Events 41 – After a night of negotiation, Claudius is accepted as Roman emperor by the Senate. 750 – In the Battle of the Zab, the Abbasid rebels defeat the Umayyad Caliphate, leading to overthrow of the dynasty. 1573 – Battle of Mikatagahara: In Japan, Takeda Shingen defeats Tokugawa Ieyasu. 1575 – Luanda, the capital… Read More
Events 41 – Claudius is proclaimed Roman emperor by the Praetorian Guard after they assassinate the previous emperor, his nephew Caligula. 914 – Start of the First Fatimid invasion of Egypt. 1536 – King Henry VIII of England suffers an accident while jousting, leading to a brain injury that historians say may have influenced his… Read More
Events 971 – Using crossbows, Song dynasty troops soundly defeat a war elephant corps of the Southern Han at Shao. 1264 – In the conflict between King Henry III of England and his rebellious barons led by Simon de Montfort, King Louis IX of France issues the Mise of Amiens, a one-sided decision in favour… Read More
Events 871 – Battle of Basing: The West Saxons led by King Æthelred I are defeated by the Danelaw Vikings at Basing. 1506 – The first contingent of 150 Swiss Guards arrives at the Vatican. 1517 – The Ottoman Empire under Selim I defeats the Mamluk Sultanate and captures present-day Egypt at the Battle of… Read More
Events 763 – Following the Battle of Bakhamra between Alids and Abbasids near Kufa, the Alid rebellion ends with the death of Ibrahim, brother of Isa ibn Musa. 1720 – Sweden and Prussia sign the Treaty of Stockholm. 1861 – American Civil War: Jefferson Davis resigns from the United States Senate. 1893 – The Tati… Read More
Introduction Spain had already for centuries recruited foreign soldiers to its army, creating the Foreign Regiments (Infantería de línea extranjera) – such as the Regiment of Hibernia, formed in 1709 from Irishmen who fled their own country in the wake of the Flight of the Earls and the penal laws. However, the specific unit of… Read More
Introduction The Harrying of the North refers to a series of campaigns waged by William the Conqueror in the winter of 1069-1070 to subjugate northern England, where the presence of the last Wessex claimant, Edgar Atheling, had encouraged Anglo-Danish rebellions. William paid the Danes to go home, but the remaining rebels refused to meet him… Read More
