Today is Tuesday; 27th of the Iranian month of Mordad 1394 solar hijri; corresponding to 3rd of the Islamic month of Zi’l-Qa’dah 1436 lunar hijri; and August 18, 2015, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.
1331 solar years ago, on this day in 684 AD, the crucial Battle of Marj Rahit took place near Damascus for control of Syria, resulting in a surprise victory for Marwan Ibn al-Hakam of the tottering Omayyad regime, because of the support of the Banu Kalb tribesmen against the rival Banu Qays clansmen. The Banu Qays were led by the governor of Damascus, Dahhak Ibn Qays al-Fihri, a partisan of Abdullah Ibn Zubayr, who had styled himself as caliph in Hijaz on the death of the tyrant Yazid, but made the fatal mistake of allowing Marwan to leave Medina for Syria. Twenty days earlier at Marj as-Suffar, Dahhak had defeated Marwan and almost annihilated the Omayyads. Marwan, who decades ago had been banished along with his infidel father, Hakam Ibn Aas, by Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) but recalled to Medina by Othman Ibn Affan and given charge of all state affairs during his 12-year caliphate, now took advantage of the abdication by Yazid’s son, Mu’awiyya, to declare himself caliph. Marwan’s victory was due to the bribing of commanders of the rival forces by his generals, such as Obaidollah Ibn Ziyad, the perpetrator of the heartrending tragedy of Karbala and the martyrdom of the Prophet’s grandson, Imam Husain (AS). After nine months in power Marwan was choked to death by Yazid’s wife whom he had married, and was succeeded by his equally cruel son, Abdul-Malik. The new self-styled Omayyad caliph continued to struggle for control of Islamic lands with the rival caliph, Abdullah Ibn Zubayr, and succeeded in occupying Egypt, but in 686 was soundly defeated near Mosul in Iraq by the avenger of Imam Hussain’s blood, Mokhtar Ibn Abu Obaidah, whose forces killed the despicable Omayyad commander, Obaidollah Ibn Ziyad. Abdul-Malik, terrified of Mokhtar’s possible march upon Damascus, was relieved at Abdullah Ibn Zubayr’s blunder of attacking Iraq instead of accepting Mokhtar’s offer of alliance for finishing off the Omayyads. In 687 Mus'ab ibn Zubayr resorted to bribes and treachery to defeat and kill Mokhtar, but four years later was defeated and killed in turn by the now resurgent Abdul-Malik, who after occupying Iraq and Iran, sent his bloodthirsty general, Hajjaj Thaqafi to Hijaz the next year in 692 to kill the rival caliph in Mecca and destroy the holy Ka’ba.
788 solar years ago, on this day in 1227 AD, the bloodthirsty Mongolian Buddhist tyrant, Genghis Khan, died at the age of 65, after devastating centres of civilization, especially in the Muslim world, including Iran, and slaughtering some seventeen million people. Named Temujin at birth in a nomadic family, he united the scattered Mongol tribes and then savagely attacked and occupied northern China. He now expanded his dominions in the west by conquering the Turkic Qara-Khitai Khanate that brought his borders to the Khwarezmian Empire, whose ruler, Shah Ala od-Din Mohammad, made the fatal mistake of first mistreating the trade delegation sent by Genghis Khan, and then after repulsing the first wave of Mongol invasion, making a tactical blunder by dividing his army into small divisions on the assumption that there won’t be any further attacks. The result was catastrophic. Genghis, known for his treachery and betrayal of even his own friends, attacked with ferocity, razing to the ground flourishing Muslim cities and slaughtering entire populations. The fabled Iranian Islamic cities of Samarqand and Bukhara were devastated, and next came the turn of the cultural-commercial capital, Urgenj, whose artisans were sent to Mongolia, young women and children were given to the Mongol soldiers as slaves, and the rest of the population was massacred. The Iranian historian Juvayni states that 50,000 Mongol soldiers were given the task of executing twenty-four Urgenj citizens each, which would mean that 1.2 million people were killed. Urgenj is considered one of the bloodiest massacres in human history. In his pursuit of the fugitive Shah, Genghis invaded Khorasan, massacring 70,000 people in Merv, and 190,000 in Naishapur, where the famous Persian poet, Attar Naishapuri was among the victims. The researcher Steven R. Ward has written: "Overall, the Mongol violence and depredations killed up to three-fourths of the population of the Iranian Plateau, possibly 10 to 15 million people. Some historians have estimated that Iran's population did not again reach its pre-Mongol levels until the mid-20th century." Genghis was buried somewhere close to the Onon River and the Burkhan Khaldun Mountain, and his funeral escort killed everyone across its path to conceal his grave.
