Today is Sunday; 20th of the Iranian month of Bahman 1398 solar hijri; corresponding to 14th of the Islamic month of Jamadi as-Sani 1441 lunar hijri; and February 9, 2020, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.
1053 solar years ago, on this day in 967 AD, Emir Saif od-Dowla, the Hamdanid ruler of Aleppo and most of Syria, passed away. Named Ali, he was a son of Abu’l-Hayja Abdullah bin Hamdan, and was a staunch follower of the Prophet’s Ahl al-Bayt. He was the younger brother of Nasser od-Dowla the Emir of Mosul. He distinguished himself in battles against the Byzantines and could be called the Warden of the Marches of the Islamic frontier because of his thwarting of the attempts of the Christians to plunder Syria. Saif od-Dowla was a man of letters and surrounded himself with prominent intellectual figures, notably the great Arabic poets, al-Mutanabbi and Abu Firas Hamdani, as well as the noted Iranian Islamic philosopher Abu Nasr Farabi. Saif od-Dowla himself was a poet; his delicate short poem on the rainbow shows high artistic ability.
936 lunar years ago, on this day in 505 AH, the prominent Iranian Sunni Muslim scholar, Abu Hamed Mohammad Ghazali Tusi, passed away. He is the author of the famous book "Ihya Oloum ad-Din” (in Arabic), and later wrote its summary in his native Persian titled "Kimiya-e Sa’adat”. He stirred controversy through his work "Tahafut al-Falasifa” (Incoherence of the Philosophers), which is a criticism of the Iranian Islamic genius, Abu Ali Ibn Sina’s rational evaluation of Aristotle’s views and the contribution to Islamic philosophy by Abu Nasr Farabi. In response, the Spanish Muslim philosopher, Ibn Rushd (Averroes) wrote "Tahafut at-Tahafut” (Incoherence of the Incoherence), which is a refutation of Ghazali’s views, while in the subsequent century, the brilliant Iranian polymath, Khwajah Naseer od-Din Tusi wrote a highly acclaimed defence of Ibn Sina and Islamic philosophy.
579 solar years ago, on this day in 1441 AD, Amir Ali Shir Navai, the acclaimed Central Asian politician, mystic, linguist, painter, and poet, was born in the Khorasani capital, Herat, which is currently in Afghanistan. He is considered the Father of Chagatai Turkic literature, and besides being a prolific writer, he composed poems in Persian under the penname "Fani”.
534 solar years ago, on this day in 1486 AD, the Mamluks of Egypt defeated the Ottoman general, Qaragoz Mohammad, near Adana in  Cilicia in what is now south central Turkey, following an invasion of Anatolia by Sultan Bayezid II, who started the 6-year war with the Egyptians.
380 solar years ago, on this day in 1640 AD, Murad IV, the 17th Ottoman Sultan and the 9th self-styled Turkic caliph, died in his capital Istanbul at the age of 28 after a reign of 17 years during which he killed four of his own brothers.
371 solar years ago, on this day in 1649 AD, parliament abolished the monarchy and declared England a republic under Oliver Cromwell as Lord Protector on his victory in the civil war and execution of King Charles I on charges of treason. In 1658 Cromwell died and was succeeded by his son, who nine months later was forced to resign under pressure from army commanders. In 1660, the monarchy was restored and Charles II was recalled from exile in Europe and crowned king.
289 lunar years ago, on this day in 1152 AH, the trilateral Treaty of Belgrade was signed, according to which the Austrians returned Belgrade (in present day Serbia) to the Ottoman Turks after 22 years of occupation. Russia for its part pledged to demolish the Fortress of Azak overlooking the Sea of Azov at the northeastern tip of the Black Sea, and leave the surrounding lands to the Ottomans, with a promise that no Russian ship will sail in the Black Sea.
