Today is Friday; 24th of the Iranian month of Dey 1395 solar hijri; corresponding to 14th of the Islamic month of Rabi as-Sani 1438 lunar hijri; and January 13, 2017, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1485 solar years ago, on this day in 532 AD, the 2^nd Hagia Sophia cathedral was burned down in Constantinople during the Nika Uprising, which failed leaving some 30,000-to-40,000 people dead. Emperor Justinian and his wife Theodora had attended festivities at the Hippodrome, a stadium for athletic competition. Team support escalated from insults to mob riots and in the end Constantinople lay in ruins. Justinian proceeded to rebuild the city with extensive commissions for religious art and architecture, including the new Hagia Sophia.

1372 lunar years ago, on this day in 66 AH, Mokhtar ibn Abi Obaidah Saqafi launched his uprising to avenge the martyrdom of Imam Husain (AS). In his campaign to bring to justice the killers of the grandson of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), in addition to the Iraqi Arab tribes loyal to the cause of the Ahl al-Bayt, he had the support of the “Mawali” – as the Iranians in Iraq were known. He took the city of Kufa and brought vast tracts of Iraq and Iran under his control, at a time when the Omayyad usurpers and Abdullah ibn Zubayr, who had established himself in the Hejaz, were battling for power of the Islamic state that belonged to neither of them. Mokhtar repulsed the attacks of the Omayyad army from Syria, and in heroic combat, along with Ibrahim ibn Malik Ashtar, killed the principal perpetrators of the heartrending tragedy of Karbala, such as Obaidollah ibn Ziyad, Haseen ibn Numayr and others. So strong was his sense of justice that he even did not spare the life of his own brother-in-law (sister’s husband), Omar ibn Sa’d, who had commanded the Omayyad forces against Imam Husain (AS) and then imprisoned the Prophet’s family. Mokhtar and his companions, including Iranians and Arabs, meted out justice to such bloodthirsty murderers, as Shemr Ziljowshan, Khouli, Harmala etc. After a rule of a year-and-a-half, Mokhtar attained martyrdom because of the proverbial treachery of the Kufans during battle with the forces of Mos’ab ibn Zubayr. His tomb is in the mausoleum of Imam Husain’s (AS) cousin, Muslim ibn Aqeel, beside the Grand Mosque of Kufa.

918 solar years ago, on this day in 1099 AD, the Christian Crusader invaders from Europe set fire to the town of Mara, in Syria, as part of their murderous campaign to ravage Muslim lands and occupy Bayt al-Moqaddas.

750 lunar years ago, on this day in 688 AH, the Mamluk Sultan of Egypt, Mansour Qalawoon liberated Tripoli in northern Lebanon from the Crusader occupiers of Egypt. His victory led to the gradual liberation of Syria and Palestine from the European usurpers.

567 solar years ago, on this day in 1450 AD, the Portuguese sailor and explorer, Bartholomew Diaz, was born. In 1488, after sailing the Atlantic Ocean toward the south, with the help of Muslim navigators, he became the first European to land on the Cape of Good Hope, in the most southern region of African Continent. Ten years after Diaz, his compatriot, Vasco da Gama, again with the help of Muslim navigators, became the first European to discover the sea route to India by rounding the southern peninsular tip of Africa. The discovery of this sea route was important for the West because the Ottoman Turks, after conquering Constantinople in the year 1453 and renaming it Istanbul had blocked Europe’s path to Asia. Diaz died in the year 1500.

415 lunar years ago, on this day in 1023 AH, Allah-Verdi Khan, one of the top officials of Iran’s Safavid Emperor, Shah Abbas the Great, passed away. Born a Christian in Georgia, he came to Iran at a young age and converted to Islam. On appointment as governor of Fars Province in 1004 AH, he liberated Bahrain from the Portuguese. He carried out social and welfare activities, including the construction of the famous “Si-o-Se Pol” (33-Span Bridge) over Zayandeh-Roud River in Isfahan. His son Imam Quli Khan also ably served Iran, defeating and driving out the Portuguese from the Persian Gulf.

