Today is Saturday; 13th of the Iranian month of Aban 1396 solar hijri; corresponding to 15th of the Islamic month of Safar 1439 lunar hijri; and November 4, 2017, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1322 lunar years ago, on this day in 127 AH, Marwan al-Hemar (literally “the Donkey”) started his rule as the 14^th self-styled caliph of the usurper Omayyad regime by displacing Ibrahim, who days earlier had been installed as the new caliph on the death of Yazid III, who in turn had ruled for only six months on assuming power after the less than a year rule of the depraved Walid II. This meant that in one year four of the so-called caliphs had come and gone after the long reign of the tyrant, Hisham ibn Abdul-Malik. Marwan presided over the end of the hated Omayyad regime that was thrown into the dustbin of history in 132 AH when he was caught and killed in Egypt, while fleeing the advance of the Abbasids from Khorasan to Iraq and Syria. The dynasty had been founded by the Godless Mu'awiyah ibn Abu Sufyan, on his seizure of the caliphate in 41 AH from Imam Husain (AS), the elder grandson and 2^nd Infallible Heir of Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny). The Abbasids – descendants of Abbas, an uncle of the Prophet – now usurped political power by exploiting the sentiments of the people of Iran, Iraq and Hijaz, for the Ahl al-Bayt, but turned out to be as cruel as the Omayyads, as is evident by their persecution of the Prophet’s progeny and martyring of 6 of the Infallible Imams through poisoning.

606 solar years ago, on this day in 1411 AD, Khalil Sultan, the Timurid ruler of Transoxiana from 1405 to 1409, died in Rayy near modern Tehran. He was a son of Miran Shah and a grandson of the fearsome Turkic conqueror Amir Timur, who in 1402 gave him rule of Ferghana valley – spread across in what is now Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kirghizstan – on being impressed by his military prowess during the conquest of North India. Upon Timur's death in 1405 Khalil viewed himself as successor and quickly casting aside his cousin, Pir Mohammad, the appointed heir, took control of the capital, Samarqand, including Timur's vast treasury. Meanwhile, his uncle Shah Rukh, the youngest son of Timur and governor of Khorasan, pressed his own claim and advanced against him from Herat in what is now Afghanistan, but turned back when Khalil's father Miran Shah, the governor of Azerbaijan marched in support. Khalil's position, however, began to weaken. He was unpopular in Samarqand, because of his wife Shad Mulk's undue influence on state affairs. A famine caused him to be even more despised, and he left Samarqand for his base Ferghana. His rule in Samarqand finally ended on May 13, 1409 when Shah Rukh entered the city unopposed and placed his own son, the famous astronomer-mathematician, Ulugh Beg, as ruler of Transoxiana. Shah Rukh showed clemency towards Khalil and appointed him governor of Rayy.

455 lunar years ago, on this day in 984 AH, Shah Tahmasp I, the second emperor of the Safavid Dynasty of Iran, passed away at the age of 63 after a long reign of 53 years. He ascended the throne at the age of 10 on the death of his father, Shah Ismail I. His reign is the longest of any Muslim king of Iran, and was marked by foreign threats, primarily from the Ottomans in the west and the Uzbeks in the northeast. Upon adulthood, he was able to reassert his power and consolidate the dynasty against internal and external enemies. Although he lost Iraq and parts of Anatolia to the Ottoman invaders, his pious nature made him avoid unnecessary shedding of Muslim blood, an example of which was his peaceful withdrawal from Baghdad and Iraq. As a result, after thwarting Ottoman designs in the Caucasus, Shah Tahmasp concluded the Treaty of Amasya, with Sultan Sulaiman, resulting in a peace that lasted 30 years and led to the development of Iran. He continued his father’s policy of enlightening the people with the teachings of the Blessed Ahl al-Bayt of Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny). He assembled at his court in Qazvin leading ulema from all over Iran, Iraq, Bahrain, and Lebanon. As a descendant of the Prophet and head of the Safavid spiritual order tracing to Safi od-Din Ardebili, he was acknowledged as suzerain by the Shi’a Muslim sultanates of the Deccan (or Southern India). Shah Tahmasp is also known for the reception he gave to the fugitive Moghal Emperor Naseer od-Din Humayun of Hindustan (or Northern Subcontinent) when the latter was ousted from power and provided him military aid to recover his kingdom. Shah Tahmasp was an enthusiastic patron of arts with a particular interest in Persian miniature, especially book illustration. The most famous example of such work is the “Shahnama-e Shah Tahmaspi”, containing 250 miniatures by the leading artists of the era. Tahmasp’s another more lasting achievements was his encouragement of the Persian carpet industry on a national scale in response to the economic effects of the interruption of the Silk Road carrying trade during the Ottoman wars.

