Today is Thursday; 6th of the Iranian month of Aban 1395 solar hijri; corresponding to 25th of the Islamic month of Muharram 1438 lunar hijri; and October 27, 2016, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1343 lunar years ago, on this day in 95 AH, Imam Ali Zain al-Abedin (AS), the 4^th Infallible Successor of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), attained martyrdom at the age of 57 as a result of a fatal dose of poison administered on the orders of Waleed I, the 6^th self-styled caliph of the usurper Omayyad regime. The 4^th Imam, who was born in Medina in 38 AH, was the son of the Immortal Martyr of Karbala, Imam Husain (AS). His mother was Princess Shahrbano (SA) of Iran, the daughter of the last Sassanid Emperor, Yazdgerd III. Following the tragedy of Karbala, the 23-year old Imam Zain al-Abedin (AS) was made a prisoner along with the womenfolk and children of the Prophet’s blessed household, and taken to the courts of the tyrants in Kufa and Damascus. He waged a unique jihad in this state of captivity and despite being in chain and fetters, rocked the court of Yazid through his eloquent sermons that exposed the hypocrisy and Godlessness of the Omayyads. During the 34 years of his imamate or divinely-decreed authority, the he revived the genuine teachings of Islam and groomed a large number of scholars at the fledgling academy of Medina which was to blossom under his son, Imam Mohammad al-Baqer (AS) and later under his grandson Imam as-Ja’far as-Sadeq (AS), at whose feet 4,000 scholars used to study various branches of science. The 4^th Imam was also known as “Seyyed os-Sajedin” or simply “Sajjad”, because of his long hours of prostration to God Almighty. Among his immortal legacy is the Treatise on Rights (Risalat-al-Hoqouq), whic is more perfect than the UN Charter of Human Rights. He also bequeathed to humanity the brilliant collection of supplications known as “Sahifat as-Sajjadiyah” that not only covers morals and fundamentals of faith, but also scientific issues, including the weight of light.

1306 solar years ago, on this day in 710 AD, the first Arab invasion of the Mediterranean island of Sardinia took place, and the conquest was completed in 720, making it part of the expanding world of Islam. Muslim rule lasted three centuries until 1016.

1084 lunar years ago, on this day in 354 AH, the Imami scholar Muhassin Ibn Ali Qazi Tanukhi passed away. He was a master of Arabic literature and wrote a fitting reply on the God-endowed merits of the Prophet’s Ahl al-Bayt by rejecting the superficial eulogy composed by Ibn Mo’tazz on the forged superiority of the Abbasids.

685 solar years ago, on this day in 1331 AD, the historian, geographer, and statesman, Abu'l-Fida Isma'il Ibn Ali al-Hamawi, died at the age of 58. Born in Damascus into the ruling Kurdish Ayyubid dynasty, he devoted himself to the study of the holy Qur'an and the sciences, and was then almost constantly engaged in military expeditions, chiefly against the crusaders of Europe. In 1298 he entered the service of the Mamluk Sultan of Egypt-Syria, Malik an-Naser, and after twelve years was made the governor of Hamah. For over twenty years he reigned in peace, busy in the duties of government and writing of works that include “Tarikh al-Mukhtasar fi Akhbari'l-Bashar” (The Concise History of Humanity), starting with the creation of the world to the year 1329. His Geography is, like much of his History, founded on the works of his predecessors. A long introduction on various geographical matters is followed by twenty-eight sections dealing in tabular form with the chief towns of the world. After each name are given the longitude, latitude, climate, spelling, and then observations generally taken from earlier authors. The crater “Abulfeda” on the Moon is named after him.

