Today is Sunday; 8th of the Iranian month of Farvardin 1395 solar hijri; corresponding to 17th of the Islamic month of Jamadi as-Sani 1437 lunar hijri; and March 27, 2016, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1017 lunar years ago, on this day in 420 AH, the 8th self-styled caliph of the Fatemid Ismaili Shi’ite Dynasty of Egypt, Syria and North Africa, Mohammad Ibn az-Zahir al-Mustansir, was born in Cairo and eight months afterwards was declared to succeed his father. He ascended the throne on 15th Sha’ban, 427 AH at the age of 7 years. His rule lasted 60 years and four months, the longest of all the so-called caliphs, either in Egypt or anywhere else. The Fatemid rulers, who first established themselves in Mahdia in Tunisia, claimed descent from Ismail, the son of Prophet Mohammad’s (SAWA) 6th Infallible Successor, Imam Ja’far as-Sadeq (AS). They soon shifted their seat of power to Egypt and established the city of Cairo, where they built the famous Islamic academy, al-Azhar, as a derivative of “az-Zahra” (the Radiant), the epithet of the Prophet’s Immaculate Daughter, Hazrat Fatema (SA). During their rule, they publicly revived in the “Azan” the original phrases of the daily call to prayer: “Ash-hado anna Amir al-Momineen Aliyan Wali-Allah” (I testify that the Commander of the Faithful, Ali, is the Friend of God), and “hayya ala khayr-il-amal” (hasten towards the best of deed). The Fatemid caliphate lasted for 270 years, and at its height, in addition to Egypt, it included varying areas of the Maghreb (North Africa), Sudan, Sicily, the Levant, and Hijaz.

913 lunar years ago, on this day in 524 AH, the acclaimed Arabic literary figure and poet, Hussain bin Mohammad Baar’e al-Baghdadi, passed away at the age of 81. He is considered an authority on grammar and lexicography, and later in life went blind. He has left behind his Diwan of poetry.

604 lunar years ago, on this day in 833 AH (1430 AD), the 6th Ottoman Sultan, Murad II, conquered the city and district of Thessalonica in Macedonia from the Byzantine Empire. Thessalonica and its adjoining districts were lost by the Turks almost five centuries later during the First Balkans War in 1330 AH (1912 AD) to the new state called Greece (set up on the Ottoman Province of Yunanistan), while the rest of Macedonia, which had a sizeable Muslim population, was split up between Greece and Serbia (the former Ottoman Province of Servistan). The Greek Christians, who destroyed mosques and other sites of the centuries-old Islamic heritage, continue to suppress the Muslims of Thessalonica and treat them as second class citizens.

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 Mahmoud Lodi who rallied behind the Muslim Rajput ruler Raja Hasan Khan Mewatpatti of Mewat, who was supported by the Rana Sanga, the Hindu Rajput ruler. The Hindu Rajputs and Babar's Muslim Rajput and Pashto opponents gathered a formidable army, but were soundly defeated by the Mughal-Tajik army.

354 solar years ago, on this day in 1662 AD, Garhgaon, the capital of Assam, was captured by the Iranian general of the Mughal Empire, Mir Mohammad Sa’eed entitled “Mir Jumla”. Born is Isfahan to an oil merchant, he set out for the Deccan or southern India on a business trip under a diamond merchant to the Qutb-Shahi Sultanate of Iranian origin of Golkandah-Haiderabad, where he started his own business and rose to become the prime minister of Sultan Abdullah Qutb Shah. He conquered the southernmost part of India for the king, but soon friction with the court made him seek service with the Mughal Empire of the northern subcontinent, where Emperor Shahjahan appointed him governor of Bengal. Mir Jumla started his conquest of the remote northeast and brought under control Assam and other regions, before death overtook him.

202 solar years ago, on this day in 1814 AD, US expansionist forces led by General Andrew Jackson routed the lightly-armed Amerindians of the Creek Nation in the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, as part of the white man’s genocide of America’s native population. Andrew Jackson, who later became the 7th president of the US, forced the Creek Nation to cede 23 million acres (93,000 square km) of land in what are now the states of Alabama and Georgia.

