Today is Wednesday; 27th of the Iranian month of Tir 1397 solar hijri; corresponding to 4th of the Islamic month of Zil-Qa’dah 1439 lunar hijri; and July 18, 2018, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

2408 solar years ago, on this day in 390 BC, during the Roman-Gaulish Wars, the Roman army was defeated in the Battle of the Allia, on the banks of the river of the same name, 18 km from Rome, leading to the subsequent sacking of Rome.

1954 solar years ago, on this day in 64 AD, the Great Fire of Rome caused widespread devastation and raged on for six days, destroying over half of the city. Emperor Nero, who had usurped the throne through treachery, torched the city while sadistically enjoying the sight of its burning from a hill. A Godless pagan, he persecuted, tortured and killed the monotheist followers of Prophet Jesus (PuH).

1656 solar years ago, on this day in 362 AD, Roman Emperor Julian the Apostate – who renounced Christianity and reverted to paganism – arrived at the Syrian city of Antioch (currently in Turkey) with an expeditionary force of 60,000 and stayed there for nine months to launch a war on the Persian Empire. After initial success in Iraq, he was defeated and killed by the Iranians in the Battle of Samarra. General Jovian was declared the next Roman Emperor and had to make a humiliating peace with Sassanid Emperor, Shapur II, by ceding five provinces to the Iranians and making a pledge against interfering in the affairs of Armenia. The great success for Shapur II – known as Zu'l-Aktaaf or Broad-Shouldered to the Arabs for his conquest years earlier of Yamama in central Najd in what is now the Saudi heartland – is represented in rock-carvings in Bishapur near Kazeroun in Fars, where under the hooves of the Persian Emperor's horse lies the body of Roman Emperor Julian, while a supplicant Roman (new Emperor Jovian), begs for peace.

1302 solar years ago, on this day in 716 AD, Mohammad bin Qasim, the Arab governor of Iran on behalf of his tyrannical uncle and father-in-law, Hajjaj bin Yousuf, and conqueror of Sindh – in present day Pakistan – was killed at the age of 20, as a result of imprisonment and torture ordered by the new Omayyad caliph, Sulaiman bin Abdul-Malik, who was a bitter enemy of the bloodthirsty Hajjaj. Among the reasons for Bin Qasim's ruthless campaign to seize Sindh and try to push into India, was the refuge offered by the local rulers to Iranians and Arab Muslims fleeing the reign of terror of Hajjaj, on whose death, 50,000 men and women -- mostly followers of the Prophet's Household -- were found in prisons.

1094 solar years ago, on this day in 924 AD, the powerful Abbasid vizier, Abu’l-Hassan Ali ibn Mohammad ibn al-Furat, was executed along with his son al-Muhassin, at the age of 69, shortly after deposition, mainly because of his military failures against the Qarmatian revolt. He served three times as vizier under caliph al-Muqtadir, despite being a follower of the Ahl al-Bayt of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). Intelligent and well educated, Ali emerged into prominence as an able fiscal administrator and deputy to his older brother Ahmad. Eventually he came to lead one of the two major and rival court factions during Muqtadir’s caliphate, the Banu'l-Furat – the other being the group of officials around the commander-in-chief Mu'nis al-Muzaffar and the vizier Ali ibn Isa al-Jarrah – a convert to Islam from Christianity. Ibn al-Furat played an important role in the rise of Muqtadir as caliph in 908, going on to serve as vizier for the next four years, during which time he succeeded in re-incorporating Fars Province in central Iran into the Abbasid caliphate and to restore a measure of authority over the Sajids of Azarbaijan. After a second tenure as vizier during 917–918, he was imprisoned by his successor, and was released in 923. Soon after he became vizier for the third and last time. Ibn al-Furat distinguished himself as an extremely able fiscal administrator committed to the reform of abuse and the raising of state revenues without oppression. At the same time, his primary loyalty was not to the Abbasid regime, but to the progress of followers, who formed almost a Twelver Sh’ia "secret politico-religious party".

