748day.year
Abbasid Revolution: The Hashimi rebels under Abu Muslim Khorasani take Merv, capital of the Umayyad province Khorasan, marking the consolidation of the Abbasid revolt.
Rebels led by Abu Muslim Khorasani capture the key city of Merv, securing Abbasid control in Khorasan and dealing a decisive blow to the Umayyad regime.
Abu Muslim Khorasani emerged as a key commander for the Abbasids in the province of Khorasan.
On this day, his forces captured the vital city of Merv, dealing a significant blow to Umayyad authority.
Merv was the administrative center of the Umayyad province, and its fall accelerated the collapse of Umayyad control in the region.
The victory strengthened the legitimacy of the Abbasid revolution and attracted further support from local populations.
This event marked an important turning point that paved the way for the establishment of the Abbasid Caliphate in 750 CE.
748
Abbasid Revolution
Hashimi
Abu Muslim Khorasani
Merv
Umayyad
Khorasan
Abbasid
842day.year
Charles the Bald and Louis the German swear the Oaths of Strasbourg in the French and German languages.
Charles the Bald and Louis the German pledge mutual support in their own tongues, forging a crucial alliance in the fragmented Carolingian Empire.
Following the death of their father Emperor Louis the Pious, the Frankish realm was divided under the Treaty of Verdun.
Facing rival claims, Charles the Bald and Louis the German convened at Strasbourg to cement their alliance.
On February 14, 842, they swore oaths in Romance and Germanic vernaculars, one of the earliest written examples of Old French and Old High German.
This act strengthened their military cooperation against their brother Lothair I and set the stage for emerging French and German identities.
The Oaths of Strasbourg remain a foundational moment in European linguistic and political history.
842
Charles the Bald
Louis the German
Oaths of Strasbourg
1014day.year
Pope Benedict VIII crowns Henry of Bavaria, King of Germany and of Italy, as Holy Roman Emperor.
Pope Benedict VIII crowns Henry of Bavaria as Holy Roman Emperor, reaffirming the alliance between papacy and imperial power.
Henry II of Bavaria ascended to the German and Italian thrones before seeking imperial coronation.
On February 14, 1014, Pope Benedict VIII welcomed him to Rome and formally crowned him as Holy Roman Emperor.
The ceremony underscored the mutual dependence between the papacy and the imperial institution.
It bolstered Henry’s legitimacy as ruler over a fragmented empire facing internal and external challenges.
This coronation symbolized the intertwining of religious authority and secular power in medieval Europe.
1014
Pope Benedict VIII
Henry of Bavaria
King
Holy Roman Emperor
1130day.year
The troubled 1130 papal election exposes a rift within the College of Cardinals.
A disputed papal election reveals deep divisions among the Cardinals, leading to rival claimants to the papacy and schism.
The death of Pope Honorius II in 1130 set the stage for a contentious election within the College of Cardinals.
Two opposing factions elected their own popes: Innocent II and Anacletus II, plunging the Church into schism.
European monarchs and church leaders were forced to choose sides, further entangling political and religious loyalties.
The rift highlighted intense power struggles at the heart of the medieval papacy.
It would take years of negotiation, conflict, and intervention before Innocent II emerged as the widely recognized pontiff.
1130
1130 papal election
College of Cardinals
1349day.year
Several hundred Jews are burned to death by mobs while the remaining Jews are forcibly removed from Strasbourg.
Amid Black Death paranoia, mobs in Strasbourg massacre hundreds of Jews and expel the survivors in a tragic act of anti-Semitic violence.
As the Black Death swept through Europe, Jewish communities were falsely accused of poisoning wells.
On February 14, 1349, enraged mobs in Strasbourg attacked the local Jewish population in a brutal pogrom.
Several hundred men, women, and children were burned alive, while the rest were forcibly expelled from the city.
This atrocity exemplifies how fear and scapegoating fueled religious intolerance during medieval crises.
The Strasbourg pogrom stands as one of the earliest and most infamous anti-Semitic massacres in European history.
1349
Jews
burned to death
forcibly removed
Strasbourg
1530day.year
Spanish conquistadores, led by Nuño de Guzmán, overthrow and execute Tangaxuan II, the last independent monarch of the Tarascan state in present-day central Mexico.
Conquistador Nuño de Guzmán topples the Tarascan monarchy, executing Emperor Tangaxuan II and ending indigenous rule in central Mexico.
In 1530, Nuño de Guzmán led a Spanish force into the heart of the Tarascan state in modern-day Michoacán.
Tangaxuan II, the region’s last independent monarch, was captured and put on trial by the Spaniards.
On February 14, Guzmán ordered his execution, extinguishing centuries of local royal lineage.
The conquest allowed Spain to consolidate control over western Mexico and exploit its rich resources.
This marked a turning point in the colonial subjugation and Christianization of Mesoamerica’s indigenous peoples.
1530
Spanish conquistadores
Nuño de Guzmán
Tangaxuan II
Tarascan state
Mexico
1556day.year
Having been declared a heretic and laicized by Pope Paul IV on 4 December 1555, Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer is publicly defrocked at Christ Church Cathedral.
