Today is Tuesday; 17th of the Iranian month of Esfand 1395 solar hijri; corresponding to 8th of the Islamic month of Jamadi as-Sani 1438 lunar hijri; and March 7, 2017, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

2339 solar years ago, on this day in 322 BC, the Greek philosopher Aristotle died. His writings included treatises on logic, metaphysics, ethics, politics, rhetoric and natural sciences. He first described language in terms of subject and predicate as well as parts of speech. He was a student of Plato and in turn the teacher of Alexander of Macedonia. Aristotelian logic is based on a small number of unambiguous constructs, such as, "if A, then B": the truth of one implies the truth of another. The constructs also included A=A, representing that every entity is equal to itself. He defined politics as the science of the sciences that looks after well-being. His writings included “De Generatione Animalum” and "Historia Animalium". Aristotle and his works were revived by Muslim philosophers and scientists, centuries after he was forgotten by Greeks and Europeans.

1856 solar years ago, on this day 161 AD, Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius died at the age of 75 after a reign of 23 years, and is considered one of the Five Good Emperors of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty and the Aurelii. He had succeeded his adoptive father Hadrian the throne and was succeeded in turn by his adoptive sons Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus Roman Emperor. Pius could not succeed against the growing might of Iran led by the Parthian Emperor, Balaash, known to the Romans as Vologases IV. 

1696 solar years ago, on this day in 321 AD, Roman Emperor Constantine I issued a decree imposing upon the whole empire – in Europe, Asia Minor, Levant, Egypt and North Africa – the day of the pagan god, Solis Invicti (Unconquered Sun), as the weekly day of rest. His decree read: “On the venerable day of the Sun (Sunday) let the magistrates and people residing in cities rest, and let all workshops be closed.” This pagan practice of Sunday as a weekend holiday was adopted by the Christian World and continues in countries still following the ways of their former European colonial masters, although this day has no link with Prophet Jesus (PBUH). The Sun was worshipped as one of the official gods and as a patron of soldiers in the Roman Empire. Constantine, even after conversion to Christianity – not the monotheistic message of Jesus (AS), but the weird concept of Trinity coined by Paul the Hellenized Jew – had the symbols of the Sun engraved on his coinage. Thus, when the Roman Empire converted to Christianity, the 25^th of December, which was the date of a festival of the Sun god, was renamed Christmas to give the impression that Prophet Jesus (AS) was born on this pagan holiday.

938 solar years ago, on this day in 1079 AD, the famous Iranian astronomer, Omar ibn Ibrahim al-Khayyam Neishapouri, completed the Jalali solar hijri calendar, dating it like the lunar one from the migration of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) from Mecca to Medina in Rabi al-Awwal – the 1^st month of spring. This calendar was formally adopted on 15 March the same year by the Seljuq Sultan, Jalal ad-Din Malik Shah, in whose honour it was named. The team led by Khayyam, working at the imperial observatory in the Seljuq capital Isfahan, computed the length of a solar year as 365.25 days, more perfect than the Gregorian calendar used by the Christian world.

743 solar years ago, on this day in 1274 AD, Italian philosopher and theologian, Thomas Aquinas, who wrote commentaries on the works of the ancient Greek philosopher, Aristotle, died in Naples at the age of 51. Following Aristotle's definition of science as knowledge obtained from demonstrations, Aquinas defined science as the knowledge of things from their causes. In his work “Summa Theologica”, he distinguished between demonstrated truth (science) and revealed truth (faith). This belief and his faith in the originality of wisdom, as opposed to the Christian Church’s irrationality, assisted in the promotion of sciences.

668 lunar years ago, on this day in 769 AH, the acclaimed Persian poet Mahmoud ibn Amir Yameen od-Din, popularly known as Ibn Yameen Faryumadi, passed away at the age of 84. He was born in Faryumad near Sabzevar in Khorasan, northeastern Iran. He is said to have been the court poet of the Shi’ite Muslim Sarbedar dynasty. Over 5,000 of his poems, mainly aphorisms, have been preserved, including qasidas and mathnawis of a philosophical and mystical nature.

424 lunar years ago, on this day in 1014 AH, Prince Saleem succeeded his father, Akbar the Great, as the Fourth Grand Mughal Emperor of the northern subcontinent and eastern Afghanistan with the title, Noor od-Din Jahangir. He ruled for 23 years, mostly with the assistance of his Iranian wife, Noor Jahan, and maintained excellent relations with Shah Abbas the Great of Safavid Iran. Jahangir was also a poet and writer in both Persian and his native Chaghtai Turkic. The bleak record of his rule, however, was martyrdom of the famous Iranian Islamic scholar in Agra, Qazi Seyyed Noorollah Shoushtari, the author of such famous books as “Majalis al-Momineen” and “Ahqaq al-Haq”. He was under the influence of alcohol when he signed the decree drafted by jealous court mullahs. Later he rued his decision and with the help of his wife, he executed the plotters for the murder of Qazi Shoushtari, who is famous in India amongst the followers of the Prophet’s Ahl al-Bayt as Shaheed Thalleth (Third Martyr).

260 lunar years ago, on this day in 1178 AH, the Hadith scholar, Abdul-Karim Ibn Ahmad al-Halabi, passed away. He was from Aleppo as his surname suggests, and though he went blind, he wasn’t demoralized and remained a prominent scholar. He has left behind numerous compilations, including “Ad’iyat as-Safar” or supplications to God for safety while on journey.

