Today is Sunday; 22nd of the Iranian month of Farvardin 1395 solar hijri; corresponding to 2nd of the Islamic month of Rajab 1437 lunar hijri; and April 10, 2016, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1216 lunar years ago, on this day in 221 AH, the renowned Arabic poet, Ali ibn Abbas ibn ar-Rumi, was born in Baghdad. The son of an Iranian Muslim mother and a half Greek Muslim father, named Abbas ibn Jurayj, by the age of twenty he was an accomplished poet. His patrons included the Taherid ruler of Khorasan, Obaydallah ibn Abdullah, and the Persian Ismail ibn Bulbul. He was a follower of the School of the Ahl al-Bayt of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), and composed numerous poems in praise of Imam Ali al-Hadi (AS) and Imam Hasan al-Askari (AS) – the Prophet’s 10th and 11th Infallible Heirs. He died of illness at the age of 59, although some have suggested he was poisoned. His Diwan is a masterpiece of Arabic poetry.

1069 lunar years ago, on this day in 368 AH, the Iranian Arabic philologist, Hassan ibn Abdullah Sirafi, passed away in Baghdad. He was among the childhood teachers of Seyyed Radhi, the famous scholar and compiler of the “Nahj al-Balagha” – the collection of sermons, letters and maxims of Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS). Once the child Radhi had a lively discussion with him on the wrong track the caliphate took after Prophet Mohammad (SAWA).

997 lunar years ago, on this day in 440 AH, the prominent Iranian Islamic scientist, Abu Rayhan Mohammad ibn Ahmad al-Berouni, passed away in the city of Ghazni, in present day Afghanistan at the age of 77. He was a multisided genius and wrote prolifically on history, geography, mathematics, astronomy, mineralogy, and various other topics. He wrote over 180 books. His work on geometry, arithmetic, trigonometry, and algebra, is titled "at-Tafhim" in which he has calculated the weight of objects. Born in Khwarezm, a region adjoining the Aral Sea and presently in Uzbekistan, Beiruni, who was a follower of the Ahl al-Bayt of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), has written about the spherical shape of the Earth and its revolving on its axis as it orbits around the Sun, several centuries before Europeans were to discover these facts. He was conversant in Arabic, Persian, Greek and Sanskrit, and after visiting India and spending several months in the company of its sages, he wrote the valuable book, “Tahqiq ma lil-Hind”. Among his works, mention could be made of “Kitab Sina‘at at-Tanjim” (The Book of the Elements of the Art of Astronomy), and “Aasaar al-Baqiyah an-il-Qoroun al-Khaliya” (The Remaining Signs of Past Centuries), which is a comparative study of calendars of different cultures and civilizations, interlaced with mathematical, astronomical, and historical information. He also wrote the “Qanoun al-Mas'oudi”, an extensive encyclopedia on astronomy, geography, and engineering.

680 solar years ago, on this day in 1336 AD, the Ilkhanid ruler of Iran-Iraq, Arpa Mahmoud Khan, was defeated at Maragha by the rebellious governor of Baghdad, Oirat Ali Pasha, and subsequently captured and killed, after a reign of a little more than a year. A direct descendent of Boke, the younger brother of the founder of the Ilkhanid Dynasty, Hulagu Khan (grandson of the fearsome Chengiz Khan) he came to power following the death of Abu Sa’eed Bahadur Khan the last effective Ikhanid ruler. Almost immediately he had to deal with an invasion by Ozbek Khan of the Golden Horde, which he defeated and used it as a pretext for executing Queen Baghdad Khatoun, the widow of Abu Sa’eed, in an effort to cement his power. Those who followed Arpa Mahmoud Khan to the Ilkhanid throne were mere puppets raised by various factions before the dynasty vanished from the scene in 1357 after a century of rule.

