Today is Monday; 9th of the Iranian month of Esfand 1395 solar hijri; corresponding to 29th of the Islamic month of Jamadi al-Awwal 1438 lunar hijri; and February 27, 2017, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1745 solar years ago, on this day in 272 AD, Constantine I, the Emperor who imposed the Pauline Creed on the Roman Empire, was born in Dardania in the Balkans. His father, Flavius Valerius Constantius, was an army officer, and it is not known whether his mother Helena was a wife or a concubine. When his father became deputy emperor in the west in 293, Constantine was sent east, where he became a military tribune under the emperors Diocletian and Galerius – notorious for their persecution of the monotheist followers of Prophet Jesus (AS), and those who later came to be known as Christians. In 305, his father was raised to the rank of Augustus, or senior western emperor, and Constantine was recalled west to campaign in Britannia. Acclaimed as emperor by the army after his father's death in 306, Constantine emerged victorious in a series of civil wars against the emperors Maxentius and Licinius to become sole ruler of both west and east by 324. He built a new imperial residence at Byzantium and named it New Rome, but it was called Constantinople in his honour. Later the city served as capital of Byzantine or the Eastern Roman Empire for over a thousand years, before falling in 1453 to the Ottoman Turks, who renamed the city Islambol (Istanbul), and made it the capital of their empire for the next 470 years. Constantine has earned lasting notoriety for persecuting Arianism and the purely monotheistic followers of Prophet Jesus (AS).The form of Christianity he imposed is actually the innovation of Paul the Hellenized Jew, who was a fierce opponent of Prophet Jesus (AS), but after him, claimed to be his follower in order to distort the monotheistic message of the Messiah, by coining the weird concept of Trinity that was more closer to the Roman pantheon of deities.

1637 solar years ago, on this day in 380 AD, the Edict of Thessalonica was issued by Roman Emperor Theodosius I, with co-emperors Gratian and Valentinian II, forcing all Roman citizens to convert to the Trinitarian form of Christianity, or else be branded as heretics, subject to punishment.  This weird concept of ‘godfather’, ‘godson’ and the ‘holy ghost’ – an invention of Paul the Hellenized Jew who was a staunch opponent of Prophet Jesus (AS) during his mission on earth and after him feigned to be his follower – was designed to suit the polytheist beliefs of European pagans, in opposition to the monotheist message of the Virgin-born Messiah.

1133 lunar years ago, on this day in 305 AH, the great scholar, Abu Ja’far Mohammad ibn Othman al-Amri, passed away in Baghdad, after serving for 40 years as Nuwwab (or Deputy) of the Lord of the Age, Imam Mahdi (AS), the 12th and Last Infallible Heir of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), during the 69-year period of “Ghaybat as-Soghra” (or Minor Occultation). He was the second of the four deputies, who are known as Nuwwab al-Arba’. He had been confirmed as Deputy by the Imam himself in 265 AH on the death of his father, the celebrated scholar Uthman ibn Sa’eed al-Asadi, who as a 11-year old had the honour of the company of the Prophet’s 9th Infallible Heir, Imam Mohammad at-Taqi al-Jawad (AS), and thereafter was a close confidante of Imam Ali an-Naqi al-Hadi (AS) and Imam Hasan al-Askari (AS) – the 10th and 11th Infallible Heirs of the Prophet. Mohammad al-Amri authored several books including “al-Ashrabah” on jurisprudence. The 12th Imam, prophesied by the Prophet as the Mahdi who will establish the global government of peace, prosperity and justice by ending oppression and corruption on Planet Earth, was only five years old when his father was martyred by Mu’tamid the 15th self-styled caliph of the usurper Abassid regime. By the Will of God he went into Minor Occultation to be safe from the manhunt launched by the caliph. During this period only some selected figures from among the followers of the Ahl al-Bayt knew of his whereabouts and could meet him, while the rest were in contact with him through the Special Deputy, in order to avoid any suspicion by the regime. Thanks to the foolproof system of “wikala” (or representation) set up half-a-century earlier by the 9th Imam, a network of dedicated persons had emerged throughout the Islamic lands during the crucial period of the 10th and 11th Imams – who were either under virtual house arrest or imprisonment in Samarra by the Abbasid caliphs. Thus, during the Minor Occultation, whenever the believers faced a problem, they would write their concerns and send them to the Special Deputy, who would present it to the Imam, ascertain his verdict, endorse it with his seal and signature, and return it to the relevant parties. With the start of the “Ghaybat al-Kubra” (or Major Occultation) in 329 AH, there was no need for any Special Deputy, until by the Will of God, the 12th Imam reappears in the end times as the Saviour of Humanity.

