Today is Wednesday; 21st of the Iranian month of Mehr 1395 solar hijri; corresponding to 10th of the Islamic month of Muharram 1438 lunar hijri; and October 12, 2016, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

2555 solar years ago, on this day in 539 BC, the historical city of Babylon, in what is now Iraq, was conquered by Cyrus the Great of Iran, the Founder of Achaemenian Dynasty. In order to break through the impregnable fortifications of the city, which was once the centre of science, culture and civilization, Cyrus ordered his troops to divert the waters of the River Tigris that ran through Babylon, and through the now waterless canal his troops entered the city and accomplished the conquest. Cyrus borrowed the rich cultural and scientific heritage of Babylonia and Mesopotamia, which was the cradle of human civilization, to lay the foundations of the Persian Empire, as the first world power that would span parts of the three continents of Asia, Europe and Africa. For the next two centuries until the invasion of Alexander of Macedon, Babylon and Iraq were part of the Persian Empire. Later around 150 BC, the capital of the Parthian Empire of Iran was established in Iraq near Babylon in the city of Ctesiphon (in the vicinity of modern Baghdad), and continued to be the seat of power of the next Iranian dynasty, the Sassanid till the year 637 AD.

1377 lunar years ago, on the eve of this fateful day (Ashura) in 61 AH, when the Omayyad commander Omar ibn Sa’d renewed the demand that Imam Husain (AS) give pledge of allegiance to the libertine Yazid’s Godless rule or risk an immediate attack, the grandson of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) asked for a night’s respite to pray and supplicate to God. As a matter of fact, the Imam gave respite to the enemy forces to contemplate on their blasphemous decision to gang up against the blessed Ahl al-Bayt. On the morrow, the brave Horr ar-Riyahi, along with a few conscientious persons defected to the Imam’s side – not in pursuit of any material gain but for courting glorious martyrdom for the sake of God and Islam. Earlier the previous night, Shimr Zi’l-Jowshan, who had arrived in Karbala on Moharram 9 with instructions from the tyrannical governor of Iraq, Obaidullah ibn Ziyad to Omar Ibn Sa’d to either handover command of the Omayyad forces or attack and kill the Prophet’s grandson, announced that he had brought a letter of security for the Imam’s brother, the valiant standard-bearer, Hazrat Abbas (AS), if he defects. Hazrat Abbas (AS) spurned Shimr’s offer and scoffed at his claim of being a kinsman of his mother, Omm al-Baneen, saying he will never leave the Imam’s side till the last drop of his blood.

1377 lunar years ago, on this day in 61 AH, the world's most heartrending tragedy occurred with the tragic martyrdom of Imam Husain (AS) in Karbala, Iraq, along with 72-odd steadfast companions including sons, brothers, nephews, kinsmen, and friends, who refused to endorse the illegitimate rule of the Godless tyrant, Yazid bin Mu'awiyah. The epic of Ashura as the Day is known saved Islam and all humanitarian values. On the morning of this fateful day, the Imam rode his mount and calling on the cowardly hypocrites asked them as to why they wanted his innocent blood, knowing fully well that he was the Prophet's successor and their well-wisher in both the life of this mortal world and the Hereafter. At this, Omar ibn Sa'd, the commander of the Omayyad forces, who had been promised the governorship of Rayy in northern Iran if he killed the grandson of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), shot the first arrow, which was followed by a volley from the enemies. The Imam and his followers refused to yield and fighting bravely the 30,000 troops against all odds, courted martyrdom in combat. Among the martyrs were the Imam's valiant brother and standard bearer of the group, Hazrat Abbas (AS), who lost both his hands while trying to bring water to the thirsty camp from the besieged River Euphrates. The Imam also saw the tragic martyrdom before his eyes, of not only his 18-year son, Ali Akbar, who bore a striking resemblance to the Prophet, but also his six-month infant son, Ali Asghar, whose throat was savagely targeted by an arrow when the Imam took the child and asked the stone-hearted enemies to at least provide water for the innocent baby. After cruelly martyring Imam Husain and beheading him while alive, the cowardly enemies looted the camp and took as prisoners, the womenfolk and children of their own Prophet. The martyrdom of Imam Husain (AS) thus unmasked hypocrisy and became a rallying point for justice and freedom. It serves till this day as a catalyst for reforms and revolutions, and steadfastness against oppression and colonialist designs, as demonstrated by Islamic Resistance movements all over the world.

