878day.year
Syracuse, Sicily, is captured by the Muslim Aghlabids after a nine-month siege.
After a nine-month siege in 878, the Muslim Aghlabids successfully capture the key port city of Syracuse in Sicily, marking a significant shift in Mediterranean power.
In 878, the Aghlabids, a North African Muslim dynasty based in present-day Tunisia, set their sights on Sicily's principal city, Syracuse. The siege lasted nine grueling months, during which defenders endured shortages of food and constant assaults. Aghlabid forces employed both naval blockades and land operations to cut off supplies and weaken the city's fortifications. The capture of Syracuse dealt a major blow to Byzantine influence in Sicily and facilitated further Muslim expansion across the island. The fall of this strategic stronghold reshaped trade routes in the Mediterranean and altered regional power balances. Local populations experienced cultural and administrative changes under the new rulers, blending Islamic and Sicilian traditions. The event heralded the eventual establishment of the Emirate of Sicily, an era of economic prosperity and architectural innovation. Though eventually recaptured by Christian forces centuries later, the Aghlabid conquest left an enduring mark on the island's history.
878
Syracuse, Sicily
captured
Aghlabids
1660day.year
The Battle of Long Sault concludes after five days in which French colonial militia, with their Huron and Algonquin allies, are defeated by the Iroquois Confederacy.
After a five-day engagement, the Iroquois Confederacy defeats French colonial militia and their Huron and Algonquin allies at the Battle of Long Sault in 1660.
In May 1660, French colonial militia led by Adam Dollard des Ormeaux, alongside Huron and Algonquin allies, established a defensive position at Long Sault on the Ottawa River. For five days, they withstood repeated assaults by a vastly superior Iroquois force. Despite outnumbered defenders' resilience and tactical ingenuity, the attackers ultimately overwhelmed them. The battle resulted in heavy casualties on both sides and had significant repercussions for New France's frontier defense policies. The defeat discouraged French settlers in the region and intensified anxieties regarding Iroquois raids. In subsequent years, colonial authorities increased military garrisons and sought alliances with Indigenous nations. The Battle of Long Sault remains a storied episode in Canadian colonial history, remembered for the defenders' valor against overwhelming odds. It shaped the evolving dynamics of warfare and diplomacy between European settlers and Indigenous peoples.
1660
Battle of Long Sault
French
colonial
militia
Huron
Algonquin
Iroquois Confederacy
1758day.year
Ten-year-old Mary Campbell is abducted in Pennsylvania by Lenape during the French and Indian War. She is returned six and a half years later.
Young Mary Campbell was captured by Lenape warriors in Pennsylvania during the French and Indian War, spending over six years in captivity.
In 1758, amid the French and Indian War, ten-year-old Mary Campbell was taken by Lenape raiders from her Pennsylvania settlement.
Rather than harm her, the Lenape adopted Mary into their community, giving her a new name and clan ties.
Mary assimilated fully, learning the language and customs of her adoptive family over the next six and a half years.
Her eventual return to colonial society in 1764 highlighted the complex relationships and cultural exchanges on the American frontier.
Her story remains a poignant example of captivity narratives from this turbulent era.
1758
Mary Campbell
Pennsylvania
Lenape
French and Indian War
1799day.year
The end of the Siege of Acre (1799): Napoleon Bonaparte abandons his siege of the Ottoman city of Acre after two months. This was the turning point of Bonaparte's Egyptian campaign and one of the first major defeats he suffered in his military career.
Napoleon Bonaparte lifted the siege of Acre after two months, marking a pivotal defeat in his Egyptian campaign.
During the spring of 1799, Napoleon’s forces laid siege to the fortified city of Acre on the Levantine coast.
Commanded by Ottoman governor Jezzar Pasha and aided by British naval support, Acre’s defenses held firm.
After repeated assaults and mounting casualties, supply lines faltered, forcing Napoleon to retreat on May 21.
This setback proved a critical turning point, halting French ambitions in the Middle East.
The failed siege dented Napoleon’s aura of invincibility and foreshadowed challenges in his future conquests.
1799
Siege of Acre (1799)
Napoleon Bonaparte
Ottoman
Acre
1809day.year
The first day of the Battle of Aspern-Essling between the Austrian army led by Archduke Charles and the French army led by Napoleon I of France sees the French attack across the Danube held.
On the first day of the Battle of Aspern-Essling, Austrian forces repelled Napoleon’s attempts to cross the Danube near Vienna.
May 21, 1809 marked the opening of the Battle of Aspern-Essling, part of the War of the Fifth Coalition.
Napoleon ordered a daring crossing of the Danube to flank the Austrian army commanded by Archduke Charles.
Fragile pontoon bridges were repeatedly damaged by currents and enemy fire, disrupting French reinforcements.
Austrians launched counterattacks that seized back ground on the island of Lobau and at Aspern village.
This battle dealt Napoleon his first major battlefield check, demonstrating the prowess of the Habsburg forces.
1809
Battle of Aspern-Essling
Archduke Charles
Napoleon I of France
Danube
1856day.year
Lawrence, Kansas is captured and burned by pro-slavery forces.
Pro-slavery militants attacked and burned Lawrence, Kansas on May 21, 1856, escalating tensions in the “Bleeding Kansas” conflict.
