The Battle of Caishi was a major naval engagement of the Jin–Song wars that took place on November 26–27, 1161. Although a peace treaty in 1142 had settled the border between the two states, putting the Jin in control of northern China and the Song in control of the south, Prince Hailing of Jin was intent on uniting them under a single emperor. Without much resistance, his army pushed through to the Yangtze River, which he planned to cross at Caishi, south of modern-day Nanjing. The Song were fortified along the Yangtze front. Hailing embarked from the shore of the Yangtze on November 26, but the Song fleet, equipped with trebuchets (example pictured) that launched incendiary bombs made of gunpowder and lime, decisively defeated the light ships of the Jin navy. Hailing was assassinated by his own men shortly after the battle. A military coup had taken place in his absence, enthroning Emperor Shizong, and a peace treaty signed in 1165 ended the conflict. Modern studies suggest that the battle was smaller and that both sides were more evenly matched than traditional accounts suggest. Nonetheless, the victory boosted the Song infantry's morale and halted the Jin's southern advance.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Caishi
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1009:
Under orders from Fatimid caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, a Christian church now within the walled Old City of Jerusalem, was destroyed. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_the_Holy_Sepulchre
1386:
A special Pontifical High Mass in the Church of the Holy Spirit commemorated the opening of Heidelberg University. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heidelberg_University
1540:
An expedition led by Spanish conquistador Hernando de Soto destroyed the fortified village of Mabila in what is now the U.S. state of Alabama, killing Chief Tuskaloosa in the process. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuskaloosa
1968:
At the Summer Olympics in Mexico City, American Bob Beamon set a world record of 8.90 m in the long jump, a mark that stood for 23 years. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Beamon
2004:
SPDC Chairman Senior General Than Shwe announced that Burmese Prime Minister Khin Nyunt was "permitted to retire on health grounds", but then had him arrested. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khin_Nyunt
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
stipulate: (botany; not comparable) Having stipules; that is, having outgrowths borne on either side of the base of the leafstalk. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/stipulate
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
Is Ahab, Ahab? Is it I, God, or who, that lifts this arm? But if the great sun move not of himself; but is as an errand-boy in heaven; nor one single star can revolve, but by some invisible power; how then can this one small heart beat; this one small brain think thoughts; unless God does that beating, does that thinking, does that living, and not I. --Moby-Dick https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Moby-Dick