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

A Daily Dose of History (07 Mar 2026) Today's historical events: Marcus Aurelius and L. Commodus (who changes his name to Lucius Verus) become joint emperors of Rome on the death of Antoninus Pius. Konrad III von Hohenstaufen was elected king of Germany at Coblenz in the presence of the papal legate Theodwin. The University of Paris issues the last in a series of condemnations of various philosoph...

A Daily Dose of History (06 Mar 2026) Today's historical events: The Farewell Sermon (Khutbah, Khutbatul Wada') of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. The 42 Martyrs of Amorium are killed after refusing to convert to Islam. Byzantine conquest of Chandax by Nikephoros Phokas, end of the Emirate of Crete. The Siege of Château Gaillard ends in a French victory over King John of England, who loses control o...

A Daily Dose of History (05 Mar 2026) Today's historical events: Roman emperor Julian leaves Antioch with an army of 90,000 to attack the Sasanian Empire, in a campaign which would bring about his own death. Nasir Khusraw begins the seven-year Middle Eastern journey which he will later describe in his book Safarnama. The Livonian Order is defeated in the Battle of Aizkraukle by the Grand Duchy of...

A Daily Dose of History (04 Mar 2026) Today's historical events: Nero, later to become Roman emperor, is given the title princeps iuventutis (head of the youth). Martyrdom of Saint Adrian of Nicomedia. Croatian Knez Trpimir I issues a statute, a document with the first known written mention of the Croats name in Croatian sources. Translation of the relics of martyr Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia, P...

A Daily Dose of History (03 Mar 2026) Today's historical events: Gundobad (nephew of Ricimer) nominates Glycerius as emperor of the Western Roman Empire. Empress Genshō abdicates the throne in favor of her nephew Shōmu who becomes emperor of Japan. Mughal Emperor Akbar defeats Sultan of Bengal Daud Khan Karrani's army at the Battle of Tukaroi. The Olympic Theatre, designed by Andrea Palladio, is i...

A Daily Dose of History (02 Mar 2026) Today's historical events: Siege of Rome: The Ostrogoth army under king Vitiges begins the siege of the capital. Belisarius conducts a delaying action outside the Flaminian Gate; he and a detachment of his bucellarii are almost cut off. Louis V becomes the last Carolingian king of West Francia after the death of his father, Lothaire. Skanderbeg organizes a gro...

A Daily Dose of History (01 Mar 2026) Today's historical events: Vetranio proclaims himself Caesar after being encouraged to do so by Constantina, sister of Constantius II. Emperor Louis the Pious is restored as sole ruler of the Frankish Empire. Forces of the Catholic Monarchs engage the combined Portuguese-Castilian armies of Afonso V and Prince John at the Battle of Toro. Sixty-three Huguenots...

A Daily Dose of History (28 Feb 2026) Today's historical events: The Fourth Council of Constantinople closes. Aztec king Cuauhtémoc is executed on the order of conquistador Hernán Cortés. The Scottish National Covenant is signed in Edinburgh. Elias Lönnrot signed and dated the first version of the Kalevala, the so-called foreword to the Old Kalevala. The United Kingdom ends its protectorate over E...

A Daily Dose of History (27 Feb 2026) Today's historical events: The University of Constantinople is founded by Emperor Theodosius II at the urging of his wife Aelia Eudocia. The Treaty of Berwick is signed by England and the Lords of the Congregation of Scotland, establishing the terms under which English armed forces were to be permitted in Scotland in order to expel occupying French troops. Hen...

A Daily Dose of History (26 Feb 2026) Today's historical events: Valentinian I is proclaimed Roman emperor. Battle of Benevento: An army led by Charles, Count of Anjou, defeats a combined German and Sicilian force led by Manfred, King of Sicily. Manfred is killed in the battle and Pope Clement IV invests Charles as king of Sicily and Naples. The Janszoon voyage of 1605-06 becomes the first Europea...

A Daily Dose of History (25 Feb 2026) Today's historical events: Roman emperor Hadrian adopts Antoninus Pius as his son, effectively making him his successor. Khosrow II, the last great Shah of the Sasanian Empire (Iran), is overthrown by his son Kavadh II. Four thousand defenders of Pilenai commit mass suicide rather than be taken captive by the Teutonic Knights. Samuel Colt is granted a United S...

A Daily Dose of History (24 Feb 2026) Today's historical events: King Huneric of the Vandals replaces Nicene bishops with Arian ones, and banishes some to Corsica. The English are defeated at the Battle of Roslin, in the First War of Scottish Independence. King Charles III of Naples and Hungary is assassinated at Buda. A Spanish-Austrian army defeats a French army at the Battle of Pavia. Coronatio...

A Daily Dose of History (23 Feb 2026) Today's historical events: Byzantine emperor Justinian I lays the foundation stone of a new Orthodox Christian basilica in Constantinople – the Hagia Sophia. Khosrow II, last Sasanian shah of Iran, is overthrown. Empress Wu Zetian abdicates the throne, restoring the Tang dynasty. Traditionally the date of publication of the Gutenberg Bible, the first Western b...

