Today is Saturday; 16th of the Iranian month of Ordibehesht 1396 solar hijri; corresponding to 9th of the Islamic month of Sha’ban 1438 lunar hijri; and May 6, 2017, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1080 lunar years ago, on this day in 358 AH, Muttaqi-Billah, the 21^st self-styled caliph of the usurper Abbasid regime died, shortly after being deposed and blinded by the Turkic general, Tuzun, following a 4-year reign. The caliphate or political rule of the Islamic state that was snatched from its rightful inheritor, Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS), at the scandalous gathering of Saqifa Bani Sa'da, by a group of Sahaba – recent converts from years of idolatry – no sooner did Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) leave the mortal world, had become so insignificant after the tyrannically Godless rule of the Omayyads and the early Abbasids, that it now depended on the whims of the neo-Muslim Turkic slave guards who played havoc in Baghdad. Iran and the east had long became independent of the Abbasid caliphs; Egypt and Africa had been lost to the Fatemids, Arabia and Yemen were held by the Carmathians and local chieftains, Syria and Palestine were no longer under the caliphate, and even in Iraq there were revolts in Basra and Waset, while Mosul had become independent. In northern Syria and Anatolia, the Byzantine attempts to advance was being thwarted only because of the bravery of the Hamdanid Shi'ite Muslim dynasty whose protection Muttaqi-Billah had sought on becoming caliph. Naser od-Dowla Hamdani saw this as an opportunity to add all of Iraq to his realm and marched along with the caliph, but because of the well-organized opposition of the Turkic forces he found it difficult to control Baghdad. The caliph after wondering from city to city threw himself at the mercy of Tuzun, who broke his promise and deposed, blinded and replaced him with another puppet, al-Mustakfi-Billah.

957 lunar years ago, on this day in 481 AH, the renowned Egyptian Imami theologian, Abu’l-Qassim Abdul-Aziz Ibn Barraj Tarabulusi, passed away. He was born in Fatemid Ismaili Shi'ite Egypt and grew up there. He came to Iraq for higher religious studies and in Baghdad studied under such great scholars as Seyyed Murtaza and after him Abu Ja'far Shaikh at-Tayefa Tusi. He settled in Tripoli (Tarabulus) in what is now Lebanon and served there as the chief judge for almost thirty years in addition to being the representative of Shaikh Tusi. His views are valued by prominent theologians. He trained many prominent scholars and penned numerous books on theology and Islamic philosophy. His well-known book is “al-Jawame' al-Faqih”, which is in the form of questions and answers and is considered highly significant till this day. His other works include "al-Kamel" and "al-Mo’jiz".

893 solar years ago, on this day in 1124 AD, the Turkic Emir of Aleppo, Balak Noor od-Dowla, who was a thorn in the side of the Crusader invaders, was killed in battle. Son of Bahram bin Artuq, his name “Balak” means “fish implicating elusion”. He was one of the chiefs of the Doger tribe of the Oghuzz, who arrived in Syria from the steppes of Central Asia, along with the Seljuq Turks. Nephew, close-confidant and son-in-law of Ilghazi, the ruler of Mardin and parts of al-Jazira area of Iraq, in addition to Aleppo, he served in many campaigns against the Crusaders, and gained fame due to his humiliating capture of Jocelin of Edessa in 1122, and Baldwin II, the self-styled King of the usurper Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem. The following year, he penetrated Eastern Anatolia and in 1124 after a successful attack on Edessa, was killed when a stray arrow struck his throat. Despite his success against the Crusaders, Balak was a person of dubious character, and had expelled the Shi’ite Muslim of Aleppo from their homes and hearths during his brief rule. 

861 lunar years ago, on this day in 577 AH, the philologist, Abu’l-Barakaat Abdur-Rahman ibn Mohammad ibn-al-Anbari, passed away in Baghdad. A product of the Nizamiyya Academy set up by Nizam ol-Mulk Tusi, the Iranian vizier of the Seljuqid Empire, he later became teacher at his alma mater. He wrote several books including “al-Asraar al-Arabiyya”. 

847 lunar years ago, on this day in 591 AH, the al-Muwahhedeen ruler, Yaqoub Ibn Tashfeen al-Mansour crossed from Morocco into Spain to defeat King Alfonso VIII of Castile in the Battle of Alarcos following raids by Christians on the territories of Spanish Muslims. Some two decades later, when Ibn Tashfeen was no more, the Pope in Rome called for a crusade against Muslims in Spain, and Alfonso VIII heading an alliance of Christian rulers defeated the al-Muwahhedeen ruler to occupy large parts of Andalusia.

490 solar years ago, on this day in 1527 AD, German and Spanish troops under Charles V began sacking Rome, bringing about the end of the Renaissance. Libraries were destroyed, Pope Clement VII was captured and thousands were killed.

