Ivan the Terrible | Timeline

Ivan IV Vasilyevich (25 August 1530 – 28 March 1584), commonly known in English as Ivan the Terrible, was the grand prince of Moscow from 1533 to 1547 and the first Tsar of all Russia from 1547 to 1584. (Intro from Wikipedia)

August 25, 1530 - Kolomenskoye, SE of Moscow, Grand Duchy of Moscow - Ivan IV Vasilyevich is born

December 3, 1533 - Kolomenskoye - Appointed Grand Prince of Moscow after his father dies. His mother Elena Glinskaya initially acted as regent

January(?) 1(?), 1538 - Kolomenskoye - 8-year-old Ivan survives poisoning

January 26, 1547 - Moscow - Crowned Tsar of all Russia at the Dormition Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin, aged 16 =(START)

February 3, 1547 - Moscow - Marries Anastasia Romanovna at the Cathedral of the Annunciation

June 21, 1547 - Moscow - Great Fire of Moscow - The city was mostly wooden, densely populated and lacked an organized fire service. Fires broke out regularly, but storm-force winds drove a blaze from the Arbat street to the Kremlin, Kitai-gorod and Bolshoi Posad. The fire displaced about 80,000 people and killed about 2,700 to 3,700 people (not including children), leading to widespread poverty among the survivors

January(?) 1(?), 1549 - Moscow - Formation of the "Zemsky Sobor" (Assembly of the Land), a Parliament of the Tsardom of Russia's estates of the realm

June 16, 1552 - Moscow - Ivan the Terrible leads an army of 150,000 men and 150 cannons towards Kolomna

August 17, 1552 - Arsk, River Volga - The russian troops cross the River Volga

Siege of Kazan

August 23, 1552 - Kazan, Tatarstan (Today Russia) - Ivan the Terrible lays siege to Kazan

October 2, 1552 - Kazan - Fall of Kazan

March 28, 1554 - Moscow - First son, Ivan Ivanovich, is born

July 2, 1554 - Astrakhan, Volga Delta, Caspian Sea - The russian army occupies Astrakhan, the capital of Astrakhan Khanate

July 9, 1554 - Astrakhan - Signature of the Moscow-Astrakhan Treaty. Astrakhan acknowledges its vassalage to Moscow

December(?) 1(?), 1554 - Moscow - Ivan the Terrible receives the english explorer Richard Chancellor (winter of 1553-54)

January(?) 1(?), 1555 - Moscow - Beginning of the construction of the Cathedral of Vasily the Blessed (commonly known as Saint Basil's Cathedral)

January(?) 1(?), 1556 - Moscow - English explorer Richard Chancellor visits Moscow for a second time

August 26, 1556 - While in Moscow(?) - After a military campaign to punish the disobeyance of Khan Derbysh-Ali, the Astrakhan Khanate is annexed to Russia

May 31, 1557 - Moscow - Second son, Feodor, is born

August 7, 1560 - Alexandrovskaya Sloboda, NE of Moscow - Tsarina Anastasia Romanovna dies in Kolomenskoye, aged 29/30

July 12, 1561 - Moscow - Consecration of the Saint Basil's Cathedral in Moscow

November 30, 1562 - Moscow - Ivan the Terrible leaves Moscow with his army

December 4, 1562 - Mozhaysk, W. of Moscow - Arrival in Mozhaysk

January 5, 1563 - Velikiye Luki, near Pskov - Russian army units from other cities join the main army in Velikiye Luki

January 31, 1563 - Polotsk, near Vitebsk, Belarus - Ivan the Terrible lays siege to Polotsk

February 15, 1563 - Polotsk - Capitulation of Polotsk

February 21, 1563 - Polotsk - The Ambassador of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania arrives for negotiations with the Tsar

February 27, 1563 - Polotsk - Ivan the Terrible sets out for Moscow, leaving a garrison in Polotsk

December 3, 1564 - Moscow - Departs Moscow on pilgrimage to Alexandrovskaya Sloboda

January 3, 1565 - Alexandrovskaya Sloboda, NE of Moscow - Letter to the clergy and the elite of Moscow, announcing his abdication

January 2, 1570 - Outskirts of Novgorod - The Tsar's army arrives on the outskirts of Novgorod

January 6, 1570 - Novgorod - Ivan the Terrible arrives with his son and court on the outskirts of Novgorod

January 8, 1570 - Novgorod - Ivan the Terrible enters Novgorod. Archbishop Pimen is arrested and the city is sacked

February 12, 1570 - Novgorod - Withraws from Novgorod with his army, leaving the city destroyed and up to 12,000 people killed

May 24, 1571 - Moscow - Devlet I Giray of Crimea bypasses a number of russian defences and set the suburbs of Moscow on fire. A sudden wind blows the flames into the center of Moscow and the city is destroyed. The number of casualties of the fire ranged from 60,000 to 200,000

July 29, 1572 - Molodi, 50km S. of Moscow - The Battle of Molodi begins - 25,000 russians face a 40-60,000-strong tatar horde (reinforced by ottoman janissaries), led again by Devlet I Giray of Crimea

August 2, 1572 - Molodi - The Battle of Molodi ends with a russian victory. Only 20,000 tatar horsemen return to Crimea

Ivan the terrible and his son,
by Ilya Repin (1844-1930)

November 15, 1581 - Alexandrovskaya Sloboda, NE of Moscow - Ivan the Terrible assaults his daughter-in-law, who he felt was wearing unconventionally light clothing. When the tsarevich Ivan Ivanovich rushes in and confronts his father to defend his wife, the tsar strikes the head of his heir son with his sceptre. Ivan the Terrible immediately throws himself at his son, kissing his face and trying to stop the bleeding on his temple: "May I be damned! I've killed my son!"

January(?) 1(?), 1580 - Moscow(?) - Attends the wedding of Tsarevich Feodor to Irina Godunova

November 19, 1581 - Alexandrovskaya Sloboda - Despite the tsar's incessant prayers for a miracle, Ivan Ivanovich dies, aged 27

March 28, 1584 - Moscow - Ivan the Terrible dies from a stroke while playing chess with Bogdan Belsky, aged 53 =(END)