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News ID: 66396
Publish Date : 25 May 2019 - 21:05

This Day in History (May 26)


Today is Sunday; 5th of the Iranian month of Khordad 1398 solar hijri; corresponding to 20th of the Islamic month of Ramadhan 1440 lunar hijri; and May 26, 2019, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.
1568 solar years ago, on this day in 451 AD, the Battle of Avarayr between Armenian rebels and the Sassanid Empire took place in what is now the Republic of Armenia in the Caucasus. The Iranians led by Yazdegerd II defeated the Armenians militarily, but were unable to reconvert them to Zoroastrianism. In 484, Emperor Peroz I, as per the Treaty of Nvarsak, granted the Armenians freedom to openly practice Christianity, after the Armenian Church formally separated from the Latin Catholic Church of Rome and the Greek Orthodox Church of Constantinople.
1432 lunar years ago, on this day in 8 AH, Mecca, the then centre of paganism, peacefully surrendered to Muslims at the approach of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) without notice with some 10,000 believers, following the breach of the Treaty of Hodaibiyyah signed two years earlier by the Arabs. The Prophet declared general amnesty to his bitter foes and even did not retaliate against the killers of his dear uncle, Hamza, that is, the Abyssinian slave Wahshi and his masters who had ordered him to commit the savagery at Ohad five years earlier – Hind and her husband Abu Sufyan. He spared them by calling them "tulaqa” or freed slaves. This display of the clemency had a profound effect and multitudes of Qoreish started embracing the truth of Islam, as borne out by "Surah Nasr” revealed by God on this day. The Prophet ordered demolishment of temples and the holy Ka’ba was cleansed of the idols the polytheists had installed at Abraham’s edifice of monotheism. The chief idol atop the Ka’ba was pulled down by Imam Ali (AS), who, the Prophet lifted on his shoulders to end idolatry in Arabia.
1191 solar years ago, on this day in 818 AD, as per the Gregorian Calendar, Imam Ali ibn Musa ar-Reza (AS), the 8th Infallible Successor of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), was martyred, through poisoning in the city of Toos, Khorasan, northeastern Iran, by the crafty Abbasid caliph, Mamoun. The 8th Imam, whose blessings are evident to all, needs no introduction. Today Toos is known as Mashhad – short form of "Mashhad-ar-Reza" or Martyrdom Place of Imam Reza (AS). The sprawling golden-domed shrine of the Imam draws millions of pilgrims from all over Iran and the world, while there is no trace of even the graves of the Abbasid or Omayyad caliphs, anywhere in any Muslim land.
898 lunar years ago, on this day in 542 AH, the Arabic literary figure, grammarian, and poet, Hibatollah Ibn Ali Ibn ash-Shajari, passed away. He was a descendant of Imam Hasan Mojtaba (AS), the elder grandson of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). He spent almost seventy years lecturing on grammar and has left behind numerous works, including: "al-Amali”, and "al-Hamasah”. He has critically evaluated and beautifully explained the poetry of the famous poet, al-Mutanabbi who preceded him by two centuries.
814 lunar years ago, on this day in 626 AH, the Islamic geographer and biographer, Yaqout ibn Abdullah ar-Rumi al-Hamawi, passed away at the age of 51 in Aleppo, Syria. Renowned for his encyclopedic writings, the epithet "ar-Rumi" refers to his Roman or more properly Greek Byzantine origin, while "al-Hamawi" is taken from the family name of his master who was from Hama in Syria but settled in Baghdad, Iraq. "Ibn-Abdullah” means "son of the servant of God, since the name of his Greek father was rather difficult to pronounce in Arabic. His master taught him accounting, trading and other sciences before releasing him. Yaqout, in addition to his native Greek and Latin, mastered Arabic, Persian and Turkish, and dedicated himself to scholarly tasks. He was one of the last scholars who visited the famous Islamic libraries east of the Caspian Sea before the devastating Mongol invasion of Central Asia. He spent two years in the libraries of the Khorasani city of Merv which is currently in Turkmenistan. His two famous voluminous works are "Kitab Mu'jam al-Boldaan (Encyclopedia of Lands) and "Kitab Mu'jam al-Udaba” (Encyclopedia of Writers).
766 lunar years ago, on this day in 674 AH, the literary figure and historian, Taj od-Din Ali Ibn Anjab Ibn Abdullah as-Sa’i, passed away in Baghdad at the age of 81 years.  He was the custodian of books at the al-Mustansiriyah School of Baghdad. After the sack of Baghdad by the Mongols of Hulagu Khan and the end of the Abbasid caliphate, he was made in charge of the surviving libraries of Baghdad by the renowned Iranian Islamic scientist, Khwjah Naseer od-Din Tusi. Among his works is "al-Jame’ al-Mukhtasar fi Onwan at-Tarikh wa Uyoun as-Siyar”. He also wrote the book "Nisa' al-Khluafa” on the different types of women patronized by the Abbasid caliphs.
