Today is Tuesday; 16th of the Iranian month of Mordad 1397 solar hijri; corresponding to 24th of the Islamic month of Zil-Qa’dah 1439 lunar hijri; and August 7, 2018, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1701 solar years ago, on this day in 317 AD, Roman Emperor Constantius II was born. The second son of Constantine I, the imposer of Pauline Christianity on the Empire, he ascended the throne in 337 on division of the empire among his brothers Constantine II and Constans on the death of their father, who by spurning an offer of peace by Emperor Shapur II of Sassanid Iran, was planning a large scale invasion of the Persian Empire on the pretext of mistreatment of Christians. On assuming power, Constantius was confronted with the large army, including the Indian war elephants of Shapur II, whose forces swept across of what is now northern Syria and southern Turkey, putting Nisibis (Nusaybin) under siege. When the Iranians lifted the siege, Constantius prepared his army for a counter-attack, but was unable to mount any successful campaign, except for the Battle of Narasara. Meanwhile, in the western provinces, his brothers clashed in 340, resulting in the death of Constantine II. In 350 Constans was overthrown and assassinated by Magnentius, who committed suicide in 353 following his military defeats by the armies of the east, leaving Constantius as sole ruler of the empire till his death in 361. Before dying he was forced to appoint as his successor, the rebellious Julian the Apostate, who two years later was to be killed in the Battle of Samarra (363) by the Iranians while fleeing from the counterattacks of the Persian forces.

1655 solar years ago, on this day in 363 AD, Saint Dometius the Persian, one of the early Iranians to believe in the mission of Prophet Jesus (AS), was martyred by lapidation, along with two of his disciples, on the orders of the Roman Emperor Julian the Apostate, in the Syrian city of Nisibis (Nusaybin), which is currently in Turkey. In his youth he left the Zoroastrian faith and became a follower of Prophet Jesus (AS). He migrated from the Sassanid Empire to Roman-ruled Syria and settled in the frontier city of Nisibis, where he took up residence in the monastery of the strict ascetic Urbelos. He declined to be ordained as a Christian deacon or presbyter, and took refuge in a desolate mountain in Syria in the region of Cyrrhus, where he guided to monotheism the local pagans, who would come to him for healing and for help. Once when he was praying in a cave with his disciples, the Roman armies of Julian the Apostate arrived for invasion of the Iranian Sassanid Empire. As a pagan who hated monotheists, Julian ordered the killing of Saint Dometius the Persian.

1392 solar years ago, on this day in 626 AD, Byzantine or the Eastern Roman Empire was saved from annihilation and got a fresh life – as per the prophecy of the holy Qur’an in “Surah Roum” – when following news of the defeat in Anatolia (present-day Turkey) of the Iranian general, Shahin, by Theodore, the brother of Emperor Heraclius, the Avars and their Slavic allies, who lacked both patience and technology for protracted warfare, withdrew from the siege of Constantinople, leaving the Sassanid Persians alone. This was a strategic victory for Byzantine, which had recently repelled in two different naval encounters in the Bosporus Strait, the Persian and Avar-Slavic fleets from the walls of its capital. This enabled Heraclius to lead an invasion into Syria and then Mesopotamia to defeat a Persian army at Nineveh, from where he marched the next year to Ctesiphon, the Sassanid capital in Iraq (near modern Baghdad). The Sassanid nobles, however, removed Emperor Khosrow II from power and agreed to withdraw all armed forces from Egypt, Levant and the Roman territories they had captured in Anatolia. The initial victories of the Zoroastrian Persians over the Christian Romans had gladdened the hearts of the Arab infidels and made them mock Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), at which God Almighty revealed “Surah Roum”, giving tidings of the eventual triumph of the monotheists. This is indeed one of the eternal miracles of the holy Qur'an. With the end of the 26-year long war in 628, neither the Iranians nor the Romans would ever cross swords again after over seven centuries of warfare between the two that had started in 92 BC, as the power of both the empires was soon broken with the emergence of the Muslim Arabs who swept across Syria, Iraq and Egypt.

