This Day in History

Date: 13 January 2020 - 21:40

News ID: ۷۵۰۵۱

(January 14)

Today is Tuesday; 24th of the Iranian month of Dey 1398 solar hijri; corresponding to 18th of the Islamic month of Jamadi al-Awwal 1441 lunar hijri; and January 14, 2020, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.
2103 solar years ago, on this day in 83 BC, Roman general and politician, Marcus Antonius (Mark Antony), was born in Rome.
1113 lunar years ago, on this day in 328 AH, the Spanish Muslim theologian and poet, Ahmad ibn Mohammad Ibn Abd Rabbihi, passed away. His great anthology, titled "al-Iqd al-Fareed” (The Unique Necklace), is a voluminous work divided into 25 sections. His poems are found scattered in many books, and here is a translation from Arabic of one of his couplets titled "The White Complexion”
469 solar years ago, on this day in 1551 AD, Abu’l-Fazl Allami, the Persian scholar, vizier and close confidante of Moghal Emperor Jalal od-Din Mohammad Akbar of Hindustan (northern subcontinent), was born in Agra. He authored in Persian the "Akbarnama”, the official history of Akbar’s reign in three volumes, (volume 3 is known as "Ain-e Akbari”). Among his other works is a Persian translation of the Christian Bible, and "Ruqa’aat-e Abu’l-Fazl”, which is a collection of his private letters to his father, mother and brothers, as well as to the emperor, to the three princes – Murad, Daniyal, and Salim (Jahangir), to Akbar’s queens and daughters, and to several notable contemporaries. Another of his famous works is "Inshe-e Abu’l-Fazl”.
278 solar years ago, on this day in 1742 AD, English astronomer and mathematician, Edmond Halley, died at the age of 85. He is best known for recognizing that a bright comet (later named after him) had appeared several times on a periodical basis.
259 solar years ago, on this day in 1761 AD, the Afghans led by Ahmad Shah Abdali Durrani inflicted a crushing defeat on the Marathas at the 3rd Battle of Panipat, fought about 95 km from Delhi that changed the course of Indian history. The Marathas’ French supplied artillery was no match for the "Zamburak” mounted artillery of Ahmad Shah – who as a veteran general of Nader Shah Afshar of Iran had participated in the latter’s capture of Delhi in 1739. The Marathas of southwestern India, emboldened by the breakaway of the two important provinces of Bengal and Haiderabad-Deccan from the Mughal Empire, had quickly expanded their influence in the north as far as Punjab and the borders of Kashmir, bringing them into direct confrontation with the Afghans. Ahmad Shah with his two Indian allies – Najeeb od-Dowla Rohilla of the Doaab, and Shuja od-Dowla, the Nawab of Awadh – decided to crush the Maratha marauders, whose pillaging and looting of lands had alienated from them the Sikhs, the Jats, and even fellow Hindu Rajputs. The battle is considered one of the largest fought in the 18th century. The 250,000- strong Maratha army was annihilated and large numbers fled the battlefield. The earlier two decisive Battles of Panipat that also changed the course of Indian history were fought in 1526 and 1556. The first saw the defeat of the Afghan king, Ibrahim Lodhi of Hindustan (Northern Subcontinent) and establishment of the Mughal Empire by the Timurid ruler of Kabul, Zaheer od-Din Babar Shah – a protégé of Shah Ismail I of Iran. The second saw the victory of Bayram Khan Turkman, the guardian and general of Jalal od-Din Akbar Shah over Hemu, the Hindu general of the Afghan rulers of Delhi and led to the restoration of Mughal rule in the aftermath of Humayun Shah’s sudden death shortly after return from Iran and recapture of Hindustan with aid provided by Shah Tahmasp Safavi.
145 solar years ago, on this day in 1875 AD, Albert Schweitzer the physician was born in Alsace in France. He established a hospital in Gabon, spending the rest of his life assisting and medically treating the disadvantaged people of Africa. He wrote several books, including "The Philosophy of Civilization”. Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1953, he died in 1965.
122 solar years ago, on this day in 1898 AD, Lewis Carroll, the British logician, mathematician, photographer, and novelist, remembered for the book "Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” (1865), died at the age of 65. His real name was Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, and after graduating from Oxford University, he taught mathematics and wrote treatises there until 1881. He was the author of several mathematics books, including "A Syllabus of Plane Algebraical Geometry” (1860), and "Euclid and his Modern Rivals” (1879).
