Today is Thursday; 24th of the Iranian month of Esfand 1396 solar hijri; corresponding to 26th of the Islamic month of Jamadi as-Sani 1439 lunar hijri; and March 15, 2018, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

2062 solar years ago, on this day in 44 BC Dictator Julius Caesar of the Roman Republic was stabbed to death by a group of senators, apprehensive of the totalitarian powers he had assumed in the wake of his elimination of all rivals in the civil wars that followed his victories in Gaul (France), emboldening him to violate the law against crossing of the River Rubicon into Italy with armed legions – to challenge Pompey for supreme power. Caesar was killed, while planning to invade the Iranian Parthian Empire to avenge the disgraceful defeat suffered nine years earlier in 53 BC in the Battle of Carrhae (Harran in upper Mesopotamia and presently in modern Turkey), when General Surena routed a mighty Roman army led by General Marcus Licinius Crassus – member of the Triumvirate formed with Caesar and Pompey. A person of lose morals, Julius Caesar, like all other pagans was a sadistic barbarian, who in his official ‘triumphs’ (public celebrations on Rome’s streets and amphitheatre) used to stage live battles and watch with delight as prisoners of war divided into groups brutally killed each other. His death transformed the republic into the Roman Empire under his designated heir, grandnephew Ocatavius, who after elimination of his main rival Mark Antony, assumed the imperial title of Emperor Augustus Caesar. Julius Caesar is mostly remembered for his replacement of the Roman lunar calendar with the Egyptian solar calendar of 365.25 days, by adding a leap day at the end of February every fourth year. The month of Quintilis was renamed July in his honour and thus the Julian calendar (named after him), opened on 1 January 45 BC. It was used in Europe until its replacement in 1582 AD by the Gregorian calendar.

1431 lunar years ago, on this day in 8^th AH, Muslims led by the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS), achieved a great victory in the battle of “Zaat as-Salasel” against the pagan Arab tribes north of Medina on the road to Syria. It took place in the aftermath of the inconclusive Battle of Mu'tah (in what is now Jordan) against a joint force of Christian Arabs and Romans, which encouraged pagan Arab tribes to plan raids on Medina to wipe out Islam. When Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) learned about the plans of the infidel Arabs he dispatched a force under the newly converted Amr bin Aas to their place of gathering, Wadi al-Qura, in order to invite them to Islam or disperse them. Amr was overawed by the numbers and requested the Prophet for reinforcements that were sent under Abu Bakr, who after a skirmish and loss of men, returned to Medina. Another force was dispatched under Omar ibn Khattab and suffered the same fate. The Prophet then decided to entrust the command to his dear cousin and son-in-law, Imam Ali (AS), who duly invited the pagan Arabs to Islam. The infidels refused and prepared for battle. The Imam, despite the mountainous terrain and steep valleys, ably organized the defence. Then after several bouts of individual combat during which he made short work of the arrogant Arabs who challenged him, including their fearsome warlord, Hareth bin Makida, he launched a swift attack to soundly defeat them. The Muslims lost only two persons, while the pagan Arabs suffered huge casualties and surrendered to the Muslims, along with their women, children and possessions. In Medina, the Prophet informed the people that in honour of Imam Ali's victory, God has revealed “Surah Adiyaat”. On his return to Medina, the Imam was greeted outside the city by the Prophet, who wiped the dust off the face of his dear cousin, kissed his forehead and with tears of joy, said: O Ali, I thank Allah, Who strengthened me through you. O Ali, like Moses, who prayed to Allah, to strengthen his arms by his brother (Aaron) and make him share his Prophethood, I also asked the same from Almighty Allah (for you) and He approved it.

Then the Prophet turned to the companions and said:

I love him by the command of Allah. O Ali, the one who befriends you has befriended me, and the one who loves me, loves Almighty Allah, and the one who loves Almighty Allah is loved by Him and Paradise is his abode. O Ali, the one who is inimical to you, is inimical to me, and the one who is inimical to me, is inimical to the Almighty Allah. And He will not accept any deed of the enemies of Ali (AS).

1055 solar years ago, on this day in 963 AD, Byzantine emperor, Romanos II, died at the age of 25 after a 4-year reign, during which his general  Nikephoros Phokas, occupied the Muslim island of Crete after a 9-month siege and sacked Aleppo the capital of the Hamdanid Shi’a Muslim emirate. Romanos II is believed to have been poisoned to death by his wife, Theophano, who soon married her husband’s victorious general, Nikephoros Phokas and declared him emperor.