256 lunar years ago, on this day in 1185 AH, the prominent Iranian religious scholar and poet, Allamah Ahmad Naraqi, was born in Naraq to the equally famous religious scholar Mullah Mohammad Mahdi Naraqi. He was an authority on jurisprudence, hadith, theology, "Ilm-ar-Rijal” or analytical biography of scholars and narrators, mathematics, astronomy, philosophy, Arabic literature and poetry, as well as Persian literature and poetry. He was fluent in Arabic, Hebrew and Latin and his knowledge about different sciences is evident in his various books. One of his books titled "Sayf al-Ummah wa Burhan al-Millah”, which was written to answer questions raised by British pastor Henry Martin shows his knowledge of Christianity and his mastery in answering deviated thoughts. Among his other works mention could be made of "Me’raj as-Sa’adah”, and "al-Asrar al-Hajj”.
129 lunar years ago, on this day in 1312 AH, Grand Ayatollah Mirza Habibollah Rashti, passed away. He was a product of the famous Islamic seminary of holy Najaf in Iraq and studied under prominent scholars such as Ayatollah Sheikh Morteza Ansari Dezfuli. Among his works, mention could be made of the book: "Badi al-Afkaar”.
127 solar years ago, on this day in 1893 AD, Suez Canal builder, Frenchman Ferdinand De Lesseps, and his associates were sentenced to prison for fraud in the incomplete Panama Canal project of Central America that was completed a decade later by the US.
55 solar years ago, on this day in 1965 AD, prominent Bengali Muslim scholar of pre-partition India, Khan Bahadur Ahsarullah, passed away in Nalta Sharif, Satkhira District of East Pakistan – as Bangladesh was then known – at the age of 92. He was an educator, litterateur, Islamic theologist and social reformer. He wrote around 100 books on different contents. Among his notable works are: "Teachers’ Manual”, "History of the Muslim World” and "Prophet Mohammad (SAWA)”.
46 lunar years ago, on this day in 1395 AH, the scholar, Ayatollah Mirza Ahmad Ashtiyani, passed away at the age of 95. Some of his works are: "Risala-e Qawl-e Thabit”, "Maqalaat Ahmadiyya” and "Nama-e Rahbaran”. From 1340 till his death fifty-five years later he taught and guided people in Tehran. His eldest son, Mirza Mohammad Baqer Ashtiyani, who passed away at the age of 81, nine years after the death of his father, was aslo great scholar in his own time.
43 solar years ago, on this day in 1977 AD, Russian Soviet aircraft designer, Sergey Vladimirovich Ilyushin, who created the famous Il-2 Stormovik armoured attack aircraft, the most used and the most produced plane during WWII by the Soviet Union Air Force, died at the age of 83 in Moscow.
41 solar years ago, on this day in 1979 AD, mercenary soldiers of the tottering Pahlavi regime attacked an air force base in Tehran following the pledge of allegiance given a day before by air force officers and personnel to the Father of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (RA). The public on learning of this dastardly attack, rushed to the airbase and despite being lightly armed overcame the Shah’s mercenaries to rescue the air force personnel. This was an important development in the events of the Islamic Revolution that triumphed two days later.
34 solar years ago, on this day in 1986 AD, Muslim combatants of Iran launched the Val-Fajr-8 Operations against the Ba’thist occupiers and after liberating Iranian territory crossed the Arvandroud or Shatt al-Arab waterway to take control of the Faw Peninsula on the Iraqi side of the border that shattered the morale of the enemy forces.
28 solar years ago, on this day in 1992 AD, following the landslide victory of Islamic groups in the parliamentary elections in December 1991, the Algerian military rulers, on the orders of the West, annulled the election results and banned the victorious Islamic Salvation Front as illegal. This measure sparked violence in the country that claimed numerous lives over the following years.
23 solar years ago, on this day in 1997 AD, Master Seyyed Abu’l-Fotouh Arabzadeh "Rassam”, the Father of Modern Iranian Carpets, passed away at the age of 82. Some of his creations are named: "Shores of Imagination”, "Cage of Colours”, and "Conquest of Somnath”.
17 solar years ago, on this day in 2003 AD, China announced that its scientists had discovered a massive underground lake, containing some 35 billion cubic feet of water, in the arid northwest beneath the Taklimakan Desert of the Uighur Muslim populated Xinjiang Province.
(Courtesy: IRIB English Radio – http://parstoday.com/en)