517 lunar years ago, on this day in 920 AH, the Battle of Chaldiran took place between the Ottoman and the Safavid Empires, in which Sultan Selim who was on the verge of defeat and contemplating flight, unexpectedly found victory as Shah Ismail’s forces suddenly gave way after brave resistance. The Turks, who were afraid of the growing influence of the Iranians in Anatolia and Syria, succeeded in checking Shah Ismail’s advance in what is now Turkey, but withdrew from Tabriz and retreated on hearing news of reorganization of the famous Qizilbash Corps by the Iranians. This was the first of the many battles between the two sides that continued intermittently for almost two-and-a-half centuries.

293 lunar years ago, on this day in 1144 AH, a treaty was signed after wars between the Ottoman and Safavid Empires, according to which the Turks withdrew from the western border areas of Iran and the Iranians regained sovereignty over Azerbaijan and parts of the Caucasus

203 solar years ago, on this day in 1813 AD, French mathematician, Joseph-Louis Lagrange, died at the age of 77. Among his important scientific books, mention can be made of the book: “Analytical Mechanics”, which took him 25 years to compile.

201 solar years ago, on this day in 1815 AD, Mount Tambora volcano on the Indonesian island of Sumbawa, began a three-month-long massive eruption, lasting until July 15 that ultimately killed over 80,000 people and affected the Earth's climate for the next two years.It was the most powerful explosion in 1,600 years, formed a crater 5-mile across on Sumbawa, lowered the island by 4,000 feet, and immediately killed 10,000 people. The series of eruptions between April the 5th and 15th had worldwide effects more far-reaching than the famous 1883 eruption of Krakatoa – also in Indonesia. The record amounts of ash Tambora spewed into the atmosphere encircled the globe, screened the sun's light and caused a global drop in temperature. Thus 1816 was a “Year without a summer,” with severe climate abnormalities across the globe. Frosts killed crops and late heavy snowstorms occurred. Elsewhere, there were severe storms, excessive rainfall and floods, as well as widespread famine and disease that led to more deaths.

148 solar years ago, on this day in 1868 AD, at Arogee in Abyssinia, British and Indian forces defeated an army of Emperor Tewodros II. While 700 Ethiopians were killed and many more injured, only two British/Indian troops died. It was part of the British colonial designs to subjugate other lands with the help of their well-trained Indian sepoys (corruption of the Persian word “sepahi” for soldiers).

97 solar years ago, on this day in 1919 AD, the Mexican revolutionary, Emiliano Zapata, was murdered in the wake of a conspiracy. The indigenous Mexicans considered him to be their saviour. He was betrayed by Mexican President Francisco Madero, who after initially posing as a reformist sabotaged the land reforms. This forced Zapata to take up arms towards the end of the year 1910 with the motto of “land and freedom” and he retook from people of European origin the lands of the Amerindians that they and their ancestors had seized. His native language was Nahuatl of the Aztecs.

70 solar years ago, on this day in 1946 AD, the last French troops left Lebanon. In the wake of World War I and disintegration of the Ottoman Empire in 1918, Britain and France occupied the extensive land of Shaam or Greater Syria, and carved it up into Palestine and Jordan under British control, and modern Syria and Lebanon under French control. The French plan was to create a Christian state in Lebanon for the local Maronite sect in order to weaken the Muslim majority, similar to the plot of the British to illegally settle the Zionists of Europe in Palestine for creating Israel. In 1943, the French government in exile, while France was under German occupation, imposed a communally divisive constitution on Lebanon, according to which the President should be a Maronite Christian, the Prime Minister a Sunni Muslim and the Speaker of the parliament a Shi’a Muslim, although the Shi’a were the largest single group in the land. In 1945, following end of World War 2 Lebanon was granted independence and the following year the French forces withdrew. The Shi’a Muslims, although the largest single group in Lebanon, were long oppressed since the time of the Ayyubid and Ottoman rulers, until the arrival of the charismatic Iranian religious scholar, Imam Seyyed Musa Sadr in the late 1950s. He uplifted their social status and prepared the ground for making them a powerful force in Lebanon. Today, the legendary anti-terrorist movement, Hezbollah, not only defends the birthrights of the Lebanese Shi’as but the rights of all people of Lebanon against the plots of the Zionist entity, the US, West European regimes, Arab reactionary states, and their local agents, trying to subvert the country.