508 solar years ago, on this day in 1509 AD, nine years after the discovery of Brazil by the Portuguese explorer, Pedro Alvarez Cabral, Portugal formally established its hegemony on this large swathe of South America. Until the independence of Brazil in the year 1822, France and Holland on several occasions tried to seize this territory but failed. Over the centuries, the Portuguese forcibly brought three million black people from Africa to Brazil for forced labor in sugarcane plantations. At the same time, the persecution of the indigenous Latin American people led to numerous uprisings against the Portuguese colonialists; which were all brutally suppressed. Although Brazil gained its independence in the year 1822, the presence and infiltration of the Portuguese in this country continued for several more decades.

326 solar years ago, on this day in 1691 AD, English publisher, Edward Cave, who founded “The Gentleman's Magazine” in 1731, was born in Newton near Rugby in Warwickshire. “The Gentleman's Magazine” was the first to use the term magazine for a periodical from the French word magazine, meaning "storehouse". A monthly digest of news and commentary on any topic the educated public might be interested in, from commodity prices to Latin poetry, it ran uninterrupted for almost 200 years, until 1922. The famous lexicographer Samuel Johnson's first regular employment as a writer was with “The Gentleman's Magazine”.

210 solar years ago, on this day in 1807 AD, American poet, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, was born in Portland, Maine. His famous poems include “The Children's Hour”, “Evangeline” and “What is time?” He died in 1882.

173 solar years ago, on this day in 1844 AD, Dominica, which the Haitian revolutionary leader, Toussaint Louverture, had seized from the Spanish in 1801, declared its independence. In 1916, it was occupied by the US, which 8 years later in 1924, due to the resistance of the Dominican people, was forced to sign a treaty for gradual withdrawal of American occupation forces. Colonel Rafael Trujillo staged a coup in 1930 and for 30 years until his assassination, he ruled the country. Thereafter, the US has often interfered in this country, which shares the Hispaniola Island with Haiti.

164 lunar years ago, on this day in 1274 AH, the prominent Iranian Islamic scholar and literary figure, Ayatollah Sheikh Mohammad Qasim Ordo-Abadi, was born in the northwestern city of Tabriz. Following completion of studies, he left for holy Najaf in Iraq to attend the classes of prominent ulema of his day. After attaining the status of Ijtehad, he returned to his hometown, Tabriz. Ayatollah Ordo-Abadi wrote numerous books. Among his works mention could be made of “ash-Shahaab al-Mobeen fi Ejaaz al-Qur'an al-Kareem” on the Immortal Miracle this heavenly scripture is. He passed away in 1333 AH.

159 lunar years ago, on this day in 1279 AH, the Arabic literary figure and poet, Abdul-Baaqi bin Suleiman Farouqi, passed away. He was a devotee of the Infallible Household of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) and has written odes in this regard. He has left behind several books on the Prophet and the Ahl al-Bayt, including “al-Baqiyaat as-Salehaat”.

138 solar years ago, on this day in 1879, AD, saccharin, the artificial sweetener, was accidentally discovered by Constantin Fahlberg, while he was researching coal tar compounds for Ira Remsen at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. With hands unwashed since leaving his laboratory work, during a meal, he accidentally discovered its intensely sweet taste when his fingers touched his lips. He subsequently obtained patents on its synthesis, and with his uncle, Dr. Adolf List, started a factory to produce and market it. Fahlberg became wealthy by taking the outcome of a laboratory experiment and pursuing a commercial path for it.

115 solar years ago, on this day in 1902 AD, American novelist, John Steinbeck, was born in Salinas, California. His famous works include “The Grapes of Wrath”, and “Of Mice and Men”.

