A Daily Dose of History: Events on this Day in History

A Daily Dose of History (12 Jul 2025) Today's historical events: The armies of Titus attack the walls of Jerusalem after a six-month siege. Three days later they breach the walls, which enables the army to destroy the Second Temple. King Constantine II of Scotland, King Hywel Dda of Deheubarth, Ealdred of Bamburgh and King Owain of the Cumbrians accepted the overlordship of King Æthelstan of England, leading to seven years of peace in the north. Third Crusade: Saladin's garrison surrenders to Philip Augustus, ending the two-year siege of Acre. The Ottomans capture Euboea. Hartmann Schedel's Nuremberg Chronicle, on...

A Daily Dose of History (11 Jul 2025) Today's historical events: After being besieged in Rome by his own generals, Western Roman Emperor Anthemius is captured in St. Peter's Basilica and put to death. Byzantine emperor Michael I, under threat by conspiracies, abdicates in favor of his general Leo the Armenian, and becomes a monk (under the name Athanasius). Signing of the Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte between Charles the Simple and Rollo of Normandy. Baldwin IV, 13, becomes King of Jerusalem, with Raymond III, Count of Tripoli as regent and William of Tyre as chancellor. Battle of the Golden Spurs...

A Daily Dose of History (10 Jul 2025) Today's historical events: Emperor Hadrian dies of heart failure at his residence on the bay of Naples, Baiae; he is buried at Rome in the Tomb of Hadrian beside his late wife, Vibia Sabina. Isshi Incident: Prince Naka-no-Ōe and Fujiwara no Kamatari assassinate Soga no Iruka during a coup d'état at the imperial palace. The Norse King Glúniairn recognises Máel Sechnaill mac Domnaill, High King of Ireland, and agrees to pay taxes and accept Brehon Law; the event is considered to be the founding of the city...

A Daily Dose of History (09 Jul 2025) Today's historical events: Hadrian, who became emperor a year ago on Trajan's death, makes his entry into Rome. The end of the First Council of Christian bishops convened in Constantinople by the Roman Emperor Theodosius I. Odoacer makes a night assault with his Heruli guardsmen, engaging Theoderic the Great in Ad Pinetam. Both sides suffer heavy losses, but in the end Theodoric forces Odoacer back into Ravenna. A major earthquake strikes Beirut, triggering a devastating tsunami that affected the coastal towns of Byzantine Phoenicia, causing thousands of deaths. Korean forces...

A Daily Dose of History (08 Jul 2025) Today's historical events: Some 15,000 starving Christian soldiers begin the siege of Jerusalem by marching in a religious procession around the city as its Muslim defenders watch. Roger of Lauria, commanding the Aragonese fleet, defeats an Angevin fleet sent to put down a rebellion on Malta. Vasco da Gama sets sail on the first direct European voyage to India. Our Lady of Kazan, a holy icon of the Russian Orthodox Church, is discovered underground in the city of Kazan, Tatarstan. Charles II of England grants John Clarke a Royal charter to...

A Daily Dose of History (07 Jul 2025) Today's historical events: The city of Tyre falls to the Venetian Crusade after a siege of nineteen weeks. Spanish conquistadores defeat a larger Aztec army at the Battle of Otumba. Jacques Cartier makes his first contact with aboriginal peoples in what is now Canada. The Raid of the Redeswire is the last major battle between England and Scotland. The Treaty of Nemours abolishes tolerance to Protestants in France. An English fleet completes the destruction of a French merchant fleet off Fort St Pierre, Martinique during the Second Anglo-Dutch War. The...

A Daily Dose of History (06 Jul 2025) Today's historical events: Battle of Heliopolis: The Muslim Arab army under 'Amr ibn al-'As defeat the Byzantine forces near Heliopolis (Egypt). Mindaugas is crowned King of Lithuania. Pope Clement VI issues a papal bull protecting the Jews accused of having caused the Black Death. Ming China's Admiral Zheng He returns to Nanjing after the third treasure voyage and presents the Sinhalese king, captured during the Ming-Kotte War, to the Yongle Emperor. Jan Hus is condemned by the assembly of the council in the Konstanz Cathedral as a heretic and sentenced...