171 solar years ago, on this day in 1845 AD, the acclaimed German physicist, Wilhelm Conrad Rontgen, was born. In 1895 he discovered the X-Ray, and in 1901 was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for his important discovery. X-Ray goes through human tissues and is the best means for taking photographs of limbs, thereby diagnosing damages and fractures to limbs.

170 solar years ago, on this day in 1846 AD, US forces besieged Fort Texas with the start of the fresh round of American aggression on Mexico. The war lasted two years during which the expansionist US annexed Texas and quickly occupied New Mexico and California. It then invaded parts of Northeastern Mexico and Northwest Mexico. When Mexico refused to agree to US expansionist demands, American army captured Mexico City, and the war ended in victory of the US, with Mexico forced to give up vast areas of its northern parts, which are now the southern states of the US.

118 solar years ago, on this day in 1898 AD, the Indian educator, politician, and Islamic reformer, Seyyed Ahmad Khan passed away in Delhi. He was born in a family that had migrated from Iran. His father, Mir Mohammad Muttaqi and grandfather, Seyyed Hadi, were attached to the Mughal court. He was trained in Persian, Arabic, Urdu and religious subjects, as well as mathematics and astronomy, and was well versed in the Mathnavi of the great Persian mystic, Mowlana Jalal od-Din Roumi. After the 1857 rebellion against British rule that abolished the Mughal dynasty, he wrote the book "Asbab-e Baghawat-e Hind" (Causes of the Indian Revolt) in which he rejected the notion that the conspiracy was planned by Muslim elites feeling insecure at the diminishing influence of Muslim rulers. He held the British responsible for their aggressive colonial expansion and ignorance of India's rich culture. He then launched the campaign for modern education of the Muslims of India by founding the Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental College, which later developed into the famous Aligarh Muslim University. His efforts gave rise to a new generation of Muslim entrepreneurs and politicians. He also founded the All-India Muslim League, which decades later under the leadership of Mohammad Ali Jinnah, resulted in the birth of Pakistan. When the British banned the study of Persian in order to cut the cultural links of Indian Muslims with Iran, Afghanistan and Central Asia, he took up the patronage of Urdu which led to its widespread use amongst Indian Muslims, and years later, following the Partition of India its adoption as the official language of Pakistan. Seyyed Ahmad Khan was knighted by the British as "Sir", and his views on nature were strongly criticized by the famous pan-Islamic Iranian thinker, Seyyed Jamal od-Din Asadabadi. He died at the age of 81.

68 solar years ago, on this day in 1948 AD, France set up the French Union made up of its colonies in Asia, Africa and Latin America as replacement for the French Overseas Empire. This was replaced in 1958 by the French Community on the model of the British Commonwealth, although many former French colonies like Algeria refused to join it. In 1995 the French Community was abolished. The only body linking France with its former colonies today is the Francophone Countries’ Organization that was set up in 1970, and includes 56 member states and mainly pursues cultural activities.

48 solar years ago, on this day in 1968 AD, Russian Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin who became the first recorded human being to travel into outer space, died in an air accident at the age of 34. In 1961 he had performed the first manned orbital flight in Vostok 3KA-2 (Vostok 1).

39 solar years ago, on this day in in 1977 AD, the worst aviation accident in history occurred in Tenerife in the Canary Islands killing 583 passengers, when two Boeing 747 airliners collided on a foggy runway. All 248 on board Holland’s KLM flight died, while 335 passengers of the US Pan Am flight lost their life. There were, however, 61 survivors among the Pan Am passengers.

34 solar years ago, on this day in 1982 AD, Renowned Muslim architect, Fazl ur-Rahman Khan, who initiated important structural systems for skyscrapers and is considered the "father of tubular designs for high-rises”, passed away at the age of 53. Born in British India in Dhaka in what is now the capital of Bangladesh, he was a pioneer in computer-aided design (CAD). He designed the 108-storey Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower of Chicago), the second-tallest building in the United States and tallest in the world for many years. He also designed Chicago’s 100-story John Hancock Center. He had come to the US in the 1950s on scholarship from what was then the government of East Pakistan (currently Bangladesh) and became an American citizen in 1967. Khan helped usher in a renaissance in skyscraper construction during the second half of the 20th century. The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat named their lifetime achievement medal after him. He was also responsible for designing notable buildings in Bangladesh, Australia and Saudi Arabia.

AS/ME