Today is Sunday; 25th of the Iranian month of Azar 1397 solar hijri; corresponding to 8th of the Islamic month of Rabi as-Sani 1440 lunar hijri; and December 16, 2018, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1263 solar years ago, on this day in 755 AD, Aan Lushan, a general of Sogdian-Turkic ethnicity who had risen in the court of the Tang Emperor of China, launched his revolt against Chancellor Yang Guozhong at Yanjing. The rebellion spanned the reigns of three Tang emperors before it was quashed in 763, and involved a wide range of regional powers, including Arab and Persian Muslims, Iranian Sogdian forces, and the pagan Gogturks. The rebellion and disorder resulted in a huge loss of life and large-scale destruction. It significantly weakened the Tang dynasty at a time when it was all set to defeat the Tibetan Empire, and led to the loss of the western regions. As a matter of fact, the western expansion of the Tang Empire was checked four years earlier in 751 by the victory of the Muslims over a large Chinese army in the Battle of Talas in the Ferghana Valley, following the defection of the Karluk Turks during the midst of the battle. Aan Lushan was given control over the entire area north of the lower reaches of the Yellow River, including garrisons about 164,000 strong. He took advantage of various circumstances, such as popular discontent with an extravagant Tang court, the Iranian-involved Abbasid Rebellion against the Omayyad Dynasty, and eventually the absence of strong troops guarding the palace. In 756, over 22,000 Arab-Iranian Muslims were sent by the Abbasid caliph to aid the Tang. They stayed in China after the war and intermarried with the Hui Chinese – who are predominantly Muslim till this day. During the rebellion the port of Canton (present day Guangzhou, near the mouth of the South China Sea) was pillaged in 758 by sea-borne Arab and Persian forces.

1208 lunar years ago, on this day in 232 AH, Imam Hasan al-Askari (AS), the 11th Infallible Heir of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), was born in the city of Medina. He later moved to Samarra to join his father, Imam Ali al-Hadi (AS), who was forced to come to Iraq by the tyrant Mutawakkel, the 10th self-styled caliph of the usurper Abbasid regime. The mantle of Imamate or divinely-decreed leadership of mankind came to rest on Imam Hassan Askari’s (AS) young shoulders at the age of 22, following the martyrdom of his father through poisoning by the 13th treacherous caliph, Mu’taz. For six years, the 11th Imam guided the ummah, until his own martyrdom in the prime of youth by another tyrannical caliph, Mo’tamed. During this period, his son and successor, Imam Mahdi (AS) was born and brought up in secrecy –safe and secure from the Abbasid spies. The 12th Imam, who is currently in occultation by God’s Will, will emerge in the end times as the Redeemer of mankind to cleanse the earth of all vestiges of corruption and oppression by establishing the global government of peace, prosperity and justice. We hereby felicitate the auspicious birth anniversary of Imam Hassan Askari (AS) and later in our programme will present to you a special feature on his life and times.

1083 lunar years ago, on this day in 357 AH, the famous Arabic poet, statesman, and warrior, Harres bin Sa’eed, known popularly as Abu Firaas Hamdani, passed away. He was a cousin and brother-in-law of the Hamdanid ruler of Aleppo and northern Syria, Sayf od-Dowlah, and was one of commanders in the campaigns against the Byzantine Empire. He, like the rest of the Hamdanids was a devotee of the Ahl al-Bayt, and wrote his odes describing the injustices committed by the caliphs against the progeny of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). He was once captured by the Byzantines and was freed four years later through payment of ransom. In another battle, he was injured and finally succumbed to his wounds. The reputation of Abu Firaas owes much to his personal qualities. Handsome in person, of noble family, brave, generous, and extolled by his contemporaries as “excelling in every virtue”, he lived up to the Islamic Arab ideal of chivalry which he expressed in his poetry. His poems are popular till this day, especially the “ar-Roumiyaat”, written during his captivity by Byzantines or eastern Romans. His diwan was edited with a commentary (largely from the poet himself) shortly after his death by his tutor, the famous Iranian grammarian of Arabic language, Ibn Khalawaiyh, who lived in Syria at the Hamdanid court.

