Today is Monday; 24th of the Iranian month of Aban 1395 solar hijri; corresponding to 14th of the Islamic month of Safar 1438 lunar hijri; and November 14, 2016, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1451 solar years ago, on this day in 565 AD, Emperor Justinian I of Byzantine or the Eastern Roman Empire, died at the age of 83 after a reign of 38 years, during which he was embroiled in a disastrous war with the Sassanid Empire of Iran. Having succeeded his maternal uncle Justin I in 527, he embarked on a policy of expansionism as he strove to become the emperor of the Western Roman Empire as well, when his generals conquered North Africa, Sicily, southern Spain and most of Italy including Rome from the Ostrogoths. On his eastern borders, however, he had to conclude an "Eternal Peace" in 532 with the new Iranian emperor, Khosrow Anushirvan by paying 11,000 pounds of gold, a year after the defeat of Roman forces near Callinicum in what is now Turkey by Emperor Qobad. In 540 the ‘Eternal Peace’ was broken because of Justinian’s intrigues in Armenia which made Khosrow I capture Beroea and then Antioch in Syria, resulting in the 22-year war that ended in 562 with conclusion of the “Fifty-Year Peace” and payment of 5,000 pounds of gold, plus 500 pounds of gold more each year to the Iranians by the Romans. Khosrow Anoushirvan’s prudent policy thus thwarted Roman designs in Syria, Anatolia, Armenia and Upper Mesopotamia, as he made sure that Rome would never be a threat to Iran by keeping close contacts with the Goths, the Huns, and the Arabs. Justinian during his long reign embellished his capital Constantinople with buildings, including a new Christian basilica – the Hagia Sophia, which is Greek for “Holy Wisdom” – as seat of the Greek Orthodox Church. He also codified the Roman law which serves as the basis of modern law in most European states.

1400 lunar years ago, on this day in 38 AH, the governor of Egypt, Mohammad bin Abu Bakr, who was one of the loyal disciples of the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS), was martyred at the age of 27 by the Godless invader Amr bin Aas, sent by the rebellious Omayyad governor of Syria, Mu'awiyah bin Abu Sufyan. His grave in Cairo is a site of pilgrimage. His mother was the virtuous Asma bint Omays, the widow of the Imam’s elder brother Hazrat Ja’far at-Tayyar, whom circumstances had compelled to become the wife of Abu Bakr before the latter usurped the caliphate at the scandalous gathering of Saqifa Bani Sa’da. Mohammad, a toddler when his father died, was brought up by Imam Ali (AS), who loved him and regarded him as his own son. The place that he had in the Imam’s heart is sometimes compared to that of Abu Dharr in the heart of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). As an honest and truthful person, Mohammad bin Abu Bakr, was one of the leading critics of the conduct of Othman bin Affan, the third caliph. During the caliphate of Imam Ali (AS), he was a commander of a section of the army in the battles of Jamal and Siffin. The Imam sent him to Egypt as governor, where he was opposed by the “Deserters” or those who had broken their allegiance to the Imam. He strove to restore order to Egypt, but Mu’awiyah who was in correspondence with the “Deserters” dispatched Amr bin Aas to create sedition, as a result of which he was martyred. His wife was Kayhan Bano, a daughter of the last Sassanid emperor of Iran, Yazdegerd III, which means a sister of Hazrat Shahr Bano, the wife of Imam Husain (AS) and mother of Imam Zain al-Abedin (AS). Mohammad bin Abu Bakr’s son was Qasim, a renowned jurist and scholar of Medina, whose daughter Omm Farwa was married to Imam Mohammad Baqer (AS), and became the mother of Imam Ja’far Sadeq (AS).

