This Day in History
(January 27)
Today is Wednesday; 8th of the Iranian month of Bahman 1399 solar hijri; corresponding to 13th of the Islamic month of Jamadi as-Sani 1442 lunar hijri; and January 27, 2021, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.
1922 solar years ago, on this day in 98 AD, Trajan succeeded his adoptive father Nerva as Roman emperor; and under his rule the Roman Empire reached its maximum extent. Born in an Italian family in Spain in what was then the city of Italica (now on the outskirts of Seville), he died in 117 at the age of 64 in Selinus in Cilicia in what is now the southeastern coastal region of Turkey, after a reign of 19 years, while fleeing from the counterattacks of Iran’s Parthian Empire, following his invasion of Mesopotamia (Iraq) and retreat.
1373 lunar years ago, on this day in 69 AH, the pious lady, Hazrat Omm al-Baneen (SA), the mother of the valiant standard-bearer of Karbala, Hazrat Abbas (AS), passed away in Medina, and was laid to rest in the Baqie Cemetery, next to Safiyyah and Atekah, the paternal aunts of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). Her real name was Fatema, the daughter of Huzaam of the al-Kulabiyya Clan noted for its courage and loyalty. Imam Ali (AS) married her several years after the passing away of his beloved wife, the Prophet’s Immaculate daughter, Hazrat Fatema Zahra (SA).The reason she is called Omm al-Baneen is because she bore several sons, four to be exact, and all of whom were martyred in Karbala. After the heartrending tragedy of Karbala, she accomplished her political and social mission by keeping alive the heroic epic of Ashura in the best way possible, including elegies that are considered masterpieces of Arabic literature.
1012 lunar years ago, on this day in 430 AH, the prominent Muslim scientist and polymath, Abu Ali Hassan Ibn al-Haytham, known to medieval Europe by his Latinized name of Alhazen, passed away in Cairo, the capital of Egypt, at the age of 76. Born in Basra in the Iraqi province of the Iranian Buwayhid (or Daylamite) Empire, he made vital contributions to optics, medicine, physics, astronomy, mathematics, visual perception, ophthalmology, philosophy, and various other sciences, and is the inventor of the telescope and the magnifying glass. He conducted extensive research on light rays, determining the relationship between the angle of light radiation and the angle of its reflection. He wrote insightful commentaries on the works of the ancient Greek philosophers and scientists such as Aristotle, Ptolemy, and Euclid. Ibn al-Haytham was active in both Basra and Baghdad and after visiting Islamic Spain he settled in Egypt which was ruled by the Fatemid Ismaili Shi’a Muslim dynasty. He was a follower of the school of the Ahl al-Bayt, and was associated with the renowned academy of al-Azhar, which derives its name from "az-Zahra” (the Radiant), the famous epithet of Hazrat Fatema (SA), the Immaculate Daughter of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). In Egypt he took up the project of controlling the floods of the Nile. He is said to have written over 200 books and treatises, the most famous of which is "Kitab al-Manazer” on Optics that was extensively used by later European scholars such as Roger Bacon, Johannes Keppler, and Galileo Galilei. Among his works, mention could be made of the "Configuration of the World”, "On the Formation of Eclipse”, "On the Milky Way”, "The Model of the Motions of Each of the Seven Planets”, and "Treatise on the Influence of Melodies on the Souls of Animals”. Among his prominent students were Sorkhab, an Iranian scientist from Semnan and Mubashir ibn Fatek, an Egyptian.
