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News ID: 33611
Publish Date : 18 November 2016 - 20:12

This Day in History (November 19)



Today is Saturday; 29th of the Iranian month of Aban 1395 solar hijri; corresponding to 19th of the Islamic month of Safar 1438 lunar hijri; and November 19, 2016, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.
1380 solar years ago, on this day in 636 AD, the decisive Battle of Qadesiya, fought near al-Hirah around Kufa in present-day Iraq, resulted in the victory of Muslim forces over the powerful and numerically superior Sassanid army which was equipped with the dreaded war elephant corps that many times during the 4-day battle panicked the Arab cavalry. On the eve of the battle, in order to check the rapid advance of Muslims in Syria and Iraq, an alliance was formed between Emperor Yazdegerd III of Iran and Emperor Heraclius of Byzantine (Eastern Roman Empire), who married his granddaughter Manyanh to the Iranian monarch. The death of the Iranian general Rustam Farrokhzad in the see-saw battle demoralized the Sassanid forces and their Arab Christian allies, resulting in the defeat of the Persian Empire and the start of the Islamization of Iraq and Iran. Qadisiyya was a small town on the west bank of the River Ateeq, a branch of the Euphrates near Hira, the ancient capital of the Lakhmid Arab Dynasty – a client state of the Sassanid Empire. The Muslims gained a large amount of spoils, including the famed jewel-encrusted royal standard, called "Derafsh-e Kaviyani” (or Flag of Kaveh).
1267 lunar years ago, on this day in 171 AH, the Iranian Islamic astronomer, Abu-Ma'shar Ja'far ibn Mohammad al-Balkhi, was born in the Khorasani city of Balkh (presently in Afghanistan). He spent most of his life in Iraq, especially in Baghdad and died in the city of al-Waset. He used numerous sources written in Pahlavi, Arabic, Sanskrit, Syriac, and Greek. He believed that all sciences have a divine origin, and the signs of God’s revelation are observed in every science. He has left behind a large number of books; the most important of which include "al-Mudkhal al-Kabir”. He wrote a number of practical manuals on astrology that profoundly influenced Muslim intellectual history and, through Latin translations, that of Europe. Some of his works used by Roger Bacon and others are "Kitab ad?Dalalaat ala'l?Ittesalaat wa?Qiranaat al?Kawakeb" (Book of the Indications of the Planetary Conjunctions), and "Kitab al?Milal wa'l-Duwal" (Book on Nations and Dynasties).
210 solar years ago, on this day in 1806 AD, the blinded Mughal Emperor, Shah Alam II died at the age of 78 after a reign of 45 years that saw his fortunes fluctuate in northern India until his authority was reduced to Delhi and its suburbs – till what is now the Indian capital’s Palam Airport. A famous Persian couplet of those days mockingly says: "Saltanat-e Shah-e Alam; Az-Dilli ta Palam” (The King of the World’s Realm; Merely from Delhi to Palam) . Named Ali Gauhar at birth, he was 11 years old when Iran’s Nader Shah Afshar invaded India. In 1759, on the murder of his father, Emperor Alamgir II by the treacherous vizier, Feroze Jung III Imad ul-Mulk, he managed to escape the Red Fort. In 1761 he was nominated as Emperor by Ahmad Shah Abdali (Nader Shah’s Afghan general and victor of the Battle of Panipat against the Marathas). In 1764, aided by the joint armies of Nawab Mir Qassim of Bengal and Nawab Shuja od-Dowla of Awadh, he fought the unsuccessful Battle of Buxar against the British, and was forced to sign the Treaty of Allahabad the next year that legitimized British control of the revenues of Bengal and Bihar. On his return to Delhi, he set about reforming the administration and the army, under his efficient vizier, Mirza Najaf Khan – an Iranian migrant noble and scion of the erstwhile Safavid Dynasty. He managed to defeat the Sikhs, the Jats, and the Pashtun Rohillas to assert his authority, but over a decade later, after the death of the able vizier, his fortunes reversed and the Red Fort was occupied by the rebel Abdul-Qader Rohilla, who blinded him in 1788. After restoration to the throne, he sought British protection as a titular ruler till his death. An accomplished poet in Persian he wrote under the penname "Aftab”. He was succeeded by his son, Akbar Shah II – father of Bahadur Shah Zafar, whom the British deposed in 1857 to end the empire founded in 1526 by the Timurid prince of Central Asia, Zaheer od-Din Babar.
188 solar years ago, on this day in 1828 AD, the acclaimed Austrian song composer, Franz Schubert, died. He was born in a poor family in the vicinity of Vienna. Although he composed more than 600 songs, his ingenuity in classical music, and multiplicity of his works did not rescue him from poverty. His songs were welcomed after his death.