823 solar years ago, on this day in 1195 AD, the Battle of Alarcos in Spain resulted in a resounding victory for the al-Muwahhedin ruler, Abu Yusuf Ya'qub al-Mansur, over King Alfonso VIII of Castile. It resulted in the retreat of the Christian forces to Toledo while the Muslims liberated the occupied regions of Trujillo, Montanchez and Talavera. In 1189 Yaqub al-Mansur had returned from Marrakesh, in North Africa to fight the Portuguese who, as part of a Christian alliance, had occupied the region of Silves. He liberated the area and started consolidating Muslim rule in Spain. After the resounding victory in the Battle of Alarcos, he went back to North Africa, and as a result of ill-health lost interest in the affairs of the Iberian Peninsula. He died in February 1199, and this encouraged the Christians to gather mercenaries from various parts of Europe to attack and harass the Spanish Muslims once again.

783 lunar years ago, on this day in 656 AH, the famous Arabic poet, Baha od-Din Zuhayr Abu'l-Fazl Ibn Mohammad al-Muhallabi, died in Cairo at the age of 74. Born in Mecca, he travelled to Egypt where he became a poet at the court of the Ayyubid Kurdish dynasty, and finally became vizier of the ruler, Sultan as-Saleh. His Diwan was translated into English in two volumes by E.H. Palmer in 1876-77.

758 lunar years ago, on this day in 681 AH, the Iranian historian Ata-Malik Jowaini, passed away at the age of 58 in Azarbaijan. He belonged to a prominent scholarly and political family of Jowain in Khorasan that were followers of the Prophet’s Ahl al-Bayt. His brother, father, and grandfather held important posts in the Ilkhanid Empire of Iran-Iraq. He too became an important official and twice visited the main Mongol capital of Karakorum in Central Asia. He accompanied Hulagu Khan during the sack of Baghdad and the next year was appointed governor of Baghdad, Lower Mesopotamia, and Khuzestan. His famous history is titled “Tarikh-e Jahan-Gusha”.  It was translated into English by John Andrew Boyle under the title: “The History of the World-Conqueror” and the 2^nd edition published in 1997. It should be noted that his brother, Shams od-Din Mohammad, who had been Sahib-e Divan (or Finance Minister) and vizier for 22 years under three Ilkhans – i.e. Hulagu, Abaqa and Ahmad Tekuder – was martyred by the next ruler, Arghun Khan, on the alleged poisoning of his father Abaqa Khan, who actually died of excessive drinking. Ata-Malik's father, Baha od-Din, and grandfather Mohammad had held the post of Sahib-e Divan for Mohammad Jalal od-Din Khwarezmshah and later for Chingiz Khan's son Ogedei Khan respectively.

728 solar years ago, on this day in 1290 AD, King Edward I of England issued the Edict of Expulsion, banishing all Jews, which numbered around 16,000. The expulsion was culmination of over 200 years of conflict between Christians and Jews on the matter of usury, for which the Israelites are still notorious. Moreover, the Christians deeply resented the slandering of Jesus and his Virgin mother, Mary, by the Jews. The Edict of Expulsion lasted 350 years during which Jews were not allowed to set foot on the soil of England, until it was overturned by Oliver Cromwell, who made the fatal mistake of inviting Jews to England.

676 solar years ago, on this day in 1342 AD, Shaikh Hassan Juri, one of the prominent leaders of the Sarbadaran Movement was martyred in the Battle of Zava, near what is now Torbat-e Haideriyeh in Khorasan, because of disunity in his ranks. It is said that he was killed by traitors among his own forces, rather than by the opposite side led by Mu'iz od-Din Hussain, the ruler of the Kartid Dynasty of what is now western Afghanistan. The Sarbadaran 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 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, head bound on gallows, to signify their readiness for martyrdom – ruled most of northeastern Iran, 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 even appointed many Sabzevaris to high posts in Iraq and Iran.