43 solar years ago, on this day in 1973 AD, operatives of the illegal Zionist entity’s spy agency, Mossad, assassinated three Palestinian officials in the Lebanese Capital, Beirut, namely Kamal Naser, Kamal Adwan, and Mohammad Yousef Najjar. In 1983, on the 10th anniversary of the martyrdom of these officials, Mossad agents martyred in Portugal Attam Sartawi, the political advisor of the Palestine Liberation Organization leader, Yaser Arafat. These crimes against humanity by the usurper state of Israel are proof of its terrorist nature and violation of territorial integrity and national sovereignty of other countries.

34 solar years ago, on this day in 1982 AD, during the 8-year war imposed on Iran by the US through Saddam of Iraq’s repressive Ba’th minority regime, intelligence personnel nipped in the bud a coup attempt by hypocrites and elements of the monarchic regime that had infiltrated some of the government apparatuses and intended to assassinate several leading officials, as part of an American plot to overthrow the Islamic Republic system.

28 solar years ago, on this day in 1988 AD, Iraqi warplanes chemically bombarded the western Iranian city of Marivan and a village in its vicinity, martyring and wounding a large number of civilians. This crime against humanity was carried out with the tacit approval of the US and West European regimes, which had supplied the repressive Ba’th minority regime of Saddam with internationally-banned chemical gases. Also on this day, the Ba’thist forces chemically bombarded the Faw operational zone on the southernmost tip of the Iran-Iraq border, martyring and wounding many people.

8 solar years ago, on this day in 2008 AD, The Iran-Senegal joint industrial venture, the SenIran Auto plant in Thies, Senegal’s second largest city, built its first Iran-Khodro Samand sedan. Iran Khodro is the largest carmaker in the West Asia-Central Asia-North Africa regions with annual production of more than one million various vehicles including cars, trucks and buses

1216 lunar years ago, on this day in 221 AH, the renowned Arabic poet, Ali ibn Abbas ibn ar-Rumi, was born in Baghdad. The son of an Iranian Muslim mother and a half Greek Muslim father, named Abbas ibn Jurayj, by the age of twenty he was an accomplished poet. His patrons included the Taherid ruler of Khorasan, Obaydallah ibn Abdullah, and the Persian Ismail ibn Bulbul. He was a follower of the School of the Ahl al-Bayt of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), and composed numerous poems in praise of Imam Ali al-Hadi (AS) and Imam Hasan al-Askari (AS) – the Prophet’s 10th and 11th Infallible Heirs. He died of illness at the age of 59, although some have suggested he was poisoned. His Diwan is a masterpiece of Arabic poetry.

1069 lunar years ago, on this day in 368 AH, the Iranian Arabic philologist, Hassan ibn Abdullah Sirafi, passed away in Baghdad. He was among the childhood teachers of Seyyed Radhi, the famous scholar and compiler of the “Nahj al-Balagha” – the collection of sermons, letters and maxims of Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS). Once the child Radhi had a lively discussion with him on the wrong track the caliphate took after Prophet Mohammad (SAWA).

