Today is Saturday; 9th of the Iranian month of Farvardin 1395 solar hijri; corresponding to 18th of the Islamic month of Jamadi as-Sani 1437 lunar hijri; and March 28, 2016, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1393 solar years ago, on this day in 623 AD, Marwan, the 4th self-styled caliph of the usurper Omayyad regime, was born in pre-Islamic Mecca in a polytheist family to Hakam ibn Aas – an avowed enemy of Islam and Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). Hakam, who on the surrender of Mecca to Muslims, reluctantly paid lip service to Islam but remained a hardcore polytheist as his actions suggest, was exiled with the 7-year old Marwan to Ta’ef by the Prophet for mimicking and mocking him. Marwan was not allowed to enter Medina during the rule of the first two caliphs, but when his first-cousin Othman ibn Affan took over the caliphate, this hypocrite was recalled to Medina, wedded to the caliph’s daughter, and given charge of all state affairs. One of the most criminal characters in Islamic history, Marwan, nicknamed “Khabte-Batil” (thread of evil), plundered the public treasury, and committed atrocities against prominent Muslims that some twelve years later led to the killing of Osman by Muslim revolutionaries from Egypt. In the "Battle of Jamal" that the pledge-breakers led by Ayesha – a wife of the Prophet – imposed on the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali (AS), near Basra in Iraq, Marwan treacherously killed his own leader, Talhah Ibn Obaidollah, with an arrow shot at the unprotected thigh. When the Omayyads seized the caliphate he served as governor of Medina for intermittent periods, and stayed there after retirement until Abdullah ibn Zubayr rebelled against Yazid and made the mistake of allowing him and his son Abdul-Malik to leave for Damascus. In Syria, following Yazid’s death and abdication by his son Mu’awiyah II in protest to his father’s crimes against Islam and humanity, including the tragic martyrdom of Imam Husain (AS) in Karbala, Marwan found himself propelled to the caliphate. After nine months in power, he died at the age of 64 when he was killed by his most recent wife, the tyrant Yazid’s widow, who put a pillow on his face and sat over it till his breath was snuffed out.

1171 solar years ago, on this day in 845 AD, Paris in France was sacked by Viking raiders, under Ragnar Lodbrok, who collected a huge ransom in exchange for leaving.

668 lunar years ago, on this day in 769 AH, the acclaimed Persian poet Mahmoud ibn Amir Yameen od-Din, popularly known as Ibn Yameen Faryumadi, passed away at the age of 84. Born in Faryumad near Sabzevar in Khorasan, northeastern Iran, he is said to have been the court poet of the Shi’a Muslim Sarbedar dynasty. Over 5,000 of his poems, mainly aphorisms, have survived, including qasidas (or panegyrics) and mathnawis (or long odes) of a philosophical and mystical nature.

490 lunar years ago, on this day in 947 AH, a treaty was signed in Istanbul between the Ottoman Empire and the Republic of Venice, ending the 3-year naval war between the two sides, with the Venetians paying three million gold liras as war damages to the Turks, in addition to ceding all islands in the Aegean Sea as well as key mainland holdings in the Peloponnese Peninsula. The war had started over a Venetian insult to Sultan Sulaiman, prompting the Ottoman navy, led by Khair od-Din Pasha (Barbarossa or Redbeard to the Europeans), to raid Apulia in southern Italy. In response, a combined fleet of 81 Venetian ships, 50 Spanish ships, and 36 papal ships of the Holy Roman Empire, launched an attack on the Ottoman fleet. Khair od-Din Pasha retaliated with further raids up and down the coasts of the Aegean and Adriatic seas, capturing numerous Venetian-controlled islands and trading outposts, and staging a major raid on Crete. Next, with 120 warships he took on the might of the combined European fleet and inflicted a stunning defeat at Prevesa, forcing the allies to admit defeat and conclude a peace treaty.

460 solar years ago, on this day in 1556 AD, corresponding to 963 AH, the Fasli Solar Hijri Calendar was adopted in India by the Mughal Emperor, Mohammad Jalal od-Din Akbar on the basis of the Iranian solar hijri calendar that starts with Nowrouz or the Spring Equinox. Fasli which means harvest is derived from the Arabic term for division, which in India was applied to the groupings of the seasons. Fasli Calendar was introduced basically for land revenue and records. Akbar’s grandson, Shah Jahan, introduced it in 1630 AD to the Deccan or South India. This calendar, which follows all the 12 Iranian months of Farvardin, Ordibehesht, Khordad etc, was continued as the official calendar of the Asef Jahi Dynasty of Hyderabad State, until its annexation to India in 1948. Even after annexation by India, the last Muslim ruler, Osman Ali Khan Asef Jah VII, who died in 1967, used to follow the Fasli Calendar in his official transactions and records in both Persian and Urdu. Currently the governments of the states of Andhra, Telengana, Karnataka and Tamilnadu still follow the Fasli solar hijri year, as per its 12 Iranian months, for all revenue and judiciary purposes.

