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News ID: 33993
Publish Date : 02 December 2016 - 21:42

This Day in History (December 3)



Today is Saturday; 13th of the Iranian month of Azar 1395 solar hijri; corresponding to 3rd of the Islamic month of Rabi al-Awwal 1438 lunar hijri; and December 3, 2016 of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.
1705 solar years ago, on this day in 311 AD, Roman Emperor Diocletian, an obstinate pagan who mercilessly persecuted monotheists and followers of other religions, committed suicide six years after abdicating the throne, following 21 years of tyrannical rule. Of low birth and cruel and crafty by nature, he was proclaimed emperor by his soldiers in Asia Minor on the sudden and suspicious death of Numerian, the son and successor of Emperor Carus – who days earlier had died of wounds in Mesopotamia during the war against Emperor Bahram II of the Sassanid Persian Empire. Diocletian massacred tens of thousands of monotheist followers of Prophet Jesus as well as adherents of the sect called Christianity, invented by Paul the Hellenized Jew. He destroyed the newly built church in Nicomedia in present day Turkey and burned all scriptures. He ordered the persecution of Manicheans, as a political ploy, compounding religious dissent with international politics, since followers of this creed amongst the Romans were supported by the Sassanid Empire of Iran, which he had managed to defeat with great difficulty in 299 and impose the humiliating Peace of Nisbis in northern Mesopotamia and Armenia on Emperor Narseh.
1374 lunar years ago, on this day in 64 AH, the holy city of Mecca was savagely attacked by the Omayyad forces of Yazid ibn Mu’awiyah, who ordered the desecration of the sanctity of the holy Ka’ba by raining down fire and brimstone through catapults placed on mountains around the Masjid al-Haraam or the Grand Sacred Mosque. As a result the supreme symbol of monotheism was badly damaged and many men, women and children who had sought refuge in the holiest sanctuary of Islam were killed or badly burnt. The people, inspired by the valour of Mukhtar Ibn Abu Obayda Thaqafi, bravely defended the city. The siege and the sacrilege of the Ka’ba by the Omayyad commander, Haseen ibn Numayr – a bloodthirsty and blasphemous person involved in the martyrdom of the Prophet's grandson Imam Husain (AS) in Karbala – ended some two weeks later when news reached of the sudden death of the tyrant Yazid. During the three-odd years of his illegal rule, the accursed Yazid perpetrated three shockingly sacrilegious acts. He ordered the slaughter of Imam Husain (AS) and other members of the Prophet’s blessed household. He next attacked Medina, killing at the infamous Battle of Harrah hundreds of companions of the Prophet and then ordering his commander Muslim ibn Uqbah to violate all Islamic laws through bloodshed, plunder of property, and rape of women for three days. Next he sent his forces to capture or kill the seditious, Abdullah ibn Zubayr, who had sought refuge in Mecca. Before reaching Mecca, God's wrath struck Muslim ibn Uqba in the form of a sting from a poisonous scorpion and he instantly died. The command of the army was taken over by the equally criminal Haseen ibn Numayr, who was later to meet a humiliating death later at the hands of the forces of Mukhtar, who had launched his uprising in Iraq to avenge the killers of Imam Husain (AS).
997 lunar years ago, on this day in 441 AH, the famous Arabic poet, Abu’l-Ala al-Ma’arri died. Born in Maarra, Syria, he was a member of the Banu Sulayman tribe that produced good poets. He lost his eyesight at the age of four due to small pox but this did not stop him from composing poems at the early age of 11 years. He wrote several works, including "Risalat-al-Ghufran" or Epistle of Forgiveness, which is an imaginary journey in the realms of the afterlife and includes dialogues with people in Heaven and Hell. Italian poet, Dante Alighieri, borrowed heavily from this work in writing the "Divine Comedy”.
