Today is Friday; 12th of the Iranian month of Mordad 1397 solar hijri; corresponding to 20th of the Islamic month of Zil-Qa’dah 1439 lunar hijri; and August 3, 2018, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1169 lunar years ago, on this day in 270 AH, founder of the short-lived Tulunid Dynasty of Egypt, Ahmad Ibn Tulun, died after a 17-year rule during which he killed at least 18,000 Muslims. His father, Tulun, was a Turkic slave sent as part of tribute by the Iranian governor of Bukhara to the Abbasid caliph, Ma'mun. Ibn Tulun received military training in Samarra and was appointed commander of the special forces of the tyrannical caliph, Mutawakkil. After serving in military campaigns against the Byzantine Empire in Tarsus, he gained the favor of Musta'in, and in the reign of the next caliph, Mu'taz, he was sent as governor to Egypt. Since, the Egyptia capital, al-Fustat, was too small to accommodate his army, he founded a new city nearby called “Madinat al-Qatta'i” (the Quartered City), to serve as his capital. It was laid out in the style of the grand cities of Iran, including a large public square, a palace, and a large ceremonial mosque, which was named after Ibn Tulun. This city was razed to the ground on the fall of the Tulunid Dynasty, and only the mosque has survived. Ibn Tulun asserted independence from Baghdad by minting coins in his name and seizing control of large parts of Syria. He defeated an Abbasid army sent against him. Within two decades after his death, the inefficient rule of his son and grandsons led to the collapse of his dynasty.

1069 lunar years ago, on this day in 370 AH (980 AD), Iranian Islamic genius, Abu Ali Hussain Ibn Abdullah Ibn Sina, was born near Bukhara, capital of the Iranian Samanid Dynasty – presently in Uzbekistan. He memorized the Holy Qur'an at a young age and soon mastered logic, medicine, astronomy, geometry, and philosophy, such that at the age of 18 years, he was an authority in all the sciences of his day. After curing the Samanid King, Nouh ibn Mansour, of an ailment, he was allowed to use the large royal library at Bukhara. Because of his political views and religious inclinations towards the Prophet's Ahl al-Bayt, he found himself persecuted by Sultan Mahmoud of Ghazna. As a result he joined the Buwaiyhid court in Rayy before settling in Hamedan and later Isfahan where he served as vizier. Known as Avicenna to medieval Europe, his works were translated into Latin and for several centuries were taught at most western universities. His books include: “ash-Shefa” on philosophy; “al-Qanoun fi't-Tibb” (Canons of Medicine), and "Isharaat wa'l-Tanbihat" (Remarks and Admonitions). He wrote almost all his works in Arabic and of the few in his native Persian is the "Danishnama-e Alai" (Book of Knowledge for [Amir] Ala od-Dowlah). It covers such topics as logic, metaphysics, music, and other sciences of his time. He passed away in Hamedan at the age of 58.

1058 lunar years ago, on this day in 381 AH, the famous Greek Muslim general and statesman of the Fatemid Ismaili Shi'ite Muslim dynasty of Egypt and North Africa, Jowhar bin Abdullah as-Siqili, or the Sicilian, passed away. He conquered Egypt and built Cairo including the famous al-Azhar Mosque and academy. Born a Christian on the island of Sicily near Italy, he embraced the truth of Islam and joined the service of the Fatemids, soon rising into prominence as “al-Kateb” (the Chancellor) and “al-Qa'ed” (the General). He subdued North Africa as far as the Atlantic coast and then turned towards the east to wrest control of Egypt from the Ikhshidid Turkic governors of the Abbasid caliphate. He built Cairo as the new capital of the Fatemids, by publicly bearing testimony in the Azaan, or the call to prayer, to the imamate of Imam Ali (AS) after the Prophethood of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). The phrase "hayya ala khayr il-amal", meaning ‘hasten to the best of deeds’, which was dropped from the Azaan by the second caliph, was also revived and echoed from the minarets of "al-Azhar", which is a derivative of "az-Zahra" or the Radiant, the famous epithet of Hazrat Fatema (SA) the Immaculate Daughter of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA).

1015 solar years ago, on this day in 1003 AD, aṭ-Ṭaʼi-Billah, the 24^th caliph of the usurper Abbasid regime, died at the age of 71, a dozen years after he was deposed in 991 by Amir Baha od-Dowla, the ruler of the Iranian Buwayhid dynasty of Iraq. During his 17-year reign, as a weak and incapable caliph, he lost Syria and Hijaz to the Fatemid Ismaili Shi’a Muslim dynasty of Egypt-North Africa, while the Turks consolidated their positions in Anatolia (modern Turkey) and the Buwayhid dynasty was split into parties fighting among themselves. In addition, the Byzantine Emperor John Tzimisces stormed the east in a victorious campaign in 975.

983 lunar years ago, on this day in 456 AH, North African Arabic poet, literary figure, and critic, Abu Ali Qairawani, passed away at the age of 66. Born in Morocco, he did his higher studies in Qairawan, in what is now Tunisia. His poems are mainly odes depicting the different phases of his social and literary life. He created a new approach in criticism of literary works. Books written by him include a biography of poets.

676 solar years ago, on this day in 1342 AD, the army of Castile, assisted by Christian mercenaries from other parts of Europe started the siege of the Spanish Muslim port city of al-Jazeera al-Khazra (Algeciras in Spanish), which was part of the Marinid Empire of Morocco. The 21-month siege that starved population of 30,000 led to the surrender.

