December 23

484 – The Arian Vandal Kingdom ceases its persecution of Nicene Christianity. 558 – Chlothar I is crowned King of the Franks. 583 – Maya queen Yohl Ik'nal is crowned ruler of Palenque. 962 – The Sack of Aleppo as part of the Arab–Byzantine wars: Under the future Emperor Nicephorus Phocas, Byzantine troops storm the city of Aleppo. 1598 – Arauco War: Governor of Chile Martín García Óñez de Loyola is killed in the Battle of Curalaba by Mapuches led by Pelantaru. 1688 – As part of the Glorious Revolution, King James II of England flees from England to Paris, France after being deposed in favor of his son-in-law and nephew, William of Orange and his daughter Mary. 1783 – George Washington resigns as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army at the Maryland State House in Annapolis, Maryland. 1793 – The Battle of Savenay: A decisive defeat of the royalist counter-revolutionaries in War in the Vendée during the French Revolution. 1815 – The novel Emma by Jane Austen is first published. 1876 – First day of the Constantinople Conference which resulted in agreement for political reforms in the Balkans. 1893 – The opera Hansel and Gretel by Engelbert Humperdinck is first performed. 1913 – The Federal Reserve Act is signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson, creating the Federal Reserve System. 1914 – World War I: Australian and New Zealand troops arrive in Cairo, Egypt. 1914 – World War I: During the Battle of Sarikamish, Ottoman forces mistook one another for Russian troops. The following friendly fire incident leave 2,000 Ottomans dead and many more wounded. 1916 – World War I: Battle of Magdhaba: Allied forces defeat Turkish forces in the Sinai Peninsula. 1919 – Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act 1919 becomes law in the United Kingdom. 1936 – Colombia becomes a signatory to the Buenos Aires copyright treaty. 1936 – Spanish Civil War: The Spanish Republic legalizes the Regional Defence Council of Aragon. 1941 – World War II: After 15 days of fighting, the Imperial Japanese Army occupies Wake Island.