This Day in History

Date: 30 June 2020 - 21:55

News ID: ۸۰۱۱۳

(July 1)

Today is Wednesday; 11th of the Iranian month of Tir 1399 solar hijri; corresponding to 9th of the Islamic month of Zilqa’dah 1441 lunar hijri; and July 1, 2020, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.
1047 lunar years ago, on this day in 394 AH, the renowned Iranian Ismaili Shi’ite scientist, philosopher, poet, author and traveler, Naser Khosrow, was born in Qobadian in northeastern Khorasan, which is now part of modern Tajikistan. He penned his travels in the famous book titled "Zaad al-Musafereen”, which is also known as "Safar-Namah” or Travelogue that contains an interesting description of the peoples, the customs, the conditions, and geographical factors of the lands he visited. Naser Khosrow has composed some very fine odes in Persian in praise of Imam Ali (AS), the First Infallible Successor of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). He died in 481 AH at the age of 87.
923 solar years ago, on this day in 1097 AD, the Battle of Dorylaeum took place between the European crusader invaders and the Seljuqs, near the city of the same name in Anatolia in what is now Turkey. The Muslim army led by Khilij Arslan I and his allies, Hassan of Cappadocia, and Ghazi ibn Danishmend, was made up of Turks, Iranians, Kurds and Caucasians, who after a hard fought battle in which the crusaders were almost routed, withdrew from the battlefield. The crusader invaders were led by Bohemond of Taranto and supported by the Byzantine army.
820 solar years, on this day in 1200 AD, sunglasses were invented in China from flat panes of smoky quartz to protect the eyes from glare. Ancient documents describe the use of such crystal sunglasses by judges in ancient Chinese courts to conceal their facial expressions while questioning witnesses.
769 solar years ago, on this day in 1251 AD, Mongke Khan was crowned as the 4th Khaqaan (Great Khan) of the Mongol Empire and ruled for 8 years during which western Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Anatolia (present Turkey) were overrun and incursions made into the subcontinent (present day Pakistan).
743 solar years ago, on this day in 1277 AD, the Mamluk sultan of Egypt-Syria, az-Zahir Rukn od-Din Baibars al-Bunduqdari, died in Damascus at the age of 55. He was one of the commanders of the Muslim army which inflicted a devastating defeat on the Seventh Crusade of King Louis IX of France in 1250.
589 solar years ago, on this day in 1431 AD, the Battle of La Higueruela (literally: "the little fig tree”) was fought beside the River Genil near Granada between the Spanish Muslim forces of Mohammad IX (15th ruler of the Nasrid Sultanate) and the Christian mercenary army of John II of Castile. The battle resulted in a temporary setback for Mohammad IX, who was forced to abdicate in favour of Yusuf IV (grandson of Mohammad VI), but was restored to the throne the next year with the death of his rival.
374 solar years ago, on this day in 1646 AD, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, German mathematician, philosopher and political adviser, was born.
187 solar years ago, on this day in 1863 AD, during the US civil war, the Battle of Gettysburg began in and around the town of the same name in Pennsylvania between the Union and Confederate armies, and is the largest military conflict in North American history. The battle involved the largest number of casualties of the 5-year war and is described as the war’s turning point. General Robert E. Lee’s Confederate Army after initial success surrendered the initiative on the 3rd day to Union Major-General George Meade, and retreated to Virginia.
181 solar years ago, on this day in 1839 AD, Mahmood II, the 30th Ottoman sultan and the 21st self-styled Turkic caliph, died at the age of 50 after a reign of 31 years, during which he carried out administrative, fiscal and military reforms, including abolishment of the Jan-Nisari Corps, although his armies were routed in the Battle of Erzurum in 1821 by Iranian forces led by Qajarid Crown Prince, Abbas Mirza, as part of the Ottoman-Persian War of 1821-to-1823.
153 solar years ago, on this day in 1867 AD, Britain granted self- rule to Canada, over which it had fought France for 75 years as of 1689. Canada covers an area of nearly 10 million sq km, and is the world’s second largest country. It is situated between the Pacific, Atlantic, and Arctic Oceans, and shares borders with the US.
