Today is Friday; 14th of the Iranian month of Aban 1395 solar hijri; corresponding to 4th of the Islamic month of Safar 1438 lunar hijri; and November 4, 2016, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

605 solar years ago, on this day in 1411 AD, Khalil Sultan, the Timurid ruler of Transoxiana from 1405 to 1409, died in Rayy near modern Tehran. He was a son of Miran Shah and a grandson of the fearsome Turkic conqueror Amir Timur, who in 1402 gave him rule of Ferghana valley – spread across in what is now Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrghizistan – on being impressed by his military prowess during the conquest of North India. Upon Timur's death in 1405 Khalil viewed himself as successor and quickly casting aside his cousin, Pir Mohammad, the appointed heir, took control of the capital, Samarqand, including Timur's vast treasury. Meanwhile, his uncle Shah Rukh, the youngest son of Timur and governor of Khorasan, pressed his own claim and advanced against him from Herat in what is now Afghanisan, but turned back when Khalil's father Miran Shah, the governor of Azerbaijan marched in support. Khalil's position, however, began to weaken. He was unpopular in Samarqand, because of his wife Shad Mulk's undue influence on state affairs. A famine caused him to be even more despised, and he left Samarqand for his base Ferghana. His rule in Samarqand finally ended on May 13, 1409 when Shah Rukh entered the city unopposed and placed his own son, the famous astronomer-mathematician, Ulugh Beg, as ruler of Transoxiana. Shah Rukh showed clemency towards Khalil and appointed him governor of Rayy.

440 solar years ago, on this day in 1576 AD, during the Eighty Years’ War, Spanish forces invaded Flanders and captured the city of Antwerp in what is now Belgium. After three days of fighting the city was almost destroyed.

225 solar years ago, on this day in 1791 AD, US General, Arthur St. Clair, governor of Northwest Territory, was decisively defeated by an Amerindian army near Fort Wayne, Indiana on the banks of Wabash River. Miami Amerindian Chief Little Turtle led the powerful force of the native tribes of Miami, Wyandot, Iroquois, Shawnee, Delaware, Ojibwa and Potawatomi that inflicted the greatest defeat ever suffered by the US Army at the hands of Amerindians. The staggering defeat moved Congress to authorize a larger army in 1792.

115 solar years ago, on this day in 1901, Greek archaeologist Spyridon Nikolaou Marinatos, whose most notable discovery was the site of an ancient port city on Thera Island in the southern Aegean Sea, was born. The city, the name of which was not discovered, apparently had about 20,000 inhabitants when it was destroyed by the great volcanic eruption of 1500 BC, as a sign of divine wrath for its sinful populace after repeated warnings through messengers of God. Among the finds made at the site were the finest frescoes discovered in the Mediterranean region to that time, surpassing even those found at Knossos in Crete. The most famous of these murals is the "Two Boys Boxing".

98 solar years ago, on this day in 1918 AD, the Austro-Hungarian Empire surrendered to Allied Powers, a week prior to the end of World War I. It was the most important ally of Germany and broke up into several countries.

70 solar years ago, on this day in 1946 AD, the constitution of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) came into effect. The aim behind its foundation was to establish scientific and cultural links and bonds among world nations and to publish books in different languages. Among the clauses of the UNESCO charter are respect for justice, rule of law, and protection of human rights and basic liberties.

69 lunar years ago, on this day in 1369 AH, senior Iranian religious leader, Ayatollah Mirza Mohammad Ali Shahabadi, passed away in Tehran at the age of 77. He was an accomplished scholar in the field of philosophy and Gnosticism and groomed numerous students at the Qom Seminary. Among his prominent students was the Father of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (RA). Ayatollah Shahabadi wrote a large number of books and treatises including "al-Insaan wa’l-Khateraat".

56 solar years ago, on this day in 1960 AD, at the Kasakela Chimpanzee Community in Tanzania, Dr. Jane Goodall observed chimpanzees creating tools, the first-ever observation in non-human animals.

38 solar years ago, on this day in 1978 AD, during the nationwide mass protests in Iran against the oppressive Pahlavi regime, Premier Ja'far Sharif-Imami and his cabinet were forced to resign after five weeks in office. He was one of the most corrupt officials of the Shah's regime and was appointed to deceive the people and derail the Islamic Movement from its course. Following the resignation of Sharif-Imami, the instigator of the Black Friday massacre in Tehran, General Gholam-Reza Azhari formed a military cabinet, but the Father of Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (RA), called on the Iranian people to continue their struggle until the collapse of the regime.

29 solar years ago, on this day in 1887 AD, the First Tehran International Book Fair was held with the participation of publishers from 32 countries. It has since become a regular annual feature in the Iranian capital.

26 solar years ago, on this day in 1990 AD, Iranian researcher, Dr. Faramarz Ashuri, discovered the anti-radiation feature of a number of natural materials. This pharmacist and biochemist, after 14 years of research, discovered a new medicine, while in Japan, which is used for prevention and treatment of ailments resulting from ionized radiations, making the human body resistant.

21 solar years ago, on this day in 1995 AD, Premier Yitzhak Rabin of the illegal Zionist entity was killed while in office. In his previous term as premier from 1974 to 1977, he was forced to step down because of financial corruption. Rabin’s assassination by a fellow Zionist showed the disputes amongst officials of the usurper state of Israel. Rabin was a commander of Zionist terrorist groups and led numerous attacks on Arabs and Palestinians, committing heinous crimes including torture and murder.

AS/ME