This Day in History

Date: 23 July 2014 - 22:10

News ID: ۳۰۸۴

(July 24)

Today is Thursday; 2nd of the Iranian month of Mordad 1393 solar hijri; corresponding to 26th of the Islamic month of Ramadhan 1435 lunar hijri; and July 24, 2014, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

866 solar years ago, on this day in 1148 AD, European Christian invaders started the siege of Damascus during the Second Crusade, but thanks to the stiff resistance of the Muslim defenders and the timely arrival of fresh forces led by the Turkic ruler, Noureddin Zangi, they were decisively defeated five days later, resulting in the disintegration of the crusade that was led by King Louis VII of France and Conrad III of Germany.

310 lunar years ago, on this day in 1125 AH, the prominent Iranian Islamic scholar, Jamal od-Din Mohammad Khwansari, passed away. Born in a religious and academic family, he completed his studies in the Safavid capital Isfahan and became an authority on logic, philosophy, theology, principles of theology, and exegesis of Holy Qur’an. He has written an annotation on the philosophical masterpiece "ash-Shefa” of Iranian Islamic genius Ibn Sina.

231 solar years ago, on this day in 1783 AD, expansionist Russia, taking advantage of the internal power struggle between the Zand Dynasty and Qajar warlord, Agha Mohammad Khan, duped Georgia in the name of Christianity to renege its age-old traditional ties with Iran, by imposing the Treaty of Georgievsk. The humiliating treaty stipulated that Georgia will not have any diplomatic ties with any country without the approval of Russia, and that every new Georgian ruler would require the confirmation of the Czar. The results of the Treaty of Georgievsk proved disastrous for the Georgians. In 1795, a year after crowning himself Shahenshah of Iran, Agha Mohammad Khan asked Georgia to return to the Iranian fold. King Erekle on the assumption of Russian support, assembled an army to fight, but was soundly defeated in the Battle of Krtsanisi that saw his capital Tbilisi, along with the west Georgian kingdom of Imereti, surrender to the Iranian forces. In 1796, Catherine II sent an army to Transcaucasia, but her death the same year ended any Russian challenge to Iran. Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar, using Qarabagh as his base, launched a wide scale campaign to end Russian influence in Georgia, but his assassination in 1797 by a fellow Iranian ended his moves. In December 18, 1800, taking advantage of the weak-willed pleasure loving Fath Shah Ali’s rule in Tehran, Russia formally annexed Georgia and deposed the Bagratid Dynasty that had signed the Treaty of Georgievsk on the misconstrued belief of preserving its rule. Georgia, which regained its independence in 1991 following the disintegration of the Soviet Union, has made the fatal mistake of falling into the orbit of the US and Western Europe, while large parts of the country are virtually outside the control of the government in Tbilisi, such as Turkic Muslim Abkhazia, and South Ossetia which is populated by ethnic Iranic Christians.

231 solar years ago, on this day in 1783 AD, the famous South American revolutionary, Simon Bolivar, was born in the capital of present day Venezuela, Caracas. He liberated many South American lands from Spanish colonial rule, and was elected president of the Federation of Greater Colombia that included present day Colombia, Venezuela, Panama and Ecuador. Soon Bolivar led the revolutionaries to liberate Peru, followed by the land named today in his honour as Bolivia. He dreamt of unity of South America within a federation but failed to fulfill his goal.

212 solar years ago, on this day in 1802 AD, French author, Alexandre Dumas, was born. He wrote numerous novels on the French Revolution and history based on the memoirs of his father, who was an army general. Among his books, mention can be made of "The Three Musketeers”, and "The Count of Monte Cristo”. He died in 1870.

