By “ancient history,” I will be referencing events from April 18th that occurred pre-1492 (i.e., before “Columbus sailed the ocean blue”). Note: most of these will be from the medieval world (476 AD – 1492 AD) as many earlier events don’t always have specific dates.
- At the Battle of Clontarf, Ireland, Brian Borumha, high king of Ireland, defeats a coalition of Vikings and the kingdom of Leinster but is himself killed (1014).
- King Baldwin II of Jerusalem is captured and his army destroyed in a surprise attack on his camp near Gargar, on the River Euphrates, by Balak of Khanzit, the nephew of the Danishmend emir Ghazi (1123 AD).
- Harihara I, who led a Hindu revolt against Muslim rule, is crowned in his newly built capital, Vijayanagar, and thus founds the Sangama dynasty of the Vijayanagar empire of southern India (1336 AD).
Source: Volume 1 of the Chronology of World History: Prehistory — AD 1491: The Ancient and Medieval World.
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