Today is Wednesday; 4th of the Iranian month of Bahman 1396 solar hijri; corresponding to 6th of the Islamic month of Jamadi al-Awwal 1439 lunar hijri; and January 24, 2018, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1942 solar years ago, on this day in 76 AD, Hadrian was born into a Roman family in Spain. He succeeded his cousin Trajan as Roman Emperor in 117 and ruled for 21 years till his death in 138 AD. Regarded as one of the five good Roman Emperors, he had joined Trajan's expedition against the Parthian Empire of Iran and was serving as governor of Syria when the latter died. Neither during the first phase of the Parthian campaign nor during its 2^nd phase when the Romans were driven from Mesopotamia or modern Iraq by the Iranians, Hadrian did anything of note. He deemed it wise to surrender Trajan's gains, considering them to be indefensible against Parthian pressure. There was almost a war with Parthia around 121, but the threat was averted when Hadrian succeeded in negotiating a peace with Emperor Osroes I or Khosrow.

1431 lunar years ago, on this day in 8 AH, Ja’far ibn Abu Taleb, the cousin of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), was martyred in the Battle of Mutah in what is now Jordan, against the Byzantine or Eastern Roman Empire, led by Theodore and made up of Arab tribes including pagans and Christians. The expedition was occasioned by the treacherous killing of the Prophet’s emissary to the governor of Bosra ash-Shaam in Syria, Hareth bin Umair, by Sharjil bin Amr Ghassani, the local Arab tribal leader. The Prophet was distressed and on God’s commandment mobilized an army under command of Ja’far, the elder brother of the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali (AS). When the battle ensued, Ja’far, who had recently returned to Arabia from long years of exile in Abyssinia (present-day Ethiopia), mounted a red horse, raised the banner of Islam, and fought till his wounds forced him to dismount. Having hamstrung his horse, he fought on foot, receiving some fifty wounds, mostly in the face, till he achieved martyrdom after losing both of his hands. Zayd bin Haretha then took command and fought bravely till he also achieved martyrdom. Abdullah bin Rawaha now took charge and achieved martyrdom as well. At this crucial juncture, when the Muslims, though outnumbered by the Byzantines, were holding their ground, Khaled bin Waleed, who had recently claimed to have accepted Islam after two decades of openly bitter opposition to the Prophet, seized the banner and instead of confronting the Byzantines, ordered retreat, all the way back to Medina. When this defeated force reached Medina, the Prophet was dismayed at Khaled’s cowardice. The retreating Muslims found the doors of their houses shut in their faces by their families, who jeered at them, saying: What prevented you from being martyred like Ja’far and the others. It is interesting to note that while the battle was in progress in faraway Mutah, God enabled the Prophet to see what was transpiring on the battlefield. The Prophet then went to the house of Ja’far, seated his elder son Abdullah on his lap and stroked his head. The mother, Asma bint Umais, observed the Prophet’s manner and wept bitterly since she understood her children were now orphans. The Prophet, with tears in his eyes, declared that Ja’far who like the rest of the monotheist Hashemite Clan had since childhood neither bowed before idols nor indulged in any sin, was granted two wings with which to fly wherever he pleases among the angels of Paradise. That is the reason he became famous as Ja’far at-Tayyar, or Ja’far the Flyer.

1025 lunar years ago, on this day in 414 AH, the Iranian-Islamic mathematician and astronomer, Abu Sa’eed Ahmad ibn Mohammad ibn Abdul-Jalil as-Sijzi, passed away at the age of 77. He was from Sistan which was also called Sijistan, hence his epithet as-Sijzi. He had a deep knowledge of literature and dedicated his astronomical work to Azod od-Dowla the ruler of the Buwaiyhid Empire of Iran-Iraq. He dedicated one of his works to the ruler of Balkh in Greater Khorasan. While in Shiraz he conducted astronomical observations and did a lot of geometry work. According to the famous polymath Abu Rayhan Birouni, Sijzi believed in a heliocentric system in which the Earth was moving and that he invented an astrolabe called the "Zuraqi” based on this idea. Sijzi made a special study of the intersections of conic sections and circles. He replaced the old kinematical trisection of an angle by a purely geometric solution (intersection of a circle and an equilateral hyperbola).

893 solar years ago, on this day in 1125 AD King David IV, ruler of the Caucasus land of Georgia, died at the age of 52 after a reign of 36 years. He succeeded in driving out the Seljuq Turks from most of the cities including Tbilisi, after winning the Battle of Didgori in 1121. His reforms of the army and administration enabled him to reunite the country and bring most of the lands under Georgia’s control.

