- — Asia:
Empire at its zenith
Under Bolkiah, Brunei's power extends over the whole of Borneo, the Sulu Archipelago, and into the Philippines, with Bruneian influence reaching as far as Manila.
Era: The Golden Age of the Maritime Empire
Sources: History of Brunei · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Country Facts: Brunei Darussalam · Permanent Mission of Brunei Darussalam to the United Nations
- — Africa:
Songhai pushes into Aïr
The Songhai emperor Askia Muhammad campaigned into the Aïr mountains and established a Songhai presence at Agadez to control the northern caravan markets, the empire's eastern reach into present-day Niger.
Era: Aïr, the caravans, and the eastern reach of Songhai
Sources: Muhammad I Askia · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Songhai · Lumen Learning, World Civilization, History of Niger · Wikipedia
- — Europe:
Battle of Marignano
A French army under Francis I decisively defeated the Swiss near Milan, the first great Swiss defeat in two hundred years; the Confederates withdrew from Italy, a retreat traditionally seen as the dawn of Swiss neutrality.
Era: Marignano, the Reformation and the Turn to Neutrality
Sources: Neutrality · Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (aboutswitzerland.eda.admin.ch), Switzerland: History · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — Asia:
The Ottomans conquer the region
After defeating the Mamluks, the Ottoman Turks absorbed the lands east of the Jordan into their empire as part of the province of Syria, ruling for four centuries.
Era: Islam, the Caliphates and Four Centuries of Ottoman Rule
Sources: Jordan: History · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Jordan: A Country Study · Library of Congress, Federal Research Division
- — Asia:
Ottoman conquest of Syria
Sultan Selim I defeats the Mamluks and incorporates Syria into the Ottoman Empire, beginning four centuries of Ottoman rule over Damascus, Aleppo and the Syrian lands.
Era: Saladin, the Mamluks and Ottoman Rule
Sources: Syria — history · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Mamluk dynasty — rulers of Egypt and Syria (1250–1517) · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — Africa:
Ottoman conquest of Egypt
Selim I defeats the Mamluks and incorporates Egypt into the Ottoman Empire as a province governed from Istanbul.
Era: Ottoman Rule, Muhammad Ali and British Occupation
Sources: Egypt: Ottoman administration · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — Europe:
The Stockholm Bloodbath
King Christian II's execution of Swedish nobles after his coronation in Stockholm inflamed Swedish resistance and helped precipitate the collapse of the Kalmar Union.
Era: The Medieval Kingdom and the Kalmar Union
Sources: Kalmar Union · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — Europe:
The Stockholm Bloodbath
After capturing Stockholm and breaking his promise of amnesty, King Christian II of Denmark had some eighty-two Swedish nobles, clergy and citizens condemned as heretics and executed, including Gustav Vasa's father.
Era: The Kalmar Union, the Bloodbath and the War of Liberation
Sources: Stockholm Bloodbath · Encyclopaedia Britannica, The Stockholm blood bath · Swedish History Museum (Historiska museet)
- — North America:
Fall of Tenochtitlan
After a siege of some three months, the city falls to Cortes and his indigenous allies, ending the Aztec empire.
Era: Spanish Conquest and New Spain
Sources: Battle of Tenochtitlan · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Hernan Cortes · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — Europe:
The Swedish War of Liberation
Gustav Vasa raised Dalarna in revolt against Christian II, leading a peasant army that expelled the Danes and was declared regent of Sweden, ending Danish control of the realm.
Era: The Kalmar Union, the Bloodbath and the War of Liberation
Sources: Gustav I Vasa · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Sweden: The early Vasa kings (1523–1611) · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — Europe:
Battle of Mohács
Süleyman the Magnificent destroyed the Hungarian army and killed King Louis II, ending the medieval kingdom and opening Hungary to Ottoman and Habsburg domination.
Era: Mohács and the Three-Part Kingdom
Sources: Battle of Mohács (1526) · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — Asia:
Babur founds the Mughal Empire
Babur defeats Ibrahim Lodi at the First Battle of Panipat, ending the Delhi Sultanate and establishing the Mughal Empire, which would rule much of the subcontinent for over two centuries.
Era: The Delhi Sultanate and the Mughal Empire
Sources: Delhi Sultanate · Wikipedia, Mughal dynasty · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — Asia:
Babur founds the Mughal Empire
Babur's victory ends the Delhi Sultanate and establishes the Mughal Empire, which makes Lahore one of its great capitals.
