Today is Sunday; 22nd of the Iranian month of Mehr 1397 solar hijri; corresponding to 4th of the Islamic month of Safar 1440 lunar hijri: and October 14, 2018, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1022 solar years ago, on this day in 996 AD, Abu Mansur Nizar, popular as al-Aziz-Billah, the 5^th caliph of the Ismail Fatemid dynasty of Egypt-North Africa, died in Cairo at the age of 41 after a 21-year reign and was succeeded by his son, Abu Ali Mansur al-Hakem bi-Amrillah. Aziz-Billah was the son and successor of al-Mu’ezz le-Dinillah, the conqueror of Egypt and founder of Cairo, by courtesy of his able general of Greek-Sicilian origin, Jowhar as-Siqilli. Under Aziz-Billah the Fatemid Empire stretched into Palestine and southern Syria as far as Damascus, while the Hijaz, along with the holy cities of Mecca and Medina also accepted his suzerainty. Towards the end of his reign Aziz-Billah sought to extend his power to northern Syria, focusing his attention on the Hamdanid Shi’a Muslim dynasty of Aleppo, which brought him into conflict with the Byzantine Christian Empire. A notable development during al-Aziz's reign was the introduction of foreign slave armies. When the Berber troops from the Maghreb continued to be successful in the wars against the Carmathians in Syria, Aziz began setting up units composed of Turkish slave soldiers, or Mamelukes. Through expansion of the bureaucracy (in which many Jews and Christians acquired important posts) the foundations were laid for the immense power of the succeeding Caliphs. The Egyptian economy was also nurtured, and tax revenue thereby increased, through the expansion of streets and canals and the establishment of a stable currency. The general economic well-being was also apparent in an elaborate building programme. The reign of Aziz-Billah was also culturally significant. His grand Vizier Yaqub ibn Killis, a Jewish convert to Islam from Baghdad, enlarged the famous al-Azhar Mosque and Academy into a university, with a library containing 200,000 volumes of books.

952 solar years ago, on this day in 1066 AD, the Battle of Hastings took place on Senlac Hill, 85 km southeast of London, resulting in the defeat and death of Harold II, the last Anglo-Saxon king of England and the victory of William the Conqueror of Normandy, shortly after his landing from France on the pretext that the throne of England was bequeathed to him by the deceased childless king, Edward the Confessor. William, who crowned himself as the new king of England, was the illegitimate son of Duke Robert I – a descendant of Viking raiders – and had succeeded his father as Duke of Normandy in France in 1035. His conquest of England that took several years to complete, because of resistance by the Anglo-Saxons, resulted in profound changes – in the Church, in aristocracy, in culture, and in the language of the country that have persisted into modern times. One of the most obvious effects of the conquest was the introduction of Anglo-Norman, a northern dialect of Old French, as the language of the ruling classes in England, displacing Old English. French words entered the English language. The Anglo-Saxons who had been ruling England for the past six centuries, migrated in great numbers to Scotland, Ireland, Scandinavia, and even the Byzantine Empire, where they served as mercenaries against the expanding Turkish Muslims in Anatolia (modern Turkey) and many of them were settled on Black Sea coasts. William died in 1087, but it was not until 1485 with the death of Richard III in battle and rise of the Tudors (of Welsh origin) that an indigenous native dynasty took power in England. 

926 solar years ago, on this day in 1092 AD, the renowned vizier of the Seljuqid Dynasty, Hassan Ibn Ali Tousi, known by his title Khwaja Nizam ul-Mulk, was assassinated near Nahavand en route to Baghdad from Isfahan, at the age of 75. Born in the northeastern Iranian city of Tous, he initially served the Ghaznavid sultans as chief administrator of Khorasan Province. Four years later with the rise of the Seljuqs, he served Alp Arslan and Malik Shah I as vizier. In addition to his administrative duties, he established in various cities educational institutes known as “Madrasa-e Nizamiyyah”, of which the ones in Baghdad and Naishapur were famous, and turned out to be models of universities that were later established in Europe. Nizam ul-Mulk is also widely known for his voluminous treatise on kingship titled "Siyasat-Nama" or "Siyar al-Molouk" (The Book of Government). His son-in-law Muqatel bin Atiyyah, who was eyewitness to a polemical debate, says he was assassinated in the same year as Malik Shah I, after a debate between Sunni and Shi'ite scholars, which resulted in his conversion and that of the Seljuq sultan to the school of the Prophet's Ahl al-Bayt.

