Today is Wednesday; 16th of the Iranian month of Esfand 1396 solar hijri; corresponding to 18th of the Islamic month of Jamadi as-Sani 1439 lunar hijri; and March 7, 2018, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

2340 solar years ago, on this day in 322 BC, Greek philosopher Aristotle died. His writings include treatises on logic, metaphysics, ethics, politics, rhetoric and natural sciences. He described language in terms of subject and predicate as well as parts of speech. A student of Plato he was teacher of Alexander of Macedonia. Aristotelian logic is based on a small number of unambiguous constructs, such as, "if A, then B": the truth of one implies the truth of another. The constructs also included A=A, representing that every entity is equal to itself. He defined politics as the science of the sciences that looks after well-being. His writings included “De Generatione Animalum” and "Historia Animalium". Aristotle and his works were revived by Muslim philosophers and scientists after he was forgotten by Greeks and Europeans.

1857 solar years ago, on this day 161 AD, Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius died at the age of 75 after a 23-year reign, and is considered one of the Five Good Emperors of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty and the Aurelii. He had succeeded his adoptive father Hadrian to the throne and was succeeded in turn by his adoptive sons Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus. Pius could not succeed against the growing might of Iran led by the Parthian Emperor, Balaash, known to the Romans as Vologases IV. 

1697 solar years ago, on this day in 321 AD, Roman Emperor Constantine I issued a decree imposing upon the empire – in Europe, Asia Minor, Levant, Egypt and North Africa – the day of the pagan god, Solis Invicti (Unconquered Sun), as the weekly day of rest. His decree read: “On the venerable day of the Sun (Sunday) let the magistrates and people residing in cities rest, and let all workshops be closed.” The pagan practice of Sunday as a weekend holiday was adopted by the Christian World and continues in countries following the ways of their former European colonial masters, although this day has no link with Prophet Jesus (PuH). The Sun was worshipped as one of the gods and as a patron of soldiers in the Roman Empire. Constantine, even after conversion to Christianity – not the monotheistic message of Jesus, but the weird concept of Trinity coined by Paul the Hellenized Jew – had the symbols of the Sun engraved on his coinage. Thus, when the Roman Empire converted to Christianity, the 25^th of December, which was the date of a festival of the Sun god, was renamed Christmas to give the impression that Prophet Jesus (PuH) was born on this pagan holiday.

1493 lunar years ago, on this day 54 years before Hijra the blessed marriage took place in Mecca, of Abdullah ibn Abdul-Muttaleb and Amenah bint Wahb (peace upon them), the parents of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). It is worth noting that the Prophet’s parents and grandparents, as well as all his ancestors descending from the Prophets Ishmael and Abraham (peace upon them), and extending right up to the Father of mankind, Adam, were upright monotheists, who had neither worshipped idols nor had ever deviated from the path of the One and Only Creator. Abdullah was a pious handsome young man from whose forehead a light shone out, indicating that he would be the father of a very blessed person. Many ladies of Arabia sent their proposals for marriage to him but Abdullah left the matter to his father to decide. Abdul-Muttaleb, who knew the divine promise that his grandson would be the Almighty’s Last and Greatest Messenger, approached the Bani Zuhrah clan and sought the hand of the chaste and virtuous Amenah for his son. The nuptials were celebrated in Mecca with great rejoicing, and on consummating of the marriage, the light was transferred to Amenah from Abdullah, and within a year resulted in the blessed birth of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). 

939 solar years ago, on this day in 1079 AD, the famous Iranian astronomer, Omar ibn Ibrahim al-Khayyam Neishapouri, completed the Jalali solar hijri calendar, dating it like the lunar one from the migration of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) from Mecca to Medina in Rabi al-Awwal – the 1^st month of spring. This calendar was formally adopted on 15 March the same year by the Seljuq Sultan, Jalal ad-Din Malik Shah, in whose honour it was named. The team led by Khayyam, working at the imperial observatory in the Seljuq capital Isfahan, computed the length of a solar year as 365.25 days, more perfect than the Gregorian calendar used by the Christian world.

744 solar years ago, on this day in 1274 AD, Italian philosopher and theologian, Thomas Aquinas, who wrote commentaries on the works of the ancient Greek philosopher, Aristotle, died in Naples at the age of 51. Following Aristotle's definition of science as knowledge obtained from demonstrations, Aquinas defined science as the knowledge of things from their causes. In his work “Summa Theologica”, he distinguished between demonstrated truth (science) and revealed truth (faith). This belief and his faith in the originality of wisdom, as opposed to the Christian Church’s irrationality, assisted in the promotion of sciences.

670 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.

492 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, 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 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 conclude a peace treaty.

420 lunar years ago, on this day in 1019 AH, 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 Moghal Empire. Born in Shoushtar in 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 insinuation of the enemies of the Prophet’s Ahl al-Bayt. 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” (3^rd Great Martyr), and whose tomb is a site of pilgrimage.

253 solar years ago, on this day in the year 1765 AD, the French chemist and one of the founders of photography, Nicephore Niepce, was born. By 1813, he had taken up lithography, which led to his invention of photography. In a letter in May 1816, he spoke of an apparatus that produced a (negative) image using a paper coated with silver chloride fixed with nitric acid. After further experimentation, by 1826, he achieved the first fixed positive image. In 1829, he signed an agreement with Daguerre to develop photography. He died in 1833.

219 solar years ago, on this day in 1799 AD, French general, Napoleon Bonaparte captured Jaffa in Palestine and proceeded to kill more than 2,000 Albanian Muslim captives. The French were driven out from Palestine by the Ottomans.

158 lunar years ago, on this day in 1281 AH, the great 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 Grand Ayatollah Mirza Mohammad Hassan Shirazi, who issued the famous “fatwa” against the British monopoly on tobacco that saved Iranian economy. Another prominent student was the pan-Islamist thinker, Seyyed Jamal od-Din Asadabadi.

150 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 the people led by the ulema mounted their opposition, 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.

82 solar years ago, on this day in 1936 AD, as prelude to World War II, German Nazi troops of Adolf Hitler violated the Treaties of Versailles and Locarno, to occupy the region of Rhineland.

67 solar years ago, on this day in 1951 AD, British agent, Ali Razmara, whom the British-installed Mohammad Reza Pahlavi had appointed prime minister for his anti-Islamic views, was executed in a revolutionary manner by Khalil Tahmasebi, a carpenter by profession and member of the Fedaeen-e Islam organization. Tahmasebi was arrested by the regime and sentenced to death, but the parliament, during the premiership of Dr. Mohammad Mosaddeq, quashed the verdict and ordered his release as a “soldier of Islam”. Following the overthrow of Prime Minister Mosaddeq in 1953 through a British-US coup, Tahmasebi was re-arrested, tried by a kangaroo court and sentenced to death. He attained martyrdom in 1955 on execution by a firing squad.

8 solar years ago, on this day in 2010, Iran announced that it has started a new production line of highly accurate, short range cruise missiles, which adds a new element to the country's already imposing defence arsenal.

AS/ME