Today is Thursday; 12th of the Iranian month of Mordad 1396 solar hijri; corresponding to 10th of the Islamic month of Zil-Qa’dah 1438 lunar hijri; and August 3, 2017, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1049 lunar years ago, on this day in 389 AH, the Iranian Samanid Dynasty of Central Asia and Khorasan collapsed with the fall of its capital Bukhara (currently in Uzbekistan) to the Turkic chieftain Ilak Khan, son of Bughra Khan Qarakhanid, after 185 years of rule. The Samanid realm, founded by four Iranian brothers, who were appointed governors in different parts of northeastern Iran by the Abbasid caliph, Mamoun, was split up between the Qarakhanids who seized Transoxiana, and the Ghaznavids who had taken control of Khorasan and Afghanistan under Alpatigin the Turk; thereby making the Oxus River the boundary between the two rival Turkic empires. Abdul-Malik, Ibrahim, and Ya'qoub, the sons of the last ruler, Nooh Ibn Mansour Samani, managed to flee, but the fourth son who styled himself Isma'il II al-Muntasir was captured by the Qarakhanids. He, however, escaped from captivity and went to Khwarezm to gather support for reclaiming Bukhara, but was killed some six years later. The Samanids revived Persian culture by patronizing poets and scholars such as Rudaki, Bal'ami and Daqiqi. They propagated the Sunni schools of jurisprudence, repressed Ismailis, but were rather tolerant of Ithna Ash'ari or Twelver Shi'a Muslims. Islamic architecture and Islamo-Persian culture was spread deep into the heart of Central Asia by them. Following the first complete translation of the Qur'an into Persian, people in Central Asia began accepting Islam in significant numbers. Through zealous missionary work as many as 30,000 tents of Turks came to profess Islam and later under the Ghaznavids more than 55,000 tents of Turks became Muslim. The mass conversion of Turks to Islam eventually led to a growing influence of the Ghaznavids, followed by the Seljuqid Turks, who would later rule the region.

1014 solar years ago, on this day in 1003 AD, aṭ-Ṭaʼi-Billah, the 24^th caliph of the usurper Abbasid regime, died at the age of 71, a dozen years after he was deposed in 991 by Amir Baha od-Dowla, the ruler of the Iranian Buwayhid dynasty of Iraq. During his 17-year reign, as a weak and incapable caliph, he lost Syria and Hijaz to Fatemid Ismaili Ismaili Shi’a Muslim dynasty of Egypt-North Africa, while the Turks consolidated their positions in Anatolia (modern Turkey) and the Buwayhid dynasty was split up into parties that were fighting among themselves. In addition, the Byzantine Emperor John Tzimisces stormed the east in a victorious campaign in 975.

675 solar years ago, on this day in 1342 AD, the army of Castile, assisted by Christian mercenaries from other parts of Europe started the siege of the Spanish Muslim port city of al-Jazeera al-Khazra (Algeciras in Spanish), which was part of the Marinid Empire of Morocco. The siege lasted for twenty one months, and the starving population of 30,000 was forced to surrender through deceit.

670 solar years ago, on this day in 1347 AD, Hassan Gangu Bahmani titled Zafar Khan, was unanimously elected king with the title Ala od-Din Shah, following his victory over rivals, who two years earlier had joined together to declare the Deccan or southern India independent from the tyrannical rule of Sultan Mohammad bin Tughlaq of Hindustan or northern subcontinent by placing Naseer od-Din Ismail as the Shah at Dowlatabad. Ala od-Din Shah Bahmani, who claimed descent from the legendry Iranian king, Bahman son of Isfandiyar, shifted his capital further south to Gulbarga, and expanded his kingdom in all directions during his 11-year rule. The dynasty he founded ruled for over 170 years – first from Gulbarga and then from Bidar – promoting Islam and Persian language, culture and architecture in southern India, by virtue of its direct sea-route contact with Iran, from where poets, scholars, artists, statesmen, traders and soldiers of fortune flocked to the Bahmani court. The Bahmani Sultans respected Sufi saints and greatly revered Shah Ne’matollah Wali of Kerman and his devotion to the school of the Ahl al-Bayt of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). The Bahmani Empire – that stretched from the western to the eastern coasts of Peninsular India – split into five independent Persianate kingdoms that ensured the independence of the Deccan from Hindustan for another 170 more years until the conquest by Aurangzeb, the Mughal Emperor. Of these five, the three powerful dynasties (Nizamshahis of Ahmadnagar, Adelshahis of Bijapur and Qutbshahis of Golkandah-Haiderabad) followed the Shi’ite Muslim creed and regarded the Safavid rulers of Iran as their emperor, rather than the Mughal Emperors.

612 lunar years ago, on this day in 826 AH, the astronomer and mathematician, Sibt al-Maridini, was born in Egypt. Named Mohammad by his father Mohammad Ibn al-Ghazal, his mother was the daughter of the reputed astronomer, Abdullah al-Mardini; hence he became known as "Sibt al-Maridini". He authored some fifty treatises in astronomy (sine quadrants, sundials, astronomical tables and prayer times) and wrote at least twenty-three books on mathematics. Among his works are "Sharh ar-Rahbiyah" and "Daqa’eq al-Haqa’eq".

