Today is Thursday; 18th of the Iranian month of Azar 1395 solar hijri; corresponding to 8th of the Islamic month of Rabi al-Awwal 1438 lunar hijri; and December 8, 2016, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

2081 solar years ago, on this day in 65 BC, Quintus Horatius Flaccus, Roman poet and satirist, known as Horace, was born. He is best known for his three books “Odes”. Recently, Iranian scholar Mir Jalal od-Din Kazzazi has rendered into Persian an anthology of Horace’s Odes, most of which have historical and epic backgrounds and composed in a sensational language especially when describing events like Julius Caesar’s battles.

1259 solar years ago, on this day in 757 AD, the renowned Chinese poet, Du Fu, returned to Chang'an as a member of Emperor Xuanzong's court, after having escaped the city during the An Lushan Rebellion. A prominent figure of the Tang era, along with Li Bai, he is considered as the greatest of Chinese poets. His ambition was to serve his country as a successful civil servant, but he proved unable to make the necessary accommodations. His life, like the whole country, was devastated by the An Lushan Rebellion of 755, and his last 15 years, before his death in 770 at the age of 58, were a time of almost constant unrest, with the country devastated by wars and famines, which killed two-thirds of the population of China. His works greatly influenced both Chinese and Japanese literary culture. Of his poetic writing, nearly fifteen hundred poems have been preserved over the ages. He has been called the "Poet-Historian" and the "Poet-Sage" by Chinese critics, while the range of his work has allowed him to be introduced to Western readers as "the Chinese Virgil, Horace, Ovid, Shakespeare, Milton, Burns, Wordsworth, Hugo or Baudelaire. Du Fu's writings are considered by many literary critics to be among the greatest of all time in Chinese literature, and his dense, compressed language makes use of all the connotative overtones of a phrase and of all the international potentials of the individual word, qualities that no translation can ever reveal. A variety of styles have been used in efforts to translate his work into English. Chinese politicians and historians have continued to look back on the reforms of Wang Anshi as either principled and measured or misguided and disastrous.

1178 lunar years ago, on this day in 260 AH, Imam Hasan al-Askari (AS), the 11^th Infallible Successor of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), was martyred as a result of a fatal dose of poisoning by Mo'tamed, the 15^th self-styled caliph of the usurper Abbasid regime, in the city of Samarra in Iraq at the young age of 28 years. The Imam, who during his six-year spiritual mission was either imprisoned or kept under house arrest by several Abbasid caliphs, was given slow poison on the 1^st of Rabi al-Awwal in order to avoid suspicion. The poison worsened the physical condition of the 11th Imam and on the morning of 8th Rabi al-Awwal after Fajr prayers, he breathed his last. Before his death, he gave the necessary instructions to his 5-year old son, who was born and brought up in secrecy because of the fear of the regime, which was terrified of the Prophet's famous hadith that his rightful successors will number 12, and the last of them will rise as Qa'em al-Mahdi to cleanse the world of oppression by establishing the global government of peace, prosperity and justice. The night before his martyrdom the 11^th Imam wrote letters to his followers in various cities, informing them of the special conditions that would arise in the absence of his young son. One of the famous advices of Imam Askari (AS) to the Muslims reads: "It is obligatory for the people to follow the jurist who refrains from committing wrong, emphasizes his faith, opposes carnal desires, and obeys Allah's command." The city of Samarra was engulfed in grief as the Imam was laid to rest beside his father in his own house, which soon grew into a sprawling mausoleum, with pilgrims coming from all over the world to pay their respects to him. Alas, in 2006 and the following year, terrorists, funded by the US and certain Arab reactionary regimes like Saudi Arabia had desecrated the golden-domed shrine of Samarra through blasphemous bomb blasts.

995 solar years ago, on this day in 1021 AD, Wang Anshi, Chinese economist, statesman, chancellor and poet of the Song Dynasty who attempted major and controversial socioeconomic reforms known as the New Policies, was born. These reforms constituted the core concepts of the Song-Dynasty Reformists. Wang Anshi's ideas are usually analyzed in terms of the influence the Rites of Zhou or Legalism had on him. His economic reforms included increase currency circulation, breaking up of private monopolies, and early forms of government regulation and social welfare. His military reforms expanded the use of local militias and his government reforms expanded the civil service examination system and attempted to suppress nepotism in government. Although successful for a while, he eventually fell out of favour of the emperor. Chinese politicians and historians have continued to look back on the reforms of Wang Anshi as either principled and measured or misguided and disastrous.

