Today is Sunday; 18^th of the Iranian month of Azar 1397 solar hijri; corresponding to 1^st of the Islamic month of Rabi as-Sani 1440 lunar hijri; and December 9, 2018, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1288 solar years ago, on this day in 730 AD, in the Battle of Marj as-Sabalan on the outskirts of Ardabil in northwestern Iran, the army of Hisham ibn Abdul-Malik, the 10th self-styled caliph of the usurper Omayyad regime, was annihilated by Khazar Turkic nomads led by Barjik, the son of the Khaqan. The Omayyad commander, Jarrah Ibn Abdullah al-Hakami, was among the 20,000 Arab forces killed along with their Iranian allies including the Zoroastrian Dehqan of Azarbaijan, Mardan Shah. The Khazars then mercilessly plundered Ardabil and other towns and cities, carrying off immense loot as well as over 40,000 men, women and children as captives. The next year Barjik penetrated as far as Mosul in northern Iraq, where he was defeated and forced to retreat to the northern Caucasus. Earlier, Jarrah Ibn Abdullah, known as "Farres ahl ash-Sham" (Chief Cavalier) of the Syrians, who had served at various times as governor of Basra, Sistan, Khorasan, Armenia, Azarbaijan and Arran, had penetrated the northern Caucasus to attack the Khazar capital. The Omayyad setback in the Caucasus and northwestern Iran was accompanied by defeats in the subsequent years on all fronts, including France, Central Asia, India, and finally Khorasan, from where the Abbasids launched their revolution under their Iranian general, Abu Muslim Khorasani, to seize the caliphate.

1270 solar years ago, on this day in 748 AD, Nasr Ibn Sayyar, the last Omayyad governor of Khorasan, who as an anti-Islamic Arab nationalist terrorized the people of northeastern Iran and Central Asia for decades, died at the age of 85 in Saveh (southwest of Tehran) while fleeing, after a string of defeats suffered by his Syrian-North Arabian army at the hands of the Arab-Iranian Muslim revolutionaries determined to overthrow the Omayyads and replace them with members of Prophet Mohammad's (SAWA) family. The uprising was hijacked by the Abbasids, who seized the caliphate and once again deprived the Ahl al-Bayt of their political rights. Nasr ibn Sayyar earned lasting damnation for killing the Prophet’s venerable descendent, Yahya ibn Zaid – Imam Zain al-Abedin’s (AS) grandson – whom he martyred in battle in Jowzajan (in today’s Afghanistan) and sent the head to the Omayyad court in Damascus. Nasr’s policy, like that of other Omayyad governors in Spain, France, the Caucasus, and Sindh, was to prevent the masses from becoming Muslims, since this would deprive the self-styled caliphs in Damascus of the revenues they reaped by levying heavy taxes on non-Muslims.

726 solar years ago, on this day in 1292 AD, the world-acclaimed Persian poet of Iran, Shaikh Mosleh od-Din Sa’di, passed away in his hometown Shiraz. He left at a young age for Baghdad where he studied at the famous Nizamiyah Academy, excelling in Islamic Sciences, law, governance, history, Arabic literature and theology. The unsettled conditions following the Mongol invasion of Iran led him to wander for 30 years through Iraq, Syria, Egypt, Palestine, and Anatolia or what is now Turkey. He also refers in his works about his travels in Sindh or present day Pakistan, as well as India and Central Asia. Sa'di performed the pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina. Even during his travels he composed beautiful Persian and Arabic poems. On return to his hometown, Shiraz, he composed his two famous masterpieces, "Bustan” (the Orchard) and "Golestan” (Rose Garden). The poems in "Bustan” speak of such topics as justice, love, kindness, modesty, contentment, education, repentance, and prayers. The next year he completed "Golestan”, which is in prose, and also contains his Arabic and Persian poems, in addition to moral and social anecdotes in 8 chapters. His collection of poems also includes odes and quatrains. The tomb of Sa’di in Shiraz is a frequently visited site.

565 lunar years ago, on this day in 875 AH, the Iranian poet, Mohammad ibn Hossaam Khosefi, passed away. Born in the vicinity of the eastern Iranian city of Birjand, he led a simple life. His books include a Diwan of odes in praise of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). His famous book is "Khavaran-Nameh” on the heroic feats of Imam Ali (AS), the Prophet’s 1st Infallible Heir.

410 solar years ago, on this day in 1608 AD, English poet and polemical pamphleteer, John Milton, was born in London. Among his important works are "Paradise Lost”, and "Paradise Regained” which are epic poems. An opponent of monarchy and a supporter of religious freedom (but only for Christian sects), in 1644, at the height of the civil war in England, he wrote "Areopagitica”, a pamphlet decrying censorship. It is considered an influential philosophical defence of the principle of a right to freedom of speech and expression. At the age of 36 he lost one eye and at 44 went completely blind. After overthrow of the monarchy he served under Oliver Cromwell in the Commonwealth of England as Secretary of Foreign Tongues to handle correspondence with European states as well as propaganda for the regime. On restoration of the monarchy, Milton retired from public life and died at the age of 66.

374 lunar years ago, on this day in 1066 AH, Moghal prince, Aurangzeb, in violation of a peace treaty, treacherously invaded the Qotb-Shahi kingdom of Iranian origin of the Deccan (southern India) and occupied Haiderabad, forcing Abdullah Qotb Shah to seek refuge in the impregnable fortress of Golkandah. Moghal Emperor Shahjahan intervened to end the siege and withdraw forces from Haiderabad by imposing heavy terms which included giving one of the daughters of Abdullah Qotb Shah in marriage to Aurangzeb’s son Sultan Muhammad, with territory and a crore of rupees as dowry. The Qotb-Shahis, who were strong allies of the Safavid Emperors of Iran, became virtual tributary of the Moghals. Prince Aurangzeb’s attack was in revenge for his repeated defeats at the hands of Iranians a few years earlier at Qandahar in what is now Afghanistan.

