Today is Sunday; 26th of the Iranian month of Dey 1395 solar hijri; corresponding 16th of the Islamic month of Rabi as-Sani 1438 lunar hijri; and January 15, 2017, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

Over three lunar millennia ago, on this day, the Thamoud tribe of the al-Hijr region in the fertile northwestern part of Arabia, was afflicted with divine wrath for the abominable sins of its members, after having been given a lengthy respite to repent and reform, which the sinners spurned and instead committed the cardinal  crime of killing the she-camel that had miraculously emerged from a splitting rock in answer to the supplication of Prophet Saleh to Almighty God when the Godless stuck to their demand for a supernatural miracle. The place is believed to be “Mada’en Saleh” between Medina and the Levant, in the Hejaz. Only a few people especially the poor believed in the monotheistic message of Prophet Saleh, while the majority, particular the rulers, laughed at him and refused to heed his words of guidance. The special camel would give abundant milk every day for the poor to drink, and they were very happy. The sinners became angry and brutally killed the camel. They then threatened Prophet Saleh with death, but before they could carry out their murderous plot, divine wrath struck them, as black clouds gathered in the sky, covering the moon and the stars. Valleys and mountains were as dark as night. At midnight strong thunderbolts struck, while an earthquake occurred to obliterate the sinners, while Prophet Saleh and the believers had already left for a safe place.

2605 solar years ago, on this day in 588 BC, the Babylonian tyrant, Nebuchadnezzar II (Bokht an-Nasar) laid siege to the holy city of Bayt al-Moqaddas to crush the revolt by the Israelite Zedekiah (Sadqiya), who had dared to side with Pharaoh Hophra of Egypt, despite being installed as king by Nebuchadnezzar during his earlier invasion of Judah. The Prophet of God, Jeremiah (Irmiya), had cautioned the evil Zedekiah against such an action that would only bring war, woe and destruction upon the Israelites, who disregarding the monotheistic laws of Moses had turned to a life of idolatry and vice. The 18-month siege ended on July 23, 586 BC with the fall of the city, which was plundered and razed to the ground, including Solomon’s Mosque for the worship of the One and Only God. Zedekiah, along with his followers attempted to escape, but was captured, made to see his sons put to death, before his own eyes were pulled out, and carried fettered as a captive to Babylon, where he remained a prisoner until death. Nebuchadnezzar, who transported almost all the population of Palestine to Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq), reportedly went mad for a period of seven years, as a result of divine affliction, during his reign of 43 years. It is worth noting that the recently executed Iraqi tyrant, Saddam of the repressive Ba’thist minority, used to regard himself as a reincarnation of Nebuchadnezzar, who was said to have been weaned on sow's milk.

1073 lunar years ago, on this day in 365 AH, the 4th self-styled caliph of the Fatemid dynasty of North Africa-Sicily, al-Mo‘ez le Din-Allah, died in his new capital Cairo (Qahera in Arabic), after a reign of 23 years during which the centre of his caliphate was moved from Mansuriyya in Tunisia to the newly conquered Egypt. The Fatemids, who claimed descent from Imam Ja’far Sadeq (AS), the 6th Infallible Heir of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), but did not adhere to the teachings of the last six of the Prophet’s 12 Infallible Successors, had thrown off the yoke of the Abbasid caliphate of Baghdad. Their Shi’ite Muslim Sicilian general, Jowhar as-Saqali, conquered Egypt from the Abbasids and on the orders of Caliph Mo’ez founded the city of “Qahera” (Victorious) to commemorate the victory. Mo’ez soon founded the famous mosque and academy known as al-Azhar in honour of “Zahra” (Radiant), which is an epithet of the Prophet’s daughter, Hazrat Fatema (SA). For the first time in Egypt the “Azaan” was recited in the Shi’ite Muslim manner with proclamation of the name of the Prophet’s First Infallible Successor, Imam Ali (AS), after testifying the Oneness of God Almighty and the Mission of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). For over two centuries, al-Azhar was the site of Ismaili Shi’ite learning until the fall of Egypt to the Kurdish general, Salaheddin Ayyubi, who forcibly converted the country and its people to the Sunni sect.