432 solar years ago, on this day in 1584 AD, Ivan the Terrible, the first Tsar of Russia, died at the age of 54. He was Grand Prince Ivan IV of Moscow from 1533 to 1547, in which year he crowned himself the Tsar of Russia in Moscow – the first Russian ruler to assume the title. He launched brutal attacks to conquer the Muslim Khanates of Kazan, Astrakhan, and later Siberia, to transform Christian Russia into a multiethnic and multi-confessional state. In 1552 AD, Kazan, the capital of Tataristan, was occupied after a long siege by Ivan the Terrible, who massacred as many as 110,000 Tartar Muslims, and forcibly converted to Christianity many others, after destroying mosques or turning them into churches. His anti-Muslim policies brought retaliation from a joint army of Crimean Tatars and Ottoman Turks that attacked Moscow in 1571 and set it on fire, resulting in 80,000 casualties. The next year, Ivan the Terrible managed to defeat another Tatar-Ottoman invasion around Moscow in the Battle of Molodi. He then turned attention to the region beyond the Ural mountains in the east, and through military expeditions, treachery and deceit, took control of the vast land of Siberia that was ruled by Muslim khans, eventually styling himself Tsar of Siberia in 1580. In a fit of rage in 1581, Ivan the Terrible killed his own son Prince Ivan.

418 lunar years ago, on this day in 1019 AH, the famous Iranian scholar, Seyyed Noorollah Shoushtari Mar’ashi, was martyred in Agra, India, at the age of 63, due to the jealousy of pseudo jurists, who framed up false charges against him for being promoted to “Qazi al-Quzzat” (Chief Judge) of the Mughal Empire. Born in Shoushtar in Safavid Iran, after initial studies in his hometown, he travelled to Mashhad in Khorasan for higher studies at the age of 23. In 993 AH, he migrated to Hindustan (northern subcontinent) on the invitation of Emperor Jalal od-Din Akbar Shah, and steadily rose to become the Chief Judge in Lahore. A prolific writer, he wrote several books, including “Majalis al-Momineen” and “Ahqaq al-Haq”, before being martyred on the insinuation of the enemies of the Ahl al-Bayt of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). Emperor Noor od-Din Jahangir Shah was under the influence of alcohol when he signed the decree drafted by court mullahs for Seyyed Noorollah’s execution. Later, the emperor rued his decision and with the help of his Iranian wife, Empress Noor-Jahan, he executed the plotters for the murder of this eminent Iranian scholar, who is known as “Shaheed Salles” (3rd Great Martyr), and whose tomb is a site of pilgrimage.

162 solar years ago, on this day in 1854 AD, during the crisis in Crimea, France and Britain declared war on Russia in support of the Ottoman Turkish Empire. The allied forces inflicted a crushing defeat on the Russian army in the Battle of Chernaya River, also known as Battle of Traktir Bridge, in which Russia lost seven thousand soldiers. The Crimean War is sometimes considered to be one of the first modern wars as it introduced technical changes which affected the future course of warfare, including the first tactical use of railways and the telegraph. It is also famous for the work of Florence Nightingale, who pioneered modern nursing practices while caring for wounded British soldiers. The Crimean War was one of the first wars to be documented extensively in written reports and photographs: notably by William Russell (for The Times newspaper of London) and Roger Fenton respectively. News correspondence reaching Britain from the Crimea was the first time the public were kept informed of the day-to-day realities of war.

156 lunar years ago, on this day in 1281 AH, the great Islamic scholar, Ayatollah Shaikh Morteza Ansari Dezfuli, passed away in holy Najaf, Iraq, at the age of 67. He was born in Dezful, southwestern Iran. At the age of twenty while on pilgrimage to the holy cities in Iraq, he decided to stay in Karbala, where for four years, he studied Islamic sciences. When the holy city was besieged by the Ottoman Turkish forces of Dawoud Pasha, he along with the scholars of Karbala and other students moved to Baghdad and the shrine of Imam Musa al-Kazem (AS). He then returned to Iran before going again to Iraq a year later to study for two years at the Najaf Seminary under Shaikh Kashef al-Gheta. He again returned to Iran for pilgrimage to the holy shrine of Imam Reza (AS) in Mashhad, where he encountered Ahmad an-Naraqi, an authority in “Fiqh” (Jurisprudence) and “Irfan” (Gnosis), and decided to study with him for a further four years. After a few years of travelling, Shaikh Ansari went back to holy Najaf to complete his studies under Kashef al-Gheta and the famous Shaikh Mohammad Hassan Najafi, the author of the brilliant book, "Jawaher al-Kalaam". He settled in Najaf, began teaching and was soon universally recognized as the 'most learned Mujtahid and Marja or the Source of Emulation for the Shi'a Muslim world. His classes became incredibly popular, attracting hundreds of students. In spite of the tremendous prestige attached to his position, Shaikh Ansari lived the life of an ascetic. The author of some thirty books and treatises, his works are noted for their clarity and readability. Most of his works centre on Fiqh (Jurisprudence). His most important works are the “Rasa'el” and the “Makaseb”, of which the latter is a book of detailed Islamic Commercial Law, and is still taught today in the Hawza. Among his students was Mirza Mohammad Hassan Shirazi, who issued the famous “fatwa” against the British monopoly on tobacco that saved Iran from an intricate plot. Another prominent student was the pan-Islamist thinker, Seyyed Jamal od-Din Asadabadi.

