6 October in history
8 events that happened on 6 October, from 105 BCE to 1981.
✦ Anniversary of the day
105 BCE 2,130 years ago
The Cimbri and Teutons crush two Roman armies at Arausio
Between Arausio, now Orange, and the Rhône, the Cimbri under Boiorix and the Teutons under Teutobod defeated two Roman armies under the proconsul Quintus Servilius Caepio and the consul Gnaeus Mallius Maximus. It was Rome's worst defeat of the Cimbrian War.
69 BCE 2,094 years ago
Lucullus defeats Tigranes the Great at Tigranocerta
In the Third Mithridatic War, a Roman army under the consul Lucius Licinius Lucullus defeated King Tigranes the Great of Armenia and captured his capital, Tigranocerta. The war ended with Armenia an allied client state of Rome.
23 CE 2,003 years ago
Rebels kill Wang Mang as Chang'an falls
Rebel forces broke into Chang'an and killed Wang Mang, the usurper who had founded the Xin dynasty. His death cleared the way for the restoration of the Han dynasty under Emperor Guangwu.
618 CE 1,408 years ago
Wang Shichong defeats Li Mi at the Battle of Yanshi
Blockaded in Luoyang for months, Wang Shichong led his troops out and surprised Li Mi's besieging army north of Yanshi, winning a decisive victory. Li's followers joined Wang, who later deposed the Sui puppet ruler Yang Tong.
1600 CE 426 years ago
Peri's Euridice, the oldest surviving opera, is performed
Jacopo Peri's Euridice was staged at the Pitti Palace in Florence during celebrations for the marriage of Maria de' Medici to Henry IV of France. It is the earliest opera whose music survives complete.
1927 CE 99 years ago
The Jazz Singer premieres in New York
Warner Bros released The Jazz Singer, starring Al Jolson, the first feature film with synchronised dialogue and singing. Its success ended the silent era within a few years.
1973 CE 53 years ago
Egypt and Syria attack Israel on Yom Kippur
Egyptian and Syrian forces launched surprise attacks on Israeli positions in Sinai and the Golan Heights on the holiest day of the Jewish year. The war ended in Israeli counter-offensives and reshaped Middle Eastern diplomacy.
1981 CE 45 years ago
Egyptian president Anwar Sadat is assassinated
Islamist army officers shot Anwar Sadat during a military parade in Cairo marking the 1973 war. Sadat had signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1979 and shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Menachem Begin.
Born on 6 October 7
Died on 6 October 8
Dates as the sources give them: in the Julian calendar before 1582, and in some countries for longer (Britain until 1752, Russia until 1918). Only people whose day of birth or death the records agree on are listed.