Era: Islam, the Sultans and the Mughals
Sources: Mughal dynasty · Encyclopædia Britannica, Pakistan: A Country Study · Library of Congress, Federal Research Division
- — Europe:
First Ottoman siege of Vienna
The army of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent besieged Vienna for three weeks in the autumn of 1529 before withdrawing, the first great Ottoman assault on the Habsburg capital.
Era: The Rise of the Habsburgs and the Ottoman Wars
Sources: The first Turkish siege of Vienna, 1529 · Die Welt der Habsburger (The World of the Habsburgs)
- — Africa:
Adal's invasion of the highlands
Adal forces under Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi ('Gran') invade Christian Ethiopia, the high point of the coastal Muslim states' power before Adal's later decline.
Era: The Afar, the Issa and the Muslim Sultanates
Sources: Djibouti (country and history) · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Djibouti · New World Encyclopedia
- — Africa:
Invasion of Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi
Forces of the Adal Sultanate under Ahmad 'Gran' invade the highlands, devastating churches and nearly destroying the Christian kingdom before being repelled with Portuguese aid in the 1540s.
Era: The Zagwe Kings, Lalibela and the Solomonic Restoration
Sources: Ethiopia's Enduring Cultural Heritage · The Metropolitan Museum of Art
- — South America:
Inca civil war
A ruinous war of succession between the half-brothers Atahualpa and Huascar divides the empire just as the Spanish appear on its coasts.
Era: The Inca Empire of Tawantinsuyu
Sources: Atahuallpa · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — Africa:
Wars of Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi
From the Adal Sultanate, Imam Ahmad 'Gurey' launches the Futuh al-Habasha campaigns against Christian Ethiopia, conquering much of the highlands before his defeat and death in 1543 with Portuguese intervention.
Era: Islam, the Coastal City-States and the Adal Sultanate
Sources: Somalia: A Country Study · U.S. Library of Congress, Federal Research Division, Adal Sultanate · Wikipedia, Ethiopian–Adal War · Wikipedia
- — Asia:
First Siege of Vienna
Ottoman armies under Süleyman besieged Vienna, marking the high-water mark of Ottoman expansion into central Europe before withdrawing.
Era: The Ottoman Empire: Height and Decline
Sources: Ottoman Empire · Encyclopædia Britannica, The Age of Süleyman 'the Magnificent' (r. 1520–1566) · The Metropolitan Museum of Art
- — South America:
Atahualpa defeats Huascar
Atahualpa's northern armies crush those of his half-brother Huascar near Cuzco, leaving him master of the Inca empire as the Spanish arrive.
Era: The Inca Conquest and the Last Emperor
Sources: Atahuallpa · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — South America:
Capture of Atahualpa at Cajamarca
Francisco Pizarro's small force seizes the Inca emperor Atahualpa at Cajamarca after massacring his escort, a decisive stroke in the conquest of Peru.
Era: Conquest and the Viceroyalty of Peru
Sources: Battle of Cajamarca (1532) · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Francisco Pizarro · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — South America:
Capture and execution of Atahualpa
Seized by Pizarro at Cajamarca in November 1532 and ransomed, the last Inca emperor is tried and executed in 1533, shattering Inca authority.
Era: The Inca Conquest and the Last Emperor
Sources: Atahuallpa · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Sebastian de Benalcazar · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — South America:
Execution of Atahualpa
After paying a vast ransom in gold and silver, Atahualpa is executed by the Spanish; with the emperor dead, Pizarro advances on Cusco, taken later that year.
Era: Conquest and the Viceroyalty of Peru
Sources: Atahuallpa · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Francisco Pizarro · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — North America:
Lempira's resistance
The Lenca chief Lempira unites more than two hundred communities against the Spanish before his revolt is crushed.
Era: Conquest, Lempira, and Colonial Silver
Sources: Honduras: History · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Lenca · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — Europe:
Moldavia becomes an Ottoman tributary
Following the death of Stephen the Great, Moldavia was reduced to a tributary vassal of the Ottoman Empire, keeping its princes, church and laws but paying tribute and following the sultan's lead in foreign affairs.
Era: Ottoman Vassalage and the Phanariot Century
Sources: Moldavia (historical principality) · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Moldova: History · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — North America:
El Morro and the fortification of San Juan
Spain begins the great harbour castle of El Morro; with La Fortaleza and a city wall completed by 1678, San Juan becomes a key Caribbean stronghold.