1239 lunar years ago, on this day in 200 AH, Imam Reza (AS), the 8^th Infallible Heir of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), started his historic journey from his hometown Medina to Marv in Khorasan, where Mamoun the 7^th self-styled caliph of the usurper Abbasid regime, had forced him to come, in order to isolate him from the followers of the Ahl al-Bayt. The Imam turned this into an opportunity by preaching the genuine message of Islam to the eager masses wherever the caravan stopped in the cities on the route, such as Basra, Ahvaz, Yazd, and especially Naishapur in northeastern Iran, where he narrated to a 20,000-plus gathering the famous “Hadith Silsalat az-Zahab” (Golden Chain of Authority). He quoted his father and forefathers as relating from the Prophet who was informed by Archangel Gabriel of God’s expression: “The phrase ‘there is no god but Allah’ is My strong fortress and whoever enters My strong fortress is immune from My wrath’. When the caravan started to move the Imam protruded his head from the canopied litter atop the camel and told the gathering: “But there are certain conditions, and I am one of these conditions”. He meant to say that only devotion to the Prophet’s Ahl al-Bayt and practical adherence to their path guarantees entry into Allah’s strong fortress in order to be immune from divine wrath. In Marv (presently in Turkmenistan), Mamoun, while greeting the Imam offered to abdicate the caliphate in his favour, but the Prophet’s successor aware of the intricate plot to tarnish the impeccable image of the Ahl al-Bayt, politely turned it down. The crafty caliph then forced him, against his will, to be declared his Heir-Apparent. To the astonishment of the Abbasid regime, the Iranian masses flocked to Imam Reza (AS), showing him reverence throughout the almost three years he was in Khorasan. An exasperated Mamoun stealthily gave a fatal dose of poison, as a result of which Imam Reza (AS) attained martyrdom and was laid to rest in Sanabad near Tous, which soon grew into Mashhad-e Reza or simply Mashhad as it is known till this day.   

1130 lunar years ago, on this day in 309 AH, the Iranian Muslim mystic, Hussein Mansour al-Hallaj, was executed in Baghdad by the Abbasid caliph, Muqtadar-Billah, on charges of heresy for uttering blasphemous remarks such as “there is nothing in my turban and cloak except God" and the phrase “an’al-Haq” (I am the Absolute Truth). He was a student of the two famous Iranian Sufi masters, Sahl Ibn Abdullah at-Tustari and Junayd Baghdadi, and was expelled by both of them for his weird views. Born in Fars province to a cotton-carder, as indicated by his family name “Hallaj”, he memorized the holy Qur’an at a young age and would often join other mystics in study. He was an Ismaili Muslim and performed at least three Hajj pilgrimages to Mecca, where he once stayed for a year, fasting and in total silence. He traveled widely as far as India and Central Asia, and wrote and taught along the way, gaining followers, many of whom accompanied him on his second and third trips to Mecca. He settled in the Abbasid capital Baghdad, where his weird utterances invited trouble. On refusing to renounce his beliefs, he was flogged, amputated, hanged, burnt, and his remains thrown into the River Tigris.

434 solar years ago, on this day in 1584 AD, Tatar forces of Khan Kuchum of the Sibir Khanate of Siberia – the northernmost Muslim state in history – defeated Cossack intruders of Yermak Timofeyevich near the mouth of River Vagay, and liberated Qishliq from two years of occupation. The Cossacks, sent by Tsar Ivan, were decimated and Yermak drowned in the river. Kuchum, the son of Prince Mortaza Shayban, vigorously resisted the Russian invaders, and endeavoured to spread Islam in the lands of Russia. He was driven away in 1598 by the Russians and died in Bukhara in 1605, marking the end of Muslim rule in Siberia.

304 solar years ago, on this day in 1714 AD, the Battle of Gangut, the first victory of the Russian Navy in its history during the Great Northern War (1700–21), took place in Riilahti Bay, north of Hanko Peninsula, near the site of the modern-day city of Hanko, Finland, between the Swedish Navy and Imperial Russian Navy.

260 lunar years ago, on this day in 1179 AH, Najm od-Dowla, the Nawab Nazim of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa, died of fever within a year of succeeding his father, Mir Ja’far Najafi – known in Indian history as “traitor” for betraying the legitimate ruler, Nawab Siraj od-Dowla, to the British during the Battle of Plassey. He was succeeded to the nominal office under British protection by his brother, Sayf od-Dowla. Of Iranian origin, the Nawabs of Bengal promoted Persian language in their realm in what is now Bangladesh, and India’s Bengal and Bihar states.

227 solar years ago, on this day in 1791 AD, the newly-founded United States of America, as part of its expansionist designs, launched a brutal invasion of the lands of the native Amerindians and destroyed the town of Kenapacomaqua near present-day Logansport, Indiana, killing and wounding scores of unarmed men, women, and children, and burning grain storages.

199 solar years ago, on this day in 1819 AD, Simon Bolívar triumphed over Spain in the Battle of Boyaca in Colombia – then known as New Granada. As a result Colombia acquired its definitive independence from Spanish Monarchy, although fighting with royalist forces would continue for years.

193 lunar years ago, on this day in 1246 AH, the scholar “Sharif ol-Ulema” Mohammad Sharif Amoli Mazandarani, passed away at the age of 41 in his hometown, the holy city of Karbala. Born in a scholarly Iranian family residing in Iraq, he studied under prominent ulema such as Seyyed Mohammad Mujahid. In turn, before his untimely death during a plague, he taught many budding scholars, including the celebrated Ayatollah Shaikh Morteza Ansari Dezfuli.

