Today is Sunday; 13th of the Iranian month of Farvardin 1396 solar hijri; corresponding to 4th of the Islamic month of Rajab 1438 lunar hijri; and April 2, 2017, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1347 solar years ago, on this day in 670 AD, Imam Hassan Mojtaba (AS), the elder grandson and 2nd Infallible Heir of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), was martyred at the age of 47 through a fatal dose of poison, given on the orders of the usurper Mu'awiyyah Ibn Abu Sufyan. The lunar hijri date of this tragic event is 28^th Safar, 50 AH. Born in Medina, Imam Hasan (AS) was over seven years at the passing away of the Prophet, who hailed him along with his younger brother, Imam Husain (AS), as Leaders of the Youth of Paradise. At the age of 37, the mantle of Imamate came to rest on his shoulders, following the martyrdom of his father, Imam Ali Ibn Abi Taleb (AS). Some seven months later, because of the treachery of those who claimed to be his followers, but had succumbed to threats and bribes of the enemies of humanity by refusing to decisively confront them, he relinquished the caliphate and retired to his hometown Medina, after stipulating certain conditions for the next ruler. The Omayyad rebel Mu'awiyyah ibn Abu Sufyan seized the caliphate, broke all accords, violated the laws of Islam, and finally administered poison to Imam Hasan (AS).

1275 solar years ago, on this day in 742 AD, the king of the Franks, Charlemagne, was born in either Aachen in modern-day Germany or Liege (Herstal) in present-day Belgium. He was the son of Pepin the Short and following the death of his father in 768, he was initially co-ruler with his brother Carloman I, whose sudden death in 771 under unexplained circumstances left Charlemagne as the undisputed ruler of the Frankish Kingdom. On his conquest of Italy and central Europe he was crowned the first Roman Emperor in Western Europe after three centuries by Pope Leo III. Throughout his long 45-year reign, he was brutal in his suppression of opposition to his rule, but his attempts to expand his dominion into Muslim Spain met with defeat and a historical retreat that resulted in the complete destruction of his rearguard by the Basques in the Pyrenees. When a clock was sent to him from Baghdad by the scientifically advanced Muslims, Charlemagne and the Europeans who were living in the dark ages were for long suspicious of the mechanical object and thought that a genie was inside it, showing the time of the day and the passing hours.

1145 solar years ago, on this day in 872 AD, the Abbasid Turkic general, Mufleh at-Turki, died a day after an arrow struck his temple during the battle with the Zanj near Basra. He was a close associate of the senior Turkic general, Musa ibn Bugha al-Kabir, served as his chief lieutenant, and was part of the army that besieged Baghdad during the civil war of 865–866. After the war, he followed Musa who was appointed governor of al-Jibal or the region of Iran extending from the Zagros to the Alborz Mountains, with Rayy (presently the southernmost suburb of modern Tehran) as its capital. He led military expeditions against the local rulers of Hamedan and Karaj. In 868, he attacked Qom, and killed several of his inhabitants for not paying taxes. The next year he invaded Tabaristan (Mazandaran) and occupied Amol and Sari, before being recalled to Iraq. Despite Musleh’s atrocities, during his brief presence in Iran, some of the prominent followers of Imam Hasan Askari (AS) – the 11^th Infallible Heir of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) – moved to Qom, including the Imam’s representative, Ahmad bin Ishaq.

846 lunar years ago, on this day in 592 AH, the poet, Mohammad ibn Ali al-Waseti, popularly known as “Ibn Mo’allem”, passed away at the age of 91. He focused on ethical and social topics in simple terms. Part of his poems is about mystical topics and some are eulogies.

490 lunar years ago, on this day in 948 AH, the Ottomans achieved a resounding victory over the Spaniards and other European Christian powers who tried to attack Algeria with a huge army. More than twenty thousand European invaders were killed and their corpses scattered for several kilometers along the Algerian coast. The Ottomans captured 130 ships, and reaffirmed their superiority in the Mediterranean over the European powers.

451 lunar years ago, on this day in 987AH, the Ottomans, after seizing Daghestan and some northern parts of Azerbaijan in a surprise attack, set up naval bases on the shores of the Caspian, with the aim of dominating this inland sea, similar to their sway in the Mediterranean and Black Seas. The timely counterattack by the Safavid Empire, however, thwarted Ottoman designs, as Daghestan and Azerbaijan's Shirwan region, along with most of the Caucasus, returned to the control of Iran.

