History Trivia

March 19,235 Maximinus Thrax was proclaimed Emperor of Rome.1179 The Third Lateran Council of the Catholic church called a crusade against Cathar heretics in Toulouse.
1227 Ugo di Segni became Pope Gregory IX.Deeply religious and stoutly behind the Crusading movement, Gregory's education and experience in diplomacy barely prepared him for the long struggle with Emperor Frederick II that marked his papacy. 1307 The Douglas Larder raid - Sir James Douglas was a Scot who returned home from school in Paris to find his estates had been claimed and occupied by an Englishman, Robert de Clifford. Joining with Robert the Bruce for a time, he returned in an attempt to take back his land, attacking his own castle three times. After his final assault, known as the Douglas Larder, he razed the castle to the ground. 1330 Edmund Plantaganet, Earl of Kent died.Edmund was the younger brother of King Edward II of England. He was a staunch supporter of his brother, and after his murder in September, 1327, Edmund was led to believe Edward was s still alive and threw in his lot with a conspiracy to return him to the throne. For this he was arrested and beheaded, though his eldest son was allowed to inherit his title.

History Trivia

March 18, 37 – The Roman Senate annulled Tiberius's will and proclaimed Caligula emperor. 235 Emperor Alexander Severus and his mother Julia Mamaea are murdered by legionaries near Moguntiacum (modern Mainz). The Severan dynasty ends. 1227 Pope Honorius III Died. Honorius developed the policies of his predecessor, Pope Innocent III, concentrating on church reform and crusades.1229 Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor declared himself King of Jerusalem during the Sixth Crusade. When he was crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Honorius III, Frederick took a vow to go on Crusade, but he put off the expedition to settle matters in Italy. When he was at last ready to depart in 1227, an epidemic set him back further. The new pope, Gregory IX, disregarded the emperor's justification for delay and excommunicated him for failing to go on Crusade. Frederick ignored the excommunication and set sail for the Holy Land, where he entered into complex negotiations with the Sultan al-Kamil of Egypt that confirmed his control of Jerusalem. He crowned himself in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. 1241 Kraków was ravaged by Mongols. 1314 Jacques de Molay, the 23rd and the last Grand Master of the Knights Templar, was burned at the stake. 1438 Albert II of Habsburg became Holy Roman Emperor.

History Trivia

March 17, On this day The Agonalia was held. It was held on January 9th, March 17, May 21st, and December 11th. On each day a ram was sacrificed, probably as an offering to Janus. 45 BC In his last victory, Julius Caesar defeated the Pompeian forces of Titus Labienus and Pompey the Younger in the Battle of Munda. 44 BC the conspirators in Julius Caesar's murder were granted amnesty in a short-lived reprieve before Mark Antony stirred the people to take revenge on them. 180 AD Marcus Aurelius died in his camp-bed during a campaign along the Danube frontier. Commodus became the sole emperor of the Roman Empire. 461 St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland and a saint of the Roman Catholic Church, died in Ireland at an approximate age of 72. 1337 Edward, the Black Prince was made Duke of Cornwall, the first Duchy made in England.

History Trivia

March 16,597 BC – Babylonians captured Jerusalem, replaced Jehoiachin with Zedekiah as king. 37 AD the emperor Tiberius died at the age of 78 and Caligula became emperor. 1072 Adalbert died. Ambitious and zealous, Adalbert served as the archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen and was guardian and tutor to Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV. 1190 Massacre of the Jews at York.In one of the most shameful events in English history, an angry mob besieged Jewish residents of York in Clifford's Tower. Rather than be killed by their attackers, many of the Jews took their own lives, and some perished in the fire that followed. Those that survived the disaster were massacred.

History Trivia

March 15, 44 BC – Julius Caesar, Dictator of the Roman Republic, was stabbed to death by Marcus Junius Brutus, Gaius Cassius Longinus, Decimus Junius Brutus and several other Roman senators on the Ides of March. He had appointed his great-nephew, Octavian, as his heir. Civil war broke out between Caesar's assassins and his successors (Mark Antony and Octavian).351 Constantius II elevated his cousin Gallus to Caesar, and put him in charge of the Eastern part of the Roman Empire. 933 After a ten-year truce, German King Henry I defeated a Hungarian army at the Battle of Riade near the Unstrut river.In 924, Henry had agreed to pay tribute to the Magyars and return a hostage chief in exchange for a nine-year halt to raids on German lands. During this truce he built fortified towns and trained cavalry, which he used to combat various other encroaching tribes. When the agreed-upon time had passed, Henry refused to pay another tribute and the Magyars resumed their raids; but the king and his seasoned army destroyed the Magyars at Riade

History Trivia

March 14, On this day the Equirria took place, which consisted of horse-racing in Campus Martius ("Field of Mars", Italian Campo Marzio; which was a publicly owned area of ancient Rome about 490 acres) In 221 BC, the Circus Flaminius was built on the southern side of the Campus Martius, near the Tiber. This large track for chariot racing was named after Gaius Flaminius Nepos, who also constructed the Via Flaminia. 840 Einhard died. Historian and court scholar, Einhard was a contemporary and friend of Charlemagne as well as his biographer. 1471 Sir Thomas Malory died.
It is believed that Thomas Malory of Newbold Revell, Warwickshire, is the "Syr Thomas Maleore knyght" mentioned in the colophon to Le Morte Darthur, although there is no certain proof. 1489 The Queen of Cyprus, Catherine Cornaro, sold her kingdom to Venice. 1590 – Battle of Ivry: Henry of Navarre and the Huguenots defeated the forces of the Catholic League under the Duc de Mayenne during the French Wars of Religion. 1647 Thirty Years' War: Bavaria, Cologne, France and Sweden signed the Truce of Ulm.

History Trivia

March 13, 483: Felix III became pope. 1138 Cardinal Gregorio Conti was elected Antipope as Victor IV, succeeding Anacletus II. 1639 Harvard College is named for clergyman John Harvard.