85 solar years ago, on this day in 1932 AD, the neutron was discovered by Dr. James Chadwick at Cambridge University of Britain. He suggested that the new radiation consisted of uncharged particles of approximately the mass of the proton, and he performed a series of experiments verifying his suggestion. These uncharged particles were called neutrons, apparently from the Latin root for neutral and the Greek ending -on (by imitation of electron and proton). The neutron has been key to the production of nuclear power. In 1933 it was realized that it might mediate a nuclear chain reaction. When nuclear fission was discovered in 1938, it became clear that, if the process also produced neutrons, this might be the mechanism to produce the neutrons for a chain reaction. This was proven in 1939, opening the path to nuclear power production. These findings led to the first self-sustaining, man-made, nuclear chain reaction in 1942, and its subsequent misuse resulted in 1945 in the production of the first nuclear weapons, which the US criminally dropped in an act of state terrorism on the unsuspecting Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, when World War 2 had virtually ended.

80 lunar years ago, on this day in 1358 AH, the scholar Ayatollah Shaikh Ali Aal-e Ishaq was born near Zanjan in a scholarly family. In his childhood he shifted to holy Qom, along with his father, for religious education, and later went to Iraq for higher religious studies at the famous seminary of holy Najaf, where his teacher was the Father of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (RA). He returned to Iran and embarked on awakening the people. Following the victory of the Islamic Revolution, he played a prominent role in teaching at the seminary and at the university. He wrote several books and passed away in 1422 at the age of 64 years.  

75 solar years ago, on this day in 1942 AD, during World War II, the major air strikes of Japanese warplanes against the Allied Powers’ naval units started. These operations took place in the Sea of Java and destroyed many American, Australian, and British warships.

41 solar years ago, on this day in 1976 AD, the Spanish occupied territory of Western Sahara, declared its independence in the city of Bir Lehlou under the auspices of the Polisario Front as the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR). Unfortunately, because of western and Arab reactionary support to Morocco, SADR remains a partially recognized state that controls about 20-to-25% of all its territory, as the remaining territory is under the occupation of Morocco. The claimed capital of the SADR is El-Aaiún, while the temporary capital has been moved from Bir Lehlou to Tifariti. The Sahrawi Republic maintains diplomatic relations with 40 UN states, and is a full member of the African Union.

30 lunar years ago, on this day in1408 AH, Iraqi religious leader, Ayatollah Seyyed Mahdi Hakim, was martyred on the orders of Saddam of the repressive Ba’th minority regime of Baghdad, in the lobby of a hotel in Khartoum, Sudan, where he was attending an international Islamic conference. Son of Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Mohsin Hakim, he was politically active against the Ba’th regime and was living in exile in Dubai. His body was brought to holy Qom in Iran for burial.

20 solar years ago, on this day in 1997 AD, a 6.1 earthquake at Ardebil in northwest Iran struck at 4:27 p.m. local time. The quake damaged 110 villages and killed some 3,000 people. A second 5.1 quake followed in 2 days.

15 solar years ago, on this day in 2002 AD, anarchists torched a train, the Sabarmati Express, in Godhra in Gujarat state of India, while it was returning from the disputed region of Ayodhya in the state of Uttar Pradesh, where the Hindus were campaigning for building a temple on the ruins of the criminally destroyed Babri Mosque, and then blamed on the Muslims the incident in which 59 Hindus were reportedly killed, in order to ignite flames of communal violence. Hindu anarchists went rampaging throughout Gujarat state and in the following days slaughtered some 3,000 Muslim men, women and children, as the state government of Chief Minister Narendra Modi – currently the prime minister of India – not just mutely watched the massacre, but its police and security forces helped the anarchist mobs.

7 solar years ago, on this day in 2010 AD, a magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck Chile, toppling homes, collapsing bridges and plunging trucks into the fractured earth. The death toll was over 700, while 1.5 million Chileans were affected and 150,000 left homeless. A tsunami caused by the quake swept across the Pacific and killed several people on a Chilean island. It devastated coastal communities near the epicenter. Damages were later estimated at $30 billion.

6 solar years ago, on this day in 2011 AD, former Turkish premier, Najm od-Din Erbakan, passed away at the age of 84. He was born in the northern Turkish city of Sinop and studied Mechanical Engineering at Istanbul University, on the completion of which he left for Germany to earn a PhD at Aachen University. On return to Turkey, he was appointed a university professor in 1967. He entered politics in 1969, and was soon elected MP. He founded several Islamic-oriented parties, which the military authorities forcibly dissolved. He became leader of the Welfare Islamic Party in 1987, and in 1996 was democratically elected as Prime Minister. His policy of expansion of Turkey's relations with Muslim countries was unbearable for the military, the Zionist regime of Israel, and the US. For this reason, the military officers forced him to resign.

AS/MG