Charles V
Born in Ghent, he inherited the Habsburg, Burgundian and Spanish lands, ruled an empire ‘on which the sun never set’ and abdicated in Brussels in 1556.
| Lived | 1500 – 1558 |
| Known as | Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain |
| Birthplace or main place | Ghent |
| Places on the map | Brussels, Toledo, Bologna |
GhentSee the world of Charles V in the interactive map
Who ruled these places in his lifetime
| Place | At birth (map of 1500) | At death (map of 1500) |
|---|---|---|
| Ghent | Holy Roman Empire | same |
| Brussels | Holy Roman Empire | same |
| Toledo | Castile | same |
| Bologna | Papal States | same |
From the border maps nearest to each date; borders are approximate.
Events in his lifetime
| Year | Event | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 1506 | Pope Julius II brings Bologna into the Papal States | Bologna |
| 1530 | Pope Clement VII crowns Charles V emperor in Bologna | Bologna |
Battles and sites of the time
- Wittenberg · 1517
- Battle of Mohács · 1526
Further reading
Contemporaries
| Lived | Person | |
|---|---|---|
| 1475 – 1564 | Michelangelo | Sculptor, painter and architect |
| 1494 – 1566 | Suleiman the Magnificent | Ottoman sultan |
| 1509 – 1564 | John Calvin | Reformer |
| 1485 – 1547 | Hernán Cortés | Spanish conquistador |
| 1483 – 1546 | Martin Luther | Reformer |
| 1473 – 1543 | Nicolaus Copernicus | Astronomer |
| c. 1478 – 1541 | Francisco Pizarro | Spanish conquistador |
| c. 1443 – 1538 | Askia Muhammad | Emperor of Songhai |
| c. 1502 – 1533 | Atahualpa | Sapa Inca |
| 1527 – 1598 | Philip II | King of Spain |
Last updated 9 November 2026. Sources: border data from historical-basemaps, land and rivers from Natural Earth; texts written for Chronica Maps from standard reference works. How we make the maps.