Today is Tuesday; 8th of the Iranian month of Khordad 1397 solar hijri; corresponding to 13th of the Islamic month of Ramadhan 1439 lunar hijri; and May 29, 2018, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1645 solar year ago, on this day in 363 AD, the Battle of Ctesiphon occurred between the armies of the Sassanid King Shapur II and the Roman Emperor Julian the Apostate (who renounced Christianity and reverted to paganism). It was fought outside the walls of the Persian capital Ctesiphon (Mada’en, near Baghdad), and was an unsuccessful European attempt to seize Iraq for possible infiltration into the Iranian Plateau and domination of the east – like Alexander of Macedonia. The battle was a Roman tactical victory, although Julian, who failed to take Ctesiphon and fled when the Iranian army regrouped for counterattack (equipped with war elephants from the Indian satrapies), was killed in the subsequent Battle of Samarra on June 26. The treaty that followed, forced his successor Jovian, to cede five provinces to the Iranians and make a pledge against interfering in the affairs of Armenia. The great success for Shapur II – known as Dhu’l-Aktaaf or Broad-Shouldered to the Arabs for his conquest years earlier of Yamama in central Najd in the desert interior of the Arabian Peninsula – is represented in the rock-carving in Bishapur near Kazeroun in Fars Province, where under the hooves of the Persian king's horse lies the body of a Roman enemy (i.e. Emperor Julian), as a supplicant Roman (Emperor Jovian), begs for peace.

1344 lunar years ago, on this day in 95 AH, the tyrannical governor-general of the Godless Omayyad regime, Hajjaj ibn Yusuf, died of pain in his stomach at the age of 54. Of uncertain paternity and born to a morally-loose woman in Ta’ef, he was named “Kulayb” – Arabic for whelp, that is, offspring of dog or wolf. Although later in life he changed his name to Hajjaj and added the surname Thaqafi, without any connection to the famous Thaqafi clan, his innate canine characteristics were evident throughout his bloodthirsty life. His mean mentality earned him the post of “Shurta” or police chief in Damascus, and his subsequent cruelties against any form of dissent caught the attention of the Omayyad usurper, Abdul-Malik ibn Marwan, who appointed him governor-general of Iraq and Iran, to crush the followers of the blessed household of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). It is said that as many 125,000 Muslims were killed on the orders of Hajjaj, in addition to those who died fighting against his tyrannical rule. Among the prominent and pious figures martyred by this tyrant was the Prophet’s venerable companion, Jaber ibn Abdullah al-Ansari and two of the most loyal followers of Imam Ali (AS) – the devoted servant Qanbar and the faithful disciple, Kumayl bin Ziyad to whom the Imam had taught the famous supplication of the same name that is recited by believers on Friday eve. Among the other unpardonable sins of Hajjaj was his storming of the holy Ka'ba in Mecca in pursuit of the self-styled caliph, Abdullah ibn Zubair, who was eventually killed along with 10,000 of his men. The holy Ka'ba also suffered extensive damage and desecration. On his death when prisons were opened, over 50,000 men and women were released, while thousands of corpses were discovered.

910 solar years ago, on this day in 1108 AD, the Battle of Ucles was fought in Spain resulting in the resounding victory of the al-Moravid troops under the command of Tamim ibn Yusuf over an alliance of Christians of the kingdom of Castile and Leon under the command of Prince Sancho Alfonsez. A great number of Christians were killed including Alfonsez.

565 solar years ago, on this day in 1453 AD Constantinople was taken after a 53-day siege by the Ottoman Sultan, Mohammad II (known as al-Fateh or the Conqueror), thus ending Byzantine or the Eastern Roman Empire. He set out to revitalize the city, renamed it Islambol (today’s Istanbul), and made it the capital of his empire. The first decree issued by him was security and freedom of the residents who were almost all Christians. Hours later, he rode to the Hagia Sofia to proclaim the Islamic creed, converting the grand cathedral into an imperial mosque. When he stepped into the ruins of the Boukoleon, the Palace of the Caesars, built over a thousand years before by Theodosius II, he recited the famous Persian couplet of the Iranian poet, Shaikh Sa’di:

"The spider weaves the curtains in the palace of the Caesars;

 "The owl calls the watches in the towers of Afrasiyab."  

He began to build the Grand Bazaar, and also constructed during this period was Topkapı Palace, which served as the official residence of the Ottoman sultans for the next four hundred years. The city, built by Rome's first Christian Emperor, Constantine I, on the coastlines of Bosporus Strait was thus transformed from a bastion of Christianity to a symbol of Islamic culture.

565 solar years ago, on this day in 1453 AD, the brave young Ottoman commander, Hassan of Ulubatlı, who was instrumental in hoisting the Muslim flag on the ramparts of the Byzantine capital, Constantinople, achieved martyrdom in the process. Born in the small village of Ulubath (near Karacabey) in the province of Bursa, the 25-year old Hassan, after performing the Fajr Prayer on the last day of the 53-day siege, was the first to climb the wall of the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, as the Ottoman military band started to play an Islamic song. Armed with only a scimitar, and carrying a shield and Ottoman flag, Hassan was closely followed by thirty of his friends, scaling the wall under showers of arrows, stones, and spears of the Greek defenders. He reached the top and placed the flag, which he defended until his 12 remaining friends arrived. After that he collapsed with 27 arrows still in his body. On seeing the Ottoman flag on the ramparts, the Muslim troops surged ahead with renewed vigor, while the Christian defenders lost heart, until Sultan Mohammad conquered the city.

