SortStack #2389 — 2032-12-23

By year · Order from earliest to most recent.

1. The Code of Hammurabi is inscribed on a stone pillar in Babylon 1754 BCE

   Its 282 laws include the famous 'eye for an eye' principle. The original basalt stele survives and stands in the Louvre in Paris.

2. Rome is founded, according to legend, by Romulus 753 BCE

   Romans dated their entire calendar 'ab urbe condita' — from the founding of the city — and the legend says Romulus killed his twin brother Remus over the city walls.

3. William the Conqueror defeats King Harold at the Battle of Hastings 1066

   The Bayeux Tapestry — actually an embroidery nearly 70 meters long — tells the story, including Harold's famous (and disputed) arrow in the eye.

4. Constantinople falls to the Ottoman army of Mehmed the Conqueror 1453

   The Ottomans breached walls that had stood for a thousand years using enormous cannons — built by Orban, a Hungarian engineer who had first offered his services to the Byzantines.

5. Howard Carter discovers the tomb of Tutankhamun 1922

   Peering through a small hole by candlelight, Carter was asked if he could see anything. His reply: 'Yes, wonderful things.'

6. Nations adopt the Paris Agreement on climate change 2015

   Negotiators from 196 parties agreed to pursue limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius — the gavel came down to a standing ovation in a Paris suburb.

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