148 lunar years ago, on this day in 1289 AH, the concession to exploit Iran’s vital sources was granted to a British colonialist agent, Julius De Reuters, by the Qajarid King, Nasser od-Din Shah. It included exploitation of Iran’s mines and forests, building railway, and setting up a bank, post office and telegraph lines to serve London’s vested interests. The people and religious scholars, led by Mullah Ali Kani, unanimously opposed the grant to Reuters. As people’s opposition under the leadership of the ulema grew, the concession was annulled, but as compensation Reuters was given the right to set up the Imperial Bank and print currency notes in Iran for sixty years.

148 solar years ago, on this day in 1868 AD, the famous Russian author and political activist, Alexei Maximovich Peshkov, known by his penname Maxim Gorky (“bitter advice” in Russian), was born in Nizhny Novgorod. The abysmal poverty of his family, forced him to work during his studies. He started writing stories in his youth, and while working at railway workshop at Tbilisi, Georgia, his first story was published in the local newspaper. His stories brought him money and fame. He focused on the miserable life of the Russian people and sought solutions to social problems. The brutal shooting of workers marching to the Tsar with a petition for reform on 9 January 1905 (known as the "Bloody Sunday"), which set in motion the abortive Revolution of 1905, made Gorky closely associated with Vladimir Lenin and Alexander Bogdanov's Bolshevik wing of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party. He wrote the play “Children of the Sun”, nominally set during an 1862 cholera epidemic, but universally understood to relate to contemporary events. He next wrote the famous book “Mother”, in admiration of the struggles of Russian workers and as a result had to leave Russia in 1906. He lived in exile, mostly on the Italian island of Capri until an amnesty granted in 1913 on the 300th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty allowed him to return to Russia, where he continued his social criticism. During World War I and the revolutionary period of 1917, his apartment turned into Bolshevik staff headquarters. These relations became strained, however, after his newspaper “Novaya Zhizn” was subjected to Bolshevik censorship during the ensuing civil war. Gorky published a collection of essays critical of the Bolsheviks called “Untimely Thoughts” in 1918. The essays call Lenin a tyrant for his senseless arrests and repression of free discourse, and an anarchist for his conspiratorial tactics. Gorky compared Lenin to the Tsar. He termed Lenin "a cold-blooded trickster who spares neither the honour nor the life of the proletariat." He was exiled and spent the period from 1921 to 1928 living abroad, mostly in Sorrento, Italy, where he wrote several successful books. On the personal invitation of Stalin, he returned to the Soviet Union in 1932, and for a while was officially feted by the dictator for propaganda purposes. With the increase of Stalinist repression, especially after the assassination of Sergei Kirov in December 1934, Gorky was placed under house arrest. Two years later after the sudden death of his son, he also suspiciously died at the age of 68. It is believed that he was killed by agents of Soviet dictator, Joseph Stalin.

77 solar years ago, on this day in 1939 AD, towards the end of the two-year-eight month long Spanish Civil War, the monarchists led by Generalissimo Francisco Franco and supported by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, seized the capital, Madrid, thereby effectively ending the Second Spanish Republic established in 1931 following the expulsion of King Alfonso XIII to Italy. Four days later on April 1, the Republicans formally surrendered to Franco, who took power as regent and ruled as virtual dictator for the next 36 years until his death in 1975, having chosen Juan Carlos, the grandson of Alfonso XIII to succeed him as king.

75 solar years ago, on this day in 1941 AD, English writer, literary critic and one of the foremost modernists of the twentieth century, Virginia Woolf, committed suicide at the age of 59 by throwing herself into the River Ouse near her home in Sussex, Britain. Her body was never found. She was a significant figure in London literary society and a central figure in the influential Bloomsbury Group of intellectuals. Her most famous works include the novels “Mrs Dalloway”, “To the Lighthouse” and “Orlando”, and the book-length essay “A Room of One's Own”.

37 solar years ago, on this day in 1979 AD, a nuclear accident occurred at Unit 2 of the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant outside Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA. Caused by human and mechanical errors, a cooling system malfunctioned and permitted a partial meltdown of the reactor's core. Efforts to re-establish cooling of the reactor took several days. Over 100,000 people fled the area, as radioactivity leaked into the air. It was the worst US nuclear accident. On 21 July 1982, a video camera inspected the damage to the core and revealed a large amount of uranium had spilled and melted to the bottom of the pressure vessel. The US is the world’s most dangerously armed nuclear power with over 110, mostly weapons-producing nuclear plants, whose safety standards are under question since no inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) are allowed.

AS/ME