544 solar years ago, on this day in 1474 AD, the theologian, astronomer and mathematician, Ala od-Din Ali Ibn Mohammed, known as Ali Qushji or Qushju-Zadeh (Son of Falconer), passed away in Istanbul at the age of 71. Born in Samarqand, he was of Iranian origin and played a prominent intellectual role in the court of the astronomer-king Ulugh Beg, after studying under such famous scientists as Qazi-Zadeh Roumi, Ghiyas od-Din Jamshid Kashani and Moin od-Din Kashi. He rejected Aristotelian physics and separated natural philosophy from astronomy, allowing it to become a purely empirical and mathematical science. Long before Copernicus, he provided evidence of the Earth's rotation in his treatise, titled: "Concerning the Supposed Dependence of Astronomy upon Philosophy". He contributed to Ulugh Beg's famous work "Zijj-e-Sultani" and authored several scientific books. He moved to Kerman in southern Iran where he conducted researches on the storms in the Gulf of Oman. In Kerman he completed the book "Hall-e Ishkal-e Qamar" (Explanations of the Periods of the Moon) and also "Sharh-e Tajrid", which is an explanation of the famous Iranian theologian-scientist, Khwaja Naseer od-Din Tousi's "Tajrid al-Kalaam". It is considered one of the important works on physics, optics, metaphysics, and mathematics. In Herat, he taught astronomy to the Persian poet, Mullah Jami. After Ulugh Beg’s assassination, Qushji went to Tabriz, where around 1470 the Aq Qoyunlu ruler, Uzun Hassan, sent him as a delegate to the court of the Ottoman Sultan, Mohammad II, for whom he wrote in Persian the treatise on astronomy titled "Risalah dar Hayy’at".

420 solar years ago, on this day in 1598 AD, the decisive victory of China and the Korean allied forces over Japan in the Battle of Noryang ended the Seven-Year War. Fought between the invading Japanese navy on one side and the combined fleets of the Korean Joseon Kingdom and the Chinese Ming Dynasty on the other side, the allied force of 150 ships attacked and either destroyed or captured more than half of the 500 Japanese ships. The battered Japanese survivors limped back to Pusan and a few days later, left for Japan

245 solar years ago, on this day in 1773 AD, as prelude to the revolt of the American colonies against Britain, the famous event known as the “Boston Tea Party” occurred, when rebels disguised as Mohawk Amerindians climbed ships in the Boston port, and dumped hundreds of crates of tea into the sea, as a protest against the Tea Act. The plot was to put the blame on the natives.

243 solar years ago, on this day in 1775 AD, British novelist Jane Austin, novelist, was born in Hampshire. Her works include “Sense and Sensibility” “Pride and Prejudice”, and “Emma”.

172 lunar years ago, on this day in 1268 AH, the celebrated religious scholar, Ayatollah Seyyed Murtaza Kashmiri, was born in scholarly family in Kashmir. He travelled to Iraq at a young age for higher academic studies at the famous Najaf seminary. On mastering various branches of Islamic sciences he groomed a large number of students. He wrote several books, and passed away at the age of 55.

106 solar years ago, on this day in 1912 AD during the First Balkan War, the Greek navy defeated the Ottoman navy at the Battle of Elli (Turkish: Imroz Deniz Muharebesi) near the mouth of the Dardanelles. It was the largest sea battle of the Balkan Wars. The retreating Turkish navy left the Aegean Sea to the Greeks who were now free to occupy the islands of Lesbos, Chios, Lemnos and Samos. It also prevented any transfer of Ottoman troop reinforcements by sea and effectively secured Ottoman defeat on land.

101 solar years ago, on this day in 1917 AD, noted Pakistani scholar of Urdu, Persian, Sindhi and Arabic, Nabi Bakhsh Khan Baloch, was born in Leghari village, Sanghar District of Sindh. Educated at Bombay, Junagarh and the US, he served as Professor at the University of Sindh, Jamshoro, and later vice-chancellor. Before his death in Hyderabad, Sindh, at the age of 94, he wrote many books on Sindh's History and 42 volumes on Sindhi Folklore. In addition, he compiled Sindhi dictionary in five volumes. He wrote books prolifically in Sindhi, Urdu, English and Persian. These include the editing of the ancient text of “Chachnama” and its translation into English, “Baqiyaat az Kalhora” in Persian, “Beglar-Naama” of the Persian poet Idraaki Beglari, and “Takmilat-ut-Takmilah”, which is an addendum to the Persian books of Mir Ali Shir Qania's “Maqalaat-ush-Shu'ara” and Mohammad Ibrahim Khalil’s “Takmilah”.

101 lunar years ago, on this day in 1339 AH, prominent jurisprudent Fathollah bin Mohammad Namazi Gharawi, popular as Shaikh osh-Shari’ah Isfahani, was born in Isfahan in a family of scholars from Shiraz. After initial studies he enrolled at the seminary of holy Mashhad, where his teachers included Mullah Haidar Ali Isfahani, Mullah Abdul-Jawad Khorasani Modarris Kabir, and Mullah Ahmad Sabzevari. Here he established himself as a budding scholar with dynamic views. At the age of 30, he went to Iraq for higher studies at the famous seminary of holy Najaf, where his teachers were Mirza Habibollah Rashti and Shaikh Mohammad Hussain Faqih Kazemi.He soon became an authority on different branches of Islamic sciences, and the Marja’ or Source of Emulation. He wrote several books, including “Qa’eda’eh Sodoor”. He groomed many scholars, such as Seyyed Abdul-Hadi Shirazi, Shaikh Mohammad Hassan al-Muzaffar an-Najafi, Aqa Bozorg Tehrani, and Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Hussain Tabataba'i Boroujerdi. Sheikh osh-Shari’ah Isfahani was politically active against the colonialists, issuing fatwas on Italy’s aggression on Libya, the Russian attack on Khorasan and shelling of the holy shrine of Imam Reza (AS) in Mashhad, the invasion of the Ottoman state by European powers during World War 1, and the landing of British troops in Basra and their occupation of Iraq. He rejected any political, military, economic and cultural domination of Islamic lands by the colonialists. He passed away at the age of 73 and was laid to rest in the courtyard of the holy shrine of the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS).

