August 4
70 the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem by the
Romans.
1181 Supernova was seen in Cassiopeia, a constellation in the
northern sky, named after the vain Queen Cassiopeia in Greek mythology, who
boasted about her unrivalled beauty.
1265 Second Barons' War: Battle of
Evesham: the army of Prince Edward (the future king Edward I of England)
defeated the forces of rebellious barons led by Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of
Leicester, killing de Montfort and many of his allies.
April 22
238 Year of the Six Emperors:
The Roman Senate outlawed emperor Maximinus Thrax for his bloodthirsty
proscriptions in Rome and nominated two of its members, Pupienus and Balbinus,
to the throne.
1056 Supernova Crab nebula last seen by the naked
eye.
1370 First stone of the Bastille laid. The fortress that was later to
become a prison was built on the orders of King Charles V of France. It was
intended as a fortification to help protect the wall around Paris against
English attack during the Hundred Years' War.
August
6
258 Pope Sixtus II was beheaded during the persecution by Emperor
Valerian.
939 Battle at Simancas - Spain defeated the Moors. Arab witnesses
reported a spectacular eclipse of the sun that took place on the first day of
the battle, a bad omen.
1181 Supernova was observed by Chinese and Japanese
astronomers.
1284 The Republic of Pisa was defeated in the Battle of Meloria by
the Republic of Genoa, thus losing its naval dominance in the Mediterranean.
1806 Francis II, the last Holy Roman Emperor, abdicated, ending the Holy Roman
Empire.