1071 solar years ago, on this day in 946 AD, al-Mustakfi-Billah, the 22nd self-styled caliph of the usurper Abbasid regime was blinded, ousted from power, and replaced by his relative al-Muti, after a reign of little more than a year. He was installed as caliph by Tuzun the Turk, who had blinded and deposed his predecessor and cousin, al-Muttaqi after a 4-year reign. Tuzun soon died and the inability of al-Mustakfi to administer Baghdad resulted in famine and chaos that only subsided with the entry of the Iranian general Moiz od-Dowlah Daylami, the Founder of the Buwaiyhid Dynasty that ruled Iraq and Iran for over a hundred years.

973 lunar years ago, on this day in 465 AH, the Iranian mystic Abdul-Karim ibn Hawazin al-Qushayri, died in his hometown Naishapur in Khorasan, northeastern Iran. Known as “Sheikh al-Islam”, following the death of his teacher and father-in-law, Abu Ali ad-Daqqaq, he became the master and teacher of the mystical order called al-Qushayriyya. He was an authority on theology, philosophy, hadith, and exegesis of the Holy Qur’an. He has left behind a large number of books, including the treatise tilted “Risalat al-Qushayriyya” on Islamic mysticism.

783 lunar years ago, on this day in 655 AH, Shajarat ad-Durr, the widow of the Ayyubid ruler, Sultan as-Saleh, died in Egypt. She played a crucial role after the death of her husband in repelling the Seventh Crusade launched against Egypt by Europeans. She was of Turkic slave origin, and her becoming Sultana (Queen), marks the end of the rule of the Kurdish Ayyubid Dynasty over Egypt and the start of the era of the Mamluks that lasted for two-and-a-half centuries.

572 solar years ago, on this day in 866 AH, Jam Nizam od-Din II, known as Nindo, the most powerful ruler of the Samma Dynasty, succeeded his father Sanjar Sadr od-Din and ruled for 48 years over Sindh, parts of Punjab, Baluchestan and Gujarat. Towards the end of his reign he defeated a Mughal army sent against him by Shah Beg Arghun from Qandahar. Founded by Rajputs who had embraced the truth of Islam, the Samma civilization contributed significantly to the evolution of the "Sindhi-Islamic" architectural style, which is a blending of Persian art as well. Thatta, which is in modern Pakistan, was the capital of this kingdom that lasted almost two centuries from 1335 to 1527. The city is still famous for its necropolis, which covers 10 square km on the Makli Hill. Every year thousands perform pilgrimage to this site to commemorate the saints buried here. The graves testify to a long period when Thatta was a thriving center of trade, religion and scholarly pursuits.

505 solar years ago, on this day in 1512 AD, Muzaffar Shah II of Gujarat in western India received an embassy from Shah Ismail I, the Founder of the Safavid Empire of Iran. The ambassadorial delegation from Tabriz arrived with rich presents to congratulate Muzaffar Shah II on his accession and also to announce the grand victory of the Iranian forces over the Uzbek ruler Mohammad Khan Shaibani at the Battle of Merv on December 2 1510 (30thSha’ban 916 AH). At first, the Persian envoy was honourably received, but subsequently his entourage was attacked and his property destroyed by a mob inflamed either by anti-Shia feeling, or, according to one version, by the machinations of Saheb Khan, the exiled prince of the Malwa. Muzaffar Shah was compelled to pay heavy compensation for the losses suffered by the Iranian envoy. Iranians from different walks of life migrated and settled in Gujarat, both during the 175 years of its existence as an independent sultanate and its subsequent role as a Mughal province that served as the centre of trade with the Muslim World through the sea route.

458 solar years ago, on this day in 1559 AD, Elizabeth I was crowned Queen of England, as the 5th and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty founded by her grandfather, Henry VII. Although short-tempered and indecisive, with a strain of cruelty, her 44-year reign is known as the Elizabethan era, and saw the flourishing of English drama, led by playwrights William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe, and for the seafaring prowess of Francis Drake.

