Today is Sunday; 4th of the Iranian month of Tir 1396 solar hijri; corresponding to 30th of the Islamic month of Ramadhan 1438 lunar hijri; and June 25, 2017, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.
1382 solar years ago, on this day in 635 AD, Emperor Gaozu, founder of the Tang Dynasty of China, died at the age of 69, some 9 years after abdicating the throne in favour of his son, Li Shimin (Emperor Taizong), following 8 years of rule during which he united all of China and carried out reforms, such as equal distribution of lands and lowering of taxes. Born Li Yuan, he served as governor of what is now Shanxi Province under the Sui Dynasty on whose disintegration in 617 he defeated all contenders to establish in 618 the Tang Dynasty that ruled China for three centuries.
721 lunar years ago, on this day in 716 AH, the 8th ruler of the Ilkhanid Dynasty of Iran-Iraq-Afghanistan-Caucasus-and Anatolia, Sultan Oljeitu Khodabanda, died at the age of 36 after a reign of 12 years and ten months, and was buried in the famous mausoleum of Soltanieh that he had built for himself near Qazvin in northwestern Iran. Born a Buddhist and baptized as Christian, he became a Muslim along with his elder brother and predecessor, Sultan Mahmoud Ghazaan. In the 6th year of his reign, following a lively debate at his court among the scholars of the Shafei, Hanafai, Hanbali, Maliki and Ja’fari schools of Jurisprudence, during which the celebrated theologian Allamah Hilli proved the rationality of the School of the Ahl al-Bayt, Oljeitu became a staunch Shi’ite Muslim and decreed that henceforth this would be the official creed of his dominions. In Shiraz, he founded a Dar as-Siyadah for descendants of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) and endowed it with an income of 10,000 Dinars a year. Another Imami scholar who impressed Oljeitu was Sheikh Maitham al-Bahrani and his rationalistic philosophical school of Bahrain. Oljeitu built trade ties with the Genoese and Venetians of Europe, and with China in the east. He allowed the Republic of Genoa to set up a consul in his capital Tabriz. He fought for the control of Syria with the Mamluks of Egypt and after an unsuccessful bid to hold on to Damascus, he withdrew his forces from the Levant.
605 lunar years ago, on this day in 832 AH, the eminent Iranian astronomer and mathematician, Ghiyas od-Din Jamshid Kashani, died under suspicious circumstances in Samarqand at the age of around 50 years. He was born in Kashan and went to Samarqand at the invitation of the Timurid scientist-ruler, Ologh Beg, to set up the famous observatory. He produced a Zij entitled the "Khaqani Zij”, which was based on Khwaja Naseereddin Tusi's "Zij-e Ilkhani”. He also produced tables on transformations between coordinate systems on the celestial sphere, such as the transformation from the ecliptic coordinate system to the equatorial coordinate system. He wrote the book "Sullam as-Sama” on the resolution of difficulties met by predecessors in the determination of distances and sizes of heavenly bodies such as the Earth, the Moon, the Sun and the Stars. He also invented a mechanical planetary computer which he called the Plate of Zones, which could graphically solve a number of planetary problems, including the prediction of the true positions in longitude of the Sun and Moon, and the planets in terms of elliptical orbits; the latitudes of the Sun, Moon, and planets; and the ecliptic of the Sun. In one of his numerical approximations of "P" (pronounced pie), he correctly computed 2 P to 9 sexagesimal digits. This approximation of 2 P is equivalent to 16 decimal places of accuracy. This was far more accurate than the estimates earlier given in Greek mathematics of 3 decimal places by Archimedes, Chinese mathematics of 7 decimal places by Zu Chongzhi and Indian mathematics of 11 decimal places by Madhava of Sangamagrama. The accuracy of Jamshid Kashani's estimate was not surpassed until Ludolph van Ceulen computed 20 decimal places of "P" nearly 200 years later.
282 lunar years ago, on this day in 1155 AH, the prominent gnostic and source of emulation (marja’), Seyyed Mohammad Mahdi Tabatabaie Bahr al-Uloum, was born in the holy city of Karbala, before the dawn of Eid al-Fitr, in a family related to the celebrated Allamah Majlisi. Initially taught by his scholarly father Seyyed Morteza ibn Mohammad Boroujerdi, he later studied under Shaikh Yousuf Bahrani (writer of the book of "Hada’eq an-Nasera”), before enrolling at the famous seminary of holy Najaf, where he studied under the famous Waheed Bahbahani. At the age of 31 he went to Mashhad in Khorasan, Iran, where he lived for seven years, learning different sciences, as well as philosophy from Mirza Mahdi Shahid Khorasani. His teacher, because of his extensive knowledge, called him "Ba?r al-Uloum” (Ocean of Knowledge). His sons, grandsons, and direct descendants continue to use this title as family name. Ba?r al-Uloum returned to Najaf to teach. He performed the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca in 193 AH, and also taught there. Among his students were: Seyyed Sadr od-Din Ameli, Shaikh Ja’far Najafi, Seyyed Jawad Ameli, Shaikh Abu Ali Haeri, Mulla Ahmad Naraqi, Seyyed Muhammad Mojahed, Seyyed Abu’l-Qasem Khwansari, Seyyed Dildar Ali Lakhnavi (of India). On the passing away of Waheed Bahbahani, he became the Source of Emulation. On his authority, in view of his contacts with the Lord of the Age, Imam Mahdi (may God hasten his reappearance), he determined the exact spots in the Grand Mosque of Kufa and the Sahla Mosque, associated with the Prophets and the Imams. He wrote many works in diverse religious sciences including jurisprudence and hadith, such as "al-Masabih”, "ad-Durra-an-Najafiyyah”, "al-Fawa’ed ar-Rejaliyyah” and "Tuhfat al-Keram” (on history of Meccan and Masjid al-Haraam). He passed away at the age of 57 in Najaf, and was laid to rest next to the grave of the founder of the thousand-year old Najaf Seminary, Shaikh at-Ta’efa Abu Ja’far at-Tusi.
