July 20 in history AD 70 – Siege of Jerusalem: Titus, son of emperor Vespasian, storms the Fortress of Antonia north of the Temple Mount. The Roman army is drawn into street fights with the Zealots. 792 – Kardam of Bulgaria defeats Byzantine Emperor Constantine VI at the Battle of Marcellae. 911 – Rollo lays siege to Chartres. 1189 – Richard I…
July 11 in History 472 – After being besieged in Rome by his own generals, Western Roman Emperor Anthemius is captured in St. Peter’s Basilica and put to death. 813 – Byzantine emperor Michael I, under threat by conspiracies, abdicates in favor of his general Leo the Armenian,…
July 5 in History 328 – The official opening of Constantine’s Bridge built over the Danube between Sucidava (Corabia, Romania) and Oescus (Gigen, Bulgaria) by the Roman architect Theophilus Patricius. 1316 – The Burgundian and Majorcan claimants of the Principality of Achaea meet in the Battle of Manolada. 1594 – Portuguese forces under the command of Pedro Lopes de Sousa begin an unsuccessful invasion of the Kingdom…
June 27 in History 1358 – The Republic of Ragusa is founded. 1497 – Cornish rebels Michael An Gof and Thomas Flamank are executed at Tyburn, London, England. 1556 – The thirteen Stratford Martyrs are burned at the stake near London for their Protestant beliefs. 1743 – In the Battle of Dettingen, George II becomes the last reigning British monarch to participate…
June 18 in History 618 – Li Yuan becomes Emperor Gaozu of Tang, initiating three centuries of Tang dynasty rule over China. 656 – Ali becomes Caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate. 860 – Byzantine–Rus’ War: A fleet of about 200 Rus’ vessels sails into the Bosphorus and starts pillaging the suburbs of the Byzantine capital Constantinople.…
June 13 in History 313 – The decisions of the Edict of Milan, signed by Constantine the Great and co-emperor Valerius Licinius, granting religious freedom throughout the Roman Empire, are published in Nicomedia. 1381 – In England, the Peasants’ Revolt, led by Wat Tyler, comes to a head, as rebels set fire…
June 10 in History 671 – Emperor Tenji of Japan introduces a water clock (clepsydra) called Rokoku. The instrument, which measures time and indicates hours, is placed in the capital of Ōtsu. 1190 – Third Crusade: Frederick I Barbarossa drowns in the river Saleph while leading an army to Jerusalem. 1329 – The Battle…
June 6 in History 913 – The 8-year-old illegitimate son of Leo VI the Wise, Constantine VII, becomes nominal ruler of the Byzantine Empire, under the regency of a seven-man council headed by Patriarch Nicholas Mystikos, appointed by Constantine’s uncle Alexander III on his deathbed. 1513 – Italian Wars: Battle of…
June 3 in History 350 – The Roman usurper Nepotianus, of the Constantinian dynasty, proclaims himself Roman emperor, entering Rome at the head of a group of gladiators. 713 – The Byzantine emperor Philippicus is blinded, deposed and sent into exile by conspirators of the Opsikion army in Thrace. He is succeeded by Anastasios II, who begins the…
May 30 in History AD 70 – Siege of Jerusalem: Titus and his Roman legions breach the Second Wall of Jerusalem. Jewish defenders retreat to the First Wall. The Romans build a circumvallation, cutting down all trees within fifteen kilometers.…