This Day in History

(August 30)

Date: 29 August 2015 - 21:32

News ID: ۱۷۷۰۹

Today is Sunday; 8th of the Iranian month of Shahrivar 1394 solar hijri; corresponding to 15th of the Islamic month of Zi'l-Qa'dah 1436 lunar hijri; and August 30, 2015, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.
1304 lunar years ago, on this day in 132 AH, the Abbasids, after defeating the Omayyad tyrants, assembled all surviving male members of this Godless clan near River Jordan, tied them up, and made them lie underneath wooden planks on which they held a grand feast by stomping to death their mortal enemies. The first Abbasid caliph is thus called "Saffah" because of the Omayyad blood he had shed by wreaking such a horrible vengeance that he even ordered the digging up of the graves of all their caliphs, including Mu'awiyah ibn Abu Sufyan, and burned their bones, saying he was punishing them for their crimes against humanity.
936 lunar years ago, on this day in 500 AH, Arabic grammarian, lexicographer and hadith scholar, Abu’l-Karam Mubarak bin Fakher, passed away in his hometown Baghdad. Known as Ibn Fakher, he was student of the leading linguists of the Arabic language, such as Abdul-Wahed bin Burhan Ukbari, Abu’l-Qassim Rakhi, and the Iranian Abu’l-Hussain bin Shahwaiyh. He followed the Basra school Abu Ali Farsi, and studied the book of the famous Iranian grammarian of the Arabic language, Sibawaiyh, with the help of an explanation written on it by Abu Sa’eed Sirafi. He made trips to Hijaz and Yemen to learn the original Arabic dialect. He learned hadith from Abu Tayyeb Taher bin Abdullah Tabari and others, claims to have heard narrations that no other persons have related, prompting later scholars to question his statements and to accuse him of lies.
652 solar years ago, on this day in 1363 AD, start of the Battle of Lake Poyang; the forces of two Chinese rebel leaders, Chen Youliang and Zhu Yuanzhang, were pitted against each other in what is one of the largest naval battles in history, during the last decade of the ailing, Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. Following this victory, Zhu emerged as the strongest of warlords fighting for supremacy in China, and in 1367 he defeated Zhang Shicheng's Kingdom of Dazhou, which granted him authority over the lands north and south of the Yangtze River. The other major warlords surrendered to him and on 20 January 1368, Zhu proclaimed himself the first Emperor of the Ming Dynasty in Nanjing and adopted the title "Hongwu". His dynasty's mission was to drive away the Mongols and restore Han Chinese rule in China. The Hongwu Emperor ruled for 30 years, and although born a Buddhist, he embraced the Confucian doctrine and showed inclination towards Islam. He ordered the construction of several mosques in Nanjing, Yunnan, Guangdong, Xijing and Fujian, and had inscriptions placed in them in praises of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). He rebuilt the Jinjue Mosque in his capital Nanjing, and large numbers of the Muslim Hui people moved to the city during his rule. He had some ten Muslim generals in his military, including Chang Yuchun, Lan Yu, Ding Dexing, Mu Ying, Feng Sheng and Hu Dahai. He personally wrote the 100-word praise known as ‘baizizan’ on Islam, Allah and the Prophet Mohammad (SAWA).
638 solar years ago, on this day in 1377 AD, Shah Rukh, ruler of Central Asia and Iran was born. He was the fourth and youngest son of the fearsome Turkic conqueror, Amir Timur, and succeeded him to the eastern portion of the empire, while the western portion was lost to the Turkmen tribes of Qara Qoyunlu (Black Sheep) and the Aq Qoyunlu (White Sheep). His mother was Iranian and his rule lasted for 42 years from 1405 to 1447. His empire controlled the main trade routes between East and West, including the legendary Silk Road, and became immensely wealthy as a result. Shah Rukh chose to have his capital not in Samarqand, but in Herat. This was to become the political centre of the Timurid Empire and residence of his principal successors, though both cities benefited from the wealth and privilege of Shah Rukh's court, which was a great patron of arts and sciences. His wife, Gowhar Shad, who was an Iranian lady, funded the construction of two outstanding mosques and theological colleges in holy Mashhad and Herat. He died during a visit to Rayy (near modern Tehran) and was succeeded by his son, Mohammad Ulugh Beg, the famous scientist.
446 solar years ago, on this day in 1569 AD, the 4th Moghul Emperor of the Northern Subcontinent and Eastern Afghanistan, Noor od-Din "Jahangir" (World Grasper), was born in Fatehpur Sikri near Agra, to Emperor Jalal od-Din Akbar and one of his Rajput wives. He ascended the throne in 1605 and died in Lahore in what is now Pakistan, after a reign of 22 years, during which he ruled mostly with the assistance of his Iranian wife, Noor Jahan, the daughter of the minister, Mirza Ghiyas Beg Tehrani E'temad od-Dowla. Named Mohammad Salim at his birth, he maintained excellent relations with Shah Abbas the Great of Iran. He was also a poet and writer in both Persian and his native Chaghtai Turkic. The bleak record of his rule, however, was the execution of the prominent Iranian Islamic scholar in Agra, Qazi Seyyed Noorollah Shushtari, the author of such famous books as "Majalis al-Momineen” and "Ehqaaq al-Haq”. The king was under the influence of alcohol when he signed the decree drafted by jealous court mullahs. Later he rued his decision and with the help of his wife, he executed the perpetrators of the murder of Qazi Shushtari, who is famous in India as Shaheed-e Thalis (Third Martyr).
