February 22 1349

Jews are Expelled from Zurich Switzerland

The Jews of Switzerland, being almost exclusively engaged in money-lending, where tolerated because of there wealth and were prosecuted for the same reason. Whenever the Christian inhabitants were heavily indebted to the Jews a pretext was sought to get rid of the latter, and all kinds of crimes were ascribed to them, including ritual murder the poisoning of wells, and the desecration of the host. The first Swiss persecution of the Jews took place at Bern in 1294, when they were accused of having cruelly murdered a boy named Rudolf (Ruff). They were accordingly expelled from the city, although they where soon readmitted. Then cam the plague of the year 1349, when the Black Death raged throughout Switzerland.

February 19 0197

Lucius Septimius Severus' Arm Beats Clodius Albinus Lyon 

The Battle of Lugdunum, also called the battle of Lyon, was fought on 19 February 0197 at Lugdunum (Modern Lyon, France), between the armies of the Roman Emperor Septimius Severus and the Roman usurper Clodius Albinus. Severus' victory finally established him as the sole Emperor of the Roman Empire.
This battle is said to be the largest, most hard fought and bloodiest of all clashes between Roman forces. The historian Cassius Dio places the number involved as 300,000 or 150,000 on either side of the battle. This figure has been disputed, as this is approximately three-quarters of the total number of soldiers present throughout the Roman Empire at that time. However, it is widely accepted that the total number of soldiers and support personnel involved exceeded 100,000 and could well have come close to the 150,000 figure Dio gives. 

February 17 1776

1st Volume of Gibbon's "Decline & Fall of The Roman Empire" Published

British parliamentarian and soldier, Edward Gibbon's (1737-1794) conceived of his plan for Decline and Fall while "Musing amid the ruins of the Capitol" on a visit to Rome. For the next 10 years he worked away at his great history, which traces the decadence of the late empire from the time of Antonies and the rise of Western Christianity. "The confusion of the times, and the scarcity of the authentic memorials, pose equal difficulties to the historian, who attempts to preserve a clear and unbroken thread of narration," he writes. despite these obstacles, Decline and Fall remains a model of historical exposition, and required reading for students of European history.