The Battle of Oroscopa was fought in late 151 BC between a Carthaginian
army commanded by the general Hasdrubal and a Numidian force under its
king, Masinissa, in what is now north western Tunisia. A peace treaty
with Rome prohibited Carthage from waging war. Masinissa, an ally of
Rome, exploited this to repeatedly raid Carthaginian territory. In
151 BC Carthage assembled an army under Hasdrubal and attempted to
deter Masinissa's aggression against the town of Oroscopa. Masinissa
lured the Carthaginians into an area of rough terrain and surrounded
them. The Carthaginians expected their opponents to disperse, but
Masinissa had forged a well-disciplined army and it was able to starve
the Carthaginians into surrender. The Carthaginians were then
treacherously attacked and many, perhaps most, were killed. Hasdrubal
survived and returned to Carthage, where he was condemned to death in an
attempt to placate Rome. But Rome launched a punitive expedition,
starting the Third Punic War which ended in the complete destruction of
Carthage in 146 BC.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Oroscopa>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1760:
Seven Years' War: France began an unsuccessful attempt to
retake Quebec City, which had been captured by Britain.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Quebec_%281760%29>
1910:
Parliament passed the People's Budget, the first budget in
British history with the express intent of redistributing wealth.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People%27s_Budget>
1992:
The acquittal of policemen who had beaten African-American
motorist Rodney King sparked six days of civil unrest in Los Angeles
(damage pictured), during which 63 people were killed.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1992_Los_Angeles_riots>
1997:
The Chemical Weapons Convention entered into force, outlawing
the production, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons in the 87
countries that had ratified the convention.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemical_Weapons_Convention>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
curate's egg:
(idiomatic) A thing which has good and bad parts, but is overall spoilt
by the bad.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/curate%27s_egg>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Despite the disturbing rhetoric coming out of the Kremlin, the
facts are plain for everybody to see. We’re not attacking Russia;
we’re helping Ukraine defend itself against Russian aggression. And
just as Putin chose to launch this brutal invasion, he could make the
choice to end this brutal invasion. Russia is the aggressor. No if,
ands, or buts about it. Russia is the aggressor. And the world must and
will hold Russia accountable.
--Joe Biden
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Joe_Biden>
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