Today is Saturday; 2nd of the Iranian month of Bahman 1395 solar hijri; corresponding to 22nd of the Islamic month of Rabi as-Sani 1438 lunar hijri; and January 21, 2017, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1597 solar years ago, on this day in 420 AD, Yazdegerd I, the 16th Sassanid Emperor of Iran, whose realm included Iraq, the Caucasus, and parts of Afghanistan and Central Asia, was killed by his own nobles after a reign of 21 years. Son of Shapur II, he was installed on the throne on the assassination of his elder brother, Bahram IV. Of peaceful disposition, he maintained cordial relations with both the Eastern and Western Roman Empires. Early during his reign, Yazdegerd I was entrusted the care of the Roman prince Theodosius by his father Arcadius on the latter's death in 408, and faithfully defended the life, power and possessions of the Roman prince. At the beginning of his reign, Yazdegerd I promoted Christianity and later opposed it. His alternate persecution of Zoroastrians and later Christians earned him the Arabic epithet of “al-Khasha” (the Harsh). The Persians gave him the epithet of “Ramashtras” or the "Most Quiet". The later part of his reign was occupied by his attempts to convert Armenia to Zoroastrianism. During his last days, the empire was rocked by a civil war among his sons.

1254 solar years ago, on this day in 763 AD, Ibrahim Ibn Abdullah al-Mahaz was martyred near Kufa in the Battle of Bakhamra by the forces of Mansour Dawaniqi, the 2nd self-styled caliph of the usurper Abbasid regime. He was a great-grandson of Imam Hasan Mujtaba (AS), the elder grandson of Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny). He had launched the uprising in Basra in coordination with the uprising of his elder brother, Mohammad Nafs Zakiyya, who had liberated the Hijaz including the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. Within two months, Ibrahim liberated the whole of southern Iraq and Iran, thereby cornering Mansour in his capital Hirah in central Iraq (Baghdad was not yet built). While Ibrahim advanced towards Kufa, and Mansour was on the verge of defeat, Nafs Zakiyya was deserted by most of his army and martyred in combat. This emboldened the Abbasids and in the battle near Kufa, an arrow pierced Ibrahim’s neck. He was unhorsed and decapitated by Hamid Ibn Qahtaba, who sent the head of this venerable descendent of the Prophet to Mansour. Years earlier during the rule of the Godless Omayyad regime, the persecuted Abbasid brothers, Abu'l-Abbas Saffah and Mansour Dawaniqi, had sworn allegiance to Nafs Zakiyya at the famous gathering of the Hashemite clan at Abwa. However, on the fall of the Omayyads, the Abbasids, deserted him, broke their promise to return rule of the Islamic state to the Prophet's Ahl al-Bayt, and instead established their own dubious rule.

1142 lunar years ago, on this day in 296 AH, Musa al-Mubarqa, the younger son of Imam Mohammad Taqi (AS), the 9th Infallible Heir of Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny), passed away in holy Qom at the age of 79. He is the ancestor of Rezavi, Taqavi, and Burqa’ei Saadat. Born in holy Medina in 217 AH, he was forced in 244 to come to Samarra in Iraq by the tyrant Mutawakkil, the self-styled caliph of the usurper Abbasid regime, and kept under close surveillance along with his elder brother, Imam Ali Naqi (PuH) – who had already been forcibly brought to the Abbasid capital a few years earlier. Following Mutawakkil’s murder in 247, the conditions were relaxed, and although he greatly loved the 10th Imam, he left Samarra for Kufa where he stayed till 256, in which year he shifted to Qom, where he was joined by several of his sisters, including Zainab, the builder of mausoleum of his grand aunt, Hazrat Ma’souma (SA). Here he used to cover his exceptionally handsome face with a veil (burqa’), perhaps to remain incognito or to avoid unnecessary attraction, and hence his epithet al-Mubarqa (or the Veiled). Today his shrine in the Chehel-Akhtaran locality is a site of pilgrimage.

730 solar years ago, on this day in 1287 AD, Sa’eed ibn Hakam al-Qurashi, the last Muslim ruler of the Minorca or Manurqa group of islands off the coast of Spain in the Mediterranean Sea, seeing himself outnumbered by the invading Christian army of King Alfons III of Aragon, who had defeated him on 17 January, signed his surrender with the treaty of San Agayz, at the fortress near Madina al-Jazira – nowadays known as the fortress of Santa Àgueda. This ended over five centuries of glorious Muslim rule in Minorca, and the forced conversion to Christianity of the local Muslims. Sa’eed ibn Hakam was apparently allowed to leave the island towards North Africa, with two hundred of his followers, the remains of his father, and his library. The ship manned by a Genoese,, encountered a storm off the North African coast and was destroyed. There were no survivors.

