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

A Daily Dose of History (16 Jun 2026) Today's historical events: Emperor Julian marches back up the Tigris and burns his fleet of supply ships. During the withdrawal, Roman forces suffer several attacks from the Persians. Yazdegerd III ascends the throne as king (shah) of the Persian Empire. He becomes the last ruler of the Sasanian dynasty (modern Iran). Ming-Hồ War: Retired King Hồ Quý Ly and hi...

A Daily Dose of History (15 Jun 2026) Today's historical events: Louis II is crowned as king of Italy at Rome by pope Sergius II. Battle of Soissons: King Robert I of France is killed and King Charles the Simple is arrested by the supporters of Duke Rudolph of Burgundy. The naval Battle of Fimreite is won by the Birkebeiner pretender Sverre Sigurdsson. Sigurdsson takes the Norwegian throne and Kin...

A Daily Dose of History (14 Jun 2026) Today's historical events: The city of Munich is founded by Henry the Lion on the banks of the river Isar. First Barons' War: Prince Louis of France takes the city of Winchester, abandoned by John, King of England, and soon conquers over half of the kingdom. While taking exile in Fuzhou, away from the advancing Mongol invaders, the remnants of the Song dynasty...

A Daily Dose of History (13 Jun 2026) Today's historical events: The decisions of the Edict of Milan, signed by Constantine the Great and co-emperor Valerius Licinius, granting religious freedom throughout the Roman Empire, are published in Nicomedia. Ibn Battuta begins his travels, leaving his home in Tangiers to travel to Mecca (gone 24 years). In England, the Peasants' Revolt, led by Wat Tyler,...

A Daily Dose of History (12 Jun 2026) Today's historical events: Battle of Augsburg: The Hungarians defeat the East Frankish army under King Louis the Child, using the famous feigned retreat tactic of the nomadic warriors. At the instigation of Louis IX of France, an inter-faith debate, known as the Disputation of Paris, starts between a Christian monk and four rabbis. Peasants' Revolt: In England...

A Daily Dose of History (11 Jun 2026) Today's historical events: Marcomannic Wars: The Roman army in Moravia is encircled by the Quadi, who have broken the peace treaty (171). In a violent thunderstorm emperor Marcus Aurelius defeats and subdues them in the so-called "miracle of the rain". Emperor Taizong of Tang sends envoys to the Xueyantuo bearing gold and silk in order to seek the release of C...

A Daily Dose of History (10 Jun 2026) Today's historical events: Emperor Tenji of Japan introduces a water clock (clepsydra) called Rokoku. The instrument, which measures time and indicates hours, is placed in the capital of Ōtsu. Third Crusade: Frederick I Barbarossa drowns in the river Saleph while leading an army to Jerusalem. The Battle of Pelekanon results in a Byzantine defeat by the Ottoman...

A Daily Dose of History (09 Jun 2026) Today's historical events: The Roman emperor Nero marries Claudia Octavia. Nero commits suicide, after quoting Vergil's Aeneid, thus ending the Julio-Claudian dynasty and starting the civil war known as the Year of the Four Emperors. Odo of Aquitaine defeats the Moors in the Battle of Toulouse. Abbasid Revolution: Abu Muslim Khorasani begins an open revolt aga...

A Daily Dose of History (08 Jun 2026) Today's historical events: Battle of Antioch: With the support of the Syrian legions, Elagabalus defeats the forces of emperor Macrinus. Attila leads a Hun army in the invasion of Italy, devastating the northern provinces as he heads for Rome. Vikings raid the abbey at Lindisfarne in Northumbria, commonly accepted as the beginning of Norse activity in the Brit...

A Daily Dose of History (07 Jun 2026) Today's historical events: Emperor Theodosius II marries Aelia Eudocia at Constantinople (Byzantine Empire). Pope John VIII recognizes the Duchy of Croatia under Duke Branimir as an independent state. Henry II, a cousin of Emperor Otto III, is elected and crowned King of Germany. First Crusade: The Siege of Jerusalem begins. Troops of the Republic of Venice ca...

A Daily Dose of History (06 Jun 2026) Today's historical events: Constantine VII, the 8-year-old illegitimate son of Leo VI the Wise, becomes nominal ruler of the Byzantine Empire under the regency of a seven-man council headed by Patriarch Nicholas Mystikos, appointed by Constantine's uncle Alexander III on his deathbed. Battle of Novara. In the Italian Wars, Swiss troops defeat the French under...

A Daily Dose of History (05 Jun 2026) Today's historical events: Kraków, in Poland, receives city rights. Battle of the Gulf of Naples: Roger of Lauria, admiral to King Peter III of Aragon, destroys the Neapolitan fleet and captures Charles of Salerno. The Battle of Worringen ends the War of the Limburg Succession, with John I, Duke of Brabant, being one of the more important victors. The masque T...

