Human Saga

On July 30

On July 30, the Human Saga records one pivotal event: Al-Mansur founds Baghdad as the Abbasid capital (762 CE).

On this day

30 July 762 CEAl-Mansur founds Baghdad as the Abbasid capitalPolitics & governance

On 30 July 762, the second Abbasid caliph al-Mansur commissioned a new capital on the west bank of the Tigris, officially named Madinat al-Salam, the City of Peace.

Also this week in history (Jul 27 – Aug 2)

27 July 1694Founding of the Bank of EnglandEconomy & trade

The Bank of England was established in 1694 to raise money for King William III's government, which was struggling to finance the Nine Years' War against Louis XIV's France.

1857–1858 (rebellion); Government of India Act 2 August 1858Indian Rebellion of 1857 and the birth of the British RajPolitics & governance

The Indian Rebellion of 1857—known variously as the Sepoy Mutiny, the Great Rebellion, or India's First War of Independence—erupted on 10 May 1857 when sepoys of the East India Company's Bengal Army mutinied at Meerut, in part over the…

2 August 216 BCEBattle of Cannae: Hannibal annihilates a Roman armyMilitary & conflict

During the Second Punic War, the Carthaginian general Hannibal, who had invaded Italy by crossing the Alps, inflicted on Rome one of the worst defeats in its history near the village of Cannae in Apulia.

1858 and 27 July 1866The first transatlantic telegraph cableScience, technology & invention

After years of effort led by the American financier Cyrus Field, the first transatlantic telegraph cable was completed on 5 August 1858, and on 16 August Queen Victoria and President James Buchanan exchanged congratulatory messages, the…

2 August 1935Government of India Act 1935Politics & governance

Receiving royal assent on 2 August 1935, the Government of India Act 1935 was the most extensive constitutional reform enacted by Britain for India before independence.

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