Vesuvius Eruption: Pompeii's Catastrophe (+ 12 more historical events on this day!)

A Daily Dose of History (23 Aug 2026) Today's historical events: Mount Vesuvius begins stirring, on the feast day of Vulcan, the Roman god of fire. Odoacer, chieftain of the Germanic tribes (Herulic - Scirian foederati), is proclaimed rex Italiae ("King of Italy") by his troops. Siege of Jerusalem: The city's citadel, the Tower of David, surrenders to Khwarezmian Empire. The Battle of Tagliacozzo marks the fall of the Hohenstaufen family from the Imperial and Sicilian thrones, and leading to the new chapter of Angevin domination in Southern Italy. Sir William Wallace is executed for high treason at Smithfield, London. Battle of Cassel: French troops stop an uprising of Flemish farmers. Siege of Moscow: The Golden Horde led by Tokhtamysh lays siege to the capital of the Grand Duchy of Moscow. The Battle of Chaldiran ends with a decisive victory for the Sultan Selim I, Ottoman Empire, over the Shah Ismail I, founder of the Safavid dynasty. Christian II of Denmark is deposed as king of Sweden and Gustav Vasa is elected regent. French Wars of Religion: Mob violence against thousands of Huguenots in Paris results in the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre. Long Turkish War: Wallachian prince Michael the Brave confronts the Ottoman army in the Battle of Călugăreni and achieves a tactical victory.[citation needed] Battle of Gifu Castle: The eastern forces of Tokugawa Ieyasu defeat the western Japanese clans loyal to Toyotomi Hideyori, leading to the destruction of Gifu Castle and serving as a prelude to the Battle of Sekigahara. George Villiers, the first Duke of Buckingham, is assassinated by John Felton. Information from this episode are sourced from API Ninjas Explanations from OpenAI ChatGPT API with proprietary prompts. This podcast is produced by Klassic Studios Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices