This Day in History (September 27)

Date: 26 September 2018 - 21:36

News ID: ۵۷۷۹۸

Today is Thursday; 5th of the Iranian month of Mehr 1397 solar hijri; corresponding to 17th of the Islamic month of Muharram 1440 lunar hijri; and September 27, 2018, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.
728 solar years ago, on this day in 1290 AD a massive earthquake in China’s Gulf of Chili killed an estimated 100,000 people.
542 lunar years ago, on this day in 898 AH, the prominent Persian poet and literary figure, Noor od-Din Abdur-Rahman Jami, passed away at the age of 82 in the northeastern Iranian city of Herat which is currently in Afghanistan. Born in the city of Jam, in Khorasan Province, he went to Samarqand to learn Islamic sciences, literature and history, and visited several other lands before settling in Herat, which was then the capital of the Timurid Dynasty. He has left behind a large number of works in prose and verse, including "Baharestan”. He composed beautiful odes in praise of the Ahl al-Bayt of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA).
490 solar years ago, on this day in 1529 AD, the Siege of Vienna started with the attack of Suleiman I on the Austrian capital. It signalled the pinnacle of the Ottoman Empire's power, the maximum extent of Muslim expansion in central Europe. The Turkish failure to capture Vienna turned the tide against almost a century of Muslim conquest throughout eastern and central Europe, which had previously directly annexed Central Hungary in the wake of the Battle of Mohacs. According to British historian Toynbee, "The failure of the first [siege of Vienna] brought to a standstill the tide of Ottoman conquest which had been flooding up the Danube Valley for a century past."
487 lunar years ago, on this day in 953 AH, renowned religious scholar, architect, engineer, mathematician, astronomer and poet, Baha od-Din Mohammad ibn Hussain al-Ameli, known popularly as Sheikh Bahai, was born in Ba’lbek, Lebanon. His father was one of the prominent ulema of the Jabal al-Amel region of Lebanon, who brought him to Iran in his childhood. Given his sublime talents, Sheikh Bahai mastered a number of sciences of his day in a short period. He has left behind more than 100 books and treatises in Arabic and Persian. He passed away at the age of 77 in the Safavid capital, Isfahan, and according to his will, his body was taken to Mashhad and buried in the premises of the holy shrine of Imam Reza (AS), the 8th Infallible Successor of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). Shaikh Bahai is regarded as a leading scholar of his age and a "mujaddid" or revivalist. His erudition won him the admiration of Shah Abbas I, and he was appointed the Shaikh ol-Islam or the Chief Theologian of Isfahan. He wrote works on a wide variety of topics such as exegesis of the holy Qur’an, hadith, grammar, jurisprudence, mathematics, astronomy, and poetry. Among his famous works are "Jama’e Abbasi" on jurisprudence, "Kashkoul" on philosophy and poetry, "Khulasat al-Hisaab" on mathematics, and "Tashrih al-Aflaak" or Anatomy of the Celestial Spheres, a summary of theoretical astronomy where he affirms the view that supports the positional rotation of the Earth as it orbits around the sun. A number of architectural and engineering designs in Isfahan stand proof to the genius of Shaikh Bahai, including the Naqsh-e Jahan Square and the Grand Shah Abbas Mosque known as the Imam Mosque today. He also designed and constructed a furnace for a public bathroom, which still exists in Isfahan. The furnace was warmed by a single candle, which was placed in an enclosure. The candle burned for a long time, warming the bath's water. According to his instructions, the candle would be put out if the enclosure was ever opened. This happened during the repair of the building and no one has been able to make the system work again. He also designed the "Minar-e Jonbaan” (Shaking Minaret), which still exists in Isfahan.
349 solar years ago, on this day in 1669 AD, the Venetians surrendered to the Ottoman Empire the fortress of Candia on the island of Crete, thus ending the 21-year siege – the longest in history. Candia is called Heraklion today. As part of the surrender terms concluded with Ahmad Pasha Koprulu, the Grand Vizier of Albanian origin, all Christians were allowed to leave Candia. It is said that when news of Candia's fall reached Pope Clement IX in Rome in October he immediately fell ill and died two months later.
276 lunar years ago, on this day in 1164 AH, Nasser Jang Nizam od-Dowla, the 2nd ruler of the Asaf Jahi Dynasty of the Deccan (southern India), before start of battle with the French was treacherously shot by his own subordinate Himmat Khan, the Afghan Nawab of Kadapa, who quickly mounted the ruler’s elephant, cut off his head, and proclaimed his imprisoned nephew, Muzaffar Jang, as the next ruler. The French colonialist protégé was not destined to rule long and was killed treacherously within a few months by the Afghan Nawab of Karnool. Nasser Jang, who ruled for only two years, was entrusted with the governance of the Deccan a decade earlier during the 4-year absence of his father, the celebrated Asaf Jah Nizam ul-Mulk, at the court of the Mughal Emperor in Delhi during the invasion of India by Nader Shah Afshar of Iran.
197 solar years ago, on this day in 1821 AD, Mexico gained independence from Spain. It was centre of the Aztec Empire that had reached heights of civilization centuries before the coming of the Europeans. In 1519, the greed for gold and silver brought to this land the Spanish conquistadores led by Hernan Cortes who mercilessly killed the people, including emperor Montezuma. It required another two centuries for Spain to complete its conquest of the Aztec Empire, although it named the land "New Spain. After the fall of Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan, it took decades of sporadic warfare to subdue the rest of Mesoamerica. Particularly fierce was the Chichimeca War (1576–1606) in the north. During the colonial period lasting from 1650-to-1821, Mexico was part of the much larger Viceroyalty of New Spain, which included Cuba, Puerto Rico, Central America, as far south as Costa Rica, Florida, the southwestern United States and the Philippines. The country was exploited by Spain, and after independence fell to the repeated aggressions of an expansionist US, which seized large parts of Mexico, including California, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, and parts of Colorado.
185 solar years ago, on this day in 1833 AD, Indian humanitarian and reformer, Ram Mohan Roy, whose study of the holy Qur’an, led him to discover the concept of monotheism in Vedic texts and to denounce idol-worship and polytheism of Hindus as innovations, died at the age of 61 at Stapleton near Bristol, while serving as ambassador to Britain of the penultimate Mughal king, Akbar Shah II. He was buried in Arnos Vale Cemetery. A Bengali Brahmin, he started his education by learning Bengali, Sanskrit and Persian, and later enrolled at a Muslim madrasah in Patna for higher Persian and Arabic studies. With his new found knowledge of Arabic he started reading the holy Qur’an and became a monotheist, making his alarmed family send him to Benares for learning the intricacies of Sanskrit and Hindu scriptures. To the horror of his family, Ram Mohan now interpreted the Upanishads through the monotheist strictures of the holy Qur’an, and denounced idolatry. He, along with other Bengali Hindu intellectuals, who had studied Christianity and Islam, founded the Brahmo Samaj Movement. In 1805, he published "Tuhfat-ul-Muwahhidin” (A Gift to Monotheists) – an essay written in Persian with an introduction in Arabic in which he rationalized the indivisible unity of the One and Only God. During the 1820s he published journals in English, Hindi, Persian and Bengali, calling for abolishment of temples, of priests, of ‘sati’ or widow-burning on the husband’s funeral pier, and other such superstitious practices. His most popular Bengali journal was "Sambad Kaumudi”, while the Persian paper was titled "Mirat ul-Akhbar”
78 solar years ago, on this day in 1940 AD, The Tripartite Pact was signed by the Axis Powers of the Second World War – Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and Imperial Japan. The three agreed that for the next ten years they would "stand by and co-operate with one another, and recognized each other's spheres of interest, pledging to assist one another with all political, economic and military means when one of the three contracting powers is attacked.
69 solar years ago, on this day in 1949 AD, the populous city of Beijing was officially chosen as the Chinese capital. Beijing is situated in East China and is considered as one of the major political, economic, and cultural hubs of China.