449 solar years ago, on this day in 1571 AD, Shah Abbas I, the 5th and greatest ruler of the Safavid dynasty of Iran, was born in Khorasan’s capital Herat (currently in Afghanistan) during the era of his grandfather, Shah Tahmasb I. His father was Shah Mohammad Khodabanda, whom he succeeded at the age of 16, while his mother was Khair un-Nisa Begum Mahd-e Olya, the daughter of the ruler of Mazandaran who traced her lineage to Imam Zain al-Abedin (AS), the 4th Infallible Heir of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). On his father’s side he was descended from Imamzadah Hamza (AS) – a son of the Prophet’s 7th Infallible Heir, Imam Musa Kazem (AS). During his 42-year rule, he reduced the influence of the Qizilbash corps in the administrative and military affairs, and reformed the army, enabling him to fight the Ottoman and Uzbek occupiers to liberate Iran’s lost provinces. He decisively defeated the Ottomans in several battles in the Caucasus, in Anatolia and in Iraq, where he rebuilt on a grand scale the shrines of the Infallible Imams in Najaf, Karbala, and Kazemain. He drove the Uzbeks from the northern and western parts of Khorasan, and in fulfillment of a vow walked on foot from his new capital Isfahan to distant Mashhad, where he rebuilt the shrine of Imam Reza (AS), the 8th Infallible Heir of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). He also liberated Iranian territories from the Portuguese in the Persian Gulf including Bahrain, and from the Mughals of the Subcontinent – the city of Qandahar (currently in Afghanistan). He was a great builder and moved his capital from Qazvin to Isfahan, which he adorned with beautiful mosques and other edifices including the world famous Naqsh-e Jahan Square, to the extent that the city came to be known as "Nisf-e Jahan” (Half the World). He patronized scholars, poets, painters, and carpet-weavers, thereby creating the Isfahan School to which Iran owes some of the finest arts in history. He respected religious figures, and during his era some of the greatest ulema and philosophers of Iran, such as Shaikh Baha od-Din Ameli, Mir Baqer Damad and Mullah Sadra Shirazi flourished. He also promoted trade and diplomacy, establishing relations with European powers to keep the Ottomans in check, and strengthening ties with the Shi’ite Muslim sultanates of Golkandah-Haiderabad and Bijapur in the Deccan (southern India), where the name of the Safavid Emperor was recited in the Friday Prayer sermons. At the same time he maintained friendly relations with the Mughal Emperor Jahangir of Hindustan (northern Subcontinent).
427 solar years ago, on this day in 1593 AD, The Vatican started the seven-year unjust trial of the Italian scholar Giordano Bruno for his confirming of the discoveries of Islamic scientists and saying that it is the earth that revolves around the sun, which in turn is just another star moving in space. The Catholic Church finally burned him at the stake for his refusal to retract his statements and writings. A Dominican friar, poet, philosopher, mathematician, and astrologer, Bruno’s cosmological theories went beyond the Copernican model and were deeply influenced by Islamic scientists. After his death he gained considerable fame, particularly among 19th and early 20th century commentators who, focusing on his astronomical beliefs, regarded him as a martyr for free thought and scientific ideas. Bruno also did not agree with the interpretations and scope of God held by the Christian Church and the weird concept of Trinity.
264 solar years ago, on this day in 1756 AD, the Austrian musician, Wolfgang Mozart, was born in Salzburg. He studied music under his father, wrote his first symphony at an early age, and soon conducted his first orchestra. He spent the last ten years of his brief 35-year life in Vienna. He composed several masterpieces. His famous operas include: "The Marriage of Figaro”, and "The Magic Flute”.
206 solar years ago, on this day in 1814 AD, German philosopher, Johann Gottlieb Fichte, died at the age of 52.Born in a poor family, he was one of the forerunners of the School of Idealism and was highly influenced by his contemporary, Immanuel Kant.
193 solar years ago, on this day in 1825 AD, the US Congress imposed a law for relocation of the Eastern Amerindians, as part of the policy of "Native American Genocide”. The term "Trail of Tears” is also used for the ethnic cleansing and forced relocation of the so-called Red Indians from southeastern parts of the United States following the Indian Removal Act of 1830. Those badly affected included the Cherokee, Muscogee, Seminole, Chickasaw, and Choctaw tribes, which were uprooted from their homelands and forced to settle in the so-called Indian Territory in eastern sections of the present-day Oklahoma State. Many natives suffered from exposure, disease and starvation on the route to their destinations. Many died, including 2,000-6,000 of 16,542 relocated Cherokee. The regimes in the US have a long history of aggression, expansionism, genocide, breach of treaties, and ethnic cleansing.
188 solar years ago, on this day in 1832 AD, English author, Lewis Caroll was born. Named Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, he was a mathematician and photographer, but is mainly remembered for the children’s book "Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” and its sequel. He taught mathematics at Christ Church College, Oxford from 1854 to 1881. He wrote mathematics books, including "Euclid and his Modern Rivals”, which is of historical interest.
