Abu Mansur Nizar ibn al-Mustansir (1045–1095) was a Fatimid prince and the eldest son of al-Mustansir, an Isma'ili imam and the eighth Fatimid caliph. When al-Mustansir died in December 1094, the powerful vizier, al-Afdal Shahanshah, raised Nizar's younger brother al-Musta'li to the throne in Cairo, bypassing the claims of Nizar and other older sons of al-Mustansir. Nizar escaped, rebelled and seized Alexandria, where he reigned as caliph with the regnal name al-Mustafa li-Din Allah. In late 1095, he was defeated, taken prisoner and executed by immurement. During the 12th century, some of Nizar's actual or claimed descendants tried, without success, to seize the throne from the Fatimid caliphs. Many Isma'ilis, especially in Persia, rejected al-Musta'li and considered Nizar to have been the rightful imam. As a result, they split off from the Fatimid regime and founded the Nizari branch of Isma'ilism, with their own line of imams who claimed descent from Nizar. This line continues to this day in the person of the Aga Khan.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nizar_ibn_al-Mustansir

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1775:

American Revolutionary War: A small force of Patriots led by Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold captured Fort Ticonderoga (depicted) in New York, without significant injury or incident. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capture_of_Fort_Ticonderoga

1941:

World War II: German Deputy Führer Rudolf Hess parachuted into Scotland in an attempt to negotiate peace with the British government. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudolf_Hess

1997:

An earthquake registering 7.3 Mw struck near Qaen, Iran, killing at least 1,567 and leaving around 50,000 others homeless. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1997_Qayen_earthquake

2017:

Syrian civil war: The Syrian Democratic Forces, assisted by the U.S. military, captured the Tabqa Dam and surrounding countryside, completing the Battle of Tabqa. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Tabqa

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

abstract away: 1. (transitive) To generalize concepts or their application by using abstraction into a more usable form. 2. (transitive, by extension) To ignore, to omit. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/abstract_away

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Your president leads the world in the cause of freedom right now. ... The people in Ukraine are not just fighting for your own freedom, you are fighting for all of us who love freedom.   --Bono https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Bono