Today is Saturday; 31st of the Iranian month of Mordad 1396 solar hijri; corresponding to 27th of the Islamic month of Shawwal 1438 lunar hijri; and July 22, 2017, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.
1440 lunar years ago, on this day in the third year prior to the Hijra (migration) to Medina, Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) left for Ta'ef, to invite the people to Islam, following growing persecution of Muslims by the pagan Arabs of Mecca, in the aftermath of the death of his uncle and guardian, Hazrat Abu Taleb (AS) and his loyal wife of 25-long years, Omm al-Momineen (Mother of all True Believers) Hazrat Khadija (SA). He met stiff opposition from idolaters in Ta’ef and returned to Mecca, although later the people of Ta’ef embraced the truth of Islam.
1179 solar years ago, on this day in 838 AD, the Muslims inflicted a shattering defeat on the Byzantine Christian army and its allies, the Kurdish and Persian Khurramites, in the Battle of Anzen – also known as Dazimon – which was fought in Anatolia in what is now Dazman in Turkey. The hostilities were started by Byzantine emperor, Theophilos, the previous year when he raided and occupied several Muslim border towns. In retaliation, a Muslim army of Arabs, Persians and Turks, was sent from Abbasid Baghdad under command of the Iranian general, Afshin Khaydaar bin Kavous who a year earlier as governor of Azarbaijan and Armenia had crushed the rebellion of Babak Khorramdin and captured him. The Muslim plan was to seize Amorion (Ammuriye in Arabic), one of the largest cities of the Eastern Roman Empire. Emperor Theophilos personally led a huge Christian army that included Asian and European contingents, the elite "Tagmata” regiments, and a regiment called the "Persian Tourma" made up of Iranian and Kurdish apostates under Nasr, who along with 16,000 had converted to Christianity and baptized himself as Theophobos. In the initial stages, the Byzantine force was successful, but it broke ranks and fled when General Afshin's horse-archers launched a fierce counter-attack. Emperor Theophilos and his guard were besieged on a hill, before managing to flee all the way to the capital Constantinople. It was one of the most disastrous blows the Byzantines had suffered, and a few weeks later the Muslims captured Amorion – whose ruins are located near the village of Hisarkoy, Turkey.
1138 lunar years ago, on this day in 300 AH, the scholar, Sa'd bin Abdullah al-Ash'ari al-Qomi, passed away in Qom. He had the privilege of meeting Imam Hasan Askari (AS), the 11th Infallible Heir of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). He wrote several books including "Basa'er ad-Darajaat". He was an active missionary in Iran for promotion of teachings of the Ahl al-Bayt.
1118 lunar years ago, on this day in 320 AH, Muqtadar Billah, the 18th self-styled caliph of the usurper Abbasid Dynasty, was killed by his slave guard after 25 years of misrule that bankrupted the state and increased the people's misery, while the Byzantines felt emboldened to attack at will and occupy large territories in Asia Minor or what is now Turkey. The killing of this caliph, who spent all his time with musicians and dancers in the harem, had been foretold by the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali (AS).
1057 lunar years ago, on this day in 381 AH, the renowned Iranian theologian and philosopher, Abu'l-Hassan Mohammad ibn Yusuf al-Ameri, passed away in his hometown Naishapur in the northeastern province of Khorasan. He believed that Islam was the perfection of all religions, and the revealed truths of Islam were thus superior to the conclusions of philosophy, however logical, although the two did not contradict each other. He also believed that the Greeks, who produced such philosophers as Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, did not have a final say because they as a society, lacked a prominent prophet, who ought to have a final say in all forms and matters. Ameri lived in a half century period between two other Iranian Islamic geniuses, Abu Nasr al-Farabi and Abu Ali Hussain Ibn Sina. He first studied under Abu Zayd al-Balkhi in Khorasan, before moving to Rayy near modern Tehran and then to Baghdad, where he met such noted intellectuals as Abu Hayyan Ali ibn Mohammad at-Tawhidi and Abu Ali Ahmad ibn Mohammad Ibn Miskawayh. After several years he returned to Iran and took up residence in Bukhara, where he had access to the royal library of the Iranian Samanid Dynasty. His works include: "al-E'laam be Manaqeb al-Islam" (An Exposition on the Merits of Islam), and "Inqadh al-Bashar min aj-Jahr wa'l-Qadar" (Deliverance of Mankind from the Problem of Predestination and Free Will).
561 solar years ago, on this day in 1456 AD, Ottoman Sultan, Mohammad II, suffered a defeat during his siege of Belgrade, three years after his capture of Constantinople that ended the Byzantine Empire. Hungarian warlord, John Hunyadi, led the counterattack on the Turks in which the Sultan was wounded and forced to retreat. This stopped the Muslim advance towards the heart of Christian Europe for 70 years until the fall of Belgrade to the Turks in 1521, although in the preceding years, the Ottomans continued to tighten their hold on the Balkans.
404 solar years ago, on this day in 1613 AD, with the coronation of Mikhail Romanov, the second and last imperial dynasty of Russia until the February 1917 Revolution that abolished the monarchy began its rule. The later history of this dynasty is referred to as the House of Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov, since the direct line of the Romanovs ended with Peter II, and after an era of dynastic crisis, the throne of Russia went to Peter I’s maternal grandson, the son of the German Duke of Holstein-Gottorp – a cadet branch of the House of Oldenburg – who in 1762 ascended the Russian throne as Peter III. The repressive rule of the Czars worsened the plight of the Russian people, resulting in political and economic problems that led to the uprising that deposed Nicolas II in 1917. Later that year, the uprising of the Russian people was hijacked by the communists led by Vladimir Lenin, who established the far more repressive socialist regime that collapsed in 1991. From the 18th century, expansionist Russia continued to attack and occupy large parts of the Ottoman and Iranian empires, in addition to occupation of the Muslim lands of Central Asia.