726 solar years ago, on this day in 1293 AD, an earthquake struck Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan, killing about 30,000.
598 solar years ago, on this day in 1421 AD, the 5th Ottoman Sultan, Mohammad I Chalabi, died after a reign of 8 years, at the age of 31 and was buried at Bursa. He was a son of Bayezid I, while his mother was Dowlat Khatun, was a daughter of Yaqoub Shah, the ruler of the principality of Germiyan and a descendant of the famous Iranian mystic and Persian poet, Mowlana Jalal od-Din Roumi. Although his 8-year reign as sultan started with his victory at the Battle of Jamurlu over Musa Chalabi, his brother, Mohammad I as the most powerful brother contending for the throne, was the de facto ruler of most of the empire for nearly the whole preceding period of 11 years of the Ottoman Interregnum since his father's defeat and capture at Ankara by Amir Timur.
507 solar years ago, on this day in 1512 AD, the 8th Ottoman sultan, Bayezid II, died after a 31-year reign, a month after being forced to abdicate the throne by his rebellious son, Selim I. Bayezid II, who brutally suppressed several popular uprisings by the Qizilbash or Shi’a Muslims of Anatolia that were influenced by the Safavid Empire of Iran, is notable for resettling tens of thousands of Jews from Spain throughout the Ottoman Empire after proclamation of the Alhambra Decree by the Christian rulers of Spain, Ferdinand and Isabella. Bayezid II engaged in numerous campaigns to conquer the Venetian possessions in Morea. The last of these wars ended in 1501 with his gaining control of the whole Peloponnese Peninsula or present day southern Greece.
382 solar years ago, on this day in 1637 AD, A combined Protestant and Mohegan force under the English Captain John Mason attacked a Pequot village in Connecticut, massacring over 500 Native Americans. The white settlers from Europe were notorious for their genocide of the so-called Red Indians, and their enslavement of the black people kidnapped from Africa and made to toil as slaves in the New World.
366 solar years ago, on this day in 1653 AD, Robert Filmer, the English political theorist who irrationally defended the divine right of kings, died at the age of 65. His best known work, "Patriarcha”, published posthumously in 1680, was the target of numerous Whig attempts at rebuttal, including Algernon Sidney's "Discourses Concerning Government”, James Tyrrell's "Patriarcha Non Monarcha” and John Locke's "Two Treatises of Government”. Filmer also wrote critiques of Thomas Hobbes, John Milton, Hugo Grotius and Aristotle, but he failed to prove his divine right theory.
316 solar years ago, on this day in 1703 AD, British naval administrator and Member of Parliament, Samuel Pepys, who is now most famous for the detailed diary of important events he kept for a decade, died at the age of 70. Through hard work and talent for administration, he rose to be Chief Secretary to the Admiralty under both King Charles II and subsequently King James II. The detailed private diary Pepys kept from 1660 until 1669 was first published in the 19th century and is one of the most important primary sources for the English Restoration period. It provides a combination of personal revelation and eyewitness accounts of such important events, as the Great Plague of London, the Second Dutch War, and the Great Fire of London.  Often regarded as the most celebrated diary, it contains over a million words, and the author’s frankness in writing his own weaknesses, has made historians ascertain the accuracy of his record of daily British life and major events in the 17th century.
154 lunar years ago, on this day in 1286 AH, the eminent scholar, Shaikh al-Iraqayn, Abdul-Husain Ibn Ali Tehrani, passed away in Karbala, and was laid to rest in the holy shrine of the Chief of Martyrs, Imam Husain (AS). Iraq. An authority in theology, hadith, and exegesis of the Holy Qur’an, he groomed many students, including the famous Mirza Hussain Nouri, the teacher in turn of the celebrated Shaikh Abbas Qomi – the author of widely circulated prayer-supplication manual "Mafatih al-Jenaan”.  He had a vast collection of books and before his death endowed his library for the use of scholars and researchers.
151 lunar years ago, on this day in 1289 AH, the eminent jurist, Seyyed Mohammed Taqi Ibn Seyyed Mohammed Reza Ibn Seyyed Mohammed Mahdi Bahr al-Uloum, passed away.