276 solar years ago, on this day in 1742 AD, the Swedish chemist and one of the pioneers of modern chemistry, Carl Wilhelm Scheele, was born in Stockholm. After years of experiments he discovered gas chlorine, which is an important chemical element and has numerous applications in the industrial sector. He also discovered magnesium and glycerin. Scheele died in 1786.

260 solar years ago, on this day in 1758 AD, the 13-month long Madras War between Britain and France started in southern India, following the French attack on Fort St. George on the Bay of Bengal. The 3,000 French forces were heavily outnumbered by the 22,000-strong British-led troops of local sepoys (corruption of the Persian word "sipahi” for soldier). The surrender of the French in January 1761, paved the way for the rise of the British in India, where infighting among the various Muslim successor states of the Mughal Empire, enabled them to establish their rule as the paramount colonial power.

162 solar years ago, on this day in 1856 AD, the Iranian city of Bushehr on the Persian Gulf was seized by the invading British forces after long battles lasting several years with the local Iranian defenders. The British plan was to stop Iran from liberating the Khorasani city of Herat from joint Afghan-British occupation. The British, taking advantage of the weakness of the Qajarid dynasty, soon spread their control over all of southern Iran. This situation lasted till 1913, when Iranian resistance started and continued during World War I under the leadership of Raees Ali Delvari, forcing Britain to move its diplomatic, commercial, and military headquarters to the Persian Gulf island of Bahrain, which had been earlier seized from Iran.

118 lunar years ago, on this day 1322 AH, the Iranian religious scholar Mullah Ali bin Fathollah Nahavandi passed away in holy Najaf and was laid to rest in the sacred Wadi as-Salaam Cemetery. A student of the celebrated Ayatollah Shaikh Morteza Ansari, he authored the books "Tashrih al-Osoul as-Sagheer” and "Muqaddamat-al-Wajeb”.

101 solar years ago, on this day in 1917 AD during World War I, the British forces, made up of Arab and Indian contingents under Field Marshal Edmund Allenby, defeated the Ottoman troops in Palestine, and occupied the Islamic holy city of Bayt al-Moqaddas, which houses the former qibla (or focal point of prayers) of Muslims. By October 1918 when the war ended, the British forces inflicted more defeats on the Turks and driving them out of Syria and Iraq, occupied more lands in West Asia. The seizure of Palestine was a step toward materialization of the notorious Balfour Declaration of the then British Foreign Secretary, Arthur James Balfour, who had called for setting up of a Jewish state in the heart of the Muslim World by illegally settling European Jews in Palestine.

78 solar years ago, on this day in 1940 AD, during World War II, Operation Compass was launched by British and Indian troops against Italian forces near Sidi Barrani on the borders of Egypt and Italian-occupied Libya. It was the first large Allied military operation of the Western Desert Campaign (1940–1943) and lasted till complete victory in February 1941, resulting in the capture of Cyrenaica till El Agheila on the Gulf of Sirte. A total of over 138,000 Italian and Libyan soldiers surrendered, along with hundreds of tanks, and more than 1,000 heavy artillery pieces and aircraft,

71 solar years ago, on this day in 1947 AD, in western Java up to 430 Indonesian Muslim men were rounded up and shot by Dutch colonial troops in the village of Rawagedeh. The Dutch called the incident a "police action" to quell an uprising. In 1995, the Dutch government admitted that summary executions had taken place in Rawagedeh (now known as Balongsari), but said prosecutions were no longer possible. In September, 2011, a court ordered the government to compensate the widows of Indonesian villagers, to apologize for the killings and to give each of the 10 plaintiffs $27,000. The money was never properly distributed among the families of the victims.

31 solar years ago, on this day in 1987 AD, the first Intefadha or Islamic uprising of the Palestinian people against the usurper entity, Israel, started in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian Muslims were inspired by the Islamic Revolution of Iran, and were disillusioned by the nationalist and socialist parties like the PLO, which in collaboration with the US and Europe entered into the infamous Oslo Accord with Israel, in a vain bid to offset the Islamic movement.

27 solar years ago, on this day in 1991 AD, the UN, in a report, declared the Iraqi Ba’th minority regime as aggressor of the 8-year war-imposed on Iran on September 22, 1980 on the orders of the US. UN Secretary General, Ecuador's Javier Perez de Cuellar also emphasized in his report that based on UN Charter, and international rules and regulations, Saddam should accept responsibility for his unjustified aggression. On September 22, 1980, Iraq launched unprovoked air and ground attacks on Iran, and during the invasion, which was fully backed by the capitalist west and the socialist east, several Iranian frontier cities and towns were occupied and innocent women, children, and men were martyred. The Iranian combatants rallied under the guidance of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (RA), and staged epics of resistance during the holy defence to blunt the Ba'thist aggressors and liberate Iranian territory until the acceptance of UN Security Council Resolution 598 in July 1988.

25 solar years ago, on this day in 1993 AD, Source of Emulation, Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Mohammad Reza Golpayegani, passed away. Born in the central Iranian city of Golpayegan, he studied Islamic sciences under prominent ulema including Ayatollah Abdul-Karim Haeri the reviver of the Qom Seminary, which later Grand Ayatollah Golpayegani made his base and for years, groomed a large number of scholars. On the victory of Islamic Revolution, he firmly supported the Founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Imam Khomeini (RA) and always defended him and his ideals through statements. He founded numerous schools and hospitals in Iran and abroad, and has left behind numerous books on Islamic sciences.

(Courtesy: IRIB English Radio – http://parstoday.com/en)