1143 lunar years ago, on this day in 295 AH, Abu Ibrahim Isma'il I, the most prominent Amir (ruler) of the Iranian Samanid Dynasty of Central Asia and Khorasan, died after a reign of 15 years and was succeeded by his son Ahmad. Isma'il added Kerman, Sistan and Kabul to his empire. A nominal vassal of the Abbasid caliph, he made his capital Bukhara into one of the most glorious cities of the Islamic world, rivaling Baghdad and attracting scholars, artists, and doctors of law into the region. The first translation of the holy Qu'ran into Persian was completed during Samanid rule, which saw the revival of Persian language and literature, along with the patronizing of Arabic. Ismail took Talas, the capital of the Qarluq Turks in what is now Kazakhstan, and propagated Islam amongst the inhabitants, with the result that as many as 30,000 tents of Turks became Muslim. His campaigns kept the heart of his state safe from the raids of the hitherto pagan Turks, and allowed Muslim missionaries to expand their activities in the region. The Samanids were descendants of the famous Sassanid general, Bahram Chobin, and had accepted Islam during Abbasid rule. They also propagated the jurisprudence of what came to be known as the Sunni school, and it was during their rule that most of the Hadith compilers, like Bukhari, Muslim, Tirmizi, Nasa’i, Hakem Nishapuri, and others flourished. They repressed Ismailis, because of the fear of the expanding influence of the Fatemid Dynasty of Egypt-North Africa-Syria-Hijaz, but were rather tolerant of Asna Ash'ari or Twelver Shi'ite Muslims.

1040 solar years ago, on this day in 976 AD, Emperor Zhao Kuangyin, founder of the Song Dynasty of China, died at the age of 49 after a 16-year rule. Also known by his temple name Taizu, he was a distinguished military general under the Later Zhou, and came to power by staging a coup d'état that forced the young Emperor Gong of Later Zhou to abdicate power. During his reign, he conquered the states of Southern Tang, Later Shu, Southern Han and Jingnan, thus reunifying most of China and effectively ending the tumultuous Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. He was murdered by his younger brother, who succeeded him as Emperor.

805 lunar years ago, on this day in 632 AH, the judge and historian, Baha od-Din Yusuf ibn Rafi ibn Shaddad, passed away at the age of 93. Born in Mosul in Iraq, he memorized the holy Qur’an in childhood and later honed his skills in exegesis, hadith and other sciences. He taught at Baghdad’s famous Nizamiyyah Academy, founded by the Iranian statesman, Nizam ol-Molk Tousi, and later after visiting several Islamic lands, he went to Syria to serve as advisor to Salah od-Din Ayoubi, the Kurdish sultan who liberated Palestine and Bayt al-Moqaddas from Crusader occupation. He was an eyewitness to several battles against the Christian invaders from Europe, including the Siege of Acre, and wrote the historical work titled "an-Nawader as-Sultaniyyah”, which is an account of military campaigns. His other well-known book is the 4-volume "Dala'el al-Ahkaam" on jurisprudential issues.

483 solar years ago, on this day in 1533 AD, Ecuador in South America was occupied by Spanish invaders. Ecuador was Spain’s colony for three centuries, until in the year 1822 it was liberated by the people led by Simon Bolivar. It became part of the Federation of Greater Columbia, which dissolved in 1830. Ecuador covers an area of 283,561 sq km and is located along the Pacific Ocean’s coastlines. Its capital is Quito, and it shares borders with Columbia and Peru.

431 lunar years ago, on this day in 1007 AH, the prominent Iranian Islamic Gnostic, jurisprudent, philosopher, and Hadith Authority, Mullah Mohsin Mohammad Fayz Kashani was born in Kashan in a family renowned for its learning. He began his education under his father, Shah Morteza, who possessed a rich library. At the age of twenty he went to Isfahan to pursue his studies, but after about a year moved to Shiraz to study Hadith and jurisprudence with Seyyed Majed Bahrani, on whose death he returned to Isfahan where he joined the circle of the great scholar Shaikh Baha od-Din Ameli, and attended the lectures of the famous Mir Baqer Damad on philosophy. At the age of 23, he departed for Mecca and after performing the Hajj, remained there in order to study Hadith with the Lebanese scholar, Mohammad bin Hassan bin Zayn od-Din Ameli (grandson of the Second Martyr). On his return to Iran, he studied for 8 years with the philosopher, Mullah Sadra Shirazi, whose daughter he married. He later served as Friday Prayer Leader of the Safavid Capital, Isfahan, and towards the end of his 82-year fruitful life, returned to his hometown Kashan where he passed away. Fayz Kashani was a prolific writer in both Persian and Arabic, with more than a hundred and twenty books and treatises to his credit. His widely-read works include “Mahjat-al-Bayza”, “Ayn al-Yaqin”, “Tafsir Safi” (exegesis of holy Qur’an), “Abwaab-ol-Jenan” and “al-Waafi” – which is a commentary of the famous “Osoul Kafi” of Allamah Kulayni. In addition to composing excellent Persian poetry, he wrote “Safinat-an-Nejaat” on astronomy and an exposition of the “Sahifat-as-Sajjadiyya” or collection of supplications of Imam Zain al-Abedin (AS), the 4^th Infallible Heir of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA).