347 lunar yeas ago, on this day in 1091 AH, the prominent Iranian Islamic Gnostic, jurisprudent, philosopher, and Hadith Authority, Mullah Mohsin Mohammad Fayz Kashani passed away in his hometown Kashan at the age of

84. 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), “Abwab-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)

280 solar years ago, on this day in 1737 AD, a devastating cyclone in the Bay of Bengal hit the eastern coasts of India, killing at least 300,000 people. The Bay of Bengal is one of the major storm-prone regions, and frequently causes devastations in eastern India and Bangladesh.

224 solar years ago, on this day in 1793 AD, French King Louis XVI was beheaded by the guillotine four years after the victory of the French Revolution. He was crowned in 1774 and was under the influence of his wife, Marie Antoinette. Due to dire economic and social conditions, the people of France staged an uprising against him and three years later the monarchic system was officially annulled. But, since the French King had appealed to foreign powers to save him, he was prosecuted and executed on charge of treason. Several members of the royal family, including Marie Antoinette were beheaded by the guillotine.

76 lunar years ago, on this day in 1262 AH, the prominent Islamic scholar, Sheikh Mohammad Taqi Razi “Aqa Najafi”, was born in Isfahan. After completing his preliminary studies under his father, he left for Iraq to study at the famous seminary of holy Najaf, where he attended the classes of prominent ulema, such as Mirza Mohammad Hassan Shirazi and Sheikh Mahdi Kashef ul-Gheta. He attained the status of Ijtehad, and on returning to Isfahan, became a Source of Emulation, a factor that made the British colonialists and their local agents in Iran, greatly fear him. Aqa Najafi was considered as one of the activists of the Tobacco Movement that forced Naser od-Din Shah Qajar to cancel the one-sided contract with the British Talbot Company. He authored several books, including “al-Ijtehad wa’t-Taqlid”, and “Asraar al-Aayaat”.

93 solar years ago, on this day in 1924 AD, the leader of Russia's communist party, Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, died at the age of 54. He started his struggles against the monarchic system while at university. Before fleeing Russia in 1900, he was incarcerated several times. He compiled books overseas, and taking advantage of the popular uprising against the Czar, he returned to Russia in April 1917. Lenin and his party manipulated the chaotic events and by October succeeded in hijacking the revolution to establish the repressive and Godless Soviet Union. In 1924, Lenin succumbed to injuries he had sustained during a botched assassination attempt against him, six years earlier. Lenin’s ideas influenced Marxism and were officially promoted as the Marxist-Leninist ideology. His books include: “Imperialism, the Highest State of Capitalism”, “The State and Revolution”, and “The Development of Capitalism in Russia”.

49 solar years ago, on this day in 1968 AD, in Vietnam, the Battle of Khe Sahn began with US occupation forces dropping over 100,000 tons of bombs (equivalent in destructive force to five Hiroshima-size atomic bombs) until mid-April on the hapless Vietnamese people. This was roughly 1,300 tons of bombs dropped daily. In addition, 158,000 large-caliber shells were fired on the hills. It lasted for over five months and was the longest and bloodiest battle of the Vietnam War.

38 solar years ago, on this day in 1979 AD, during the crucial days of the Islamic Revolution, the Shah's troops killed and wounded a large number of people. The Iranian nation, in anticipation of the coming home from years of exile, of the Father of Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (God bless him), made the necessary arrangements to accord a unique and historical welcome to the Imam. For this reason, a headquarters, comprised of ulema and representatives of different strata of the people of Tehran was formed to accord a unique welcome to the Imam. People from other cities and villages also flooded Tehran to participate in the welcoming ceremony. Meanwhile, following the huge demonstrations of people, 4,000 air force officers, in a show of support for the courageous Iranian nation, went on hunger strike, and demanded the expulsion of the Americans from Iran.

One solar year ago, on this day in 2016 AD, prominent Iranian philologist, Abu’l-Hassan Najafi, passed away in Tehran at the age of 86. Born in holy Najaf, Iraq, in an Iranian family, he returned to his homeland along with his parents. After graduating in Persian literature from Tehran University, he studied French language and soon went to Paris for higher studies at Sorbonne University, from where he completed his masters in linguistics. On his return home, he became a member of the Academy of Persian Language and Literature, and spent a lifetime in translation, editing, and classifying literary and scientific articles. He was also editor of the Journal of Comparative Literature. He was noted for his diligence in classifying and categorizing Persian poetry.

AS/ME