Category: What Happened on this DAY?

474 – Zeno is crowned as co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire.[1] 1003 – Boleslaus III is restored to authority with armed support from Bolesław I the Brave of Poland. 1555 – Bishop of Gloucester John Hooper is burned at the stake.[2] 1621 – Gregory XV becomes Pope, the last Pope elected by acclamation.[3] 1654 – The Capture of Fort Rocher takes place during the Anglo-Spanish War.[4] 1775 – American Revolutionary War: The British Parliament declares Massachusetts in rebellion.[5] 1778 – Rhode Island becomes the fourth US state to ratify the Articles […]

421 – Constantius III becomes co-Emperor of the Western Roman Empire.[1] 1238 – The Mongols burn the Russian city of Vladimir. 1250 – Seventh Crusade: Crusaders engage Ayyubid forces in the Battle of Al Mansurah.[2] 1347 – The Byzantine civil war of 1341–47 ends with a power-sharing agreement between John VI Kantakouzenos and John V Palaiologos. 1575 – Leiden University is founded,[3] and given the motto Praesidium Libertatis. 1587 – Mary, Queen of Scots, is executed on suspicion of having been […]

457 – Leo I the Thracian becomes emperor of the Byzantine Empire.[1] 987 – Bardas Phokas the Younger and Bardas Skleros, Byzantine generals of the military elite, begin a wide-scale rebellion against Emperor Basil II. 1301 – Edward of Caernarvon (later king Edward II of England) becomes the first English Prince of Wales.[2] 1497 – In Florence, Italy, supporters of Girolamo Savonarola burn cosmetics, art, and books, in a “Bonfire of the vanities“.[3] 1783 – American Revolutionary War: […]

AD 60 – The earliest date for which the day of the week is known. A graffito in Pompeii identifies this day as a dies Solis (Sunday). In modern reckoning, this date would have been a Wednesday.[1] 1579 – The Archdiocese of Manila is made a diocese by a papal bull with Domingo de Salazar being its first bishop.[2] 1685 – James II of England and VII of Scotland is proclaimed King upon […]

AD 62 – Earthquake in Pompeii, Italy.[1] 756 – An Lushan, leader of a revolt against the Tang Dynasty, declares himself emperor and establishes the state of Yan. 789 – Idris I reaches Volubilis and founds the Idrisid dynasty, ceding Morocco from the Abbasid caliphate and founding the first Moroccan state. 1576 – Henry of Navarre abjures Catholicism at Tours and rejoins the Protestant forces in the French Wars of Religion. 1597 – A group of early Japanese Christians are killed by the new government of Japan […]

211 – Following the death of Rome’s Emperor Septimius Severus at Eboracum (modern York, England) while preparing to lead a campaign against the Caledonians, the empire is left in the control of his two quarrelling sons, Caracalla and Geta, instructing them to make peace.[1] 960 – The coronation of Zhao Kuangyin as Emperor Taizu of Song, initiating the Song dynasty period of China that would last […]

1112 – Ramon Berenguer III, Count of Barcelona, and Douce I, Countess of Provence, marry, uniting the fortunes of those two states.[1] 1451 – Sultan Mehmed II inherits the throne of the Ottoman Empire. 1488 – Bartolomeu Dias of Portugal lands in Mossel Bay after rounding the Cape of Good Hope, becoming the first known European to travel so far south. 1509 – The Portuguese navy defeats a joint fleet of the Ottoman […]

506 – Alaric II, eighth king of the Visigoths promulgates the Breviary of Alaric (Breviarium Alaricianum or Lex Romana Visigothorum), a collection of “Roman law“. 880 – Battle of Lüneburg Heath: King Louis III is defeated by the Norse Great Heathen Army at Lüneburg Heath in Saxony. 962 – Translatio imperii: Pope John XII crowns Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, the first Holy Roman Emperor in nearly 40 years. 1032 – Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor becomes king of Burgundy. 1141 – The Battle of […]

481 – Vandal king Huneric organises a conference between Catholic and Arian bishops at Carthage. 1327 – The teenaged Edward III is crowned King of England, but the country is ruled by his mother Queen Isabella and her lover Roger Mortimer. 1329 – King John of Bohemia captures Medvėgalis, an important fortress of the pagan Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and baptizes 6,000 of its defenders. 1411 – The First Peace of Thorn is signed in Thorn (Toruń), Monastic State of […]

314 – Pope Sylvester I is consecrated, as successor to the late Pope Miltiades.[1] 1208 – Battle of Lena takes place between King Sverker II of Sweden and his rival, Prince Eric, whose victory puts him on the throne as King Eric X of Sweden.[2] 1504 – The Treaty of Lyon ends the Italian War, confirming French domination of northern Italy, while Spain receives the Kingdom of Naples. […]