This Day in History (December 5)

Date: 04 December 2016 - 19:58

News ID: ۳۴۰۵۴

Today is Monday; 15th of the Iranian month of Azar 1395 solar hijri; corresponding to 5th of the Islamic month of Rabi al-Awwal 1438 lunar hijri; and December 5, 2016, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.
1321 lunar years ago, on this day in 117 AH, Hazrat Sakina (SA), the daughter of Imam Husain (AS), passed away in her hometown Medina and was laid to rest in the Baqie Cemetery. She was over 70 years of age, and her death occurred in the initial years of the imamate of Imam Ja'far as-Sadeq (AS), the son and successor of her nephew, Imam Mohammad al-Baqer (AS) and grandson of her brother, Imam Zain al-Abedin (AS). She was present in Karbala during the tragedy that befell the Prophet's Household, resulting in the martyrdom of her father, her two brothers, Ali Akbar (AS) and the 6-month infant Ali Asghar (AS), her cousins, and her uncles, including the valiant standard-bearer, Hazrat Abbas (AS), who sacrificed his life while bringing water from the River Euphrates for the thirsty children. She was betrothed to her cousin, a son of Imam Hasan (AS) and Hazrat Qasem's (AS) elder brother, who was martyred in Karbala. In the aftermath of the tragedy, Sakina (SA), along with other members of the Ahl al-Bayt including aunts, Hazrat Zainab (SA), Hazrat Umm Kulsoum (SA) and others; sisters, Hazrat Fatema (SA) and the 4-year-old Hazrat Ruqayya (SA) – who attained martyrdom in Damascus – had to suffer imprisonment for a while. Upon return to Medina, she devoted her life to prayer, fasting and worship of God, refusing to marry anyone since no man of her time was worthy of her hand. The same year (117 AH) her elder sister, Fatema, the wife of Imam Hasan's (AS) son, Hasan al-Muthanna (who was severely injured in the tragedy of Karbala but survived) and the ancestress of the Hasanid branch of Tabatabie Saadat, also passed away in Medina.
608 solar years ago, on this day in 1408 AD, the Muslim ruler, Amir Edigu of the Golden Horde reached Moscow and besieged it after capturing several Russian cities. Part of Moscow was burned and the siege was lifted on resumption of the annual tribute to the Tatars by the Russians, who had withheld it for several decades. Edigu gained fame as a highly successful general of Khan Tokhtamysh before turning the arms against him. By 1396, he was a sovereign ruler of a large area stretching between the Volga River and the Ural Mountains, which would later be called the Nogai Horde. In 1397 he allied himself with Timur-Qutlugh and was appointed general and commander-in-chief of the Golden Horde armies. In 1399 he inflicted a crushing defeat on Tokhtamysh and the Christian king, Vytautas of Lithuania at the Vorskla River. In 1406 he located his old enemy Tokhtamysh in Siberia and had him killed through his agents. The following year he raided Volga Bulgaria. In 1408, he staged a triumphant Tatar invasion of Russia. Two years later Edigu was dethroned in the Golden Horde and had to seek refuge in Khwarezm. Shah Rukh, the son and successor of the fearsome Turkic conqueror, Amir Timur, expelled him back to Sarai, where he was assassinated by one of Tokhtamysh's sons in 1419. Edigu's dynasty in the Nogai Horde continued for about two centuries.
560 solar years ago, on this day in 1456 AD, a devastating earthquake struck Naples, Italy, resulting in the death of around 40,000 people.
346 solar years ago, on this day in 1670 AD, Sultan Abdullah Qotb Shah of the Iranian origin kingdom of Golkandah-Haiderabad in the Deccan (southern India), issued a farmaan to the Iranian Armenian merchant from Isfahan, Marcara Avanchintz, permitting the French to trade and build a factory in the port-city Machli Bandar on the coast of the Bay of Bengal. Marcara had joined the service of King Louis XIV, and was appointed director of the newly founded French East India Company. Because of the common bond of Persian language, Marcara had established cordial relations with the Qotb Shahi Dynasty.
225 solar years ago, on this day in 1791 AD, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the famous Austrian pianist and composer, died at the relatively young age of 35. Born in Salzburg, he spent the last ten years of his short life in Vienna. He composed several masterpieces. His famous operas include: "The Marriage of Figaro", and "The Magic Flute".
213 solar years ago, on this day 1803 AD, Russian poet and diplomat, Fyodor Ivanovich Tyutchev, was born near Bryansk. He spent most of his childhood in Moscow, and is generally considered the last of three great Romantic poets of Russia, following Alexander Pushkin and Mikhail Lermontov.