454 lunar years ago, on this day in 985 AH, Ismail II, the 3^rd king of the Safavid dynasty died at the age of 40 on consuming poisoned opium after a brief 15-month reign of terror and fratricide in Iran. Imprisoned by his father Shah Tahmasp I for plotting to seize the throne he was freed and declared king by a faction of the powerful Qizilbash Guard in the dispute that ensued on the death of Shah Tahmasp. The Qizilbash were split between him and his younger brother Haydar Ali. The pro-Haydar faction was briefly successful in placing their candidate on the throne but Haydar was killed in the ensuing fight between supporters and opponents that made his tutor, the great scholar, Mir Mohammad Momin Astarabadi to leave Iran for the safety of the Deccan in southern India, where he became Prime Minister of the Qotb-Shahi Dynasty of Iranian origin of Golkandah and helped found the city of Hyderabad. Another faction tried to make a third son of Tahmasp as king, but was thwarted by Ismail's supporters. It seems the almost 20-year imprisonment of Ismail at the fortress of Qahqaha had affected his mind. As well as executing members of the faction that had opposed him, he also turned on his own supporters. He killed or blinded five of his own brothers and four other Safavid princes. He is known in Iranian history as "Ismail-e Murted" (The Apostate) for turning away from the path of the Ahl al-Bayt of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). The Qizilbash began to regret their choice and plotted to assassinate him with the help of his sister Pari Khan Khanum. lsmail was succeeded by his almost blind brother, Mohammad Khodabandah, the father of Shah Abbas the Great.

189 solar years ago, on this day in 1829 AD, the English chemist and physicist, Humphrey Davy, died at the age of 51. His research led him to separate sodium, potassium, calcium, barium, and magnesium from other elements, and this was considered a major achievement in Europe, although Islamic scientists had already accomplished this a thousand years earlier. He also founded the science of electrochemistry.

111 solar years ago, on this day in 1907 AD, the Persian newsletter “Sour-e Israfeel” started publication in Tehran. The owner was Mirza Jahangir Khan, titled “Sour-e Israfeel”, and its chief-editor Ali Akbar Dehkhoda. It was launched to promote the Constitutional Movement and to highlight the problems of the lower strata of the society. It started as a weekly newsletter and became a daily, but after only 32 editions ceased publication because of government pressures.

111 lunar years ago, on this day in 1328 AH, the Iranian theologian and mystic, Mirza Jahangir Khan Qashqai, passed away. Born among Qashqai nomads in central Iran, he became a prominent Islamic scholar, and groomed numerous students in the seminary of Isfahan, including Ayatollah Seyyed Hassan Modarres, and Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Hussain Boroujerdi, during his 50-year teaching career. He passed away at the age of 85 in Isfahan.

99 lunar years ago, on this day in 1340 AH, the prominent theologian, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Sistani (grandfather of the current Source of Emulation Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Sistani of holy Najaf) passed away in holy Mashhad, Khorasan in northeastern Iran. The reason the family is called Sistani is because of the appointment of an ancestor to the religious post of Shaikh ol-Islam in Greater Sistan Province by Shah Sultan Hussain Safavi, for promotion of the teachings of the Ahl al-Bayt of Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny). Ayatollah Sistani, after completion of studies in Najaf, returned home to Iran and settled in Mashhad. He used to lecture on theology and jurisprudence, in addition to leading the Friday Prayers at Gowhar-Shad Mosque adjacent to the holy shrine of Imam Reza (AS), the Prophet’s 8^th Infallible Heir. He was jailed for a while during the Constitutional Movement due to his struggles against despotism of the Qajarid regime.

84 solar years ago, on this day in 1934 AD, the Majlis or parliament of Iran passed a resolution for establishing Tehran University made up of several colleges.

65 solar years ago, on this day in 1953 AD, Mount Everest, the highest pinnacle of the world, was scaled by Edmund Hillary of Britain and Tenzing Norgay of Nepal. The altitude of Mount Everest is 8848 meters and it is situated in Nepal in the massive Himalayan Mountain Range.

29 solar years ago, on this day in 1989 AD, the Iranian Islamic scholar, Ayatollah Mir Seyyed Ali Fani Isfahani, passed away at the age of 74. He studied in his hometown Isfahan, where after attaining the status of Ijtehad; he left for holy Najaf in Iraq, where he stayed for 30 years lecturing on theology, jurisprudence, exegesis of Holy Qur’an, and ethics. He returned to Iran in 1973 and until his death 16 years later, he used to lecture in the seminary of holy Qom. He has left behind more than 80 books, on various topics, including “Exegesis of Surah Fateha”, and “Arb’ain Hadith”.

12 solar years ago, on this day in 2006 AD, in Indonesia a boiling mud flow began from a volcano in Sidoarjo, east Java. By 2007 it covered 1.6 square miles destroying 4 villages and 25 factories and forced 16,000 people to leave their homes. The mud flow was triggered by the drilling operations for gas of Lapindo Brantas, an energy company whose major shareholder was the family-owned Bakrie Group, which called it a natural disaster and tried to sell Lapindo to obscure offshore buyers. In February 2007 engineers began dropping large cement balls into the crater in an attempt to stem the flow. In 2008 international scientists said they are almost certain that the mud volcano was caused by faulty drilling of a gas exploration well. 

4 solar years ago, on this day in 2014 AD, in Syria Takfiri terrorist outfits which mischievously style themselves as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), kidnapped some 153 schoolchildren. They were on their way back to Ain al-Arab from taking year-end school exams in the northern city of Aleppo.

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