22 solar years ago, on this day in 1595 AD, the 12th Ottoman Sultan, Murad III, who styled himself as the 4th Turkish caliph, died after a reign of 21 years, during which he earned notoriety for his fratricide (strangling five of his brothers to death), massacre of fellow Muslims, and institutional decline of the empire. Son of Sultan Salim II, “the Drunkard” and his Jewess concubine, Rachel, he ended the long Peace of Amasya with Iran, by starting the 12-year war in the Caucasus. As a result of the growing inclination of the Turkish tribes of Anatolia towards the school of the Prophet's Ahl al-Bayt, he made a pact with France, stopped the Ottoman push into Europe, and massacred thousands of Shia Muslims. As a result, his armies suffered defeats in Europe as well, at the hands of the Austrian Hapsburg Empire.

358 solar years ago, on this day in 1659 AD, during the War of Succession, when the four sons of the bedridden Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan had declared themselves emperors in different parts of the empire, Shah Shuja the governor of Bengal and the eastern provinces of India, lost a decisive battle at Khajwa to his younger brother Aurangzeb and fled to Arakan in what is now under occupation of Burma (Myanmar), thus losing his bid for the Mughal throne. The two generals instrumental in Aurangzeb’s victory were Khwaja Abed Qilich Khan Suhrawardi (grandfather of Asef Jah Nizam ul-Mulk, the founder of the Asef-Jahi Dynasty of the Deccan), and Mir Mohammad Sa’eed Khan Ardestani, titled “Mir Jumla”, the Iranian minister who had defected from the court of Abdullah Qutb-Shah of Golkandah-Haiderabad and joined the Mughals. Aurangzeb, whose mother Arjmand Bano Mumtaz Mahal was of Iranian stock, assumed full, undisputed control of the empire, which he expanded it to its zenith by conquering the Persianate Deccan sultanates of the Adel-Shahis and Qotb-Shahis (both founded by Iranian adventurers) during his fifty-year rule as the last Grand Emperor of the Subcontinent’s Greatest Persianate empire.

222 solar years ago, on this day in 1795AD, the Russian author and politician, Aleksandr Griboyedov, was born. He was skilled in writing dramas, but was not successful in the political scene. He was a Russian army officer during the second war that Moscow imposed on Iran in the Caucasus in 1828. Following the defeat of Iran in this war and the occupation of large parts of Iranian territory in the Caucasus by the Russians, including the present day Republic of Azerbaijan, Griboyedov was sent to Tehran to procure the release of Russian prisoners. His stubbornness, inexperience, and violence throughout this mission provoked the Iranian people against him, which led to his death in 1829.

178 solar years ago, on this day in1839 AD, El Salvador officially announced its independence following dissolution of the Central American Union. The country, however, did not attain stability and calm until a century later. After centuries of Spanish colonial rule, El Salvador had thrown off the European yoke in 1821 and joined the Central American Union in 1824. El Salvador covers an area of almost 21,000 sq km. It is situated in Central America, and shares borders with Honduras, and Guatemala.

38 solar years ago, on this day in 1979 AD, the British-installed and American backed Pahlavi potentate of Iran, Mohammad Reza Shah, faced by the massive tide of the Islamic Revolution fled the country under pretext of medical treatment. He was placed on the Peacock Throne by the British in 1941 after they dismissed and deported from Iran his father, Reza Khan, due to his support for Germany during World War II. In 1953, Mohammad Reza had fled the country faced with the people's uprising, but was returned to Iran and re-installed on the throne by his godfathers, the British and the Americans, who carried out the August 19, 1953 coup to unseat Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddeq. Thereafter, Mohammad Reza loyally served the vested interests of the US in Iran and the region, and brutally suppressed the Iranian people, until he was forced to run away from Iran this day. The people of Iran celebrated his ouster with joy on the streets, and demanded the return home from exile of their beloved leader, Imam Khomeini (RA). In the next three weeks, the remnants of the oppressive Pahlavi regime collapsed and were thrown into the dustbin of history, with triumph of the Islamic Revolution.

16 solar years ago, on this day in 2001 AD, Wikipedia Encyclopedia, went online, as free-of-cost universal information.

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