745 lunar years ago, on this day in 694 AH, Gaykhatu, the 5^th ruler of the Iran-based Ilkhanid Dynasty was strangled to death by bowstring after a 4-year reign and was succeeded by Baydu – a grandson of the founder Hulaku Khan. Gaykhatu, who had been governor of Anatolia, was placed on the throne on the murder of his brother, Arghun, and was a noted dissolute, addicted to wine, women, and sodomy. Shortly after his ascension, Princess Kokotchin arrived in Iran from the court of Khaqan Kublai Khan of China, escorted by Marco Polo, as bride for Arghun, who was now dead, Gaykhatu decreed that she be married to his nephew and future Ilkhan, Ghazan. Gaykhatu is known to have drained the public treasury in an extravagant way. Among his beneficiaries were Nestorian Christians, who praise him abundantly for his gifts to the Church. A year after his taking power, he had sent a message to Mamluk Egypt’s Sultan al-Ashraf Khalil, threatening to conquer the whole of the Levant if Aleppo was not ceded to him. Al-Ashraf replied: "It seems the Khan has the same idea as me. I too hope to bring back Baghdad to the fold of Islam as previously. We will see which of us will be quicker". A year before his death, Gaykhatu wanted to replenish his emptied treasury. His vizier Ahmad al-Khalidi proposed the introduction of a recent Chinese invention called Chao or paper money. Gaykhatu called on Kublai Khan's ambassador Bolad in Tabriz to show how the system worked. He then printed paper money imitating the Chinese currency so closely that it even had Chinese words. The Islamic testimony of faith was printed on the paper currency as well. The plan was to get Iranians to use only paper money, and allow Gaykhatu to control the treasury. The experiment was a complete failure, as the people and merchants refused to accept paper money. Soon, bazaar riots broke out and economic activities came to a standstill. Gaykhatu had no choice but to withdraw the use of paper money.

502 lunar years ago, on this day in 937 AH, Emperor Zaheer od-Din Babar, the founder of the Moghal Empire of Hindustan or northern Subcontinent, died in his capital Kabul, and was succeeded by his eldest son, Naseer od-din Humayun, to the throne of Delhi. Born in Andijan in the Ferghana Valley in what is now Uzbekistan, he was the son of the local ruler, Omar Sheikh – a great-grandson of the Central Asian conqueror. Amir Timur. On his mother’s side, Babar was grandson of Yunus Khan, the ruler of Moghulistan, and thus a descendent of the fearsome Genghis Khan. Like the rest of the Timurids, he embraced Persian language and culture, though his mother tongue was Chaghatai Turkic. In his obsession to take control of Samarqand he lost Ferghana as well to Obaidullah Khan Shaibani, the ruler of the Uzbeks, who were newcomers to the region and were fast displacing the local Tajiks or Persian speakers. Babar accepted Shah Ismail I, the founder of the Safavid Dynasty of Iran, as suzerain, after rejecting demands from the Ottoman Sultan to acknowledge him as overlord. This alliance enabled him to chalk out an independent kingdom in Kabul, which he used as a base to recapture Samarqand with Safavid help, but soon lost it for the third time. Later with his combined Tajik and Turkic military, he conquered the northern parts of the Subcontinent by defeating the Afghan king, Ibrahim Lodhi of Delhi, at the Battle of Panipat in 1526 AD, and the next year routed the huge Rajput-Afghan joint army of Rana Sanga. He was a poet in both Persian and his Turkic, and was a devotee of the Ahl al-Bayt of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA).

491 lunar years ago, on this day in 948 AH, Iranian mathematician, Ghiyas od-Din Mansour, passed away and was laid to rest in the city of Shiraz. He learned rational and traditional sciences under his father and other Ulema. Upon the order of the Safavid Emperor, Shah Ismail, he repaired the Maragheh Observatory. He later served as prime minister to the next Safavid emperor, Shah Tahmasb. He resigned from this post and spent the rest of his life grooming students, and compiling books. His most important works include "Hojjat al-Kalaam” and "al-Haqa’eq”.

352 solar years ago, on this day in 1667 AD, the Treaty of Breda was signed by Britain and Holland, according to which the latter handed over its colonies in the newly-discovered American Continent. The most important region that came under British control was the state of New York, which the Dutch used to call New Amsterdam. In return, Britain gave to Holland part of Guyana in South America.

279 solar years ago, on this day in 1739 AD, Iranian forces led by Nader Shah Afshar defeated the Moghal armies at Shahdaula in Punjab and proceeded towards Karnal for the final battle that saw the surrender of Emperor Mohammad Shah “Rangileh”. Nader invaded the subcontinent in pursuit of the Hotaki Afghan rebels and the failure of the weak administration in Delhi to hand over these refractory elements despite his writing of several letters to the Moghal Emperor. Nader Shah restored Mohammad Shah to the throne of Delhi and returned to Iran with a huge booty that included the world famous “Koh-e Noor” (Mountain of Light) diamond, the “Takht-e Tawous” (Peacock Throne) and the Tent of Pearls.

