by David West | Jul 20, 2026 | News
On the 20th of July, 70 CE, during the siege of Jerusalem, Titus (son of Emperor Vespasian) stormed the Fortress of Antonia, north of the Temple Mount, and engaged in street fighting with the Zealots. Now I’m ashamed to say that I hadn’t previously known the source of...
by David West | Jul 19, 2026 | News
On the 19th of July, 1553, the Privy Council overturned the will of the recently deceased King Edward VI, and proclaimed Edward’s half-sister Mary as queen in place of Lady Jane Grey, who had been queen for just nine days. Lady Jane Grey was born in October 1537 at...
by David West | Jul 18, 2026 | News
On the 18th of July, 1290, King Edward I of England issued the Edict of Expulsion banishing all Jews from England. There were around 16,000 Jews in England at that time. I haven’t written much about Edward I although he did get a mention in my post on Clifford’s...
by David West | Jul 17, 2026 | News
On the 17th of July, 1918, Tsar Nicholas II was executed along with his immediate family and retainers by Bolshevik Chekists at the Ipatiev House in Yekaterinburg, Russia. I wrote a little about the Russian Revolution in my post on Leon Trotsky. Nicholas II of Russia...
by David West | Jul 16, 2026 | News
On the 16th of July, 1228, Saint Francis of Assisi was canonized by Pope Gregory IX. His feast day is the 4th of October. The Franciscans, the order of mendicant friars founded by Saint Francis of Assisi are discussed in Fire and Earth, the second book in my Sir...
