Today is Sunday; 12th of the Iranian month of Farvardin 1397 solar hijri; corresponding to 14th of the Islamic month of Rajab 1439 lunar hijri; and April 1, 2018, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1491 solar years ago, on this day in 527 AD, the ailing Byzantine Emperor , Justin I, named his nephew (sister’s son), Justinian I, as co-ruler and successor to the throne. On the death of Justin in August the same year, Justinian became the sole ruler and embarked on a policy of expansionism as he strove to become the emperor of the Western Roman Empire as well, when his generals conquered North Africa, Sicily, southern Spain and most of Italy including Rome from the Ostrogoths. On his eastern borders, however, he had to conclude an ‘Eternal Peace’ in 532 with the new Iranian emperor, Khosrow I Anushirvan by paying 11,000 pounds of gold, a year after the defeat of Roman forces near Callinicum in what is now Turkey by Emperor Qobad. In 540 the ‘Eternal Peace’ was broken because of Justinian’s intrigues in Armenia which made Khosrow Anushirvan capture Beroea and then Antioch in Syria, resulting in the 22-year war that ended in 562 with conclusion of the “Fifty-Year Peace” and payment of 5,000 pounds of gold, plus 500 pounds of gold more each year to the Iranians by the Romans. Khosrow Anoushirvan’s prudent policy thus thwarted Roman designs in Syria, Anatolia, Armenia and Upper Mesopotamia, as he made sure that Rome would never be a threat to Iran by keeping close contacts with the Goths, the Huns, and the Arabs. Justinian during his long reign embellished his capital Constantinople with buildings, including a new Christian basilica – the Hagia Sophia, which is Greek for “Holy Wisdom” – as seat of the Greek Orthodox Church. He also codified the Roman law which serves as basis of modern law in most European states.

1160 lunar years ago, on this day in 279 AH, Ahmad Muʿtamid-Billah, the 15^th self-styled caliph of the usurper Abbasid regime, died due to gluttony at the age of 51 after a 22-year reign, at the beginning of which, he martyred through poisoning Imam Hasan al-Askari (AS), the 11^th Infallible Heir of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). Son of Fityan, a concubine in the harem of the tyrant Mutawakkel, he was installed as caliph by the powerful Turkic guard, who soon limited his authority by siding with his supposed stepbrother, al-Muwaffaq, who was the real power behind the throne, especially after a failed attempt by Mu’tamid to flee to the areas under control of Ahmad ibn Tulun of Egypt.

759 lunar years ago, on this day in 680 AH, the Second Battle of Homs was fought in western Syria in which Muslims under command of the Mamluk Sultan of Egypt- Syria, Mansour Qalawun, defeated the Mongols led by Mongke Timur, a brother of Abaqa of the Iran-based llkhanid Empire. After the Mongol defeats at the hands of the Mamluks at Ain Jalut in Gaza 11 years earlier and at Albistan 4 years earlier, the Ilkhan had dispatched a large army of 50,000 Mongols and 30,000 Christians led by King Demetrius II of Georgia and King Leo II of Armenia. In the battle, initially the Mongol-Christian alliance had the upper hand and scattered the Mamluk's left flank, but the Muslims personally led by Sultan Qalawun routed the Mongol centre, wounding Mongke Timur and forcing his army to flee. The following year, Abaqa died and his successor, Nicholas Tekuder Khan, who was baptized as a Christian, reversed his policy towards the Mamluks, by converting to Islam, changing his name to Ahmad, and forging an alliance with the Muslims against the Crusaders.

736 solar years ago, on this day in 1282 AD, Abaqa Khan, the son and successor of Hulagu Khan, the founder of the Ilkhanid Dynasty of Iran-Iraq, died at Hamedan in a state of delirium induced by a bout of heavy drinking, to which he was prone, like the majority of Mongol rulers. The Iranian vizier, Shams od-Din Juwaini was accused of poisoning him. The historian Rasheed od-Din Fazlollah in his famous “Jawame’ at-Tarikh” says Abaqa had gone out to answer the call of nature and was disturbed by an apparition in the form of a large black bird. He called out to his attendants to shoot arrows at it, but they saw nothing, whereupon he suddenly collapsed and died. He was buried, like his father, on Shahi Island in Lake Oroumiyeh. Both his two sons, Arghun and Gaikhatu were later to ascend the throne in turn, but his immediate successor was his brother Tekuder, who had adopted Islam and assumed the name of Ahmad. Much of Abaqa’s 17-year reign was consumed with civil wars in the Mongol Empire, such as those between the Ilkhanate and the northern khanate of the Golden Horde. Abaqa also engaged in unsuccessful attempts at military invasion of Syria, including the Second Battle of Homs, where he was defeated by the Mamluks of Egypt.

