This Day in History

Date: 11 May 2021 - 21:46

News ID: ۹۰۱۴۱

(May 12)

Today is Wednesday; 22nd of the Iranian month of Ordibehesht 1400 solar hijri; corresponding to 29th of the Islamic month of Ramadhan 1442 lunar hijri; and May 12, 2021, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.
1114 solar years ago, on this day in 907 AD, General Zhu Wen forced Emperor Ai into abdicating the throne, thus ending the Tang Dynasty of China after nearly three hundred years of rule. He established himself as emperor of the Later Liang Dynasty, and ushered in the era of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, since despite his conquest of much of central China, most of Shaanxi, Shanxi, and Hebei remained outside his reach.
1099 solar years ago, on this day in 922 AD, Ahmad bin Fadhlan became the first Muslim envoy to arrive in the lands of the Bulgars and the Vikings, north of the River Volga, from the Abbasid court in Baghdad. His travel account, published in several languages including the original Arabic, provides a description of the Volga Vikings, including an eye-witness account of a ship burial. The day of his arrival is an official holiday in modern republic of Tatarstan in the Russian Federation. Ibn Fadhlan also gives an excellent description of the Russian tribes, who were pagans in those days.
1018 solar years ago, on this day in 1003 AD, Gerbert d’Aurillac of France, who later became Pope Sylvester II and inspired by Latin translations of Islamic scientific works, introduced to Europe  the Arabic numerals of the famous Iranian Islamic scientist, Mohammad ibn Musa Khwarezmi, died. He extensively utilized Islamic scientific works to build for the first time in Europe clocks, the hydraulic organ, astronomical instruments, and the abacus for use in mathematical calculations. It is said that he began to lead Christian Europe out of the Dark Ages, thanks to his study of Islamic sciences.
794 lunar years ago, on the eve of this day in 648 AH, the celebrated scholar, Hassan Ibn Yusuf Ibn Ali Ibn Mohammad Ibn Mutahhar, was born in Hillah, 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 od-Din Tusi, who taught him philosophy and logicAmong the noteworthy works are "Ma’arej al-Fahm”, "Qawa’ed al-Ahkaam”, "Tadhkirat ul-Fuqaha” and "Tabsirat ul-Mutallimeen”, the last being studied by seminary students till this day. He also wrote on proofs from the holy Qur’an, the hadith, and the intellect, on 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”. Allamah Hilli was succeeded by his worthy son, Mohammad, who is acclaimed as "Fakhr al-Muhaqqiqeen” (Pride of Researchers).
635 lunar years ago, on this day in 807 AH, the Egyptian Hanafi historian, Ibn al-Furat, passed away in his hometown Cairo at the age of 72. His history "Tarikh ad-Duwal wa’l-Muluk” focuses largely on the Crusades.
511 solar years ago, on this day in 1510 AD, Zhu Zhifan, the Prince of Anhua of Shanxi, began his rebellion during the reign of his great-grand-nephew, Emperor Zhengde of the Ming Dynasty of China, by inviting to a banquet many senior officials and killing them with the intent of declaring himself emperor. On 30 May, his rebellion was put down and he was taken to Beijing where he was executed on orders of Emperor Zhengde, who had invited many Muslims from Iran and Turkestan to serve as advisors at his court. Works of art such as porcelain from his court contained Islamic inscriptions in Arabic and Persian.
379 solar years ago, on this day in 1642 AD, Iran’s 6th Safavid Emperor, Shah Safi, died at the young age of 31 after a 13-year reign, and was succeeded by his son, Shah Abbas II.
344 lunar years ago, on this day in 1098 AH, the prominent jurisprudent, Mohammad bin Hassan Shirwani, passed away in Isfahan at the age of 65, and his body was taken to Mashhad, Khorasan for burial in the mausoleum of Imam Reza (AS), the 8th Infallible Heir of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA).
209 solar years ago, on this day in 1812 AD, Edward Lear, English artist of nature and landscape works, who is better known as writer of limericks and nonsense poetry, was born. As a draughtsman he illustrated birds and animals, and during his journeys used to make coloured drawings, which he reworked later, sometimes as plates for his travel books. He was hired as an illustrator by the London Zoological Society, and his precise and vivid drawings of parrots were published in 1832 in the book "The Family of the Psittacidae”. As an author, he is known principally for his popular nonsense collections of poems, songs, short stories, botanical drawings, recipes, and alphabets. In 1846 he composed "A Book of Nonsense” for the grandchildren of his patron, the Earl of Derby.
201 solar years ago, on this day in 1820 AD, British social reformer, Florence Nightingale, who founded the modern nursing practice, was born in Florence, Italy, to English parents, and was named after the city of her birth. The family returned to England the next year. Her contributions to public health were crucial. Her mission began from experience during the Crimean War as a nurse at the British hospital in Turkey, where she saw the appalling conditions of the sick: overcrowding, poor sanitation, lack of basic supplies, and even malnutrition. By the war’s end in 1856, she increased efficiency and reduced the death toll. Inspired by Unitarian religious ideals she devoted her life to serving others, and continued to advocate reform in the military medical system, that included advice on hospital planning and organization.
180 lunar years ago, on this day in 1272 AH, the virtuous scholar Seyyed Hassan Sadr Ibn Seyyed Hadi as-Sadr was born in the holy city of Kazemain, near Baghdad in Iraq. At the age of 16 he went to holy Najaf to study under the leading ulema and nine years later moved to Samarra to study under the celebrated scholar, Ayatollah Mirza Hassan Shirazi (famous for his fatwa against tobacco consumption in Iran). He returned to Kazemain seventeen years later and soon became the leading mujtahed. He passed away in 1354 at the age of 82. He groomed many students and wrote several books such as the "Role of Shi’ite Scholars in Development of Islamic Sciences”, The Shi’ite Muslims and Promotion of Islamic Arts”, and a refutation of the absurd viewpoints of the pseudo scholar Ibn Taimiyya.
140 solar years ago, on this day in 1881 AD, France occupied Tunisia, thereby ending the sovereign rule of the Hussainid Dynasty as nominal representatives of the Ottoman Sultan.
111 solar years ago, on this day in 1910 AD, British biochemist and discoverer of important molecules, Dorothy Mary Crowfoot Hodgkin, died at the age of 84.
49 lunar years ago, on this day in 1393 AH, Ayatollah Seyyed Ahmad Hussaini Zanjani passed away at the age of 85 and was laid to rest in the mausoleum of Hazrat Ma’souma (peace upon her). After initial Islamic studies in his hometown Zanjan, he moved to Qom on the revival of the Seminary of that holy city by Ayatollah Shaikh Abdul-Karim Ha’eri and mastered jurisprudence, theology, history, and literature. He was well aware of contemporary issues. Among his books is "Khayr al-Omour”.
18 solar years ago, on this day in 2003 AD, Prince Sadr od-Din Agha Khan, the French-American diplomat and art collector of Iranian origin, died at the age of 70 of cancer in Boston, and his body was conveyed to Switzerland, as per his wish, for burial with full diplomatic honours.
13 solar years ago, on this day in 2008, a 7.9-magnitude earthquake jolted southwestern China, claiming nearly 87,000 lives and injuring 380,000 others. This natural disaster also made millions of Chinese homeless.