601 solar years ago, on this day in 1414 AD, the prominent Persian poet and literary figure, Noor od-Din Abdur-Rahman Jami, was born in Jam, in Khorasan. He went to Samarqand to learn Islamic sciences, literature and history, and settled in Herat. He wrote a large number of works in prose and verse, including "Baharestan”. Jami has also composed beautiful odes in praise of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) and the Ahl al-Bayt.
528 solar years ago, on this day in 1487 AD, the four-month siege of the strategic Spanish Muslim port of Malaga of the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada, ended with its occupation by the Christian forces, aided by mercenaries from other parts of Europe, who massacred the Muslims and sold the remnants into slavery. It was the first conflict in which ambulances, or special vehicles for the purpose of carrying injured persons, were used by the Muslim defenders. King Ferdinand II of Aragon invaded the Muslim territories with 20,000 horsemen, 50,000 infantrymen and 8,000 mercenaries, which were joined by artillery units. Mohammad XIII, Sultan of Granada made an attempt to relieve the fortress of Velez, but was forced to retreat to Granada where he found that he had been overthrown in favour of his nephew Abdullah. Seeing no hope of relief, Velez surrendered on 27 April 1487 on condition that the lives of the people would be spared, and they would keep their property and religion – promises which the Christians did not keep. The fall of Malaga was a harsh blow to the Spanish Muslims, who were mercilessly massacred by the Christians, while the survivors, numbering round 15,000, were enslaved and their property confiscated. Five years later in 1492, through treachery and deceit, the Christians, assisted by mercenaries from other parts of Europe, attacked and occupied Granada itself, thereby ending almost 8 centuries of glorious Muslim rule in Spain. Hundreds of thousands of Spanish Muslims fled to North Africa for safety, as their pleas to the Mamluks of Egypt and the Ottomans fell on deaf ears, because of infighting amongst these two great Mediterranean Muslim powers.
367 solar years ago, on this day in 1648 AD, the 18th Ottoman Sultan, Ibrahim Deli (the Deranged), who styled himself the 10th Turkic Caliph, was strangled to death at the age 33, after 8 years in powers, on the orders of his minor son and successor, Mohammad IV, as per the fatwa issued by the chief Qazi of the realm. Son of Ahmad I through a Greek concubine, he was one of the most notorious Ottoman Sultans. He spent all his early life in close confinement before succeeding his elder brother Murad IV. Four of his brothers had been executed by Murad, and Ibrahim lived in terror of being the next to die. His reign, however, was free of any wars with the traditional Ottoman rivals, the Safavid Shahs of Iran.
147 solar years ago, on this day in 1868 AD, the English oriental scholar, Reynold Alleyne Nicholson, was born in West Riding, Yorkshire. He started as a language lecturer at Cambridge University, and conducted extensive research on Persian and Arabic literature. He was a great admirer of the acclaimed Iranian poet and mystic, Mowlana Jalal od-Din Rumi, whose famous Mathnavi he translated into English in several volumes, along with a detailed commentary – the result of his 25-year long research. Nicholson, as a teacher of the great poet-philosopher of the Subcontinent, Muhammad Iqbal Lahori, translated the latrer’s first philosophical Persian poetry book "Asrar-e Khudi” into English as "The Secrets of the Self”. He also wrote the book "A Literary History of the Arabs”. Another prominent student of Nicholson was Arthur John Arberry, an Arabic-Persian expert and a Rumi admirer, who completed an academic English translation of the holy Qur’an as well as translation of Iqbal’s long ode in Persian "The Javid-Namah”  He died in 1945 in Chester in Cheshire.
