Today is Friday; 5th of the Iranian month of Khordad 1396 solar hijri; corresponding to 29th of the Islamic month of Sha’ban 1438 lunar hijri; and May 26, 2017, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1566 solar years ago, on this day in 451 AD, the Battle of Avarayr between Armenian rebels and the Sassanid Empire took place in what is now the Republic of Armenia in the Caucasus. The Iranians led by Yazdegerd II defeated the Armenians militarily, but were unable to reconvert them to Zoroastrianism. In 484, Emperor Peroz I, as per the Treaty of Nvarsak, granted the Armenians freedom to openly practice Christianity, after the Armenian Church formally separated from the Latin Catholic Church of Rome and the Greek Orthodox Church of Constantinople.

1219 lunar years ago, on this day in 219 AH, the jurisprudent and hadith authority, Fadhl bin Dukin ibn Na’eem, passed away at the age of 89. He is considered a reliable narrator of hadith by Sunni Muslims and has quoted accounts of the crimes against Islam of Khaled ibn Waleed. An expert on biography of narrators of hadith, he wrote several books and groomed many students.

1189 solar years ago, on this day in 818 AD, as per the Gregorian Calendar, Imam Ali ibn Musa ar-Reza (AS), the 8^th Infallible Successor of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), was martyred, through poisoning in the city of Toos, Khorasan, northeastern Iran, by the crafty Abbasid caliph, Mamoun. The 8^th Imam, whose blessings are evident to all, needs no introduction. Today Toos is known as Mashhad – short form of "Mashhad-ar-Reza" or Martyrdom Place of Imam Reza (AS). The sprawling golden-domed shrine of the Imam draws millions of pilgrims from all over Iran and the world, while there is no trace of even the graves of the Abbasid or Omayyad caliphs, anywhere in any Muslim land.

1120 lunar years ago, on this day in 318 AH, the acclaimed Iranian Shafe’i jurisprudent, Mohammad ibn Ibrahim ibn al-Mundhir Naishaburi, passed away in holy Mecca at the age of 77. Born in Naishabur in Khorasan, after mastering hadith and Qur’anic sciences, he travelled to Hejaz where he spent the rest of his life in Mecca, as Shaikh al-Haram. He was well versed with the differing opinions amongst the scholars of hadith, and wrote several books, the largest of which was titled “al-Mabsout”, which has not survived. He abridged this voluminous work as “al-Awsat”, but only a few volumes of it have been found, and even fewer printed. He further abridged this book into a still smaller version titled “al-Ishraaf”, which is regarded as the best book of its kind, since he briefly mentions in it all the different opinions regarding each topic and occasionally mentions the opinion he prefers.

724 solar years ago, on this day in 1293 AD, an earthquake struck Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan, killing about 30,000.

596 solar years ago, on this day in 1421 AD, the 5^th Ottoman Sultan, Mohammad I Chalabi, died after a reign of 8 years, at the age of 31 and was buried at Bursa. He was a son of Bayezid I, while his mother was Dowlat Khatun, was a daughter of Yaqoub Shah, the ruler of the principality of Germiyan and a descendant of the famous Iranian mystic and Persian poet, Mowlana Jalal od-Din Roumi. Although his 8-year reign as sultan started with his victory at the Battle of Jamurlu over Musa Chalabi, his brother, Mohammad I as the most powerful brother contending for the throne, was the de facto ruler of most of the empire for nearly the whole preceding period of 11 years of the Ottoman Interregnum since his father's defeat and capture at Ankara by Amir Timur.

505 solar years ago, on this day in 1512 AD, the 8^th Ottoman sultan, Bayezid II, died after a 31-year reign, a month after being forced to abdicate the throne by his rebellious son, Selim I. Bayezid II, who brutally suppressed several popular uprisings by the Qizilbash or Shi’ite Muslims of Anatolia that were influenced by the Safavid Empire of Iran, is notable for resettling tens of thousands of Jews from Spain throughout the Ottoman Empire after proclamation of the Alhambra Decree by the Christian rulers of Spain, Ferdinand and Isabella. Bayezid II engaged in numerous campaigns to conquer the Venetian possessions in Morea. The last of these wars ended in 1501 with his gaining control of the whole Peloponnese Peninsula or present day southern Greece.

