Ammar ibn Aziz Ahmed

View Original

On this day in Islamic history: November

This is a list of events that took place throughout Islamic history in the month of November.

This will be constantly updated when new information arises. Your help in this regard would be most appreciated.


November 1:

On this day (November 1, 1922 CE {10/11 Rabi al-Awwal, 1341 AH}), the Ottoman Sultanate was officially abolished by the Grand National Assembly of Turkey.

The last Ottoman Sultan & half-brother of Sultan Abdülhamid II, Mehmed VI Vahideddin (pictured) was forced into exile on 17 November, 1922 CE (26/27 Rabi al-Awwal, 1341 AH).

The position of the Caliphate would endure until March 1924 CE (Rajab 1342 AH) with Sultan Mehmed's cousin and the son of Sultan Abdülaziz - Caliph Abdülmejid II - reigning as the last Ottoman Caliph, though the position (also) then had no real power.


November 3:

On this day (3 November, 1618 CE {14/15 Dhul Qa’dah, 1027 AH}), Muhi-ud-Din Muhammad otherwise known as Aurangzeb Alamgir (the future Emperor of the Mughal Empire), was born in the city of Dahod, situated in the state of Gujarat, modern-day India.

Pictured below is the body armour of Sultan Aurangzeb Alamgir.


November 5:

On this day (5 November, 1271 CE {22/23 Rabi al-Awwal, 670 AH}), arguably the most prominent Mongol Ilkhanid ruler Ghazan Khan, later Mahmud Ghazan, was born.

He was the 7th ruler of the Mongol Ilkhanate (a division of the Mongol Empire) and was the great-grandson of the founder of the Mongol Ilkhanids - Hulagu Khan - as well as the great-great-grandson of the founder of the Mongol Empire: Genghis Khan (Chingis Khan).

Ghazan Khan is best known for being one of the first Mongol rulers to convert to Islam and even met the scholar Ibn Taymiyyah (Allah have mercy on him) in the same year he converted (1295 CE), after he had taken the Ilkhanid throne.

Pictured is Ghazan studying the Qur'an in the work titled "Jami' al-Tawarikh" or "Compendium of Chronicles", by the notable 14th century statesman & historian Rashid al-Din Hamadani.


November 6:

On this day (6 November, 1494 CE {26/27 Muharram, 900 AH}), the great Ottoman Sultan & Caliph, Suleiman Kanuni was born in Trabzon to the first Ottoman Caliph Selim I and his wife Hafsa Sultan.

Sultan Suleiman Kanuni or Suleiman the Lawgiver was the longest reigning Ottoman Sultan, ruling between 1520 and 1566 CE.


November 9:

On this day (9 November, 1993 {23/24 Jumada al-Awwal, 1414 AH}), the famous Ottoman "Stari Most" or "Old Bridge" in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina, was destroyed by Croat forces during the Croat-Bosniak war.

The beautiful bridge was commissioned by Ottoman Sultan Suleiman Kanuni in 1557 CE (964 AH) and designed by Mimar Hayruddin, a student and apprentice of the famous Ottoman architect Mimar Sinan.

It was later rebuilt and completed on 23 July, 2004 CE (4/5 Jumada al-Thani, 1425 AH).

Partial Credit: IlmFeed Travel


November 10:

On this day (10 November, 1444 CE {18/19 Rajab, 848 AH}), the Ottoman Empire/Ottoman Sultanate, led by Sultan Murad II, defeated a major crusading army at the Battle of Varna, in modern-day Bulgaria.

Credit: Lost Islamic History


November 13:

On this day (13 November, 1918 CE {7/8 Safar, 1337 AH}), allied troops from the UK, France & Italy occupied Istanbul/Constantinople after the Ottoman defeat in World War 1.

The Treaty of Lausanne signed on July 24, 1923 CE (9/10 Dhul Hijjah, 1341 AH) brought an official end to the occupation; the occupation in total lasted from November 1918/Safar 1337 AH until October 1923 CE/Safar 1342 AH) (prior to the establishment of the new Turkish Republic).

It was also in fact the first time the Ottomans did not have control over Istanbul since its conquest by Fatih Sultan Mehmet Han (Sultan Muhammad al Fatih/Mehmed the Conqueror) in May 1453 CE.


November 19:

On this day (19 November, 636 CE {10/11 Shawwal, 15 AH}), the Rashidun Caliphate during the reign of Umar ibn al Khattab and led into battle by Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas - (Allah be pleased with both of them) - decisively defeated the Sassanid Persians (Sassanid Empire) led by Rostam Farrokhzad at the Battle of al-Qadisiyyah.

