December 21AD 69 – The Roman Senate declares Vespasian emperor of Rome, the last in the Year of the Four Emperors. 1124 – Pope Honorius II is consecrated, having been elected after the controversial dethroning of Pope Celestine II. 1140 – After a siege of several weeks, the city of Weinsberg and its castle surrender to Conrad III of Germany. 1237 – The city of Ryazan is sacked by the Mongol army of Batu Khan. 1361 – The Battle of Linuesa is fought in the context of the Spanish Reconquista between the forces of the Emirate of Granada and the combined army of the Kingdom of Castile and of Jaén resulting in a Castilian victory.
May 61527 – Spanish and German troops sack Rome; many scholars consider this the end of the Renaissance. 1536 – The Siege of Cuzco commences, in which Incan forces attempt to retake the city of Cuzco from the Spanish. 1541 – King Henry VIII orders English-language Bibles be placed in every church. In 1539 the Great Bible would be provided for this purpose. 1542 – Francis Xavier reaches Old Goa, the capital of Portuguese India at the time. 1594 – The Dutch city of Coevorden held by the Spanish, falls to a Dutch and English force.
July 17180 – Twelve inhabitants of Scillium (near Kasserine, modern-day Tunisia) in North Africa are executed for being Christians. This is the earliest record of Christianity in that part of the world. 1048 – Damasus II is elected pope, and dies 23 days later. 1203 – The Fourth Crusade assaults Constantinople. The Byzantine emperor Alexios III Angelos flees from his capital into exile. 1402 – Zhu Di, better known by his era name as the Yongle Emperor, assumes the throne over the Ming dynasty of China.
May 21293 – Roman Emperors Diocletian and Maximian appoint Galerius as Caesar to Diocletian, beginning the period of four rulers known as the Tetrarchy. 878 – Syracuse, Sicily, is captured by the Muslim Aghlabids after a nine-month siege. 879 – Pope John VIII gives blessings to Branimir of Croatia and to the Croatian people, considered to be international recognition of the Croatian state. 996 – Sixteen-year-old Otto III is crowned Holy Roman Emperor. 1349 – Dušan's Code, the constitution of the Serbian Empire, is enacted by Dušan the Mighty.
September 1985 – Nerva, suspected of complicity of the death of Domitian, is declared emperor by Senate. The Senate then annuls laws passed by Domitian and orders his statues to be destroyed. 634 – Siege of Damascus: The Rashidun Arabs under Khalid ibn al-Walid capture Damascus from the Byzantine Empire. 1356 – Battle of Poitiers: An English army under the command of Edward the Black Prince defeats a French army and captures King John II. 1410 – End of the Siege of Marienburg: The State of the Teutonic Order repulses the joint Polish—Lithuanian forces.
January 1January 1 or 1 January is the first day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 364 days remaining until the end of the year (365 in leap years). This day is also known as New Year's Day since the day marks the beginning of the year. TOC 153 BC – For the first time, Roman consuls begin their year in office on January 1. 45 BC – The Julian calendar takes effect as the civil calendar of the Roman Empire, establishing January 1 as the new date of the new year. 42 BC – The Roman Senate posthumously deifies Julius Caesar.
January 12475 – Byzantine Emperor Zeno is forced to flee his capital at Constantinople, and his general, Basiliscus gains control of the empire. 1528 – Gustav I of Sweden is crowned King of Sweden, having already reigned since his election in June 1523. 1554 – Bayinnaung, who would go on to assemble the largest empire in the history of Southeast Asia, is crowned King of Burma. 1616 – The city of Belém, Brazil is founded on the Amazon River delta, by Portuguese captain Francisco Caldeira Castelo Branco.
May 1028 BC – A sunspot is observed by Han dynasty astronomers during the reign of Emperor Cheng of Han, one of the earliest dated sunspot observations in China. 1291 – Scottish nobles recognize the authority of Edward I of England pending the selection of a king. 1294 – Temür, Khagan of the Mongols, is enthroned as Emperor of the Yuan dynasty. 1497 – Amerigo Vespucci allegedly leaves Cádiz for his first voyage to the New World. 1503 – Christopher Columbus visits the Cayman Islands and names them Las Tortugas after the numerous turtles there.
December 4771 – Austrasian king Carloman I dies, leaving his brother Charlemagne as sole king of the Frankish Kingdom. 963 – The lay papal protonotary is elected pope and takes the name Leo VIII, being consecrated on 6 December after ordination. 1110 – An army led by Baldwin I of Jerusalem and Sigurd the Crusader of Norway captures Sidon at the end of the First Crusade. 1259 – Kings Louis IX of France and Henry III of England agree to the Treaty of Paris, in which Henry renounces his claims to French-controlled territory on continental Europe (including Normandy) in exchange for Louis withdrawing his support for English rebels.
March 11222 – Roman emperor Elagabalus is murdered alongside his mother, Julia Soaemias. He is replaced by his 14-year old cousin, Severus Alexander. 843 – Triumph of Orthodoxy: Empress Theodora II restores the veneration of icons in the Orthodox churches in the Byzantine Empire. 1343 – Arnošt of Pardubice becomes the last Bishop of Prague (3 March 1343 O.S.), and, a year later, the first Archbishop of Prague. 1387 – Battle of Castagnaro: Padua, led by John Hawkwood, is victorious over Giovanni Ordelaffi of Verona.
