Today is Sunday; 9th of the Iranian month of Ordibehesht 1397 solar hijri; corresponding to 12th of the Islamic month of Sha’ban 1439 lunar hijri; and April 29, 2018, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1307 solar years ago, on this day in 711 AD, the Muslim conquest of Spain formally started with the landing of a well-organized Berber-Arab army under command of Tareq ibn Ziyad on the rocky island known till this day as Gibraltar – a corruption of the Arabic “Jabal at-Tareq”. Since the 680s Muslims from North Africa had been raiding coastal towns of the Iberian Peninsula across the Mediterranean but this was the first full-fledged expedition that led to the conquest of what are now Spain and Portugal, and which became the Province of al-Andalus. Tareq was governor of Tangiers in what is now Morocco under Musa ibn Nusayr, the conqueror and overall governor of the Province of Ifriqiya (made up of present day western Libya, Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco). Tareq was made governor of Spain but was eventually called back to Damascus by the jealous Omayyad caliph, Walid I, who also relieved Musa ibn Nusayr of the overall charge of northwest Africa, Spain and the islands off the coast of France. There are three different accounts of the origins of Tareq given by Arab historians – he was a Persian from Hamedan; he was an Arab of the Sadf tribe; he was a Berber from North Africa. Musa is also said to be the son of an Iranian Christian, according to the historian Tabari; while others say he was from the Lakhmid Arab clan who were clients of the Sassanid Dynasty.

941 lunar years ago, on this day in 498 AH, Spanish physician and hadith scholar, Hassan ibn Hafez al-Ghassani al-Andalusi, passed away. He wrote a biography of prominent figures.

927 solar years ago, on this day in 1091 AD, at the Battle of Levounion in the Balkans, the Pechenegs Turks, while invading the Byzantine Empire from their homeland north of the Black Sea, were decisively defeated by Emperor Alexius I, who was afraid that a possible alliance between these non-Muslim Turks and the Muslim Turks of the Iran-based Seljuq Empire could spell the end of the Eastern Roman Empire.

729 solar years ago, on this day in 1289 AD, the principality of Tripoli, in what is now Lebanon, was freed from180 years of European Christian occupation by Sultan Qalawun of Egypt, heralding the end of the last few remaining “pocket-states” of the Crusaders in Syria. The liberation of Tripoli was preceded by that of Margat (in 1285) and Lattakhiya (in 1287), and was followed by the liberation of Acre (in 1291). The Crusaders of Tripoli had brought upon themselves the wrath of the Muslims by their alliance with the Buddhists and active participation in Hulagu Khan’s sack of Baghdad in 1258 and the Mongol invasions of Syria in 1260. The Mamluk sultan razed Tripoli to the ground and ordered the building of a new city a few km inland.

701 lunar years ago, on this day in 738 AH, the Sarbadar movement was launched in Khorasan by Imami religious scholar, Sheikh Khalifa Mazandarani, against the repressive rule of the Ilkhanid Mongols, especially the local governor Togha Timur, who was notorious for his cruelty and high taxation of the people. The movement, which was mostly made up of the downtrodden masses was centered in Sabzevar from where it spread to neighboring cities. Its charismatic leaders included Hassan Juri and later Ali Mu’ayyad, all of whom revived the teachings of the Ahl al-Bayt of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). For the next 50 years, the Sarbadar (a Persian term which means, heads bound on gallows, to signify their readiness for martyrdom), ruled most of Khorasan, although not on dynastic basis. They regarded as their spiritual leader, Shaikh Mohammad Jamal od-Din al-Makki al-Ameli of what is now Lebanon, who was subsequently martyred in his homeland by the enemies of the Ahl al-Bayt, and earned immortality as Shaheed al-Awwal (First Martyr). When Amir Timur swept from Central Asia across Iran ending the Ilkhanid Dynasty, he respected the Sarbadaran and gave many Sabzaveris to high posts.