98 solar years ago, on this day in 1920 AD, the Haiyuan earthquake with a magnitude of 8.5 degrees rocked the Gansu province in China, killing an estimated 200,000 people.

68 solar years ago, on this day in 1950 AD, the people of Cyprus started their movement for ending British colonial rule. Cyprus, the 3rd largest island in Mediterranean, came under Ottoman Turkish rule in 1570, after almost six centuries of the end of the first phase of partial Muslim rule. In 1878, during the Ottoman-Russian war, the British were allowed to set up a naval base on Cyprus. In 1914, following start of World War I, Britain annexed the island on the pretext of the Ottoman alliance with Germany, and in 1925 declared it as its colony. Since then, clashes between the Greek and Turkish Cypriot started. On August 14, 1960, Cyprus gained independence, but the confrontation between the two communities continued. In 1974, following a coup staged by Greek Cypriots to join the island with Greece, Turkey seized the northern part, which is home to Turkish-speaking Muslim Cypriots. The crisis has remained unsolved.

47 solar years ago, on this day in 1971 AD, the third war between India and Pakistan ended with the separation of East Pakistan and its renaming as the independent country of Bangladesh. The Bengalis had long complained of discrimination by West Pakistan, and in 1970 under leadership of Shaikh Mujib ur-Rahman of the Awami League, they called for secession which led to brutal crackdown by the central government in Islamabad. India utilized the situation to provide military assistance to the Bangladesh Liberation Front, and when war broke out, sent its army into East Pakistan and gained a swift victory. Lt.-Gen A. A. K. Niazi, of the Pakistan Army in East Pakistan signed the Instrument of Surrender this day.

27 solar years ago, on this day in 1991 AD, Kazakhstan became independent following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Kazakhs are Muslims of Turkic-Mongol ethnicity and were subjugated in the mid-18^th century by Russia. Following the seizure of power in Moscow by the communists, Kazakhstan was made an autonomous republic. It covers an area of 2.7 million sq km and has borders with China, Russia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkmenistan. Its capital is Astana. The land called Kazakhstan was originally inhabited by Indo-Iranians, like the rest of Central Asia. The best known of those groups was the nomadic Scythians. The Turkic people began infiltrating in the 5th century AD. With the advent of Islam, the people became Muslims, especially due to the efforts of the Iranian Samanid Dynasty of Bukhara which controlled the important silk route city of Taraz – the oldest city of Kazakhstan. Even after the Mongol onslaught of the 13th century and the Turkification of the area, sizeable communities of Persian speakers existed, until their gradual absorption by the Turkic language.

21 solar years ago, on this day in 1997 AD, External Services of IRIB (Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting) successfully launched the Sahar Universal Network telecasting in the seven languages of English, Arabic, French, Urdu, Azeri, Bosnian, and Kurdish for viewers in the neighbouring countries and the world.

20 solar years ago, on this day in 1998 AD, the Paris Court of Appeals unjustly fined and sentenced to jail the French Muslim Philosopher, Roger Garaudy, because of his documented exposure of the collaboration of the Zionists with the German Nazis during World War II. He noted that the Zionists tried to magnify the crimes of Nazi Germany as part of their propaganda for setting up an illegal Jewish state in the Muslim land of Palestine. He dismissed the figure of six million Jews killed by Germany as a highly exaggerated claim, because the total number of Jews at that time did not reach six million in all of Europe. Under Zionist pressure, this Muslim French philosopher was victimized by France despite its claim to freedom of speech.

12 solar years ago, on this day in 2006 AD, in a historic decision, the Egyptian court declared the Baha’is as “pro-Zionist apostates” who have no right to state their religion on official documents. The heretical cult was founded in Iran in the late 19th century by a British agent named Bahaollah, who after being expelled from Iran, died in Haifa in what is now occupied Palestine, where the cult has its headquarters under Zionist patronage. The Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) has also declared the Baha’is as well as the Qadiyanis of Pakistan as non-Muslim cults.

7 solar years ago, on this day in 2011 AD, Indian student, 18-year old Jyoti Amge, measuring just 62.8 centimeters (less than two foot, one inch), was confirmed as the world's shortest living woman.

6 solar years ago, on this day in 2012 AD, Iran successfully sent a monkey into space for a second time, as part of an advanced programme aimed at manned space flight. Iran has taken giant strides in the aeronautics and space technology.

AS/SS