Wikipedia:Main Page history/2023 August 19
From today's featured article
The Fatimid conquest of Egypt took place in 969, as the troops of the Fatimid Caliphate under the general Jawhar captured Egypt, then ruled by the autonomous Ikhshidid dynasty in the name of the Abbasid Caliphate. The Fatimids had launched repeated unsuccessful invasions of Egypt soon after coming to power in Ifriqiya in 909. By the 960s, the collapse of the Ikhshidid regime, and an economic crisis and factional infighting in Egypt, allowed Fatimid caliph al-Mu'izz (coin pictured) to organize a large expedition to conquer the country, aided by the activity of a network of Fatimid agents there. When the Fatimid invasion came, the Ikhshidid elites negotiated a peaceful surrender, and the brief resistance of the Ikhshidid soldiery was overcome. Jawhar took control of Fustat, the Egyptian capital, on 6 July. Jawhar served as viceroy of Egypt until 973, when al-Mu'izz arrived and took up residence in a new capital, Cairo, which became the seat of the Fatimid Caliphate. (Full article...)
Did you know ...
- ... that you've probably eaten blotter art (examples pictured) if you've ever taken LSD?
- ... that Quintin Johnstone advocated giving control of an American-governed law school to native Ethiopians?
- ... that the crusading movement defined concepts of warfare throughout medieval Europe?
- ... that according to its president Said Iqbal, Indonesia's Labour Party would form "personal" coalitions with presidential candidates?
- ... that the chemicals responsible for the smell of freshly cut grass are a plant defense mechanism?
- ... that New Zealand potter Hardy Browning began his career as a coal miner?
- ... that Edvard Munch's Inheritance is an inversion of the traditional artistic subject of the Madonna and Child?
- ... that in between snowboarding runs at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Jenise Spiteri ate a bao that she forgot was in her pocket?
In the news
- In Sudan, approximately 1,000 bodies are discovered in mass graves after the Battle of Geneina.
- Wildfires in Hawaii kill at least 110 people and destroy much of Lahaina (damage pictured) on the island of Maui.
- Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio is assassinated in Quito, eleven days before the general election.
- The Hazara Express train derails in Sindh, Pakistan, killing 30 people.
On this day
- 1759 – Seven Years' War: Having damaged several French vessels, British ships pursued the remainder of the fleet to Lagos, Portugal, and continued the battle there (depicted) in violation of Portuguese neutrality.
- 1897 – The Bersey Electric Cab entered service as the first electric taxi in London.
- 1950 – The 766th Independent Infantry Regiment of North Korea was disbanded after fighting for less than two months in the Korean War.
- 2003 – A Hamas suicide bomber killed 23 people and wounded more than 130 others, including many Orthodox Jewish children, on a crowded public bus in Shmuel HaNavi, Jerusalem.
- 2005 – Thunderstorms in southern Ontario, Canada, spawned at least three tornadoes that caused over C$500 million in damage.
- Abu Yazid (d. 947)
- Gene Roddenberry (b. 1921)
- Henry Wood (d. 1944)
- Missy Higgins (b. 1983)
Today's featured picture
_-_Archivio_Storico_Ricordi_ICON000128_B.jpg)
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Edgar is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Ferdinando Fontana, freely based on the play in verse La Coupe et les lèvres by Alfred de Musset. It premiered at La Scala in Milan in 1889 and was repeatedly revised until 1905, but Puccini did not regard it as a success, describing it as "warmed-up soup". The opera is still occasionally performed, including a 2005 recording by the Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia conducted by Alberto Veronesi and featuring Plácido Domingo. This undated set design for act 3 of Edgar, from the archives of the music publisher Casa Ricordi, was created by Giuseppe Palanti with pencil and tempera on paper. It depicts an outdoor glade near Courtray in Flanders, the main setting of the opera. Set design credit: Giuseppe Palanti
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