619 solar years ago, on this day in 1399 AD, Malik Ahmad Raja Faruqi, the founder of the Khandesh Sultanate in Central India – that lasted from 1382-to-1601 – died after a reign of 17 years as independent ruler, and was succeeded by his son, Nasser Khan. Son of Khan-e Jahan Faruqi, a minister in the court of Sultan Mohammad bin Tughlaq in Delhi, on separation of the Deccan in 1347, he cast his lot with Ala od-Din Hassan Bahman Shah (of Iranian origin), but in 1365 turned against his son, Mohammad Shah Bahmani, by joining the abortive rebellion of the governor of Daulatabad, Bahram Khan Mazandarani. As a result, he fled the Deccan and settled in Thalner, which later, along with Karanda, was conferred upon him as fiefdom by Sultan Ferouz Shah Tughlaq of Delhi. He soon defeated the Raja of Baglana and subdued the neighbouring chieftains, prompting Ferouz Shah to raise him to the rank of Sipah-Salar. Within a few years he mustered a force of twelve thousand cavalry, and by 1382 became virtually independent. His son Nasser Khan ruled for 38 years that saw fluctuating fortunes for the kingdom because of constant warfare with Gujarat and the Bahmani Kingdom. Khandesh, with its capital, Burhanpur, was annexed by the Mughal Emperor Jalal od-Din Akbar in 1601. The Sultanate was a Persianate society, with its rich contribution to Persian literature, art and architecture. Islam was also promoted through peaceful means, as is evident today by the large number of Tadvi Bhils, and Raj Gonds, who are Muslims.

592 lunar years ago, on this day in 847 AH, Abdur-Razzaq Samarqandi, the Iranian ambassador to the Deccan (southern India) ended his year-long stay in Hampi at the court of the Raja of Vijaynagar, Deva Raya II. He was sent from the then Iranian capital, Herat (presently in Afghanistan), by the ruler Shahrukh (son and successor of the fearsome Turkic conqueror Amir Timur), on a three-year mission, mostly to the court of the Zamorin of Calicut (Kozikhode in Kerala). The major Muslim power in the Deccan was the Bahmani Empire founded by a family of Iranian origin. Abdur-Razzaq wrote an account of his mission and travels in the famous Persian book “Matla us-Sa’dain wa Majma’ ul-Bahrain”. The book details the culture of southern India and the influence of Persian on the people and their different arts, as well as the presence of tens of thousands of Iranians in the various kingdoms of the Deccan, including Muslim and Hindu.

481 lunar years ago, on this day in 958 AH, the Ottoman fleet under the command of Turgut Ra’ees freed the Libyan sea port of Tripoli from the 21-year occupation of the Christian Knights. He was subsequently named the Pasha (governor) of Tripolitania by Sultan Sulaiman. Born into a Greek family, Turgut Ra’ees had converted to Islam at an early age, and grew up into an expert gunner and sailor, whose services were utilized by the Ottomans during the conquest of Mamluk Egypt. He subsequently served as admiral in the Mediterranean Sea, and for over forty years subjugated and captured many islands and the coastal areas of the Italian kingdoms and Spain, never allowing the Genoese, the Venetians, and the Spanish fleets to dominate the region or setting foot on the north African coast. He built Tunis and made it into a leading trade centre, before being appointed the Beglarbeigi of Algeria. He died during the Ottoman siege of Malta.

241 lunar years ago, on this day in 1197 AH, Ottoman marines dispersed 75 Spanish warships which were trying to land forces at Algerian ports as a step for occupying it.

164 solar years ago, on this day in 1854 AD, French mathematician and biologist, Henri Poincare, was born. He conducted extensive studies, and his analysis on light, electricity, algebra, geometry, and possibilities calculus are important till this day. He was an authority on philosophy as well. His Poincare Conjecture holds that if any loop in a given three-dimensional space can be shrunk to a point, the space is equivalent to a sphere. It remained an unsolved problem until Grigori Perelman proved a complete proof in 2003. He wrote books in different scientific fields and died in 1912.

123 lunar years ago, on this day in 1316 AH, acclaimed Iranian theologian, and physician, Seyyed ol-Atibba Tabrizi, passed away. He was born in the northwestern Iranian city of Tabriz, and learned sciences in his hometown by attending the classes of renowned ulema. He honed his skills in medicine as well and became a leading physician. He has left behind numerous books, including “Tarikh-e Tabriz” (History of Tabriz).