252 solar years ago, on this day in the year 1765 AD, the French chemist and one of the founders of photography, Nicephore Niepce, was born. By 1813, he had taken up lithography, which led to his invention of photography. In a letter in May 1816, he spoke of an apparatus that produced a (negative) image using a paper coated with silver chloride fixed with nitric acid. After further experimentation, by 1826, he achieved the first fixed positive image. In 1829, he signed an agreement with Daguerre to develop photography. He died in 1833.

218 solar years ago, in 1799 AD, the French general, Napoleon Bonaparte captured Jaffa in Palestine and proceeded to kill more than 2,000 Albanian Muslim captives. The French were driven out from Palestine by the Ottomans.

118 lunar years ago, on this day 1320 AH the Iranian Gnostic, Ayatollah Mohammad Taqi Gonabadi, known as “Sheikh Bohloul” was born in Gonabad, Khorasan, to the local mujtahid, Shaikh Nizam od-Din Khazai of Arab ancestry. He memorized the holy Qur'an at the tender age of 8. He finished his preliminary Islamic studies under his father, and then for higher studies enrolled at the seminary in holy Qom, where his teachers were the Grand Ayatollah Akhund Khorasani, Mullah Ali Ma’sumi and Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Shehab od-Din Mar’ashi Najafi. Later he studied in the holy city of Najaf, Iraq, under Grand Ayatollah Abu’l Hasan Isfahani. This last illustrious teacher told him to use his talents to participate in the resistance movement against the anti-Islamic policies of the British-installed Pahlavi potentate Reza Khan. On return to Iran, he became a powerful voice against anti-Islamic policies of the regime. An unusually gifted scholar and a famous orator, behind his small stature, simple dress and modest manners, there was a talented, eloquent and pious individual, who never hesitated in speaking the truth as well as defending it. In 1935, during the Gowharshad Mosque Uprising of the people of Mashhad in protest to “Kashf-e Hijab” or the forced unveiling of Muslim women, he led the movement. The regime’s forces desecrated the holy precincts of the mosque by martyring and wounding some 5,000 people, besides arresting a large number of others. He spent 13 long years of his life in prison, and was released in a miraculous way. After his release, he travelled to Egypt and Syria, and spent some years there, before returning to Iran. He was very active in the run up to the Islamic Revolution. Sheikh Bohloul was a poet as well, and composed over 200,000 couplets in Persian and Arabic.

81 solar years ago, on this day in 1936 AD, as prelude to World War II, German Nazi troops of Adolf Hitler violated the Treaties of Versailles and Locarno, to occupy the region of Rhineland.

61 lunar years ago, on this day in 1377 AH, the prominent Islamic scholar, Ayatollah Seyyed Abdul-Hussein Sharaf od-Din Ameli, passed away in Lebanon at the age of 87. He was born of Lebanese parents in the Iraqi holy city of Kazemain. On completion of his studies in holy Najaf he returned to Jabal Amel in Lebanon and in addition to Islamic welfare and academic activities, campaigned against French colonial rule. He was forced to seek refuge in Egypt, where he came into contact with Shaikh Saleem al-Bishri the Dean of Egypt’s famous seat of Islamic learning, al-Azhar (founded by the Fatemid Shi’ite Dynasty in honour of the Prophet’s Infallible Daughter, Hazrat Zahra (SA) – hence “Azhar”). The two had a lively discussion on key issues of faith, especially the prime position in Islam of the Ahl al-Bayt of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). On the return to Lebanon of Seyyed Sharaf od-Din, the discussion continued in the form of exchange of letters, and in the end Shaikh Bishri admitted the truthfulness of the school of Ahl al-Bayt. The result is the excellent book titled “al-Muraja’at”, which has been translated into major world languages, including English as The Right Path. The Dean of al-Azhar, as a gesture of Islamic solidarity, issued the historic fatwa of endorsing Ja’fari or Shi’ite Fiqh, as one of the five jurisprudential schools of Islam.

35 solar years ago, on this day in 1982 AD, the prominent religious scholar, Ayatollah Rabbani Shirazi, passed away at the age of 54. Born in Shiraz, he actively participated in struggles against the despotic Pahlavi regime as of 1963 and was detained and banished to different regions on several occasions. Following the victory of the Islamic Revolution, he was elected to the parliament, and spent his life serving Islam and Muslims.

27 solar years ago, on this day in 1990 AD, Hussein Qawwami, one of the prominent instructors of Iran’s traditional music, passed away. Following the victory of Iran’s Islamic Revolution, he dedicated his music for revolutionary songs. In 1988, he received a plaque of honour from Iran’s Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance.

24 solar years ago, on this day in 1993 AD, the musician Ahmad Ebadi, who played Setar and Iran’s traditional musical instruments, passed away. He groomed numerous students to promote Iran’s traditional music.

7 solar years ago, on this day in 2010, Iran announced that it has started a new production line of highly accurate, short range cruise missiles, which adds a new element to the country's already imposing defence arsenal.

7 solar years ago, on this day in 2010 AD, the Iranian researcher and anthropologist, Dr. Mahmoud Rooh ul-Amini, passed away at the age of 82. He was born in the southern Iranian city of Kerman and after obtaining his MA in Sociology, he left for France, where he received PhD in anthropology in 1968. On returning to Iran, he lectured at Tehran University and devoted himself to development of anthropology, resulting in the opening of the Museum of Anthropology at Golestan Palace. He wrote several books.

AS/MG