380 solar years ago, on this day in 1637 AD, A combined Protestant and Mohegan force under the English Captain John Mason attacked a Pequot village in Connecticut, massacring over 500 Native Americans. The white settlers from Europe were notorious for their genocide of the so-called Red Indians, and their enslavement of the black people kidnapped from Africa and made to toil as slaves in the New World.

364 solar years ago, on this day in 1653 AD, Robert Filmer, the English political theorist who irrationally defended the divine right of kings, died at the age of 65. His best known work, “Patriarcha”, published posthumously in 1680, was the target of numerous Whig attempts at rebuttal, including Algernon Sidney's “Discourses Concerning Government”, James Tyrrell's “Patriarcha Non Monarcha” and John Locke's “Two Treatises of Government”. Filmer also wrote critiques of Thomas Hobbes, John Milton, Hugo Grotius and Aristotle, but he failed to prove his divine right theory.

314 solar years ago, on this day in 1703 AD, British naval administrator and Member of Parliament, Samuel Pepys, who is now most famous for the detailed diary of important events he kept for a decade, died at the age of 70. Through hard work and talent for administration, he rose to be Chief Secretary to the Admiralty under both King Charles II and subsequently King James II. The detailed private diary Pepys kept from 1660 until 1669 was first published in the 19^th century and is one of the most important primary sources for the English Restoration period. It provides a combination of personal revelation and eyewitness accounts of such important events, as the Great Plague of London, the Second Dutch War, and the Great Fire of London.  Often regarded as the most celebrated diary, it contains over a million words, and the author’s frankness in writing his own weaknesses, has made historians ascertain the accuracy of his record of daily British life and major events in the 17^th century.

134 solar years ago, on this day in 1883 AD, Algerian freedom fighter, Seyyed Abdul-Qader ibn Mohi od-Din al-Hassani al-Jaza'iri, died in Damascus, Syria at the age of 75, and was buried near the tomb of the famous Spanish Muslim Gnostic, Sheikh Mohi od-Din Ibn Arabi. Born near Mascara in Oran in Algeria, he claimed descent from Imam Hasan Mojtaba (AS), the elder grandson of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). In 1825, he set out for the Hajj pilgrimage. In Mecca, he met with and was impressed by Imam Shamil of Daghestan, the leader of the struggle against Russian expansion in the Caucasus which had recently been seized by the Czar from the Qajarid rulers of Iran. He also visited Syria and Iraq. After five years, he returned to his homeland in 1930 a few months before the Ottoman Turks lost it to the French invaders. He led the military struggle against France, organizing guerrilla warfare over the next decade. His failure to get support from the eastern tribes and the Berbers of the west led to the quelling of his uprising. On December 21, 1847, after being denied refuge in Morocco because of French pressure, he surrendered and was exiled to France, where he remained under detention until 1852. He was released on taking an oath never again to question French rule in Algeria. In 1855 he settled in Damascus, where he died this day. During the Druze-Christian riots of 1860 in Damascus, he had sheltered a large number of Christians, earning praise and awards from European states and the USA. Unfortunately, Abdul-Qader had become a member of the notorious Jewish secret organization, the Freemasons in 1864. Among the books he wrote, the “Call to the Intelligent, Warning to the Indifferent” and “The Arabian Horse” could be mentioned.

113 lunar years ago, on this day in 1325 AH, the draft of Iran's first Constitution was signed, albeit reluctantly, by the despotic king Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar. It was hastily drafted and contained 107 articles. The constitution was tampered with and changed constantly, especially during the despotic rule of the British-installed and American-backed Pahlavi regime. Passages pertaining to people's rule and the Islamic shari'ah were eliminated, while clauses were added to spread corruption and depravity in society for weakening the people's cultural values in order to strengthen the repressive rule of the Pahlavis. Following the triumph of the Islamic Revolution in 1979 that ended domestic despotism and foreign hegemony, the Iranian people voted for a popularly drafted constitution to replace the obsolete one.

109 solar years ago, on this day in 1908 AD, oil was recovered for the first time in Iran in the Masjid Suleiman area in the southwest, at a 60-meter depth, with oil gushing up to a height of 25 meters. The Masjid Suleiman area is of paramount importance in regard to its mines and hydrocarbons and up to now more than 250 oil wells have been drilled. Iran also possesses the world’s second largest natural gas reserves as well. Oil seepages had been noted for centuries in Iran, where the oozing was used for such purposes as the caulking of boats and the binding of bricks.

