Today is Monday 12th of the Iranian month of Azar 1397 solar hijri; corresponding to 25th of the Islamic month of Rabi al-Awwal 1440 lunar hijri; and December 3, 2018 of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1707 solar years ago, on this day in 311 AD, Roman Emperor Diocletian, an obstinate pagan who mercilessly persecuted monotheists and followers of other religions, committed suicide six years after abdicating the throne, following 21 years of tyrannical rule. Of low birth and cruel and crafty by nature, he was proclaimed emperor by his soldiers in Asia Minor on the sudden and suspicious death of Numerian, the son and successor of Emperor Carus – who days earlier had died of wounds in Mesopotamia during the war against Emperor Bahram II of the Sassanid Persian Empire. Diocletian massacred tens of thousands of monotheist followers of Prophet Jesus as well as adherents of the sect called Christianity, invented by Paul the Hellenized Jew. He destroyed the newly built church in Nicomedia in present day Turkey and burned all scriptures. He ordered the persecution of Manicheans, as a political ploy, compounding religious dissent with international politics, since followers of this creed amongst the Romans were supported by the Sassanid Empire of Iran, which he had managed to defeat with great difficulty in 299 and impose the humiliating Peace of Nisbis in northern Mesopotamia and Armenia on Emperor Narseh.

1004 lunar years ago, on this day in 436 AH, the great scholar and jurisprudent, Seyyed Ali Ibn Hussain, popularly known as Sharif Murtaza, passed away at the age of 81 in his hometown Baghdad. He was born in a family descended on both sides from Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny). His father Hussain was 5^th in line of descent from Imam Musa al-Kazem (AS), while his mother, Fatema – a scion of the family that had carved out an independent state in Tabaristan on the Caspian Sea coast of Iran – was a descendant of Imam Zain al-Abedin (AS). It was she who entrusted her two sons, as students, to the great scholar, Sheikh Mufid, who on her insistence had written one of his famous books “Ahkam an-Nisa” or jurisprudential rules for women. Sharif Murtaza’s vast knowledge earned him the title of 'Alam al-Huda' (Banner of Guidance). He wrote some 66 books and treatises on a variety of topics such as theology, jurisprudence, Qur’anic sciences, grammar, literature, and poetry. This leading Mujtahed served for 30 years as the Chief Judge of Baghdad, and was highly respected by all, including Sunni Muslims. Acknowledged as the greatest scholar of his era, during the rule of the Iranian Buwaiyhid Dynasty over Iraq-Iran-Oman, he groomed many outstanding ulema, including the famous Iranian scholar Shaikh at-Ta’efa Tusi – the founder of the celebrated Islamic Seminary of Najaf. Sharif Murtaza was the elder brother of the equally prominent, Sharif Radhi, the compiler of the famous book “Nahj al-Balagha” – the collection of the sermons, letters and maxims of the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali (AS). His books include “al-Intisar”, “ash-Shafi”, “at-Tanzih al-Anbiyya”, “al-Ghurar wa’d-Durar” and “Zakhirat al-Usul al-Fiqh”, as well as a Diwan containing over 20,000 of his Arabic verses.

571 solar years ago, on this day in 1447 AD, the 8th Ottoman Sultan, Bayezid II, was born to Mohammad II, the conqueror of Constantinople. He ascended the throne in 1481 and during his 31-year rule which ended in 1512 with his overthrow by his son, Selim I, and death a few months later, he consolidated the Empire. Though he defeated a joint army of Croatia and Hungary at the Battle of Krbava in 1393, and in 1501 conquered the whole of Peloponnese Peninsula from the Venetians, he has earned lasting notoriety for betraying the aspirations of the Muslims of Spain, starting inter-Muslim warfare with the Mamluk Dynasty of Egypt-Syria, and picking up a quarrel with the Safavid Empire of Iran by ordering massacre of followers of the Ahl al-Bayt of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). In 1485, he invaded Mamluk-controlled southern Anatolia instead of concentrating on European campaigns, much to the relief of Spanish Christians besieging the Emirate of Granada, the last stronghold of Muslims in Iberia or Andalus, which fell in 1492 and whose ruler had appealed to the Mamluks for help. The 6-year Ottoman-Mamluk War ended in 1491 with the boundaries remaining unchanged, following two heavy defeats suffered by Bayezid’s forces. In 1492, Bayezid sent his navy under Admiral Kemal Reis to evacuate Jews from Spain and resettle them throughout the Ottoman Empire. He issued a farman to the provincial governors to give them a friendly reception, threatening with death all those who treated the Jews harshly or refused them admission. On the advice of Moses Capsali, a Jewish friend, Bayezid imposed a tax upon the rich to ransom Jews from persecution in Europe. Under his rule, Jews enjoyed a cultural flourishing, with the presence of such scholars as the Talmudist Mordecai Comtino and the liturgical poet Menahem Tamar. In his last year in power, he opened up hostilities with the local Qizilbash Turks of Anatolia as a provocation against the rising power of Shah Ismael of Iran.

