Ibn al-Ash'ath (died 704) was an Arab nobleman and military commander during the Umayyad Caliphate. He played a minor role in the Second Fitna and then served as governor of Rayy. After the appointment of al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf as governor of Iraq in 694, relations with the Iraqi tribal nobility became strained. In 699, al-Hajjaj appointed Ibn al-Ash'ath as commander of a huge Iraqi army to subdue Zabulistan. In 700, Ibn al- Ash'ath and the army revolted. This developed into a full-fledged anti- Umayyad rebellion, with widespread support, especially among the religious zealots known as "Quran readers". The rebel army was decisively defeated by al-Hajjaj's Syrian troops at the Battle of Dayr al-Jamajim. Ibn al-Ash'ath fled to Zabulistan. His fate is unclear; some accounts hold that he was executed there, while most claim that he committed suicide to avoid capture. The suppression of Ibn al-Ash'ath's revolt signalled the end of the power of the tribal nobility of Iraq.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibn_al-Ash%27ath

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1560:

The Treaty of Berwick was signed, setting the terms under which an English fleet and army could enter Scotland to expel French troops defending the regency of Mary of Guise (pictured). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Berwick_%281560%29

1962:

Two dissident Republic of Vietnam Air Force pilots bombed the Independence Palace in Saigon in a failed attempt to assassinate President Ngo Dinh Diem. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1962_South_Vietnamese_Independence_Palace_bombing

1982:

The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, known for its performances of Gilbert and Sullivan's Savoy operas, gave its final performance. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%27Oyly_Carte_Opera_Company

2002:

Violent riots, perceived to have been instigated by a train fire that killed 59 Hindu pilgrims, broke out in the Indian state of Gujarat, killing at least 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, over three days. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godhra_train_burning

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

switchback: 1. (rail transport) 2. A railway track on a steep slope in a zigzag formation, in which a train travels in a reverse direction at each switch. 3. A railway track on which there are steep ascents and descents, a train moving partially or fully by the force of gravity using the momentum generated when descending to travel up an ascending part of the track; especially (Britain, dated), such a track built for fun rides at an amusement park; a type of rollercoaster. 4. (by extension) 5. (aviation) A flight path consisting of a series of steep ascents and descents, generally flown as a stunt. 6. (chiefly Britain, road transport) A path or road having a series of steep ascents and descents. 7. (chiefly Canada, US, road transport) A sharp bend in a path or road which causes a traveller to almost reverse their direction of travel, especially one of a series of such bends on an incline; a hairpin bend; also a path or road having such a series of bends. 8. (intransitive) To take a zigzag course or path. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/switchback

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Man might be described fairly adequately, if simply, as a two- legged paradox. He has never become accustomed to the tragic miracle of consciousness. Perhaps, as has been suggested, his species is not set, has not jelled, but is still in a state of becoming, bound by his physical memories to a past of struggle and survival, limited in his futures by the uneasiness of thought and consciousness.   --John Steinbeck https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Steinbeck