671 solar years ago, on this day in 1347 AD, Hassan Gangu Bahmani titled Zafar Khan, was elected king with the title Ala od-Din Shah, following his victory over rivals, who two years earlier had joined together to declare the Deccan or southern India independent from the tyrannical rule of Sultan Mohammad bin Tughlaq of Hindustan or northern subcontinent by placing Naseer od-Din Ismail as the Shah at Dowlatabad. Ala od-Din Shah Bahmani, who claimed descent from the legendry Iranian king, Bahman son of Isfandiyar, shifted his capital further south to Gulbarga, and expanded his kingdom in all directions during his 11-year rule. The dynasty he founded ruled for over 170 years – first from Gulbarga and then from Bidar – promoting Islam and Persian language, culture and architecture in southern India, by virtue of its direct sea-route contact with Iran, from where poets, scholars, artists, statesmen, traders and soldiers of fortune flocked to the Bahmani court. The Bahmani Sultans respected Sufi saints and greatly revered Shah Ne’matollah Wali of Kerman and his devotion to the school of the Ahl al-Bayt of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). The Bahmani Empire – which stretched from the western to the eastern coasts of Peninsular India – split into five independent Persianate kingdoms that ensured the independence of the Deccan from Hindustan for another 170 more years until the conquest by Aurangzeb, the Moghal Emperor. Of these five, the three powerful dynasties (Nizamshahis of Ahmadnagar, Adelshahis of Bijapur and Qutbshahis of Golkandah-Haiderabad) followed the Shi’ite Muslim creed and regarded the Safavid rulers of Iran as their emperor, rather than the Moghal rulers.

526 solar years ago, on this day in 1492 AD, Italian Navigator, Christopher Columbus, commissioned by Spain to find a route to India through the Atlantic Ocean, commenced his journey. Columbus set sail with three ships and 120 sailors from the Spanish Port of Palos and after 33 days of voyage landed on Salvador Island in the Caribbean Sea, thinking he had reached India. He thus accidentally discovered the American continent, and is believed to have been guided to the New World by Spanish Muslim sailors.

223 solar years ago, on this day in 1795 AD, the Treaty of Greenville was signed at Fort Greenville in Ohio, following the loss of the Battle of Fallen Timbers the previous year by the Amerindians. The parties to the treaty were a coalition of Amerindian tribes, known as the Western Confederacy, and the United States. It established what became known as the Greenville Treaty Line, which for several years was a boundary between Amerindian territory and lands open to European settlers, who frequently violated the borders and continued to encroach on native lands. The treaty also established the "annuity" system: yearly grants of federal money and supplies of calico cloth to Amerindian tribes and thus institutionalized US government influence in tribal affairs, giving outsiders considerable control over the life of natives. In exchange for goods, such as blankets, utensils, and domestic animals, the Amerindian tribes ceded to the US large parts of modern-day Ohio, the future site of downtown Chicago, the Fort Detroit area and Maumee. The US policy of genocide against Amerindians was to occupy their homeland.

174 solar years ago, on this day in 1844 AD, French archaeologist and civil engineer Marcel-Auguste Dieulafoy was born in Toulouse in France. Having seen service in French occupied Algeria in 1870, he requested assignment in Iran in 1880. He was helped by a French physician at the Qajarid court in Tehran to reopen the 1852 excavations done by W.K. Loftus. In 1884-86, Dieulafoy, along with his talented wife, Jane, undertook major excavations at the ancient site of Susa (modern Shush, in Iran) uncovering the palaces of the ancient Persian kings Darius I the Great and Artaxerxes II. His exploration resulted in revealing part of the palace and other structures, and in settling the topographical details of the city. He also recovered unique and beautiful features of art and architecture, including the pillars with capitals of bulls' heads, three great porticoes and the hall of columns, the frieze of lions, and that of archers now in the Louvre.

104 solar years ago, on this day in 1914 AD, Panama Canal was officially inaugurated. The construction was started by French engineers, from whom the Americans took over and completed the work. This 68-kilometer canal links the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

58 solar years ago, on this day in 1960 AD, the West African country of Niger gained independence from French colonial rule. Predominantly Muslim Niger covers an area of 1,267,000 sq km and shares borders with Libya, Chad, Mali, and Benin.

10 solar years ago, on this day in 2008 AD Russian author and historian, Alexander Solzhenitsyn, died at the age of 90. Born in the Caucasus, he graduated in physics and mathematics. During World War 2, he actively served at the warfronts to defend the country against Nazi Germany, for which he was awarded a medal of honour. In the post war period his criticism of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin brought him exile and forced labor in Siberia. He was released in 1956 and published part of his works. He received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1970. He was once again detained and exiled in 1974 due to his criticisms of the Soviet regime. Following the collapse of communism he returned to his country and became a hero. Nonetheless, he continued to criticize the Russian government for following Western liberalism, and the Russian people for distancing themselves from God and spiritual values. Among his works are: “The Gulag Archipelago”, “The Cancer Ward”, and “Letter to Soviet Leaders”.

5 solar years ago, on this day in 2013 AD, master of Naqqali or art of story-telling with actions, Valiollah Torabi Sefidabi died in Tehran at the age of 77. Popular as “Morshed Torabi”, he was born in Sefidab, near the town of Tafresh in Markazi Province into a family acquainted with the stage art. His father was a performer of the Ta’zieh which is a traditional Iranian drama depicting the tragic martyrdom of Imam Husain (AS), the younger grandson and 3^rd Infallible Heir of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). Torabi performed programmes at numerous Iranian and international events. Dating back to the Safavid Dynasty, Naqqali is performed in verse or prose with the Naqqal being a single person who plays the roles of all characters with a special tone and expression, at times accompanied by musical instruments and scrolls. UNESCO has registered Naqqali, as the oldest form of dramatic performance in Iran, on its World Intangible Cultural Heritage List. Naqqali was formerly performed in teahouses, tents of nomads, and caravansaries.

AS/ME