This Day That Year

May 19

in History

Assault on Jiucheng Palace — A Turkic noble strikes at the Tang emperor
Jiucheng Palace, Shaanxi, ChinaMedieval
639

Assault on Jiucheng Palace

A Turkic noble strikes at the Tang emperor

At the Jiucheng Palace in the mountains of Shaanxi, Ashina Jiesheshuai -- a Turkic noble and general serving the Tang dynasty -- launched a brazen assault on Emperor Taizong himself. The attack, born of personal grievance and political frustration, shook the imperial court to its foundations. Though the assault was repelled and Jiesheshuai killed, it exposed the tensions between the Tang court and its Turkic military allies that would simmer for generations.

639 AD
Britain Annexes Tonga — An empire swallows a Pacific kingdom whole
Tonga, Pacific OceanEarly 20th Century
1900

Britain Annexes Tonga

An empire swallows a Pacific kingdom whole

Great Britain formally annexed Tonga Island, completing its absorption of the Polynesian kingdom into the British sphere of influence. The move, following closely on the protectorate declaration, stripped the island nation of its remaining international autonomy while preserving the appearance of self-rule. For seventy years, Tonga would exist in this constitutional limbo -- nominally a kingdom, effectively a colony -- until independence was restored in 1970.

1900 AD
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk — Mustafa Kemal Atatürk lands at Samsun on the Anatolian Black Sea coast, initiating what is later termed the Turkish War of Independence.
Early 20th Century
1919

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk lands at Samsun on the Anatolian Black Sea coast, initiating what is later termed the Turkish War of Independence.

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk lands at Samsun on the Anatolian Black Sea coast, initiating what is later termed the Turkish War of Independence.

1919 AD