78 solar years ago, on this day in 1942 AD during World War 2, US president, Franklin Roosevelt, and British prime minister, Winston Churchill, as the main leaders of the Allied Powers held a summit in Casablanca, Morocco, to plan attacks on Fascist Italy including the bombardment of Sicily and other places by the American air force.
71 solar years ago, on this day in 1949 AD, the Durban riots occurred in South Africa against Indians predominantly by Zulus (at the instigation of the ruling whites) resulting in the massacre of 142 people, and injury to 1,087 others. It also led to the destruction of 58 shops, 247 dwellings and one factory – all owned by Indians.
45 solar years ago, on this day in 1975 AD, the famous jurisprudent, Ayatollah Seyyed Abu’l-Hassan Rafi’i Qazvini, passed away at the age of 83. Born in Qazvin, he studied in Tehran and then in holy Qom under the famous scholar, Ayatollah Abdul-Karim Ha’eri Yazdi, mastering various branches of Islamic sciences. He authored several books.
41 solar years ago, on this day in 1979 AD during the crucial days of the Islamic Revolution, the beleaguered British-installed and US-backed Pahlavi potentate, Mohammad Reza Shah, unable to crush the people’s resolve to overthrow his dynasty, resorted to the ruse of abdicating power in favour of his 18-year old son by setting up a regency council, in a bid to deceive the people. But the ever-alert Iranian people took to the streets to denounce his plot, and voiced support for the Father of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (RA). On this day, from his brief exile in Paris, the Imam announced that soon a revolutionary government would be established. This made the head of the so-called regency council, Jalal od-Din Tehrani, to fly to France to meet Imam Khomeini, who set two conditions for receiving him: First resignation from his post, and second announcement of illegitimacy of the regency council. With Tehrani’s resignation the regency council was practically dissolved.
29 solar years ago, on this day in 1991 AD, the notorious Zionist spying agency, Mossad, in a terrorist act in Tunisia, assassinated Salah Khalaf Abu Ayad, a senior leader of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), along with two other Palestinian officials. The assassination smelled of treason on the part of the Tunisian regime of the now ousted Zain al-Abedin bin Ali and some Palestinian leaders, because later in the same year in October, PLO Chief, Yasser Arafat, started the so-called peace talks with the illegal Zionist entity, Israel.
25 solar years ago, on this day in 1995 AD, the poet and researcher Dr. Abdul-Wahhab Noorani Shirazi passed away at the age of 71. Grandson of the famous poet of the Qajarid era, Vesaal Shirazi, he obtained his doctorate in Persian literature from Tehran University, and served as professor in the same field at Shiraz University. He edited and published classical works such as "Mosibat-Nameh” of the famous poet Farid od-Din Attar Naishapuri. Among his other works mention could be made of "Hazar Mazar” and "Fawa’ed as-Solouk”.
23 solar years ago, on this day in 1997 AD, the famous Iranologist, Dr. Ahmad Tafazzoli, passed away. After graduating in Persian literature from Tehran University, he studied ancient Iranian languages at London University and obtained doctorate in this field. His researches earned him national and international awards.
22 solar years ago, on this day in 1998 AD, Mohammad Imami Qazi, who is famous for his translation of books from foreign languages into Persian, especially French, passed away at the age of 84.
9 solar years ago, on this day in 2011 AD, Tunisia’s pro-US-Israeli dictator, Zain al-Abedin bin Ali, faced with a popular uprising, fled the country for Saudi Arabia along with his family and billions of dollars of public wealth. On taking power in 1987 he slavishly served American interests by brutally suppressing the Tunisian Muslim people, for which he was rewarded with asylum by Saudi Arabia. His ouster freed Tunisia from over half a century of anti-Islamic rule and triggered uprisings in other countries, such as Egypt, Libya, Bahrain, Yemen, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia.
(Courtesy: IRIB English Radio – http://parstoday.com/en)