The battle was said to have lasted from 16 November to 19 November 636 CE and resulted in the annexation of most of Persia into the domains of the Rashidun Caliphate.

This battle also resulted in the alleged alliance between the last Sassanid Emperor Yazdegerd III and the Roman (Byzantine) Emperor Heraclius.

Pictured is a depiction of the Battle of al-Qadisiyyah from the work titled "Shahnameh" or "The Book of Kings" which was written by the Persian poet Abul-Qasem Ferdowsi Tusi (Ferdowsi) in the late 10th/early 11th century CE.


November 21:

On this day (21 November, 1262 CE {28/29 Dhul Hijjah, 660 AH}), began the reign of the 2nd Abbasid Caliph of Cairo for the Mamluk Sultanate: Al-Hakim I.

After the Mongols had sacked Baghdad in February 1258 CE (Muharram 656 AH), the Abbasid Caliphate (of Baghdad) offically ended and it wasn't until Ahmad al-Mustansir, who escaped Baghdad during the Mongol siege, that the title of Abbasid Caliph (though now without any real power) was recontinued.

Ahmad al-Mustansir was in fact the uncle of the 37th and last Abbasid Caliph of Baghdad, Al-Musta'sim Billah, and he was made the ceremonial and first Abbasid Caliph of Cairo by the Mamluk Sultan Baybars/Baibars in 1261 CE (659 AH).

Al-Hakim I, who followed Ahmad al-Mustansir as the Abbasid Caliph of Cairo, was alleged to be the great-great-great grandson of the 29th Abbasid Caliph (of Baghdad) Al-Mustarshid Billah; his relations to the later Abbasid Caliphs though was said to be a bit more distant and he remained as Caliph until 1302 CE (701 AH).


November 23:

On this day (23 November, 1174 CE {17/18 Rabi al-Thani, 570 AH}) Salahuddin al-Ayyubi entered Damascus and took control of the city, thereby uniting it with the rest of his Ayyubid dynasty in Egypt, after the death of Nur al-Din Zengi (of the Zengid dynasty).

Partial Credit: Lost Islamic History


November 24:

On this day (November 24, 1072 CE {3/4 Rabi al-Awwal, 465 AH}), the Great Seljuk Sultan Alp Arslan, also known as Muhammad bin Dawud Chaghri, passed away at the age of forty-two (42).

Alp Arslan was the second Great Seljuk Sultan; the son of Chagri Bey (younger brother of Tuğrul Bey, the first Great Seljuk Sultan), as well as the great-grandson of Selçuk Bey from whom the Seljuk dynasty is named after.

Alp Arslan is most known for the famous Battle of Manzikert/Malazgirt in 1071 CE in which the Great Seljuks defeated the Eastern Romans/Byzantines, and thereby paved the way for Turks and Muslims into Anatolia/modern-day Turkey.

Sultan Alp Arslan was said to have died as a result of a stab wound from the commander of the Berzem fortress of the (Western) Kharakhanid dynasty (in modern-day Turkmenistan), during his last expedition as Great Seljuk Sultan.

Prior to his death, with the counsel of his close friend and Great Seljuk Vizier Nizam al-Mulk, he chose his son Sultan Melik-Shah I (Sultan Malik-Shah I/Sultan Meliksah) to succeed him.

Al Fatiha!


November 30:

(1) On this day (30 November, 1421 CE {14/15 Rabi al-Awwal 835 AH}), marked the death and end of reign of the Mamluk Sultan of Egypt & Syria, Sayf ad-Din Tatar, and began the reign of his son: Sultan An-Nasir ad-Din Muhammad.

(2) On this day (30 November, 1853 CE {27/28 Safar 1270 AH}), the Russian Navy destroyed an Ottoman fleet at the Battle of Sinop, starting the Crimean War.

The Crimean War resulted in the Ottomans gaining support from mainly the British and French as it was in their interests to halt Russian advances into Ottoman domains.

(3) On this day, (30 November, 1920 CE {18 Rabi al-Awwal, 1339 AH}), the great scholar of the Indian subcontinent, Maulana Mahmud al-Hasan, later known as Shaykh al-Hind passed away (May Allah have mercy on him).

Shaykh al-Hind was the first student at the famous Darul Uloom Deoband in Uttar Pradesh, India, and was actively against British rule in India.

(4) On this day (30 November, 1988 CE {19/20 Rabi al-Thani, 1409 AH}), the great reciter of the Qur’an - Qari Abdul Basit Abdus Samad of Egypt - passed away (May Allah have mercy on him).


And Allah knows best.