77 solar years ago, on this day in 1941 AD, India's Bengali language author, poet, and philosopher, Rabindranath Tagore, died at the age of 80. He was born in the East Indian city of Calcutta and was involved in the struggle against British rule. He visited Iran in 1932, entering the country through Bushehr port, from where he travelled to Shiraz to pay homage at the graves of the great Iranian poets Hafez and Sa’di. At the mausoleum of Hafez, he wrote in his travelogue, “Sitting near the tomb, a signal flashed through my mind, a signal from the bright and smiling eyes of the poet on a long past spring day – akin to the springtime sunshine of today.” Tagore then visited Isfahan where he was entranced by the beautiful gardens and mosques. He arrived in Tehran on April 29, 1932, and during his two weeks in the Iranian capital, he participated in as many as eighteen public functions. He celebrated his 71st birthday in Tehran and on the occasion wrote a beautiful poem titled: “IRAN”. Part of this poem reads:

“Iran, thy brave sons have brought                                                         

“Their priceless gifts of friendship                                            

“On this birthday of the poet of a far-away shore,                                          

“For they have known him in their hearts as their own.                             

“And in return I bind this wreath of my verse on thy forehead,

“And I cry: Victory of Iran!”

58 solar years ago, on this day in 1960 AD, the West African country of Ivory Coast gained independence from the French who had seized it in 1891 from the Portuguese. Ivory Coast covers an area of 332,463 sq km. It lies on the coastlines of the Atlantic Ocean, sharing borders with Liberia, Guinea, Mali, Ghana, and Burkina Faso. The northern parts of the country embraced Islam almost a millennium ago and are entirely made up of Muslims, who account for over 40 percent of the overall population.

36 solar years ago, on this day in 1982 AD, an accord was signed in Lebanon under US pressure for exit of fighters of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) from Beirut, following the 80-day resistance of the Palestinians against the Zionist invasion. PLO leader Yasser Arafat, giving in to pressure, agreed to pullout 12,000 Palestinian fighters. Although the withdrawal from Lebanon dealt a blow to PLO and set the stage for humiliating compromises with the illegal Zionist entity; usurper Israel now had to face the crushing blows of the newly emergent Islamic Resistance, led by Hezbollah that finally forced the Zionist occupation troops to flee Lebanon in the year 2000.

20 solar years ago, on this day in 1998 AD, a total of 212 people were killed and some four thousand injured in Dar es-Salaam, the capital of Tanzania, and Nairobi the capital of Kenya, when US embassies, which function as espionage centres, became the target of bomb blasts, ironically by terrorists nurtured by Washington itself. Of the dead, only 11 were Americans. In Nairobi at least 53 buildings were damaged. A former US Army sergeant and a Saudi national, along with a Tanzanian and Comoros citizen – al-Qae’da members – were involved.

12 solar years ago, on this day in 2006 AD, some fifty men, women, and children were martyred and hundreds of others injured in a Zionist airstrike on a Shi’a Muslim neighbourhood in south Beirut, while similar attacks by the spurious entity Israel killed over 80 Lebanese people and left hundreds of others injured.

10 solar years ago, on this day in 2008 AD, the Caucasus Republic of Georgia, on the insinuation of the US, attacked South Ossetia, killing and wounding hundreds of civilians. The next day the Russian forces entered the scene in support of South Ossetia to drive out the Georgian army and advanced till the outskirts of the Georgian capital, Tbilisi. With French mediation, Russian forces withdrew from Georgia and in the process officially recognized the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. The Russian military action against Georgia was a warning by Moscow to Western regimes, especially the US, against the eastward expansion of NATO. Georgia (Gurjistan in Persian), especially its eastern half was part of the successive Iranian empires for over two millenniums until the occupation of this Christian land by the Russian in the 18th century. Today over ten percent of the population is Muslim including Azerbaijani Shi’ites.

9 solar years ago, on this day in 2009 AD, Takfiri terrorists on the payroll of the US and Saudi Arabia in a sacrilegious bomb attack on a Shi’a Muslim mosque in Rasheediyah, north of Mosul, martyred over 50 worshippers and injured hundreds of others, while roadside bomb blasts in Baghdad resulted in the martyrdom of over ten pilgrims returning from the holy city of Karbala.

4 solar years ago, on this day in 2014 AD, timely military help from the Islamic Republic of Iran, enabled Iraqi government forces, popular mobilization units, and Kurdish peshmergas to free Amerli, a Turkmen town in northern Iraq that was under siege by US-Saudi backed Takfiri terrorists for 50 days.

AS/ME