A Daily Dose of History (05 Jul 2025) Today's historical events: 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. The Burgundian and Majorcan claimants of the Principality of Achaea meet in the Battle of Manolada. Portuguese forces under the command of Pedro Lopes de Sousa begin an unsuccessful invasion of the Kingdom of Kandy during the Campaign of Danture in Sri Lanka. John Guy sets sail from Bristol with 39 other colonists for Newfoundland. Isaac Newton publishes Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica. The Battle o...

A Daily Dose of History (04 Jul 2025) Today's historical events: Pactum Sicardi, a peace treaty between the Principality of Benevento and the Duchy of Naples, is signed. Ulrich of Augsburg is canonized as a saint. Jordan II of Capua is anointed as prince after his infant nephew's death. The Crusades: Battle of Hattin: Saladin defeats Guy of Lusignan, King of Jerusalem. Francesco II Ordelaffi of Forlì surrenders to the Papal commander Gil de Albornoz. Ottoman-Hungarian wars: The Siege of Nándorfehérvár (Belgrade) begins. Information from this episode are sourced from API Ninjas Expl...

A Daily Dose of History (03 Jul 2025) Today's historical events: Battle of Adrianople: Constantine I defeats Licinius, who flees to Byzantium. Hugh Capet is crowned King of France, the first of the Capetian dynasty that would rule France until the French Revolution in 1792. Québec City is founded by Samuel de Champlain. French and Indian War: George Washington surrenders Fort Necessity to French forces. Norway's oldest newspaper still in print, Adresseavisen, is founded and the first edition is published. American Revolutionary War: George Washington takes command of the Continental Army at Cambridge, Massachusetts. American Revolutionary War: Iroquois a...

A Daily Dose of History (02 Jul 2025) Today's historical events: Emperor Valentinian III begins his reign over the Western Roman Empire. His mother Galla Placidia ends her regency, but continues to exercise political influence at the court in Rome. Li Shimin, the future Emperor Taizong of Tang, ambushes and kills his rival brothers Li Yuanji and Li Jiancheng in the Xuanwu Gate Incident. In China, Emperor Zhongzong of Tang inters the bodies of relatives in the Qianling Mausoleum, located on Mount Liang outside Chang'an. Battle of Brissarthe: The Franks led by Robert the Strong are defeated by...

A Daily Dose of History (01 Jul 2025) Today's historical events: Tiberius Julius Alexander orders his Roman legions in Alexandria to swear allegiance to Vespasian as Emperor. Battle of Taginae: Byzantine forces under Narses defeat the Ostrogoths in Italy, and the Ostrogoth king, Totila, is mortally wounded. Battle of Dorylaeum: Crusaders led by prince Bohemond of Taranto defeat a Seljuk army led by sultan Kilij Arslan I. Spanish conquistadors led by Hernán Cortés fight their way out of Tenochtitlan after nightfall. Jan van Essen and Hendrik Vos become the first Lutheran martyrs, burned at the stake by...

A Daily Dose of History (30 Jun 2025) Today's historical events: Pope Marcellinus begins his papacy. The Byzantine army of emperor Constantine V defeats the Bulgarian forces in the Battle of Anchialus. Spanish forces defeat a combined French and Navarrese army at the Battle of Noáin during the Spanish conquest of Iberian Navarre. King Henry II of France is mortally wounded in a jousting match against Gabriel, comte de Montgomery. The Spanish held Castillo San Felipe del Morro in San Juan, Puerto Rico having been besieged for fifteen days, surrenders to an English force under Sir George C...

