Timeline January 1561

Events in January 1561 3

• 1496 – 1561 Menno Simons (1496-1561) Died 31 January 1561, aged 64 Menno Simons was a Dutch Anabaptist religious leader whose followers became known as Mennonites. A former Catholic priest, he rejected infant baptism and church-state ties, and spent decades writing and organizing congregations across the Low Countries and northern Germany while evading persecution. His teachings on nonviolence and separation from worldly authority continue to shape Mennonite and Amish communities today.
• 1501 – 1561 Bairam Khan (1501-1561) Died 31 January 1561, aged 60 Bairam Khan was a Turkoman general and statesman who served as regent for the young Mughal emperor Akbar, securing the throne after the death of Humayun. After being dismissed from power in 1560, he was assassinated by an Afghan while on pilgrimage near Patan in Gujarat. His military leadership was instrumental in consolidating early Mughal rule in northern India.
• 1561 Edict of Orleans Suspends Persecution of Huguenots French crown halts prosecutions ahead of the Colloquy of Poissy Acting on behalf of the young Charles IX, the regent Catherine de' Medici issued the Edict of Orleans, ordering the release of Huguenot prisoners and a halt to prosecutions for religious belief. The edict was an attempt to ease tensions between Catholics and Protestants while a resolution was sought through dialogue. It proved only a temporary truce in the lead-up to the French Wars of Religion.