• آلبریکو جنتیلی و جدایی دین و دولت
• سلیمان قانونی و جنگ با شاه طهماسب صفوی 
• جنگ صفویان و عثمانی(۱۵۵۵-۱۵۳۲) 
• هنری هشتم پادشاه انگلستان و درگیری‌هایش با پاپ وقت؛ کلمنت هفتم 
• یسوعیون؛ پیاده‌نظام پاپ 
• کوپرنیک ستاره‌شناس و ریاضیدان لهستانی که نظریه خورشید مرکزی منظومه ما را گسترش داد 
• شورای ترنت که ناشی از اصلاحات پروتستانی بود و به عنوان تجسم اصلاح کاتولیک توصیف می‌شد
• ایوان مخوف یا بهتر بگویم ایوان گروزنی(Grozny)، و - 
• داستان ژان کالـْوَن و سوختنِ سِروِه‌تُس در آتش 

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In 1565, Swiss naturalist Conrad Gessner published a book called, "Historiae animalium". The book included the first descriptions of fossils, such as ammonites, although he was not sure exactly what they were.

An agreement was reached between the Catholic and protestant princes of Germany that the ruler of each state could decide the religion of his subjects. Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor, refused to attend the negotiations and handed control of the empire to his brother Ferdinand.

The grandson of Babur, Akbar was the third Mughal emperor of India. He succeeded his father Humayun - who had failed to preserve Babur's conquests - in 1556 at the age of 13. During his 50-year reign, Akbar created a mighty empire that stretched right across northern India.

Akbar was a Muslim, but he allowed his Hindu subjects to worship freely and encouraged debates with members of other religions, including Hindus, Zoroastrians (the religion of Persia), and Christians.

Elizabeth I, became queen on the death of her half-sister. Mary 1, who was a devout Catholic. Elizabeth restored the Protestant faith to England. To preserve her independence, she refused to marry and deliberately created a powerful image of monarchy.

The Reformation split the countries of Europe along a deep religious divide. The followers of Martin Luther and John Calvin became the main Protestant opposition to the Catholic Church. As people across Europe sought the freedom to practise their religion the continent was shaken by a series of conflicts that spanned more than 150 years and are known as the Wars of Religion.

William Shakespeare is regarded as the greatest writer in the English language. He wrote at least 37 plays, including Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, and Macbeth, which have been translated into more than 80 languages.

Philip II of Spain was also the ruler of the Netherlands. When Dutch Calvinists (followers of French Protestant John Calvin) began sacking Catholic churches, he sent Spanish troops to restore order. Their brutality sparked a major Dutch revolt.

By 1572, the rebellion had turned to open warfare, with William the Silent leading the Dutch resistance. Spain eventually recognized Dutch independence in 1648.

Philip II saw it as his divine mission to root out heresy, but his harsh policies and high taxes alienated his Dutch subjects. Wars had sapped Spain's economy, while the Dutch had become rich as a result of their Asian trade.

Oda Nobunaga, leader of the Oda clan, seized the imperial capital of Kyoto and set about uniting Japan under his rule. His army was equipped with muskets, introduced into Japan by the Portuguese.

In 1569, Gerard Mercator, a Flemish mapmaker living in Germany, produced a new world map. The Earth is round, so attempts to show it flat distort its appearance. Mercator's solution was to use a grid of interlocking lines of constant course, meaning a compass's needle would not change if you were to travel along one of the lines. His map allowed sailors to plot an accurate course, but was not commonly used for many years.

Abraham Ortelius, a mapmaker from Antwerp in modern-day Belgium, published the first modern atlas, called the Theatre of the World, it contained 70 maps and was an instant success.

A Christian fleet under the command of Don John of Austria defeated an Ottoman fleet at Lepanto off the west coast of Greece in the last major naval battle fought between galley's. The victory prevented the Ottomans from taking control o f the Mediterranean Sea.

On 24 August, St Bartholomew's Day, 3,000 Huguenots (French Protestants) were massacred in the streets of Paris on the orders of King Charles IX and his mother, Catherine de' Medici. Thousands more were killed elsewhere in France.

Spanish troops slaugtitered 7,000 people in Antwerp one of tile worst atrocities of the Dutch Revolt

When the king of Portugal died without an heir, Philip 11 of Spain - one of several claimants to the throne - sent an army to occupy Portugal and had himself crowned king. The enforced union between Spain and Portugal lasted until 1640. During this period Portugal's prosperity declined.

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In 1580, cocoa beans, the source of chocolate, became commercially available for the first time in Europe. People had been using it in a drink for centuries in the New Wodd. Cocoa beans came from South America's tropical forests.

Pope Gregory XIII introduced a more accurate calendar, which he named the Gregorian calendar after himself. At first, only Catholic countries used the Gregorian calendar, but it gradually won general acceptance and is used throughout the world today.

Philip 11 of Spain sent a large fleet (armada) of 130 ships from Spain with the twinaim of invading England and crushing the Dutch Revolt. His plan was a complete failure. The English fleet routed the Armada, inflicting heavy losses. Gales blew the surviving ships off course. Only 67 made it back to Spain.

General Toyotomi Hideyoshi brought an end to the wars that had divided Japan since the Onin Wars. He defeated the Hojo clan and united all of Japan under his rule, although he did not take the title of shogun (military leader).

King Heniy IV of France signed the Edict of Nantes, which gave French Protestants freedom to practise their religion. Henry, formerly a Protestant himself, had become a Catholic in 1593 to secure his throne and bring an end to the French Wars of Religion.

Shah Abbas I, the greatest ruler of the Safavid dynasty of Iran, moved the capital to Isfahan. He transformed it into one of the most beautiful cities in the world, adorning it with mosques, colleges, baths, gardens, palaces, and a 5-km (3-mile) long bazaar. It became a centre for the arts, especially painting.

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Abbas, who became I at the age of 16 in 1587, rescued the Safavid Empire from near extinction by vering territories Lost to the Ottomans and Uzbeks.

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One of three mosques built by the Shah Abbas around the maidan (central square) of Isfahan, the Imam mosque is said to contain 18 million bricks and 475,000 tiles.

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Mulla Sadrā (Sadr-ol-Mote'allehin), was an Iranian philosopher, theologian who led the Iranian cultural renaissance in the 17th century.

Mulla Sadra brought "a new philosophical insight in dealing with the nature of reality" and created "a major transition from essentialism to existentialism" in Islamic philosophy.(...)

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