488 solar years ago, on this day in 1529 AD, the Timurid ruler of Kabul, Zaheer od-Din Mohammad Babar, after having conquered the Delhi Sultanate at the decisive Battle of Panipat in 1526 and routing the Rajput chiefs in the Battle of Khanwa in 1527, completed the conquest of Hindustan or Northern India by defeating the joint army of the Eastern Afghan Confederacy and the Sultan of Bengal, at the junction of the Ghagra and Ganges Rivers. A protégé of Shah Ismail Safavi of Iran, Babar thus established the Moghal Empire in the Subcontinent, which reached its greatest extent under Aurangzeb by 1700, before gradual breakup and final abolishment by the British invaders of India in 1857. 

399 lunar years ago, on this day in 1039 AH, a devastating flood hit the holy city of Mecca due to torrential rains that drowned over 4000 people and engulfed the holy Ka’ba for several days. Following the gradual receding of waters, the walls of the holy Ka’ba including the place of the Hajar al-Aswad (the sacred Black Stone) were reinforced by the custodian of the Grand Sacred Mosque, Iran's Seyyed Aqa Zain al-Abedin Kashi, who has recorded it in his book titled "Mafraha al-Anaam fi Tasis Bayt-Allah Haraam."  Kashi who was a student of scholar Mullah Mohammad Amin al-Astarabadi, was martyred in Mecca by the enemies of Prophet Mohammad’s (SAWA) Ahl al-Bayt.

161 solar years ago, on this day in 1856 AD, Sigmund Freud, Austrian neurologist psychiatrist was born. He conducted research on mental disorders, and presented new theories on the root cause of psychological ailments. He believed that the source of human thoughts and acts is the unconscious mind and many of mental disorders are caused by suppressed inclinations and tendencies, especially in childhood. Freud is thus called Father of Psychoanalysis. Among his books are "The Interpretation of Dreams", and "The Future of an Illusion".

160 solar years ago, on this day in 1857 AD, the British East India Company disbanded the 34^th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry whose soldier Mangal Pandey had earlier revolted against the British and is considered to be the first casualty of the north Indian uprising against colonial rule. Pandey had attacked with sword and then shot the British officer, following dissatisfaction among the Indian soldiers against the colonialists. The British brutally suppressed the uprising of the Indian people with heavy loss of life, and massacres of both Hindus and Muslims.

158 solar years ago,  on this day in 1859 AD, the German biologist and scientist, Alexander Humboldt, died at the age of 90. He was born in Berlin and travelled to Asia and the Americas to conduct extensive research. His studies mainly revolve round discovery of terms of Earth’s evolution. The Humboldt Current is named after him.

106 solar years ago, on this day in 1911 AD, Zabihollah Safa, the Iranian Persian language expert, researcher and professor Emeritus of Iranian Studies at the University of Tehran, was born in Shahmirzad in Mazandaran. His contribution to Iranian studies is seen in his comprehensive works on the history of Persian literature. His thesis, a comprehensive study of epic narratives in Iran (“Hamaseh Sarai dar Iran”) was later published as a book and illustrated his ability to synthesize a vast range of readings into a coherent manual for teaching. He focused on major literary, philosophic and scientific contributions made by Iranians to civilization at large. His talents also manifested in his journalistic activities as a young man. As early as 1933 he began contributing to the influential journal Mehr, and was its chief editor from 1937 to 1941. It is however, for his work as an editor of many classical texts and above all, for his monumental “History of Persian Literature” and his valuable anthology (translated into French in the UNESCO Collection as “Anthologie de la Poésie Persane”) that he is best remembered. He was also a regular contributor to Encyclopaedia Iranica. He died on April 29, 1999 in Lubeck, Germany.

67 solar years ago, on this day in 1950 AD, the Belgian biologist and author, Maurice Maeterlinck, died at the age of 87. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in the year 1911. He has left behind a large number of books, including "The Blue Bird", which is translated to a number of languages. Among his works, mention can also be made of “The Life of the Bee”, “The Life of the Ant”, and “Wisdom and Destiny”.

53 solar years ago, on this day in 1964 AD, Ayatollah Ruhollah Kamalvand Khorramabadi, passed away at the age of 64 in his hometown Khorramabad and was laid to rest in the mausoleum of Hazrat Fatema al-Ma’soumah (SA) in the holy city of Qom. He was a classmate of the Father of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (RA), and after attaining ijtehad had spent the last fourteen years of his life in grooming students in his hometown, where he revived the Islamic seminary.  

46 solar years ago, on this day in 1970, the scholar of Persian literature, Iranian linguistics and culture, and poet, Badi' oz-Zamaan Foruzaanfar, passed away at the age of 66. His real name was Ziya Boshruwaiyh, and he was an expert on Mowlana Jalal od-Din Balkhi Rumi, the author of the famous Mathnavi Ma’anavi. As a distinguished professor at Tehran University, he groomed such notable scholars as, Mehrdad Avesta, Perviz Natel Khanlari, Zabihollah Safa, Ehsan Yarshater,   Abdul-Hussain Zarrinkoub, Amir Hossein Aryanpour, Mohammad-Amin Riahi,    Ja’far Shahidi, and William Chittick. His critical edition of Diwan-e Shams (in 10 volumes) is the best edition of the book available to date. The first critical edition of Mowlana’s “Fihi ma Fihi” was also done by Forouzaanfar, which is now well known in the West thanks to the selective translation of A. J. Arberry.

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