136 solar years ago, on this day in 1883 AD, Algerian freedom fighter, Seyyed Abdul-Qader ibn Mohi od-Din al-Hassani al-Jaza'iri, died in Damascus, Syria at the age of 75, and was buried near the tomb of the famous Spanish Muslim Gnostic, Sheikh Mohi od-Din Ibn Arabi. Born near Mascara in Oran in Algeria, he claimed descent from Imam Hasan Mojtaba (AS), the elder grandson of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). In 1825, he set out for the Hajj pilgrimage. In Mecca, he met with and was impressed by Imam Shamil of Daghestan, the leader of the struggle against Russian expansion in the Caucasus which had recently been seized by the Czar from the Qajarid rulers of Iran. He also visited Syria and Iraq. After five years, he returned to his homeland in 1830 a few months before the Ottoman Turks lost it to the French invaders. He led the military struggle against France, organizing guerrilla warfare over the next decade. His failure to get support from the eastern tribes and the Berbers of the west led to the quelling of his uprising. On December 21, 1847, after being denied refuge in Morocco because of French pressure, he surrendered and was exiled to France, where he remained under detention until 1852. He was released on taking an oath never again to question French rule in Algeria. In 1855 he settled in Damascus, where he died this day. During the Druze-Christian riots of 1860 in Damascus, he had sheltered a large number of Christians, earning praise and awards from European states and the USA. Unfortunately, Abdul-Qader had became a member of the notorious Jewish secret organization, the Freemasons in 1864. Among the books he wrote, the "Call to the Intelligent, Warning to the Indifferent” and "The Arabian Horse” could be mentioned.
111 solar years ago, on this day in 1908 AD, oil was recovered for the first time in Iran in the Masjid Suleiman area in the southwest, at a 60-meter depth, with oil gushing up to a height of 25 meters. The Masjid Suleiman area is of paramount importance in regard to its mines and hydrocarbons and up to now more than 250 oil wells have been drilled. Iran also possesses the world’s second largest natural gas reserves as well. Oil seepages had been noted for centuries in Iran, where the oozing was used for such purposes as the caulking of boats and the binding of bricks.
53 solar years ago, on this day in 1966 AD, Guyana became independent from centuries of British rule, and four years later became a republic. Guyana was occupied by the Spanish in late 15th century and seized by Britain in the 17th century. Situated in South America with a coastline on the Atlantic Ocean, Guyana’s indigenous people are the Arawak-speaking Lucayan, part of the Taino people, who are now a minority in their own homeland. The country has a population of 10 percent Muslims, while a slight majority of the national population is made up of Guyanese of Indian origin.
38 solar years ago, on this day in 1981 AD, the 6-nation Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (PGCC), was set up by Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, and Oman. The goals were given as economic, political, and military coordination to deter foreign threats to the region, but the PGCC has turned out to be an instrument of US neo-colonialist policies in the Persian Gulf, and indulges in sowing seeds of discord and fanning ethnic tensions among Muslims of the region.
29 solar years ago, on this day in 1990 AD, Dr. Ali Akbar Siyasi, the Father of Modern Iranian Psychology, passed away in his hometown Tehran at the age of 92. He was a notable and important Iranian intellectual, psychologist and politician during the 1930s and 1960s, serving as the country's Foreign Minister, Minister of Education, Chancellor of University of Tehran, and Minister of State without portfolio. He drafted bill and law for National Compulsory Free Education, and took necessary measures for its enforcement. Besides he was a permanent member of the Persian Academy, president of Iranian Psychological Association; and co-founder of the Iranian Youth Association. Among the books he wrote are "Introduction to Philosophy” (1947), "Logic and Methodology” (1948), "Mind and Body” (1953), "The Psychology of Avicenna and its similarities with Modern Psychology” (1954), "Logic and Philosophy” (1958), "Intelligence and Reason” (1962), "Criminal Psychology” (1964), and "Psychology of Personality” (1975).
14 solar years ago, on this day in 2005 AD, Iran’s celebrated Mo’azzen or Caller to Prayer, Rahim Mo’azzen Zadeh Ardabili, passed away in Tehran at the age of 80. Born in Ardabil in a religious family; his father Abdul-Karim Mo’azzen-Zadeh Ardabili was himself a Mo’azzen, whose Azan was broadcast on line by the radio, every morning from 1943 to1947, from Tehran’s Grand Imam Mosque in the Main Bazaar. In 1947, on his death, he was succeeded by his son, Rahim Mo’azaen-Zadeh, both at the mosque and on radio. His famous prayer call (Azan) is in Bayat Turk Style (a style in Persian music), and it was performed on the radio station located in 15th Khordad Square in 1955. This Azan is still broadcast by the radio and the TV. He used to say: "During the last years, a spiritual pride had been along with me for recording this prayer call, and this spiritual wealth is enough for me.”
(Courtesy: IRIB English Raido – http://parstoday.com/en)
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