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A moment in history

Who ruled the world in 1555?

13 thrones active across 13 rulers, a snapshot of the 16th century.

1555 was a divided year across much of the world: in one realm rulers tried to legislate religious difference into peace, while in others they enforced faith by fire, law, or conquest. In September, the Peace of Augsburg gave princes of the Holy Roman Empire the right to choose Catholicism or Lutheranism for their territories, formally ending decades of German religious war. In England, Queen Mary I continued her persecution of Protestants, burning martyrs like John Rogers in February and bishops Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley in October. In Rome, the newly elected Pope Paul IV established the Roman Ghetto in July, confining the city's Jews to a walled quarter. Also in 1555, Charles V abdicated as Holy Roman Emperor in October. His brother Ferdinand succeeded him. Meanwhile in India, the exiled Mughal emperor Humayun returned to reclaim the throne from the Sur dynasty, after having it taken from him in 1540. Farther east, the Kingdom of Ava fell in Burma, and a major earthquake devastated Kashmir, killing thousands across the valley.
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Explore who held power in each world throne this year.

Chronicle

Key events of 1555

  • 22 JanKingdom of Ava falls in Upper Burma
  • 2 FebDiet of Augsburg opens
  • 4 FebJohn Rogers burned at the stake; first Protestant martyr of Mary I's reign
  • 23 MarDeath of Pope Julius III
  • 9 AprMarcellus II elected pope
  • 1 MayDeath of Pope Marcellus II after a 22-day reign
  • 23 MayPaul IV elected pope
  • 25 MayJeanne d'Albret becomes Queen of Navarre on her father's death
  • 1 JunTreaty of Amasya ends the Ottoman-Safavid War
  • 12 JulPope Paul IV establishes the Roman Ghetto
  • 25 SepPeace of Augsburg signed
  • 28 SepMajor Kashmiri earthquake
  • 16 OctBattle of Miyajima; Mori Motonari defeats Sue Harukata
  • 16 OctHugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley burned at the stake in Oxford by order of Mary I
  • 25 OctCharles V abdicates rule over the Low Countries to his son, Philip II

From the library

Go deeper on 1555

Histories tied to the people, places, and turning points that defined this year across the world.

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