627 solar years ago, on this day in 1391 AD, Amir Timur defeated Tokhtamysh of the Golden Horde in present day southeast Russia in the Battle of Kondurcha River. The two Turkic warlords fought each other for over a decade in the Caucasus, Turkistan and Eastern Europe. Timur had earlier helped Tokhtamysh to assume supreme power in the White Horde against the latter's uncle Urus Khan. Tokhtamysh thus united the White and Blue Hordes to form the Golden Horde and launched a massive military campaign against the Russian principalities in 1381-82 to restore Turko-Tartar power as far as Lithuania which he defeated in 1383. He then cast eyes on the Caucasus, Iran and Central Asia, and turned against his old ally, Timur, who decisively routed him in the Battle of the Terek River in 1395.

235 solar years ago, on this day in 1783 AD, the English astronomer, William Herschel, discovered the nature of galaxies. He observed the stars with the telescope he invented and proved that the Milky Way Galaxy consists of stars, while the Solar System is also part of this galaxy. He also discovered the Planet Uranus. He died at the age of 84 years in 1822 AD.

201 solar years ago, on this day in 1817 AD, English author Jane Austen died at age 41. Her works of romantic fiction, made her one of the most widely read writers. Her realism, biting irony and social commentary have gained her historical importance among scholars and critics. Among her best works are: “Sense and Sensibility” (1811), “Pride and Prejudice” (1813), and “Emma” (1815).

100 solar years ago, on this day in 1918 AD, Nelson Mandela, South African lawyer and politician, and 1^st native President, was born in the village of Mvezo in Umtata, then a part of South Africa's Cape Province. His patrilineal great-grandfather, Ngubengcuka, was ruler of the Thembu people in the Transkeian Territories of what is now South Africa's Eastern Cape Province. One of this king's sons, named Mandela, became Nelson's grandfather and the source of his surname. Mandela attended Fort Hare University and the University of Witwatersrand, where he studied law. Living in Johannesburg, he became involved in anti-colonial politics, joining the African National Congress (ANC) and becoming a founding member of its Youth League. After the Afrikaner minority government of the National Party established apartheid in 1948, he rose to prominence in the ANC's 1952 Defiance Campaign, was appointed superintendent of the organisation's Transvaal chapter and presided over the 1955 Congress of the People. Working as a lawyer, he was repeatedly arrested. In 1963 he was convicted of conspiracy to overthrow the apartheid regime and sentenced to life. In 1990, he was released after 27 years in prison and was accorded a very warm welcome by the black people of South Africa. In 1991, an agreement was reached between Mandela and the minority regime for ending the apartheid system, and in 1994, after holding of the first multiracial elections Mandela was elected as the first black president of South Africa. He stepped down from office in 1999 and died in 2013.

93 solar years ago, on this day in 1925 AD, Nazi leader, Adolf Hitler, published “Mein Kampf” (My Struggle). He wrote this autobiographical manifesto as National Socialist leader serving a prison sentence. In this book, which was widely received by the public, Hitler outlined his political ideology and future plans.

30 solar years ago, on this day in 1988 AD, the Islamic Republic of Iran accepted UN Security Council Resolution 598, for ceasefire in the 8-year war imposed by the US through Saddam of the repressive Ba’th minority regime of Iraq. Tehran accepted the Resolution due to some of its positive aspects, especially the clauses related to identification of the aggressor and payment of war compensations. However, despite the acceptance of Resolution 598 by Islamic Iran, Saddam and his Ba'thists continued their aggressions until formal establishment of ceasefire in August 1988. Though years later, the UN officially declared Ba’thist Iraq as aggressor and initiator of the 8-year war, war reparations were never paid to Iran.

12 solar years ago, on this day in 2006 AD, takfiri terrorists backed by the US and Saudi Arabia blew up a booby trapped car amongst a crowd of Shi’a Muslim labourers in the city of Kufa, martyring over 60 people and wounding 105.

AS/ME