103 solar years ago, on this day in 1911 AD, Machu Picchu, "the Lost City of the Incas” was rediscovered by American historian Hiram Bingham. It was the place in Peru where the last Incan Emperors found refuge from the Spanish invaders of South America.It is situated on a mountain ridge through which the Urubamba River flows. Most archaeologists believe that Machu Picchu was built as an estate for the Inca emperor Pachacuti (1438–1472). The Incas built the estate around 1450, but abandoned it a century later. Machu Picchu is now an important tourist attraction. Most of the outlying buildings have been reconstructed in order to give tourists a better idea of what the structures originally looked like. Machu Picchu was declared a Peruvian Historical Sanctuary in 1981 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983.

70 solar years ago, on this day in 1944 AD, the British Air Force savagely bombarded the German city of Hamburg during World War II, killing thousands of civilians and destroying military and economic installations.

70 solar years ago, on this day in 1944 AD, the last self-styled Ottoman caliph, Abdul Majid II, died in his exile in Paris, France at the age of 76, twenty years after the caliphate was abolished by Mustafa Kemal Ata Turk, thus ending the caliphate of the Turks that Sultan Selim I had forcefully acquired in 1517 from the Abbasid puppet caliph in Cairo, on his conquest of Mamluk Egypt, following a fatwa issued by court mullahs that non Arabs could also become caliphs. The caliphate or political rule of the Islamic state had begun in Medina immediately after the passing away of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) when some of his companions held the scandalous assembly of Saqifa Bani Sa’dah, where after fistfights Omar Ibn Khattab grabbed the hand of a surprised Abu Bakr and declared him caliph. Thereafter, except for a brief four-and-a-half year period when the Prophet’s rightful heir, the divinely-decreed vicegerent of Ghadeer-Khom, Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS) took charge of the political rule of the Islamic realm, those who masqueraded as caliphs included former idol-worshippers, hypocrites, drunkards, mass murderers, adulterers, cardinal sinners, and even atheists.

(July 25)

Tomorrow is Friday; 3rd of the Iranian month of Mordad 1393 solar hijri; corresponding to 27th of the Islamic month of Ramadhan 1435 lunar hijri; and July 25, 2014, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

875 solar years ago, on this day in 1139 AD, the Battle of Ourique took place in Spain resulting in the defeat of the al-Murabetoun army of Spanish Muslims led by Ali ibn Yusuf, against a large mercenary force of Christians assembled from various parts of Europe led by Prince Afonso Henriques, who subsequently separated the region of Portugal and crowned himself as its first king, under the title Afonso I. It was disunity in the ranks of Spanish Muslims coupled with pride following their recent victory in the Battle of Valdevez over Alfonso VII of Leon that resulted in their defeat, and the emergence of Portugal as an independent country.

875 lunar years ago, on this day in 560 AH, the famous Spanish Muslim philosopher and Gnostic, Mohi od-Din bin Mohammad Ibn al-Arabi was born in Andalusia, southern Spain. A child prodigy, after acquiring the sciences of the day, he left Spain at the age of 30 to travel over the Islamic world, acquiring further knowledge and writing books during his journeys, which took him on pilgrimage to Mecca, and far off places like Baghdad in Iraq and Qonya in what is now Turkey. In 620 AH, he settled in Damascus, where he lectured and wrote books. Among his well-known works are "Fusus al-Hikam” (Bezels of Wisdom), and "Futuhaat al-Makkiyya”. His Gnostic school of thought has continued to have a profound impact over the centuries despite the senseless attacks on him by the pseudo scholar Ibn Taimiyya, who failed to taint Ibn Arabi’s saintly personality for elaborating the Qur’anic concepts of "wasila” (means of attaining the proximity of God) and "shafa’a” (power of intercession) that God has granted to Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) and the Infallible Imams. He passed away in Damascus in 638 AH.

