Today is Thursday; 27th of the Iranian month of Esfand 1394 solar hijri; corresponding to 7th of the Islamic month of Jamadi as-Sani 1437 lunar hijri; and March 17, 2016, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1826 solar years ago, on this day in 180 AD, Roman Emperor, Marcus Aurelius, died after a reign of 19 years that saw his generals emerge as victors of the 5-year long war (161-65) against the Parthian Empire of Iran in Armenia and Mesopotamia (Iraq), following initial Iranian victories in Syria and Anatolia (Turkey). The Roman success, however, was short-lived, and despite the sacking of the Iranian-controlled Greek city of Seleucia on the eastern banks of the Tigris and plunder of the Parthian capital, Ctesiphon, on the eastern banks of the same river, the Iranians soon remobilized and reclaimed lost ground, although Armenia was briefly lost. The Parthian Empire was at that time under the long 44-year rule of Balaash, known to the Romans as Vologases IV.

1380 solar years ago, on this day in 636 AD, Bayt al-Moqaddas was liberated by Muslims, who defeated the Romans to free Palestine from European control. Over four centuries later, the Europeans launched the bloody Crusader Wars to occupy Bayt al-Moqaddas and Palestine. In 1187, after 88 years of the illegal existence of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem, Bayt al-Moqaddas and Palestine were once again liberated by a united Muslim army of Kurds, Turks, Arabs and Persians. The Christians of Europe again occupied these lands briefly but were finally defeated by the Turkish Mamluk rulers of Egypt and expelled from Palestine in early 14th century. Over six hundred years later in 1917, during World War I, Palestine and Bayt al-Moqaddas were re-occupied by the Europeans, and this time by the British, who illegally settled in this Muslim land, hundreds of thousands of Zionists from Eastern Europe. In 1948, upon British withdrawal, the illegitimate birth of Israel took place, and simultaneously the Zionist terrorists expelled into neighbouring lands over 700,000 Palestinians. Today, 66 years later, the struggle for liberation of Palestine and Bayt al-Moqaddas still continues, and the Muslims are confident of weeding out the Zionists one day.

911 lunar years ago, on this day in 525 AH, the Iranian mystic, jurist, and Persian poet, Abdullah bin Mohammad Mayaneji, known popularly as “Ain ul-Qozzat Hamedani”, was hanged in the western Iranian city of Hamedan at the relatively young age of 33. His forefathers were judges in Hamedan, and he himself attained this position at the age of 30. However, while in Baghdad, because of his outspoken views he fell afoul of al-Mustarshed, the 29th self-styled caliph of the usurper Abbasid regime, and was arrested and imprisoned on the orders of the vizier of the Seljuqid Sultan. He was transferred to Hamedan and hanged next to his school. As a follower of the Sufi master, Ahmad Ghazali, he wrote many books. His important works are “Tamhidaat” (Preludes) and “Zubdat al-Haqaʾeq fi Kashf al-Khalaʾeq” (Essence of Truth).

892 lunar years ago, on this day in 544 AH, the Islamic scholar and judge, Abu’l-Fazl Qazi Ayyadh ibn Amir ibn Musa al-Yahsubi as-Sabti, was executed at the age of 68 and his body cut to pieces for his refusal to acknowledge Ibn Tumart, the leader of the al-Muwahidin, as the Mahdi – a false claim since the Awaited Mahdi is none other than Prophet Mohammad’s (SAWA) 12th Infallible Heir (AS) who will reappear in end times, along with Prophet Jesus (AS), to establish the global government of peace, prosperity and justice. Born in Ceuta, during the rule of the al-Moravid Empire of Maghreb and Islamic Spain, he was the leading scholar of his times and later became a chief judge in Gharnata (Granada) in Islamic Spain. He led an uprising when the al-Muwahidin seized Ceuta, but was defeated and banished to Tadla and later to Marrakesh where he was finally killed. A student of Abu’l-Hassan ibn Siraj, he was the teacher of such famous scholars as the Spanish Muslim philosopher, scientist and jurist, Ibn Rushd (Averroes), and the polymath and Arabic grammarian, Ibn Madha. Qazi Ayyadh, who is revered as one of the seven saints of Marrakesh, wrote commentaries in far off North Africa on the hadith compendiums of the Iranian Sunni Muslim compilers, such as Ismael Bukhari and Muslim Naishapuri.

746 lunar years ago, on this day in 690 AH, the 8th Mamluk Sultan of Egypt, al-Ashraf Khalil ibn al-Mansour Qalawoon, succeeded in expelling remnants of the European Crusader invaders from Palestine by ending their last stronghold in Akka – or Acre as it is also called – when the Christians broke the truce to indiscriminately slaughter Muslims.