195 solar years ago, on this day in 1822 AD, a group of black people in the US whose ancestors were kidnapped by Europeans from Africa and sold as slaves in the America, returned to Africa and settled down in the land which is today known as Liberia. This country was initially administered like one of the US states, but in 1847, it became a republic and its first president was Joseph Roberts, who had been enslaved in the State of Virginia.
141 solar years ago, on this day in 1876 AD, the white racist US administration suffered a severe setback in the Battle of the Little Bighorn that it imposed on native Amerindians in Montana. General George Armstrong Custer, who had vowed to decimate mostly Sioux and Cheyenne tribes as part of Washington’s policy of forcing them into the so-called reservations by seizing more of their ancestral plains, was instead wiped out along with over 250 of his horsemen of the 7th US Cavalry. The US pursues a policy of genocide against Amerindians and black people in addition to indulging in state terrorism on the international scene.
117 solar years ago, on this day in 1900 AD, the Taoist monk Wang Yuanlu discovered the Dunhuang Manuscripts, a cache of ancient texts that are of great historical and religious significance, in the Mogao Caves of Dunhuang, China. Dating from the 5th to early 11th centuries, the manuscripts include works ranging from history and mathematics to folk songs and dance. Most of the religious manuscripts are Buddhist, but other religions including Daoism, Nestorian Christianity and Iranian Manichaeism are also represented. The majority of the manuscripts are in the Chinese and Tibetan languages. Other languages represented are Khotanese, Sanskrit, Sogdian, Tangut, Old Uyghur language, and Hebrew. The manuscripts are a major resource for academic studies in a wide variety of fields including history, religious studies, linguistics, and manuscript studies.
114 solar years ago, on this day in 1903 AD, George Orwell, British novelist, essayist and critic, was born in India as Eric Arthur Blair. He took his pen name in 1932. His books included "Animal Farm" (1945) and "1984" (1949), which attacked totalitarianism. He died in 1950.
67 solar years ago, on this day in 1950 AD, in the wake of wide-scale provocations by the US, North Korea had no choice but to swiftly advance into the south. A UN resolution, however, not only halted the offensive but provided the US to invade North Korea. The timely entry of the Chinese army led to the retreat of US forces and liberation of North Korea.
54 solar years ago, on this day in 1963 AD, the Father of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (God bless him), was transferred from holy Qom to the Eshratabad military barracks in Tehran by the notorious intelligence outfit, SAVAK, following the historic mass uprising of 15th Khordad (June 5). Forty days later, the Pahlavi regime exiled him to Turkey, from where a year later he moved to Iraq and took up residence in Najaf near the holy shrine of the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS), before returning to Iran in February 1979 to lead the Islamic Revolution to victory that ended 2,500 years of monarchy.
42 solar years ago, on this day in 1975 AD, Mozambique in southeast Africa became independent from Portuguese rule, after offering tens of thousands of martyrs. Mozambique lies on the Indian Ocean coast of Africa, and shares borders with Tanzania, Malavi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa. Muslims account for over 20 percent of the population of Mozambique, which is actually is a Portuguese corruption of the name of the chief Arab trader of the land, Mosa al-Bique.
26 solar years ago, on this day in 1991 AD, Croatia and Slovenia became independent from the Federation of Yugoslavia, or more properly from the Serbs. Croatia and Slovenia are located in the Balkan region, which for several centuries was ruled by the Ottoman Turks. Still a sizeable Muslim minority exists in both the countries.
25 solar years ago, on this day in 1992 AD, Ayatollah Madani Kashani passed away at the age of 93. In addition to grooming numerous scholars, he also shouldered social responsibilities and assisted the needy. He has left behind a large number of compilations, including "Fara’ez al-Moqaleddin”, and "Kashf al-Haqayeq”.
4 solar years ago, on this day in 2013 AD, Hamad bin Khalifa Aal-e Thani of the Persian Gulf Sheikhdom of Qatar, formally handed power to his 33-year son Tamim, following orders from the US, and refusal by Washington to review its decision regarding the client regime in Doha. Hamad himself had seized power from his father Khalifa bin Hamad on 27 June 1995, on the orders of the US, while the latter was in Geneva, Switzerland on a pleasure trip. It is interesting to note that Khalifa who is still alive at 83 years of age, had come to power by deposing his cousin, Sheikh Ahmad bin Ali on 22nd February 1972 while the latter was on a hunting trip in Iran and had ruled since 1960 when his own father, Ali bin Abdullah had abdicated in his favour under British pressure. Qatar is currently facing pressures by Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, and Egypt for pursuing an independent policy and maintaining diplomatic, trade and industrial ties with the Islamic Republic of Iran.
(Courtesy: IRIB English Radio – http://parstoday.com/en)