Today is Monday; 16th of the Iranian month of Mordad 1396 solar hijri; corresponding to 14th of the Islamic month of Zil-Qa’dah 1438 lunar hijri; and August 7, 2017, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1700 solar years ago, on this day in 317 AD, Roman Emperor Constantius II was born. The second son of Constantine I, the imposer of Pauline Christianity on the Empire, he ascended the throne in 337 on division of the empire among his brothers Constantine II and Constans on the death of their father, who by spurning an offer of peace by Emperor Shapur II of Sassanid Iran, was planning a large scale invasion of the Persian Empire on the pretext of mistreatment of Christians – the first-ever crusade. On assuming power, Constantius was confronted with the large army, including the Indian war elephants of Shapur II, whose forces swept across of what is now northern Syria and southern Turkey, putting Nisibis (Nusaybin) under siege. When the Iranians lifted the siege, Constantius prepared his army for a counter-attack, but was unable to mount any successful campaign, except for the Battle of Narasara. Meanwhile, in the western provinces, his brothers clashed in 340, resulting in the death of Constantine II. In 350 Constans was overthrown and assassinated by Magnentius, who committed suicide in 353 following his military defeats by the armies of the east, leaving Constantius as sole ruler of the empire till his death in 361. Before dying he was forced to appoint as his successor, the rebellious Julian the Apostate, who two years later was to be killed in the Battle of Samarra (363) by the Iranians while fleeing from the counterattacks of the Persian forces.

1654 solar years ago, on this day in 363 AD, Saint Dometius the Persian, one of the early Iranians to believe in the mission of Prophet Jesus (AS), was martyred by lapidation, along with two of his disciples, on the orders of the Roman Emperor Julian the Apostate, in the Syrian city of Nisibis (Nusaybin), which is currently in Turkey. In his youth he left the Zoroastrian faith and became a follower of Prophet Jesus (AS). He migrated from the Sassanid Empire to Roman-ruled Syria and settled in the frontier city of Nisibis, where he took up residence in the monastery of Urbelos, a strict ascetic. He declined to be ordained as a Christian deacon or presbyter, and took refuge in a desolate mountain in Syria, in the region of Cyrrhus, where he guided to monotheism the local pagans, who would come to him for healing and for help. Once when he was praying in a cave with his disciples, the Roman armies of Julian the Apostate arrived for invasion of the Iranian Sassanid Empire. As a pagan who hated monotheists, Julian ordered the killing of Saint Dometius the Persian.

1391 solar years ago, on this day in 626 AD, Byzantine or the Eastern Roman Empire was saved from annihilation and got a fresh life – as per the prophecy of the holy Qur’an in “Surah Roum” – when following news of the defeat in Anatolia (present-day Turkey) of the Iranian general, Shahin, by Theodore, the brother of Emperor Heraclius, the Avars and their Slavic allies, who lacked both patience and technology for protracted warfare, withdrew from the siege of Constantinople, leaving the Sassanid Persians alone. This was a strategic victory for Byzantine, which had recently repelled in two different naval encounters in the Bosporus Strait, the Persian and Avar-Slavic fleets from the walls of its capital. This enabled Heraclius to lead an invasion into Syria and then Mesopotamia to defeat a Persian army at Nineveh, from where he marched the next year to Ctesiphon, the Sassanid capital in Iraq (near modern Baghdad). With the overthrow of Emperor Khosrow II by the Sassanid nobles, the Persians were obliged to withdraw all armed forces and as per the Treaty of 595, return Egypt, Levant and the Roman territories they had captured in Anatolia. The initial victories of the Zoroastrian Persians over the Christian Romans had gladdened the hearts of the Arab infidels and made them mock Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), at which God Almighty revealed “Surah Roum”, giving tidings of the eventual triumph of the monotheists. This is indeed one of the eternal miracles of the holy Qur'an. With the end of the 26-year long war in 628, neither the Iranians nor the Romans would ever cross swords again after over seven centuries of warfare between the two that had started in 92 BC, as the power of both the empires was soon broken with the emergence of the Muslim Arabs who swept across Syria, Iraq and Egypt.