1086 lunar years ago, on this day in 352 AH, the Founder of the Iranian Buwaihid dynasty of Iran-Iraq, Moiz od-Dowla Daylami, ordered public holiday in his capital Baghdad on the anniversary of the heartrending tragedy of Karbala. The market and all work came to a halt, as for the first time in history a procession of mourners of Imam Husain (AS) took to the streets to commemorate in public the martyrdom of the grandson of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). Three weeks earlier on 18th Zilhijja, Moiz od-Dowla had officially initiated celebrations on the anniversary of the historical event of Ghadir-Khom, on which in the year 10 AH, the Prophet, as per divine revelation (holy Qur’an 5:67) had proclaimed Imam Ali (AS) as vicegerent.

534 solar years ago, on this day in 1492 AD, Italian navigator Christopher Columbus’ Spanish-funded expedition across the Atlantic Ocean, with the help of Spanish Muslims, who knew the routes to the ‘New World’, made landfall in the Caribbean, specifically in an island of the Bahamas which he named San Salvador, but which was called Guanahani by the local Taino people, whom the Spaniard Christians exterminated. Columbus seriously underestimated the size of the Earth--never dreaming that two great continents blocked his path to the east. Even after four voyages to America, Columbus believed until the end of his life in 1506 that he had discovered an isolated corner of Asia.

484 solar years ago, on this day in 1532 AD, Spanish invaders, led by Francisco Pizarro, attacked Peru in South America, destroying the advanced Inca Empire and massacring the native people.

203 solar years ago, on this day in 1813 AD, the Golestan Treaty was imposed on Qajarid Iran by Czarist Russia in the village of the same name in the Caucasus, following ten years of warfare that led to the loss of vast areas of northwestern Iran in the Caucasus. As per the treaty that was mediated by the crafty British, the Russians occupied what are now the republics of Daghestan and Georgia, as well as Baku in northern Azarbaijan. Thirteen years later, Russia again invaded Iran, and occupied other regions, such as Armenia, Nakhchivan and what is now the Republic of Azerbaijan.

194 solar years ago, on this day in 1822 AD, Prince Pedro proclaimed Brazil as an independent country and himself an emperor on his 24^th birthday, over a year after the return to Lisbon of his father King Joao VI, who in 1807 had shifted to Brazil the entire royal court following Portugal’s invasion by Napoleon Bonaparte of France. Portugal had seized this part of South America in 1500 with the landing of a fleet led by Pedro Alvares Cabral. The Portuguese almost drove into extinction the local Amerindians and forcibly Christianized other natives. They then kidnapped hundreds of thousands of black people from Africa to work as slaves on plantations and farmlands. On 29 August 1825, Portugal formally recognized the independence of Brazil. In 1831 Pedro I abdicated the throne of Brazil in favour of his minor son, Pedro II and returned to Europe, where shortly after retaking Portugal following a civil war, and ascending the throne in Lisbon as Pedro IV, he died of tuberculosis in 1834. In 1889 Brazil became a republic, a year after Pedro II whose reforms such as abolishment of slavery in 1888, angered plantation owners and led to his overthrow.

194 solar years ago, on this day in 1823 AD, Charles Macintosh of Scotland began selling for the first time what he had invented and called a raincoat for protection of clothes from showers.

