History Trivia

Sept 25, 275 The Roman Senate proclaimed Marcus Claudius Tacitus Emperor after the assassination of Aurelian. During his short reign he campaigned against the Goths and the Heruli, for which he received the title Gothicus Maximus. 396 Ottoman Emperor Bayezid I defeated a Christian army at the Battle of Nicopolis, often referred to as the Crusade of Nicopolis and was the last large-scale crusade of the Middle Ages. 1066 Harold II (Harold Godwinson) of England defeated an invasion by Harald Hardrada of Norway, at Stamford Bridge near York, and marked the end of the Viking invasions of England. It also delayed Harold's arrival at Hastings, becoming a significant factor in the outcome of the Norman Conquest.

History Trivia

Sept 24, 15 Aulus Vitellius was born. Vitellius was acclaimed emperor following the quick succession of the previous emperors Galba and Otho, in a year of civil war known as the Year of the Four Emperors. Vitellius was the first to add the honorific cognomen Germanicus to his name instead of Caesar upon his accession; the latter name had fallen into disrepute in many quarters because of the actions of Nero. 768 Pepin the Short, King of the Franks and father of Charlemagne, died at age 54. 1180 Manuel I Komnenos, last Emperor of the Komnenian restoration died, and the Byzantine Empire slipped into terminal decline. 1645 Battle of Rowton Heath, Parliamentarian victory over a Royalist army commanded by King Charles I; casualties estimated at 600dead and 900 injured.

History Trivia

Sept 23, 480 BC The Greeks defeated the Persians in the greatest of ancient naval battles, at Salamis, avenging the destruction of Athens. Over 1,000 Persian ships were sunk by fewer than 400 Greek vessels. 63 BC Augustus (Octavian) was born. He was the Roman emperor at the time of Christ, and the founder in 27 BC of the Roman Empire as it was known after the end of the Roman Republic of Julius Caesar's time.
1122 Concordat of Worms brought to an end the first phase of the power struggle between the Papacy and the Holy Roman Emperors. 1459 Battle of Blore Heath, the first major battle of the English Wars of the Roses, was fought at Blore Heath in Staffordshire. The Yorkists, though inferior in numbers, were completely victorious.

History Trivia

Sept 22, 530 Both Boniface II and Dioscorus (antipope) were consecrated. The short-lived schism ended with Dioscorus' death on October 14, 530. 1515 Anne of Cleves was born. The fourth wife of Henry VIII, Anne was able to obtain a divorce and maintained a friendly relationship with the Tudor family. 1586 Battle of Zutphen was a confrontation of the Eighty Years' War fought between forces of the United Provinces of the Netherlands, aided by the English, against the Spanish, who sought to regain the northern Netherlands. Elizabeth I sent troops under the earl of Leicester to aid the rebels, however the Spanish were victorious.

History Trivia

Sept 21, 490 BC The Greeks under Miltiades decisively defeated the army of Darius I of Persia at the Battle of Marathon. 19 BC Virgil, the great Roman poet, died in Rome at age 50. 454 AD Falvius Actius, Roman general and statesman was born.
1192 Richard I the Lion hearted was captured near Vienna by Leopold V, Duke of Austria who accused Richard of arranging the murder of his cousin Conrad of Montferrat. 1327 Edward II of England was murdered by order of his wife Isabella, daughter of King Philip IV of France. 1435 An agreement between Charles VII of France and Philip the Good ended the partnership between the English and Burgundy in the Hundred Years' War. 1745 A Jacobite army under 'Bonnie Prince Charlie' defeated government forces at the Battle of Prestonpans.

History Trivia

Sept 20, 356 BC, Alexander the Great, King of Macedonia and one of the greatest generals in history was born. 451 The Battle of Châlons took place in North Eastern France. Flavius Aetius's victory over Attila the Hun in a day of combat, is considered to be the largest battle in the ancient world. 1187 Saladin began the Siege of Jerusalem. This act of aggression provoked the Third Crusade. 1378 Cardinal Robert of Geneva, called by some the Butcher of Cesena, was elected as Avignon Pope Clement VII, beginning the Papal schism. 1633 Galileo Galilei was tried before the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith for teaching that the Earth orbits the Sun and was found "vehemently suspect of heresy", forced to recant, and spent the rest of his life under house arrest.

History Trivia

Sept 19, 335 Dalmatius was raised to the rank of Caesar by his uncle Constantine I.912 Emperor Leo VI was born. Known as the Wise or the Philosopher, Emperor Leo VI of Byzantium issued imperial laws in Greek that became the legal code of the Empire. 1356 Hundred Years' War: Battle of Poitiers: an English army under the command of Edward, the Black Prince defeated a French army and captured the French king, John II.