569 solar years ago, on this day in 1447 AD, the 8th Ottoman Sultan, Bayezid II, was born to Mohammad II, the conqueror of Constantinople. He ascended the throne in 1481 and during his 31-year rule which ended in 1512 with his overthrow by his son, Selim I, and death a few months later, he consolidated the Ottoman Empire.Although he defeated a joint army of Croatia and Hungary at the Battle of Krbava in 1393, and in 1501 conquered the whole of Peloponnese Peninsula from the Venetians, he has earned lasting notoriety for betraying the aspirations of the Muslims of Spain, starting inter-Muslim warfare with the Mamluk Dynasty of Egypt-Syria, and picking up a quarrel with the Safavid Empire of Iran by ordering massacre of followers of the Ahl al-Bayt of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). In 1485, he invaded Mamluk-controlled southern Anatolia instead of concentrating on European campaigns, much to the relief of Spanish Christians besieging the Emirate of Granada, the last stronghold of Muslims in Iberia or Andalus, which fell in 1492 and whose ruler had appealed to the Mamluks for help. The 6-yearOttoman-Mamluk War ended in 1491 with the boundaries remaining unchanged, following two heavy defeats suffered by Bayezid’s forces.In 1492, Bayezid sent his navy under Admiral Kemal Reis to evacuate Jews from Spain and resettle them throughout the Ottoman Empire. He issued a firman to the provincial governors to give them a friendly reception, threatening with death all those who treated the Jews harshly or refused them admission. On the advice of Moses Capsali, a Jewish friend, Bayezid imposed a tax upon the rich to ransom Jews from persecution in Europe. Under his rule, Jews enjoyed a cultural flourishing, with the presence of such scholars as the Talmudist Mordecai Comtino and the liturgical poet Menahem Tamar. In his last year in power, he opened up hostilities with the local Qizilbash Turks of Anatolia as a provocation against the rising power of Shah Ismael of Iran.
144 solar years ago, on this date in 1872 AD, a translation from cuneiform tablets of the ancient Chaldean account of the Great Deluge, discovered in Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq) was read by George Smith before the Society of Biblical Archaeology in London, causing sensation, since this predated the Jewish account of the Great Flood by several centuries. Smith had pieced together fragments of tablets at the British Museum brought from Ninevah. This is now known as the eleventh tablet of the Gilgamesh epic. The most reliable account of the Great Deluge or Flood that occurred in the days of Prophet Noah, is given in the holy Qur'an – God's Final Revelation to mankind. According to historical evidence, Kufa in Iraq was Noah's hometown with the exact location of his house being what is now the Grand Mosque of Kufa – the 3rd holiest site in Islam after Mecca and Medina – from where the flood waters started. The sinners drowned, while Noah and the faithful abroad the Ark were saved. It is interesting to note that an ancient plaque found on Mount Ararat in the Caucasus where Noah's Ark came to rest, is being kept at the Moscow Museum in Russia. Written in a now extinct Semitic language, its contents have been deciphered by scholars who say it is a supplication to the One and Only God invoking the names of five holy personages – Hmda, Eiliya, Batoula, Shabara, and Shubayra, which Islamic scholars point out are a reference to Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), Imam Ali (AS), Hazrat Fatema Zahra (SA), Imam Hasan (AS) and Imam Husain (AS), whose names, as the Chosen Ones of God, were invoked by all Prophets since Adam, including Moses and Jesus (peace upon them).
132 solar years ago, on this day in 1884 AD, India’s first president, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, was born in Siwan district of Bihar State. His father was a scholar of both the Persian and Sanskrit languages, and despite being a Hindu, placed his five-year-old son under the tutelage of an accomplished Muslim scholar to learn the Urdu and Persian languages, as well as arithmetic. After obtaining MA in economics, he joined the Indian National Congress in 1911 for struggle against British colonial rule, and was soon elected chairman of the party. Following India’s independence in 1947 and establishment of republican system in 1950, he was elected as the country’s first president, a post which he retained for 12 years until his death in office.
122 solar years ago, on this day in 1894 AD, Scottish writer, Robert Louis Stevenson, died in Samoa in the Pacific Ocean at the age of 44. He was the author of such works as "Treasure Island”, "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”, "The Master of Ballantrae”, and "Kidnapped”.
106 solar years ago, on this day in 1910 AD, modern neon lighting was first demonstrated by Georges Claude at the Paris Motor Show.