369 solar years ago, on this day in 1648 AD, Some 10,000 Jews of Polannoe in Poland were killed by forces of the Cossack Bogdan Chmielnicki, for their treason against Christianity and their slandering of Prophet Jesus and the Virgin Mary.
338 lunar years ago, on this day in 1100 AH, the pious scholar Seyyed Mirza Ala od-Din Golestaneh passed away. He traced his lineage to Imam Hasan Mojtaba (AS), the elder grandson and 2nd Infallible Successor of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). He authored the valuable book "al-Hada’eq” which is commentary on "Nahj al-Balaghah” (Highway of Eloquence), the collection of the eloquent sermons, letters, and maxims of the Commander of the Faithful, the Prophet’s 1st Infallible Heir, Imam Ali Ibn Abi Taleb (AS). He later summarized it under the title "Bahjat al-Hada’eq”. Among his works, mention could be made of "Manhaj al-Yaqeen” – a collection of letters and admonitions of the Prophet’s 6th Infallible Successor, Imam Ja’far Sadeq (AS). Golestaneh was the brother-in-law (wife’s brother) of the celebrated scholar, Allamah Mohammad Baqer Majlisi.   
278 solar years ago, on this day in 1739 AD, an Ottoman army defeated the Holy Roman Emperor's troops at the Battle of Crocyka in the Balkans and proceeded to retake Belgrade. The Austrians were forced to cede northern Serbia and part of Romania to the Turks.
234 solar years ago, on this day in 1783 AD, the Russians, taking advantage of the weakness of Iran, flexed their military muscles in the Caucasus by declaring Georgia as their protectorate. The Georgians, which for over two millenniums were part of the Persian Empire, were banned from maintaining direct relations with either Iran or the Ottoman Turks.
106 lunar years ago, on this day in 1332 AH, the Gnostic Seyyed Ahmad Karbalai, passed away. Born in Iran, he grew up in the holy city of Karbala and studied under such prominent scholars as Akhund Mullah Mohammad Kazem Khorasani and Mullah Hussain-Qoli Hamedani. He was an expert on ethics and among his students mention could be made of the Martyr Shaikh Mohammad Taqi Bafqi, Seyyed Mohammad Kazem Assar, the famous Gnostic Mirza Ali Aqa Qazi Tabatabai, and Seyyed Mohsin Amin al-Ameli of Syria – author of the voluminous biographical encyclopedia "A’yaan ash-Sh’ia”.
71 solar years ago, on this day in 1946 AD, Zionist terrorists that included Menachem Begin and Yitzhak Shamir – later to become premiers of the usurper state of Israel – blew up a wing of the King David Hotel in Bayt ol-Moqaddas, which housed British administrative offices. Over 90 people were killed, including 28 Englishmen, Arabs and Jews. The terrorists were members of a Zionist outfit called Lehi (Lohamei Herut Israel), earlier known as the Stern Gang.
56 solar years ago, on this day in 1961 AD, France landed 7,000 troops on Bizerte, in Northeast Tunisia, following the blockade of this port city by the Tunisian army and navy, after the French refused to evacuate it. Due to Bizerte's strategic location on the Mediterranean, France had kept control of Bizerte even after Tunisia gained its independence in 1956. The 3-day battle resulted in over 700 dead and 1,300 wounded. The French abandoned Bizerte on 15 October 1963.
19 solar years ago, on this day in 1998 AD, Iran conducted a successful Shahab 3 missile test with a medium-range of 1,250 km as part of efforts for self-sufficiency in the defence field.
15 solar years ago, on this day in 2002 AD, while Palestinian women and children were asleep at night, Zionist F-16 jetfighters bombed the Gaza Strip, martyring Commander of the armed wing of the Hamas Movement, Sheikh Salah Shahadeh, along with 16 civilians, while over 150 others sustained injuries. Nine innocent children were among the martyrs of this air raid. Sheikh Salah Shahadeh, who was martyred in this terrorist attack along with his wife and daughter, had spent a total of 12 years in the Zionist regime’s dungeons and was tortured on several occasions.
14 solar years ago, on this day in 2003 AD, Uday and Qusay, the two bloodthirsty sons of Saddam, the ousted brutal dictator of the Ba'th minority regime of Iraq, were gunned down in the vicinity of the northern Iraqi city of Mosul by their own former benefactors, the Americans, while trying to flee the country along with other officials. Uday and Qusay were involved in many of the heinous crimes committed by Saddam against the Iraqi people and maintained important portfolios while their father was in power.
11 lunar years ago, on this day in 1427 AH, Grand Ayatollah Mirza Jawad Tabrizi passed away at the age of 82 in Qom and was laid to rest in the holy mausoleum of Hazrat Ma’souma (SA). Born in Tabriz, after completing his preliminary religious studies, he moved to Qom at the age of 22 and studied under such prominent scholars as Ayatollah Hojjat and Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Hussain Boroujerdi. At the age of 26, he travelled to holy Najaf in Iraq, where his teachers included Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Abu’l-Qassim Khoei. On attaining the status of Ijtehad, he returned to Iran and started holding classes at the Qom seminary on jurisprudence and other branches of Islamic sciences. He wrote several books including "Irshad at-Taleb”, "Tabaqaat ar-Rejaal” (Biography of Narrators) and the 6-volume "Siraat an-Najaat” (Path of Salvation).
(Courtesy: IRIB English Radio – http://parstoday.com/en)