July 21

285:
Diocletian appoints Maximian as Caesar, co-ruler. This was part of an attempt
to shore up the imperial authority.  In
another such step, Diocletian “ordered all the people …to accept his divinity
and offer sacrifices to him.  Fo…

July 30                                                                      …

July 30                                                                      …

July 31

904: Thessaloniki, which is also known as
Salonica, is sacked and looted by Saracens (an Arab group).  The Jewish population of Thessaloniki dates
back at least to the first century of the Common Era.  By the time Benjamin of Tudela …

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 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…

August 8

117
C.E.:  Hadrian named Emperor of the Roman
Empire.  He is remembered as the man who
accepted the limits of the Roman empire, as can be seen by the construction of
Hadrian’s Wall in what is today Great Britain. 
It was design…