105 solar years ago, on this day in 1911 AD, the Iraq-based ulema of Iran decided to migrate to Tehran to save the country from colonialist plots, following a Russian ultimatum to the elected Majlis to dismiss American lawyer William Morgan Shuster, from his post as Treasurer-General, or face war. Following triumph of the Constitutional Movement, Shuster, as a representative of an independent and emerging country, was appointed by the Majlis to improve Iran’s financial position which the weak Qajarid monarchy had mortgaged to the two colonialist powers, Britain and Russia. When the Majlis, encouraged by the support of the ulema, rejected the Russian ultimatum, Russia invaded and occupied the northern parts of Iran. Meanwhile, Shaikh Abdullah Mazandarani, who along with Ayatollah Akhound Khorasani and others, was all set to travel to Iran, suddenly died under suspicious conditions in Iraq (believed to be poisoning by colonialist agents), thereby disrupting the planned migration to Tehran. Under Russian and British pressure, and against the will of the Majlis, Shuster was dismissed. On returning to the US, he wrote a scathing indictment of Russian and British meddling in the affairs of Iran, titled "The Strangling of Persia”.
97 solar years ago, on this day in 1919 AD, acclaimed French painter, Auguste Renoir, passed away at the age of 78. He was one of the pioneers of the Impressionist Movement in painting.
45 solar years ago, on this day in 1971 AD, India and Pakistan fought their 3rd and last war that ended 13 days later with the surrender of Pakistani forces to the Indian army on the eastern frontier in East Pakistan, which became the new country of Bangladesh.
32 solar years ago, on this day in 1984 AD, a major catastrophe occurred in the central Indian city of Bhopal following leakage of chemical gases from the US-run Union Carbide factory, resulting in the immediate death of some 4,000 people, mostly Muslims, and injuries to some 600,000 others, of which some 6,000 later died from their injuries in one of the worst industrial disasters in history. Over 40 tons of highly poisonous MIC gas leaked out of the pesticide factory around midnight, enveloping an area of 40 sq km, and causing acute breathlessness, pain in the eyes and vomiting to the people. Poison clouds hung close to the ground for more than four hours. To date the victims have not been adequately compensated, although the US says it paid money to India in 1989. Many believe the leakage was deliberate to see how many people would be affected and to what degrees.
26 solar years ago, on this day in 1990 AD, the prominent Iranian researcher, author and member of the academic board of the UNESCO International Studies Department, Dr. Mohammad Hussein Mashayekh Faridouni, passed away at the age of 76. He received his PhD in Persian language and literature and conducted numerous studies in the domains of Islamology, Iranology, and the cultural relations of Islamic lands, publishing all these studies in the form of highly valuable compilations. He has also written an excellent work titled "Nawa-e Sha'er-e Farda" (Voice of the Poet of the Future) on the Persian works of the famous Poet and Philosopher of the East, Allamah Mohammad Iqbal Lahori of the Indo-Pakistan Subcontinent.
26 solar years ago, on this day in 1990 AD, the First Islamic conference on solidarity with the Intefadha of the Palestinian people was held in Tehran. Thinkers from several countries reviewed the chronic crisis of the usurpation of Palestine by the Zionists of Europe and the growing influence of the Islamic Revolution on the Palestinian people. Iran is a firm supporter of the Palestinian cause and believes that Israel has no right to exist in Palestine, which should be returned in its entirety to the Palestinian people.
5 solar years ago, on this day in 2011 AD, Iranian defence experts brought down intact in eastern Iran through cyber control, a US spy drone RQ-170, which violated Iranian space from American-occupied Afghanistan. Among the most modern types of pilotless aircraft, these drones are designed to evade radars. These are equipped with an automatic pilot system designed to make them automatically explode in case of severance of links with their base operator. By gaining control of this radar-evasive drone, the Islamic Republic of Iran showed its ability in cyber warfare to the confusion of US military experts and officials. Iranian experts by decoding the advanced drone gained access to confidential data and technology behind its production.
(Courtesy: IRIB English Radio – http://parstoday.com/en)