440 solar years ago, on this day in 1578 AD, English physician William Harvey was born. On the basis of writings of Islamic scientists, he explained to Europe the true nature of the circulation of blood and of the function of the heart as a pump.

203 solar years ago, on this day in 1815 AD, Prussian statesman and 1^st Chancellor of unified Germany, Otto von Bismarck, was born in Schonhausen, west of Berlin to a wealthy estate owner and named Otto Eduard Leopold. Trained as lawyer, he entered politics and became a skillful politician, dominating German and European affairs from the 1860s until 1898. In 1862, following his appointment by King Wilhelm I as Minister President of Prussia, he engineered a series of wars against Denmark, Austria and archenemy France that by 1871 unified the German-speaking states (excluding Austria) into an empire under Prussian leadership. He skillfully used balance of power to preserve German hegemony in Europe, and until his dismissal in 1890 by Wilhelm II, he remained champion of the game of diplomatic chess. His diplomacy of realpolitik and strong internal policies that led to rapid economic growth earned him the title "Iron Chancellor". After dismissal he wrote his critical political testament.

151 solar years ago, on this day 1867 AD, Britain forced the Sultan of Johor to cede Singapore and the surrounding 62 islands, which were later permanently separated from Muslim Malaysia and declared an independent country.

140 lunar years ago, on this day in 1299 AH, prominent Islamic scholar, Ayatollah Sadr od-Din Sadr, was born in holy Kazemain in Iraq. After mastering mathematics and Arabic literature he attended the Najaf Seminary for higher studies, and attained the status of Ijtehad. At the age of 32 he took up residence in holy Mashhad, staying for 17 years in Khorasan, before returning to Iraq. He was invited to Qom by Grand Ayatollah Abdul-Karim Ha'eri, whom he succeeded as head of the seminary. He was an accomplished Arabic poet, and composed a moving elegy on desecration of the sacred Baqie Cemetery by Wahhabi vandals. Among his valuable compilations is “Mukhtasar Tarikh al-Islam” (A Concise History of Islam).

94 solar years ago, on this day in 1924 AD, German Nazi leader, Adolf Hitler, was sentenced to five years in jail for his participation in the "Beer Hall Putsch" that his party had planned for seizure of political power. He, however, spent only nine months in jail, during which he wrote “Mein Kampf” (My Story), and soon shot to fame, winning the elections and becoming chancellor in 1933.

82 solar years ago, on this day in 1936 AD, Pakistani physicist, chemist, and nuclear engineer, Abdul-Qadeer Khan, was born in Bhopal in India. In 1952, along with his parents he migrated to Pakistan and settled in Karachi, where he earned a degree in metallurgy. In 1961, he went to Germany for higher studies and in 1965 enrolled at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, where he obtained his MS. In 1967, he joined the Catholic University of Leuven for his doctoral studies, obtaining PhD in metallurgical engineering in 1972. His thesis contained fundamental work on martensite, and its extended industrial applications to the field of morphology— a field that studies the shape, size, texture and phase distribution of physical objects. In 1972, he worked at a Dutch plant where he gained knowledge on uranium enrichment technology. On 17 Sep 1974, he offered Pakistan’s prime minister, his help to build an atomic bomb. He returned to Pakistan, was involved in the uranium enrichment project, and participated in the successful weapons-grade nuclear field tests on 28 May 1998, a week after neighbouring India detonated nuclear blasts.

73 solar years ago, on this day in 1945 AD, the US forces’ major aggression on Japan’s Okinawa Island started in the waning days of World War II, and is considered the last and largest naval and ground confrontation against Japan. During this 83-day attack, 1300 US warships and thousands of warplanes were deployed. The Japanese strongly defended their soil, destroying 36 US warships and damaging 389 others, mainly through Kamikaze or suicide aerial attacks. The US also lost 763 warplanes. The Japanese paid a heavy price for defending Okinawa Island, losing to death and injury 110,000 of the 120,000 troops deployed on the island. They also lost 16 ships and 7830 warplanes. Although the US forces ultimately occupied Okinawa Island, the resistance of the Japanese prevented the Americans from invading mainland Japan. Instead, the US officials, in an inhuman act, and in order to force Japan into submission, ordered the atomic bombardment of the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Currently the US main base in Japan is located in the Okinawa Island and the people of this Island have long demanded the closure of this US base.

