Today is Saturday; 12th of Azar 1396 solar hijri; corresponding to 13th of the Islamic month of Rabi al-Awwal 1439 lunar hijri; and December 2, 2017, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1307 lunar years ago, on this day in 132 AH, Abu'l-Abbas Abdullah ibn Mohammad as-Saffah, formally styled himself as caliph of the new dynasty of the Abbasid usurpers after routing the Omayyad tyrants and exterminating almost all of them in successive battles, culminating in the Battle of Zab. He was called "Saffah" because of the bloodshed he unleashed. He wreaked such a horrible vengeance on the Omayyads that he even dug up the graves of all their caliphs, including Mu'awiyah ibn Abu Sufyan, and burned their bones. He died after some four years and was succeeded by his younger brother, the notorious Mansour Dawanikhi. The Abbasids based their dubious claim to the caliphate on their descent from Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttaleb, an uncle of Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny). The main reason for their attracting of people's support against the Omayyads – chiefly of Iranians, Iraqis, Yemenis, Hijazis, and Egyptians – was their deceptive slogan of returning the political rule of the Islamic realm to the Prophet's progeny the Ahl al-Bayt. This happened in the era of Imam Ja'far as-Sadeq (AS), the Prophet’s 6^th Infallible Heir. But once the Abbasids consolidated power, they turned against the Prophet's progeny and indulged in the same cruel acts, imprisoning, torturing and martyring many of these noble descendants, including the 6^th Imam.

1149 lunar years ago, on this day in 290 AH, prominent scholar, jurist, and judge, Qazi Abul-Hassan Jurjani was born. He served as chief judge of the city of Rayy and its surroundings, which today are the southern suburbs of Tehran. He died in Naishapour, in Khorasan in 366 AH and his body was taken for burial to his native Jurjan, which today is known as Gorgan in northern Iran near the Caspian Sea. He authored several books including an exegesis on the holy Qur'an and a critical assessment of history titled "Tahzib at-Tarikh".

608 solar years ago, on this day in 1409 AD, Leipzig University, was founded in the State of Saxony, Germany, by Frederick I, Elector of Saxony and his brother William II, Margrave of Meissen. It is one of the oldest universities in the world and its famous alumni include the scientist Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz and the poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, as well as nine Nobel laureates are associated with this university.

470 solar years ago, on this day in 1547 AD, Hernan Cortes, the notorious Spanish invader and destroyer of the Aztec Amerindian Empire through deceit and treachery, died embittered in Spain at the age of 62. He took Emperor Cuauhtemoc and several other indigenous nobles as prisoners, forced them to accompany him to Honduras, and while in the Chontal Maya capital of Itzamkanac, treacherously murdered them. He looted the gold and silver of the Aztecs and destroyed flourishing Amerindian cities. 

423 solar years ago, on this day in 1594 AD, Flemish (Dutch) philosopher and cartographer, Gerardus Mercator, who coined the word “Atlas” for a collection of maps, died at the age of 82. Highly influenced by Muslim geographers, their travels and world maps, such as Seyyed al-Idrisi (who flourished centuries earlier in Sicily under King Rogers II), his dream was to publish a volume of maps, which would give a history of the world since creation. His "Atlas", the first section of which came out in 1569, contained a chronology of his version of creation till 1568.

213 solar years ago, on this day in 1804 AD, at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, General Napoleon Bonaparte crowned himself Emperor of France, the first French Emperor in a thousand years. Born in Corsica in a relatively modest family of Italian ancestry, he was well-educated, although he spoke French with a heavy Corsican accent. He joined the army and rose rapidly during the later stages of the French Revolution. He became prominent under the First French Republic, and on being appointed general, he established his reputation as a military leader, especially in his Italian and Egyptian campaigns. On return to France, he contrived to undermine the elected assembly and assumed totalitarian powers, embroiling France in continental wars for the next ten years for supremacy over all Europe. After his defeat in the Battle of Waterloo, Napoleon was exiled St. Helena, where it is said the British poisoned him to death.

213 solar years ago, on this day in 1804 AD, as part of the Napoleonic Wars, the Battle of Austerlitz resulted in a resounding victory for French troops over a joint Russo-Austrian force. Also known as the Battle of the Three Emperors, it involved French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, Tsar Alexander I of the Russian Empire and Holy Roman Emperor Francis II of Austro-Hungary. The battle took place in the present day Czech Republic, and was a tactical masterpiece of the same stature as the ancient Battle of Gaugamela in which Alexander of Macedonia defeated Acheamenid Emperor Darius III of the Persian Empire. 

194 solar years ago, on this day in 1823 AD, the Monroe Doctrine was declared by the United States of America, warning European colonial powers against interfering in both North and South America. In his State of the Union message, US President James Monroe also proclaimed American neutrality in all European conflicts.

166 solar years ago, on this day in 1851 AD, French President Charles Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte overthrew the Second Republic, and the next year on this same date, declared himself, Emperor Napoleon III. The nephew and heir of Napoleon I and son of Louis Bonaparte (who had been placed as king of Holland from 1805-1810 by his famous elder brother), he was the first President of France to be elected by a direct popular vote. However, when he was blocked by the constitution and parliament from running for a second term, he organized a coup d’etat in 1851, and took the throne as Napoleon III on 2 December 1852, the forty-eighth anniversary of Napoleon I's coronation. One of the first priorities of Napoleon III was modernization of the French economy. During his 18-year rule, he initiated an energetic foreign policy which aimed to remove the limitations imposed on France since 1815, and succeeded in reasserting French influence in Europe and the French colonial empire. He spearheaded allied action against Russia in the Crimean War and secured the Papal States against annexation by Italy by defeating the Italians at Mentana. In Southeast Asia, he established French rule in what is now Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, as well as New Caledonia. French interests in China were upheld in the Second Opium War; an abortive campaign against Korea was launched in 1866 while a military mission to Japan ended in failure. French intervention in Mexico was also unsuccessful, and ended in 1867 due to mounting Mexican resistance and US diplomatic pressure. Eventually, the French Empire was overthrown three days after his defeat 1870 in the Battle of Sedan by the Prussian (Germany) Empire that resulted in his capture, imprisonment and later exile to London where he died three years later at the age of 65. Domestically, Napoleon III's reign saw an era of prosperity and industrialization. He reconstructed Paris, built new aqueducts, rebuilt the sewers, created new boulevards and avenues and laid parks.