Era: The Spanish Colony and the Fortress City
Sources: El Morro, San Juan National Historic Site · U.S. National Park Service, La Fortaleza and San Juan National Historic Site · UNESCO World Heritage Centre
- — Africa:
Death of Ahmad and decline of Adal
Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi is killed in battle against an Ethiopian–Portuguese force, halting the Muslim conquest of the highlands and beginning the decline of the Adal Sultanate.
Era: Islam, the Coastal City-States and the Adal Sultanate
Sources: Somalia: A Country Study · U.S. Library of Congress, Federal Research Division, Adal Sultanate · Wikipedia
- — Africa:
The Mane incursions
Mande-speaking Mane raiders pushed to the coast and by the 1550s had subdued the Temne and other peoples, imposing a new ruling elite in a contested episode that reshaped the region's politics.
Era: The Rice Coast peoples and the Mane
Sources: Mane people · Wikipedia, History of Sierra Leone · Wikipedia
- — Africa:
Ottomans capture Tripoli
Ottoman admirals Sinan Pasha and Turgut Reis take Tripoli, establishing the Regency of Tripoli within the Ottoman Empire.
Era: Ottoman Rule and the Karamanli Dynasty
Sources: Ottoman Tripolitania · Wikipedia, Libya · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — Asia:
Reign of Bayinnaung
Bayinnaung of the Toungoo dynasty reunifies Myanmar and conquers the Shan states and Siam, building the most powerful empire in mainland Southeast Asia.
Era: Empires Reborn: Toungoo and Konbaung
Sources: Bayinnaung · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Toungoo dynasty · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — Europe:
Conquest of the Khanate of Kazan
Ivan IV captures Kazan, and in 1556 Astrakhan, destroying the successor states of the Golden Horde on the Volga and opening the river and the route to Siberia to Russian colonization.
Era: Muscovy and the Tsardom of Russia
Sources: Russia · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Ivan the Terrible · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Ivan the Terrible Annexes Astrakhan · EBSCO Research Starters
- — South America:
Mapuche defeat and kill Valdivia
At Tucapel, Mapuche forces led by Lautaro destroy a Spanish column and capture Valdivia, who is executed; the disaster opens the long Arauco War.
Era: Conquest, Santiago, and the Long Arauco War
Sources: Lautaro (Mapuche leader) · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Araucanian wars · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — Africa:
Cayor breaks from Jolof
The coastal province of Cayor rebels and wins independence, and Baol and Waalo follow, fracturing the empire into rival kingdoms.
Era: The Jolof Empire and Its Successor Kingdoms
Sources: Wolof Empire · World History Encyclopedia, Cayor · Wikipedia, Baol · Wikipedia
- — Africa:
Ottomans capture Massawa
Ottoman forces under Ozdemir Pasha take Massawa from the highland kingdom, bringing the Eritrean coast under the Ottoman Empire and ending local dynastic control.
Era: The Beja, the Dahlak Sultanate and the Muslim Coast
Sources: Massawa · Wikipedia, Massawa · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — Europe:
The Livonian War
A twenty-five-year struggle for Livonia pitted Russia against Sweden, Denmark and Poland-Lithuania, shattering the old crusader confederation as the towns and provinces sought new protectors.
Era: Hanseatic Reval, Danish and Swedish Estonia
Sources: Livonian War · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Estonia: History · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — Africa:
Fort São Sebastião is built
Construction begins on Fort São Sebastião on the Island of Mozambique, the largest Portuguese fortress in East Africa and the oldest complete fort still standing in sub-Saharan Africa.
Era: Da Gama and the Portuguese Seizure of the Coast
Sources: Island of Mozambique — World Heritage List · UNESCO, Fort São Sebastião (Mozambique) · Wikipedia, Island of Mozambique UNESCO World Heritage Site · National Geographic
- — Europe:
The long wars with Sweden
From the Northern Seven Years' War onward, Denmark and Sweden fought repeatedly for control of the Baltic and the Sound, a rivalry that steadily eroded Danish power in the region.
Era: Reformation, Denmark-Norway and the Wars with Sweden
Sources: Denmark: Reformation and war · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Treaty of Roskilde (1658) · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — Europe:
The Great Siege of Malta
An Ottoman army sent by Suleiman the Magnificent besieged the Knights and Maltese for nearly four months; under Grand Master Jean Parisot de la Valette the defenders held out until a Sicilian relief force compelled the Ottomans to withdraw.