72 solar years ago, on this day in 1946 AD, the Malayan Union was formed with its capital at Kuala Lumpur. Sultans of the various British-ruled Malay states agreed to its formation despite loss of their political power. In January 1948 the Union was replaced by the Federation of Malaya, and in 1963 was joined by Sabah and Sarawak.

58 solar years ago, on this day in 1960 AD, the first weather observation satellite, TIROS I, was launched from Cape Kennedy in the US and made the first television picture from space. TIROS (Television Infrared Observation Satellite), with its goal of improving satellite applications for Earth-bound decisions, such as "whether coastal areas be evacuated because of hurricane," became successful for weather forecasting.

40 solar years ago, on this day in 1978 AD, jurisprudent and exegete of the holy Qur’an, Ayatollah Mirza Abu’l-Fazl Zahedi, passed away in his hometown Qom and was laid to rest in the Shaykhan Cemetery opposite the holy shrine of Hazrat Fatema al-Ma’soumah (SA). Born in a scholarly family, he was a student of such prominent scholars as Grand Ayatollah Sheikh Abdul-Karim Ha’eri Yazdi, Ayatollah Mirza Abu’l-Qasim Kabir-e Qomi, and Ayatollah Ali Akbar Modarres Yazdi. He was among the scholars who helped Grand Ayatollah Ha’eri Yazdi revive the Qom seminary. When Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Hussain Boroujerdi shifted to Qom, he attended his classes and became one of his close associates. An outstanding preacher with authority on religious texts, his opinion was sought by scholars. He wrote several books, including “The Logic of Imam Husain (AS)” and “The Objective of Imam Husain (AS)”. He was involved in the grassroots movement against the British-installed and US-backed Pahlavi regime. Tthe Father of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (RA) considered him “Shaikh at-Ta’efa” (Elder of the Community).

39 solar years ago, on this day in 1979 AD, Iranian people, in less than two months after victory of the Islamic Revolution, held a 2-day referendum and voted for establishment of the Islamic Republic System, with 98.2% yes votes. The 12th of Farvardin is thus marked as Islamic Republic Day. Although Iranian Muslims had on several occasions during course of the Islamic Revolution demanded establishment of the Islamic system of government, the Father of Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (RA), emphasized on holding nationwide referendum as a mark of respect for the people's aspirations and their participation in the political, economic, cultural and all spheres of the society. In his message on the people's vote for the Islamic System, he said: “Congratulations on the day on which, following the martyrdom of courageous youths and after many hardships, you defeated the enemy once again by opting for the just, divine ruling system with your resolute votes. In the holy Islamic system, all people are considered equals based on the principle of divine justice, under the shade of the blessings of the holy Qur'an and the Sunnah of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA).”

28 solar years ago, on this day in 1990 AD, prominent researcher and religious scholar, Professor Hussain Emadzadeh Isfahani, passed away at the age of 85. Son of Hojjat al-Islam Ahmad Emad al-Va’ezeen, he was born in Isfahan and studied at the city’s seminary, where his teachers included Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Najafabadi, Ayatollah Ali Va’ez Shirazi, Ayatollah Mohammad Kazem Kalbasi, and Ayatollah Seyyed Sadr od-Din Kohpaye. He later acquired permission to relate hadith from the leading authorities of the seminary of holy Najaf, such as Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Abu’l-Hassan Isfahani, Ayatollah Sheikh Aqa Bozorg Tehrani, and Ayatollah Mohammad Muzaffar. He taught at universities, and as a prolific writer, contributed articles to newspapers and journals. A keen researcher, books authored by him include “Islamic World and Islam in the World”, “Translation and Exegesis of the Holy Qur’an”, “Commentary on Prophet’s Ghadeer Sermon”, “Hazrat Fatema Zahra (SA)”, “History of Ashura” and “Life of the Fourteen Infallibles”.

16 years ago, on this day in 1992 AD, Serbs started the Bosnian War, as part of the genocide of Europe’s native Muslims. The almost 4-year long war saw coldblooded massacre of Bosnian Muslims, especially in Srebrenica and Markale, while the West and the UN turned a blind eye. Over 100,000 Muslims were slaughtered in addition to an estimated 50,000 women raped, and over 2.2 million people displaced, making it the most devastating conflict in Europe since World War II. When the Bosnian defenders, with help from Muslim countries were about to turn the tide of the war against the Serb aggressors, the US intervened to stop the conflict by imposing the Dayton Accord. Till this day, mass graves are being found in various parts of Bosnia.

7 solar years ago, on this day in 2011 AD, Bahrain human rights organization said at least 20 people have been martyred, since peaceful protests began February 14 – a month-and-a-half ago – while hundreds have been either detained or questioned by agents of the repressive Aal-e Khalifa minority regime.

AS/ME