204 solar years ago, on this day in 1812 AD, French Emperor, Napoleon Bonaparte, after suffering a crushing defeat by Russia, returned crestfallen to Paris. He had launched his offensive on Russia on June 2 and advanced till Moscow, where for six months he met stiff resistance in freezing cold and was driven back, having lost 320,000 of the 350,000 French troops.
181 solar years ago, on this day in 1835 AD, the Iranian statesman and political figure, Mirza Abu’l-Qasem Qa’em Maqaam Farahani, was killed for carrying out political and administrative reforms that the colonialists and their local agents deemed against their interests. He served as regent to the young Mohammad Shah Qajar, and later as Grand Vizier. But within a year, due to the intrigues of John Campbell, the British representative in Iran, Farahani was arrested and subsequently murdered. He was kept for five or six days in a room in the basement of Negarestan without any food so that he would die when his strength diminishes. Eventually, the executioner, Safar Ismael Khan Qarajeh Daghi entered the basement and thrusting a handkerchief in his mouth, suffocated him. Farahani had mastered many sciences of the day in addition to literary techniques and initiated a new style in Persian prose. Among his works is a Divan of Persian poetry and the "Mansha’at” in prose.
170 lunar years ago, on this day in 1268 AH, the famous Dar al-Fonoun, was set up in Tehran by the enlightened Qajarid Prime Minister Mirza Mohammad Taqi Khan Amir-e Kabir, as a specialized modern academic centre for teaching a wide variety of subjects. In addition to military training and horsemanship, it taught engineering skills, medicine, surgery, arts, metallurgy, pharmaceuticals, etc. Many of its graduates rose to high governmental posts and distinguished themselves in several fields. The foundation of this institute was a milestone in the history of Iran’s educational system.
146 solar years ago, on this day in 1870 AD, French author Alexandre Dumas died at the age of 68. 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 was also a playwright and has written a number of famous plays.
142 solar years ago, on this day in 1874 AD, Iran became member of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which was set up in Geneva, Switzerland on 17 February 1863. On 5 April 1922, the "Iran Red Cross Society” changed its name to "Red Lion and Sun Society of Iran”. After the victory of the Islamic Revolution, its name was changed to the "Red Crescent Society”, which is headquartered in Tehran, and is among the top five relief agencies of the world.
122 solar years ago, on this day in 1894 AD, the famous Urdu poet of the Subcontinent, Shabbir Hassan Khan "Joush” was born in a Pashtun family in Malihabad, northern India. After mastering Urdu and English, he studied Arabic and Persian, and in 1925 began to supervise translation work at the famous Osmania University in the semi-independent state of Haiderabad-Deccan. Soon he founded the magazine "Kaleem” in which he openly wrote articles in favour of independence from Britain. As his reputation spread, he came to be called "Sha’er-e Inqelab” (Poet of the Revolution), and was a personal friend of India’s first prime minister, Jawaherlal Nehru. Over a decade after India’s independence, disillusioned with the declining status of Muslims and Urdu language in India, he migrated to Pakistan in 1958, and settled in Karachi where he joined "Anjuman-e Tarraqi-e-Urdu” for promotion of the Urdu language in Pakistan. He passed away in Islamabad on February 22, 1982. Joush Malihabadi has left behind valuable works in poetry and prose, including lengthy odes in praise of the Ahl al-Bayt, especially Imam Ali (AS) and Imam Husain (AS) – regarded as masterpieces of Urdu poetry.
115 solar years ago, on this day in 1901 AD, the famous American showman, animator and producer of children’s cinema and cartoons, Walt Disney, was born in Chicago in a family of Irish origin. He obtained a PhD in Arts from Harvard University and went on to create world famous cartoons such as Mickey Mouse, winning academy awards on several occasions. Disney had an aversion towards the racist ideology of Zionism. In view of this, pro-Israeli Jewish groups tried to accuse him of anti-Semitism, despite the fact that the overwhelming majority of Semites are Arabs and not the Jews of European origin, who are in fact ethnic Khazars – a Turkic people converted to Judaism and with no connection to the soil of Palestine, where the illegal entity Israel has been set up. He died in Burbank, California, in 1966.
75 solar years ago, on this day in 1941 AD, the scholar, Mirza Mohammad Taher Tonekabouni, passed away at the age of 78 in Tehran and was laid to rest in the mausoleum of the famous theologian, Shaikh Sadouq in Rayy. Born in Kelardasht, Mazandaran Province, he completed higher religious studies in Tehran and joined the Madrasa-e Sepah-Salar as lecturer. He entered in politics as a supporter of the Constitutional Movement, and was elected to the 1st and later the 4th Majlis. An expert in philosophy, he was referred to as "Khatema al-Falasefa” (Seal of Philosophers).