564 solar years ago, on this day in 1452 AD, the Battle of Los Alporchones was fought in southern Spain between the troops of the Muslim Emirate of Granada and the combined Christian forces of the Kingdom of Castile and the Kingdom of Murcia. The Spanish Muslim army was commanded by Malik ibn al-Abbas, while the Christian mercenaries were led by Alonso Fajardo el Bravo. The battle was fought in the area around the city of Lorca and resulted in a victory for the Kingdom of Castile.

489 solar years ago, on this day in 1527 AD, the Battle of Khanwa was fought near the village of the same name, about 60 km west of Agra. It was the second major battle fought by the first Mughal Emperor Zaheer od-Din Mohammad Babar after the Battle of Panipat a year before and firmly established his rule in northern India. As the Mughal Empire expanded it faced new opponents especially in the regions around Agra and inside Rajputana. After defeating Sultan Ibrahim Lodi of the Delhi Sultanate, Babar faced many Lodi Afghan warriors including Sikandar Lodi and his son Mahmud Lodi who rallied behind the Muslim Rajput ruler Raja Hassan Khan Mewatpatti of Mewat, who was supported by the Rana Sanga, the Hindu Rajput ruler. The Hindu Rajputs in league with the Muslim Rajputs and the Pashto opponents of Babar gathered a formidable army, but were soundly defeated by the Mughal-Tajik army.

156 solar years ago, on this day in 1860 AD, the First Taranaki War began in the place of the same name in New Zealand between the British occupiers and the indigenous Maori people. It was a major phase of the New Zealand land wars over land ownership and sovereignty that took place in North Island and lasted for a year. The war was sparked by a dispute between the British occupiert and Maori landowners over the sale of a property at Waitara, but spread throughout the region. The British brought more than 3,500 troops from Australia, as well as volunteer soldiers and militia, against Maori forces that fluctuated between a few hundred and about 1,500. Total losses among the British troops are estimated to have been 238, while Maori casualties totalled about 200. The First War ended in a ceasefire, with neither side explicitly accepting the peace terms of the other. Although there were claims by the British that they had won it, the widely held view was that they had suffered a humiliating result.

111 lunar years ago, on this day in 1325 AH, the Iranian religious scholar Mirza Yahya Bidabadi Isfahani passed away at the age of 75. He was a student of the famous Ayatollah Sheikh Morteza Ansari Dezfuli. He wrote a large number of books, including “Tafzil al-A’imma ala'l-Malaeka” on the superiority of the Infallible Imams of the household of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) over the other prophets as well as angels.

96 solar years ago, on this day in 1920 AD, Sheikh Mujib ur-Rahman, the Founding Leader of Bangladesh, was born in Bengal state of British India. In 1940 he joined the All India Muslim Students Federation while studying law at the Islamia College of the University of Calcutta. In 1943 he joined the Bengal Muslim League and grew close to the faction led by Hussain Shaheed Suhrawardi, who was to become Prime Minister of Pakistan. Mujib worked actively for the establishment of Pakistan. After partition, he became one of the most prominent political leaders of East Pakistan, and organized protests when Urdu was made the official language. He was jailed and after release set up the Awami League. With his emphasis on Bengali culture and ethnicity, he was viewed by the government in Islamabad as an Indian agent trying to destabilize Pakistan. In the 1970 elections, the Awami League won the majority of seats and increased demands for autonomy of East Pakistan. The war with India worsened the crisis. Mujib was imprisoned in West Pakistan but the Mukti Bahini militia which his Awami League had created with the support of Indian troops, forced the Pakistani army to surrender. On release he became head of the new country Bangladesh in January 1972, and was assassinated in 1975 by army officers disgruntled with his policies.

68 solar years ago, on this day in 1948 AD, representatives of Britain, France, Belgium, Holland, and Luxemburg met in the Belgian capital to sign the Brussels Pact for a joint defense system and to develop economic and cultural ties. This set the stage for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in April 1949 with the US and Canada as new members.

60 solar years ago, on this day in 1956 AD, French chemist, Irene Joliot-Curie, died. She shared the 1935 Nobel Prize for synthesis of new radioactive isotopes with her husband Frederic. They bombarded stable atoms with alpha particles to transmute them into radioactive elements. They created nitrogen from boron, phosphorus from aluminum and silicon from magnesium. She was the daughter of the famous scientists Marie and Pierre Curie.

5 solar years ago, on this day in 2011 AD, the Islamic Republic of Iran sent the country's first space capsule that is able to sustain life into orbit as a test for a future mission that may carry a live animal. Two years later in 2013, Iran sent its first monkey into space, which came back alive.

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