Strata: In History

BAR takes a look back at some important events in history that happened during the months of March and April.

March 5, 363 A.D. Pagan Roman emperor Julian (known as the Apostate) begins his fateful campaign against the Sassanid empire, which results in his death and the return of Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire.

March 6, 1924 A.D. The Egyptian government opens the mummy case of King Tutankhamun, ruler of Egypt in the 14th century B.C., whose burial chamber had been discovered in 1922 by renowned British archaeologist Howard Carter.

March 9, 432 B.C. The Parthenon is consecrated to the goddess Athena on the acropolis in Athens.

March 15, 597 B.C. Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II captures Jerusalem and installs Zedekiah as king.

March 17, 461 A.D. St. Patrick, patron saint of Ireland, dies, according to legend, eventually leading to a feast day now celebrated widely in Ireland and the United States.

March 27, 47 B.C. Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator, aided by her Roman lover Julius Caesar, is reinstated as co-ruler of Egypt (with her brother Ptolemy XIV), following a civil war with her brother Ptolemy XIII.

April 6–15, 1896 A.D. The first modern Olympic Games take place in Athens, Greece, with 43 events in nine sports.