145 solar years ago, on this day in 1871 AD, the Criminal Tribes Act (CTA) was enacted by British colonialists in India, which unjustly branded over 160 local communities as 'Criminal Tribes' or ‘hereditary criminals’. This discriminatory law was repealed in 1949, after India gained Independence.

92 solar years ago, on this day in 1924 AD, French journalist, author, poet, and Nobel Prize laureate, Anatole France, died at the age of 80 in Saint-Cyr-sur-Loire in central France. Born in Paris, he was considered the ideal French man of letters.

90 solar years ago, on this day in 1926 AD, the Iranian poet and literary figure, Mohammad Taqi Shourideh Shirazi passed away at the age of 69 in Shiraz and was laid to rest in the mausoleum of the famous Persian poet, Shaikh Mosleh od-Din Sa’di. At the age of 7 he lost his sight as the result of blister. After his father's death, he was brought up by his maternal uncle and due to his high intelligence, in a short time he established himself as a great poet. In Tehran, the Qajarid ruler, Nasser od-Din greatly admired him and gave him the title “Fasih ol-Molk” Shourideh returned to Shiraz and stayed there up to the end of his life.

52 solar years ago, on this day in 1964 AD, the Capitulation Bill was approved by the rubber-stamp parliament of the Pahlavi regime, granting US military personnel immunity from trial in Iran's courts on committing any crime. This was an infringement of Iran's national sovereignty and an insult to the Iranian nation. Hence, the Father of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (RA), rejected it outright and later in a historical speech revealed the sinister dimensions of aspects of this humiliating bill for the Iranian people, while castigating the British-installed Mohammad Reza Pahlavi for his oppression of the people and subservience to the US. This keynote speech led to the detention and exile of the Imam on November 4, 1964.

48 solar years ago, on this day in 1968 AD, the contemporary Iranian painter, Hussein Behzad, passed away. He was known as the most important miniaturist painter of contemporary Iran, and should not be confused with Kamal od-Din Behzad the Master-Painter of the Safavid Era. He was an innovative miniaturist painter and revived in modern times this aesthetic Iranian-Islamic art. He adopted new methods in application of colors to depict joy, sorrow and other emotions. Among the valuable works of art which he has left behind, mention can be made of "Eivan-e Mada'en" or the Portal of Anushirvan's Palace in Ctesiphon, near Baghdad, and "Fath-e Babel" or The Conquest of Babylon by Cyrus the Great.

37 solar years ago, on this day in 1979 AD, prominent Iranian mathematician, logician and literary figure, Dr. Gholam-Hussain Mosaheb, passed away at the age of 69. Born in Tehran to physician Mohammad Ali, his grandfather was the famous calligrapher, Mirza Ali Khoshnevis, who composed the thousand-couplet poem, entitled “Alfiyah”, describing the didactic rules of Arabic grammar, rendering these easy to memorize by Arabic students. Mosaheb who studied in Iran, France and England; and received his Ph.d from Cambridge University, was fluent in Persian, Arabic, French and English. He founded the Institute of Mathematics, Teacher Training University and was director of the Institute of Mathematics of Khwarazmi University from 1972-1974.  Earlier in 1938 Mosaheb had edited Omar Khayyam’s famous Algebraic work “al-Jabr wa’l-Moqabela Risala fi’l-Barahin ala Masa’el al-Jabr wa’l-Moqabela” and published it as “Jabr o Moqabela-ye Khayyam” with a brief Persian translation and extensive footnotes and elaborate appendixes and addenda. During the 1950s, when Persian scientific typography was flourishing, Mosaheb invented a left slanted right-to-left font style that he named the Iranic font. This term is still commonly used by typographers in Iran, often as a general term for any left slanted font. In 1955, his “Madkhal-e Manteq-e Soorat” (Introduction to Formal Logic) was the first scholarly writing in mathematical logic to be published in Iran. Mosaheb's most famous work in non-mathematical society is as the author of the 3-volume “Daerat al-Ma’aref-e Farsi” (“Persian Encyclopedia”), written in the Persian language. His methods of organizing and categorizing are still in use. On June 28, 2009 it was announced that the 100th book released by the Society for the Appreciation of Cultural works and Dignitaries had been allocated to the life, scientific and cultural works of Gholam Hussain Mosaheb, which contain many of his published works including an article entitled “The First Trigonometry Book”.

