. His other famous works include “Two Treatises of Government”, and “A Letter Concerning Toleration”. He died in 1704.

249 lunar years ago, on this day in 1188 AH, Jalal od-Din Haidar Shuja od-Dowla, the Nawab Wazir of the Mughal Empire and ruler of the Naishapuri dynasty of Iranian origin of the State of Awadh, died in his capital Faizabad after ruling for 21 years, and was succeeded by his son Asaf-od-Dowla. Son of Muqim Ali Khan Safdar Jung the Prime Minister of the Mughal Empire, who was a Seyyed from Naishapur in Khorasan, northeastern Iran, Shuja od-Dowla was both an experienced military commander and an able administrator. He played key roles in two definitive battles in Indian history. The first was the Third Battle of Panipat during which his decision to join Ahmad Shah Durrani of Afghanistan ended the Maratha domination of the northern regions of the Mughal Empire. He next overthrew the Maratha installed usurper of the Mughal Throne, Shah Jahan III, and reaffirmed Shah Alam II as the rightful emperor in Delhi. Shuja od-Dowla also assisted on several occasions Ali-Vardi Khan the Nawab Nazem of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa, when the latter’s territories were ravaged by the Marathas. Known for his opposition to British expansionism, he played in a key role in the Battle of Buxar, along with the forces of Emperor Shah Alam II and Nawab Mir Qasim Ali Khan of Bengal – although the battle was lost. He is buried in the beautiful Golbari mausoleum in Faizabad which he developed into a full- fledged city, with gardens, palaces, markets, roads and other infrastructure. He was a patron of Persian literature.

109 solar years ago, on this day in 1907, following triumph of the constitutional movement in Iran, the country became target of a fresh colonial plot when Britain and Russia, without informing the weak Qajarid Dynasty, chalked up their spheres of influence, with the Russians taking control of the north and some western parts, and the British taking control of the south, while Tehran and the remaining parts were left under the rule of the central government. The Majlis strongly protested this move, but was helpless. The Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 made the Russians withdraw from Iran leaving the entire country to British influence.

74 solar years ago, on this day in 1942 AD, the great gnostic scholar, Ayatollah Shaikh Hassan Ali Nokhoudaki Isfahani, passed away in holy Mashhad and was laid to rest in the mausoleum of Imam Reza (AS). A pious person since his youth, after completion of preliminary studies in Isfahan under such scholars as Mullah Mohammad Kashi and Jahangir Khan Qashqai, he left for Iraq for higher studies at the famous seminary in holy Najaf. Among his teachers were Seyyed Mohammad Fesharaki, Seyyed Morteza Kashmiri, and Mullah Ismail Qaradaghi. On return to Iran, he settled in Mashhad, where in addition to research and teaching, he was engaged in charitable activities for the poor. Ayatollah Nokhoudaki’s asceticism resulted in his acquiring of certain extraordinary spiritual powers which he used for the benefit of the downtrodden people, without letting anybody know it. These anecdotes have been mentioned in the book “Nishanaz Binishanha” (Traces of the Untraceable).  

67 solar years ago, on this day in 1949 AD, the Soviet Union tested its first atomic bomb. In this manner, nuclear weapons were no longer under the monopoly of the US and a “balance of terror” was established between the two superpowers. The resulting climate known as the Cold War continued between the East and the West blocs until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. The nuclear weapons threat, however, continues to loom large in view of the refusal of the big powers, especially the US, to dismantle their doomsday arsenals. The other nuclear powers are Britain, France, China, India, Pakistan, and the illegal Zionist entity called Israel.

40 solar years ago, on this day in 1976, Bengali poet, writer, musician, and revolutionary, Qazi Nazr-ul-Islam, passed away at the age of 77. He was the national poet of Bangladesh. His poetry and music espoused Indo-Islamic renaissance and intense spiritual rebellion against fascism and oppression. As a result he was imprisoned several times. He was familiar with Persian language, and deeply influenced by Hafez Shirazi. His poems on Islam and social justice have been translated into Farsi.

35 solar years ago, on this day in 1981 AD, Iranian President Mohammad Ali Rajai, and Prime Minister Hojjat al-Islam Mohammad Javad Bahonar, were martyred in a bomb blast carried out by the MKO terrorist outfit at the premier’s office in Tehran. Rajai, a teacher by profession, was imprisoned and tortured on several occasions by the Shah’s regime for his Islamic political activities. Following the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979, he was elected to the parliament, was named minister of education, became prime minister, and finally chosen as president in the nationwide elections. He named courageous and committed religious scholar Dr. Mohammad Javad Bahonar, as the premier. In view of the impeccable credentials of these two faithful and modest persons, who were committed to the lofty ideals of the Islamic Revolution, the MKO terrorist outfit martyred them this day on the orders of Global Arrogance.

29 solar years ago, on this day in 1987 AD, Palestinian cartoonist, Naji Salim al-Ali Palestinian, noted for the political criticism of the Arab regimes and the illegal Zionist entity, in his works, died in hospital, after being shot in the face and wounded five weeks earlier, outside the London office of the Kuwait daily, al-Qabas, for which he drew political caricatures. He drew over 40,000 cartoons, which often reflected Palestinian and Arab public opinion and were sharply critical commentaries on Palestinian and Arab politics and political leaders. He is perhaps best known as creator of the character Handala, pictured in his cartoons as a young witness of the satirized policy or event depicted, and who has since become an icon of Palestinian defiance.

12 solar years ago, on this day in 2003 AD, Ayatollah Seyyed Mohammad Baqer al-Hakim was martyred at the age of 64 years, along with at least 125 other Muslims, while stepping out of the holy shrine of the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS) in Najaf after leading the Friday Prayer in its courtyard, due to a bomb blast carried out by US-backed Salafi and Ba’thist terrorists. Son of the Late Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Mohsin al-Hakim, he was active against the repressive Ba’th minority regime, suffering bouts of imprisonment, before seeking asylum 1980 in the Islamic Republic of Iran, where he headed the Supreme Assembly for the Islamic Revolution of Iraq (SAIRI) in exile. On 12 May 2003, he had returned to Iraq after 23 years in exile, and was greeted by thousands of admirers from Basra till his hometown Najaf, where became active in the struggle against the American occupation of the country.

8 Shahrivar of the Iranian Calendar: is commemorated every year as “Day of Campaign against Terrorism” in memory of the tragic martyrdom on July 30, 1981, of Iranian President Mohammad Ali Rajai and Prime Minister Hojjat al-Islam Mohammad Jawad Bahanor, and the support of western regimes for the MKO terrorists who carried out this dastardly bomb blast and then shamelessly claimed responsibility for it.