Today is Wednesday; 8th of the Iranian month of Bahman 1399 solar hijri; corresponding to 13th of the Islamic month of Jamadi as-Sani 1442 lunar hijri; and January 27, 2021, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.
1922 solar years ago, on this day in 98 AD, Trajan succeeded his adoptive father Nerva as Roman emperor; and under his rule the Roman Empire reached its maximum extent. Born in an Italian family in Spain in what was then the city of Italica (now on the outskirts of Seville), he died in 117 at the age of 64 in Selinus in Cilicia in what is now the southeastern coastal region of Turkey, after a reign of 19 years, while fleeing from the counterattacks of Iran’s Parthian Empire, following his invasion of Mesopotamia (Iraq) and retreat.
1373 lunar years ago, on this day in 69 AH, the pious lady, Hazrat Omm al-Baneen (SA), the mother of the valiant standard-bearer of Karbala, Hazrat Abbas (AS), passed away in Medina, and was laid to rest in the Baqie Cemetery, next to Safiyyah and Atekah, the paternal aunts of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). Her real name was Fatema, the daughter of Huzaam of the al-Kulabiyya Clan noted for its courage and loyalty. Imam Ali (AS) married her several years after the passing away of his beloved wife, the Prophet’s Immaculate daughter, Hazrat Fatema Zahra (SA).The reason she is called Omm al-Baneen is because she bore several sons, four to be exact, and all of whom were martyred in Karbala. After the heartrending tragedy of Karbala, she accomplished her political and social mission by keeping alive the heroic epic of Ashura in the best way possible, including elegies that are considered masterpieces of Arabic literature.
1012 lunar years ago, on this day in 430 AH, the prominent Muslim scientist and polymath, Abu Ali Hassan Ibn al-Haytham, known to medieval Europe by his Latinized name of Alhazen, passed away in Cairo, the capital of Egypt, at the age of 76. Born in Basra in the Iraqi province of the Iranian Buwayhid (or Daylamite) Empire, he made vital contributions to optics, medicine, physics, astronomy, mathematics, visual perception, ophthalmology, philosophy, and various other sciences, and is the inventor of the telescope and the magnifying glass. He conducted extensive research on light rays, determining the relationship between the angle of light radiation and the angle of its reflection. He wrote insightful commentaries on the works of the ancient Greek philosophers and scientists such as Aristotle, Ptolemy, and Euclid. Ibn al-Haytham was active in both Basra and Baghdad and after visiting Islamic Spain he settled in Egypt which was ruled by the Fatemid Ismaili Shi’a Muslim dynasty. He was a follower of the school of the Ahl al-Bayt, and was associated with the renowned academy of al-Azhar, which derives its name from "az-Zahra” (the Radiant), the famous epithet of Hazrat Fatema (SA), the Immaculate Daughter of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). In Egypt he took up the project of controlling the floods of the Nile. He is said to have written over 200 books and treatises, the most famous of which is "Kitab al-Manazer” on Optics that was extensively used by later European scholars such as Roger Bacon, Johannes Keppler, and Galileo Galilei. Among his works, mention could be made of the "Configuration of the World”, "On the Formation of Eclipse”, "On the Milky Way”, "The Model of the Motions of Each of the Seven Planets”, and "Treatise on the Influence of Melodies on the Souls of Animals”. Among his prominent students were Sorkhab, an Iranian scientist from Semnan and Mubashir ibn Fatek, an Egyptian.