A Daily Dose of History (29 Jun 2025) Today's historical events: Cao Rui succeeds his father as emperor of the Kingdom of Wei. Raymond of Poitiers is defeated and killed at the Battle of Inab by Nur ad-Din Zangi. Sverre is crowned King of Norway, leading to his excommunication by the Catholic Church and civil war. Skanderbeg defeats an Ottoman invasion force at Torvioll. The Dutch city of Dordrecht is devastated by fire Jacques Cartier is the first European to reach Prince Edward Island. The Globe Theatre in London, built by William Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's...

A Daily Dose of History (27 Jun 2025) Today's historical events: The Republic of Ragusa is founded. Cornish rebels Michael An Gof and Thomas Flamank are executed at Tyburn, London, England. Americo Vespucci, on Spanish financed trip, sights coast south of Cape Cassipore. The thirteen Stratford Martyrs are burned at the stake near London for their Protestant beliefs. In the Battle of Dettingen, George II becomes the last reigning British monarch to participate in a battle. Anglo-Cherokee War: Cherokee warriors defeat British forces at the Battle of Echoee near present-day Otto, North Carolina. British forces take Buenos Aires...

A Daily Dose of History (26 Jun 2025) Today's historical events: Roman emperor Elagabalus adopts his cousin Alexander Severus as his heir and receives the title of Caesar. Roman emperor Julian is killed during the retreat from the Sasanian Empire. Pope Benedict II is chosen. En no Ozuno, a Japanese mystic and apothecary who will later be regarded as the founder of a folk religion Shugendō, is banished to Izu Ōshima. Mongols defeat the Seljuk Turks at the Battle of Köse Dağ. Przemysł II crowned king of Poland, following Ducal period. The white eagle is added to the P...

A Daily Dose of History (25 Jun 2025) Today's historical events: The Franks are defeated by the Burgundians in the Battle of Vézeronce. In the Battle of Fontenay-en-Puisaye, forces led by Charles the Bald and Louis the German defeat the armies of Lothair I of Italy and Pepin II of Aquitaine. At the Diet of Augsburg the Augsburg Confession is presented to the Holy Roman Emperor by the Lutheran princes and Electors of Germany. Spanish forces fail to retake Jamaica at the Battle of Rio Nuevo during the Anglo-Spanish War. Venetian Elena Cornaro Piscopia is the first w...

A Daily Dose of History (24 Jun 2025) Today's historical events: Roman emperor Trajan inaugurates the Aqua Traiana, an aqueduct that channels water from Lake Bracciano, 40 kilometres (25 miles) northwest of Rome. Julius Nepos forces Roman usurper Glycerius to abdicate the throne and proclaims himself Emperor of the Western Roman Empire. The Battle of Moira is fought between the High King of Ireland and the Kings of Ulster and Dál Riata. It is claimed to be the largest battle in the history of Ireland. The Vikings sack French city of Nantes. Battle of Cedynia, the first documented victory o...

A Daily Dose of History (23 Jun 2025) Today's historical events: Sun Quan proclaims himself emperor of Eastern Wu. War of Saint Sabas: In the Battle of Trapani, the Venetians defeat a larger Genoese fleet, capturing all its ships. The Spanish Reconquista: In the Battle of Moclín the Emirate of Granada ambush a superior pursuing force, killing most of them in a military disaster for the Kingdom of Castile. A peace treaty between the Flemish and the French is signed at Athis-sur-Orge. First War of Scottish Independence: The Battle of Bannockburn (south of Stirling) begins. Henry VIII o...

A Daily Dose of History (22 Jun 2025) Today's historical events: Battle of Versinikia: The Bulgars led by Krum defeat the Byzantine army near Edirne. Emperor Michael I is forced to abdicate in favor of Leo V the Armenian. The Hungarians defeat the East Frankish army near the Rednitz River, killing its leader Gebhard, Duke of Lotharingia (Lorraine). Fatahillah expels Portuguese forces from Sunda Kelapa, now regarded as the foundation of Jakarta. Battle of Sisak: Allied Christian troops defeat the Ottomans. The Holy Office in Rome forces Galileo Galilei to recant his view that the Sun, not the...