56 solar years ago, on this day in 1962 AD, a day after overthrow of the Zaydi Shi’a Muslim dynasty of North Yemen through a military coup by Colonel Abdullah Sallal, assisted by Egypt’s President Jamal Abdun-Nasser, the Yemen Arab Republic was established. The coup marked the beginning of the North Yemen civil war that pitted pro-monarchy and revolutionary elements. Conflict continued until 1967 when Egyptian troops were withdrawn after their humiliating defeat in the 6-day Israeli war, and finally ended in 1970. Ever since, the successive governments in Sana’a, even after the merger of South Yemen with North Yemen in 1990, have continue to deprive Northern Yemen’s Zaydi Muslim majority of its birthrights, resulting in the present chaos in the country. Currently, the Americans and the Saudis are trying prevent the people from reclaiming their rights through a policy of state terrorism that is evident in the ongoing invasion of the country and the more than two-and-a-half years of unabated aerial bombing by Saudi Arabia that has led to the killing of over 6,000 men, women and children.
37 solar years ago, on this day in 1981 AD, upon the order of the Father of Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (RA), Iran's Muslim combatants launched the victorious "Samen al-Ai’mma” Operations to break the more-than-a-year long siege of the city of Abadan in Khuzestan Province, southwestern Iran, by the invading forces of the repressive Ba'th minority regime of Baghdad. The successful operation amazed the world's military and political planners, and was a turning point in the 8-year war imposed by the US on Iran through Saddam.
34 solar years ago, on this day in 1984 AD, Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Abdullah Musavi Shirazi, passed away in holy Mashhad at the age of 92 and was laid to rest in the mausoleum of Imam Reza (AS), the 8th Infallible Heir of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). Born in Shiraz, he was 15 years old when he accompanied his father, Ayatollah Seyyed Mohammad Tahir Shirazi, into banishment to remote areas for opposing the Qajarid dynasty’s subservience to British colonial rule. In 1914, Abdullah Shirazi went to Iraq to study advanced jurisprudence at the seminary of holy Najaf, under Ayatollah Mirza Mohammad Hussain Na’eni. On his return to Iran, he became active against the anti-Islamic rule of Reza Khan Pahlavi, and following the Gowharshad Mosque protests of 1935 against the forcible unveiling of women, he was sentenced to 4 years in prison. After his release, he went back to Najaf, and soon became one of the leading Marja or Source of Emulation. In 1975, he returned to Iran and joined the movement of the Father of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (RA) against Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, until the regime was overthrown in 1979. He was socially active, both inside and outside Iran, and wrote several books, such as "Umdat-il Wasa'il fil Hashiyat ila ar-Rasa'il” (on writings of Shaikh Morteza Ansari, in 4 volumes); "Azahat ush-Shubahat fi Hukm il-Afaaq al-Muttahidah wa’l Mottafiqah” (Jurisprudential Rules on Observation of the Moon for Calculations of the Solar Calendar); "At-Tuhfat ol-Kadhimiyah fi Qatl al-Hayawanat bil-Alaat al-Kahruba'iyah”  (Jurisprudential Rules concerning Slaughtering of Farm Animals with Electric Devices); "al-Ihtejajaat al-Ashra” (Discussion on the Sunni-Shi'a Debate – translated into Persian, English, Urdu, and Gujarati, and published several times); and "Imam wa Imamat” (in Persian on the topic of Imamate in Islam). Ayatollah Abdullah Shirazi founded over 180 institutes, including hospitals, schools, and libraries in Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Pakistan, India, and African countries.
25 solar years ago, on this day in 1993 AD, a brutal massacre took place in Sukhumi on its capture by Abkhazian separatists, who drove out some 250,000 Georgians, as part of ethnic cleansing. It is said the Armenians assisted the Abkhaz militia in torturing and killing Georgian men, women, and children.
22 solar years ago, on this day in 1996 AD, the Taleban militia, which was formed in Pakistan, funded by Saudi Arabia and armed by the US, occupied the Afghan capital, Kabul, after ousting the legal government of President Burhan od-Din Rabbani. The Taleban forced the UN mission in Kabul to hand them over, General Mohammad Najibollah, the last communist president of Afghanistan, and brutally executed him. The Taleban unleashed a reign of terror in Afghanistan by enforcing medieval European laws, in a bid to tarnish the image of Islam. In October 2001, they were ousted by their own godfather, the US.
7 solar years ago, on this day in 2011AD, Iran announced the mass production of a new cruise missile, designed to destroy warships and coastal targets. The Qader has a range of 300 km.
(Courtesy: IRIB English Radio – http://parstoday.com/en)