Events 1520s
- 1520–1566: The reign of Suleiman the Magnificent marks the zenith of the Ottoman Empire.
- 1520: The first European diplomatic mission to Ethiopia, sent by the Portuguese, arrives at Massawa 9 April, and reaches the imperial encampment of Emperor Dawit II in Shewa 9 October.
- 1520: Vijayanagara Empire forces under Krishnadevaraya defeat the Adil Shahi under at the Battle of Raichur
- 1521: Philippines encountered by Ferdinand Magellan. He was later killed in the Battle of Mactan in central Philippines in the same year.
- 1521: November, Ferdinand Magellan‘s expedition reaches Maluku (in present-day Indonesia) and after trade with Ternate returns to Europe with a load of cloves.
- 1523: The Cacao bean is introduced to Spain by Hernán Cortés
- 1524: Giovanni da Verrazzano is the first European to explore the Atlantic coast of North America between South Carolina and Newfoundland.
- 1527: Sack of Rome with Pope Clement VII escaping and the Swiss Guards defending the Vatican being killed. The sack of the city of Rome considered the end of the Italian Renaissance.
- 1527: Protestant Reformation begins in Sweden.
Literature
- Complutensian Polyglot Bible, Yazawin Kyaw (part 2); John Heywood‘s Johan Johan The Husband
- Reis’ Kitab-i Bahriye, Goražde Psalter; Henry VIII‘s Defence of the Seven Sacraments
- Luther Bible, New Testament translation by Martin Luther; Mirabilis Liber
- Thomas More’s Responsio ad Lutherum
- Birth of Luís de Camões and Pierre de Ronsard; I Modi (first edition) by Marcantonio Raimondi; Johann Walter‘s Eyn geystlich Gesangk Buchleyn; Erfurt Enchiridion; Cèllere Codex;
- Luther’s Against the Murderous, Thieving Hordes of Peasants; Tyndale Bible
- Tronoša Chronicle
- Pietro Aretino‘s Sonetti Lussuriosi; I Modi (second edition), expanded by Pietro Aretino
- Baltissare Castiglione – The Book of the Courtier; Francisco Delicado‘s Portrait of Lozana: The Lusty Andalusian Woman
- A Proper Dialogue Between A Gentleman and a Husbandman