On the death of his father, and as the result of the death of his elder brother Arthur, Henry VIII becomes king of England

James IV of Scotland dies at Flodden, in the disastrous defeat of his army by the English

On the death of his father at Flodden, the one-year-old James V becomes king of Scotland

Louis XII is succeeded on the French throne by his cousin and son-in-law, Francis I

The death of Ferdinand II results in Spain becoming part of the Habsburg empire, under the rule of Charles V (as Charles I of Spain)

Catherine of Aragon gives birth to a daughter, Mary, who becomes the only one of her six children to live beyond infancy

The Ottoman sultan, Selim I, captures Cairo and ends Mameluke rule in the middle east

The last Abbasid caliph, captured by the Ottoman Turks, is taken as a prisoner to Istanbul - ending the authentic line of 'successors' to Muhammad

From Bosnia to Egypt and Arabia, the Ottoman Turks now rule the largest Muslim empire since the early caliphate - and will frequently use the title of caliph to assert their authority within Sunni Islam

The Turkish sultan, Suleiman I, marches into the kingdom of Hungary and captures Belgrade

The Vasa dynasty in Sweden begins with the seizing of the throne by Gustavus I

The Inca emperor, Huayna Capac, dies in an epidemic of a western disease, smallpox

Ruling respectively from Cuzco and Quito, Huáscar and Atahualpa compete for the empire of their father, Huayna Capac

In a battle at Panipat Babur defeats the sultan of Delhi, launching the Mughal empire in India

The Hungarian king, Louis II, is killed in battle at Mohacs, where the Turks win a crushing victory

Francis I begins to transform Fontainebleau into a palace, employing artists who establish the mannerist school of Fontainebleau

Victory at Khanua, over a Hindu confederation of Rajput rulers, brings Babur a tenuous control over most of northwest India

Gustavus I of Sweden fills his coffers by appropriating the property of Catholic churches and monasteries

Discussion of Henry VIII's proposed divorce hinges on rival verses from the Old Testament, in Deuteronomy and Leviticus

Atahualpa defeats and kills his half-brother Huáscar, thus winning control of the entire Inca empire

The first Mughal emperor, Babur, dies in India and is succeeded by his son, Humayun

In a secret ceremony Henry VIII marries Anne Boleyn, though he has not yet succeeded in divorcing Catherine of Aragon

Thomas Cranmer, the archbishop of Canterbury, declares Henry VIII's marriage to Catherine of Aragon null and void

Anne Boleyn has a child (the future Elizabeth I) but not of the sex her husband wants

Henry VIII's Act of Supremacy forces prominent figures in English public life to accept him on oath as head of the Church of England