20251028

28 October 2025 at 08:17

From today's featured article

Illustration of Mathos by Poirson, 1890

During the siege of Tunis in October 238 BC, a rebel army under Mathos (pictured) was besieged by a Carthaginian force under Hamilcar Barca and Hannibal. The Carthaginian army, which had served in Sicily during the First Punic War, mutinied and started the Mercenary War. After destroying a rebel army at the Battle of the Saw, the Carthaginians then besieged the rebels' stronghold at Tunis. The Carthaginian commander, Hamilcar, split his forces to blockade the rebels from the north and south. At the northern camp, commanded by Hannibal, he had ten captured rebel leaders killed and their bodies crucified. Mathos organised a night attack against Hannibal's camp, which scattered part of their army; Hannibal and 30 others were captured and crucified. Hamilcar withdrew to the north with the remaining half of his army. Mathos then abandoned Tunis and withdrew south. Hamilcar and his fellow general Hanno followed the rebels and wiped them out at the Battle of Leptis Parva. (This article is part of a featured topic: Mercenary War.)

Recently featured:

Did you know ...

1843 illustration of an Abyssinian hare

... that the Abyssinian hare (pictured) is thought to be spreading outside its native range because of overgrazing by domestic animals there?
... that Charles C. Peterson played billiards in a plane 4,000 ft (1,200 m) in the air in 1930?
... that the Tāhuna Glenorchy Dark Sky Sanctuary is in an astronomical "sweet spot" where the aurora australis and the core of the Milky Way can both be seen?
... that the schooner F. J. King, lost for 139 years, was discovered after a two-hour search in 2025?
... that the 2008 PC game Legend of the Galactic Heroes allows players to prevent the canonical deaths of characters who died in the original source material?
... that Ana Roš, head chef at the first Slovenian restaurant to earn three Michelin stars, has no formal culinary training?
... that Calling Mr. Smith, a World War II–era Polish avant-garde film about Nazi German atrocities, was censored in the UK?
... that archaeologists studying Qasr Bshir used smoke signals, mirrors, and torches to test how messages traveled between Roman frontier forts?
... that Wyoming PBS is only available to satellite-television customers in five of the state's twenty-three counties?

In the news

Catherine Connolly

Timor-Leste joins ASEAN as its 11th member.
Catherine Connolly (pictured) is elected President of Ireland.
Sanae Takaichi is elected as the first female prime minister of Japan by the National Diet.
Eric Lu wins the International Chopin Piano Competition.
Tufan Erhürman is elected President of Northern Cyprus, defeating incumbent Ersin Tatar.

Ongoing:

Recent deaths:

More current events
Nominate an article

On this day

October 28

Tutankhamun's mask

1640 – The Treaty of Ripon was agreed, ending the Second Bishops' War and forcing Charles I to summon the Long Parliament, ultimately leading to the First English Civil War.
1835 – In the first major engagement of the Texas Revolution, the Texian Army repelled a Mexican attack at the grounds of Mission Concepcion south of Downtown San Antonio.
1925 – The funerary mask of Tutankhamun, possibly originally made for Queen Neferneferuaten, was uncovered for the first time in approximately 3,250 years.
1940 – World War II: Italy invaded Greece after Greek prime minister Ioannis Metaxas rejected Benito Mussolini's ultimatum demanding the cession of Greek territory.
1965 – In St. Louis, Missouri, U.S., the 630-foot (190 m)-tall steel catenary Gateway Arch was completed.

Ali ibn al-Fadl al-Jayshani (b. 915)
Mary Harrison McKee (d. 1930)
Ganjar Pranowo (b. 1968)
Teikō Shiotani (d. 1988)

More anniversaries:

Today's featured picture

Lower Manhattan, also known as Downtown Manhattan, is the southernmost part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. The area is the historical birthplace of New York City and in the 17th and 18th centuries composed the entirety of the city. Lower Manhattan serves as the seat of government of both Manhattan and the city as a whole. Lower Manhattan's central business district forms the core of the area below Chambers Street and includes the Financial District and the World Trade Center site. At the island's southern tip is Battery Park. This view of the Lower Manhattan skyline was taken from Governors Island in New York Harbor.

Photograph credit: Rhododendrites