60 solar years ago, on this day in 1960 AD, with the unity of British controlled Somaliland and Italian-held Somalia, the Muslim country of Somalia was formed and became independent after almost 8 decades of European colonial rule.
60 solar years ago, on this day in 1960 AD, Ghana became a Republic with Kwame Nkrumah as president.
58 solar years ago, on this day in 1962 AD, the small landlocked east African countries of Rwanda and Burundi gained independence from the UN and Belgium respectively. In 1994, a bloody war broke out between the two tribes of Hutu and Tutsi in Burundi, which claimed more than 800,000 lives.
52 solar years ago, on this day in 1968 AD, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) was signed in Washington, London and Moscow by sixty-two countries, including Iran, with the objective of preventing the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, promoting cooperation in the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and furthering the goal of nuclear disarmament.
50 solar years ago, on this day in 1970 AD, Allamah Abdul-Hussain Amini, the renowned Islamic scholar and theologian, and compiler of the valuable book "al-Ghadeer”, passed away at the age of 68 in the holy city of Najaf in Iraq. His most valuable work is the 11-volume book titled "al-Ghadeer fi’l-Kitab wa’s-Sunna wa’l-Adab”, in which he refers to the ayahs of the holy Qur’an, the Prophet’s hadith and Arabic literature, regarding the historical event of Ghadeer-Khom on the 18th of Zilhijja 10 AH, when Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) while returning from his Farewell Hajj Pilgrimage was commanded by God Almighty to proclaim Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS) as his vicegerent. While writing this monumental book Allamah Amini bore the hardships of travel to several countries, including India, Turkey, Syria, Egypt and Iraq to study different sources. He gathered from Sunni sources the narrations of at least 110 Sahaba or the Prophet’s companions about the event of Ghadeer, and then recorded the Hadiths narrated in this regard by 360 reliable narrators. He also wrote several other books including an exegesis of the Holy Qur’an. He founded a large library in the holy city of Najaf, which stands to this day and is still used by scholars.
44 lunar years ago, on this day in 1397 AH, Ayatollah Seyyed Mostafa Khomeini, the elder son of the Father of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (RA), was martyred in the holy city of Najaf in Iraq by agents of Iran’s Pahlavi regime.
38 solar years ago, on this day in 1982 AD, the prominent Islamic scholar, Ayatollah Mohammad Saduqi, was martyred by MKO terrorists while leading the Friday Prayer in Yazd city.
30 solar years ago, on this day in 1990 AD, prominent Iranian painter and calligrapher, Mohammad Ali Zavieh, passed away at the age of 78.
23 solar years ago, on this day in 1997 AD, Britain returned the strategic Island of Hong Kong to China, after occupying it for 155 years during the Opium War which was imposed on China. Hong Kong is one of major commercial hubs of the world.
13 solar years ago, on this day in 2007 AD, the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting launched the English-language satellite television channel Press TV to counter the Western media’s distorted presentation of news, and to convey to the English-speaking people worldwide facts and realities.
11 solar years ago, on this day in 2009 AD, in one of the most blatant cases of hatred of Islam in Germany, 31-year Marwa ash-Sherbini, a pregnant Muslim woman from Egypt, was stabbed to death in a Dresden courtroom in front of her son, while attending a court case against her neighbour for calling her a terrorist for wearing Hijab. Muslim-hater, 28-year old Alex Wiens stabbed her at least 16 times inside the courtroom, while the security guards, the judge and lawyers watched silently in tacit approval. But when her horrified husband, Alwi Okaz, who was in Germany on a research fellowship, leapt to her aid, he was shot by a security guard in the leg and also stabbed by Wiens.
(Courtesy: IRIB English Radio – http://parstoday.com/en)