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 9 in History 411 BC – The Athenian coup succeeds, forming a short-lived oligarchy. AD 53 – The Roman emperor Nero marries Claudia Octavia. AD 68 – Nero commits suicide, after quoting Homer’s Iliad, thus ending the Julio-Claudian dynasty and starting the civil war known as the Year of the Four Emperors. 721 – Odo of Aquitaine defeats the Moors in…
May 7 in History 351 – The Jewish revolt against Constantius Gallus breaks out after his arrival at Antioch. 558 – In Constantinople, the dome of the Hagia Sophia collapses, twenty years after its construction. Justinian I immediately orders that the dome be rebuilt.…
February 13 in History 951 – Guo Wei, a court official, leads a military coup and declares himself emperor of the new Later Zhou. 962 – Emperor Otto I and Pope John XII co-sign the Diploma Ottonianum, recognizing John as ruler of Rome. 1322 – The central tower of Ely Cathedral falls on…