Early Modern
Wanli Emperor (1572-1620): The Longest Ming Reign and Its Decline
The longest reign of the Ming dynasty began with fiscal recovery but ended with a paralysed government, an empty treasury and a new threat from the Manchus.
Region
Asia
Early Modern
Battle of Nagashino (1575): Guns Against the Takeda Cavalry
Decisive Oda-Tokugawa victory; the Takeda lost many senior commanders and never recovered their former power.
Early Modern
Battle of Haldighati (1576): Maharana Pratap Against Akbar
Mughal tactical victory; Maharana Pratap escaped and continued resisting Mughal rule for the rest of his life.
Early Modern
Azuchi Castle (1576): Oda Nobunaga's Lost Fortress Palace
Azuchi Castle became the model for the great Japanese castle towers, but its main buildings burned in June 1582, days after Nobunaga's death.
Early Modern
Yermak's Conquest of Siberia (1582): The Fall of Qashliq
Yermak's Cossacks captured Qashliq in October 1582 and broke the power of the Khanate of Sibir; although Yermak was killed in 1584, Russia went on to conquer all of Siberia.
Early Modern
Tensho Embassy (1582): Japanese Envoys Visit the Pope in Rome
The first official Japanese embassy to Europe was received by Philip II, Gregory XIII and Sixtus V, and returned to Japan with a European printing press.
Early Modern
Honno-ji Incident (1582): The Betrayal and Death of Oda Nobunaga
Nobunaga and his heir Nobutada died; Akechi Mitsuhide was defeated by Hideyoshi at Yamazaki eleven days later, opening the way for Hideyoshi's rise.
Early Modern
Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1582-1598): The Peasant Who Unified Japan
Hideyoshi brought all of Japan under one authority by 1590 and laid the social and fiscal foundations of early modern Japan, but his invasions of Korea failed and his dynasty did not survive him.
Early Modern
Matteo Ricci in China (1582-1610): The Jesuit Who Reached Beijing
Ricci established a lasting Jesuit presence in Beijing, introduced European mathematics and geography to Chinese scholars and shaped a missionary strategy of cultural accommodation.
Early Modern
Hideyoshi's Sword Hunt (1588): Disarming the Peasants of Japan
Farmers were ordered to surrender swords, bows, spears and firearms, helping to separate warriors from cultivators in the social order of early modern Japan.
Early Modern
Siege of Odawara (1590): Hideyoshi Completes Japan's Unification
The Hōjō surrendered, Ujimasa was ordered to commit suicide, and their Kantō lands passed to Tokugawa Ieyasu, completing Hideyoshi's unification of Japan.
Early Modern
Imjin War (1592–1598): Japan's Invasions of Korea
Japan withdrew after Hideyoshi's death without gaining territory, leaving Korea devastated and Ming China financially weakened.