108 solar years ago, on this day in 1908 AD, the prominent religious scholar, Seyyed Jamal od-din Isfahani, was martyred at the age of 46 on the orders of the Qajarid king, Mohammad Ali Shah. He was a popular preacher and writer, and one of the founders of the Constitutional Movement in Isfahan in 1890s. He wrote for the reformist newspapers, especially for "al-Jamal”. He wrote mostly about the economy and the financial autonomy of Persia, which he compared it to jihad. He emphasized such Islamic concepts, as Justice and Oppression in his sermons which attracted a large number of tradesmen and the common people. This made the Qajar king consider him among the most dangerous of his enemies. He was the father of the famous Iranian writer Mohammad Ali Jamalzadeh.
81 solar years ago, on this day in 1935 AD, prominent Iranian politician and prime minister during the Qajar era, Hassan Pirnia, died at the age of 63 in Tehran. He held a total of twenty-four posts during his political career, serving four times as Prime Minister of Iran to Ahmad Shah Qajar. Born to Mirza Nasrollah Khan Moshir od-Dowlah – the first prime minister of Iran after the Constitutional Revolution – he was one of the drafters of the constitution, a historian, and co-founder of the Society for the National Heritage of Iran. Hassan Pirnia became Iran's Minister to the Russian Court before returning to Iran, where he founded the Tehran School of Political Science in 1899. On his father’s death, he inherited the title Moshir od-Dowlah, and from 1907 to 1908, served as Minister of Foreign Affairs, during which time he declared the Anglo-Russian Entente, which would divide Iran into zones of imperial in?uence, as null and void. He later became Minister of Justice before becoming Prime Minister for the first time in 1918. He would re-assume the office later that same year, and again in 1922 and 1923. One of Pirnia's key actions during his time as Prime Minister saw him prevent the introduction of the Anglo-Persian Agreement of 1919. Following the seizure of power by Reza Khan Pahlavi, he retired from public life and published a three-volume history of pre-Islamic Iran, entitled "Tarikh-e Iran-e Bastan”. An abridged version of the same titled "Tarikh-e Mukhtasar Iran-e Qadeem”, published in 1928, became a standard textbook for students.
55 lunar years ago, on this day in 1383 AH, the Source of Emulation, Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Morteza Langeroodi, passed away at the age of 77. He was born near the city of Langerood on the Caspian Sea coast of Gilan Province in northern Iran. After studying in Qazvin and benefitting later from the classes of senior ulema, such as Ayatollah Tonekaboni, he went to Iraq for higher studies at the famous seminary of holy Najaf, where he attended the classes of Ayatollah Mirza Hussain Na'ini for several years, until he attained the status of Ijtehad. He taught for some time in Najaf before returning to Iran to teach for long years at the seminary in the holy city of Qom. He authored several books.
39 solar years ago, on this day in 1977 AD, Egyptian president, Anwar Sadaat, humiliated himself and backstabbed the Palestinian cause, by paying an official visit to the illegal Zionist entity called Israel. The visit enraged world Muslims, including Arabs, and especially Palestinians. A year later, Sadaat further betrayed the Palestinian cause by signing the scandalous Camp David Treaty in the US with the usurper Zionist entity. Most Muslim states severed ties with Egypt in protest, and finally Sadaat paid dearly for his treason when in October 1981 while inspecting a military parade he was executed in revolutionary style by Major Khaled Islambouli.
27 solar years ago, on this day in 1989 AD, stone relief, dating back 5,000 years, was discovered in the vicinity of the western Iranian city of Hamedan. Ruins of town along with skeletons, and primitive tools of the 2nd and 3rd millennium BC were unearthed. The region was called Hegmataneh in ancient times, which the Greek invaders corrupted to Ekbatan.
26 solar years ago, on this day in 1990 AD, the leaders of NATO and Warsaw Pact signed an agreement in Paris ending the Cold War between the Eastern and Western blocs. It was also agreed to end psychological warfare and reduce the weapons of these two military organizations. Soon, following the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the end of socialist rule in eastern European states, Warsaw Pact was dissolved, but in violation of the agreement, NATO not only did not disband but has continued to expand towards the east, stirring sedition and creating instability in world countries.
5 solar years ago, on this day in 2011 AD, a police vehicle of Bahrain’s repressive Aal-e Khalifa minority regime, deliberately crushed to death 16-year old Yousuf Ali Baghdar in the Juffair area of Manama, and when the funeral procession was held for the martyred teenager, the police forces brutally attacked the ceremony and injured scores of men, women, and children. The Persian Gulf island state of Bahrain is in the grip of popular revolution which the US and British-backed regime is trying to crush.    
3 solar years ago, on this day in 2013 AD, a double terrorist bombing at the Iranian embassy in Beirut martyred 23 people and injured 160 others. The damage to the Iranian embassy was slight and only one staffer suffered some wounds. The bombing was carried out by terrorists on the payroll of the Saudi Arabia and Israeli, trying to destabilize Syria and Lebanon.
(Courtesy: IRIB English Radio – http://parstoday.com/en)