441 solar years ago, on this day in 1576 AD, during the Eighty Years’ War, Spanish forces invaded Flanders and captured the city of Antwerp in what is now Belgium. After three days of fighting the city was almost destroyed.

226 solar years ago, on this day in 1791 AD, US General, Arthur St. Clair, governor of Northwest Territory, was decisively defeated by an Amerindian army near Fort Wayne, Indiana on the banks of Wabash River. Miami Amerindian Chief Little Turtle led the powerful force of the native tribes of Miami, Wyandot, Iroquois, Shawnee, Delaware, Ojibwa and Potawatomi that inflicted the greatest defeat ever suffered by the US Army at the hands of Amerindians. The staggering defeat moved Congress to authorize a larger army in 1792.

116 solar years ago, on this day in 1901, Greek archaeologist Spyridon Nikolaou Marinatos, whose most notable discovery was the site of an ancient port city on Thera Island in the southern Aegean Sea, was born. The city, the name of which was not discovered, apparently had about 20,000 inhabitants when it was destroyed by the great volcanic eruption of 1500 BC, as a sign of divine wrath for its sinful populace after repeated warnings through messengers of God. Among the finds made at the site were the finest frescoes discovered in the Mediterranean region to that time, surpassing even those found at Knossos in Crete. The most famous of these murals is the "Two Boys Boxing".

99 solar years ago, on this day in 1918 AD, the Austro-Hungarian Empire surrendered to Allied Powers, a week prior to the end of World War I. It was the most important ally of Germany and broke up into several countries.

71 solar years ago, on this day in 1946 AD, the constitution of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) came into effect. The aim behind its foundation was to establish scientific and cultural links and bonds among world nations and to publish books in different languages. Among the clauses of the UNESCO charter are respect for justice, rule of law, and protection of human rights and basic liberties.

70 lunar years ago, on this day in 1369 AH, senior Iranian religious leader, Ayatollah Mirza Mohammad Ali Shahabadi, passed away in Tehran at the age of 77. He was an accomplished scholar in the field of philosophy and Gnosticism and groomed numerous students at the Qom Seminary. Among his prominent students was the Father of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (RA). He wrote a large number of books and treatises including "al-Insaan wa’l-Khateraat".

57 solar years ago, on this day in 1960 AD, at the Kasakela Chimpanzee Community in Tanzania, Dr. Jane Goodall observed chimpanzees creating tools, the first-ever observation in non-human animals.

53 solar years ago, on this day in 1964 AD, the Father of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (RA), was exiled to Turkey, following his arrest in Qom by the Shah’s security forces and his relocation to Tehran. The aim of the Pahlavi regime was to suppress the Islamic aspirations of the people. On hearing the news of the exile of their beloved leader, the people in various Iranian cities held mass demonstrations. Soon Imam Khomeini moved from Turkey to holy Najaf in Iraq, from where he continued to lead the Islamic movement of the Iranian people, until his triumphant return home some 15 years later to end the monarchy and establish the Islamic Republic system.

39 solar years ago, on this day in 1978 AD, during the mass protests of the Iranian people against the Pahlavi regime, students at Tehran University Campus, calling for the return home from exile of their beloved leader, Imam Khomeini (RA), were brutally attacked by the Shah's forces, resulting in the martyrdom of several of them. Hence, the 13th of Aban was named as Students Day, following the victory of the Islamic Revolution.

38 solar years ago, on this day in 1979 AD, on the first anniversary of the massacre of Tehran University students by the Shah's regime, thousands of Iranian students held a protest rally in front of the US embassy in Tehran that culminated in the capture of this den of espionage. It was a historic step and foiled a sinister plot to overthrow the Islamic Republic, since the US mission in violation of diplomatic norms, was openly indulging in spying and terrorist activities. Prior to the capture of the US spy den, the Islamic Republic’s Foreign Ministry had on several occasions protested to US meddling and conspiracies in Iran, but without any positive response from Washington. In fact, following the takeover of the US embassy, documented evidence was brought to light, proving its functioning as a centre of espionage, not just against Iran but throughout the region. The Father of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (RA), hailed this courageous and revolutionary move by the students and called the fall of the US Spy Den as the Second Revolution, greater than the First Revolution. Aban 13 has consequently been named as the National day of Campaign against Global Arrogance.

22 solar years ago, on this day in 1995 AD, Premier Yitzhak Rabin of the illegal Zionist entity was killed. In his previous term as premier from 1974 to 1977, he was forced to step down because of financial corruption. Rabin’s assassination by a fellow Zionist showed the disputes amongst officials of the usurper state of Israel. Rabin was a commander of Zionist terrorist groups and led numerous attacks on Arabs and Palestinians, committing heinous crimes including torture and murder.

AS/ME