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From today's featured article

Ottomans with Christian slaves, 1639 drawing.

Slavery in the Ottoman Empire was a legal and significant part of the Ottoman Empire's economy and society. The main sources of slaves were war captives and organized enslavement expeditions in North and East Africa, Eastern Europe, the Balkans and Circassia in the Caucasus. It has been reported that the selling price of slaves fell after large military operations. Enslavement of Caucasians was banned in the early 19th century, while slaves from other groups were allowed. In Constantinople (present-day Istanbul), the administrative and political center of the Empire, about a fifth of the population consisted of slaves in 1609.

Even after several measures to ban slavery in the late 19th century, the practice continued largely unabated into the early 20th century. As late as 1908, female slaves were still sold in the Ottoman Empire. Sexual slavery was a central part of the Ottoman slave system throughout the history of the institution. (Full article...)

Did you know...

• ... that some people think approximately 300 years of phantom time were added to the Western calendar in the Early Middle Ages
• ... that the name Zoroaster possibly means "he who manages camels"?
• ... that NuScale Power has designed a line of small, modular nuclear reactors?
• ... that Istanbul was formerly known as Constantinople and before 324AD was known as Byzantium?
• ... that there are 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac?
• ... that Lord Minginish is the first Gaelic-speaking Chairman of the Scottish Land Court?
• ... that the United States Navy has ten Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carriers in service?

In the news (from Infogalactic News)

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• Aaron Rodgers: "If Science Can't Be Questioned, It's Not Science Anymore"
  "It's Propoganda"
  

• Jake Tapper's Producer Resigns From CNN
  Amid Pedo Scandal
• Israel Orders 100 Million Eggs Due To Bird Flu Outbreak
  Eggs And Hens Must Be Destroyed To Contain The Outbreak
• Twitter Suspends mRNA Tech Inventor Dr. Robert Malone
  Ran Counter To Covid Narrative
• Life Expectancy In 2020 Fell 2.3% To 77 Years
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On this day...

May 20

• 526 – An earthquake kills about 250,000 people in what is now Syria and Antiochia.
• 1521 – Ignatius Loyola is seriously wounded in the Battle of Pampeluna.
• 1873 – Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis receive a U.S. patent for blue jeans with copper rivets.
• 1882 – The Triple Alliance between the German Empire, Austria-Hungary and the Kingdom of Italy is formed.
• 1990 – The first post-Communist presidential and parliamentary elections are held in Romania.
• 2010 – Everybody Draw Mohammed Day: A social media event is celebrated in response to the Muslim extremists' reaction to images of Mohammed.
• 2013 – An EF5 tornado strikes the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore, killing 24 people and injuring 377 others.

• More anniversaries:
  • May 19
  • May 20
  • May 21

May 21

• 878 – Syracuse, Sicily, is captured by the Muslim sultan of Sicily.
• 1809 – The first day of the Battle of Aspern-Essling between the Austrian army led by Archduke Charles and the French army led by Napoleon I of France sees the French attack across the Danube held.
• 1961 – American civil rights movement: Alabama Governor John Malcolm Patterson declares martial law in an attempt to restore order after race riots break out.
• 2005 – The tallest roller coaster in the world, Kingda Ka opens at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson Township, New Jersey.
• 2006 – The Republic of Montenegro holds a referendum proposing independence from the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro; 55% of Montenegrins vote for independence.
• 2012 – A suicide bombing kills more than 120 people in Sana'a, Yemen.
• 2014 – A knife attack on a Taipei Metro train leaves four people dead and almost two dozen others injured.

• More anniversaries:
  • May 20
  • May 21
  • May 22

• 1762 – Sweden and Prussia sign the Treaty of Hamburg.
• 1840 – The transportation of British convicts to the New South Wales colony is abolished.
• 1942 – The Steel Workers Organizing Committee disbands, and a new trade union, the United Steelworkers, is formed.
• 1943 – Joseph Stalin disbands Comintern.
• 1963 – Greek left-wing politician Grigoris Lambrakis, is shot and dies five days later.
• 1992 – After 30 years, 66-year-old Johnny Carson hosts The Tonight Show for the last time.
• 1997 – Kelly Flinn, the US Air Force's first female bomber pilot certified for combat, accepts a general discharge in order to avoid a court-martial.

• More anniversaries:
  • May 21
  • May 22
  • May 23

Today's featured picture

The Adoration of the Magi is a painting by the Italian Renaissance master Sandro Botticelli, dating from 1475 or 1476. It is housed in the Uffizi of Florence. Botticelli was commissioned to paint at least seven versions of The Adoration of the Magi.

In the scene numerous characters are present, among which are several members of the Medici family: Cosimo de' Medici (the Magus kneeling in front of the Virgin, described by Vasari as "the finest of all that are now extant for its life and vigour"), his sons Piero (the second Magus kneeling in the centre with the red mantle) and Giovanni (the third Magus), and his grandsons Giuliano and Lorenzo. The three Medici portrayed as Magi were all dead at the time the picture was painted, and Florence was effectively ruled by Lorenzo. (Full article...)

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