Today is Thursday; 19th of the Iranian month of Farvardin 1395 solar hijri; corresponding to 28th of the Islamic month of Jamadi as-Sani 1437 lunar hijri; and April 7, 2016, of the Christian  Gregorian Calendar.
1565 solar years ago, on this day in 451 AD, Attila the Hun sacked the town of Metz in northeastern France and attacked other French cities and towns, massacring people and plundering their properties. Of Turkic-Mongoloid origin, he was known as the scourge of God to both the Western and Eastern Roman Empires because of his barbaric nature, and during his 19-year rule, he spread the nomadic Hunnic Empire from the Ural River to the Rhine River and from the Danube River to the Baltic Sea. Following the devastating defeat he suffered in Armenia in 441 AD at the hands of Yazdegerd II, the Sassanid Emperor of Iran, Atilla never ventured again near the borders of the Persian Empire, and invaded the Eastern Roman Empire, the success of which emboldened him to invade the West. He crossed the Danube twice and plundered the Balkans, but was unable to take Constantinople (modern Istanbul). He invaded Roman Gaul (modern France), crossing the Rhine in 451 and marching as far as what is now Orleans. He subsequently invaded Italy and devastated its northern provinces but was unable to take Rome. He planned for further campaigns against the Romans but died in 453.
1092 solar years ago, on this day in 924 AD, Berengar I of Italy, died at the age of 79, nine years after being crowned the Holy Roman Emperor by Pope John X following the Battle of Garigliano in southern Italy against the Fatemid Ismaili Shi’ite Muslim Caliphate of North Africa, which from its colony of Sicily held sway over southern Italian principalities. Berengar had been king of several northern Italian principalities since 887, and was backed by the papacy in view of the existential threat to Rome and the catholic sect of Christianity by the growing power of the Muslims in Europe.
847 lunar years ago, on this day in 590 AH, the famous reciter of the Holy Qur’an, Qasem Ibn Fera ash-Shatebi, known as "Imam al-Qurra” passed away in Cairo, Egypt. He authored a book on the seven different ways of recitation.
295 solar years ago, on this day in 1721 AD, Russian Emperor, Peter the Great, attacked Sweden, and after defeating it, imposed the Treaty of Nystad, according to which Finland and parts of Sweden were occupied by Russia.
246 solar years ago, on this day in 1770 AD, prominent English poet, William Wordsworth, was born in Lake District, England. In 1798, along with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, he helped launched the Romantic Age in English literature with the joint publication of "Lyrical Ballads”. Wordsworth’s magnum opus is generally considered to be "The Prelude”, a semi-autobiographical poem of his early years which he revised and expanded a number of times. Wordsworth was Britain’s Poet Laureate from 1843 until his death seven years later.
227 solar years ago, on this day in 1789 AD, Selim III became the 29th Ottoman sultan and 20th self-styled Turkish caliph on the heartbroken death of his uncle, Abdul-Hamid I and successor of his father, Mustafa III, following a 15-year reign – four months after the disastrous defeat of the Turks by the combined Russian-Austrian armies and the fall of Ochakov in what is now Ukraine to Russia, which massacred all its 20,000 Muslim inhabitants. Born in 1762 to the Georgian concubine Agnesa, who on conversion to Islam was given the name Mehr-e Shah (Sun of the King), on ascending the throne Selim III embarked on plans to modernize the Empire, including the army in view of the disastrous wars with Austria and Russia. His most ambitious military project was creation of an entirely new infantry corps fully trained and equipped according to the latest European standards. The unit, called the "Nzam-e Jedid” (the new order) was opposed by the Janissari Corps, who constantly rose in revolt, and in 1807 finally induced the Sheikh ul-Islam to grant a fatwa against the reforms. He was dethroned after a reign of 18 years, and replaced by his cousin Mustafa IV. A year and 2 months later he was killed in the harem when new reached the new sultan that a large led by Alamdar Pasha was approaching Istanbul to reinstate him on the throne. Selim III carried on personal correspondence with Louis XVI, and was distressed by the setting up of the republic in France. On July 1, 1798, when Napoleon Bonaparte’s French forces landed in Egypt, he declared war on France. In alliance with Russia and Britain, the Turks were in periodic conflict with the French on both land and sea until March 1801. Selim’s assistance was sought by Fath Ali Khan Tipu Sultan of the independent Muslim Sultanate of Mysore in the Deccan (southern India) during the Third Anglo-Mysore War. The British appealed to him to tell Tipu Sultan to halt the war against the colonialists, prompting the Ottoman Sultan to write a letter to the Sultan of Mysore, criticizing the French, and offering to act as intermediary between him and the British. Tipu Sultan wrote twice to Selim III, rejecting his advice, and began to consolidate his relations with France, as result of which Napoleon invaded Ottoman Egypt in 1798, causing a furor in Constantinople. Immediately, the British unilaterally broke the truce and launched the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War to defeat and kill Tipu Sultan during the Siege of Seringapatam in 1799.
