Events 794 – Emperor Kanmu relocates the Japanese capital to Heian-kyō (now Kyoto). 906 – Ahmad ibn Kayghalagh leads a raid against the Byzantine Empire, taking 4,000–5,000 captives. Rival claimants begin a period of civil war and disorder. 1633 – The Ming dynasty defeats the Dutch East India Company. In response, the first Longitude Act… Read More
Events 1096 – A Seljuk Turkish army successfully fights off the People’s Crusade. 1097 – First Crusade: Crusaders led by Godfrey of Bouillon, Bohemund of Taranto, and Raymond IV, Count of Toulouse, begin the Siege of Antioch. 1520 – Ferdinand Magellan discovers a strait now known as the Strait of Magellan. 1520 – João Álvares… Read More
Events 1568 – The Spanish Duke of Alba defeats a Dutch rebel force under William the Silent. 1572 – Eighty Years’ War: Three thousand Spanish soldiers wade through fifteen miles of water in one night to effect the relief of Goes. 1740 – France, Prussia, Bavaria and Saxony refuse to honour the Pragmatic Sanction, and… Read More
Events 202 BC – Second Punic War: At the Battle of Zama, Roman legions under Scipio Africanus defeat Hannibal Barca, leader of the army defending Carthage. 439 – The Vandals, led by King Gaiseric, take Carthage in North Africa. 1453 – Hundred Years’ War: Three months after the Battle of Castillon, England loses its last… Read More
Events 1016 – The Danes defeat the English in the Battle of Assandun. 1081 – The Normans defeat the Byzantine Empire in the Battle of Dyrrhachium. 1540 – Spanish conquistador Hernando de Soto’s forces destroy the fortified town of Mabila in present-day Alabama, killing Tuskaloosa. 1561 – In Japan the fourth Battle of Kawanakajima is… Read More
Events 1346 – The English capture King David II of Scotland at Neville’s Cross and imprison him for eleven years (refer to Wars of Scottish Independence). 1448 – An Ottoman army defeats a Hungarian army at the Second Battle of Kosovo. 1660 – The nine regicides who signed the death warrant of Charles I of… Read More
Events 456 – Ricimer defeats Avitus at Piacenza and becomes master of the Western Roman Empire. 690 – Empress Wu Zetian ascends to the throne of the Tang dynasty and proclaims herself ruler of the Chinese Empire. 955 – King Otto I defeats a Slavic revolt in what is now Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. 1780 – American Revolutionary… Read More