Thomas Cranmer is ceremonially defrocked as heretic at Christ Church Cathedral, highlighting the religious turmoil of Tudor England.
After being declared a heretic and stripped of his clerical status by Pope Paul IV, Thomas Cranmer faced public disgrace.
On February 14, 1556, at Christ Church Cathedral in Oxford, he was defrocked in a highly symbolic ceremony.
Cranmer had been the first Protestant Archbishop of Canterbury and a key architect of Reformation theology under Henry VIII and Edward VI.
His fall from grace under Queen Mary I’s Catholic restoration demonstrated the era’s sharp religious reversals.
This event foreshadowed his eventual execution and remains a stark reminder of the period’s sectarian strife.
1556
heretic
laicized
Pope Paul IV
Archbishop of Canterbury
Thomas Cranmer
Christ Church Cathedral
1556day.year
Coronation of Akbar as ruler of the Mughal Empire.
Thirteen-year-old Akbar is crowned Emperor of the Mughal Empire, beginning a reign that would transform India’s cultural and political landscape.
Following the death of his father Humayun, young Akbar ascended to the Mughal throne on February 14, 1556.
Despite his youth, regents and nobles immediately began consolidating his authority across the empire.
Akbar’s reign would be marked by military expansion, administrative innovation, and religious tolerance.
He patronized artists, scholars, and architects, leading to flourishing cultural achievements such as Fatehpur Sikri.
Akbar’s leadership laid the foundation for what is often regarded as the golden age of the Mughal Empire.
Akbar
Mughal Empire
1613day.year
Wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Frederick V of the Palatinate at Whitehall Palace, London.
Princess Elizabeth of England marries Frederick V of the Palatinate in a grand Whitehall ceremony, forging an important Protestant alliance.
On February 14, 1613, Elizabeth Stuart, daughter of King James VI and I, wed Frederick V, Elector Palatine, at Whitehall Palace.
The celebration was marked by elaborate pageantry, music, and dances, reflecting the union’s political significance.
The marriage cemented a Protestant alliance between England and the Palatinate amid rising tensions across Europe.
Elizabeth later became known as the ‘Winter Queen’ for her brief tenure as Queen of Bohemia.
Their union had far-reaching diplomatic and cultural impacts on the early 17th-century European stage.
1613
Wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Frederick V of the Palatinate
Whitehall Palace
1655day.year
The Mapuches launch coordinated attacks against the Spanish in Chile beginning the Mapuche uprising of 1655.
The Mapuche people initiate a widespread revolt against Spanish colonial forces, marking the beginning of the 1655 uprising in Chile.
Longstanding tensions between the indigenous Mapuche and Spanish settlers erupted in early 1655.
On February 14, Mapuche warriors launched simultaneous raids on Spanish forts and settlements across Chile.
The uprising showcased the Mapuche’s strategic coordination and fierce resistance to colonial encroachment.
Spanish authorities struggled to contain the revolt, leading to months of brutal frontier warfare.
The Mapuche Uprising of 1655 became a pivotal episode in the protracted Arauco War, shaping Chile’s colonial history.
1655
Mapuches
Spanish
Mapuche uprising of 1655
1778day.year
The United States flag is formally recognized by a foreign naval vessel for the first time, when French Admiral Toussaint-Guillaume Picquet de la Motte renders a nine gun salute to USS Ranger, commanded by John Paul Jones.
In 1778, the U.S. flag received its first formal salute from a foreign warship when French Admiral Toussaint-Guillaume Picquet de la Motte honored the USS Ranger.
On February 14, 1778, French Admiral Toussaint-Guillaume Picquet de la Motte fired a nine-gun salute for John Paul Jones’s USS Ranger, marking the first time a foreign navy officially recognized the young United States. This gesture signaled France’s growing diplomatic support and legitimacy for the American cause during the Revolutionary War. The salute strengthened the Franco-American alliance against Britain and boosted morale among the Continental forces. Admiral Picquet de la Motte’s recognition paved the way for further cooperation and naval engagements jointly conducted by France and America. This event remains a celebrated milestone in the early history of U.S. naval and diplomatic achievements.
1778
United States flag
naval vessel
Admiral
Toussaint-Guillaume Picquet de la Motte
USS Ranger
John Paul Jones
1779day.year
American Revolutionary War: The Battle of Kettle Creek is fought in Georgia.
During the American Revolutionary War, Patriot militia clashed with Loyalist forces at the Battle of Kettle Creek in Georgia.
On February 14, 1779, American Patriot militia led by Colonel Andrew Pickens ambushed Loyalist troops at Kettle Creek, turning the tide in Georgia during the Revolutionary War. The Patriots secured a surprising victory that boosted morale and hindered British efforts in the southern colonies. Although small in scale, the engagement demonstrated effective militia tactics and local coordination. The triumph at Kettle Creek encouraged further resistance among colonists and contributed to the eventual American victory. The battle is remembered as a significant moment in the struggle for independence in the Deep South.
1779
American Revolutionary War
Battle of Kettle Creek
Georgia