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All Events
Herat, under Timurid princes, succeeds Tabriz as the main centre of Persian art
The massive architecture of the Incas, consisting of finely dressed irregular blocks of stone, becomes a feature of Cuzco
The oldest surviving spring mechanism (enabling clocks to become small and portable) is put to work
A warrior king, Ewuare, establishes the forest kingdom of Benin
Coffee, derived from wild plants in Ethiopia, is cultivated in Arabia
The Swedish Riksdag includes peasants as a fourth estate, alongside clergy, nobles and burghers
The caravel, a sailing ship developed in the Mediterranean and used down the west coast of Africa, is adapted by the Portuguese for Atlantic use
The French bring two small cannon on to the battlefield at Formigny, where they have a significant effect in achieving the French victory
The most sacred of the Inca divinities, Punchao, is symbolized by a great golden disc representing the sun
Christian boys, trained as slaves in the personal service of the Turkish sultan, acquire considerable power as the elite corps of janissaries
Francesco Sforza, a soldier of fortune, wins power in Milan
Paolo Uccello is interested in the laws of perspective, in works such as The Battle of San Romano
Étienne Chevalier commissions from Jean Fouquet a series of illustrations for his Book of Hours
The Turks terrify Constantinople by lobbing vast stones at the city from a 19-ton bombard of cast iron
Constantinople falls to a 21-year-old Muslim conqueror, Mehmed II, bringing the Ottoman Turks their capital city
The Christian emperor Constantine XI dies in the fighting in Constantinople, as the Greek Byzantine empire yields to that of the Ottoman Turks
The French win a convincing victory at Castillon, recovering the last stronghold (except Calais) held by the English in France
Charles VII's full recovery of Aquitaine and Normandy effectively brings to an end the Hundred Years' War
An engagement at St Albans is the first battle in the 30-year struggle between the white and red roses of York and Lancaster
Master ES becomes the first artist to produce engravings
The Turks, besieging Belgrade, are dispersed by a peasant army inspired by the preaching of a Franciscan friar, St John of Capistrano
A copy of Europe's first book printed from movable type, the Gutenberg Bible, is completed in Mainz
A Portuguese navigator discovers some of the Cape Verde islands, tropical and at that time uninhabited
Matthias Corvinus begins a long reign which brings Moravia, Silesia and much of Austria within the Hungarian kingdom
Oil paints, long familiar in the Netherlands, begin to be adopted in Italy in place of tempera
