March 2

537 – Siege of Rome: The Ostrogoth army under king Vitiges begins the siege of the capital. Belisarius conducts a delaying action outside the Flaminian Gate; he and a detachment of his bucellarii are almost cut off. 986 – Louis V becomes the last Carolingian king of West Francia after the death of his father, Lothaire. 1331 – Fall of Nicaea to the Ottoman Turks after a siege. 1444 – Skanderbeg organizes a group of Albanian nobles to form the League of Lezhë. 1458 – George of Poděbrady is chosen as the king of Bohemia. 1476 – Burgundian Wars: The Old Swiss Confederacy hands Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, a major defeat in the Battle of Grandson in Canton of Neuchâtel. 1484 – The College of Arms is formally incorporated by Royal Charter signed by King Richard III of England. 1498 – Vasco da Gama's fleet visits the Island of Mozambique. 1657 – The Great Fire of Meireki begins in Edo (now Tokyo), Japan, causing more than 100,000 deaths before it exhausts itself three days later. 1776 – American Revolutionary War: Patriot militia units attempt to prevent capture of supply ships in and around the Savannah River by a small fleet of the Royal Navy in the Battle of the Rice Boats. 1791 – Claude Chappe demonstrates the first semaphore line near Paris. 1797 – The Bank of England issues the first one-pound and two-pound banknotes. 1807 – The U.S. Congress passes the Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves, disallowing the importation of new slaves into the country. 1811 – Argentine War of Independence: A royalist fleet defeats a small flotilla of revolutionary ships in the Battle of San Nicolás on the River Plate. 1815 – Signing of the Kandyan Convention treaty by British invaders and the leaders of the Kingdom of Kandy. 1836 – Texas Revolution: The Declaration of independence of the Republic of Texas from Mexico is adopted. 1855 – Alexander II becomes Tsar of Russia. 1859 – The two-day Great Slave Auction, the largest such auction in United States history, begins. 1865 – East Cape War: The Völkner Incident in New Zealand.