567 solar years ago, on this day in 1449 AD, the prominent astronomer-king of the Timurid dynasty, Mirza Mohammad Taraghay Ulugh Beg, was killed by his rebellious son, Abdul-Latif "Pidarkush" (Persian for Killer of Father), while on his way to Mecca for pilgrimage after being deposed, after a reign of two years as king, and 38 years as absolute governor of Transoxiana (today's Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, and southern Kazakhstan). Born in Soltaniyeh near Zanjan in Iran, his father was Shahrukh, the son and successor of the fearsome Turkic conqueror, Amir Timur, while his mother was the cultured and religious Iranian lady, Gowharshad, the builder of the famous mosque  adjacent to the shrine of Imam Reza (AS), in Mashhad. His seat of government was Samarqand, where he built a great observatory with the assistance of the famous Iranian astronomer, Ghiyas od-Din Jamshid Kashani. He also built madrasahs in Samarqand and Bukhara, transforming the two cities into cultural centres of learning. He determined the length of the sidereal year as 365.2570370, making it more accurate than the estimate of Nicolaus Copernicus, who had based his calculation mostly on that of Thabet Ibn Qurra. He also determined the Earth's axial tilt as 23.52 degrees, which remained the most accurate measurement for hundreds of years. In mathematics, he wrote accurate trigonometric tables of sine and tangent values correct to at least eight decimal places. The crater "Ulugh Beg", on the Moon, is named after him.

463 solar years ago, on this day in 1553 AD, Spanish physician, Michael Servetus, was burned at the stake in Geneva by the Christian Church at the age of 42 for studying the Qur’an, raising objections to the belief in Trinity and borrowing from Latin translations of the works of Islamic scientists to determine the correct circulation of blood in the human body. Servetus believed that Judaism and Islam had preserved the unity of God in their teachings, while Trinitarians had turned Christianity into a form of "Tritheism" (belief in three gods). He also defended the botanical views of his friend Leonhard Fuchs. Servetus indicated that the blood came from the heart through the pulmonary artery and back through the pulmonary vein; it did not go through the heart muscle itself.

411 solar years ago, on this day in 1605 AD, Mohammad Jalal od-Din Akbar, the 3rd Mughal Emperor of the Northern Subcontinent, died at the age of 63 after a reign of 50 years. Akbar, whose ancestors included the fearsome conquerors Amir Timur and Genghis Khan, ascended the throne as a youth of 13 years, following the death of his father, Humayun, shortly after the latter’s return from exile in Iran and re-conquest of northern India with the military help provided by Shah Tahmasp. His mother was the Iranian lady, Hamida Banu, the daughter of Ali Akbar Jami, a descendent of the famous mystic Shaikh Ahmad Jaam of Khorasan. Initially his rule extended only over the Punjab and the area around Delhi. With the help of his guardian, the famed Baharlu Turkman Chief, Bayram Khan, he won the 2nd Battle of Panipat in 1556 by decisively defeating the newly self-declared Hindu king, Hemu. As his power and prestige increased, the Rajput chieftains acknowledged his suzerainty. He continued his conquests, taking the Muslim kingdoms of Malwa (1561), Gujarat (1573), Bengal (1576), Kashmir (1586), and Khandesh (1601). Initially, Akbar was a patron of arts and attracted scholars, poets, painters, and musicians, to his court from India, Iran and central Asia. He had Sanskrit classics translated into Persian and was enthusiastic about the European paintings presented to him by Jesuit missionaries. He respected religious leaders, and his Chief Judge was the famous Iranian scholar, Seyyed Nourollah Shushtari, the author of several books, including "Ahqaq al-Haq" – later martyred by Emperor Jahanagir, and famous ever since as “Shaheed Sallis” (Third Martyr) with his shrine in Agra.

185 lunar years ago, on this day in 1253 AH, the first Iranian monthly newspaper: “Kaghazi Akhbar” was published by Mirza Saleh Shirazi in two pages in Tabriz. Its articles were about Tehran and other Iranian cities, as well as Arab countries, Turkey, and the Subcontinent. A copy of this monthly is kept in the British Museum.