242 solar years ago, on this day in 1776 AD, the German author, Ernst Hoffmann, was born. He had a strong sense of imagination and has left behind a number of books, including “Strange Tales”. He died in 1822.

161 solar years ago, on this day in 1857 AD, the University of Calcutta was formally founded by the British colonialists as the first fully-fledged university in south Asia.

159 solar years ago, on this day in 1859 AD for the first time oil was extracted through drilling by Edwin Laurentine Drake in the US State of Pennsylvania at a depth of 230-meter. The oil rig and other drilling equipment of this well are kept in a museum in the US as symbols of emergence of the global oil industry.

88 solar years ago, on this day in 1930 AD, Iran’s celebrated contemporary painter, Mahmoud Farshchian, was born in Isfahan. He studied under the tutelage of Haji Mirza-Agha Imami and Eisa Bahadori for several years. After receiving diploma from Isfahan's High School for Fine Arts, he left for Europe, where he studied works of the great western masters of painting. Consequently, he developed an innovative artistic style with universal appeal. Upon return to Iran, he worked at the National Institute of Fine Arts and in time, was appointed director of the Department of National Arts and professor at the University of Tehran's School of Fine Arts. All the while, word of his exemplary works spread far and wide. So far, he has held 57 individual exhibits and 86 group shows in Iran, Europe, the US, and Asian countries. His works adorn several museums and major collections worldwide. "The Museum of Master Mahmoud Farshchian", set up at Sa’dabad Cultural Complex in Tehran in 2001 includes such paintings as the pathetic scene of “Sham-e Gharibaan” – or the evening following the tragic martyrdom of Imam Husain (AS), as well as the Martyrdom of Ali Asghar, (the infant son of the Imam) and the “Zamen-e Ahou” that depicts the Deer Hunter, the released doe with her fawns, and Imam Reza (AS). Farshchian has designed the Zarih (the silver grill latticed enclosure of the tomb of Imam Husain (AS) in Karbala), as well as the roof, door and cellar in the shrine of Imam Reza (AS) in Mashhad. He is the founder of his own unique school of Iranian Painting, which adheres to classical form while making use of new techniques. His powerful and innovative paintings on vibrant canvases have an appealing fusion of the traditional and the modern.

79 solar years ago, on this day in 1939 AD, Chile in South America was rocked by its deadliest earthquake that killed approximately 28,000 to 30,000 people

60 solar years ago, on this day in 1958 AD, after warming to hundred million degrees, 2 light atoms were bashed together in the US to create a heavier atom, resulting in the 1st man-made nuclear fusion. Unethical and Godless regimes have misused science and technology for destructive and suicidal pursuits, instead of working for peace, tranquility and collective development of mankind. The US is the world’s most criminally armed nuclear power whose doomsday terrorism includes the dropping of atomic bombs on the unsuspecting Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 when World War 2 had almost ended. 

53 solar years ago, on this day in 1965 AD, British politician, Winston Churchill, died at the age of 91. He joined the British army in 1895 and participated in colonial wars. He was elected to the House of Commons as a Conservative Party MP, and later served as a minister in various positions, including war. He was twice elected as Prime Minister – the second time during World War 2. He authored several books, including “The World Crisis” in four volumes, and a series of books under the name of “The Second World War”, in addition to the “History of the English-Speaking Peoples”. Churchill was an unabashed imperialist and was notorious for his defence of Britain’s colonialist policies of expansion and exploitation around the world.

39 solar years ago, on this day in 1979 AD, on reports of the return home from exile of the Father of Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (RA), the fugitive Shah's premier, Shapour Bakhtiyar, ordered closure of all airports in Iran. The people demanded their opening, and led by Ayatollah Morteza Motahhari and Ayatollah Seyyed Mohammad Hussaini Beheshti, staged a sit-in at Tehran University’s Mosque.

16 solar years, on this day in 2002 AD, the illegal Zionist entity murdered its own former agent, Elie Hobeika of the Christian Phalangist militia of Lebanon, along with three others in Beirut through a car bomb, following the latter’s agreement to testify against the then Zionist premier Ariel Sharon who as war minister in 1982 had ordered the cold-blooded massacre of over 5,000 Palestinian men, women, and children at the Sabra and Shatillah refugee camps.

7 solar years ago, on this day in 2011 AD, two car bombs struck holy Karbala, resulting in the martyrdom of over 30 people and injury to scores of others, as pilgrims massed for Arba’een rituals at the shrine of Imam Husain (AS). A year later on the same day, a series of car bombs triggered by Saudi- backed terrorists in Shi’a Muslim areas of the capital Baghdad, resulted in the martyrdom of over 20 people, while over 60 others were injured as day labourers were targeted.

AS/MG