A Daily Dose of History (22 Feb 2026) Today's historical events: Having received a letter during the Lenten synod of 14-20 February demanding that he abdicate, Pope Gregory VII excommunicates Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor. The Battle of Picotin, between Ferdinand of Majorca and the forces of Matilda of Hainaut, ends in victory for Ferdinand. Robert II becomes King of Scotland, beginning the Stuart...

A Daily Dose of History (21 Feb 2026) Today's historical events: Severianus, Bishop of Scythopolis, is martyred in Palestine. Thomas, the first known Bishop of Finland, is granted resignation after confessing to torture and forgery. The Prussian Confederation is formed. Mikhail I is unanimously elected Tsar by a national assembly, beginning the Romanov dynasty of Imperial Russia. A force of 1,400...

A Daily Dose of History (20 Feb 2026) Today's historical events: The Milanese army and the St. George's (San Giorgio) Mercenaries of Lodrisio Visconti clash in the Battle of Parabiago; Visconti is defeated. Orkney and Shetland are pawned by Norway to Scotland in lieu of a dowry for Margaret of Denmark. Juan Ponce de León sets out from Spain for Florida with about 200 prospective colonists. Edward...

A Daily Dose of History (19 Feb 2026) Today's historical events: Emperor Septimius Severus defeats usurper Clodius Albinus in the Battle of Lugdunum, the bloodiest battle between Roman armies. The anti-paganism policy of Constantius II forbids the worship of pagan idols in the Roman Empire. Having already been elected to the throne of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1587, Sigismund III of th...

A Daily Dose of History (18 Feb 2026) Today's historical events: The Sixth Crusade: Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, signs a ten-year truce with al-Kamil, regaining Jerusalem, Nazareth, and Bethlehem with neither military engagements nor support from the papacy. The Battle of Wesenberg is fought between the Livonian Order and Dovmont of Pskov. Amda Seyon I, Emperor of Ethiopia begins his campaign...

A Daily Dose of History (17 Feb 2026) Today's historical events: Northern Crusades: Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Teutonic Knights meet in the Battle of Rudau. Following the successful campaigns during the Ottoman Interregnum, Musa Çelebi, one of the sons of Bayezid I, becomes Sultan of the Ottoman Empire with the support of Mircea I of Wallachia. Duke Friedrich and Duke Johann attempt to subdu...

A Daily Dose of History (16 Feb 2026) Today's historical events: Andrew of Longjumeau is dispatched by Louis IX of France as his ambassador to meet with the Khagan of the Mongol Empire. Dutch forces led by Hendrick Lonck capture Olinda in what was to become part of Dutch Brazil. Battle of Torrington, Devon: The last major battle of the first English Civil War. First Leopoldine Diploma is issued by...

A Daily Dose of History (15 Feb 2026) Today's historical events: Roman emperor Theodosius II publishes the law codex Codex Theodosianus Khosrau II is crowned king of Persia. Byzantine emperor Justinian II has his predecessors Leontios and Tiberios III publicly executed in the Hippodrome of Constantinople. At an assembly at Pavia of Lombard nobles, Arduin of Ivrea is restored to his domains and cro...

A Daily Dose of History (14 Feb 2026) Today's historical events: Abbasid Revolution: The Hashimi rebels under Abu Muslim Khorasani take Merv, capital of the Umayyad province Khorasan, marking the consolidation of the Abbasid revolt. Charles the Bald and Louis the German swear the Oaths of Strasbourg in the French and German languages. Pope Benedict VIII crowns Henry of Bavaria, King of Germany and...

A Daily Dose of History (13 Feb 2026) Today's historical events: Emperor Otto I and Pope John XII co-sign the Diploma Ottonianum, recognizing John as ruler of Rome. The central tower of Ely Cathedral falls on the night of 12th–13th. The Treaty of Westminster is finalised between Edward IV of England and the Scottish Lord of the Isles. Challenge of Barletta: Tournament between 13 Italian and 13 Fre...

A Daily Dose of History (12 Feb 2026) Today's historical events: The Italian professor Galeazzo di Santa Sophie performed the first post-mortem autopsy for the purposes of teaching and demonstration at the Heiligen-Geist Spital in Vienna. English forces under Sir John Fastolf defend a supply convoy carrying rations to the army besieging Orléans in the Battle of the Herrings. Isabella I issues an e...

A Daily Dose of History (11 Feb 2026) Today's historical events: The death under mysterious circumstances of Tiberius Claudius Caesar Britannicus, heir to the Roman empire, on the eve of his coming of age clears the way for Nero to become Emperor. Guo Wei, a court official, leads a military coup and declares himself emperor of the new Later Zhou. Henry VIII of England is recognized as supreme head...