Ivan the Terrible: Tsar of Russia

Birth

Aug 25, 1530

Ivan was born August 25, 1530 as the son of Grand Prince Vasilii III, and Ielena Glinskaia, who was a member of the Boyar family. When Ivan was 3, his father died and his mother remarried and was in power until 1537, when she was killed. After her death, Ivan at the age of 8 realized that there were groups of noblemen fighting for her power. (Magill, 1138-1143)

King Henry VIII

Nov 3, 1535

King Henry VIII of England established himself as Supreme Head of the Church of England in November of 1535. When he was excommunicated by the Pope, Henry broke with Rome and that was when he declared himself the title. He was responsible for the Church of England breaking away from the Roman Catholic Church. This was the beginning of the English Reformation. (royal.gov)

Ethiopian Chants

Dec 15, 1540

Ethiopian coptic chants were developed during King Claudius' reign. Two priests by the names of Azza Gera and Azza Kagwel invented it. The oldest dated written record in Ethiopia dates back to the 16th century. It consists of markings in the margins and inbetween the lines of the text. (ethiopianorthodox.org)

Michelangelo paints Sistine Chapel

Dec 15, 1541

Michelangelo, a famous artist, painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and called it "The Last Judgement." Some of the people he included on the ceiling were The Passion, Christ, Vigin Mary, St. Peter, St. Laurence, St. Bartholomew, and St. Catherine. He presented a different image to humanity with this work, potraying terror. (michaelangelo.com)

Orders prince to be killed

Dec 29, 1543

In 1543, Ivan was only 13 years old, and he ordered Prince Andrew Shuisky to be killed. the prince was part of the boyars rule, and the reason for his execution was for being a cruel and corrupt person. The killing of Prince Andrew marked the end of the boyars rule. (Blumberg, 131)

Italian Wars of 1542-1446

Dec 15, 1544

During this time in history, the Italian Wars were taking place, France and the Ottomon Empire fought against England and the Holy Roman Empire. Piedmont, a region in Italy, is where France and England fought in control of the land.

Crowned Tsar of Russia

Jan 17, 1547

At the young age of 16, Ivan IV was crowned tsar of Muscovy. The same year, he appointed a council of advisors, who insitituted his reforms. By being crowned tsar, he was showing the world that he was was a supreme leader of Russia, and people should be intimidated. Also, the same year, Ivan met Anastasia Romanovna, and shortly after, they were married. (biography.com)

Captured Khanate of Kazan

Oct 2, 1552

In 1552, Tsar Ivan led 150,000 soilders to attack the Cossacks and the Tartars to gain control of the Khanate of Kazan. The Tartars where overwhelmed and after 6 weeks, Ivan gained control of the Khanate. This led to the building of St. Basil's Catherdral to show that Ivan IV has control over the land. (biography.com)

St. Basil's Cathedral

Dec 15, 1553

Ivan constructed and designed St. Basil's Catherdral to represent him taking over the Kazan Khanate from the Mongol forces. This buliding was built after St. Basil becauase of the stories he told to Ivan to impress him. After the buliding was built, Ivan the Terrible blinded all his architect so that he could never make a beautiful catherdral for anyone else. (russianlife.com)

Destruction of Tartar Khanates

Sep 16, 1556

Ivan had two major goals to accomplish: to conquer the Golden Horde and to have acess of the Baltic Sea. In 1556, Ivan led in the destruction of the Astrakhan and Kazan Khanate, which left him conquering 2/3 of the taters of Russia. also at this time, Ivan IV instituded the laws that the boyar class had to follow when under his rule. (Byers, 157-158)

Queen Elizabeth takes the throne

Dec 15, 1558

Queen Elizabeth I succeeded to the throne of England after her half sister's death in 1558. The Church of England established a compromise between Roman Catholic, and Protestantism under her rule. She spoke six languages, inherited intelligence, and was often called "Gloriana" or "Good Queen Bess." (royal.gov)

Death of his wife

Dec 15, 1560

In the year of 1560, Ivan the Terrible's beloved first wife Anastasia died. This put Ivan into a deep depression and he started killing and executing more people than ever before. From this point on until his death, Ivan led a reign of horror, which included murdering many boyars families over the course of 24 years. (Magill, 1142)

Oprichnina Period

Jun 28, 1570

The Oprichnina period lasted from 1565-1572. During this time, Ivan had returned to Moscow, and was more brutal than ever after the death of his wife. He discovered that there was treason with Novgorod, so Ivan IV brutally attacked thwe town in which in a time span of 5 weeks, over 60,000 people were killed. (Blumberg, 126)

Killed his son

Nov 1, 1580

In early November of 1580, great fury came upon Ivan and he killed his son, who he loved very much. The eldest as well as the only one surviving, he was supposed to successed the throne when Ivan the Terrible died. After the accident, Ivan refused to obey anyone but himself. (biography.com)

Sir Francis Drake becomes a knight

Apr 4, 1581

Sir Francis Drake was knighted by Queen Elizabeth. This is because he completed the very first circumnavigation in the history of the world. The goal was for Drake to sail across the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean, and he succeeded. Sir Francis Drake was the first privateer to do so. (Privateer: private person authorized by a government by attck of forgein vessels during war.) (enchantedlearning.com)

Death

Mar 19, 1584

During the final years of his life, Ivan became more and more erratic. He ended up murdering his son as well as his heir. After the death of his first wife, he remarried 7 times, and drank to an excess. In 1584, at age 54, he had a stroke and died while playing chess. (Magill, 1143)