102 solar years ago, on this day in 1916 AD, during World War I: The British Indian Army – 6^th Poona Division numbering 13,000 – under Maj-Gen Charles Townshend surrendered to Ottoman Forces at the end of the 147-day Siege of Kut in southern Iraq, during which attempts by other British battalions to break the siege ended in losses in the Battles of Shaikh Sa’d, Wadi and Hanna. It was one of the largest surrenders of British forces. The survivors of the siege were marched to imprisonment at Aleppo in Syria.

90 solar years ago, on this day in 1928 AD, at the behest of West European powers, Turkey’s dictator, Mustafa Kamal, forced the Turkish Muslim people to change their centuries-old writing of the Turkish language from the Arabic-Persian alphabet to the Latin script. The goal was to deprive Turkey and the Turks of their Islamic identity and make them culturally subordinate to Europe. Mustafa Kamal, who styled himself as Ataturk (or Father of Turks), was an avowed opponent of Islam, and in addition to forcibly replacing the traditional dress of the Turkish people with the European style of dressing, he banned the recitation of the Azan or the Call to Prayer from the mosques. Although these laic measures harmed the Turkish Muslims and for several decades made them subservient to the West, they failed to undermine their strong faith in Islam.

73 solar years ago, on this day in 1945 AD, following a string of defeats, the almost million strong Nazi German army in Italy, surrendered to the Allied forces. This setback, along with the Soviet forces’ pounding of Berlin, completely unnerved Adolf Hitler.

27 solar years ago, on this day in 1991 AD, a deadly cyclone struck the Chittagong district of southeastern Bangladesh with winds of around 155 miles or 249 km per hour, killing at least 138,000 people and leaving as many as 10 million homeless.

27 solar years ago, on this day in 1991 AD, Iranian lecturer, researcher, and sociologist, Dr. Gholam-Hussein Seddiqi, passed away at the age of 78.  He studied at Islamic seminaries and at the Dar ul-Fonoun Academy in Tehran, before leaving for France, where he obtained PhD in Philosophy and Sociology. On returning to Iran, he started lecturing on the history of philosophy and sociology at Tehran University. He also played a pivotal role in foundation of National Works Association and The Institution for Social Studies. He was a member of UNESCO's National Commission for a while. He has left behind numerous compilations including his travel book on India.

19 solar years ago, on this day in 1999 AD, the first ever session of the Islamic Urban and Rural Councils was held in Iran and the day was named “Councils’ Day” following nationwide polls to elect representatives to this body, as envisaged by Article 7 of the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Islam calls for consultation, and in line with the dynamic teachings of Islam, Iran’s constitution guarantees people’s participation at all levels of the society, ranging from the urban and rural councils to the election of parliament members and the president. Even the Leader of the Islamic Revolution is named by the Assembly of Experts which is a body of scholars and jurisprudents, elected through the people’s direct vote, as per the unique system of popular religious rule in Iran, which is more people-oriented than the so-called democracies of the West.

19 solar years ago, on this day in 1999 AD, Zabihollah Safa, the Iranian Persian language expert, researcher and professor Emeritus of Iranian Studies at the University of Tehran, died in Lubeck, Germany, at the age of 88. Born in Shahmirzad in Mazandaran, his contribution to Iranian studies is seen in his valuable works on the history of Persian literature. His thesis, a comprehensive study of epic narratives in Iran (“Hamaseh Sarai dar Iran”) was later published as a book and illustrated his ability to synthesize a vast range of readings into a coherent manual for teaching. He focused on major literary, philosophic and scientific contributions made by Iranians to civilization at large. His talents also manifested in his journalistic activities as a young man. As early as 1933 he began contributing to the influential journal “Mehr”, and was its chief editor from 1937 to 1941. It is however, for his work as an editor of many classical texts and above all, for his monumental “History of Persian Literature” and his valuable anthology (translated into French in the UNESCO Collection as “Anthologie de la Poésie Persane”) that he is best remembered. He was also a regular contributor to Encyclopaedia Iranica.

10 solar years ago, on this day in 2008 AD, US occupation soldiers massacred 30 Shi’a Muslims in Baghdad's Sadr City. During its decade-long occupation of Iraq, the US directly or indirectly killed over a million and two hundred thousand Iraqi people.

5 solar years ago, on this day in 2013 AD, in central and southern Iraq, US-Saudi backed Takfiri terrorists triggered five car bomb blasts in predominantly Shi’ite Muslim cities and districts, martyring 36 men, women and children, and wounding scores of others.

AS/MG