Today is Saturday; 12th of the Iranian month of Aban 1397 solar hijri; corresponding to 24th of the Islamic month of Safar 1440 lunar hijri; and November 3, 2018, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1657 solar years ago, on this day in 361 AD, Roman Emperor Constantius II died in Cilicia in what is now south-central Turkey at the age of 44 after a reign of 24 years during which he was involved in war with Emperor Shapur II of the Sassanid Empire of Iran for control of Syria and what is now south-central Turkey. The second son of Constantine I – the imposer of Pauline Christianity on the Empire – he ascended to the throne on the division of the empire with his brothers Constantine II and Constans in 337 upon the death of their father, who by turning down 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 Persians.

1093 lunar years ago, on this day in 347 AH, the Iranian hadith expert and Arabic grammarian, Obaidollah ibn Ja’far ibn al-Marzuban al-Farisi ibn Dorostawaih, passed away at the age of 89. Born in Baghdad, he learned intricacies of the Arabic language from Ali ibn Eisa Rommani and was also an exegete of the holy Qur’an, besides being a transmitter of Hadith masters, such as Abbas ad-Durri. Among the books authored by him are: “al-Kuttab”, “Akhbar an-Nahwiyeen”, “Ma’ani She’r”, and “Ibtaal al-Addaad” (Refuting the Opposites).

1055 lunar years ago, on this day in 385 AH, the famous Iranian statesman and man of letters, Abu’l-Qasem Ismail Ibn Hassan Taleqani, known as Saheb Ibn Abbad, passed away in Isfahan at the age of 58. A staunch follower of the Ahl al-Bayt of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), he served as the Grand Vizier to the Buwaiyhid Dynasty of Iran-Iraq-Oman for 18 years. He wrote mostly in Arabic on theology, history, grammar, and lexicography, in addition to literary criticism and composing of excellent Arabic poetry. He learnt Hadith from his father and the holy Qur’an from his mother. In Isfahan he studied under such great masters as Ahmad Ibn Farres Raazi and Abdullah Ibn Farres. Saheb Ibn Abbad was a patron of scholars and poets, and respected jurists and theologians. He had a great library in the city of Rayy – a suburb of Tehran today – containing over 100,000 books. He authored over 30 books including one on Imamate, or divinely-decreed leadership to prove the superiority of Imam Ali (AS) over others. His other books include a Diwan of poetry, a book on medicine, the 7-volume work on lexicography titled "al-Moheet", and a treatise on the biography of Seyyed Abdul Azim al-Hasani, the great-great-grandson of Imam Hasan Mojtaba (AS), whose shrine is the main centre of pilgrimage in Tehran.

414 solar years ago, on this day in 1604 AD, the Ottoman Sultan, Osman II, was born to Sultan Ahmad and his Greek wife Maria – renamed Mah-Firuzeh Khadija on becoming Muslim. He ascended the throne at the young age of 14, as a result of a palace coup against his uncle Mustafa I. Four years later in 1622 he was strangled to death by his vizier, following his plans to reorganize the army and the administrative system in the wake of the treaty imposed on humiliating terms in the Moldavian Wars when he personally led the Turkish forces into Poland, after securing the eastern borders with Safavid Iran by signing the Treaty of Serav with Shah Abbas I. He was fluent in Arabic, Persian, Greek, Latin and Italian.

399 solar years ago, on this day in 1619 AD, the sixth and last of the Great Moghal emperors of the subcontinent, Mohi od-Din Mohammad titled Aurangzeb Alamagir, was born at Dohad, while his grandfather Noor od-Din Jahangir was marching from Gujarat to Ujjain. His father was Shahab od-Din Shahjahan, while his mother was Arjumand Banu titled Mumtaz Mahal, who was the daughter of the Iranian émigré to India, Asaf Khan Tehrani – brother of the empress Noor Jahan. Aurangzeb ruled for half-a-century, extending the empire to the southernmost part of India, as well as the eastern-most parts, in addition to ruling the eastern part of Afghanistan, where he was involved in a struggle with the Safavid Empire of Iran.

179 solar years ago, on this day in 1839 AD, with the attack of the British navy on Chinese civilian ships, the Opium War broke out, and intensified eight months later as of July 5, 1840. The motivation was to expand opium trade in China, which led to drug addiction of a large number of Chinese people. The Chinese government threw 20,000 bags containing opium into the sea, which led to breakout of war. China lost the war and was forced to grant numerous concessions, but, Britain was intent on resuming the opium trade and imposed a new war in 1856, in collaboration with France. In 1860, as the colonial forces approached the capital, Beijing, China surrendered and the opium trade was resumed. It was during these wars that the British seized Hong Kong.