218 solar years ago, on this day in 1797 AD, Mary Wollstonecraft (Godwin) Shelley, the writer of "Frankenstein," or the Modern Prometheus, was born in London. She took the surname ‘Shelly’ after marrying her paramour, the poet Percy Shelly. In 1818, she anonymously published the novel as an attack on industrialization. This famous tale of a flawed artificial life experiment that produced a monster grew out of a visit at Lord Byron's villa with her husband. There, she shared in a discussion of galvanism, the possibility of reanimating dead matter, and even bringing life to a corpse. Byron suggested writing on the fantasy. Mary completed a full novel. Byron wrote briefly about the vampire legend he had learned about while in the Balkans, expanded by John Polidoni in "The Vampyre” (1819). Two classic horror subjects were thus born together.
202 solar years ago, on this day in 1813 AD, over 500 US troops lost their life in Fort Mims, north of Mobile in what is now Alabama State when Creek Amerindians had no other choice but to defend their land, properties and honour during one of those genocidal battles imposed on the natives by the White rulers.
93 solar years ago, on this day in 1922 AD, the final battle of the 4-year Greek War against Turkey was fought at Dumlupinar, resulting in a victory for the Turks and end of ambitions of British-backed Greece to occupy Asia Minor and seize Istanbul – on the flimsy claims of ancient Greek rule over the areas.
73 solary years ago, on this day in 1942 AD, the great gnostic scholar, Ayatollah Shaikh Hassan Ali Nokhoudaki Isfahani, passed away in holy Mashhad and was laid to rest in the mausoleum of Imam Reza (AS). A pious person since his youth, after completion of preliminary studies in Isfahan under such scholars as Mullah Mohammad Kashi and Jahangir Khan Qashqai, he left for Iraq for higher studies at the famous seminary in holy Najaf. Among his teachers were Seyyed Mohammad Fesharaki, Seyyed Morteza Kashmiri, and Mullah Ismail Qaradaghi. On return to Iran, he settled in Mashhad, where in addition to research and teaching, he was engaged in charitable activities for the poor. Ayatollah Nokhoudaki’s asceticism resulted in his acquiring of certain extraordinary spiritual powers which he used for the benefit of the downtrodden people, without letting anybody know it. These anecdotes have been mentioned in the book "Nishan az Binishanha” (Traces of the Untraceable).
34 solar years ago, on this day in 1981 AD, Iranian President Mohammad Ali Rajai, and Prime Minister Hojjat al-Islam Mohammad Javad Bahonar, were martyred in a bomb blast carried out by the MKO terrorist outfit at the premier’s office in Tehran. Rajai, a teacher by profession, was imprisoned and tortured on several occasions by the Shah’s regime for his Islamic political activities. Following the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979, he was elected to the parliament, was named minister of education, became prime minister, and finally chosen as president in the nationwide elections. He named courageous and committed religious scholar Dr. Mohammad Javad Bahonar, as the premier. In view of the impeccable credentials of these two faithful and modest persons, who were committed to the lofty ideals of the Islamic Revolution, the MKO terrorists martyred them this day on the orders of Global Arrogance.
24 solar years ago, on this day in 1991 AD, the Republic of Azerbaijan declared its independence from the Soviet Union. This land has been integral part of Iran since pre-history, and was occupied by the Russians in the early 19th century. Following the Russian revolution, Azerbaijan became independent as a republic as of the year 1918. But, this independence was short-lived and only lasted for two years. In late 1980s, on the verge of Soviet Union’s collapse, the independence-seeking activities increased in Azerbaijan Republic. The Republic of Azerbaijan officially declared its independence on August 30, 1991, while it was at loggerheads with its neighbor, Armenia, about the Qarabagh region, which continues to this day. The Republic of Azerbaijan is situated in West Asia and lies on the coastlines of the Caspian Sea. It covers an area of almost 86600 sq km and shares borders with Iran, Armenia, Georgia, and Russia.
16 solar years ago, on this day in 1999 AD, the people of East Timor, in Southeast Asia, in a referendum, voted for independence from Indonesia. The East Timor Island, in addition to other Indonesian Islands was occupied by Portugal, in the year 1511 AD. However, after the domination of Indonesia by Holland in mid-19th Century, only East Timor remained under the rule of Portugal. Indonesia gained its independence in the year 1945. But, Portugal continued to occupy East Timor till 1976. On this year, the Indonesian troops replaced Portuguese forces and East Timor came under the rule of Indonesia. Following the fall of General Suharto in the year 1998, and emergence of a political crisis in Indonesia, the independence-seeking movement in East Timor developed and this territory became independent with the support of the UN and Western governments.
8 Shahrivar of the Iranian Calendar: is commemorated every year as "Day of Campaign against Terrorism” in memory of the tragic martyrdom on July 30, 1981, of Iranian President Mohammad Ali Rajai and Prime Minister Hojjat al-Islam Mohammad Jawad Bahanor, and the support of western regimes for the MKO terrorists who carried out this dastardly bomb blast and then shamelessly claimed responsibility for it. (Courtesy: IRIB English Radio – http://english.irib.ir)