Today is Saturday; 6th of the Iranian month of Mordad 1397 solar hijri; corresponding to 14th of the Islamic month of Zil-Qa’dah 1439 lunar hijri; and July 28, 2018, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1568 solar years ago, on this day in 450 AD, Eastern Roman Emperor, Theodosius II, died at the age of 49 in a riding accident, after a 42-year reign – having succeeded his father as a 7-year-old. He presided over the outbreak of two christological controversies, Nestorianism and Eutychianism, and fought an almost two-year inconclusive war with the Sassanid Empire of Iran.  In 421, Bahram V succeeded his father Yazdegerd I, who shortly before being killed, had started the persecution of Christians as reprisal for attacks against Zoroastrian temples in the Roman Empire. Bahram continued this persecution, and among those killed was his father’s Christian counselor, James Intercisus, who was cut to pieces in Jundishapur. This incident, along with friction in trade ties and border issues, made Theodosius declare war on Persia in 421 AD. The conflict raged across the borders of the two empires, mostly in southeastern Turkey, northern Syria and to some extent in Armenia. In 422, the two sides signed the peace treaty that returned everything to the pre-war situation. Both sides agreed to reject Arab defectors of the other part, as well as to guarantee liberty of religion in their territories.

1052 lunar years ago, on this day in 387 AH, the Hanbali hadith scholar and prominent orator, Abu’l-Hussain Mohammad bin Ahmad, popular as Ibn Sam’oun, died in his hometown Baghdad at the age of 87. Having married a slave-girl of the harem of the Abbasid caliph, at-Ta’ey, he lived a luxurious life, wearing expensive clothes and eating rich food, in contrary to what he preached to the masses, and tried to justify his practice by saying that these luxuries increase his attachment to God. He was involved in the sectarian conflicts plaguing Baghdad of those days, and despite the ban placed on public oratory by Adhud od-Dowlah Daylami, the Iranian ruler of the Buwayhid dynasty of Iraq-Iran in order to stop sectarian riots, he continued to ascend the pulpit on Fridays and indulge in inflammatory speech – probably because of support from the Abbasid regime.  

672 lunar years ago, on this day in 767 AH, Mohammad Shah Bahmani defeated Krishna Raja of Vijaynagar, following the latter's invasion of the Muslim kingdom of the Deccan in south-central India, and chased him right till the gates of his capital, agreeing to lift the siege when the Raja pleaded for peace with promises not to attack again. Better known as organizer of the Bahmani Kingdom of Iranian origin and founder of its institutions, Mohammad Shah was the second king of the dynasty founded by his father, Ala od-Din Hassan Gangu Bahman Shah, who revolted against the excesses of Sultan Mohammad bin Tughlaq of Delhi. The Bahmani Sultanate, which lasted for 180 years, developed a distinct Muslim culture and style of architecture evolved out of direct contact with Iran and the migration in large numbers of Iranian scholars, poets, architects, traders, statesmen, and soldiers.

507 lunar years ago, on this day in 932 AH, Bahadur Shah ascended the throne of Gujarat in western India, succeeding his brother Mahmoud Shah II. During his 11-year reign he had to face the menace of the Portuguese who raided the seaports of his realm and seized several islands including Mumbai. He made the fatal mistake of seeking assistance from the Portuguese against the expansion of the Mughals of north India. While on board a Portuguese ship to sign a treaty, he was treacherously killed by the Portuguese admiral and his body dumped into the sea.

268 solar years ago, on this day in 1750 AD, the German musician and composer, Johann Sebastian Bach, died at the age of 65. Many of his songs are religious, and he also played a pivotal role in the progress and perfection of German music. Later in life he went blind. He composed numerous works, including a number of carols.

224 solar years ago, on this day in 1794 AD, with the execution of Maximilien Robespierre and a group of his supporters, the year long Reign of Terror in France ended. It had started when on the orders of the parliament following victory of the French Revolution a court was formed to counter the anti-revolutionaries. Robespierre, who was one of the main leaders of the revolution, intended to gain absolute authority in France, and executed many of his opponents, to this end. During the Reign of Terror, more than 120,000 summary executions took place, and many prominent persons were killed such as the chemist, Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier, and poet, Andre Marie Chenier.

197 solar years ago, on this day in 1821 AD, Peru gained independence from Spain. Home to the Inca Empire and Civilization that dominated northwest South America from the 12th to the 16th centuries, Peru and its rich culture were destroyed by the Spanish invaders, who ruthlessly massacred the indigenous people. Finally, thanks to the struggles of South American revolutionaries, such as Jose de San Martin and Simon Bolivar, Peru was liberated. The country covers an area of 1,285,216 sq km, with a long coastline on the Pacific Ocean, and shares borders with Ecuador, Colombia, Chile, Brazil, and Bolivia.

160 solar years ago, on this day in 1858, fingerprints were used as a means of identification for the first time.

