Today is Tuesday; 23rd of the Iranian month of Aban 1396 solar hijri; corresponding to 25th of the Islamic month of Safar 1439 lunar hijri; and November 14, 2017, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.
1452 solar years ago, on this day in 565 AD, Emperor Justinian I of Byzantine or the Eastern Roman Empire, died at the age of 83 after a 39-year reign, during which he was embroiled in a disastrous war with the Sassanid Empire of Iran. Having succeeded his maternal uncle Justin I in 527, he embarked on a policy of expansionism as he strove to become the emperor of the Western Roman Empire as well, when his generals conquered North Africa, Sicily, southern Spain and most of Italy including Rome from the Ostrogoths. On his eastern borders, however, he had to conclude an "Eternal Peace" in 532 with the new Iranian emperor, Khosrow Anushirvan by paying 11,000 pounds of gold, a year after the defeat of Roman forces near Callinicum in what is now Turkey by Emperor Qobad. In 540 the ‘Eternal Peace’ was broken because of Justinian’s intrigues in Armenia which made Khosrow I capture Beroea and then Antioch in Syria, resulting in the 22-year war that ended in 562 with conclusion of the "Fifty-Year Peace” and payment of 5,000 pounds of gold, plus 500 pounds of gold more each year to the Iranians by the Romans. Khosrow Anoushirvan’s prudent policy thus thwarted Roman designs in Syria, Anatolia, Armenia and Upper Mesopotamia, as he made sure that Rome would never be a threat to Iran by keeping close contacts with the Goths, the Huns, and the Arabs. Justinian during his long reign embellished his capital Constantinople with buildings, including a new Christian basilica – the Hagia Sophia, which is Greek for "Holy Wisdom” – as seat of the Greek Orthodox Church. He also codified the Roman law which serves as the basis of modern law in most European states.
1428 lunar years ago, on this day in 11 AH, or the "Calamity of Thursday” (???? ??????) occurred in Medina in the last days of the life of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). Also known as the "Event of Ink and Paper (Qirtas)”, the Prophet who was sick, asked for these data-x-items to write down his last will, saying this will strengthen unity and prevent Muslims from going astray after him. But he was denied these things by a group of his companions, and according to the famous Sunni book of Hadith "Sahih Bukhari”, Omar ibn Khattab said: The man is delirious; the Book of God is enough for us”. At this disrespectful remark, as is mentioned in the "Sihah as-Sitta” and other books of Sunan and Seerah of our Sunni brethren, a dispute arose among the companions, prompting the Prophet – who never says anything but on the commandment of God – to demand that they all leave him. Three days later, after the passing away of the Prophet and the unfortunate incident of Saqifa Bani Sa’da to elect a caliph or political leader, many prominent Muslims rued the denial of ink and paper to the Prophet, whose intention was to confirm in writing the leadership of Imam Ali (AS), whom he had often referred to as caliph and "wasee” (or legatee) throughout his 23-year mission. It is worth noting that two months earlier on 18th Zilhijja, the Prophet on divine commandment had formally proclaimed Imam Ali (AS) as Vicegerent at the famous assembly of Ghadeer-Khom, while returning from his Farewell Hajj pilgrimage, during which he had specifically stated the prominence of the Ahl al-Bayt, as the legitimate and lawful leaders of the Ummah, saying:
"I am leaving behind among you the Thaqalayn, the Book of God (i.e. the holy Qur’an) and my progeny the Ahl al-Bayt. Hold fast to them and you will never go astray, for the two never part with each other even when they return to me at the Fountain (on the Day of Judgment).”
Hadith Thaqalayn and all aspects of the Prophet’s life, including reference to the Calamity of Thursday, open for us the path of guidance and provide for us the formula of Islamic unity. Interestingly, in the book "al-Muraja’at”, as part of the lively debate between Allamah Seyyed Sharaf od-Din Musawi and Sheikh Saleem al-Bishri the head of Egypt’s al-Azhar seminary, in order to determine facts and arrive at Islamic unity, the Calamity of Thursday when the Prophet was prevented from writing the Last Will, has been mentioned in detail.
1239 lunar years ago, on this day in 230 AH, Spanish Muslims led by their Iranian general, Mohammad Ibn Rostum crushingly defeated the Viking marauders near Ishbiliya, (Seville). Cut off from their ships, the Vikings surrendered all four of their vessels laden with booty. Offspring of the captured Vikings embraced the truth of Islam, and became cattle ranchers and makers of excellent cheese in Islamic Spain.
1083 lunar years ago, on this day in 356 AH, Saif od-Dowla, the Hamdanid ruler of Aleppo and most of Syria, passed away. Named Ali, he was the son of Abdullah bin Hamdan, and was a staunch follower of the Ahl al-Bayt of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). He distinguished himself in battles against the Byzantines and checked the bid by the Christians to plunder Syria. As a man of letters, he 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.
1077 solar years ago, on this day in 940 AD, Abu’l-Fazl Mohammad ibn Obaidollah Bal'ami, the able vizier of the Iranian Samanid dynasty of Central Asia, passed away. He was from Marv and in 921 was appointed vizier by Amir Nasr II – a position he held until 938. He assisted the Amir in defeating the Zaydi invasion of Khorasan, and later crushed the rebellion of the Amir’s brothers. He was a patron of scholars and poets, including the famous Persian poet, Rudaki. He is known as Bal’ami-e Bozorg or Elder, while his equally efficient son, Mohammad, who also served as vizier and was a prominent historian, is known as Bal’ami-e Kuchak or Younger.
