Today is Tuesday; 1st of the Iranian  month of Bahman 1398 solar hijri; corresponding to 25th of the Islamic month of Jamadi al-Awwal 1441 lunar hijri; and January 21, 2020, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.
1600 solar years ago, on this day in 420 AD, Yazdegerd I, the 16th Sassanid Emperor of Iran, whose empire included Iraq, the Caucasus, and parts of Afghanistan and Central Asia, was killed by his own nobles after a reign of 21 years.
1377 lunar years ago, on this day in 64 AH, Mu’awiyyah, the son of the tyrant Yazid ibn Mu’awiyyah, died under suspicious circumstances in Damascus, Syria, at the age 19, a month after abdicating the caliphate. He was installed as ruler of the usurper Omayyad regime following the death by divine wrath of his accursed father – the perpetrator of the heartrending tragedy of Karbala – and immediately distanced himself from Yazid’s crimes against Islam, especially the slaying of Imam Husain (AS), the younger grandson of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). After only a month and eleven days in power, he relinquished the caliphate by delivering a sermon that exposed as sinners and usurpers, both his father and grandfather Mu’awiyyah ibn Abu Sufyan, who had seized the caliphate from the Prophet’s elder grandson Imam Hasan Mojtaba (AS) in 41 AH to establish the illegal Omayyad regime. The young Mu’awiyyah, who unlike his blasphemous father and grandfather, was an upright person, went on the pulpit of the main mosque of Damascus, and with eyes full of tears, recounted the evil and sacrilegious deeds of his father, Yazid, in martyring Imam Husain (AS), in imprisoning the Prophet’s household; in desecrating the Prophet’s Mosque and Shrine in Medina following the massacre of Muslims at Harrah, and in profaning the sanctity of the holy Ka’ba. He also recounted the evil deeds of his grandfather Mu’awiyyah ibn Sufyan, the accursed founder of the Omayyad dynasty, in revolting against the rule of justice of Imam Ali (AS), in seizing the caliphate from the Prophet’s elder grandson Imam Hasan al-Mojtaba (AS), and in shedding the blood of Muslims. According to historical accounts, he said: The caliphate is from Allah. My grandfather fought the person who was more entitled to it, i.e. Imam Ali. He [Mu’awiyyah ibn Abu Sufyan] committed acts that you are all aware of, and for which he is suffering in his grave. Then my father Yazid assumed the caliphate even though he was not deserving of it. He fought the Prophet’s grandson and is suffering in the grave on account of his sins. It is a terrible thing that we are fully aware of Yazid’s bad deeds: he slaughtered the Prophet’s family, he deemed alcohol permissible, and set fire to the holy Ka’ba. I don’t need this rule.
1257 solar years ago, on this day in 763 AD, Ibrahim Ibn Abdullah al-Mahaz was martyred near Kufa in the Battle of Bakhamra by the forces of Mansour Dawaniqi, the 2nd self-styled caliph of the usurper Abbasid regime. He was a great-grandson of Imam Hasan Mujtaba (AS), the elder grandson of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). He had launched the uprising in Basra in coordination with the uprising of his elder brother, Mohammad Nafs Zakiyya, who had liberated the Hijaz including the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. Within two months, Ibrahim liberated the whole of southern Iraq and Iran, thereby cornering Mansour in his capital Hirah in central Iraq (Baghdad was not yet built). While Ibrahim advanced towards Kufa, and Mansour was on the verge of defeat, Nafs Zakiyya was deserted by most of his army and martyred in combat. This emboldened the Abbasids and in the battle near Kufa, an arrow pierced Ibrahim’s neck. He was unhorsed and decapitated by Hamid Ibn Qahtaba, who sent the head of this venerable descendent of the Prophet to Mansour. Years earlier during the rule of the Godless Omayyad regime, the persecuted Abbasid brothers, Abu’l-Abbas Saffah and Mansour Dawaniqi, had sworn allegiance to Nafs Zakiyya at the famous gathering of the Hashemite clan at Abwa. However, on the fall of the Omayyads, the Abbasids, deserted him, broke their promise to return rule of the Islamic state to the Prophet’s Ahl al-Bayt, and instead established their own dubious rule.
