Today is Saturday; 6th of the Iranian month of Azar 1395 solar hijri; corresponding to 26th of the Islamic month of Safar 1438 lunar hijri; and November 26, 2016, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1150 lunar years ago, on this day in 288 AH, the mathematician and astronomer, Sabet ibn Qurrah al-Harrani, died at the age of 77 in Baghdad. He was from Harran, which is presently under the control of Turkey although historically and culturally it is part of Mesopotamia. He belonged to the Sabian creed of star-worshippers, while some say he followed the Mandean creed that considers Prophet Yahya or John the Baptist to be the principal figure and last messenger of God. Sabet was invited to Baghdad by the Iranian scientists, the Banu Musa brothers, and translated scientific texts from Greek and Syriac languages into Arabic, thus significantly contributing to the development of sciences during the heyday of the Islamic civilization. It is not known whether or not he became a Muslim, but his sons became Muslims. His grandson, Ibrahim ibn Sinan, was a mathematician and astronomer who studied geometry and in particular tangents to circles for making sundials. He also made advances in the theory of integration. Sabet ibn Qurrah is said to have translated more than 130 books, and has left behind valuable compilations of his own.

855 solar years ago, on this day in 1161 AD, the Battle of Caishi occurred in China when a Song dynasty fleet fought a crucial naval engagement with Jin dynasty ships on the Yangtze River during the Jin–Song Wars. Soldiers under the command of Prince Hailing, the Jurchen Emperor of the Jin dynasty, tried to cross the Yangtze River to attack Song China. Yu Yunwen, a civil official, commanded the defending Song army. The paddle-wheel warships of the Song fleet, equipped with trebuchets that launched incendiary bombs made of gunpowder and lime, decisively defeated the light ships of the Jin navy. Hailing was assassinated in a military camp by his own army shortly after the Caishi Battle, while a military coup took place in the Jin court, enthroning Emperor Shizong as the new emperor. A peace treaty signed in 1165 ended the conflict between Song and Jin.

808 lunar years ago, on this day in 630 AH, as part of his string of victories to consolidate the Muslim rule in northern India, Sultan Shams od-Din Altamash captured the important Rajput fortress of Gwalior after eleven months of siege. A Persianized Turkic slave of Sultan Muiz od-Din Mohammad, the Iranian ruler of Ghor (in present day Afghanistan), he served as lieutenant to Qutb od-Din Aibak, the founder of the Slave (Mamluk) Dynasty of India, and later became the latter's son-in-law. He was fluent in Turkic, Persian and Arabic, and was highly educated by his masters in Bukhara, Baghdad and Ghazna. Slaves in Islam are children of non-Muslims bought and brought up as Muslims and equivalent to adopted sons, and on no account should be confused with the concept of slavery in western and other non-Muslim cultures, where such persons are denied all basic rights and treated like chattels. In 1211, Altamash seized power from Aibak's weak son, Aram Shah, to become Sultan and shifted his capital from Lahore to Delhi, where he remained the ruler until his death 25 years later on May 1, 1236. A wise man, he carried out reforms, invited scholars to his court from Khorasan and Central Asia, defended the country against Mongol attacks, and built several public projects, such as the "Hauz-e Shamsi" water reservoir in Delhi, which is still in use. The famous Iranian Islamic scholar, Fakhr od-Din Razi used to visit India when Altamash was governor of Lahore. During his reign, several translations of Arabic books into Persian were undertaken, including the renowned Iranian Islamic scientist, Abu Rayhan al-Berouni's book on pharmacology titled "Saydana" – a translation printed recently in Tehran.

540 solar years ago, on this day in 1476 AD, the explorer, Sebastian Cabot, was born. He was an Italian and in the service of England for exploring North America. His father, John, was a sailor and Sebastian learned the techniques and secrets of sailing from him. He died in 1557.

161 solar years ago, on this day in 1855 AD, Polish author and poet, Adam Mitskevich, died in Istanbul, the Capital of the Ottoman Empire, at the age of 57. He was a freedom-seeker and lived in the era when Poland had disintegrated as a state and divided up amongst the Russian, Prussian, and Austro-Hungarian Empires. Because of his nationalistic tendencies he was kept in Russia from where after six years, he fled to France and lectured in literature. He later went to Istanbul to form a Polish military unit to fight Russia. He wrote many books including “Polish Pilgrims”.

152 solar years ago, on this day in 1863 AD, US President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed November 26 as a national Thanksgiving Day, to be celebrated annually on the final Thursday of November, but since 1941, it has been on the fourth Thursday of November. It has nothing to do with Christian religion or similar thanksgiving days that were celebrated sporadically in Britain after such occasions as the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588.

32 solar years ago, on this day in 1984 AD, the Kurdish scholar of Iran, Dr. Mohammad Siddiq Muftizadeh, passed away. An excellent poet and writer, for several years he worked in Tehran at the Kurdish Radio Service of Iran, and wrote several books, such as “Cognizance of God”, and “A Brief History of Kurdish Dynasties.”

21 solar years ago, on this day in 1995 AD, the scholar Dr. Seyyed Sadeq Gohari, passed away. After Islamic studies at the seminary, he specialized Persian literature and started career as a lecturer. His magnum opus is “Farhang-e Lughat va Ta’birat-e Mathnavi” in nine volumes, in which he has classified and explained in detail Qur’anic ayahs, hadith, astronomical and medical terms, Persian and Arabic idioms, and Gnostic references used by by Mowlana Jalal od-Din Balkhi Rumi.

18 solar years ago, on this day in 1998 AD, Hojjat al-Islam Mohammad Ali Sharqi, the Friday Prayer Leader of Mamaqan, passed away. A product of the Qom Seminary, he was a student of Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Hussain Boroujerdi, and after completing his studies played an active role in promotion of Islamic teachings in Oromiyeh in West Azarbaijan Province. A fierce opponent of the repressive Pahlavi regime, following the victory of the Islamic Revolution, he was appointed Friday Prayer Leader of Maragheh in East Azarbaijan Province, where for seventeen years, he carried out his duties, before being shifted to the nearby town of Mamaqan some three years before his death. Among the books authored by this scholar mention could be made of the 4-volume “Qamous Nahj al-Balagha” which is an explanation of the words and terms found in the flawless Arabic sermons, letters, and aphorisms of the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS). Another of his works is the 7-volume book titled “Qiyam-e Haq” or “Uprising for Truth”.   

9 solar years ago, on this day in 2007 AD, the Islamic Republic of Iran, as part of its defence drive for self-sufficiency in military industries in order to thwart the designs of any enemy, announced the manufacture of a new missile with a range of  over 2000 kilometers.

AS/MG