This day marks the approximate midpoint of spring in the Northern Hemisphere and of autumn in the Southern Hemisphere (starting the season at the March equinox). May 5 in History 553 – The Second Council of Constantinople begins 1215 – Rebel barons renounce…
April 30 in history 311 – The Diocletianic Persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire ends. 313 – Battle of Tzirallum: Emperor Licinius defeats Maximinus II and unifies the Eastern Roman Empire. 642 – Chindasuinth is proclaimed king by the Visigothic nobility and bishops. 1315 – Enguerrand de Marigny is hanged at the instigation of Charles, Count of Valois. 1492 – Spain…
April 22 in History 238 – Year of the Six Emperors: The Roman Senate outlaws emperor Maximinus Thrax for his bloodthirsty proscriptions in Rome and nominates two of its members, Pupienus and Balbinus, to the throne. 1500 – Portuguese navigator Pedro Álvares Cabral lands in Brazil. 1519 – Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés establishes a settlement at Veracruz, Mexico. 1529 –…
April 20 in History 1303 – The Sapienza University of Rome is instituted by a bull of Pope Boniface VIII. 1453 – Three Genoese galleys and a Byzantine blockade runner fight their way through an Ottoman blockading fleet a few weeks before the fall of Constantinople. 1534 – Jacques Cartier begins his first voyage…
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…
April 9 in History 190 – Dong Zhuo has his troops evacuate the capital Luoyang and burn it to the ground. 475 – Byzantine Emperor Basiliscus issues a circular letter (Enkyklikon) to the bishops of his empire, supporting the Monophysite Christological position. 537 – Siege of Rome: The Byzantine general Belisarius receives his…
April 8 in History 217 – Roman Emperor Caracalla is assassinated. He is succeeded by his Praetorian Guard prefect, Marcus Opellius Macrinus. 632 – King Charibert II is assassinated at Blaye (Gironde), along with his infant son Chilperic. 876 – The Battle of Dayr al-‘Aqul saves Baghdad from the Saffarids. 1093 – The new Winchester Cathedral is dedicated by Walkelin. 1139 – Roger II of…
April 5 in History 823 – Lothair I is crowned King of Italy by Pope Paschal I. 919 – The second Fatimid invasion of Egypt begins, when the Fatimid heir-apparent, al-Qa’im bi-Amr Allah, sets out from Raqqada at the head of his army. 1081 – Alexios I Komnenos is crowned Byzantine emperor at Constantinople, bringing the Komnenian dynasty to full power.…
April 3 in History 686 – Maya king Yuknoom Yich’aak K’ahk’ assumes the crown of Calakmul. 801 – King Louis the Pious captures Barcelona from the Moors after a siege of several months. 1043 – Edward the Confessor is crowned King of England. 1077 – The first Parliament of Friuli is created. 1559 – The Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis treaty is signed, ending the Italian Wars. 1860 – The first…
March 26 in History 590 – Emperor Maurice proclaims his son Theodosius as co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire. 1027 – Pope John XIX crowns Conrad II as Holy Roman Emperor. 1169 – Saladin becomes the emir of Egypt. 1344 – The Siege of Algeciras, one of the first European military engagements where gunpowder was…