Rome's Great Fire: Catastrophe & Controversy (+ 13 more historical events on this day!)

A Daily Dose of History (19 Jul 2025) Today's historical events: The Great Fire of Rome causes widespread devastation and rages on for six days, destroying half of the city. Leontius, Roman usurper, is crowned Eastern emperor at Tarsus (modern Turkey). He is recognized in Antioch and makes it his capital. Umayyad conquest of Hispania: Battle of Guadalete: Umayyad forces under Tariq ibn Ziyad defeat the Visigoths led by King Roderic. Battle of Simancas: King Ramiro II of León defeats the Moorish army under Caliph Abd-al-Rahman III near the city of Simancas. Arab-Byzantine wars: Battle of Apamea: Fatimids defeat a Byzantine army near Apamea. Wars of Scottish Independence: Battle of Halidon Hill: The English win a decisive victory over the Scots. Italian War of 1542-46: The first Siege of Boulogne begins. The Tudor warship Mary Rose sinks off Portsmouth; in 1982 the wreck is salvaged in one of the most complex and expensive projects in the history of maritime archaeology. The attempt to install Lady Jane Grey as Queen of England collapses after only nine days. Anglo-Spanish War: Battle of Gravelines: The Spanish Armada is sighted in the English Channel. Representatives of the Iroquois Confederacy sign the Nanfan Treaty, ceding a large territory north of the Ohio River to England. Great Northern War: A numerically superior Polish-Saxon army of Augustus II the Strong, operating from an advantageous defensive position, is defeated by a Swedish army half its size under the command of King Charles XII in the Battle of Klissow. Unsuccessful in his attempt to conquer the Kingdom of Hawaii for the Russian-American Company, Georg Anton Schäffer is forced to admit defeat and leave Kauai. Coronation of George IV of the United Kingdom. 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