696 solar years ago, on this day in 1322 AD, Robert the Bruce of Scotland defeated King Edward II of England at Byland, forcing the latter to accept Scotland's independence.

553 solar years ago, on this day in 1465 AD, Romanian Muslim ruler of the principality of Wallachia, Radu Beg, issued a writ from his capital Bucharest, as the Ottoman Pasha (governor) of the region, after defeating his murderous elder brother, Vlad Tepes, who has earned lasting notoriety as Dracula (Son of Dragon) for his cold-blooded massacres of Muslims and Christians alike – almost 200,000.  Named Radu cel Frumos (Radu the Handsome) by his father, Vlad II Dracul (the Dragon), he was sent along with Vlad Tepes to the Ottoman capital Edirne, where the two brothers were educated in logic, and the Turkish, Arabic and Persian languages and literature. Radu converted to Islam, entered Ottoman service, and became a prominent commander of the Jan-Nissari Corps, while Vlad developed a secret hatred for both his Muslim brother and the latter’s patron, the Crown Prince, who would later become Sultan Mohammad II. While Vlad was sent to Wallachia to succeed his father, Radu by the age of 22 became a leading figure at the Ottoman court. Having participated in 1453 in the conquest of Constantinople, he was sent to suppress a rebellion in Anatolia near the border with Iran, and served during the Battle of Otlukbeli against Uzun Hassan, the Aq Qoyunlu (White Sheep) ruler. On the start of Vlad’s rebellion, Radu and his Jan-Nissari battalion were given responsibility of leading the Ottoman army to victory. The brothers fought lingering battles with each other, and soon Radu gained control of his father’s principality of Wallachia, where at the age of 26 he was proclaimed the Ottoman Pasha. His sudden death, however, at the age of 40 in 1475 triggered the comeback of his brother Vlad the Impaler, who was finally killed in 1476.

476 solar years ago, on this day in 1542 AD, Mohammad Jalal od-Din Akbar, the 3rd Moghal Emperor of Hindustan (Northern Subcontinent) and eastern parts of Afghanistan, was born. Akbar, whose ancestors included the fearsome conquerors, Timur and Genghis Khan, ascended the throne as a youth of 13 years, following the death of his father, Humayun. Initially his rule extended only over the Punjab and the area around Delhi. With the help of his guardian, the famed Baharlu Turkman Chief, Bayram Khan, he won the 2nd Battle of Panipat in 1556 by decisively defeating the newly self-declared Hindu king, Hemu. As his power and prestige increased, the Rajput chieftains acknowledged his suzerainty. He continued his conquests, taking the Muslim kingdoms of Malwa (in 1561), Gujarat (in 1573), Bengal (in 1576), Kashmir (in 1586), and Khandesh (in 1601).  He encouraged scholars, poets, painters, and musicians, making his court a centre of culture. He had Sanskrit classics translated into Persian. He not only granted lands and money for the mosques but the list of the recipients included a huge number Hindu temples in north and central India, Christian churches in Goa. He appointed as “Qazi al-Quzzat” (Chief Judge), the famous Iranian scholar, Seyyed Noorollah Shoushtari, the author of such books as “Majalis al-Momineen” and “Ahqaq al-Haq”, who was unfortunately martyred by his son and successor, Emperor Jahangir, on the insinuation of the enemies of the Ahl al-Bayt of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), and is subsequently known as “Shaheed Salles” (3rd Martyr).

112 solar years ago, on this day in 1906 AD, the Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Sheikh Hassan Ahmad Abdur-Rahman Mohammad al-Banna, was born in Egypt. In his youth he became involved with Sufi orders, and during the revolution of 1919 he participated in demonstrations against British rule. In March 1928 he launched the society of Muslim Brothers, and his political activities brought him into conflict with the regime. In February 1949 at the age of 43, he was shot fatally and died as a result.

110 lunar years ago, on this day in 1330 AH, the combatant Iranian religious leader, Mirza Ali Aqa Siqqat-ol-Islam Tabrizi, was martyred by the invading Russian forces. He played an important role in Tabriz, as an activist of the Constitutional Revolution. He resolutely struggled against the occupation of parts of northwestern Iran in the Caucasus by Czarist Russia, while guiding and leading people to this end. The Russians, who considered him an opponent, kidnapped and martyred him.