Era: The Knights of St John and the Great Siege
Sources: Siege of Malta (1565) · New World Encyclopedia, Siege of Malta (1565) · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Jean Parisot de la Valette · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — Europe:
Eighty Years' War begins
Open revolt against Spanish rule breaks out under William of Orange, beginning a struggle for independence that will last eighty years.
Era: The Dutch Revolt and the Birth of the Republic
Sources: Eighty Years' War · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — Asia:
- — Asia:
Ottoman conquest of Cyprus
An Ottoman army invaded in 1570, taking Nicosia, and after a long siege captured Famagusta in 1571, ending Venetian rule and beginning more than three centuries of Ottoman administration.
Era: Crusader Kingdom, Venetian Colony and Ottoman Conquest
Sources: Cyprus: Ottoman rule · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Cyprus: History · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — Africa:
Golden age under Idris Alooma
Mai Idris Alooma modernised the army with Ottoman firearms and advisers and promoted Islamic law, leading Kanem-Bornu to its second peak.
Era: Kanem and Kanem-Bornu
Sources: Kanem-Bornu Empire · Wikipedia, Bornu Empire · Lumen Learning, World Civilization
- — Asia:
Ottoman conquest of Cyprus
An Ottoman army took Cyprus from Venice, capturing Nicosia and Famagusta and beginning more than three centuries of Ottoman rule that settled a Muslim Turkish-Cypriot community on the island.
Era: Ancient Cyprus and the Ottoman Inheritance
Sources: Cyprus - Ottoman rule · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Cyprus: A Country Study · U.S. Library of Congress (Federal Research Division)
- — Africa:
Ottoman conquest of Tunis
The Ottomans take Tunis from Spain, making Tunisia an autonomous province of the empire.
Era: Ottoman Rule & the Husaynid Beys
Sources: Ottoman Tunisia · Wikipedia, Husaynid dynasty · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — Asia:
Mughal conquest of Bengal
Akbar's forces defeat the last independent sultan at the Battle of Rajmahal, ending the Bengal Sultanate and absorbing the delta into the Mughal Empire.
Era: The Bengal Sultanate and the Spread of Islam
Sources: History of Bangladesh · Encyclopædia Britannica, Islam, Bengal · Banglapedia (Asiatic Society of Bangladesh)
- — Asia:
Spanish attack on the capital
A Spanish expedition from the Philippines briefly captures Brunei's capital during a war with the sultanate before being forced to withdraw, signalling the new European challenge.
Era: The Golden Age of the Maritime Empire
Sources: History of Brunei · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — Europe:
The Military Frontier
To hold the line against the Ottomans the Habsburgs created the Military Frontier, a militarised border zone settled by free soldier-peasants, including many Serb and Vlach refugees, who served in exchange for land and privileges.
Era: Venetian Dalmatia, the Republic of Ragusa and the Ottoman Wars
Sources: Croatia: History · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — Africa:
Battle of the Three Kings
The Saadian sultan Abd al-Malik annihilates the invading Portuguese army of King Sebastian near Ksar el-Kebir; three kings die, and Morocco's independence is preserved.
Era: Marinids, Saadians and the Three Kings
Sources: Battle of the Three Kings · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Battle of Ksar el-Kebir · EBSCO Research Starters
- — Europe:
Disaster at Alcacer Quibir
King Sebastian was killed leading a crusade into Morocco, triggering the succession crisis that opened the way to Spanish rule.
Era: The Iberian Union and the Braganza Restoration
Sources: History of Portugal: Union of Spain and Portugal, 1580-1640 · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — Europe:
Yermak's Cossacks, hired by the Stroganovs, seize the capital of the Khanate of Sibir
The Stroganov merchant family hires the Cossack ataman Yermak Timofeyevich, who sets out in 1581 with about 540 men armed with firearms. In 1582 his force takes Kashlyk (Isker), the capital of the Tatar khan Kuchum, beginning Russian rule in western Siberia; Kuchum himself is not captured until 1598.
Era: Muscovy and the Tsardom of Russia
Sources: Cossacks Seize Sibir · EBSCO Research Starters, Battle of the Tobol River · EBSCO Research Starters
- — Europe:
Fall of Antwerp
After a siege of over a year, the Spanish commander Alessandro Farnese took the great Protestant port of Antwerp, confirming Spanish control of the southern Netherlands and driving its merchants and craftsmen north.
Era: The Burgundian and Habsburg Netherlands
Sources: Fall of Antwerp (1585) · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — Africa:
Drake sacks Ribeira Grande
The English privateer Sir Francis Drake attacked and sacked the wealthy port of Ribeira Grande, one of several corsair raids that beset the islands during the era of the Iberian Union.