1041 solar years ago, on this day in 976 AD, Emperor Zhao Kuangyin, founder of the Song Dynasty of China, was murdered at the age of 49 after a 16-year rule by his brother who usurped the throne. A distinguished general under the Later Zhou, he came to power by staging a coup d'état that forced the young Zhou Emperor Gong to abdicate. During his reign, he conquered the states of Southern Tang, Later Shu, Southern Han and Jingnan, thus reunifying most of China and ending the tumultuous Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period.
484 solar years ago, on this day in 1533 AD, Ecuador in South America was occupied by Spanish invaders. Ecuador was Spain’s colony for three centuries, until in the year 1822 it was liberated by the people led by Simon Bolivar. It became part of the Federation of Greater Columbia, which dissolved in 1830. Ecuador covers an area of 283,561 sq km and is located along the Pacific Ocean’s coastlines. Its capital is Quito, and it shares borders with Columbia and Peru.
301 solar years ago, on this day in 1716 AD, German philosopher and mathematician, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, died at the age of 70. He founded the science of differential calculus in 1676.
220 solar years ago, on this day in 1797 AD, Scottish geologist, Charles Lyell, was born. He was the first European to classify geology as separate branch of science, in emulation of Islamic scientists. He published in three volumes "The Principles of the Science of Geology”.
128 solar years ago, on this day in 1889 AD, one of the prominent leaders of India’s struggles against British colonial rule, Jawaharlal Nehru, was born in Allahabad, in northern India in a Kashmiri family. He graduated in law from London, and on returning home, started his struggles against Britain after joining the Congress Party. He was arrested several times, and on release carried on his struggle as a disciple of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. Following India's independence, Nehru became the country's first prime minister, a post he held for 16 years until his death in 1964. During his imprisonment, he wrote lengthy letters to his daughter, Indira Gandhi, and later compiled them in book form under the titles "The Discovery of India” and "Glimpses of World History”, which also deal with the glories of the Islamic civilization and ancient Iranian culture. Nehru was well versed in English, Urdu, Persian and Hindi languages, and was one of the founders of the Non Aligned Movement when the capitalist west and the communist east were converting world countries into satellite states. His daughter, Indira Gandhi, was elected prime minister in 1965 and proved to be an efficient administrator, who successfully resisted US pressures and hegemony.
128 solar years ago, on this day in 1889 AD, prominent author and literary figure of Egypt, Dr. Taha Hussein, was born. He went blind in childhood, but given his high intelligence, studied and obtained PhDs at Egyptian universities and later at the universities of Montpellier and Sorbonne in France. He rendered valuable services in the domain of literature and culture, including foundation of the University of Alexandria. He briefly served as Egypt’s minister of education. He compiled a large number of books such as "History of Arabic Literature” "Ibn Khaldoun’s Philosophy” and "al-Fitnat-al-Kubra” (The Great Sedition) that deals with the sorry state of affairs of the caliphate after the passing away of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). He also wrote "Hafez and Shawqi”, which is a comparison between two great poets of the Persian and Arabic language, that is, Iran’s Khwaja Hafez Shirazi and Egypt’s Poet Laureate, Ahmad Shawqi. Taha Hussein passed away in 1973.
40 solar years ago, on this day in 1977 AD, vociferous chants of "Death to the Shah” by a huge protest rally of Iranians in the US – the biggest since the Vietnam War – which rent the air in Washington– was attacked by police forces using teargas that drifted inside the White House to moisten the eyes of both President Jimmy Carter and Mohammad Reza Shah of Iran, who were posing for the press, but ended up providing a sad spectacle to the TV cameras. Over a hundred protestors were injured. The Pahlavi potentate was in the US to submit a report on his suppression of Iranian people under the so-called ‘Open Atmosphere’ policy and to seek new instructions for more suppression.
38 solar years ago, on this day in 1979 AD, a few days after banning of oil imports from the Islamic Republic of Iran, the US regime illegally froze all Iran’s hard currency assets in its banks, totaling scores of billions of dollars. With the blockade of Iran’s banking accounts, the US regime increased economic pressures on the Islamic Republic of Iran which continue to this day. A few days prior to this measure, Iran had stopped oil exports to the US because of American lawlessness.
7 solar years ago, on this day in 2010 AD, Iran’s Entekhab Industrial Group signed a contract sealing its acquisition of South Korea's Daewoo Electronics for some $518 million. Daewoo was set up in the 1960s and became one of the biggest companies in the world before it disintegrated in financial disarray in the 1990s. Its shipbuilding and auto units are now independent companies in their own right.
4 solar years ago, on this day in 2013 AD, Saudi-backed terrorists carried out twin bomb blasts at a religious gathering at as-Sa’diyah in Iraq on the anniversary of Ashura, resulting in the martyrdom of over 50 people and wounding of more than a hundred other men, women, and children.
(Courtesy: IRIB English Radio – http://parstoday.com/en)
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