168 lunar years ago, on this day in 1272 AH, the prominent religious scholar, Mullah Mohammad Taqi Astarabadi, passed away while on a visit to Tehran. Son of the noted religious scholar, Mullah Mohammad Ismail, he was a student of Mohammad Taqi bin Mohammad Rahim od-Din Tehrani-Isfahani, the author of “Hidayat al-Mustarshedin”, and attained the status of Ijtehad. He spent fourteen years in Iraq attending the classes of the famous scholars of the holy cities of Najaf and Karbala.

115 solar years ago, on this day in 1903 AD, Ishtiaq Hussain Qureshi, prominent historian of the Subcontinent, and professor of political history at Karachi University, Pakistan, was born in Etah, a town in Uttar Pradesh, India. He did matriculation in 1916, and joined MAO College Aligarh. He took active part in the Khilafat Movement against abolishment of the Ottoman caliphate, while completing post-graduation with distinction in Persian language from St. Stephen's College, Delhi in 1927, which he joined the next year as Lecturer in History. Between 1937 and 1940, he studied at Cambridge University, Britain for a PhD degree, the topic of his thesis being “Administration of Sultanate of Delhi”. During this period in London, he also briefly joined the Pakistan National Movement founded by Choudhary Rahmat Ali. After returning home, he rejoined Delhi University where he was appointed Professor of History, and subsequently the Dean of the Faculty of Arts. In 1947, during the partition riots, when the Muslim students of the St Stephen's College had to be evacuated to the Purana Qila, and Dr Qureshi's library was completely burnt down by anti-Muslim mobs. He decided to migrate to Pakistan in 1948, where he continued his academic and political career, and served as a member of the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan. In 1949, he was appointed Professor of History at the University of the Punjab, Lahore. He also joined the Government of Pakistan as Minister of Refugee Rehabilitation, and later as Minister of Education. Later on, he joined the Columbia University, New York where he wrote his famous book, “Muslim Community of South Asia”, as a story of the trials and tribulations of the Muslims in the Subcontinent. On his return, he played a pivotal role in the establishment of the University of Karachi, and died on 22 January 1981 in Karachi. Some of his books are: “Ulema in Politics”, “Akbar, the Architect of Mughal Empire”, “Administration of the Mughal Empire”, “Struggle for Pakistan”, and “Islam – Religion of Peace”. He also edited the four-volume series on History of Pakistan.

110 solar years ago, on this day in 1908 AD, the combatant religious leader, Grand Ayatollah Mirza Hussain Hussaini, popular as Mirza Khalili, passed away at the age of 93. Born in holy Najaf, he studied under prominent ulema such as Shaikh Mohammad Hassan Najafi (author of “Jawaher al-Kalaam”) and Ayatollah Shaikh Morteza Ansari Dezfuli (author of “Rasa’el” and “Makaseb”). On the passing away of Grand Ayatollah Mirza Hassan Shirazi (famous for his anti-tobacco fatwa to save Iranian economy from British exploitation), he was acknowledged as Source of Emulation for Shi’a Muslims of Iran, Iraq, Syria and the Subcontinent. He backed the Constitutional Revolution against the despotism of the Qajarids in Iran, and on the victory of this movement formed its 3-member leadership council at the Najaf Seminary, along with the scholars Akhound Mullah Mohammad Kazem Khorasani and Mirza Abdullah Mazandarani. He groomed scholars and wrote many books.

86 lunar years ago, on this day in 1354 AH, the Urdu poet and playwright, Agha Mohammad Shah, known as "Hashr Kashmiri", passed away in India at the age of 60. He was born in the city of Benares, and in addition to being a memorizer of the Holy Qur’an was an accomplished scholar in Arabic, Persian, and Urdu languages. He composed poems and wrote a total number of 36 plays. His writings were in simple, fluent language, in which he depicted the problems of daily life in an impressive manner.