787 lunar years ago, on this day in 648 AH, the celebrated scholar, Hassan Ibn Yusuf Ibn AliI Ibn Mohammad Ibn Mutahhar, was born in Hilla, Iraq. Renowned as "Allamah Hilli”, he was a child prodigy, and after initial education under his qualified father, and acquiring of fiqh from his famous maternal uncle "Muhaqqiq Hilli”, he proceeded to study from other masters of his era, including the celebrated scholars of Iraq Seyyed Ali bin Tawous and Seyyed Ahmad bin Tawous, as well as Maytham al-Bahrani of Bahrain and the Iranian Islamic genius, Khwaja Naseer odDin Tusi, who taught him philosophy and logic. Later, he held debates with scholars of the four Sunni schools of jurisprudence – Hanbali, Hanafi, Maleki, and Shafei. During one such debate in the Ilkhanid court, his rationality convinced the Buddhist-born and Christian-baptized Mongol Emperor of Iran-Iraq, Oljeitu Khodabanda, to become a Muslim and a staunch follower of the Ahl al-Bayt. Allamah Hilli’s works include at least a hundred books and treatises on various subjects such as jurisprudence, theology, logic, philosophy, hadith, exegesis of the holy Qur’an and Rijal or evaluation of hadith narrators. Each book of this great mujtahid is enough to portray his precocity and genius. He also wrote on proofs from the holy Qur’an, the hadith, the intellect, and the right to caliphate of Imam Ali (AS) after the passing away of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). This famous book is titled "Nahj al-Haq wa Kashf as-Sidq”.

736 solar years ago, on this day in 1278 AD, Spanish Muslims led by the Emirate of Granada and the Maranid Dynasty won the naval Battle of Algeciras in the Strait of Gibraltar over the Kingdom of Castile. The Muslim navy was commanded by Abu Yaqub Yusuf an-Nasr, whose superior tactics led to the destruction of almost the entire Christian fleet of over 100 ships.

325 lunar years ago, on this day in 1110 AH, the prominent Islamic scholar, Allamah Mohammad Baqer Majlisi, passed away in his hometown Isfahan and was laid to rest beside his equally renowned father, Mullah Mohammad Taqi Majlisi the First. His grandfather, Maqsoud Ali was also a theologian and the genealogy of the family is traced back to the famous scholar, Abu Nu’aym Ahmad bin Abdullah Isfahani, the author "Hulyat-al-Awliya” and "Zikr-e Akhbar-e Isfahan.” By the age of 25, he gained certification of "riwayah” from the famous philosopher Mullah Sadra to teach. He was appointed Shaikh ol-Islam (Chief Religious Leader) by the Safavid King, Sultan Hussain. During his 84-year lifespan, he wrote and compiled as many as 600 volumes of books and treatises, including the encyclopedic work "Bihar al-Anwaar”.

215 solar years ago, on this day in 1799 AD, Napoleon Bonaparte of France, during his invasion of Egypt, defeated an Ottoman army of 10,000 led by Mustafa Pasha at Abu Qir. Napoleon, who undertook the invasion of Egypt in 1798 as part of his plan to protect French trade interests and undermine Britain’s access to India, had boasted prior to his campaign: "Having occupied and fortified Egypt, we shall send a force of 15,000 men from Suez to the Sultanate of Mysore (in India), to join the forces of Tipu Sultan and drive away the English.” Three years later in 1801, despite several victories, he was forced to withdraw after vain attempts to pose as liberator from Ottoman rule or win the confidence of the Egyptians, even though he participated at al-Azhar in the birth anniversary celebrations of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), clad in Arab clothes and turban, and telling the congregation that he has changed his name to "Ali Bonaparte”.

32 solar years ago, on this day in 1982 AD, Iranian author and translator, Dr. Hamid Enayat, passed away. After getting his BA in Iran, he obtained a PhD in economics and political studies at London University. After returning to Iran, he lectured and conducted extensive research at Tehran University. He compiled and translated several books on philosophy and political ideology. Among his works, mention can be made of the book: "Islam and Socialism”.

21 solar years ago, on this day in 1993 AD, the usurper state of Israel launched a barbaric attack on southern Lebanon, martyring 128 civilians and wounding 500 others, in addition to making more than 400,000 people homeless. Major losses were inflicted upon economic installations and farms. In May 2000, Zionist occupation troops were forced to withdraw from southern Lebanon.

(Courtesy: IRIB English Radio – http://english.irib.ir)