997 lunar years ago, on this day in 440 AH, the prominent Iranian Islamic scientist, Abu Rayhan Mohammad ibn Ahmad al-Berouni, passed away in the city of Ghazni, in present day Afghanistan at the age of 77. He was a multisided genius and wrote prolifically on history, geography, mathematics, astronomy, mineralogy, and various other topics. He wrote over 180 books. His work on geometry, arithmetic, trigonometry, and algebra, is titled "at-Tafhim" in which he has calculated the weight of objects. Born in Khwarezm, a region adjoining the Aral Sea and presently in Uzbekistan, Beiruni, who was a follower of the Ahl al-Bayt of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), has written about the spherical shape of the Earth and its revolving on its axis as it orbits around the Sun, several centuries before Europeans were to discover these facts. He was conversant in Arabic, Persian, Greek and Sanskrit, and after visiting India and spending several months in the company of its sages, he wrote the valuable book, “Tahqiq ma lil-Hind”. Among his works, mention could be made of “Kitab Sina‘at at-Tanjim” (The Book of the Elements of the Art of Astronomy), and “Aasaar al-Baqiyah an-il-Qoroun al-Khaliya” (The Remaining Signs of Past Centuries), which is a comparative study of calendars of different cultures and civilizations, interlaced with mathematical, astronomical, and historical information. He also wrote the “Qanoun al-Mas'oudi”, an extensive encyclopedia on astronomy, geography, and engineering.

680 solar years ago, on this day in 1336 AD, the Ilkhanid ruler of Iran-Iraq, Arpa Mahmoud Khan, was defeated at Maragha by the rebellious governor of Baghdad, Oirat Ali Pasha, and subsequently captured and killed, after a reign of a little more than a year. A direct descendent of Boke, the younger brother of the founder of the Ilkhanid Dynasty, Hulagu Khan (grandson of the fearsome Chengiz Khan) he came to power following the death of Abu Sa’eed Bahadur Khan the last effective Ikhanid ruler. Almost immediately he had to deal with an invasion by Ozbek Khan of the Golden Horde, which he defeated and used it as a pretext for executing Queen Baghdad Khatoun, the widow of Abu Sa’eed, in an effort to cement his power. Those who followed Arpa Mahmoud Khan to the Ilkhanid throne were mere puppets raised by various factions before the dynasty vanished from the scene in 1357 after a century of rule.

517 lunar years ago, on this day in 920 AH, the Battle of Chaldiran took place between the Ottoman and the Safavid Empires, in which Sultan Selim who was on the verge of defeat and contemplating flight, unexpectedly found victory as Shah Ismail’s forces suddenly gave way after brave resistance. The Turks, who were afraid of the growing influence of the Iranians in Anatolia and Syria, succeeded in checking Shah Ismail’s advance in what is now Turkey, but withdrew from Tabriz and retreated on hearing news of reorganization of the famous Qizilbash Corps by the Iranians. This was the first of the many battles between the two sides that continued intermittently for almost two-and-a-half centuries.

293 lunar years ago, on this day in 1144 AH, a treaty was signed after wars between the Ottoman and Safavid Empires, according to which the Turks withdrew from the western border areas of Iran and the Iranians regained sovereignty over Azerbaijan and parts of the Caucasus

203 solar years ago, on this day in 1813 AD, French mathematician, Joseph-Louis Lagrange, died at the age of 77. Among his important scientific books, mention can be made of the book: “Analytical Mechanics”, which took him 25 years to compile.

201 solar years ago, on this day in 1815 AD, Mount Tambora volcano on the Indonesian island of Sumbawa, began a three-month-long massive eruption, lasting until July 15 that ultimately killed over 80,000 people and affected the Earth's climate for the next two years.It was the most powerful explosion in 1,600 years, formed a crater 5-mile across on Sumbawa, lowered the island by 4,000 feet, and immediately killed 10,000 people. The series of eruptions between April the 5th and 15th had worldwide effects more far-reaching than the famous 1883 eruption of Krakatoa – also in Indonesia. The record amounts of ash Tambora spewed into the atmosphere encircled the globe, screened the sun's light and caused a global drop in temperature. Thus 1816 was a “Year without a summer,” with severe climate abnormalities across the globe. Frosts killed crops and late heavy snowstorms occurred. Elsewhere, there were severe storms, excessive rainfall and floods, as well as widespread famine and disease that led to more deaths.

148 solar years ago, on this day in 1868 AD, at Arogee in Abyssinia, British and Indian forces defeated an army of Emperor Tewodros II. While 700 Ethiopians were killed and many more injured, only two British/Indian troops died. It was part of the British colonial designs to subjugate other lands with the help of their well-trained Indian sepoys (corruption of the Persian word “sepahi” for soldiers).