300 solar years ago, on this day in 1716 AD, German philosopher and mathematician, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, died at the age of 70. He founded the science of differential calculus in 1676.

219 solar years ago, on this day in 1797 AD, Scottish geologist and scientist, Charles Lyell, was born. He was the first European to classify geology as a separate branch of science. Following years of research and study, he published in three volumes “The Principles of the Science of Geology”. He died in 1875.

127 solar years ago, on this day in 1889 AD, one of the prominent leaders of India’s struggles against British colonial rule, Jawaharlal Nehru, was born in Allahabad, in northern India in a Kashmiri family. He graduated in law from London, and on returning home, started his struggles against Britain after joining the Congress Party. He was arrested several times, and on release carried on his struggle as a disciple of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. Following India's independence, Nehru became the country's first prime minister, a post he held for 16 years until his death in 1964. During his imprisonment, he wrote lengthy letters to his daughter, Indira Gandhi, and later compiled them in book form under the titles “The Discovery of India” and “Glimpses of World History”, which also deal with the glories of the Islamic civilization and ancient Iranian culture. Nehru was well versed in English, Urdu, Persian and Hindi languages, and was one of the founders of the Non Aligned Movement when the capitalist west and the communist east were converting world countries into satellite states. His daughter, Indira Gandhi, was elected prime minister in 1965 and proved to be an efficient administrator, who successfully resisted US pressures and hegemony.

127 solar years ago, on this day in 1889 AD, the prominent author and literary figure of Egypt, Dr. Taha Hussein, was born. He went blind in childhood, but given his high intelligence, he studied hard and obtained PhDs at Egyptian universities and later at the universities of Montpellier and Sorbonne in France. Thereafter, he became engaged in cultural activities and rendered valuable services in the domain of literature and culture, including the foundation of the University of Alexandria. He was appointed to senior cultural posts and briefly served as Egypt’s minister of education. He has left behind a large number of compilations such as “History of Arabic Literature” “Ibn Khaldoun’s Philosophy” and “al-Fitnat-al-Kubra” or The Great Sedition that deals with the sorry state of affairs of the caliphate after the passing away of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). He also wrote “Hafez and Shawqi”, which is a comparison between two great poets of the Persian and Arabic language, that is, Iran’s Khwaja Hafez Shirazi and Egypt’s Poet Laureate, Ahmad Shawqi. Taha Hussein passed away in 1973.

48 solar years ago, on this day in 1968 AD, the Iranian poet, Mohammad Hassan Rahi Mo’ayyeri, passed away at the age of 59. Born into an artistic family in Tehran, his uncle was the famous poet Foroughi Bastami. He started composing poetry at the age of seventeen, and chose Rahi as pen name. He wrote the famous poem "Shod Khazan" in his teens. He studied the works of all great masters of Persian literature, but especially admired Sa’di, whose influence is visible in his poetry. Besides ghazals, he wrote mathnavis. His poems reflect beautiful imagery, eloquence, and delicacy of expression. His book “Sayeh-e Omr” (The Shadow of Life) was printed in 1964. His famous poem is “Golhayeh Rangarang”.