64 solar years ago, on this day in 1952 AD, a dense cold fog descended upon London, combining with air pollution and killing over four thousand people in four days. It paralyzed transport service because of almost nil visibility. Even after its clearance, deaths continued to occur for several weeks, and claimed at least 12,000 lives.
53 solar years ago, on this day in 1963 AD, Hussain Shaheed Suhrawardi, the 5th Prime Minister of Pakistan and one of its founding fathers, passed away in Beirut, Lebanon, and his body was brought for burial to Dhaka – then in East Pakistan and now capital of Bangladesh. He was premier from 1956 to 1957. Born into a prominent academic family of Bengal, he traced his lineage to the Iranian mystic and founder of the Sufi order, Shehab od-Din Suhrawardi, who in turn was a descendant of Mohammad Ibn Abu Bakr, one of the loyal devotees of the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali (AS).
38 solar years ago, on this day in 1978 AD, the eminent scholar and educationist, Dr. Eisa Seddiq who was entrusted by the government to establish the University of Tehran in 1934, passed away at the age of 84. A graduate of Tehran’s famous Dar al-Fonoun Academy, he completed his graduation in France, returned to Iran to work in the ministry of culture, and then travelled to the US where he obtained PhD in philosophy, he was later assigned the task of establishing some 2,000 modern schools throughout the country on the European pattern and establishing the University of Tabriz.
36 solar years ago, on this day in 1980 AD, Brigadier General, Ahmad Keshvari, attained martyrdom at the age of 27 while on an airborne mission during the 8-year war imposed on Iran by the US through Saddam. Born in northern Iran, he entered the airborne unit in 1972 and became an accomplished pilot. Following the victory of Islamic Revolution, he served the country in various fields, including the operations to clear Kurdistan Province in western Iran from anti-revolutionaries. He was made Commander of the Ilam Airborne Unit. Following the outbreak of Saddam’s war, he flew several sorties, inflicting massive casualties and losses on the invading forces, before attaining martyrdom.
26 solar years ago, on this day in 1990 AD, classical Iranian musician, Manouchehr Jahanbeglou, passed away at the age of 62. After learning music under prominent Iranian maestros, he left for Austria for completion of his studies, and obtained a PhD. On return to Iran, he researched and taught music. He has left behind a large number of books in this domain.
20 solar years ago, on this day in 1996 AD, Iranian film director and screen writer, Ali Hatami, passed away. After graduating from the Dramatic Arts Faculty, he started his screenwriting career. His films all manifest his love for Iranian culture and independence. His works include such films as: "Sattar Khan" and "Kamal ol-Molk". Finally, he passed away while making the TV Series: "Jahan Pahlavan Takhti".
11 solar years ago, on this day in 2005 AD, an Iranian Air Force C-130 military transport aircraft crashed into a ten-floor apartment building in a residential area of Tehran, killing all 84 on board and 44 more on the ground. Most of the passengers on board were journalists heading to the port city of Bandar Abbas to cover the sea games in the Persian Gulf waters.
3 solar years ago, on this day in 2013 AD, Nelson Mandela, lawyer, politician and 1st President of South Africa, died at the age of 95 in Johannesburg. Born in the village of Mvezo in Umtata, then a part of South Africa's Cape Province, his patrilineal great-grandfather, Ngubengcuka, was ruler of the Thembu people in the Transkeian Territories of what is now Eastern Cape Province. One of this king's sons, named Mandela, became Nelson's grandfather and the source of his surname. Mandela attended Fort Hare University and the University of Witwatersrand, where he studied law. Living in Johannesburg, he became involved in anti-colonial politics, joining the African National Congress (ANC) and becoming a founding member of its Youth League. After the Afrikaner minority government of the National Party established apartheid in 1948, he rose to prominence in the ANC's 1952 Defiance Campaign, was appointed superintendent of the organisation's Transvaal chapter and presided over the 1955 Congress of the People. Working as a lawyer, he was repeatedly arrested. In 1963 he was convicted of conspiracy to overthrow the apartheid regime and sentenced to life. In 1990, he was released after 27 years in prison and was accorded a very warm welcome by the black people of South Africa. In 1991, an agreement was reached between Mandela and the minority regime for ending the apartheid system, and in 1994, after holding of the first multiracial elections Mandela was elected as the first black president of South Africa. He stepped down from office in 1999.
(Courtesy: IRIB English Radio – http://parstoday.com/en)