Empires Prior to 1500

By ZEPAD
  • 1325

    The Mexica Begin Conquering an Empire

    The Mexica were a people who settled around Tenochtitlan in modern-day Mexico. They believed they need to provide human sacrifices to their gods and proceeded to go on a series of great conquests to find people to sustain them with around 1325. As a result, they conquered many city-states and made the beginnings of the Aztec empire.
  • 1368

    Founding of the Ming Dynasty

    Zhu Yuanzhang founded the Ming dynasty as its first emperor, overthrowing the Yuan dynasty.
  • 1415

    Portuguese capture Cueta

    The Portuguese ended their successful conquest of Cueta in 1415, giving them a foothold in Northern Africa as the beginning of an African Portuguese Empire.
  • 1433

    End of Zheng He's Voyages

    Admiral Zheng He was sent to voyage along Southern Asia and Eastern Africa along with a fleet of ships to show China's power under the Ming Dynasty. These voyages ended in 1433 after his death and when the empire shifted its focus on the rebuilding of the Great Wall.
  • 1438

    Pachakuti Launches Incan Military Efforts Outwards

    The Incas settled in Cuzco around 1400, and their first Great ruler(Sapa Inca), Pachakuti, started their conquest of South America around 1438.
  • 1452

    The First Holy Roman Emperor to be Elected by Nobles

    After the Golden Bull of 1356, Frederick III was elected by the 7 great magnates in the HRE, marking the beginning of the Habsburg Dynasty's rule in the HRE(one that would last mostly undisputed until the HRE fall).
  • 1453

    End of the Hundred Years War

    The Hundred Years War was a war between France and England that started through disputes over land and succession to the French throne.
  • 1453

    Ottoman Seige Constantinople

    The Ottoman Empire, which had been warring against the Byzantines for some time, decided to take control of Constantinople, one of the greater cities in the Byzantine empire. Mehmed the Conqueror launched a massive assault on Constantinople, using notably cannons to tear its walls down, and he converted it into a Muslim city, changing the churches into mosques.
  • 1492

    End of the Reconquista

    The Reconquista was a series of conquests conducted in the Iberian Peninsula with the intent to reclaim Spanish and Portuguese land from Muslim rule. It ended when Granada, the last remaining Muslim city, was captured.
  • 1556

    Akbar Becomes Mughal Emperor

    Emperor Akbar, known as the "Great Mughal", was very powerful would accomplish much in his time, leading the Mughal Empire to a period of greatness.
  • Mikhail Romanov is Crowned the Russian Tsar

    Mikhail Romanov is made Tsar, beginning the first great Russian Dynasty.