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From today's featured article

Antiochus XII Dionysus (died 82 BC) was a Seleucid ruler who reigned as King of Syria during the Hellenistic period from 87 BC until his death. He was the youngest son of Antiochus VIII, who was assassinated in 96 BC. Antiochus XII's four brothers laid claim to the throne. His brother Philip I defeated his brother Demetrius III in 87 BC and remained in the Syrian capital Antioch. Ignoring the territories of Philip I, Antiochus XII gained control of Damascus and consolidated his territory within inner Syria. He focused his attention on Syria's southern reaches into which the Judaeans and Nabataeans sought to expand, reinforced his southern frontier, and fought two campaigns against Nabataea and Judea. After winning several victories, he was killed by the Nabateans at the Battle of Cana in 82 BC. The Nabatean king Aretas III captured Damascus, and the Syrian throne was claimed by Cleopatra Selene and her son Antiochus XIII. (Full article...)

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Clarke and her mother at Mauthausen

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In the news

Jared Butler

In NCAA Division I basketball, the Stanford Cardinal win the Women's Championship and the Baylor Bears win the Men's Championship (Men's MOP Jared Butler pictured).
Cyclone Seroja makes landfall in Indonesia and East Timor, killing at least 160 people and displacing thousands of others.
In rowing, both Cambridge men's and women's crews win The Boat Race.
An express train derails in Hualien County, Taiwan, killing at least 50 people.

On this day

April 8

Krak des Chevaliers

1271 – The Knights Hospitaller surrendered the Krak des Chevaliers (pictured) to the army of the Mamluk sultan Baibars.
1911 – American cartoonist Winsor McCay released the silent short film Little Nemo, one of the earliest animated films.
1943 – Otto and Elise Hampel were executed in Berlin for performing acts of resistance against Nazism.
1961 – A large explosion on board the MV Dara in the Persian Gulf killed 238 people.
1968 – BOAC Flight 712 experienced an engine fire shortly after take-off from London Heathrow, leading to the deaths of five people on board, including flight attendant Jane Harrison, who was posthumously awarded a George Cross for heroism.

Allen Butler Talcott (b. 1867)
Marie Byles (b. 1900)
Kofi Annan (b. 1938)

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Today's featured picture

The Hunting of the Snark is a nonsense poem written by English writer Lewis Carroll between 1874 and 1876. The plot follows a crew of ten trying to hunt the Snark, which may turn out to be a highly dangerous Boojum. This original illustration by Henry Holiday accompanies the verse:

    "But oh, beamish nephew, beware of the day,
        If your Snark be a Boojum! For then
    You will softly and suddenly vanish away,
        And never be met with again!"

Illustration credit: Henry Holiday; restored by Adam Cuerden

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