74 solar years ago, on this day in 1944 AD, Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, committed suicide on the orders of the Nazi despot, Adolf Hitler. He led the German forces in North Africa and successfully confined the British forces to northern Egypt, before shortage of equipment made him pull back in the face of British counterattacks.  In 1944, he was commander of German defense lines in Italy and Balkan in 1944 but maintained differences of opinion with Hitler in regard to the conduction of war. Following the failed assassination attempt on Hitler, suspicion centred on Rommel, who was forced to end his own life.

71 lunar years ago, on this day in 1369 AH, senior Iranian religious leader, Ayatollah Mirza Mohammad Ali Shahabadi, passed away in Tehran at the age of 77. He was an accomplished scholar in the field of philosophy and Gnosticism and groomed numerous students at the Qom Seminary. Among his prominent students was the Father of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (RA). Ayatollah Shahabadi wrote a large number of books and treatises including "al-Insaan wa’l-Khateraat".

65 solar years ago, on this day in 1953 AD, armed Zionists committed another horrific crime in the West Bank village of Qibya, massacring for two days Palestinian men, women and children, and razing their homes to the ground. The Zionist troops were led by Ariel Sharon, who three decades later was to earn lasting notoriety as the Butcher of Sabra and Shatilla in southern Lebanon. This ruthless slaughter is another example of Israel’s policy of state terrorism.

62 solar years ago, on this day in 1956 AD, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, the Indian Untouchable caste leader, and the main architect of the constitution of India following independence from British rule, converted to Buddhism along with 385,000 of his followers, because of oppression and discrimination by the so-called upper caste Hindus. Over a decade earlier, Ambedkar, along with his followers, had planned to convert to Islam, but was dissuaded by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, who fearing a dramatic increase in the Muslim population of India, coined the term ‘harijan’ or ‘children of God’ for the untouchables. Ambedkar called those of his race who had not converted as “Dalit” or the oppressed, a term which is still in use for over 30 percent of India’s population which are original habitants of the Subcontinent before the Aryan invasion and imposition of the Hindu creed. 

54 solar years ago, on this day in 1964 AD, Secretary-General of the Soviet Union's Communist Party, Nikita Khrushchev, was dismissed. As a member of the Politburo he emerged as the most powerful man in the USSR following the death of dictator, Joseph Stalin, in 1953. He attempted political and economic changes in the Soviet system, but his measures were strongly opposed by hardcore members of the communist party. Khrushchev was replaced by Leonid Brezhnev, and died in 1971.

23 solar years ago, on this day in 1995 AD, the jurisprudent, Ayatollah Mohammad Baqer Mohsini Malayeri, passed away at the age of 89 in holy Qom. Born in holy Najaf, Iraq, in a family of scholars, he was a child when his father returned to his ancestral town Malayer in western Iran. He first studied religious sciences in holy Mashhad before settling in holy Qom on the revival of its Islamic seminary by Ayatollah Abdul-Karim Ha’eri Yazdi, whose classes he attended. He later studied under Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Hussain Boroujerdi and attained the status of Ijtehad. Ayatollah Mohammad Baqer Mohsini Malayeri was known for his piety and high spiritual status.

20 solar years ago, on this day in 1998 AD, prominent Iranian poet, Seyyed Mohammad Ali Safeer, passed away at the age of 77. After seminary studies he enrolled at Tehran University and graduated in both rational and traditional sciences. He was socially active and took part in establishment cultural and religious centres, especially the famous Hussainiyeh Irshad of Tehran. He was devout artist as well, as is borne out by the calligraphic works on titles of mosques. In addition to his Divan of poems, he wrote several books, such as “Khiradnameh”, and edited the Persian translation of verses attributed to the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS).

19 solar years ago, on this day in 1999 AD, the former Tanzanian leader, Julius Kambarage Nyerere, died at the age of 77. He rose to prominence in Tanganyika, becoming premier in 1961 and president in 1962. In 1964, he forcibly annexed the Muslim-ruled island state of Zanzibar-Pemba, merged it with Tanganyika and renamed the country Tanzania. He was president until the year 1985.

AS/SS