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News ID: 64412
Publish Date : 18 March 2019 - 21:35

This Day in History (March 19)


Today is Tuesday; 28th of the Iranian month of Esfand 1397 solar hijri; corresponding to 12th of the Islamic month of Rajab 1440 lunar hijri; and March 19, 2019, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1784 solar years ago, on this day in 235 AD, Roman Emperor Alexander Severus, who suffered a series of disastrous defeats in the Levant and Armenia at the hands of the rising power of the Sassanid Dynasty of Iran, was assassinated, along with his mother Julia Mamaea, by legionaries near modern Mainz in Europe.

1408 lunar years ago, on this day in 32 AH, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttaleb, the paternal uncle of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), passed away in Medina at almost 90 years of age and was laid to rest in the sacred Baqie Cemetery by his worthy son, Abdullah, the hadith narrator and exegete of the holy Qur’an, who was a disciple of Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS). Abbas, who had become a rich merchant in the days of ignorance, did not openly profess Islam in Mecca, but it is said that he stood beside his nephew when a group from Medina came to the Prophet for the secret allegiance of Aqaba. He was forced by the pagan Arabs to accompany them to the Battle of Badr in which he was captured by the Muslims and allowed to ransom himself and return to Mecca. Shortly before the peaceful takeover of Mecca by the Prophet, he disassociated from the Meccans and submitted to the Muslims, some twenty year after his wife, "Omm al-Fazl Lubaba bint al-Hareth had accepted Islam, claiming to be second woman to do so. Thereafter he accompanied the Prophet, like other members of the Hashemite clan in various endeavours. Abbas knew that after the passing away of the Prophet, his other nephew, Imam Ali (AS), was the divinely-decreed leader of mankind as was evident by the historic declaration at Ghadeer-Khom. Unfortunately, some of his descendants in blind pursuit of the material world, turned away from the truth, usurped political power by deceiving the Muslims, wrongly called themselves caliphs, and indulged in the persecution of the Prophet’s progeny, to the extent that six of the Imams of the Ahl al-Bayt were martyred through poisoning by the Abbasids.

1234 lunar years ago, on this day in 206 AH, the narrator of hadith and historical events, Abu Hudhayfa, passed away. Among his important compilations, mention could be made of "al-Mubtada” on the creation of mankind and the biography of prophets. He has also narrated from Imam Ja’far Sadeq (AS), the account of Prophet Mohammad’s Me’raj or ascension to the ethereal heavens and back in a fraction of the night.

1066 solar years ago, on this day in 953 AD, Ismail al-Mansur Billah, the third Caliph of the Fatemid Ismaili Shi’a Muslim dynasty of Ifriqiya, or what is known today as Tunisia, and parts of Algeria and Morocco, died at the age of 40 after a 7-year reign. Born in Raqqada near Kairouan he had succeeded his father Abu’l-Qasim al-Qa’im at a time when the Fatemid realm found itself deep in crisis due to the revolt of Kharejites or renegades from Islam – the predecessors of modern day Takfiri terrorists. Ismail managed to put down the revolt with the help of the Berber Zirids. Following this victory he took the epithet al-Mansur, and built a new residence at al-Mansuriyyah near Kairouan. He concerned himself with the reorganisation of the Fatemid state until the end of his reign. He resumed the struggle with the Omayyads of Cordoba in Morocco, and reconquered the island of Sicily, from where he made incursions into Italy to spread Islam. Rule in Sicily was reinforced through the installation of the Kalbids as Emirs. Al-Mansur was succeeded by his son al-Mu’izz, who greatly expanded the realm by conquering Egypt and establishing Cairo as the new Fatemid capital.

861 lunar years ago, on this day in 479AH, Spanish Muslims led by Yusuf bin Tashfin defeated Spanish Christians under command of Alphonse VI in the glorious battle of "az-Zalaqa". This decisive battle halted for over two-and-a-half centuries the bid by the Christian powers to drive out Spanish Muslim from the Iberian Peninsula.

740 solar years ago, on this day in 1279 AD, a Mongolian victory at the Battle of Yamen ended the Song Dynasty in China, and established the Yuan Dynasty that lasted till 1368. Its greatest ruler was Kublai Khan, a grandson of the fearsome Mongol marauder Chengiz Khan.

