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Period: 1096 to 1291
Crusades are Fought
A war between Christians and Muslims. Christians fought for their Holy land called Palestine. Unsuccessful event but expanded trade routes. -
1300
Renaissance Begins
Start studying Greek and Roman. The rebirth of Europe. The Renaissance changed art. -
1337
100 Year War Begins
A struggle between England and France over a series of disputes. -
1347
Black Death Begins in Europe
Plague was reportedly first introduced to Europe via Genoese traders at the port city of Kaffa in the Crimea in 1347. After a protracted siege, during which the Mongol army under Jani Beg was suffering from the disease, the army catapulted infected corpses over the city walls of Kaffa to infect the inhabitants. -
Period: 1400 to 1500
Columbian Exchange
The Columbian exchange, also known as the Columbian interchange, named for Christopher Columbus, was the widespread transfer of plants, animals, culture, human populations, technology, and ideas between the Americas, West Africa, and the Old World in the 15th and 16th centuries. -
Period: 1405 to 1433
Zheng He´s Voyage
Zheng He was a Chinese explorer who lead seven great voyages on behalf of the Chinese emperor. These voyages traveled through the South China Sea, Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea, Red Sea, and along the east coast of Africa. His seven total voyages were diplomatic, military, and trading ventures, and lasted from 1405 – 1433. However, most historians agree their main purpose was to promote the glory of Ming dynasty China. -
1431
Joan of Ark Burned at the Stake
Joan of Arc, a nineteen-year-old martyr, saint, and military leader, was burned at the stake for heresy at the Place du Vieux-Marche in Rouen. On May 23, 1430, during a siege to Compiegne, Joan was captured by the Burgundians and sold to the English. -
1440
Johannes Gutenberg Printing Press
It is unclear when Gutenberg began publishing using his metal type, but by 1450 he had made sufficient progress to seek additional funds from another investor, Johannes Fust. Using a modified wine press, Gutenberg created his printing press. The ink was rolled over the raised surfaces of movable handset block letters held within a wooden form and the form was then pressed against a sheet of paper. -
1453
Fall of Constantinople
The Fall of Constantinople was the capture of the capital of the Byzantine Empire by an invading Ottoman army to turn the city into Christianity -
1478
Start of the Spanish Inquisition
The Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition, commonly known as the Spanish Inquisition, was established in 1478 by Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile. -
Period: 1491 to 1546
King Henry VIII reign
was King of England from 1509 until his death. Henry was the second Tudor monarch, succeeding his father, Henry VII. Besides asserting the sovereign's supremacy over the Church of England, he greatly expanded royal power during his reign. -
1492
Columbus Lands in New World
On August 3, 1492, Columbus set sail from Palos, Spain, with three small ships, the Santa María, the Pinta, and the Niña. On October 12, the expedition sighted land, probably Watling Island in the Bahamas, and went ashore the same day, claiming it for Spain. -
Period: 1500 to
Slave Trade
The Atlantic slave trade or transatlantic slave trade involved the transportation by slave traders of enslaved African people, mainly to the Americas. The slave trade regularly used the triangular trade route and its Middle Passage, and existed from the 16th to the 19th centuries. -
1506
Mona Lisa Completed
The painting is thought to be a portrait of Lisa Gherardini, the wife of Francesco del Giocondo, and is in oil on a white Lombardy poplar panel. It had been believed to have been painted between 1503 and 1506; however, Leonardo may have continued working on it as late as 1517. -
1508
Michelangelo Begins Painting the Sistine Chapel
The ceiling is that of the Sistine Chapel, the large papal chapel built within the Vatican between 1477 and 1480 by Pope Sixtus IV, for whom the chapel is named. It was painted at the commission of Pope Julius II. The chapel is the location for papal conclaves and many other important services. -
1513
¨The Prince¨
Although it was written as if it were a traditional work in the mirrors for princes style, it is generally agreed that it was especially innovative. This is only partly because it was written in the vernacular Italian rather than Latin, a practice which had become increasingly popular since the publication of Dante's Divine Comedy and other works of Renaissance literature -
1514
Battle of Chaldiran
military engagement in which the Ottomans won a decisive victory over the Ṣafavids of Iran and went on to gain control of eastern Anatolia. Although possession of artillery ensured a decisive victory for the Ottomans, the battle heralded the start of a long war between the rival Muslim powers for control of Anatolia and Iraq. -
1517
Martin Luther 95 Theses
Acting on this belief, he wrote the “Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences,” also known as “The 95 Theses,” a list of questions and propositions for debate. Popular legend has it that on October 31, 1517 Luther defiantly nailed a copy of his 95 Theses to the door of the Wittenberg Castle church. -
Period: 1520 to 1566
Sultan Suleyman reigns
0th sultan of the Empire in 1520 and is known as "Kanuni", the Lawgiver, in his homeland, but for Europeans he has always been "Suleyman the Magnificent". Suleyman the Magnificent ruled the Ottoman Empire for 46 years between 1520 - 1566 and doubled his territory. -
1521
Cortez Conquers the Aztecs
The Spanish campaign against the Aztec Empire had its final victory on August 13, 1521, when a coalition army of Spanish forces and native Tlaxcalan warriors led by Cortés and Xicotencatl the Younger captured the emperor Cuauhtemoc and Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztec Empire. -
1521
Cortez Defeats Aztecs
After a three-month siege, Spanish forces under Hernán Cortés capture Tenochtitlán, the capital of the Aztec empire. Cortés’ men leveled the city and captured Cuauhtemoc, the Aztec emperor. -
1532
Pizarro beats the Incas
On November 16, Atahualpa arrived at the meeting place with an escort of several thousand men. Pizarro sent out a priest to exhort the emperor to accept the sovereignty of Christianity and Emperor Charles V, and Atahualpa refused, flinging a Bible handed to him to the ground in disgust. Pizarro immediately ordered an attack. Buckling under an assault by the terrifying Spanish artillery, guns, and cavalry, thousands of Incas were slaughtered, and the emperor was captured. -
Period: 1545 to 1563
Counter Refromation
The Counter-Reformation, also called the Catholic Reformation or the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence initiated in response to the Protestant Reformation, beginning with the Council of Trent and ending at the close of the Thirty Years' War. -
Period: 1558 to
Queen Elizabeth's Reign
Elizabeth I was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death on 24 March 1603. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the last of the five monarchs of the House of Tudor. -
Period: to
Era of the Samurai
The samurai (or bushi) were the warriors of premodern Japan. They later made up the ruling military class that eventually became the highest ranking social caste of the Edo Period. -
William Shakespeare's death
On 23 April 1616, his 52nd birthday, William Shakespeare died. He was buried in Holy Trinity Church in Stratford, the same place he was baptized. -
Taj Mahal built
An immense mausoleum of white marble, built in Agra between 1631 and 1648 by order of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his favourite wife, the Taj Mahal is the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage. -
Period: to
Opium War
The Opium Wars were two wars in the mid-19th century involving China and the British Empire over the British trade of opium and China's sovereignty. The clashes included the First Opium War and the Second Opium War.
