Category: What Happened on this DAY?

1080 – Harald III of Denmark dies and is succeeded by Canute IV, who would later be the first Dane to be canonized. 1349 – The rule of the Bavand dynasty in Mazandaran is brought to an end by the murder of Hasan II. 1362 – Kaunas Castle falls to the Teutonic Order after a month-long siege. 1492 – Spain and Christopher Columbus sign the Capitulations of Santa Fe for his voyage to Asia to acquire spices. 1521 – […]

AD 73 – Masada, a Jewish fortress, falls to the Romans after several months of siege, ending the First Jewish–Roman War.[1] 1346 – Stefan Dušan, “the Mighty”, is crowned Emperor of the Serbs at Skopje, his empire occupying much of the Balkans.[2] 1520 – The Revolt of the Comuneros begins in Spain against the rule of Charles V.[3] 1582 – Spanish conquistador Hernando de Lerma founds the settlement of Salta, Argentina. 1746 – The Battle of Culloden is fought between the […]

769 – The Lateran Council condemned the Council of Hieria and anathematized its iconoclastic rulings. 1071 – Bari, the last Byzantine possession in southern Italy, is surrendered to Robert Guiscard. 1395 – Timur defeats Tokhtamysh of the Golden Horde at the Battle of the Terek River. The Golden Horde capital city, Sarai, is razed to the ground and Timur installs a puppet ruler on the throne. 1450 – Battle of Formigny: Toward the end of the Hundred Years’ War, the French […]

  AD 69 – Vitellius, commander of the Rhine armies, defeats Emperor Otho in the Battle of Bedriacum to take power over Rome.[1] 966 – After his marriage to the Christian Doubravka of Bohemia, the pagan ruler of the Polans, Mieszko I, converts to Christianity, an event considered to be the founding of the Polish state.[2] 972 – Co-Emperor Otto II, a son of Otto I (the Great), marries the Byzantine princess Theophanu. She is crowned empress by […]

  1111 – Henry V is crowned Holy Roman Emperor.[1] 1204 – Constantinople falls to the Crusaders of the Fourth Crusade, temporarily ending the Byzantine Empire.[2] 1612 – Miyamoto Musashi defeats Sasaki Kojirō at Funajima island. 1613 – Samuel Argall, having captured Native American princess Pocahontas in Passapatanzy, Virginia, sets off with her to Jamestown with the intention of exchanging her for English prisoners held by her father.[3] 1742 – George Frideric Handel‘s oratorio Messiah makes its world premiere in Dublin, Ireland. 1777 – American […]

240 – Shapur I becomes co-emperor of the Sasanian Empire with his father Ardashir I.[1] 467 – Anthemius is elevated to Emperor of the Western Roman Empire.[2] 627 – King Edwin of Northumbria is converted to Christianity by Paulinus, bishop of York.[3] 1012 – Duke Oldřich of Bohemia deposes and blinds his brother Jaromír, who flees to Poland. 1204 – The Crusaders of the Fourth Crusade breach the walls of Constantinople and enter the city, which they completely occupy the following day. 1606 – […]

491 – Flavius Anastasius becomes Byzantine emperor, with the name of Anastasius I.[1] 1241 – Batu Khan defeats Béla IV of Hungary at the Battle of Mohi. 1512 – War of the League of Cambrai: Franco-Ferrarese forces led by Gaston de Foix and Alfonso I d’Este win the Battle of Ravenna against the Papal-Spanish forces. [2] 1544 – Italian War of 1542–46: A French army defeats Habsburg forces at the Battle of Ceresole, but fails to exploit its […]

428 – Nestorius becomes the Patriarch of Constantinople. Three years later, he would be deposed due to alleged heresy. 837 – Halley’s Comet makes its closest approach to Earth at a distance equal to 0.0342 AU (5.1 million kilometres/3.2 million miles). 1407 – Deshin Shekpa, 5th Karmapa Lama visits the Ming dynasty capital at Nanjing. He is awarded the title “Great Treasure Prince of Dharma”. 1500 – Ludovico Sforza is captured by Swiss troops at Novara and […]

  190 – Dong Zhuo has his troops evacuate the capital Luoyang and burn it to the ground. 475 – Byzantine Emperor Basiliscus issues a circular letter (Enkyklikon) to the bishops of his empire, supporting the Monophysite christological position. 537 – Siege of Rome: The Byzantine general Belisarius receives his promised reinforcements, 1,600 cavalry, mostly of Hunnic or Slavic origin and expert bowmen. He starts, despite shortages, raids against the Gothic camps and Vitiges is forced into a stalemate. 1241 – Battle […]

  217 – Roman Emperor Caracalla is assassinated. He is succeeded by his Praetorian Guard prefect, Marcus Opellius Macrinus. 632 – King Charibert II is assassinated at Blaye (Gironde), along with his infant son Chilperic. 876 – The Battle of Dayr al-‘Aqul saves Baghdad from the Saffarids. 1093 – The new Winchester Cathedral is dedicated by Walkelin. 1139 – Roger II of Sicily is excommunicated. 1149 – Pope Eugene III takes refuge in the castle of Ptolemy II of Tusculum. 1232 – Mongol–Jin War: The Mongols begin their siege on […]