August 12

30 BCE: Cleopatra committed suicide.  According to Josephus, the Egyptian tried to
convince her lover and co-ruler, Marc Antony, to give her control over lands to
the east including Syria and Palestine. 
Herod was so afraid of her …

July 30                                                                      …

August 9

48 B.C.E.: Julius
Caesar defeated Pompey at the battle of Parsalus. This victory helped to cement
Caesar’s position and put an end to Pompey. Considering Pompey’s behavior
towards the Jews, including his desecration of the Temple, Caesar’s vi…

July 20

356 BCE:  In Macedonia, King Philip
II and Queen Olympia gave birth to Alexander the Great. You can draw a straight
line from Alexander’s Hellenization of Asia Minor to Chanukah to Tisha B’Av, 70
CE.

http://www.biography.com/print/profil…

July 18

64: During the
reign of Emperor Nero, the Great Fire begins in Rome.  After the fire, Nero avoided the initial
inclination to blame the blaze on the Jews. 
Instead, he targeted the nascent Christian sect which had recently
become act…