613 solar years ago, on this day in 1406 AD, the Muslim historian and historiographer, Abdur-Rahman ibn Mohammad Ibn Khaldun, passed away in Cairo at the age of 74. Born in Tunis into an affluent Spanish Arab family that had settled in North Africa because of Christian onslaughts, he is regarded as one of the forerunners of modern historiography, sociology, and economics. He travelled widely around Egypt, North Africa and Spain, where the Muslim ruler of the emirate of Granada sent him on a mission to the Christian King of Castile, Pedro the Cruel. He returned to Egypt, whose Mamluk sultan sent him to negotiate with the fearsome Turkic conqueror, Amir Timur, during the siege of Damascus. In his autobiography, Ibn Khaldun has mentioned his discussions with Timur, who asked him in detail about North Africa and Spain. Among his many works is a voluminous universal history, but his fame rests on the detailed "Muqaddemah" or Introduction, which is considered a unique work in itself.

370 solar years ago, on this day in 1649 AD, the prominent Hanafi jurist of Syria, Abdul-Ghani al-Nabulsi, was born in Damascus. A prolific writer who wrote several books, he was a member of both the Qaderiyya and Naqshbandi Sufi orders. Once, after visiting the shrine of Prophet Mohammad’s (SAWA) granddaughter, Hazrat Zainab (SA) on the outskirts of Damascus, he expressed doubts on whether this was actually the holy site at which the Heroine of Karbala had been laid to rest. No sooner did he leave the place he fell from his mount and broke his leg. He realized his error and in that very condition of pain he dragged himself towards the blessed tomb in a state of repentance with the following rhymed phrases on his lips:

"Zainab bint Haider, ma’dan al-‘ilm wa’l-huda,

‘Indaha Bab Hitta, fa adkhulu al-baab sujjada.

"(Zainab the daughter of Haider, the Mine of Knowledge and Guidance,

Her threshold is Door of Repentance, so enter it [head bowed] in prostration.)”

At that very moment Shaikh Abdul-Ghani Nabulsi felt his broken leg miraculously cured and he stood up relieved of pain as if nothing had happened to him. Among his books is "Shifa as-Sadr fî Fadha'il Laylat-an-Nisf min Sha'ban wa Laylat-al-Qadr” (Curing the heart on the Virtues of the Night of 15th Sha'ban and the Night of Qadr). He passed away at the ripe age of 90 and was buried in Damascus.

280 solar years ago, on this day in 1739 AD, the defeated, captured, and subsequently released Moghal Emperor, Mohammad Shah, entered Delhi, followed the next day by the victor of the Battle of Karnal, Iran’s Nader Shah Afshar. A few days later an insurrection broke out in the city and led to the killing of several Iranian soldiers by miscreants, prompting Nader Shah to order a bloody massacre that was stopped when the sagacious Moghal Vizier, Qamar od-Din Khan Nizam ul-Mulk Asef Jah (founder of the Asef Jahi Dynasty of Haiderabad-Deccan) intervened and urged the Iranian monarch to stop the senseless bloodletting. Nader Shah returned to Iran with considerable booty including the famous Peacock Throne, the Koh-e Noor Diamond and the Tent of Pearls.

231 lunar years ago, on this day in 1209 AH, Lotf Ali Khan, the last ruler of the Zand Dynasty of Iran, died under torture in prison in Tehran at the age of 25, three years after he was captured through deceit and bribing of the governor of Bam by Agha Mohammad Khan the founder of the Qajarid Dynasty. He was buried in the mausoleum of the Prophet’s descendant, Imamzadah Zaid, near the Tehran Grand Bazaar. An extremely handsome and gallant person, he was an accomplished swordsman who fought for two hours and killed several of his opponents until overpowered. Lotf Ali Khan ruled Iran for five years from his capital Shiraz, and had almost won his last battle against his mortal enemy, Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar, who was put to flight. A tactical error and betrayal by his subordinates cost him the throne and his life. The extremely cruel Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar had him blinded and castrated, and also castrated his minor sons. A few months later, Agha Mohammad Khan was assassinated in Qarabagh, Caucasus. Founded by Karim Khan, a general of Nader Shah Afshar, the Zand dynasty lasted for 45 years, and at its peak held sway over almost all of Iran, along with Basra and parts of the Caucasus, except for Greater Khorasan. To legitimize his rule, Karim Khan had placed the Safavid prince, Ismail III, as a figurehead, and never took the title of Shah, contenting himself with the honourary epithet "Wakil ar-Re’aya” (Representative of the People). He based his administration on social justice, and to this day he has the reputation as one of the most able rulers in Iranian history.