525 solar years ago, on this day in 1492 AD, the Italian Navigator, Christopher Columbus, commissioned by Spain to find a route to India through the Atlantic Ocean, commenced his journey. Columbus set sail with three ships and 120 sailors from the Spanish Port of Palos and after 33 days of voyage landed on Salvador Island in the Caribbean Sea, thinking he had reached India. He thus accidentally discovered the American continent, and is believed to have been guided to the New World by Spanish Muslim sailors.

408 lunar years ago, on this day in 1030 AH, the famous jurisprudent, Shaikh Fakhr od-Din Mohammad Ibn Shaikh Hassan, a grandson of the celebrated Shaikh Zayn od-Din Shaheed Thani (the Second Martyr), passed away in holy Mecca and was laid to rest in the now destroyed Jannat al-Mu’alla Cemetery near the tomb of Omm al-Momineen, Hazrat Khadija (peace upon her), the loyal wife of Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny). He lived most of his life in Mecca and was a prolific writer. Among his works are commentaries on Shaikh at-Ta’efa Tusi’s “al-Istibsaar” and “at-Tahzeeb” – two of the four principal books of hadith and jurisprudence. This talented grandson of the Second Martyr was also an excellent poet in Arabic and has written a moving elegy on the Chief of Martyrs, Imam Husain (AS) – which Shaikh Hurr al-Ameli has included in his book “Amal al-Amel”.

222 solar years ago, on this day in 1795 AD, the Treaty of Greenville was signed at Fort Greenville in Ohio, following the loss of the Battle of Fallen Timbers the previous year by the Amerindians. The parties to the treaty were a coalition of Amerindian tribes, known as the Western Confederacy, and the United States. It established what became known as the Greenville Treaty Line, which was for several years a boundary between Amerindian territory and lands open to European settlers, who frequently violated the borders and continued to encroach on native lands. The treaty also established the "annuity" system: yearly grants of federal money and supplies of calico cloth to Amerindian tribes and thus institutionalized US government influence in tribal affairs, giving outsiders considerable control over the life of natives. In exchange for goods, such as blankets, utensils, and domestic animals, the Amerindian tribes ceded to the US large parts of modern-day Ohio, the future site of downtown Chicago, the Fort Detroit area, Maumee, Ohio Area and the Lower Sandusky Ohio area. The US pursued a policy of genocide to wipe out native Amerindians and occupy their homelands.

173 solar years ago, on this day in 1844 AD, Marcel-Auguste Dieulafoy, the French archaeologist and civil engineer was born in Toulouse in France. Having seen service in French occupied Algeria in 1870, he requested assignment in Iran in 1880. He was helped by a French physician at the Qajarid court in Tehran to reopen the 1852 excavations done by W.K. Loftus. In 1884-86, Dieulafoy, along with his talented wife, Jane, undertook major excavations at the ancient site of Susa (modern Shush, in Iran) uncovering the palaces of the ancient Persian kings Darius I the Great and Artaxerxes II. His exploration resulted in revealing part of the palace and other structures, and in settling the topographical details of the city. He also recovered unique and beautiful features of art and architecture, including the pillars with capitals of bulls' heads, three great porticoes and the hall of columns, the frieze of lions, and that of archers now in the Louvre.

103 solar years ago, on this day in 1914 AD, the Panama Canal was officially inaugurated. The construction was started by French engineers, from whom the Americans took over and completed the work. This 68-kilometer canal links the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

57 solar years ago, on this day in 1960 AD, the West African country of Niger gained independence from French colonial rule. Predominantly Muslim Niger covers an area of 1267000 sq km and shares borders with Libya, Chad, Mali, and Benin.

9 solar years ago, on this day in 2008 AD the Russian author and historian, Alexander Solzhenitsyn, died at the age of 90. Born in the Caucasus, he graduated in physics and mathematics. During World War 2, he actively served at the warfronts to defend the country against Nazi Germany, for which he was awarded a medal of honour. In the post war period his criticism of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin brought him exile and forced labor in Siberia. He was released in 1956 and published part of his works. He received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1970. He was once again detained and exiled in 1974 due to his criticisms of the Soviet regime. Following the collapse of communism he returned to his country and became a hero. Nonetheless, he continued to criticize the Russian government for following Western liberalism, and the Russian people for distancing themselves from God and spiritual values. Among his works, mention can be made of “The Gulag Archipelago”, “The Cancer Ward”, and “Letter to Soviet Leaders”.

4 solar years ago, on this day in 2013 AD, Iranian master of Naqqali or art of story-telling with actions, Valiollah Torabi Sefidabi died in Tehran at the age of 77. Popular as “Morshed Torabi”, he was born in Sefidab, a village near the town of Tafresh in Central Province into a family acquainted with the stage art. His father was a performer of the Ta’zieh which is a traditional Iranian drama depicting the tragic martyrdom of Imam Husain (AS), the younger grandson and 3^rd Infallible Heir of Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny). Torabi performed many programmes at numerous Iranian and international events. Dating back to the Safavid Dynasty, Naqqali is performed in verse or prose with the Naqqal being a single person who plays the roles of all characters with a special tone and expression, sometimes accompanied by instrumental music and scrolls. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) registered Naqqali, as the oldest form of dramatic performance in Iran, on its World Intangible Cultural Heritage List in November, 2011. Naqqali was formerly performed in teahouses, tents of nomads, and historical venues such as caravansaries.

AS/ME