Bodashtart was a Phoenician ruler who reigned as King of Sidon (c. 525 – c. 515 BC). He was a prolific builder, and his name is attested on some 30 inscriptions near Sidon, Lebanon, the major source of information on him. The earliest to be discovered was excavated in Sidon in 1858 and was donated to the Louvre. Podium inscriptions (example pictured) at the Temple of Eshmun were discovered between 1900 and 1922; some credit him with construction in the temple, while others connect him and his son Yatonmilk with work there, emphasizing Yatonmilk's legitimacy as heir. The most recently-discovered inscription as of 2020 was found in the 1970s on the bank of the Bostrenos River, crediting the king with the building of water canals to supply the temple. Three of his Eshmun temple inscriptions have been left in place; the others are housed in museums in Paris, Istanbul, and Beirut. He is believed to have reigned for at least seven years, as evidenced by the Bostrenos River bank inscription.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodashtart

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1865:

U.S. Army soldiers cornered and fatally shot John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of U.S. president Abraham Lincoln, ending a twelve-day manhunt. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wilkes_Booth

1933:

The Gestapo, the official secret police force of Nazi Germany, was established. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gestapo

1989:

An editorial was published in the People's Daily denouncing the growing unrest in Tiananmen Square in Beijing which would remain contentious through the remainder of the protests. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/April_26_Editorial

1994:

Just before landing at Nagoya Airport, Japan, the copilot of China Airlines Flight 140 inadvertently triggered the takeoff/go-around switch, causing the aircraft to crash and killing 264 of the 271 people on board. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China_Airlines_Flight_140

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

prozymite: (Roman Catholicism, historical, derogatory) One who administers the Eucharist with leavened bread, in particular a member of the Eastern Orthodox Church. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/prozymite

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

If mind is common to us, then also the reason, whereby we are reasoning beings, is common. If this be so, then also the reason which enjoins what is to be done or left undone is common. If this be so, law also is common; if this be so, we are citizens; if this be so, we are partakers in one constitution; if this be so, the Universe is a kind of Commonwealth.   --Marcus Aurelius https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Marcus_Aurelius