403 solar years ago, on this day in 1614 AD, Jahan-Ara Begum, the highly influential daughter of Shah Jahan, the 5^th Grand Moghal Emperor of most of the Subcontinent and eastern Afghanistan, was born. Her mother, Arjmand Ara Bano Momtaz Mahal, was the beloved Iranian wife of her father, for whom he built the famous white marble mausoleum, the Taj Mahal, which is one of the wonders of the world. Jahan-Ara, besides being a powerful stateswoman who was often consulted by her father, was highly educated and well versed in Persian and Arabic. A poet of repute, she also wrote at least two highly acclaimed books in Persian prose, titled “Mo’nis al-Arwaḥ”, and “Risala-e Sahebiyah”. The first book is a biography of Khwaja Seyyed Moin od-Din Cheshti, the prominent Iranian Sufi and founder of the Cheshtiyah order of the Subcontinent, who wrote the Persian quatrain on the great sacrifice of the Martyr of Karbala, Imam Husain (AS). She was very kind and helped poor people, in addition to building mosques and gardens. She died on September 16, 1681 in the reign of her brother, Aurangzeb, whom she used to call the “White Serpent” for his dethroning of their father, Shah Jahan, and the killing of brothers in the war of succession.

262 solar years ago, on this day in 1755 AD, British Commodore William James captured the fortress of Suvarnadurg off the west coast of India which the Maratha pirates were using as a base to attack commercial shipping. The fortress was built on an island by the Adel-Shahi sultanate of Iranian origin, from whom the Marathas had seized. 

212 solar years ago, on this day in 1805 AD, the Danish fairy tale author, and poet, who is noted for his children’s stories, Hans Christian Andersen, was born. Andersen is considered as one of the best authors of fairly tales in the world and he has penned famous stories such as “The Ugly Duckling”, “The Steadfast Tin Soldier” and “The Red Shoes”. In all, he wrote 150 stories for children. The birthday of this Danish author is marked as the Global Day of Children’s Books. Andersen died in 1875.

100 solar years ago, on this day in 1917 AD, while three years had passed since the break out of World War I, the US entered the war in favor of France and Britain. The US pretext for entering the war was the alleged attack of German submarines on US commercial ships. The US entry in World War I played a major role in the victory of Allied forces.

99 solar years ago, on this day in 1918 AD, over 12,000 Azeri Muslims were massacred in Baku in four days of indiscriminate slaughter, beginning from March 30, by allied armed groups of Armenians and Russian Bolsheviks, following a failed bid to reassert independence in the aftermath of the communist seizure of power in Moscow in October 1917. Baku and what is now known today as the Republic of Azerbaijan, was, along with Armenia and the southern Caucasus, an integral part of Iran for over two millenniums, until occupied by the Russians in the 19^th century.

67 lunar years ago, on this day in 1371 AH, the renowned Islamic scholar of Syria, Ayatollah Seyyed Muhsin al-Amin al-Ameli, passed away in Damascus at the age of 86 and was laid to rest in the shrine of Hazrat Zainab (SA), the granddaughter of  Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). After higher studies in Iraq at the seminary of holy Najaf, he settled in Damascus and played a vital role in reforming and awakening the conscience of the followers of the Prophet’s Ahl al-Bayt. He wrote several books, including the famous biographical encyclopedia titled “Ayaan ash-Shi‘ah” in scores of volumes. He was among the ulema from whom the Father of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini received the “ijaza” or authorization to relate hadith. The Late Imam writes in his book “Arba’een”: “I received both written and oral authorization (to relate hadith) from some of the most prominent and trustworthy ulema, including the Master of Authority, the Scholastic Jurisprudent, the Trustworthy Personality, Allamah Seyyed Muhsin al-Amin al-Ameli.”

35 solar years ago, on this day in 1982 AD, Argentina liberated the Malvinas off its southern coast from British occupation, but soon lost them when Britain launched a savage naval attack to reoccupy what it likes to call Falkland Islands, which it had seized in 1832. Argentina and its allies do not recognize British sovereignty over these islands.

26 solar years ago, on this day in 1991 AD, mercenaries of Saddam’s repressive Ba’th minority regime violated the sanctity of the holy cities of Najaf and Karbala, in a bid to crush the uprising of Iraq’s long-suppressed Shi’ite Muslim majority. The Ba’thists desecrated the shrine of the Prophet’s First Infallible Heir, Imam Ali in Najaf, and that of his two sons, Imam Husain (AS) and Hazrat Abbas (AS) in Karbala. The holy shrines were riddled with machinegun fire and people mercilessly slaughtered inside their sacred precincts. The Iraqi people had risen for their rights while Saddam’s occupation forces were fleeing from Kuwait during the attack launched by the US and the coalition army it had assembled. But the US forces suddenly stopped their offensive and gave Saddam the green signal to brutally massacre hundreds of thousands of Iraqi Shi’ite Muslims and to desecrate the holy shrines.

11 solar years ago, on this day in 2006 AD, Iran announced its second major new missile test within days, saying it has successfully fired a high-speed torpedo called Hooth (whale), capable of destroying huge warships and submarines.

The 13^th of the Iranian month of Farvardin, is marked throughout Iran as National Day of Nature, with families visiting parks and enjoying the fresh air of spring in open spaces and countryside, as thanksgiving to God Almighty, the Creator of the Universe Who has mentioned the in holy Qur’an the bounties of nature for His best of creation, that is, mankind. The Islamic Republic of Iran strives to instill in the people the worth and value of nature, and how to keep the atmosphere clean by taking steps to avoid polluting pastures and water resources, which are the lifeline for the nation and the entire human race.

AS/ME