January 26 in History 661 – The Rashidun Caliphate is effectively ended with the assassination of Ali, the last caliph. 945 – The co-emperors Stephen and Constantine are overthrown and forced to become monks by Constantine VII, who becomes the sole emperor of the…
January 24 in History AD 41 – Claudius is proclaimed Roman Emperor by the Praetorian Guard after they assassinate the previous emperor, his nephew Caligula. 914 – Start of the First Fatimid invasion of Egypt. 1438 – The Council of Basel suspends Pope Eugene IV. 1458 – Matthias Corvinus is elected King of Hungary. 1536 – King Henry…
January 22 in History 613 – Eight-month-old Constantine is crowned as co-emperor (Caesar) by his father Heraclius at Constantinople. 871 – Battle of Basing: The West Saxons led by King Æthelred I are defeated by the Danelaw Vikings at Basing. 1506 – The first contingent of 150 Swiss Guards arrives at the Vatican. 1517 – The Ottoman Empire under Selim I defeats the Mamluk Sultanate and captures…
January 21 in History 763 – Following the Battle of Bakhamra between Alids and Abbasids near Kufa, the Alid rebellion ends with the death of Ibrahim, brother of Isa ibn Musa. 1525 – The Swiss Anabaptist Movement is founded when Conrad Grebel, Felix Manz, George Blaurock, and about a dozen others…
January 20 in History 250 – Pope Fabian is martyred during the Decian persecution. 649 – King Chindasuinth, at the urging of bishop Braulio of Zaragoza, crowns his son Recceswinth as co-ruler of the Visigothic Kingdom. 1265 – The first English parliament to include not only Lords but also representatives of the major…
January 18 in History 474 – Seven-year-old Leo II succeeds his maternal grandfather Leo I as Byzantine emperor. He dies ten months later. 532 – Nika riots in Constantinople fail. 1126 – Emperor Huizong abdicates the Chinese throne in favour of his son Emperor Qinzong. 1486 – King Henry VII of England marries Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward IV uniting the House…
January 11 in History 532 – Nika riots in Constantinople: A quarrel between supporters of different chariot teams—the Blues and the Greens—in the Hippodrome escalates into violence. 630 – Conquest of Mecca: The prophet Muhammad and his followers conquer the city, Quraysh surrender. 947 – Emperor Tai Zong of the Khitan-led Liao Dynasty invades the Later Jin, resulting in the destruction…
January 8 in History 307 – Jin Huaidi becomes emperor of China in succession to his father, Jin Huidi, despite a challenge from his uncle, Sima Ying 871 – Alfred the Great leads a West Saxon army to repel an invasion by Danelaw Vikings. 1297 – François Grimaldi, disguised as a monk, leads his men to…
January 6 in History 1066 – Following the death of Edward the Confessor on the previous day, the Witan meets to confirm Harold Godwinson as the new King of England; Harold is crowned the same day, sparking a succession crisis that will eventually lead to the Norman conquest…
January 5 in History 1477 – Battle of Nancy: Charles the Bold is defeated and killed in a conflict with René II, Duke of Lorraine; the Burgundy subsequently becomes part of France. 1675 – Battle of Colmar: The French army beats Brandenburg. 1757 – Louis XV of France survives an assassination attempt by Robert-François Damiens, the…