606 years ago today, on September 10, 1419 (August 21, 1419), John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy, was assassinated. John the Fearless (French: JeansansPeur, May 28, 1371-September 10, 1419), Duke of Burgundy (since 1404). He was the son of Duke Philip II and Margaret III of Flanders, and was born in Dijon. In 1396, John nominally led a Burgundian crusade against the Ottoman Empire, but in fact Burgundy had no ability to confront the Turks. In 1404, he inherited the title of Duke of Burgundy. John continued to pursue his father's separatist policies in an attempt to turn Burgundy into a fully independent duchy and worked to strengthen his control over the Netherlands. In 1408, the fearless John led the Burgundian army to suppress the uprising of Liège. He engaged in a brutal struggle for power with Louis I, Duke of Orleans (the so-called struggle between Burgundians and Armagnates) for the power of the mentally ill King Charles VI. In 1407, John the Fearless sent someone to assassinate Louis, and he later became the Regent of France (until 1413). Fearless John supported Simon in 1413. Cabosi's civil uprising in Paris attempted to use the movement against Orleanians; but after the court decided to suppress it, he betrayed his allies. To achieve his personal goals, the fearless John supported the British during the Hundred Years War. Starting in 1417, he formed an alliance with King Henry V of England, which played a major role in the latter's control of the English Channel. In 1418 in Paris, a large number of Armagnates were killed. But out of concern for the power of Henry V, he turned his alliance in an attempt to get closer to the French court. He was assassinated by the Armagnac while negotiating with Prince Charles in Monteiro.