Events 1430 – Joan of Arc is captured at the Siege of Compiègne by troops from the Burgundian faction. 1568 – Dutch rebels led by Louis of Nassau, defeat Jean de Ligne, Duke of Arenberg, and his loyalist troops in the Battle of Heiligerlee, opening the Eighty Years’ War. 1609 – Official ratification of the… Read More

Events 192 – Dong Zhuo – a Chinese general, politician, and warlord – is assassinated by his adopted son Lü Bu (also a general and warlord). 853 – A Byzantine fleet sacks and destroys undefended Damietta in Egypt. 1200 – King John of England and King Philip II of France sign the Treaty of Le… Read More

Events 293 – Roman Emperors Diocletian and Maximian appoint Galerius as Caesar to Diocletian, beginning the period of four rulers known as the Tetrarchy. 878 – Syracuse, Sicily, is captured by the Muslim Aghlabids after a nine-month siege. 879 – Pope John VIII gives blessings to Branimir of Croatia and to the Croatian people, considered… Read More

Events 685 – The Battle of Dun Nechtain is fought between a Pictish army under King Bridei III and the invading Northumbrians under King Ecgfrith, who are decisively defeated. 794 – While visiting the royal Mercian court at Sutton Walls with a view to marrying princess Ælfthryth, King Æthelberht II of East Anglia is taken… Read More

Events 639 – Ashina Jiesheshuai and his tribesmen assaulted Emperor Taizong at Jiucheng Palace. 1445 – John II of Castile defeats the Infantes of Aragon at the First Battle of Olmedo. 1535 – French explorer Jacques Cartier sets sail on his second voyage to North America with three ships, 110 men, and Chief Donnacona’s two… Read More

Events 1096 – First Crusade: Around 800 Jews are massacred in Worms, Germany. 1268 – The Principality of Antioch, a crusader state, falls to the Mamluk Sultan Baibars in the Siege of Antioch. 1291 – Fall of Acre, the end of Crusader presence in the Holy Land. 1302 – Bruges Matins, the nocturnal massacre of… Read More

Events 1395 – Battle of Rovine: The Wallachians defeat an invading Ottoman army. 1527 – Pánfilo de Narváez departs Spain to explore Florida with 600 men – by 1536 only 4 survive. 1648 – Emperor Ferdinand III defeats Maximilian I of Bavaria in the Battle of Zusmarshausen. 1756 – Seven Years’ War formally begins when… Read More