105 lunar years ago, on this day in 1333 AH, the Gnostic Shaikh Baqer Bahari Hamedani passed away in his hometown Hamedan at the age of 58 and was laid to rest in the mausoleum of Imamzadeh Abdullah. After preliminary studies in the village of Bahar under his father, he left for Iraq for higher studies at the Islamic seminary of Holy Najaf, and benefitted from the classes of such prominent scholars as, Ayatollah Mirza Hassan Shirazi, Muhaddith Noori, Mirza Habibollah Rashti, Akhound Khorasani, and Fazel Iravani. On attaining the status of Ijtihad, he returned to Iran to serve the people of Hamedan. A pious person, known for his simple life, he was nevertheless a strong opponent of despotism and foreign hegemony. He trained a large number of students, and wrote some 40 books and treatises, on a wide variety of subjects.   

51 solar years ago, on this day in 1966 AD, Guyana became independent from centuries of British rule, and four years later became a republic. Guyana was occupied by the Spanish in late 15^th century and seized by Britain in the 17^th century. Situated in South America with a coastline on the Atlantic Ocean, Guyana’s indigenous people are the Arawak-speaking Lucayan, part of the Taino people, who are now a minority in their own homeland. The country has a population of 10 percent Muslims, while a slight majority of the national population is made up of Guyanese of Indian origin.

36 solar years ago, on this day in 1981 AD, the 6-nation Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (PGCC), was set up by Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, and Oman. The goals were given as economic, political, and military coordination to deter foreign threats to the region, but the PGCC has turned out to be an instrument of US neo-colonialist policies in the Persian Gulf, and indulges in sowing seeds of discord and fanning ethnic tensions among Muslims of the region.

35 lunar years ago, on this day in 1403 AH, Iran’s lady jurisprudent and exegete of the Holy Qur’an, Bano Nosrat Amin, passed away in the central Iranian city of Isfahan at the age of 97. She was regarded as equivalent to a mujtahed, and groomed numerous lady students. She also wrote several books including a 15-volume exegesis of the Holy Qur’an titled “Makhzan al-Irfan” in Persian. She also authored for the moral uplifting of Iranian women the book “Ravesh Khoshbakhti va Towsiyeh beh Khaharan-e Imani” which means “Methods of Happiness and Prosperity for Sisters-in-Faith. Another of her excellent books is on the unsurpassed merits of the Commander of the Faithful Imam Ali (AS) titled “Makhzan al-La’ali Manaqeb Mawla al-Mawali, Ali.” She was a staunch supporter of the Islamic Revolution and was held in deep respect by Imam Khomeini (RA).

27 solar years ago, on this day in 1990 AD, Dr. Ali Akbar Siyasi, the Father of Modern Iranian Psychology, passed away in his hometown Tehran at the age of 92. He was a notable and important Iranian intellectual, psychologist and politician during the 1930s and 1960s, serving as the country's Foreign Minister, Minister of Education, Chancellor of University of Tehran, and Minister of State without portfolio. He drafted bill and law for National Compulsory Free Education, and took necessary measures for its enforcement. Besides he was a permanent member of the Persian Academy, president of Iranian Psychological Association; and co-founder of the Iranian Youth Association. Among the books he wrote are “Introduction to Philosophy” (1947), “Logic and Methodology” (1948), “Mind and Body” (1953), “The Psychology of Avicenna and its similarities with Modern Psychology” (1954), “Logic and Philosophy” (1958), “Intelligence and Reason” (1962), “Criminal Psychology” (1964), and “Psychology of Personality” (1975).

12 solar years ago, on this day in 2005 AD, Iran’s celebrated Mo’azzen or Caller to Prayer, Rahim Mo’azzen Zadeh Ardabili, passed away in Tehran at the age of 80. Born in Ardabil in a religious family; his father Abdul-Karim Mo’azzen-Zadeh Ardabili was himself a Mo’azzen, whose Azan was broadcast on line by the radio, every morning from 1943 to1947, from Tehran’s Grand Imam Mosque in the Main Bazaar. In 1947, on his death, he was succeeded by his son, Rahim Mo’azaen-Zadeh, both at the mosque and on radio. His famous prayer call (Azan) is in Bayat Turk Style (a style in Persian music), and it was performed on the radio station located in 15^th Khordad Square in 1955. This Azan is still broadcast by the radio and the TV. He used to say: “During the last years, a spiritual pride had been along with me for recording this prayer call, and this spiritual wealth is enough for me.”

AS/ME