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From today's featured article

Silver coin minted in the name of Ibn al-Ash'ath

Ibn al-Ash'ath (died 704) was an Arab nobleman and military commander during the Umayyad Caliphate. He played a minor role in the Second Fitna and then served as governor of Rayy. After the appointment of al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf as governor of Iraq in 694, relations with the Iraqi tribal nobility became strained. In 699, al-Hajjaj appointed Ibn al-Ash'ath as commander of a huge Iraqi army to subdue Zabulistan. In 700, Ibn al-Ash'ath and the army revolted. This developed into a full-fledged anti-Umayyad rebellion, with widespread support, especially among the religious zealots known as "Quran readers". The rebel army was decisively defeated by al-Hajjaj's Syrian troops at the Battle of Dayr al-Jamajim. Ibn al-Ash'ath fled to Zabulistan. His fate is unclear; some accounts hold that he was executed there, while most claim that he committed suicide to avoid capture. The suppression of Ibn al-Ash'ath's revolt signalled the end of the power of the tribal nobility of Iraq. (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

Robert Parker Coffin Bridge

... that the covering of the Robert Parker Coffin Bridge (pictured) has been struck by vehicles at least 40 times since August 2020?
... that although the SS Tembien was known to be carrying Allied prisoners of war, she was sunk by a British submarine on 27 February 1942 with hundreds killed?
... that the conservationist Martha Isabel Ruiz Corzo sings when she speaks?
... that Linda Ronstadt's "Long, Long Time" saw a 4,900-percent increase in Spotify streams in the United States in the hour after the broadcast of the third episode of The Last of Us?
... that Nicholas Orsini became Despot of Epirus by murdering his uncle, only to be in turn killed by his brother five years later?
... that Max Reger's Piano Concerto was premiered by Frieda Hodapp in 1910, but has rarely been performed since due to its difficulty?
... that Gnat Computers was one of the first to license the CP/M operating system, paying only US$90 for a perpetual license before the price skyrocketed to tens of thousands of dollars?
... that from the old Chicago Station, a five-cent fare would get you as far west as California?

In the news

Landslide in Ubatuba, Brazil

At least 62 migrants are killed in a shipwreck off the coast of Calabria, Italy.
Floods and landslides (pictured) leave at least 48 people dead in the Brazilian state of São Paulo.
At the British Academy Film Awards, All Quiet on the Western Front wins Best Film and six other awards.
A bus crash in Gualaca, Panama, kills at least 39 people.
Cyclone Gabrielle causes widespread damage and flooding across New Zealand.
Nikos Christodoulides is elected President of Cyprus.

On this day

February 27: Feast day of Saint Gregory of Narek (Catholicism)

Mary of Guise

1560 – The Treaty of Berwick was signed, setting the terms under which an English fleet and army could enter Scotland to expel French troops defending the regency of Mary of Guise (pictured).
1962 – Two dissident Republic of Vietnam Air Force pilots bombed the Independence Palace in Saigon in a failed attempt to assassinate President Ngo Dinh Diem.
1982 – The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, known for its performances of Gilbert and Sullivan's Savoy operas, gave its final performance.
2002 – Violent riots, perceived to have been instigated by a train fire that killed 59 Hindu pilgrims, broke out in the Indian state of Gujarat, killing at least 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, over three days.

Pietro Gnocchi (b. 1689)
Ellen Terry (b. 1847)
Tina Strobos (d. 2012)

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From today's featured list

Glenn Miller's Orchestra

In 1946, twelve albums by eleven artists topped Billboard's weekly chart of the best-selling albums in the United States. At the time, the chart was titled Best-Selling Popular Record Albums, and it collected sales data from United States-based record dealers, numbering at least 200 in January and increasing to over 4,000 by the end of the year. The first chart-topper was Merry Christmas, a Christmas compilation album by Bing Crosby. It reached the top in December 1945 and peaked for two more weeks in January 1946, for a total of six consecutive weeks at number one. It again reached the top in late November for an additional six weeks, making it the longest-reigning album of the year. The second-longest-reigning album of the previous year, Glenn Miller, recorded by Glenn Miller & His Orchestra (pictured), again reached the top for an additional five weeks. The album was crowned as the best-selling album of the year and certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America in 1968. (Full list...)

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Today's featured picture

The blue-billed duck (Oxyura australis) is a small Australian stiff-tailed duck, with both the male and female growing to a length of 40 centimetres (16 in). The male has a slate-blue bill which changes to bright-blue during the breeding season, which gives the duck its common name. The male has deep chestnut plumage during breeding season, reverting to a dark grey. The female retains black plumage with brown tips all year round. The duck is endemic to Australia's temperate regions, inhabiting natural inland wetlands and also artificial wetlands, such as sewage ponds, in large numbers. It can be difficult to observe due to its cryptic nature during its breeding season through autumn and winter. The male duck exhibits a complex mating ritual. The species is omnivorous, with a preference for small aquatic invertebrates. This male blue-billed duck was photographed near Penrith, New South Wales, in 2020.

Photograph credit: John Harrison

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