449 solar years ago, on this day in 1571 AD, Shah Abbas I, the 5th and greatest ruler of the Safavid dynasty of Iran, was born in Khorasan’s capital Herat (currently in Afghanistan) during the era of his grandfather, Shah Tahmasb I. His father was Shah Mohammad Khodabanda, whom he succeeded at the age of 16, while his mother was Khair un-Nisa Begum Mahd-e Olya, the daughter of the ruler of Mazandaran who traced her lineage to Imam Zain al-Abedin (AS), the 4th Infallible Heir of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). On his father’s side he was descended from Imamzadah Hamza (AS) – a son of the Prophet’s 7th Infallible Heir, Imam Musa Kazem (AS). During his 42-year rule, he reduced the influence of the Qizilbash corps in the administrative and military affairs, and reformed the army, enabling him to fight the Ottoman and Uzbek occupiers to liberate Iran’s lost provinces. He decisively defeated the Ottomans in several battles in the Caucasus, in Anatolia and in Iraq, where he rebuilt on a grand scale the shrines of the Infallible Imams in Najaf, Karbala, and Kazemain. He drove the Uzbeks from the northern and western parts of Khorasan, and in fulfillment of a vow walked on foot from his new capital Isfahan to distant Mashhad, where he rebuilt the shrine of Imam Reza (AS), the 8th Infallible Heir of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). He also liberated Iranian territories from the Portuguese in the Persian Gulf including Bahrain, and from the Mughals of the Subcontinent – the city of Qandahar (currently in Afghanistan). He was a great builder and moved his capital from Qazvin to Isfahan, which he adorned with beautiful mosques and other edifices including the world famous Naqsh-e Jahan Square, to the extent that the city came to be known as "Nisf-e Jahan” (Half the World). He patronized scholars, poets, painters, and carpet-weavers, thereby creating the Isfahan School to which Iran owes some of the finest arts in history. He respected religious figures, and during his era some of the greatest ulema and philosophers of Iran, such as Shaikh Baha od-Din Ameli, Mir Baqer Damad and Mullah Sadra Shirazi flourished. He also promoted trade and diplomacy, establishing relations with European powers to keep the Ottomans in check, and strengthening ties with the Shi’ite Muslim sultanates of Golkandah-Haiderabad and Bijapur in the Deccan (southern India), where the name of the Safavid Emperor was recited in the Friday Prayer sermons. At the same time he maintained friendly relations with the Mughal Emperor Jahangir of Hindustan (northern Subcontinent).
427 solar years ago, on this day in 1593 AD, The Vatican started the seven-year unjust trial of the Italian scholar Giordano Bruno for his confirming of the discoveries of Islamic scientists and saying that it is the earth that revolves around the sun, which in turn is just another star moving in space. The Catholic Church finally burned him at the stake for his refusal to retract his statements and writings. A Dominican friar, poet, philosopher, mathematician, and astrologer, Bruno’s cosmological theories went beyond the Copernican model and were deeply influenced by Islamic scientists. After his death he gained considerable fame, particularly among 19th and early 20th century commentators who, focusing on his astronomical beliefs, regarded him as a martyr for free thought and scientific ideas. Bruno also did not agree with the interpretations and scope of God held by the Christian Church and the weird concept of Trinity.
264 solar years ago, on this day in 1756 AD, the Austrian musician, Wolfgang Mozart, was born in Salzburg. He studied music under his father, wrote his first symphony at an early age, and soon conducted his first orchestra. He spent the last ten years of his brief 35-year life in Vienna. He composed several masterpieces. His famous operas include: "The Marriage of Figaro”, and "The Magic Flute”.
206 solar years ago, on this day in 1814 AD, German philosopher, Johann Gottlieb Fichte, died at the age of 52.Born in a poor family, he was one of the forerunners of the School of Idealism and was highly influenced by his contemporary, Immanuel Kant.
193 solar years ago, on this day in 1825 AD, the US Congress imposed a law for relocation of the Eastern Amerindians, as part of the policy of "Native American Genocide”. The term "Trail of Tears” is also used for the ethnic cleansing and forced relocation of the so-called Red Indians from southeastern parts of the United States following the Indian Removal Act of 1830. Those badly affected included the Cherokee, Muscogee, Seminole, Chickasaw, and Choctaw tribes, which were uprooted from their homelands and forced to settle in the so-called Indian Territory in eastern sections of the present-day Oklahoma State. Many natives suffered from exposure, disease and starvation on the route to their destinations. Many died, including 2,000-6,000 of 16,542 relocated Cherokee. The regimes in the US have a long history of aggression, expansionism, genocide, breach of treaties, and ethnic cleansing.
188 solar years ago, on this day in 1832 AD, English author, Lewis Caroll was born. Named Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, he was a mathematician and photographer, but is mainly remembered for the children’s book "Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” and its sequel. He taught mathematics at Christ Church College, Oxford from 1854 to 1881. He wrote mathematics books, including "Euclid and his Modern Rivals”, which is of historical interest.