96 solar years ago, on this day in 1921 AD, the famous freedom-fighter, Mirza Kouchak-Khan Jangali, attained martyrdom at the hands of agents of the British-installed Pahlavi potentate of Iran, Reza Khan, who acted in collaboration with the Russians and the British. He attended Islamic schools at a young age and later joined the freedom seekers. During World War I, he was witness to the chaotic state of Iran, which was occupied by foreign powers. He championed Islamic unity and formed a militia to fight against oppression and colonialism. In 1919, the British forced a treaty on the weak Qajarid monarchy that led to further infiltration of the British in Iran. This treaty set the stage for movements against foreign powers’ interference in Iran. Although Kouchak Khan gained significant victories at the start of his struggles against the regime, his forces were scattered because of conspiracies hatched by Britain and the Soviet Union. Meanwhile, Kouchak Khan, who had left his hometown to gather forces, fell ill due to snowstorms in the forests of northern Iran, where regime agents beheaded him.

75 solar years ago, on this day in 1942 AD, the first self-sustained nuclear chain reaction was demonstrated in Chicago, Illinois. At the University of Chicago, Enrico Fermi and his team achieved the world's first artificial nuclear chain reaction, in a makeshift lab underneath the University's football stands at Stagg Field. Work on the experimental pile had begun on 16 November 1942. It was a prodigious effort. Physicists and staffers, working around the clock, built a lattice of 57 layers of uranium metal and uranium oxide embedded in graphite blocks. A wooden structure supported the graphite pile. The chain reaction was part of the Manhattan Project, a secret wartime project to develop nuclear weapons, which initiated the modern nuclear age. This was a discovery that changed the world

63 solar years ago, on this day in 1954 AD, Laos, in Southeast Asia gained independence from French colonial rule that had been imposed in 1893. Following independence, a civil war started and continued till 1975 when the communists overthrew the king and declared the country a republic. Laos is situated in southeastern Asia. It covers an area of 236800 sq km and shares borders with China, Vietnam, Thailand, Burma, and Cambodia.

61 solar years ago, on this day in 1956 AD, Fidel Castro landed in Cuba aboard the Yatch “Granma” with a group of 81 lightly armed revolutionaries, including his brother, Raul, and the famous Argentine revolutionary, Dr. Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevera, after a year and four months in exile, following his release from prison in the wake of the attack on the Moncada Barracks in 1953, as part of the struggle to liberate his homeland from the US-backed regime of General Fulgencio Batista. In January 1957, the handful of revolutionaries burst out from their jungle hideout to launch guerilla warfare that began to attract hundreds and soon thousands of oppressed peasants to their cause. In 1958, Castro attacked the military bases and sensitive points of the capital, Havana, and other cities, making Batista seek shelter in a US base in Cuba, before fleeing to the US with as much as 300 million dollars. Castro, the son of a Spanish migrant to Cuba, served as Prime Minister from February 1959 to December 1976, and subsequently as president till 2008, when he retired due to ill-health by handing over power to his brother Raul. He died in 2016 in Cuba at the age of 90.

46 solar years ago, on this day in 1971 AD, the seven Persian Gulf sheikhdoms of Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Ras al-Khaimah, Umm al-Quwain, and Fujairah, banded together as the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on gaining independence from 51 years of British colonial rule. The day is marked as UAE National Day. Initially, Qatar joined the confederation but soon withdrew. The UAE covers an area of 83,600 sq km, and lies on the southern coastlines of Persian Gulf. It shares borders with Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Qatar.

21 lunar years ago, on this day in 1418 AH, prominent jurisprudent Ayatollah Seyyed Reza Baha od-Dini, passed away in his hometown Qom at the age of 92 and was laid to rest in the holy mausoleum of Hazrat Ma’souma (peace upon her), the daughter of Imam Musa Kazem (AS), the 7^th Infallible Heir of Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny). A product of the Qom seminary, his teachers included Shaikh Abdul-Karim Ha'iri Yazdi, Seyyed Mohammad Hojjat Kohkamari, Seyyed Mohammad Taqi Khwansari, Seyyed Sadr od-Din Sadr, and Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Hussain Boroujerdi. For over twenty years, Ayatollah Baha od-Dini taught jurisprudence, Arabic literature and other Islamic sciences at the seminary. Later he was mostly occupied by discussions, private and public classes of moral teachings which lasted until the end of his life. His students include the Ayatollahs Martyr Morteza Motahhari, Ahmad Jannati, Ali Mishkini, Ahmad Azari Qomi, Mohammad Fazel Lankarani, and Martyr Seyyed Mostafa Khomeini. Some of his moral classes and interviews on spiritual cleansing have been published in his two books of “Sulouk Ma’nawi” (Spiritual Conduct) and “Nardiban Asman” (Staircase to the Sky). The Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Seyyed Ali Khamenei in his message of condolences on the passing away of Ayatollah Baha od-Dini, said: “He was a teacher of ethics and the wayfarer towards God. He was the ultimate guide of the self-sacrificing youths at the frontiers during the holy defense and the candle of the gatherings of Basij forces.”

AS/ME