733 solar years ago, on this day in 1287 AD, Sa’eed ibn Hakam al-Qurashi, the last Muslim ruler of the Minorca or Manurqa group of islands off the coast of Spain in the Mediterranean Sea, seeing himself outnumbered by the invading Christian army of King Alfons III of Aragon, who had defeated him on 17 January, signed his surrender with the treaty of San Agayz, at the fortress near Madina al-Jazira – nowadays known as the fortress of Santa Àgueda. This ended over five centuries of glorious Muslim rule in Minorca, and the forced conversion to Christianity of the local Muslims.
503 lunar years ago, on this day 938 AH, the great Islamic scholar of what is now Lebanon, Shaikh Ali bin Abdul-Aali al-Maysi al-Ameli, passed away. Known as "Muhaqqiq” (Researcher) for his outstanding abilities, he was a teacher of the famous scholar Shaikh Zayn od-Din al-Juba’i, known as "Shaheed Thani” (Second Martyr) for his tragic martyrdom in Syria. Shaikh Ali al-Maysi’s son, Shaikh Lotfallah al-Maysi migrated to Safavid Iran and settled in the holy city of Mashhad in Khorasan, where he became a famous scholar. During those days, because of the persecution by the Ottoman Turkish rulers, many Shi’ite Arab scholars of Lebanon migrated to Iran.
283 solar years ago, on this day in 1737 AD, a devastating cyclone in the Bay of Bengal hit the eastern coasts of India, killing at least 300,000 people. The Bay of Bengal is one of the major storm-prone regions, and frequently causes devastations in eastern India and Bangladesh.
227 solar years ago, on this day in 1793 AD, French King Louis XVI was beheaded by the guillotine four years after the victory of the French Revolution.
96 solar years ago, on this day in 1924 AD, the leader of Russia’s communist party, Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, died at the age of 54. His books include: "Imperialism, the Highest State of Capitalism”, "The State and Revolution”, and "The Development of Capitalism in Russia”.
71 lunar years ago, on this day in 1370 AH, prominent jurisprudent and Marja’ or Source of Emulation, Ayatollah Mirza Mohammad Faiz Qomi, passed away in his hometown Qom..
55 solar years ago, on this day in 1965 AD, Prime Minister Hassan-Ali Mansour of the Shah’s detested regime was revolutionarily executed by Muslim combatant, Mohammad Bokharai. Mansour was an American stooge. It was during his tenure that the rubber-stamp parliament of the Pahlavi regime passed the Capitulation Bill granting immunity to American criminals from judicial pursuance in Iran. This enabled the US to plunder Iran’s resources and to interfere in its domestic affairs more freely. Mansour also earned notoriety for sending into exile the Father of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (RA). Soon after the beloved Imam’s exile to Turkey, Mansour was fatally shot by Bokharai, and died a few days later.
52 solar years ago, on this day in 1968 AD, in Vietnam, the Battle of Khe Sahn began, with US occupation forces dropping over 100,000 tons of bombs (equivalent in destructive force to five Hiroshima-size atomic bombs) until mid-April on the hapless Vietnamese people. This was roughly 1,300 tons of bombs dropped daily. In addition, 158,000 large-caliber shells were fired on the hills. It lasted for over five months and was the longest and bloodiest battle of the Vietnam War.
45 solar years ago, on this day in 1975 AD, Dr. Mohammad Qarib, physician, clinician, distinguished university professor and the Father of Pediatrics in Iran, passed away in Tehran at the age of 66.
41 solar years ago, on this day in 1979 AD, pillars of the British-installed and US-backed Pahlavi regime were shaken by popular nationwide protests, as Iranians stormed the Shah’s prisons to release thousands of prisoners. Simultaneously, a large number of Air Force officers staged demonstrations to announce their solidarity with the revolutionary masses. Reports circulated that the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (RA), would soon be returning from exile. People rejoiced and everyone prepared to accord a unique and historical welcome to the beloved leader.
36 solar years ago, on this day in 1983 AD, prominent Iranian musician, calligrapher, and scholar of Persian literature, Ibrahim Bonari, passed away at the age of 91. Born in Taleqan, he qualified in jurisprudence and Arabic literature, before mastering Persian literature, music and the art of calligraphy.
(Courtesy: IRIB English Radio – http://parstoday.com/en)