111 solar years ago, on this day in 1905 AD, Norway seceded from Sweden and became independent. Norway was occupied by Denmark in 1380 and after over four centuries of Danish rule was handed over to Sweden in 1814 by the Vienna Congress for the role played by the Swedish forces in the wars against Napoleon. This led to great resentment amongst the Norwegians, who ultimately gained independence and established a constitutional monarchy. Norway is part of the Scandinavian Peninsula. It covers an area of 324,000 sq km, and shares borders with Sweden, Finland, and Russia.

106 solar years ago, on this day in 1910 AD, the Korean Peninsula was occupied by imperialist Japan after the defeat of Russia and China in successive wars. The occupation lasted until Japan's humiliating defeat in the Second World War in 1945, when the victorious American and Soviet forces quickly moved in to divide the Korean Peninsula into the communist North and the capitalist South. Although the Russians have long withdrawn from North Korea, the American occupation forces still remain in South Korea against the wishes of the Korean people who long for unity and peace.

58 solar years ago, on this day in 1958 AD, Iskander Mirza, the first President of Pakistan, was deposed in a bloodless coup by General Ayub Khan, who was appointed enforcer of martial law by Mirza 20 days earlier. Iskander Mirza belonged to the ruling family of Murshidabad in Bengal which was of Iranian origin. He died in London and was buried in Iran in the holy mausoleum of Seyyed Abdul-Azim al-Hassani (AS) in Rayy, south of Tehran.

35 solar years ago, on this day in 1981 AD, the Father of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (RA), rejected outright the proposal of the then Saudi Heir Apparent, Fahd bin Abdul-Aziz, to try to legitimize the illegal existence of the Zionist entity under guise of a so-called peace plan. The Imam said: “It is incumbent upon us and on every Muslim to reject plans like those of Fahd and Saadaat (Egypt’s notorious president who signed the scandalous Camp David Accord). It is obligatory for us to condemn such plans that are against the interests of the oppressed people. These days the most dangerous ploys are the Camp David Accord and the Fahd Plan which condone Israel and its crimes. These plans are causes of discord and provide outlets for Israel.”

Imam Khomeini’s timely and decisive stand that was hailed by Muslims worldwide made many Muslim countries reject the Fahd Plan. The Imam’s foresight was proved true years later when the Zionist entity continued to violate the agreements it had reached with the compromising faction of the Palestinians who despite giving more and more concessions to Israel remain isolated and deprived of their basic birthrights.

25 solar years ago, on this day in 1991 AD Turkmenistan’s independence from the Soviet Union was ratified by the country’s High Council. This area, which before the migration of Turkic tribes was Iranian territory, both before and after the advent of Islam, used to be part of Greater Khorasan and Khwarezm. The Iranian Samanid dynasty of Bukhara in what is now Uzbekistan exercised sovereignty not only over this land but most of Central Asia which witnessed the flowering of Iran's Islamic culture and the birth of modern Persian language in the 10^th and 11^th centuries. The Mongol invasion and occupation of Central Asia changed the demography of these lands, and although a greater part of what is now Turkmenistan, including the historical city of Marv, was part of Iran's Safavid Empire, the gradual weakening of Iranian authority, saw rise of Turkic Khanates, which were occupied in the 19th century by expansionist Russia. The defeat of Turkmen tribes in 1881 saw Moscow officially annexing this land. After the Russian revolution of 1917, this land was the scene of struggles between communists and nationalists. In 1924, the Soviets created for the first time the Turkmenistan Socialist Republic, which finally gained independence with the disintegration of the Soviet Union. Turkmenistan has a coastline on the inland Caspian Sea, and shares land borders with Iran, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan. It has an area of almost 488,000 sq km and its capital is Eshqabad.

11 solar years ago, on this day in 2005 AD, Iran launched its Sina-1 satellite from the Plesetsk launch pad in northern Russia, a major step in the country's space programme. Sina-1 gave Iran space reconnaissance capability over the entire Middle East. Soon Iran built its own satellite launching pads and has since taken giant steps in space technology.

AS/ME