Era: Entrepôt of the slave trade — and its decline
Sources: History of Cape Verde · Wikipedia, Cidade Velha · Wikipedia
- — North America:
Drake sacks Santo Domingo
The English privateer Francis Drake captures and ransoms the decayed capital, a sign of how far the once-central colony had fallen as imperial wealth moved to the mainland.
Era: Quisqueya, Columbus, and the First Colony
Sources: Santo Domingo · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — Europe:
Defeat of the Spanish Armada
England repelled the Spanish Armada sent by Philip II, a decisive check to Spanish ambitions that bolstered English naval confidence and national identity.
Era: Tudors, the Reformation, and the first empire
Sources: God blew and they were scattered · The National Archives (UK)
- — Asia:
Hideyoshi completes unification
Toyotomi Hideyoshi brings the last domains under central control, finishing the reunification of Japan begun by Oda Nobunaga.
Era: Sengoku and Edo: Unification and the Long Peace
Sources: Toyotomi Hideyoshi · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Azuchi-Momoyama period · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — Africa:
Fall of Songhai to a Moroccan army
A Moroccan expeditionary force defeats the Songhai at Tondibi, ending the era of the great Sahelian empires that had embraced the Guinea region.
Era: The Mande Heartland and the Sahelian Empires
Sources: Songhai Empire · World History Encyclopedia, Songhai Empire · EBSCO Research Starters
- — Africa:
Battle of Tondibi ends the Songhai Empire
Moroccan forces under Judar Pasha, armed with firearms, rout the Songhai army at Tondibi near Gao, collapsing the last of the great Niger empires.
Era: The Songhai Empire and Its Fall
Sources: Fall of the Songhai Empire · EBSCO Research Starters, Moroccan invasion of the Songhai Empire · Wikipedia
- — Africa:
Saadian conquest of Songhai
Ahmad al-Mansur sends an army across the Sahara that defeats the Songhai Empire at Tondibi, extending Saadian reach toward the gold of the Niger.
Era: Marinids, Saadians and the Three Kings
Sources: Battle of Ksar el-Kebir · EBSCO Research Starters, Battle of the Three Kings · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — Asia:
Japanese (Imjin) invasions repelled
Toyotomi Hideyoshi's forces invade Korea; resistance led by Admiral Yi Sun-sin and his turtle ships, with Ming Chinese aid, ultimately drives them out.
Era: The Joseon Dynasty
Sources: Joseon dynasty · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Korea (history) · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — North America:
El Morro repels Francis Drake
The new fortifications withstand an attack by the English privateer Sir Francis Drake, proving San Juan's defences.
Era: The Spanish Colony and the Fortress City
Sources: El Morro, San Juan National Historic Site · U.S. National Park Service
- — Africa:
The revolt of Rei Amador
Rei Amador united maroons and plantation slaves in a great revolt that overran much of São Tomé, one of the largest slave uprisings of the Atlantic world.
Era: Sugar, the slave trade and the revolt of Rei Amador
Sources: Rei Amador · Wikipedia, The Portuguese Colonization of São Tomé and Príncipe · World History Encyclopedia, History of São Tomé and Príncipe · Wikipedia
- — North America:
Raleigh raids the Spanish settlement
Sir Walter Raleigh attacked the Spanish settlement while searching for El Dorado, underscoring how weak and exposed the Spanish colony on Trinidad remained.
Era: Spanish neglect and the Cédula de Población
Sources: T&T History Timeline · National Trust of Trinidad and Tobago
- — Africa:
Capture and execution of Rei Amador
After his forces had held much of the island, Amador was captured and executed by the Portuguese; he endured as a hero of resistance and is now honoured as a national figure.
Era: Sugar, the slave trade and the revolt of Rei Amador
Sources: Rei Amador · Wikipedia, The Portuguese Colonization of São Tomé and Príncipe · World History Encyclopedia
- — Europe:
War & Rupture in the 16th century
Every event in the Terralore archive tagged war and rupture — wars, invasions, conquests, battles and armed conflict, narrowed to the 16th century — 64 of them, drawn from 52 nations, running from 1500 to 1598. Each entry keeps the sources it was verified against and links back to the chronicle it came from.
- Events
- 64
- Nations
- 52
- Earliest
- 1500
- Latest
- 1598
- Africa
- 20
- Europe
- 18
- Asia
- 14
- North America
- 6
- South America
- 6
Every entry below is the same record, with the same sources, as the one on its nation’s chronicle.