155 solar years ago, on this day in 1863 AD, Tsarist Russia’s senior-most Muslim general, Husain Khan Nakhchivanski, was born in Nakhchivan City to Major-General Kalb-e Ali Khan – son of Ehsan Khan Kangarlu, the last ruler of the Nakhchivan Khanate, which the Russians seized from Qajarid Iran through the Khan’s treachery during the 1828 war. His mother was Khurshid Qajar-Iravani, member of the ruling family of the Erivan Khanate – also abolished by Russia in 1828 on its seizure from Iran. He was the only Muslim to serve as General-Adjutant of the Tsar’s retinue. He distinguished himself in the Russo-Japanese War and received 7 medals for his bravery. Tsar Nicholas II personally decorated him and made him Deputy Commander of the Caucasus Army during World War I, before promoting him as General of the Cavalry. After the end of World War I, Hussain Khan Nakhchivanski remained in the capital Petrograd (St. Petersburg) and refused to side with the revolutionaries. He sent to the Tsar a telegram (later found undelivered) to use his forces to crush them. In October 1917, when the Bolsheviks under Lenin hijacked the revolution and seized power, Hussain Khan Nakhchivanski along with other prominent citizens was taken hostage, and executed in 1919 at the age of 55. His nephews, Jamshid Khan and Kalb-e Ali Khan (sons of Ja’far Khan Nakhchivanski), who served under him, joined the Azerbaijan Democratic Army, inflicted defeats on the Soviet Red Army, and played prominent roles in the short-lived Azerbaijan Republic, before the communists took over. Kalb-e Ali fled to Iran where he joined the Iranian Army and was secretly murdered by Reza Khan Pahlavi in 1934, while Jamshid after brief imprisonment, reluctantly switched sides to the Soviet Union, but during the 1937-1938 repressions he was arrested, charged with anti-communist activities and killed by a firing squad.  

145 lunar years ago, on this day in 1294 AH, Ayatollah Mirza Radhi od-Din Zon-Nouri, was born in the northwestern Iranian city of Tabriz. After completing preliminary Islamic studies he left for the famous seminary of holy Najaf in Iraq, where he attained the status of Ijtehad. He returned to Iran and taught at seminaries for many years. He also wrote several books and groomed numerous students, many of which achieved the status of Ijtehad. One of his books is titled "Qaza wa Shahadat".

140 solar years ago, on this day in 1878 AD, the Treaty of Berlin was signed by representatives of Russia, France, Britain, and Austria as well as other German speaking states, at the end of the Berlin Congress called by German chancellor, Otto von Bismarck, to determine the national identity of Germany.

104 solar years ago, on this day in 1914 AD, the Austria-Hungary Empire declared war on Serbia on rejection of conditions of an ultimatum of July 23 following assassination of crown prince, Archduke Francis Ferdinand. World War I thus began with the Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman Empires on one side, and the Russian and British Empires on the other side in alliance with Serbia and France.

75 solar years ago, on this day in 1943 AD during World War II, the savage Operation Gomorrah launched by the British air force on Hamburg caused a firestorm that killed 42,000 German civilians.

42 solar years ago, on this day in 1976 AD, a major earthquake shook the East Chinese city of Tangshan, killing 242,769 people and injuring 164,851 others. Over a million people were made homeless. This 7.8 degree trembler was the second major earthquake that jolted China in the 20th Century.

29 solar years ago, on this day in 1989 AD, the overwhelming majority of the Iranian people, in a referendum, approved amendments to the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Constitution, as per the instructions of the Late Founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Imam Khomeini (RA). The amendments included enhancement of the presidential powers and elimination of the post of prime minister.

29 solar years ago, on this day in 1989 AD, in an act of terrorism, Zionist commandos abducted Shi’a Muslim religious leader, Sheikh Abdul-Karim Obeid, from his home in the village of Jibshit, south Lebanon. Danny Abdalla, a notorious Lebanese criminal based in Denmark, who in 1984 was involved in the martyrdom of Lebanese religious leader, Sheikh Ragheb Harb, on behalf of the Israelis, was part of the 25-member Zionist commando team that kidnapped Sheikh Obeid. For several years, Sheikh Obeid was held prisoner in the Zionist occupied strip of southern Lebanon, and later transferred to the Ashmoret concentration camp, near Kfar Yona, north of Tel Aviv. He was released 15 years later in January 2004 along with twenty other Lebanese prisoners, 400 Palestinian prisoners and a number of other nationals, in exchange for Zionist soldiers and spies captured by Lebanon’s legendry anti-terrorist movement, the Hezbollah.

11 solar years ago, on this day 2007 AD, Takfiri terrorists backed by the US and the Saudi regime triggered an explosion of truck bomb in Baghdad’s Shi’a Muslim neighborhood of Karrada, resulting in the martyrdom of around 150 men, women and children, and injury to over two hundred others.

11 solar years ago, on this day in 2007 AD, over 4,000 Hazaras, a Shi’a Muslim ethnic group concentrated in Afghanistan’s central highlands, was displaced from Behsood district, Wardak Province, over the last 2 months by bands of Kuchi nomads. Some 200 ethnic Pushtun and Sunni Muslims, along with their families and livestock, emptied about 65 Hazara villages and martyred a dozen people.

9 solar years ago, on this day in 2009 AD, prominent Iranian film director and producer, Saifollah Dad, passed away at the age of 52. He turned out some of the outstanding hits such as “From Karkheh to Rhine”, “The Satan”, “Children of Divorce,” and ‘The Survivor”. The last named is a historical film on the brutal expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians by Zionist terrorists at the illegal birth of Israel in 1948.

6 solar years ago, on this day in 2012 AD, Iran published the results of its 2011 census. It gave Iran's total population as 75.2 million, 99.4 percent of whom are Muslim. 55 percent were under 30 years of age.

AS/ME