871 solar years ago, on this day in 1147 AD, the Muslim fortress of Santarem, -- Shantarin in Arabic – which was an important Islamic cultural centre in the Iberian Peninsula, was treacherously attacked and seized by Afonso I of Portugal, who slaughtered the whole population. Afonso used it as a base to launch attacks on Lisbon the main Muslim city of the region, which he occupied later that year. The most notable ruler of the al-Muwahhedoun dynasty of Muslim Spain, Abu Yaqub Yusuf (patron of the philosophers Ibn Roshd and Ibn Tufail), died in Santarem while trying to recapture it during his unsuccessful siege of 1184.

613 lunar years ago, on this day in 826 AH, Islamic scholar, Shaikh Jamal od-Din Meqdad al-Hilli al-Asadi, passed away in holy Najaf. A prominent student of the First Martyr, Mohammad ibn Makki, he was an outstanding jurisprudent himself. Known popularly as Fadhel Meqdad, he groomed many scholars and wrote several books, including “Ayaat al-Ahkam”. The most important book written by him is “Kanz al-Irfan”, in which he has listed all those ayahs of the Holy Qur’an that form the basis of Fiqh, and had deduced from them several rules of Islamic jurisprudence. There are several books written in the same vein by both Shi’ite and Sunni scholars, but “Kanz al-Irfan” stands out prominently as one of the best, if not the best.

532 solar years ago, on this day in 1486 AD, the Ottoman army was again defeated before Adana by the Mamluk dynasty of Egypt-Syria. Commander Qaragoz Mohammad fled the field, while General Hersekzade Ahmed was taken captive, and Cilicia in what is now south-central Turkey returned to the control of the Mamluks. The series of internecine Muslim wars between the two major Turkic powers were the result of intrigue by the Pope and West European Christian states, following end of the Byzantine Empire and fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans in 1453, when it appeared that it was matter of time before Islam could spread all over Europe. It was unfortunate of the Ottomans to halt their drive into Europe and turn towards the east against fellow Muslims in Anatolia and Syria, at a time when the beleaguered Spanish Muslims of Granada were desperately calling on the Muslim World for help, and the Mamluks had prepared a large army in what is now Libya for stopping the Christian aggressors in the Iberian Peninsula. This same seditious policy of the Ottomans in Muslim lands was the cause of the Battle of Chaldiran against the Safavid Empire of Iran that allowed much-needed respite to Europe to reorganize militarily and culturally (Renaissance) for eventually pushing back the Ottomans and gradually ending their supremacy in the Muslim lands of southwest Europe that were forcibly Christianized after centuries of Islamic rule and culture.

477 lunar years ago, on this day in 962 AH, the Peace of Amasya was signed by the Ottoman Turkish and Safavid Iranian Empires to end hostilities against each other, after three massive but unsuccessful invasions in the course of 22 years by Sultan Suleiman, who was outwitted by the tact and diplomacy of Shah Tahmasb I. The frontier of the two empires was delineated through Anatolia, Iraq, and the Caucasus, with Georgia being divided between the Ottomans and the Safavids. The Ottomans, in return for their control of Baghdad and most of Iraq, allowed Iranian pilgrims to continue visits to Najaf and Karbala, as well as to Mecca and Medina for Hajj.

280 solar years ago, on this day in 1638 AD, Shunzhi Emperor of China was born. At the tender age of 5 he was crowned emperor in Beijing as the third ruler of the Qing Dynasty, following collapse of the Ming Dynasty, and thus became the first Qing Emperor to rule all over China. On reaching adolescence and taking over the reins of government, he tried with mixed success, to fight corruption and to reduce the political influence of the Manchu nobility. In late 1646, forces assembled by a Muslim leader, known in Chinese sources as Milayin, revolted against Qing rule in Ganzhou (Gansu). He was soon joined by another Muslim named Ding Guodong. Proclaiming that they wanted to restore the Ming, they occupied a number of towns in Gansu, including the provincial capital Lanzhou. Both Milayin and Ding Guodong were captured and killed in 1648, and by 1650 the Muslims had been crushed in campaigns that inflicted heavy casualties. In the 1650s, he faced a resurgence of Ming loyalist resistance, but by 1661 his armies had defeated their last enemies, seafarer Koxinga (1624–1662) and the Prince of Gui (1623–1662) of the Southern Ming dynasty. The Shunzhi Emperor died at the age of 23 of smallpox.

