Illustration of Mathos byPoirson, 1890

During thesiege of Tunis in October 238 BC, a rebel army underMathos(pictured) was besieged by aCarthaginian force underHamilcar Barca andHannibal. TheCarthaginian army, which had served inSicily during theFirst Punic War,mutinied and started theMercenary War. After destroying a rebel army at theBattle of the Saw, the Carthaginians then besieged the rebels' stronghold atTunis. The Carthaginian commander, Hamilcar, split his forces toblockade the rebels from the north and south. At the northern camp, commanded by Hannibal, he had ten captured rebel leaders killed and their bodies crucified. Mathos organised anight attack against Hannibal's camp, which scattered part of their army; Hannibal and 30 others were captured andcrucified. Hamilcar withdrew to the north with the remaining half of his army. Mathos then abandoned Tunis and withdrew south. Hamilcar and his fellow generalHanno followed the rebels and wiped them out at theBattle of Leptis Parva.(This article is part of afeatured topic:Mercenary War.)

1843 illustration of an Abyssinian hare

• ... that theAbyssinian hare(pictured) is thought to be spreading outside its native range because of overgrazing by domestic animals there?
• ... thatCharles C. Peterson played billiards in a plane 4,000 ft (1,200 m) in the air in 1930?
• ... that theTāhuna Glenorchy Dark Sky Sanctuary is in an astronomical "sweet spot" where theaurora australis and the core of theMilky Way can both be seen?
• ... that the schoonerF. J. King, lost for 139 years, was discovered after a two-hour search in 2025?
• ... that the 2008 PC gameLegend of the Galactic Heroes allows players to prevent the canonical deaths of characters who died in the original source material?
• ... thatAna Roš, head chef atthe first Slovenian restaurant to earn three Michelin stars, has no formal culinary training?
• ... thatCalling Mr. Smith, a World War II–era Polish avant-garde film about Nazi German atrocities, was censored in the UK?
• ... that archaeologists studyingQasr Bshir used smoke signals, mirrors, and torches to test how messages traveled between Roman frontier forts?
• ... thatWyoming PBS is only available tosatellite-television customers in five of the state's twenty-three counties?

Catherine Connolly

• Timor-LestejoinsASEAN as its11th member.
• Catherine Connolly(pictured)is electedPresident of Ireland.
• Sanae Takaichiis elected as the first femaleprime minister of Japan by theNational Diet.
• Eric Lu winsthe International Chopin Piano Competition.
• Tufan Erhürmanis electedPresident of Northern Cyprus, defeating incumbentErsin Tatar.

October 28

Tutankhamun's mask

• 1640 – TheTreaty of Ripon was agreed, ending theSecond Bishops' War and forcingCharles I to summon theLong Parliament, ultimately leading to theFirst English Civil War.
• 1835 – In the first major engagement of theTexas Revolution, theTexian Armyrepelled aMexican attack at the grounds ofMission Concepcion south ofDowntown San Antonio.
• 1925 – Thefunerary mask of Tutankhamun, possibly originally made for QueenNeferneferuaten, was uncovered for the first time in approximately 3,250 years.
• 1940 –World War II:Italy invaded Greece after Greek prime ministerIoannis Metaxas rejectedBenito Mussolini's ultimatum demanding the cession of Greek territory.
• 1965 – InSt. Louis, Missouri, U.S., the 630-foot (190 m)-tall steelcatenaryGateway Arch was completed.