Amid fierce national disputes over slavery’s expansion, Lawrence became a Free-State stronghold.
On May 21, 1856, a group of pro-slavery “Border Ruffians” stormed the town, destroying homes and printing presses.
Shops, hotels, and the Free State Hotel were looted and set ablaze in a show of intimidation.
The raid galvanized anti-slavery settlers and fueled further violence in Kansas Territory.
This incident highlighted the violent struggle over popular sovereignty before the American Civil War.
1856
Lawrence, Kansas
captured and burned
slavery
1863day.year
American Civil War: The Union Army succeeds in closing off the last escape route from Port Hudson, Louisiana, in preparation for the coming siege.
Union forces sealed the final escape route from Port Hudson, Louisiana, setting the stage for its pivotal siege.
On May 21, 1863, Union troops under Major General Nathaniel P. Banks tightened control around Port Hudson.
The strategic stronghold on the Mississippi River threatened Northern efforts to split the Confederacy.
By blocking all southern and western exits, the Union prepared for a prolonged siege that would last into July.
Port Hudson’s fall, alongside Vicksburg, secured Union dominance of the river.
This operation was a turning point in the Civil War’s Western Theater.
1863
American Civil War
Union Army
succeeds
Port Hudson, Louisiana
siege
1864day.year
Russia declares an end to the Russo-Circassian War and many Circassians are forced into exile. The day is designated the Circassian Day of Mourning.
The Russian Empire formally ended the Russo-Circassian War, leading to mass exile and marking the Circassian Day of Mourning.
On May 21, 1864, Tsarist Russia proclaimed the end of its decades-long campaign against the Circassian people.
Following intense mountain warfare in the Caucasus, surviving Circassians faced forced deportation to the Ottoman Empire.
An estimated hundreds of thousands were uprooted, with many perishing during the arduous journey.
This tragic culmination is remembered annually as the Circassian Day of Mourning.
The event remains a poignant symbol of cultural loss and resilience among Circassian descendants.
1864
Russo-Circassian War
Circassians
Circassian Day of Mourning
1864day.year
American Civil War: The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House ends.
The grueling Battle of Spotsylvania Court House in the American Civil War concluded after intense trench warfare, marking a turning point in the Overland Campaign.
In May 1864, Union and Confederate armies clashed at Spotsylvania Court House in Virginia.
The battle lasted nearly two weeks with fierce trench warfare and heavy casualties.
Notable for the brutal combat at the Mule Shoe Salient, where Union forces seized Confederate lines.
The end of the battle led to a strategic stalemate but demonstrated General Grant's determination to press on.
It set the stage for the Siege of Petersburg and influenced the final year of the war.
Battle of Spotsylvania Court House
1871day.year
French troops invade the Paris Commune and engage its residents in street fighting. By the close of "Bloody Week", some 20,000 communards have been killed and 38,000 arrested.
French government forces stormed Paris during the Paris Commune’s Bloody Week, crushing the 1871 uprising.
In 1871, the Paris Commune, a radical socialist government, controlled sections of Paris after the Franco-Prussian War.
In late May, French Army troops entered the city and engaged Communards in brutal street fighting known as Bloody Week.
Government forces used artillery barrages and house-to-house assaults to suppress the uprising.
By the end of May, around 20,000 Communards were killed and 38,000 arrested or exiled.
The violent suppression of the Commune had lasting political and social repercussions across Europe.
1871
Paris Commune
Bloody Week
communards
1879day.year
War of the Pacific: Two Chilean ships blocking the harbor of Iquique (then belonging to Peru) battle two Peruvian vessels in the Battle of Iquique.
In the War of the Pacific, Chilean and Peruvian fleets clashed dramatically in the Battle of Iquique.
On May 21, 1879, two Chilean ships blockading the Peruvian port of Iquique engaged with the Peruvian ironclad Huáscar and corvette Independencia.
The Chilean corvette Esmeralda, commanded by Captain Arturo Prat, faced overwhelming odds against the more powerful Huáscar.
Prat led a daring boarding action and fell in battle, becoming a revered national hero in Chile.
The engagement boosted Chilean naval supremacy and morale in the conflict over mineral-rich territories.
May 21 is commemorated as Navy Day in Chile in honor of the maritime bravery displayed at Iquique.
1879
War of the Pacific
Chilean
Iquique
Peru
Battle of Iquique
1966day.year
The Ulster Volunteer Force declares war on the Irish Republican Army in Northern Ireland.
On May 21, 1966, the Ulster Volunteer Force declared war on the IRA in Northern Ireland.
This announcement intensified sectarian tensions and marked a new phase in The Troubles.
The Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), a loyalist paramilitary group, publicly declared war on the IRA on this date.
They vowed to defend Northern Ireland’s union with Britain against republican attacks.
The declaration followed months of escalating violence between Protestant loyalists and Catholic nationalists.
It signaled the UVF’s transition from clandestine operations to an open campaign of bombings and shootings.
This confrontation fueled decades of conflict known as The Troubles, resulting in thousands of casualties.
The declaration deepened divisions and set the stage for prolonged political and sectarian struggles.
1966
Ulster Volunteer Force
Irish Republican Army
Northern Ireland