147 solar years ago, on this day in 1868 AD, French astronomer, Pierre Janssen, discovered a bright yellow line in the spectrum of the chromosphere of the sun during a solar eclipse he was observing from India. This was an indication of a new element. For over 30 years, it was assumed the element was only present in the sun since the spectral line was not observed in the lab until 1895 when William Ramsay examined a gas released from treating the mineral cleveite. Ramsay named the new element "helium” after the Greek word "helios” for the sun.
94 solar years ago, on this day in 1921 AH, Akhound Abdul-Karim Gazi passed away at the age of 77. Born in the town of Gaz, near Isfahan, in a scholarly family, after preliminary studies in Isfahan, he left for the seminary of holy Najaf in Iraq, where he attained the status of Ijtihad. On return to Iran, he trained a number of scholars, and wrote books, including "Tadhkirat-al-Qobour” on the prominent persons buried in Isfahan.  
75 solar years ago, on this day in 1940 AD, the prominent Iranian painter, Mohammad Ghaffari, titled "Kamal ol-Molk” (Wonder of the State), passed away in exile in the northeastern Iranian city of Nayshapour. He was a product of Tehran’s Dar ul-Fonoun School and on joining the court of the Qajarid King, Naser od-Din Shah, created valuable works of art. He painted 170 masterpieces in this era. He later traveled to Europe to acquire further knowledge in the field of painting and upon return to Iran groomed numerous students. He was exiled to a village in the vicinity of Naishapur by the British-installed Pahlavi potentate, Reza Khan, whose portrait he refused to paint. This renowned painter was laid to rest in the garden of the mausoleum of the acclaimed Iranian poet, Fareed od-Din Attar Naishapuri.
57 solar years ago, on this day in 1958 AD, Brojen Das of East Pakistan (presently Bangladesh) swam across the English Channel in a competition, as the first Asian to ever do it. He came first among 39 competitors.
36 solar years ago, on this day in 1979 AD, following armed sedition in the western border areas of Kurdistan Province and a bid by anti-revolutionaries to detach the strategic city of Paveh and adjoining regions from Iran, the Father of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (RA), issued a communiqué for mass mobilization forces to liberate the said areas. Paveh had been completely surrounded by the anti-revolutionaries, with the active backing of the US, but the timely arrival of Basiji forces thwarted the bid of the separatists.
27 solar years ago, on this day in 1988 AD, a ceasefire formally took effect as per UN Security Council Resolution 598, ending the 8-year war launched on Islamic Iran by the US through its agent, Saddam, the leader of the tyrannical Ba'th minority regime of Iraq. The goal of the invasion was to topple the Islamic Republic, but thanks to the committed and courageous Iranian forces, the armed-to-the-teeth Ba'thist war machine failed in its efforts.
24 solar years ago, on this day in 1991 AD, Iranian historian Seyyed Mohammad Moheet Tabatabaie passed away at the age of 89. Besides his native Persian, he was an expert in Arabic, English, French and some ancient Iranic languages. For years he was regular face at scholastic seminaries, presenting highly researched articles on a wide variety of subjects. He has left behind some 2,500 research articles, while the books written by him include, "Seyyed Jamal od-Din and the Awakening of the Orient”, "Analytical History of the Iranian Media”, and "Evolution of Government in Iran after the Advent of Islam.”
19 solar years ago, on this day in 1996 AD, Ayatollah Qodratollah Vajdani Fakhr passed away at the age of 64. Born near Sarab, he studied at the seminary of holy Qom. During his 40-year long missionary activities, which warranted travels around the country and abroad, he groomed thousands of intellectuals. He wrote a number of books, which include "Norms of Etiquette in Islam”, "Ijtihad in Islam”, and the 16-volume "al-Fahriyya” on jurisprudence.