April 12 in History 240 – Shapur I becomes co-emperor of the Sasanian Empire with his father Ardashir I. 467 – Anthemius is elevated to Emperor of the Western Roman Empire. 627 – King Edwin of Northumbria is converted to Christianity by Paulinus, bishop of York. 1012 – Duke Oldřich of Bohemia deposes and blinds his brother Jaromír who flees…
April 10 in History 428 – Nestorius becomes the Patriarch of Constantinople. 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…
March 29 in History 845 – Paris is sacked by Viking raiders, probably under Ragnar Lodbrok, who collects a huge ransom in exchange for leaving. 1430 – The Ottoman Empire under Murad II captures Thessalonica from the Republic of Venice. 1461 – Battle of Towton: Edward of York defeats Queen Margaret to become King Edward IV of England, bringing a temporary…
March 17 in History 45 BC – In his last victory, Julius Caesar defeats the Pompeian forces of Titus Labienus and Pompey the Younger in the Battle of Munda. 180 – Commodus becomes sole emperor of the Roman Empire at the age of eighteen, following the death of his father, Marcus Aurelius. 455 – Petronius Maximus becomes, with support of the Roman…
March 9 in History 141 BC – Liu Che, posthumously known as Emperor Wu of Han, assumes the throne over the Han dynasty of China. 1009 – First known mention of Lithuania, in the annals of the monastery of Quedlinburg. 1226 – Khwarazmian sultan Jalal ad-Din conquers the Georgian capital of Tbilisi. 1230 – Bulgarian Tsar Ivan Asen II defeats Theodore of Epirus in…
February 27 in History 380 – Edict of Thessalonica: Emperor Theodosius I and his co-emperors Gratian and Valentinian II declare their wish that all Roman citizens convert to Nicene Christianity. 425 – The University of Constantinople is founded by Emperor Theodosius II at the urging of his wife Aelia Eudocia. 907 – Abaoji, a Khitan chieftain, is enthroned…
February 25 in History 138 – Roman emperor Hadrian adopts Antoninus Pius as his son, effectively making him his successor 628 – Khosrow II, the last great Shah of the Sasanian Empire (iran), is overthrown by his son Kavadh II 1336 – Four thousand defenders of Pilenai commit mass suicide rather than be taken…
For superstitious reasons, when the Romans began to intercalate to bring their calendar into line with the solar year, they chose not to place their extra month of Mercedonius after February but within it. February 24 — known in the Roman calendar as “the sixth day before the…
February 22 in History 705 – Empress Wu Zetian abdicates the throne, restoring the Tang dynasty. 1316 – The Battle of Picotin, between Ferdinand of Majorca and the forces of Matilda of Hainaut, ends in victory for Ferdinand. 1371 – Robert II becomes King of Scotland, beginning the Stuart dynasty. 1495 – King Charles VIII of France enters Naples to…
February 20 in History 1339 – The Milanese army and the St. George’s (San Giorgio) Mercenaries of Lodrisio Visconti clash in the Battle of Parabiago; Visconti is defeated. 1472 – Orkney and Shetland are pawned by Norway to Scotland in lieu of a dowry for Margaret of Denmark. 1547 – Edward VI of England is crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey.…