146 solar years ago, on this date in 1872 AD, a translation from cuneiform tablets of the ancient Chaldean account of the Great Deluge, discovered in Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq) was read by George Smith before the Society of Biblical Archaeology in London, causing sensation, since this predated the Jewish account of the Great Flood by several centuries. Smith had pieced together fragments of tablets at the British Museum brought from Ninevah. This is now known as the eleventh tablet of the Gilgamesh epic. The most reliable account of the Great Deluge or Flood that occurred in the days of Prophet Noah, is given in the holy Qur'an – God's Final Revelation to mankind. According to historical evidence, Kufa in Iraq was Noah's hometown with the exact location of his house being what is now the Grand Mosque of Kufa – the 3rd holiest site in Islam after Mecca and Medina – from where the flood waters started. The sinners drowned, while Noah and the faithful aboard the Ark were saved. It is interesting to note that an ancient plaque found on Mount Ararat in the Caucasus where Noah's Ark came to rest, is being kept at the Moscow Museum in Russia. Written in a now extinct Semitic language, its contents have been deciphered by scholars who say it is a supplication to the One and Only God invoking the names of five holy personages – Hmda, Eiliya, Batoula, Shabara, and Shubayra, which Islamic scholars point out are a reference to Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), Imam Ali (AS), Hazrat Fatema Zahra (SA), Imam Hasan (AS) and Imam Husain (AS), whose names, as the Chosen Ones of God, were invoked by all Prophets since Adam, including Moses and Jesus (peace upon them).

134 solar years ago, on this day in 1884 AD, India’s first president, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, was born in Siwan district of Bihar State. His father was a scholar of both the Persian and Sanskrit languages, and despite being a Hindu, placed his five-year-old son under the tutelage of an accomplished Muslim scholar to learn the Urdu and Persian languages, as well as arithmetic. After obtaining MA in economics, he joined the Indian National Congress in 1911 for struggle against British colonial rule, and was soon elected chairman of the party. Following India’s independence in 1947 and establishment of republican system in 1950, he was elected as the country’s first president, a post which he retained for 12 years until his death in office.

124 solar years ago, on this day in 1894 AD, Scottish writer, Robert Louis Stevenson, died in Samoa in the Pacific Ocean at the age of 44. He was the author of such works as “Treasure Island”, “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”, “The Master of Ballantrae”, and “Kidnapped”.

108 solar years ago, on this day in 1910 AD, modern neon lighting was first demonstrated by Georges Claude at the Paris Motor Show.

107 solar years ago, on this day in 1911 AD, the Iraq-based ulema of Iran decided to migrate to Tehran to save the country from colonialist plots, following a Russian ultimatum to the elected Majlis to dismiss American lawyer William Morgan Shuster, from his post as Treasurer-General, or face war. Following triumph of the Constitutional Movement, Shuster, as a representative of an independent and emerging country, was appointed by the Majlis to improve Iran’s financial position which the weak Qajarid monarchy had mortgaged to the two colonialist powers, Britain and Russia. When the Majlis, encouraged by the support of the ulema, rejected the Russian ultimatum, Russia invaded and occupied the northern parts of Iran. Meanwhile, Shaikh Abdullah Mazandarani, who along with Ayatollah Akhound Khorasani and others, was all set to travel to Iran, suddenly died under suspicious conditions in Iraq (believed to be poisoning by colonialist agents), thereby disrupting the planned migration to Tehran. Under Russian and British pressure, and against the will of the Majlis, Shuster was dismissed. On returning to the US, he wrote a scathing indictment of Russian and British meddling in the affairs of Iran, titled “The Strangling of Persia”.

99 solar years ago, on this day in 1919 AD, acclaimed French painter, Auguste Renoir, passed away at the age of 78. He was one of the pioneers of the Impressionist Movement in painting.

47 solar years ago, on this day in 1971 AD, India and Pakistan fought their 3rd and last war that ended 13 days later with the surrender of Pakistani forces to the Indian army on the eastern frontier in East Pakistan, which became the new country of Bangladesh.

39 solar years ago, on this day in 1979 AD, the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Constitution was ratified following overwhelming majority of votes, cast by the people. The Constitution determines the principal policies of the country based on Islamic teachings and values, social justice, and human rights. In 1989, an amendment to the Constitution took place following its ratification by the Guardian Council and vote of approval by the people.

34 solar years ago, on this day in 1984 AD, a major catastrophe occurred in the central Indian city of Bhopal following leakage of chemical gases from the US-run Union Carbide factory, resulting in the immediate death of some 4,000 people, mostly Muslims, and injuries to some 600,000 others, of which some 6,000 later died from their injuries in one of the worst industrial disasters in history. Over 40 tons of highly poisonous MIC gas leaked out of the pesticide factory around midnight, enveloping an area of 40 sq km, and causing acute breathlessness, pain in the eyes and vomiting to the people. Poison clouds hung close to the ground for more than four hours. To date the victims have not been adequately compensated, although the US says it paid money to India in 1989. Many believe the leakage was deliberate to see how many people would be affected and to what degrees.

32 solar years ago, on this day in 1986 AD, following the call of the Father of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (RA), for bolstering of defence forces on the frontlines of the war imposed by the US through Saddam of Iraq’s repressive Ba’th minority regime, tens of thousands of volunteers registered nationwide, vowing their resolve for jihad and martyrdom for protection of the Islamic Republic. The result was formation of the elite “Mohammad Rasoulollah Corps” which created panic in the hearts of the enemies of Islamic Iran.

31 solar years ago, on this day in 1987 AD, Iran test-fired its first ballistic surface-to-surface missile during the US-imposed war on the Islamic Republic of Iran through Saddam’s repressive Ba’th minority regime. It was a major stride for the defence industries following years of sanctions on purchase of weapons from abroad during the 8-year unequal war, in which the Islamic Republic was fighting virtually the whole world – the Capitalist West and the Communist East. Soon, Iran started mass producing ballistic missiles, and now has an arsenal of highly advanced missiles of various categories– surface, air, marine – far longer in range, faster in speed, and accurate on targets.

AS/SS