A Daily Dose of History (04 Jun 2026) Today's historical events: King Charles VI granted a monopoly for the ripening of Roquefort cheese to the people of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon as they had been doing for centuries. The steeple of St Paul's, the medieval cathedral of London, is destroyed in a fire caused by lightning and is never rebuilt. Siege of Osaka: Forces under Tokugawa Ieyasu take Osaka Castl...

A Daily Dose of History (03 Jun 2026) Today's historical events: The Roman usurper Nepotianus, of the Constantinian dynasty, proclaims himself Roman emperor, entering Rome at the head of a group of gladiators. The Byzantine emperor Philippicus is blinded, deposed and sent into exile by conspirators of the Opsikion army in Thrace. He is succeeded by Anastasios II, who begins the reorganization of t...

A Daily Dose of History (02 Jun 2026) Today's historical events: Sack of Rome: Vandals enter Rome, and plunder the city for two weeks. First Crusade: The first Siege of Antioch ends as Crusader forces take the city; the second siege began five days later. London: Virginia gets new charter, extending borders from "sea to sea". The first Récollet missionaries arrive at Quebec City, from Rouen, Franc...

A Daily Dose of History (01 Jun 2026) Today's historical events: Zhongdu (now Beijing), then under the control of the Jurchen ruler Emperor Xuanzong of Jin, is captured by the Mongols under Genghis Khan, ending the Battle of Zhongdu. Alfonso X is proclaimed king of Castile and León. Residents of Riga and Grand Duchy of Lithuania defeated the Livonian Order in the Battle of Turaida. A monk, John Co...

A Daily Dose of History (31 May 2026) Today's historical events: Emperor Petronius Maximus is stoned to death by an angry mob while fleeing Rome. Mongol invasion of the Cumans: Battle of the Kalka River: Mongol armies of Genghis Khan led by Subutai defeat Kievan Rus' and Cumans. King Henry III lays the first stone of the Pont Neuf (New Bridge), the oldest bridge of Paris, France. Citing poor eyesi...

A Daily Dose of History (30 May 2026) Today's historical events: Siege of Jerusalem: Titus and his Roman legions breach the Second Wall of Jerusalem. Jewish defenders retreat to the First Wall. The Romans build a circumvallation, cutting down all trees within fifteen kilometres. Beginning of the Peasants' Revolt in England. The Council of Constance, called by Emperor Sigismund, a supporter of Anti...

A Daily Dose of History (29 May 2026) Today's historical events: The Roman emperor Julian defeats the Sasanian army in the Battle of Ctesiphon, under the walls of the Sasanian capital, but is unable to take the city. Battle of Uclés: Almoravid troops under the command of Tamim ibn Yusuf defeat a Castile and León alliance under the command of Prince Sancho Alfónsez. Battle of Monte Porzio: A Roman...

A Daily Dose of History (28 May 2026) Today's historical events: Battle of Hulao: Li Shimin, the son of the Chinese emperor Gaozu, defeats the numerically superior forces of Dou Jiande near the Hulao Pass (Henan). This victory decides the outcome of the civil war that followed the Sui dynasty's collapse in favour of the Tang dynasty. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer, declares the marri...

A Daily Dose of History (27 May 2026) Today's historical events: Count Emicho enters Mainz, where his followers massacre Jewish citizens. At least 600 Jews are killed. Richard III of Capua is anointed as Prince two weeks before his untimely death. Malcolm IV becomes King of Scotland. John is crowned King of England. Richard of Cornwall, and his wife, Sanchia of Provence, are crowned King and Queen...

A Daily Dose of History (26 May 2026) Today's historical events: Battle of Avarayr between Armenian rebels and the Sasanian Empire takes place. The Sasanids defeat the Armenians militarily but guarantee them freedom to openly practice Christianity. King Edmund I of England is murdered by a thief whom he personally attacks while celebrating St Augustine's Mass Day. King Otto I elects his six-year-o...

A Daily Dose of History (25 May 2026) Today's historical events: Alfonso VI of Castile takes Toledo, Spain, back from the Moors. Henry the Navigator is appointed governor of the Order of Christ. The Diet of Worms ends when Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, issues the Edict of Worms, declaring Martin Luther an outlaw. Ming general Wu Sangui forms an alliance with the invading Manchus and opens the gat...

A Daily Dose of History (24 May 2026) Today's historical events: The nobles of Franconia and Saxony elect Henry the Fowler at the Imperial Diet in Fritzlar as king of the East Frankish Kingdom. Magnus Ladulås is crowned King of Sweden in Uppsala Cathedral. The ten-year-old Lambert Simnel is crowned in Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, Ireland, with the name of Edward VI in a bid to threaten King He...

A Daily Dose of History (23 May 2026) Today's historical events: Joan of Arc is captured at the Siege of Compiègne by troops from the Burgundian faction. Girolamo Savonarola is burned at the stake in Florence, Italy. The marriage of King Henry VIII to Catherine of Aragon is declared null and void. Dutch rebels led by Louis of Nassau, defeat Jean de Ligne, Duke of Arenberg, and his loyalist troops...