Ivan the Terrible

Ivan is born

Aug 25, 1530

Ivan IV Vasilyevich was born on August 25 1530 in Kolomenskoye, Moscow, Russia. He was born to his father Vasili III of Russia, the grand prince of Moscow from 1503 until his death in 1533. Ivan's mother was Elena Glinskaya who was an appointed Russian regent and the Grand Princess (through marriage) of Moscow. (Biography)

Roman Catholicism restored in England by Queen Mary I

1533

England was under the rule of King Henry VIII, who brought the country to a rise in Protestanism. However, throughout this time Mary remained loyal to her catholic beliefs. After her father died, her 9 year old half brother, Edward VI took to the throne in 1547. During his rule the Protestant and Catholic church grew to be farther apart, Protestant being the main religion practiced in England. After the end of Edward VI's rule Queen Mary I set out to restore Catholicism in England. (Trueman)

Portuguese become the first europeans to visit Japan

Period: 1542 to 1543

Portuguese travelers sailed to Tanegashima, a small island near the coast of Kyushu. This officially made the Portuguese the first Europeans to ever go to Japan, which inspired others to travel to Japan as well. The Japaneese were intrigued by the culture of the Portuguese, these were the first foreigners that the Japaneese had ever interacted with. Portugal and Japan began to exchange merchant and textile goods such as lead, gold, tin, swords, and silk. (Alexander)

Publication of Revolution of Heavenly bodies

1543

The publication of the Revolution of Heavenly Bodies was a book published by Nicolaus Copernicus right before his death in 1543. In his book, Copernicus used experiments and diagrams to prove his theory that the sun was in face the center of the universe and other planets, such as the earth revolved around it. At this time the people believed that the earth was the center if the universe and justified their thoughts with their religious beliefs and punished those who saw differently (Copernicus)

The Schmalkaldic war lasts from 1546-1547

1546

The Schmalkaldic war took place from 1546 to 1547 in Germany. During this war the troops of the Schmalkaldic league and of Charles V fought on the land of the Holy Roman Empire. (Grun 242) The league wanted to defend their right to change beliefs and religion, so they confronted Charles V. However on April 24th, 1547 Charles V and his troops had advanced the Schmalkaldic league and forced them to retreat, Charles V left victorious and took John Frederick, a leader of the league prisoner. (Cosmo)

Ivan appoints the Selected Council

1547

In 1547, Ivan decided to gather and combine a group of men to serve as an informal advising body. The "leaders" of this advisory body would consist of the top two favorites, chosen by Ivan the Terrible. Ivan chose the two leaders of the council to be Aleksey Adashev and the priest Silvestr. Ivan decided to be completely loyal to the council and even dedicated himself to the Selected Council by restraining himself and agreeing to do nothing without the permission of the council. (Hoxha)

Ivan is crowned czar of Muscovy and marries his first wife

Jan 16, 1547

Ivan IV started his reign as czar of Russia when he was crowned the czar of muscovy on January 16, 1547. He also marries his first wife, Anastasia Romanov who he would later share six children with. He was only 16 years old when he was crowned and married. Ivan’s mother and father had died by this time, which is why Ivan took leadership at such a young age. (Biography)

Ivan creates a law code called the Sudebnik of 1550

1550

Ivan the Terrible along with the boyar class created a revision of the Subdenik of 1497, which was created by Ivan the terrible's grandfather Ivan the Great. (Hoxha) The Sudebnik includes particular punishments and penalties for crimes that were not included in the previous Sudebnik of 1497. This would ultimately strengthen the roles of the judicial branch and increase the rights of the people. (Revolvy)

Ivan’s first wife dies

Aug 7, 1560

Ivan lost his wife Anastasia Romanov on August 7th of 1560. After the death of his first wife, Ivan fell into a deep depression and started to behave more erratically. This was a major state of depression in his life and the people of Russia were begging to become scared of the czar and what he might do next. (Biography)

The Oprichnina

1565

Ivan the terrible blamed the boyars for the death of his wife, he claimed that the boyars has plotted against him and his wife. He accused the boyars of secretly killing his wife by poisoning her. In return Ivan the Terrible created a group called the Oprichnina to spy on the boyars and the people of Russia. This group of secret spies were to watch over the people and find anyone in which they did not like or found skeptical. ("Ivan the Terrible")

Zemsky Sobor

1566

In 1566, Ivan called for a meeting with the assemblies, called the Zemsky Sobor. The meetings consisted of representatives from churches and monarch authorities, the boyar council, landowning classes, and urban freemen. At this particular meeting Ivan and the assemblies discussed the topic of the Livonian war. Russia and Sweden had stirred up land disputes on a region of land called Laviona and their lack of contribution to a treaty which they had earlier made. (Hoxha)

Thousands die of hunger in Russia

1570

In 1570 thousands uopn thousands of people died of hunger due to poor harvests and bad weather. Famine spread throughout Russia and the people were lacking the crops and harvests that they needed.(Rice 43) Food became more and more scarce throughout this period in time. Due to the lack of crops, the food prices kept rising making it harder for the lower classes scavenging for food day to day. (Briscoe).

Ivan ordered the Oprichnina to terrorize the boyar class and their supporters

1572

The Oprichnina was created out of Ivan's despair of his wife' death and distrust within the boyar class. However, Ivan took the Oprichnina too far when he started to order them to kill any who they disliked or found suspicious. He accused the boyar class of secretly poisoning his wife, which put a target on the backs of those who were in the boyar class and those who supported it. They led many executions and eventually became weaker and were disbanded. ("Ivan the Terrible")

Ivan the Terrible killed his own son

Nov 15, 1581

Ivan the Terrible was caught in a state of depression after his wife died. This was when he started to become violent to the people around him. In 1581 he beat his pregnant daughter in law causing her to have a miscarriage. He then continued in this violent stage when he beat his son Tsarevich Ivan Ivanovich until he eventually died. Around this time the people of Russia began to see Ivan as a cruel and violent person. (Andreyev)

Sir Walter Raleigh established the first permanent colony in North America

1584

Sir Walter Raleigh was an English explorer from the England who funded and expeditions to the New World. Queen Elizabeth I issued a charter for Raleigh's expeditions on March 15, 1584, the colonists returned back to England and reported their finding of the lost colony of Roanoke. In honor of the Virgin Queen, Raleigh decided to name the territory Virginia and the colonists returned to what would be the first permanent colony in North America. (Website design)

Ivan the Terrible dies

Mar 18, 1584

Ivan the Terrible died on March 18th in 1584 at the age of 53 years old. The terrible leader died quietly of a stroke while playing a game of chess against Bogdan Belsky. (Andreyev) Ivan the Terrible's death left his son Feodor I of Russia in power, unfortunately Feodor was unfit for this role and led Russia into what is called the Time of Troubles. This period lasted until Feodors death in 1598. (Seifi)