39 solar years ago, on this day in 1977 AD, vociferous chants of “Death to the Shah” by a huge protest rally of Iranians living in the US – the biggest since the Vietnam War – which rent the air in Washington– was attacked by police forces using teargas that drifted inside the White House to moisten the eyes of both President Jimmy Carter and Mohammad Reza Shah of Iran, who were posing for the press, but ended up providing a sad spectacle to the TV cameras. Over a hundred protestors were injured. The Pahlavi potentate was in the US to submit a report on his suppression of Iranian people under the so-called ‘Open Atmosphere’ policy and to seek new instructions for more suppression.

37 solar years ago, on this day in 1979 AD, a few days after banning of oil imports from the Islamic Republic of Iran, the US regime illegally froze all Iran’s hard currency assets in its banks, totaling scores of billions of dollars. With the blockade of Iran’s banking accounts, the US regime increased economic pressures on the Islamic Republic of Iran which continue to this day. A few days prior to this measure, Iran had stopped oil exports to the US because of American lawlessness.

37 solar years ago, on this day in 1979 AD, the Assembly of Experts completed the drafting and approval of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Constitution, to determine the basis of the Islamic system of government in accordance with the holy Qur’an, the hadith and Islamic values, with special focus on social justice and compliance with the rights of all human beings. The Constitution was duly put to nationwide referendum and approved by the overwhelming majority of the Iranian people, thereby opening a new chapter in the history of constitutions of world countries. In 1989, an amendment to the Constitution took place regarding abolishment of the premier’s post and strengthening of the presidency, and approved by the Assembly of Experts after put to people’s vote.

35 solar years ago, on this day in 1981 AD, the philosopher and famous exegete of the holy Qur’an, Ayatollah Allamah Seyyed Mohammad Hussain Tabatabaei, passed away at the age of 80, and was laid to rest in the mausoleum of Hazrat Ma’sumah (SA) in Qom. He was born in an academic and religious family in the city of Tabriz, northwestern Iran. His previous 14 ancestors were well-known scholars of Tabriz. Following completion of preliminary studies, he learned Islamic sciences and Arabic language, and after studying in holy Najaf, Iraq, where he attained the rank of Ijtehad, he returned to Iran and taught at Islamic seminaries. He studied under well-known scholars in Najaf, such as Ayatollah Mohammad Hussain Na'ini, Ayatollah Mohammad Hussain Gharawi Isfahani, Ayatollah Seyyed Abu’l-Hassan Jilwa, and the famous gnostic, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Qadhi Tabatabaie. He was an innovative philosopher, an expert mathematician, and an active farmer, in addition to being an Islamic Gnostic. He was also well versed in literature and theology and steeped in spiritual values. He wrote several works in philosophy and Islamic sciences, including “The Principles of Philosophy and the Method of Realism” and the famous 20-volume exegesis in Arabic titled “al-Mizan fi Tafsir al-Qur’an”, which has been translated into English language as well. His sessions with French philosopher Henry Corbin were held every fall for 20 years from 1959 to 1979 in the presence of scholars to discuss vital issues about religion, philosophy, and also the challenges of the present world for those who seek truth and spirituality. The result was the writing of an interesting book by the Allamah titled “Musahibat ba Ostad Qorban” (Dialogues with Professor Corbin). His students include such famous personalities as Martyr Ayatollah Morteza Motahhari, Martyr Ayatollah Seyyed Mohammad Hussaini Beheshti, Martyr Ayatollah Mohammad Mufatteh, Imam Seyyed Musa as-Sadr, Ayatollah Abdullah Jawadi Amoli, Ayatollah Hassan Hassanzadeh Amoli, Ayatollah Mohammad Taqi Misbah Yazdi, Ayatollah Ja’far Sobhani, Grand Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi, and Grand Ayatollah Hussain Noori Hamdani.

18 solar years ago, on this day in 1998 AD, the jurisprudent and sage, Ayatollah Mirza Hussain Hibbatollahi Maraghi, passed away at the age of 90, after over four decades of preaching and revival of Islamic values in his hometown Maragheh, northwestern Iran. A student of the Father of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (God bless him), he was also a poet and well-versed in literature.

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