This Day That Year

February 14

in History

Abbasid Revolution Strikes — A dynasty falls as rebels seize Khorasan
Merv, KhorasanMedieval
748

Abbasid Revolution Strikes

A dynasty falls as rebels seize Khorasan

The Hashimi rebels under Abu Muslim Khorasani captured Merv, the capital of the Umayyad province of Khorasan, in a decisive blow of the Abbasid Revolution. The fall of this great Central Asian city marked the beginning of the end for the Umayyad Caliphate. The revolution would reshape the Islamic world, transferring power from Damascus to Baghdad and inaugurating a golden age of Islamic science, culture, and learning.

748 AD
Battle of Tugela Heights — Britain fights to relieve besieged Ladysmith
Tugela Heights, South AfricaEarly 20th Century
1900

Battle of Tugela Heights

Britain fights to relieve besieged Ladysmith

The British Army launched the Battle of the Tugela Heights in a determined effort to lift the siege of Ladysmith during the Second Boer War. Across the hilly terrain of Natal, British soldiers advanced against well-entrenched Boer positions in some of the war's fiercest fighting. The battle would rage for days, testing the endurance and courage of both sides in a struggle that defined the brutal character of the conflict.

1900 AD
Discovery of the chemical elements — Discovery of the chemical elements: Element 103, Lawrencium, is first synthesized at the University of California.
Late 20th Century
1961

Discovery of the chemical elements

Discovery of the chemical elements: Element 103, Lawrencium, is first synthesized at the University of California.

Discovery of the chemical elements: Element 103, Lawrencium, is first synthesized at the University of California.

1961 AD