1051 lunar years ago, on this day in 387 AH, the Hanbali hadith scholar and prominent orator, Abu’l-Hussain Mohammad bin Ahmad, popular as Ibn Sam’oun, died in his hometown Baghdad at the age of 87. Having married a slave-girl of the harem of the Abbasid caliph, at-Ta’ey, he lived a luxurious life, wearing expensive clothes and eating rich food, in contrary to what he preached to the masses, and tried to justify his practice by saying that these luxuries increase his attachment to God. He was involved in the sectarian conflicts plaguing Baghdad of those days, and despite the ban placed on public oratory by Adhud od-Dowlah Daylami, the Iranian ruler of the Buwayhid dynasty of Ira1-Iran in order to stop sectarian riots, he continued to ascend the pulpit on Fridays and indulge in inflammatory speech – probably because of support from the Abbasid regime.  

671 lunar years ago, on this day in 767 AH, Mohammad Shah Bahmani defeated Krishna Raja of Vijaynagar, following the latter's invasion of the Muslim kingdom of the Deccan in south-central India, and chased him right till the gates of his capital, agreeing to lift the siege when the Raja pleaded for peace with promises not to attack again. Better known as organizer of the Bahmani Kingdom of Iranian origin and founder of its institutions, Mohammad Shah was the second king of the dynasty founded by his father, Ala od-Din Hassan Gangu Bahman Shah, who revolted against the excesses of Sultan Mohammad bin Tughlaq of Delhi. The Bahmani Sultanate, which lasted for 180 years, developed a distinct Muslim culture and style of architecture evolved out of direct contact with Iran and the migration in large numbers of Iranian scholars, poets, architects, traders, statesmen, and soldiers.

506 lunar years ago, on this day in 932 AH, Bahadur Shah ascended the throne of Gujarat in western India, succeeding his brother Mahmoud Shah II. During his 11-year reign he had to face the menace of the Portuguese who raided the seaports of his realm and seized several islands including Mumbai. He made the fatal mistake of seeking assistance from the Portuguese against the expansion of the Mughals of north India. While on board a Portuguese ship to sign a treaty, he was treacherously killed by the Portuguese admiral and his body dumped into the sea.

433 solar years ago, on this day in 1584 AD, Tatar forces of Khan Kuchum of the Sibir Khanate of Siberia – the northernmost Muslim state in history – defeated Cossack intruders of Yermak Timofeyevich near the mouth of River Vagay, and liberated Qishliq after two years of occupation. The Cossacks, sent by Tsar Ivan, were decimated and Yermak drowned in the river. Kuchum, the son of Prince Mortaza Shayban, vigorously resisted the Russian invaders, and endeavoured to spread Islam in the lands of Russia. He was driven away in 1598 by the Russians and died in Bukhara in 1605, marking the end of Muslim rule in Siberia.

303 solar years ago, on this day in 1714 AD, the Battle of Gangut, the first victory of the Russian Navy in its history during the Great Northern War (1700–21), took place in Riilahti Bay, north of Hanko Peninsula, near the site of the modern-day city of Hanko, Finland, between the Swedish Navy and Imperial Russian Navy.

226 solar years ago, on this day in 1791 AD, the newly-founded United States of America, as part of its expansionist designs, launched a brutal invasion of the lands of the native Amerindians and destroyed the town of Kenapacomaqua near the site of present-day Logansport, Indiana, killing and wounding scores of unarmed men, women, and children, and burning grain storages.

198 solar years ago, on this day in 1819 AD, Simon Bolívar triumphed over Spain in the Battle of Boyaca in Colombia – then known as New Granada. As a result Colombia acquired its definitive independence from Spanish Monarchy, although fighting with royalist forces would continue for years.

144 lunar years ago, on this day in 1294 AH, Ayatollah Mirza Radhi od-Din Zon-Nouri, was born in the northwestern Iranian city of Tabriz. After completing preliminary Islamic studies he left for the famous seminary of holy Najaf in Iraq, where he attained the status of Ijtehad. He returned to Iran and taught at seminaries for many years. He also wrote several books and groomed numerous students, many of which achieved the status of Ijtehad. One of his books is titled "Qaza wa Shahadat".