18 solar years ago, on this day in 1998 AD, the Iranian researcher and writer, Rajab-Ali Mazloumi, passed away at the age of 71. Born in Naishapur in Khorasan, he studied in holy Mashhad and was an expert in Qur’an sciences, Hadith, Philosophy, History, Gnosis, Islamic Arts, and education. He wrote some 90 books and 500 articles on various topics. His books include: “Youth and Religion”, “Ali (AS) the Criterion of Perfection”, “Understanding the Qur’an” and “Meritorious Ladies”.

17 solar years ago, on this day in 1999 AD, General Pervez Musharraf ousted Prime Minister Mohammad Nawaz Sharif in a bloodless coup and seized power in Pakistan, a day after he was dismissed from his post of chairman of the army's joint chief of staff. For nine years, Musharraf stayed in power, by changing the constitution and becoming the president through rigged elections. He turned the country into a US base for the invasion and occupation of Afghanistan. In July 2008 he was forced to resign and hand over power to an elected civilian government. Earlier this year, Musharraf not just lost the general elections after returning home from self-exile but was charged with murder and other unlawful activities during his term as president, and is currently under house arrest, waiting the court’s decision.

15 solar years ago, on this day in 2001 AD, Ayatollah Shaikh Abu’l-Fazl Khwansari Najafi, the Friday Prayer Leader of Arak, passed away at the age of 85. Born in Isfahan, at the age of 20 he left for holy Najaf in Iraqi, where he attended the classes of Grand Ayatollah Mohsin al-Hakim and Grand Ayatollah Seyyed. Because of ill-health he returned to Iran and in holy Qom attended the classes of Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Hussain Boroujerdi, eventually attaining the status of Ijtehad. He was a firm supporter of the Father of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (RA).

6 solar years ago, on this day in 2010 AD, Iranian President Dr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, welcomed by tens of thousands of Lebanese people in Beirut, including Christians and Sunni Muslims, throwing rose petals, underscored the growing power of the Islamic Republic and the Islamic Resistance in the face of US-Zionist plots. Later, the Iranian president visited the border with occupied Palestine and boldly denounced the illegal Zionist entity.

2 solar years ago, on this day in 2014 AD, East African academic and political scientist, Professor Ali Mazrui, passed away at the age of 81 in New York, where he was Director of the Institute of Global Cultural Studies at Binghamton University, and as per his will, his body was taken to his hometown Mombasa in Kenya for burial in his ancestral graveyard as per Islamic rites. After preliminary studies in Mombasa, he completed higher education in Britain, and returned to East Africa to teach at the University of Kampala in Uganda, from where after expulsion by the dictator Idi Amin, he settled in the US, teaching as professor in several universities. An expert writer on African and Islamic studies as well as North-South relations, he was critical of African socialism and all strains of Marxism. He argued that communism was a Western import just as unsuited for the African condition as the earlier colonial attempts to install European type governments. At the same time he was a prominent critic of the current world order. He believed the capitalist system was deeply exploitative of Africa, and that the West practiced global apartheid. He opposed the West’s interventions in the developing world, such as the US war on Iraq, and was against the policies of the Zionist entity, Israel – one of the first to link the treatment of Palestinians with South Africa's apartheid. Mazrui was also a well-known commentator on Islam and Islamism. He rejected violence and terrorism and praised the anti-imperialist sentiment that plays an important role in the modern world. He maintained that the dynamism of the shari’a law is compatible with democracy. Mazrui wrote several books, including on his native Swahili language and culture.

AS/MG