AI tools

15th century

One hundred years, from 1401 to 1500 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

15th century

The 15th century was the century which spans the Julian calendar dates from 1 January 1401 (represented by the Roman numerals MCDI) to 31 December 1500 (MD).

Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II, victorious at the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople and the fall of the Byzantine Empire. Various historians describe it as the end of the Middle Ages.
The Surrender of Granada by Francisco Pradilla Ortiz, 1882: Muhammad XII surrenders to Ferdinand and Isabella
Gergio Deluci, Christopher Columbus arrives in the Americas in 1492, 1893 painting.

In Europe, the 15th century includes parts of the Late Middle Ages, the Early Renaissance, and the early modern period. Many technological, social and cultural developments of the 15th century can in retrospect be seen as heralding the "European miracle" of the following centuries. The architectural perspective, and the modern fields which are known today as banking and accounting were founded in Italy.

The Hundred Years' War ended with a decisive French victory over the English in the Battle of Castillon. Financial troubles in England following the conflict resulted in the Wars of the Roses, a series of dynastic wars for the throne of England. The conflicts ended with the defeat of Richard III by Henry VII at the Battle of Bosworth Field, establishing the Tudor dynasty in the later part of the century.

Constantinople, known as the capital of the world and the capital of the Byzantine Empire, fell to the emerging Muslim Ottoman Turks, marking the end of the tremendously influential Byzantine Empire and, for some historians, the end of the Middle Ages.[1] This led to the migration of Greek scholars and texts to Italy, while Johannes Gutenberg's invention of a mechanical movable type began the printing press. These two events played key roles in the development of the Renaissance.[2][3] The Roman papacy was split in two parts in Europe for decades (the so-called Western Schism), until the Council of Constance. The division of the Catholic Church and the unrest associated with the Hussite movement would become factors in the rise of the Protestant Reformation in the following century.

Islamic Spain became dissolved through the Christian Reconquista, followed by the forced conversions and the Muslim rebellion,[4] ending over seven centuries of Islamic rule and returning southern Spain to Christian rulers.

The spices, wines and precious metals of the Bengal Sultanate[5] had attracted European traders to trade with Bengal, but the trade was subsequently lower, due to the rise of the Ottoman Empire, which introduced new taxes and tariffs against European traders. This had led to explorers like Christopher Columbus finding a route to reach India, which eventually reached the Americas. Explorers like Vasco da Gama, a Portuguese traveller, also found a route to reach to India from the African coast.

In Asia, the Timurid Empire collapsed and the Afghan Pashtun Lodi dynasty took control of the Delhi Sultanate. Under the rule of the Yongle Emperor, who built the Forbidden City and commanded Zheng He to explore the world overseas, the Ming dynasty's territory reached its pinnacle.

In Africa, the spread of Islam led to the destruction of the Christian kingdoms of Nubia, by the end of the century, leaving only Alodia (which was to collapse in 1504). The formerly vast Mali Empire teetered on the brink of collapse, under pressure from the rising Songhai Empire.

In the Americas, both the Aztec Empire and the Inca Empire reached the peak of their influence, but the voyages of Christopher Columbus and other European voyages of discovery in the Americas, beginning the European colonization of the Americas, changed the course of modern history.

Events

1401–1409

Thumb
Portrait of the founder of accounting, Luca Pacioli, by Jacopo de' Barbari (Museo di Capodimonte).

1410s

Thumb
The Northern Yuan dynasty and Turco-Mongol residual states and domains by the 15th century

1420s

Thumb
Joan of Arc, a French peasant girl, directly influenced the result of the Hundred Years' War.

1430s

1440s

Thumb
Detail of The Emperor's Approach showing the Xuande Emperor's royal carriage. Ming dynasty of China.

1450s

Thumb
Angkor, the capital of the Khmer Empire, was abandoned in the 15th century.

1460s

Thumb
The seventeen Kuchkabals of Yucatán after The League of Mayapan in 1461.

1470s

1480s

Thumb
The Siege of Rhodes (1480). Ships of the Hospitaliers in the forefront, and Turkish camp in the background.

1490–1500

Thumb
View of Florence, birthplace of the Renaissance, in a 1493 woodcut from Hartmann Schedel's Nuremberg Chronicle
  • 1492: The death of Sunni Ali Ber left a leadership void in the Songhai Empire, and his son was soon dethroned by Mamadou Toure who ascended the throne in 1493 under the name Askia (meaning "general") Muhammad. Askia Muhammad made Songhai the largest empire in the history of West Africa. The empire went into decline, however, after 1528, when the now-blind Askia Muhammad was dethroned by his son, Askia Musa.
  • 1492: Boabdil's surrender of Granada marks the end of the Spanish Reconquista and Al-Andalus.
  • 1492: Ferdinand and Isabella sign the Alhambra Decree, expelling all Jews from Spain unless they convert to Catholicism; 40,000–200,000 leave.
  • 1492: Christopher Columbus landed in the Americas from Spain.
  • 1493: Christopher Columbus landed on modern-day Puerto Rico.
  • 1493: Leonardo da Vinci creates the first known design for a helicopter.
  • 1494: Spain and Portugal sign the Treaty of Tordesillas and agree to divide the World outside of Europe between themselves.
  • 1494–1559: The Italian Wars lead to the downfall of the Italian city-states.
  • 1495: Manuel I of Portugal was succeeded as the king of Portugal (reigns until 1521).
  • 1497–1499: Vasco da Gama's first voyage from Europe to India and back.
  • 1499: Ottoman fleet defeats Venetians at the Battle of Zonchio.
  • 1499: University "Alcalá de Henares" in Madrid, Spain is built.
  • 1499: Michelangelo's Pietà in St. Peter's Basilica is made in Rome
  • 1500: Islam becomes the dominant religion across the Indonesian archipelago.[13]
  • 1500: in an effort to increase his power. Bolkiah founded the city of Selurong—later named Maynila, on the other side of the Pasig River shortly after taking over Tondo from its monarch, Lakan Gambang.[14]
  • 1500: Around late 15th century Bujangga Manik manuscript was composed, tell the story of Jaya Pakuan Bujangga Manik, a Sundanese Hindu hermit journeys throughout Java and Bali.[15]
  • 1500: Charles of Ghent (future Lord of the Netherlands, King of Spain, Archduke of Austria, and Holy Roman Emperor) was born.
  • 1500: Guru Nanak begins the spreading of Sikhism, the fifth-largest religion in the world.
  • 1500: Spanish navigator Vicente Yáñez Pinzón encounters Brazil but is prevented from claiming it by the Treaty of Tordesillas.
  • 1500: Portuguese navigator Pedro Álvares Cabral claims Brazil for Portugal.
  • 1500: The Ottoman fleet of Kemal Reis defeats the Venetians at the Second Battle of Lepanto.

Gallery

Inventions, discoveries, introductions

See also: Science and inventions of Leonardo da Vinci
See also: Timeline of historic inventions § 15th century

References

Sources

Loading related searches...

Wikiwand - on

Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.