76 solar years ago, on this day in 1941 AD, India's Bengali language author, poet, and philosopher, Rabindranath Tagore, died at the age of 80. He was born in the East Indian city of Calcutta and was involved in the movement against British rule. He visited Iran in 1932, entering the country through Bushehr port, from where he travelled to Shiraz to pay homage at the graves of the great Iranian poets Hafez and Sa’di. At the mausoleum of Hafez, he wrote in his travelogue, “Sitting near the tomb, a signal flashed through my mind, a signal from the bright and smiling eyes of the poet on a long past spring day – akin to the springtime sunshine of today.” Tagore then visited Isfahan where he was entranced by the beautiful gardens and mosques. He arrived in Tehran on April 29, 1932, and during his two weeks in the Iranian capital, he participated in as many as eighteen public functions. He celebrated his 71st birthday in Tehran and wrote a beautiful poem titled: IRAN, on the occasion. Part of this poem reads:

“Iran, thy brave sons have brought                                                         

“Their priceless gifts of friendship                                            

“On this birthday of the poet of a far-away shore,                                          

“For they have known him in their hearts as their own.                             

“And in return I bind this wreath of my verse on thy forehead,

“And I cry: Victory of Iran!”

57 solar years ago, on this day in 1960 AD, the West African country of Ivory Coast gained its independence from the French who had seized it in 1891 from the Portuguese. Ivory Coast covers an area of 332,463 sq km. It lies on the coastlines of the Atlantic Ocean, sharing borders with Liberia, Guinea, Mali, Ghana, and Burkina Faso. The northern parts of the country embraced Islam almost a millennium ago and are entirely made up of Muslims, who account for over 40 percent of the overall population.

35 solar years ago, on this day in 1982 AD, an accord was signed in Lebanon under US pressure for exit of fighters of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) from Beirut, following the 80-day resistance of the Palestinians against the Zionist invasion. PLO leader Yasser Arafat, giving in to pressure, agreed to pullout 12,000 Palestinian fighters. Although the withdrawal from Lebanon dealt a blow to PLO and set the stage for humiliating compromises with the illegal Zionist entity; usurper Israel now had to face the crushing blows of the newly emergent Islamic Resistance, led by Hezbollah that finally forced the Zionist occupation troops to flee Lebanon in the year 2000.

19 solar years ago, on this day in 1998 AD, a total of 212 people were killed and some four thousand others injured in Dar es-Salaam, the capital of Tanzania, and Nairobi the capital of Kenya, when US embassies, which function as espionage centres, became the target of bomb blasts, ironically by terrorists nurtured by Washington itself. Of the dead, only 11 were Americans. In Nairobi at least 53 buildings were damaged. A former US Army sergeant and a Saudi national, along with a Tanzanian and Comoros citizen – al-Qae’da members – were involved.

9 solar years ago, on this day in 2008 AD, the Caucasus Republic of Georgia, on the insinuation of the US, attacked South Ossetia, killing and wounding hundreds of civilians. The next day the Russian forces entered the scene in support of South Ossetia to drive out the Georgian army and advanced till the outskirts of the Georgian capital, Tbilisi. With French mediation, Russian forces withdrew from Georgia and in the process officially recognized the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. The Russian military action against Georgia was a warning by Moscow to Western regimes, especially the US, against the eastward expansion of NATO. Georgia (Gurjistan in Persian), especially its eastern half was part of the successive Iranian empires for over two millenniums until the occupation of this Christian land by the Russian in the 18th century. Today over ten percent of the population is Muslim including Azerbaijani Shi’ites.

11 solar years ago, on this day in 2006 AD, some fifty men, women, and children were martyred and hundreds of others injured in a Zionist airstrike on a Shi’a Muslim neighbourhood in south Beirut, while similar attacks by the spurious entity Israel killed over 80 Lebanese people and left hundreds of others injured.

8 solar years ago, on this day in 2009 AD, Takfiri terrorists on the payroll of the US and Saudi Arabia in a sacrilegious bomb attack on a Shi’a Muslim mosque in Rasheediyah, north of Mosul, martyred over 50 worshippers and injured hundreds of others, while roadside bomb blasts in Baghdad resulted in the martyrdom of over ten pilgrims returning from the holy city of Karbala.

3 solar years ago, on this day in 2014 AD, timely military help from the Islamic Republic of Iran, enabled Iraqi government forces, popular mobilization units, and Kurdish peshmergas to free Amerli, a Turkmen town in northern Iraq that was under siege by US-Saudi backed Takfiri terrorists for 50 days.

AS/SS