164 solar years ago, on this day in 1854 AD, German bacteriologist, Emil Adolf von Behring, considered founder of the science of immunology, was born. He continued the researches of French chemist, Louis Pasteur, and in 1890 working with S. Kitasato, discovered that immunity against tetanus and diphtheria could be produced by injecting serum from an animal that had recovered from the disease. He coined the word antitoxin for such substances. In 1901 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology for his work on serum therapy.

130 solar years ago, on this day in 1888 AD, the Anglo-Tibetan War started at the end of deadline set by the British for withdrawal of Tibetan forces from Sikkim. Fought in the high Himalayan mountain ranges, the Tibetans were forced to withdraw and sign the Calcutta Accord in 1890, renouncing all claims to suzerainty over Tibet.

67 solar years ago, on this day in 1951 AD, the Iranian parliament (the Majlis) voted to nationalize the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC) and its holdings, and shortly thereafter Iranians democratically elected Mohammad Mossddeq as Prime Minister. This led to the Abadan Crisis where foreign countries, under pressure from Britain, boycotted the purchase of Iranian oil and the Abadan refinery was closed. On 26 May 1951, Britain took Iran to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), demanding that the 1933 agreement be upheld and that Iran pay damages and compensation for disrupting the UK-incorporated company's profits. On 22 July 1952, the ICJ dismissed the case, resulting in the strengthening of Prime Minister Mosaddeq’s position and the fleeing of the British-installed Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in 1953. This was a main reason leading to the Anglo-American coup of August 1953 to remove Mosaddeq and re-install the Pahlavi potentate on the throne of Iran. Founded in 1908 as the Anglo-Persian Oil Company (APOC) following the discovery of a large oil field in Masjid Soleiman, it was the first company to extract petroleum from Iran. In 1935 APOC was renamed the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC) and in 1954 it became the British Petroleum Company (BP).

38 solar years ago, on this day in 1980 AD, the first legislative elections were held in Islamic Republic of Iran, thereby materializing one of the prime goals of the Islamic Revolution to choose lawmakers in a free and fair atmosphere, at a time when enemies were hatching conspiracies to undermine the government. The Iranian people, under the leadership of the Father of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (RA) foiled all conspiracies, as the Majlis started its activities. Today the Majlis has 290 lawmakers, who are chosen by people’s votes for a 4-year term. Iranian Sunni Muslims in the Kurdish, Turcoman, and Baluch areas, elect their own representatives to the national parliament, while non-Muslim minorities, such as the Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians, also elect representatives from their own community to the Majlis. The laws passed by the Legislature ought not to violate the fundamental principles of Islam and the Constitution. The Majlis grants or refuses vote of confidence to ministers, and has the power to impeach them, including the President.

33 solar years ago, on this day in 1985 AD, agents of foreign powers triggered a bomb blast in the massive Friday Prayer gathering at Tehran University Campus, martyring and injuring many innocent worshippers. Meanwhile, timed with this terrorist operation during the height of the imposed war, Iraqi warplanes flew over Tehran to create panic in the city. The bomb blast failed to disrupt the Friday Prayer gathering and the then President Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, who was delivering the Tehran Friday Prayer sermons, continued his speech.

23 solar years ago, on this day in 1995 AD, US President Bill Clinton, in a blatant act of hostility against Islamic Iran, issued an executive order formally blocking a $1 billion contract between Conoco and Iran to develop a huge offshore oil tract in the Persian Gulf. Washington’s intention was to hurt Iranian economy, but it actually axed its own feet, resulting in multi-million losses for American oil companies.

21 solar years ago, on this day in 1997 AD, in northeastern Iran a C-130 military cargo plane crashed near Mashhad and all 86 people aboard were killed.

17 solar years ago, on this day in 2001 AD, Ayatollah Abdur-Rahman Mohammadi Hidaji, passed away at the age of 75. A product of the seminary of holy Qom, he was socially active in his hometown Hidaj near Zanjan. In addition to jurisprudence, he was an expert in literature and history.

6 solar years ago, on this day in 2012 AD, thousands of Bahraini people held a peaceful protest rally in the capital Manama, against the repressive policies of the Aal-e Khalifa minority regime, on the first anniversary of the invasion of this Persian Gulf island state by Saudi forces.

AS/ME