16th Century
| Year | Date | Event |
|---|---|---|
| 1503 | Kingdom of Kochi is taken over by the Portuguese creating the first European settlement in India. | |
| 1508 | The Christian-Islamic power struggle in Europe and the Middle East. Spills over into the Indian Ocean as Battle of Chaul during the Portuguese-Mamluk War | |
| 1509 | Battle of Diu marks the beginning of the dominance of the Europeans in the Asian naval theater. | |
| 1510 | Portuguese India (to 1961) | |
| 1522 | Portuguese land on the Coromandel Coast | |
| 1526 | 21 April | Sultan Ibrahim Lodi, of the Delhi Sultanate, angers local nobles, who respond by inviting Babur, the Mughal ruler of Kabul, to invade Delhi and Agra. The local population, plus the possession of artillery, assists Babur in killing the Sultan (whose soldiers desert him) at the Battle of Panipat. |
| 1527 | Babur bribes Mewar general Silhadi promising Silhadi a kingdom, if Silhadi betrays Mewar King Rana Sanga in Battle of Khanwa, thus leading to the annexation of Mewar. | |
| 1530 | Babur completes his Baburnama, reflecting on society, politics, economics, history, geography, nature, flora and fauna, which to this day is a standard textbook in 25 countries. Babur dies, and is succeeded by his son Humayun. | |
| 1539 | Battle of Chausa fought between Humayun and Sher Shah Suri in which Humayun defeated. | |
| Guru Angad Dev becomes second guru of sikhs. | ||
| 1540 | Battle of Kannauj fought between Humayun and Sher Shah Suri and Humayun was completely defeated. Humayun lost the Mughal empire to Afghans (Suri Dynasty), and passed 12 years in exile. | |
| 1545 | Death of Sher Shah Suri and succeeded by Islam Shah Suri. | |
| 1552 | Guru Amar Das becomes third Guru of Sikhs. | |
| 1554 | Death of Islam Shah Suri. | |
| 1555 | Humayun regained the throne of Delhi from the hands of weak successors of Sher Shah. | |
| 1556 | Humayun converts from Sunni Islam to Shia Islam, to gain the alliance of the Shah of Persia. Humayun dies, and is succeeded by his son Akbar. | |
| Hindu king Hemu establishes 'Hindu Raj' in North India and bestowed with title of "Samrat Hem Chandra Vikramaditya"; Second Battle of Panipat fought between Hemu and Akbar's forces in which Hemu gets killed. | ||
| 1565 | Battle of Talikota results in the rout of Vijayanagara empire. | |
| 1572 | Akbar the Great annexes Gujarat, also shifts the Mughal capital to Fatehpur Sikri where a new township and citadel containing buildings of a unique all-India character—inspired by the architecture of Bengal, Gujarat, Malwa, Kashmir as well as the Timurid world—is born. | |
| 1574 | Guru Ram Das becomes fourth Guru of Sikhs. | |
| Akbar annexes Bengal. | ||
| 1581 | Guru Arjan Dev becomes fifth Guru of Sikhs. | |
| 1586 | Akbar annexes Kashmir. | |
| 1600 | East India company is formed in England. Gets exclusive trading rights with India. |
Read more about this topic: Timeline Of Indian History
Famous quotes containing the word century:
“Who is so deaf or so blind as he
That wilfully will neither hear nor see?”
—16th century English proverb, collected in J. Heywood, Dialogue of Proverbs (1546)