213 lunar years ago, on this day in 1227 AH, the prominent jurisprudent, Shaikh Ja’far bin Khizr al-Ḥilli an-Najafi, popular as Kashef al-Gheta, an epithet by which his progeny of scholars became well-known, passed away at the age of 73. A student of the famous scholars, Allamah Seyyed Mohammad Mahdi Bahr al-Uloum, and Waheed Behbahani, he campaigned against Akhbaris, writing books and essays to reject their views. During the Wahhabi attack on holy Najaf, Kashef al-Gheta defended the city, and was the first Shi’a Muslim scholar who wrote against the heretical Wahhabi cult. He wrote several books and groomed many scholars, including the famous jurisprudent, Shaikh Mohammad Hasan Najafi, the author of "Jawaher al-Kalaam”.

142 solar years ago, on this day in 1876 AD, British archaeologist, John Hubert Marshall, who was director general of the Indian Archaeological Survey (1902-31), was born in Chester, England. He began excavations in British India that revealed Harappa and Mohenjo-daro, the two largest cities of the previously unknown Indus Valley Civilization, which he firmly believed was comparable in every way with the ancient civilizations of Egypt and Mesopotamia. His aim was to bring to life Indian culture in the past by uncovering all possible details of her cities, tools, ornaments, laws and customs. In the 1920's, Marshall excavated Taxila, Vaisali, Nalanda, Rajagriha and Sarnath; enacted the Ancient Monuments Act (1904), built up a library, re-organised publications and recruited Indians to high positions in the Survey.

136 solar years ago, on this day in 1883 AD, the English chemist, Norman Haworth, was born. He conducted extensive scientific research about hydrocarbons and succeeded in presentation of a new design for the molecular structure of sugar, which was named after him. He conducted major studies on Vitamin C, whose molecular structure is similar to sugar, and prepared its industrial type, naming it Ascorbic Acid. Due to these studies and discoveries, he won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1937. He passed away in the year 1950.

130 lunar years ago, on this day in 1110 AH, Omani sailors who dominated Zanzibar and the eastern coast of Africa defeated the Portuguese in the sea Battle of Mombasa, off the coast of what is now Kenya.

119 solar years ago, on this day in 1900 AD, the French physicist and chemist, Frederic Joliot, was born in Paris. Following the completion of his academic studies, he worked as the assistant of the physicist and discoverer of radium, Marie Curie. He married to Marie Curie’s daughter Irene, and with the assistance of his wife managed to find out the makeup of the new radioactive materials.

75 solar years ago, on this day in 1944 AD, Palestinian Christian activist, Sirhan Bishara Sirhan, who in a revolutionary style execution shot dead US presidential candidate, Robert F. Kennedy, in Los Angeles, was born in Bayt al-Moqaddas. A staunch opponent of the illegal Zionist entity, he had decided to shoot Kennedy for pledging to send 50 advanced bombers to the illegal entity called Israel, in order to further terrorize and kill Palestinians, on becoming president. Sirhan had moved to the US after a life in refugee camps on usurpation of his homeland by illegal Zionist migrants from Europe. He is serving a life sentence in the US, and his supporters defend his killing of Kennedy as a justified act in support of his occupied homeland.

32 solar years ago, on this day in 1987 AD, the last member of the generation of modern physics founders, Louis de Broglie, died at the age of 95. He catapulted to fame with presentation of the theory about the particle-wave nature of light. With the presentation of this theory, major accomplishments were made in the science of physics. He managed to win the Nobel Prize for Physics in the year 1929.

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