135 lunar years ago, on this day in 1302 AH, the Iranian theologian and literary figure, Mirza Mohammad Ibn Soleiman Tonekaboni, passed away. He has left behind numerous books, including "Qessas al-Ulema” on the biographies of prominent Islamic scholars. Among his other works "al-Fawa’ed fi Usoul ad-Din” – a versified presentation of principles of religion.
94 solar years ago, on this day in 1922 AD, the German Islamologist, Annemarie Schimmel, was born. She obtained her PhD in Islamic studies from Berlin University at the age of 19. She spent her life lecturing on history of religions and Islamic mysticism in German, American, and Turkish Universities. In addition to knowing German and English languages, she was also fluent in Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Urdu, and Bengali. She was very interested in Islamic mysticism and Iranian poets such as Hafez and Sa’di. Professor Schimmel received honorary degrees and prizes on several occasions. She has also left behind numerous books. She died in 2003.
79 solar years ago, on this day in 1937 AD, Italy launched a massive attack to occupy Albania. Some 10,000 Italian soldiers, backed by 400 planes, defeated the Albanian army in a five-day battle.
70 solar years ago, on this day in 1946 AD, Syria’s independence from France was formally recognized. Greater Syria or Bilaad ash-Shaam, which for four centuries had been occupied by the Ottoman Turks, was seized by the Allied powers of Britain and France in 1917 during World War I. The victors divided Syria between them, with the British creating Jordan and Palestine, and the French creating present-day Syria and Lebanon. Following independence from colonial rule, Syria went through instability for 24 years with frequent coups, counter-coups and overthrow of military and civilian governments that saw the rise and fall of more than a dozen regimes. The situation was stabilized and progress became possible, only with the coming to power in 1970 of President Hafez al-Assad, who during his 30-year rule made Syria a strong bulwark of resistance against the designs of the West and the illegal Zionist entity. He was succeeded in 2000 by his son, Dr. Bashshar al-Assad, who for the past 14 years has ably led the country, although at present he is facing an insurrection and state-sponsored terrorism incited by the US, Britain, France, Israel, Turkey and Arab reactionary states, such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
69 solar years ago, on this day in 1947 AD, the American inventor and scientist, Henry Ford, died at the age of 84. He was born in a poor family and made watches, while working as a mechanic. Later he built a major empire in auto industry. Ford is also considered as one of the car inventors.
68 solar years ago, on this day in 1948 AD, the World Health Organization (WHO) was founded by the UN. In 1948, the First World Health Assembly called for the creation of a "World Health Day” to mark the founding of the World Health Organization. Since 1950, World Health Day has been celebrated on the 7th of April annually.
36 solar years ago, on this day in 1980 AD, the United States of America unilaterally severed relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran, a year and two months after the resounding triumph of the Islamic Revolution which threw into the dustbin of history the British-installed and American-backed despotic Pahalavi regime. The US has never ceased its hostility towards Iran, and in its vain bid to undermine the popular Islamic system of government, has resorted to various plots including the 8-year war during the 1980s through Saddam, and the current illegal economic sanctions. The pretext for the US to sever ties was takeover of its embassy in Tehran by revolutionary students who resented its turning into a den of spies in violation of diplomatic norms. Imam Khomeini (RA) called this US measure as the only good thing Washington has done to the Iranian people, because diplomatic ties were misused for decades to oppress Iran and plunder its resources. The US has continued to plot against Islamic Iran in all spheres – political, economic, military, cultural, scientific etc. – but has failed to succeed, thanks to the Iranian nation’s resolve to attain self-sufficiency in different fields.
21 solar years ago, on this day in 1995 AD, during the First Chechen War, Russian paramilitary troops began a massacre of Muslim civilians in Samashki, Chechnya. The Russians were repulsed with great loss, but in 1999 launched another war to finally occupy the oil-rich Caucasian republic of Chechnya. It is worth noting that Chechnya, along with Daghestan, the present day Republic of Azerbaijan, Armenia and eastern Georgia, was part of successive Iranian empires for the past two millenniums, before being occupied by the Russians, as per the humiliating terms of the Treaty of Gulistan imposed in 1813 on the Qajarid Dynasty.
(Courtesy: IRIB English Radio – http://parstoday.com/en)