97 solar years ago, on this day in 1919 AD, the Mexican revolutionary, Emiliano Zapata, was murdered in the wake of a conspiracy. The indigenous Mexicans considered him to be their saviour. He was betrayed by Mexican President Francisco Madero, who after initially posing as a reformist sabotaged the land reforms. This forced Zapata to take up arms towards the end of the year 1910 with the motto of “land and freedom” and he retook from people of European origin the lands of the Amerindians that they and their ancestors had seized. His native language was Nahuatl of the Aztecs.

70 solar years ago, on this day in 1946 AD, the last French troops left Lebanon. In the wake of World War I and disintegration of the Ottoman Empire in 1918, Britain and France occupied the extensive land of Shaam or Greater Syria, and carved it up into Palestine and Jordan under British control, and modern Syria and Lebanon under French control. The French plan was to create a Christian state in Lebanon for the local Maronite sect in order to weaken the Muslim majority, similar to the plot of the British to illegally settle the Zionists of Europe in Palestine for creating Israel. In 1943, the French government in exile, while France was under German occupation, imposed a communally divisive constitution on Lebanon, according to which the President should be a Maronite Christian, the Prime Minister a Sunni Muslim and the Speaker of the parliament a Shi’a Muslim, although the Shi’a were the largest single group in the land. In 1945, following end of World War 2 Lebanon was granted independence and the following year the French forces withdrew. The Shi’a Muslims, although the largest single group in Lebanon, were long oppressed since the time of the Ayyubid and Ottoman rulers, until the arrival of the charismatic Iranian religious scholar, Imam Seyyed Musa Sadr in the late 1950s. He uplifted their social status and prepared the ground for making them a powerful force in Lebanon. Today, the legendary anti-terrorist movement, Hezbollah, not only defends the birthrights of the Lebanese Shi’as but the rights of all people of Lebanon against the plots of the Zionist entity, the US, West European regimes, Arab reactionary states, and their local agents, trying to subvert the country.

43 solar years ago, on this day in 1973 AD, operatives of the illegal Zionist entity’s spy agency, Mossad, assassinated three Palestinian officials in the Lebanese Capital, Beirut, namely Kamal Naser, Kamal Adwan, and Mohammad Yousef Najjar. In 1983, on the 10th anniversary of the martyrdom of these officials, Mossad agents martyred in Portugal Attam Sartawi, the political advisor of the Palestine Liberation Organization leader, Yaser Arafat. These crimes against humanity by the usurper state of Israel are proof of its terrorist nature and violation of territorial integrity and national sovereignty of other countries.

34 solar years ago, on this day in 1982 AD, during the 8-year war imposed on Iran by the US through Saddam of Iraq’s repressive Ba’th minority regime, intelligence personnel nipped in the bud a coup attempt by hypocrites and elements of the monarchic regime that had infiltrated some of the government apparatuses and intended to assassinate several leading officials, as part of an American plot to overthrow the Islamic Republic system.

28 solar years ago, on this day in 1988 AD, Iraqi warplanes chemically bombarded the western Iranian city of Marivan and a village in its vicinity, martyring and wounding a large number of civilians. This crime against humanity was carried out with the tacit approval of the US and West European regimes, which had supplied the repressive Ba’th minority regime of Saddam with internationally-banned chemical gases. Also on this day, the Ba’thist forces chemically bombarded the Faw operational zone on the southernmost tip of the Iran-Iraq border, martyring and wounding many people.

8 solar years ago, on this day in 2008 AD, The Iran-Senegal joint industrial venture, the SenIran Auto plant in Thies, Senegal’s second largest city, built its first Iran-Khodro Samand sedan. Iran Khodro is the largest carmaker in the West Asia-Central Asia-North Africa regions with annual production of more than one million various vehicles including cars, trucks and buses

AS/AS/ME