Quick Facts — July 31 in History Category Detail Most Significant Event The Battle of Passchendaele begins in West Flanders, Belgium (1917) Top Key Events Columbus lands on Trinidad (1498) Defoe pilloried in London (1703) Spanish treasure fleet sinks (1715) Passchendaele campaign begins (1917) Ranger 7 photos returned (1964) Royal Navy Black Tot Day (1970)…
Quick Facts — July 30 in History Category Detail Most Significant Event England wins its first and only FIFA World Cup title at Wembley Stadium (1966) Top Key Events Mark Antony wins his final battle outside Alexandria (30 BC) Construction of Baghdad begins as the Abbasid capital (762) First representative assembly in the Americas convenes…
Umar bin Abdul Aziz (682–720 CE) was the eighth Umayyad caliph and is widely regarded by historians as the most just ruler of the dynasty. In a reign of just over two years, he reversed decades of administrative corruption, restored confiscated property, and reformed taxation — a record that led generations of scholars to count…
Muhammad bin Qasim (695–715 CE) was a 17-year-old Umayyad general who conquered Sindh, in present-day Pakistan, between 711 and 712 CE. His campaign against the local ruler Raja Dahir opened the first lasting Muslim presence in South Asia, though his own career ended abruptly in political disgrace three years later. Muhammad ibn al-Qasim al-Thaqafi —…
Quick Facts — July 29 in History Category Detail Most Significant Event Destruction of the First Temple in Jerusalem by the Neo-Babylonian Empire (587 BC) Top Key Events Neo-Babylonian Empire sacks Jerusalem (587 BC) Battle of Kleidion between Byzantines and Bulgarians (1014) Anglo-Spanish War: Battle of Gravelines crushes Spanish Armada (1588) Arc de Triomphe inaugurated…
In 711 CE, Tariq ibn Ziyad crossed from North Africa into Spain with roughly 7,000 men, defeated the Visigothic King Roderic at the Battle of Guadalete, and within months had captured Toledo, the Visigothic capital. This campaign — often called the Andalus campaign, after Al-Andalus, the name given to Muslim-ruled Iberia — ended nearly 300…
According to legend, Tariq ibn Ziyad burned his own ships after landing in Spain in 711 CE, cutting off any possibility of retreat and forcing his troops to fight with everything on the line. It’s one of the most repeated stories about him — but the earliest surviving accounts of the conquest don’t mention it…
Tariq ibn Ziyad was the Berber military commander who led the Umayyad conquest of Spain in 711 CE, crossing from North Africa and defeating the Visigothic King Roderic at the Battle of Guadalete. His name lives on in the very geography of the region — Gibraltar comes from Jabal Tariq, Arabic for “Mountain of Tariq,”…
Event Category Key Historical Details Most Significant Event Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia, starting World War I (1914) Top Key Events Execution of Robespierre • Battle of Ankara • July Crisis escalation • Tangshan Earthquake • IRA ends armed campaign Key Battles That Day Battle of Cascina, Battle of Ankara, Battle of Warsaw, Battle of…
Event Category Key Historical Details Most Significant Event Arrest of Maximilien Robespierre, ending the Reign of Terror (1794) Top 10 Key Events Battle of Dunsinane (1054) • Battle of Bouvines (1214) • Founding of Ottoman state territory (1299) • Robespierre arrested (1794) • Van Gogh shoots himself (1890) • Insulin proven effective (1921) • Maiden…
