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Carthaginian war elephants, depicted by Bussière

The Battle of the Bagradas River was fought in 240 BC, in present-day north-east Tunisia, between a Carthaginian army led by Hamilcar Barca and a rebel force led by Spendius. Carthage was fighting a coalition of mutinous soldiers and rebellious African cities in the Mercenary War, which had started late the previous year in the wake of the First Punic War. Hamilcar left Carthage and evaded a rebel blockade by crossing the Bagradas River (the modern Medjerda River) at its mouth. Two rebel armies marched towards the Carthaginians. When they came into sight Hamilcar ordered a feigned retreat. The rebels broke ranks to chase the Carthaginians and this impetuous pursuit caused them to fall into disorder. Once the rebels had closed, the Carthaginians turned and charged them. The rebels broke and were routed. The Carthaginians pursued, killing or capturing many of the rebels and taking a bridge over the Bagradas. This victory gave Hamilcar freedom to manoeuvre and the operational initiative. (This article is part of a featured topic: Mercenary War.)

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Did you know ...

Pablo Busch

... that German-born physician Pablo Busch (pictured) was labelled a "witch or curandero" by indigenous tribes in Bolivia?
... that a skull of the distant horse relative Palaeotherium was first misidentified as an amphibian, then as a canine?
... that Nikolaus Mollyn was the first book printer in Riga, and the first to print a book in Latvian within the present-day territory of Latvia?
... that in addition to millions murdered, Nazi crimes against children included compulsory sterilization, forced labor, forced institutionalization, medical experiments and Germanisation?
... that Chivas USA had eleven different managers over ten seasons?
... that literary critic Qian Xingcun brought several Communist writers into the Shanghai film industry?
... that the clergy of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis were upset about the sale of Nazareth Hall Preparatory Seminary after its closure?
... that Femke Bol successfully defended her 2021 title by winning the women's 400 metres at the 2023 European Athletics Indoor Championships?
... that Louis Abramson worked on the renovation of a building that he designed 57 years earlier?

In the news

Woo Won-shik, the speaker of the South Korean National Assembly, signing the impeachment resolution

In France, Dominique Pelicot and 50 other men are convicted of the mass rape of his ex-wife Gisèle Pelicot.
A 7.3-magnitude earthquake hits Vanuatu's capital, Port Vila, leaving at least 16 people dead.
President of South Korea Yoon Suk Yeol is impeached (signing pictured) following his declaration of martial law.
Astro Bot wins Game of the Year at the Game Awards.

On this day

December 20

Russian and U.S. Implementation Force troops

1852 – Led by George Cathcart, British troops defeated Basuto and Taung forces at the Battle of Berea in present-day Lesotho, leading to an offer of peace from King Moshoeshoe I.
1940 – The superhero Captain America made his first published appearance in the comic book Captain America Comics #1.
1980 – NBC aired the American football match between the New York Jets and the Miami Dolphins without announcers.
1995 – Mandated by the Dayton Agreement that ended the Bosnian War, the NATO-led Implementation Force (troops pictured) began peacekeeping operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
1999 – Portugal transferred the sovereignty over Macau, which it had administered since the mid–16th century, to China.

Ambroise Paré (d. 1590)
Jean Jannon (d. 1658)
Bill O'Reilly (b. 1905)
Elizabeth Kekaʻaniau (d. 1928)

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From today's featured list

Talking Heads

The American new wave band Talking Heads recorded 96 songs between 1975 and 1991, twelve of which were not officially released until after their break-up. After leaving art school, Talking Heads released their debut single, "Love → Building on Fire", in early 1977, followed by their debut album, Talking Heads: 77, later that year. While initially not a big hit, the album was aided by the single "Psycho Killer". In 1983, the band parted ways with producer Brian Eno and released their fifth album, Speaking in Tongues. The album contained the band's first and only top ten hit, "Burning Down the House". After Little Creatures (1985), the band released True Stories (1986). Notable songs from the album include one of the group's biggest hits, "Wild Wild Life", and "Radio Head", a song from which the English rock band Radiohead took their name. (Full list...)

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Today's featured picture

Marie Antoinette and Her Children is an oil-on-canvas painting by the French artist Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun, painted in 1787. It shows Marie Antoinette, the consort of King Louis XVI of France, wearing a red velvet gown with a sable lining. Her younger son, the future Louis XVII, sits on her lap, while her daughter Marie-Thérèse leans on her arm. Marie Antoinette's elder son, Louis Joseph, at that time Dauphin of France, is near an empty cradle intended for her younger daughter Sophie, who died before the painting's completion. The work was commissioned by Louis XVI in an effort to improve the public perception of Marie Antoinette, after her reputation was tarnished by the Affair of the Diamond Necklace, by focusing on her role as a queen and a mother; she is depicted with little jewellery. The painting was first shown at the Salon in Paris, to mixed reactions, and is now displayed at the Palace of Versailles.

Painting credit: Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun

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