454 lunar years ago, on this day in 984 AH, the prominent scholar, Sheikh Izz od-Din Hussain ibn Abdus-Samad passed away in Bahrain at the age of 66, and was buried in the village of Hejr or Musalla where his tomb is revered by the people. Born in a religious family in the Jabal Amel region of what is now Lebanon, he migrated to Safavid Iran along with his young son, Sheikh Baha od-Din Ameli, who grew up into a great scholar. For eight years, Sheikh Izz od-Din lived and preached in the holy city of Mashhad near the shrine of Imam Reza (AS), the 8^th Infallible Successor of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). Leaving his son behind in Iran, he migrated to Bahrain since he felt the Persian Gulf Island was more in need of religious scholars than Iran. He wrote many books, including a Diwan of Arabic poetry and the book titled "Tuhfa Ahl al-Imaan" (Gift of the People of Faith).

147 solar years ago, on this day in 1868 AD, the Shogun warlords fell from power in Japan and thereafter social, political, and cultural reforms began. The Shoguns were a very powerful clique that first came into prominence in the 12th century. In later centuries they monopolized power and completely overshadowed the royal court. In 1867, with the coming to power of Emperor Mutsuhito, the Shoguns lost power and were totally crushed the next year.

113 solar years ago, on this day in 1903 AD, the English philosopher and thinker, Herbert Spencer, died at the age of 83. He believed that science should be learned via observation and experiment. He admitted that mankind’s mind is limited, but he denied realities such as soul. Some of his works are namely: “Principles of Sociology”, “Principles of Biology”, and “Principles of Psychology”.

102 solar years ago, on this day in 1914 AD, the Falkland naval battle broke out between Britain and Germany off the southern tip of South America in the Atlantic Ocean, in the vicinity of Argentina. The Germans were defeated and the Islands again occupied by Britain. These oil-rich islands, called Malvinas by Argentina, are the source of dispute with Britain. Buenos Aires claims that it is part of Argentine territory and went to an unsuccessful war with Britain over them in 1982.

91 solar years ago, on this day in 1925 AD, the prominent Urdu poet of the Subcontinent, Seyyed Nasser Reza Kazemi was born at Ambala, Haryana. After the creation of Pakistan in 1947, he came to Lahore and did some journalistic work with “Auraq-e Nau” and became editor-in-chief of the magazine “Humayun” in 1952. Later he was associated with Radio Pakistan, and other literary publications and organisations. He wrote several books and composed a great number of ghazals and other forms of poetry. He did translations of some English poets, especially his translation of Walt Whitman's "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry" under the Urdu title "Brooklyn Ghaat Ke Paar", which is considered a masterpiece. He died in 1972.

75 solar years ago, on this day in 1941 AD, during World War II, a day after 200 Japanese warplanes bombarded the US military base in Pearl Harbor in the Pacific Ocean, destroying 19 US warships, Japanese troops invaded Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong, the Philippines, and Indonesia, thereby expanding the theatre of war in the east.

67 solar years ago, on this day in 1949 AD, the leader of Chinese nationalists, Chiang Kai-Shek, fled to Taiwan Island, after suffering defeat at the hands of communist party forces led by Mao Tse-Tung, who formed the new government of the People's Republic of China. The US seized the opportunity to meddle into Chinese affairs by supporting the separation of Taiwan from China and by handing the seat of China at the UN to breakaway Taiwan. However, in 1971, following US-China rapprochement, the UN General Assembly unanimously recognized the People’s Republic of China and admitted it to the UN Security Council as the fifth permanent member.

53 solar years ago, on this day in 1963 AD, Pan Am Flight 214, a Boeing 707, is struck by lightning and crashes near Elkton, Maryland, killing all 81 people on board.

23 solar years ago, on this day in 1993 AD, the Source of Emulation, Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Mohammad Reza Golpayegani, passed away. Born in the central Iranian city of Golpayegan, he studied Islamic sciences under prominent ulema including Ayatollah Abdul-Karim Haeri the reviver of the Qom Seminary, which later Grand Ayatollah Golpayegani made his base and for years, groomed a large number of scholars. On the victory of Islamic Revolution, he firmly supported the Founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Imam Khomeini (RA) and always defended him and his ideals through statements. He founded numerous schools and hospitals in Iran and abroad, and has left behind numerous books on Islamic sciences.

6 solar years ago, on this day in 2009 AD, in Iraq a series of coordinated attacks by US-nurtured terrorists, struck Baghdad, including two supposedly suicide car bombers and another vehicle that blew up near government sites. At least 127 were martyred and over 500 hundred wounded in one of the worst wave of violence in the capital against the country’s long oppressed Shi’a Muslim majority.

AS/ME