351 solar years ago, on this day in 1666 AD, the famous French traveller and dealer of precious stones, Jean-Baptiste Tavernier arrived in Dhaka (in what is now Bangladesh) after travelling overland via Iran, and met the Mughal Governor of Bengal, Mirza Abu Taleb Tehrani Shaista Khan – brother of Empress Mumtaz Mahal and hence maternal uncle of reigning Emperor Aurangzeb. Tavernier made six voyages to Iran and India between the years 1630-1668, and in view of his fluency in Persian language, he established contacts with the Safavid and Mughal courts. He travelled as far as the Deccan (southern Indian), where he visited the famous diamond mines of the Qutb-Shahi kingdom of Golkandah-Hyderabad – of Iranian origin. Here he obtained the world famous 116-carat Tavernier Blue Diamond, now known as the Hope Diamond and currently kept in the Smithsonian Natural History Museum of Washington, with an estimated price of 250 million US dollars. In 1675 at the behest of his patron, Louis XIV, he published his travelogue titled “Six Voyages”.

185 solar years ago, on this day in 1832 AD, the French Painter, Edouard Manet, was born. He was a pivotal figure in the transition from the painting school of Realism to Impressionism. His works include “Olympia”. He died in 1883.

175 solar years ago, on this day in 1842 AD, during the First Anglo-Afghan War, a total of 16,500 British troops while retreating from Kabul were ambushed and nearly all slaughtered at the Khyber Pass. The sole survivor to reach Jalalabad was (reputedly) the badly wounded Dr. William Brydon.

170 solar years ago, on this in 1847 AD, the Treaty of Cahuenga was imposed on Mexico by the US to end the war in California, and thus pave the way for Washington’s designs to annex more Mexican territory. Throughout its history, the USA has resorted to wars, bloodshed, genocide of Amerindians, enslavement of black people, and seizure of the territories of other countries.

101 solar years ago, on this day in 1915 AD, an earthquake in Avezzano, Italy, resulted in the death of 29,800 people.

76 solar years ago, on this day in 1941 AD, the Allied Powers held an important conference in London during World War II, upon the initiative of British Premier, Winston Churchill, for coordinating policies in the war against Germany and Italy. This conference was attended by the representatives of Britain, Holland, Belgium, France, Greece, Norway, Luxemburg, and Denmark.

53 solar years ago, on this day in 1964 AD, Hindu-Muslim rioting broke out in the Indian city of Calcutta (renamed Kolkata), resulting in the deaths of more than 100 people.

42 solar years ago, on this day in 1975 AD, the famous jurisprudent, Ayatollah Seyyed Abu’l-Hassan Rafi’i Qazvini, passed away at the age of 83. Born in Qazvin, he studied in Tehran and then in holy Qom under the famous scholar, Ayatollah Abdul-Karim Ha’eri Yazdi, mastering various branches of Islamic sciences. He authored several books.

38 solar years ago, on this day in 1979 AD during the crucial days of the Islamic Revolution, the beleaguered British-installed and US-backed Pahlavi potentate, Mohammad Reza Shah, unable to crush the people’s resolve to overthrow his dynasty, resorted to the ruse of abdicating power in favour of his 18-year old son by setting up a regency council, in a bid to deceive the people. But the ever-alert Iranian people took to the streets to denounce his plot, and voiced support for the Father of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (RA). On this day, from his brief exile in Paris, the Imam announced that soon a revolutionary government would be established. This made the head of the so-called regency council, Jalal od-Din Tehrani, to fly to France to meet Imam Khomeini, who set two conditions for receiving him: First resignation from his post, and second announcement of illegitimacy of the regency council. With Tehrani’s resignation the regency council was practically dissolved.

22 solar years ago, on this day in 1995 AD, the poet and researcher Dr. Abdul-Wahhab Noorani Shirazi passed away at the age of 71. Grandson of the famous poet of the Qajarid era, Vesaal Shirazi, he obtained his doctorate in Persian literature from Tehran University, and served as professor in the same field at Shiraz University. He edited and published classical works such as “Mosibat-Nameh” of the famous poet Farid od-Din Attar Naishapuri. Among his other works mention could be made of “Hazar Mazar” and “Fawa’ed as-Solouk”.

20 solar years ago, on this day in 1997 AD, the famous Iranologist, Dr. Ahmad Tafazzoli, passed away. After graduating in Persian literature from Tehran University, he studied ancient Iranian languages at London University and obtained doctorate in this field. His researches earned him national and international awards.

AS/ME