The Battle of the Bagradas River was a victory by a Carthaginian army led by Xanthippus over a Roman army led by Marcus Atilius Regulus in early 255 BC, nine years into the First Punic War. The previous year Roman forces had advanced on the city of Carthage in North Africa and defeated the Carthaginian army at the Battle of Adys. In despair, the Carthaginians sued for peace, but the proposed terms were so harsh they decided to fight on. They gave charge of their army to the Spartan mercenary general Xanthippus, who led 12,000 infantry, 4,000 cavalry and 100 war elephants (statuette pictured) against the Romans' 15,000 infantry and 500 cavalry. The Romans had no effective answer to the elephants, their outnumbered cavalry were chased from the field, and most of their infantry were surrounded and wiped out. The Romans subsequently evacuated Africa. The war ended in 241 BC with a Roman victory; the terms agreed were more generous than those proposed 14 years earlier.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Bagradas_River_%28255_BC%29

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1774:

In response to the British Parliament's enactment of the Intolerable Acts, representatives from twelve of the Thirteen Colonies convened the First Continental Congress at Carpenters' Hall in Philadelphia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Continental_Congress

1882:

A group of London schoolboys led by Bobby Buckle founded Hotspur Football Club to continue to play sports during the winter months. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tottenham_Hotspur_F.C.

1915:

The Zimmerwald Conference, the first of three international socialist conferences forming the Zimmerwald movement, opened in Switzerland. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zimmerwald_Conference

1975:

Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, a devotee of Charles Manson, attempted to assassinate U.S. president Gerald Ford. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attempted_assassination_of_Gerald_Ford_in_Sacramento

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

ascesis: 1. (Rigorous) self-discipline, particularly as a religious observance; asceticism. 2. (Christianity, chiefly Eastern Orthodoxy and Catholicism, specifically) The praxis or "exercise" of asceticism and self-denial of impulses or passions for the sake of piety, theosis, and connection with God. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ascesis

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

We cannot allow Donald Trump to redefine the Republican Party. That is what he is doing, as long as we give the impression by our silence that his words are our words and his actions are our actions. We cannot allow that impression to go unchallenged. As has been true since our beginning, we Republicans are the party of Lincoln, the party of the Union. We believe in our founding principle. We are proud of our illustrious history. We believe that we are an essential part of present-day American politics. Our country needs a responsibly conservative party. But our party has been corrupted by this hateful man, and it is now in peril.   --John Danforth https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Danforth