63 solar years ago, on this day in 1955 AD, Iranian researcher, literary figure and university professor, Dr. Ahmad Bahmanyar Kirmani, passed away at the age of 72 in Tehran. Born in Kirman, he received his early education from his scholarly father Aqa Mohammad Ali, and from his brother. He soon became proficient in Arabic and Persian literature and at the young age of sixteen could teach Arabic grammar and literature and write a commentary on one of his father’s scholarly works. Two periods can be distinguished in his life. During the first one (1910-29) he joined the Constitutional Movement, published the weekly paper “Dehqan” in Kirman (1st issue Shawwal 1329 AH/October 1911 AD) and later the “Fikr-e Azad” in Mashhad (1922-23) and Tehran (1924). In 1915, due to his political involvements, he was exiled by the British from Kerman to Fars, where he was jailed for more than fourteen months. While in jail he learned Ottoman Turkish and translated a few Turkish poems into Persian. He also studied astronomy with a fellow prisoner. Upon his release he went to Tehran and entered the government service, serving the Ministries of Finance, Education, and Justice in a number of cities for about nine years. During the second period (1929 until his death in 1955), he became a high-school teacher in Tehran, a faculty member at the Dar al-Mo’allemin (Teachers’ College; 1931), professor of Arabic and Persian at Tehran University (1935), and a permanent member of the Farhangestan-e Iran (Academy of Iran; 1942). Bahmanyar’s work is characterized by clarity and simplicity of language. It includes “Tohfa-ye Ahmadiya”, a two-volume commentary on the Alfiya of Ibn Malek (1912), a biography of the famous Iranian vizier of the Buwaiyhid Dynasty Saheb ibn Abbad Ismail Taleqani), and critical editions of Mohammad bin Monawwar’s “Asrar at-Tawhid” (1935), Baha od-Din Mohammad Baghdadi’s “At-Tawassol ila’t-Tarassol” (1936), Ibn Fondoq’s “Tarikh-e Bayhaq” (1938), Abu Mansur’s “Kitab al-Abniya an“Haqa’eq al-Adwiya”, some treatises of Hajj Mohammad-Karim Kirmani, and a number of articles. His “Majma’ al-Amsal” is yet to be published. Bahmanyar also wrote some poetry, and a memoir “Yaddasht-e Ayyam-e Avaragi”.

62 solar years ago, on this day in 1956 AD, during Israel's war on Egypt, Zionist troops massacred at least 275 people in the city of Khan Younes in the Gaza Strip. They hanged 25 Egyptian soldiers, besides raiding the city’s hospital and killing all the patients, as well as nurses, and physicians. They then bombed and flattened the city’s shelter where dozens of women, children, and elderly had taken refuge.

43 solar years ago, on this day in 1975 AD, the Iranian philosopher, jurist, and theologian, Allamah Mirza Abu’l-Hassan Sha’rani Tehrani passed away in his hometown Tehran at the age of 73 and was laid to rest in the mausoleum of Seyyed Abdul-Azim al-Hassani. Son of the scholar Shaikh Mohammad Tehrani and grandson of Abu’l-Hassan Mujtahed Tehrani and of Mullah Fathollah, the author of the commentary of “Manhaj-as-Sadeqin”, he studied in the famous seminary of holy Najaf and on his return to Iran developed into one of the great teachers of the philosophical school of Tehran. In addition to mastering religious sciences, he studied medicine and astronomy, and was fluent in Persian, Arabic, French and Hebrew. His teachers included Ayatollah Seyyed Hassan Modarres, Allamah Shaikh Aqa Bozorg Tehrani, Ayatollah Mirza Mahdi Ashtiani, Ayatollah Abu Turab Khwansari, and Grand Ayatollah Shaikh Abdul-Karim Haeri Yazdi, the Reviver of the Qom Seminary. He, in turn groomed several students, many of whom developed into prominent scholars such as Ayatollah Mirza Hashem Amoli, Shaikh Ali Asghar Karbaschian (Founder of Tehran’s Alavi High school), Ayatollah Hassan Hassanzadeh Amoli, Ayatollah Javadi Amoli, Dr Mahdi Mohaqeq, Dr Mohammad Khwansari and others. Ayatollah Sha’rani, in addition to teaching religious sciences at Tehran’s Sepah-Salar School (presently Martyr Motahhari) and Marvi School, was a full professor at the Faculty of Literature of Tehran University. He wrote many books on diverse subjects, such as theology, jurisprudence, philosophy and Hadith. He translated from Arabic to Persian such books as “Nafas al-Mahmoum” and “Sahifat-as-Sajjadiyah”. His works include: Commentary on the book of “al-Wafi”; Notes on “al-Kafi” in 12 volumes; Annotation of the exegesis “Majma’ al Bayan”; Preface and Notes on “Asrar al Hikam” (Mysteries of Wisdom), and translation of “Flamarion” to French.

12 solar years ago, on this day in 2006 AD the Islamic Republic of Iran successfully test-fired three new models of sea missiles in the Persian Gulf waters, as part of its efforts to boost defence capabilities.

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