On this day: 16/01/-27

Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus is granted the title Augustus by the Roman Senate, marking the beginning of the Roman Empire.

On this day: 16/01/378

General Siyaj K'ak' conquers Tikal, enlarging the domain of King Spearthrower Owl of Teotihuacán.

On this day: 16/01/550

Gothic War: The Ostrogoths, under King Totila, conquer Rome after a long siege, by bribing the Isaurian garrison.

On this day: 16/01/929

Emir Abd-ar-Rahman III establishes the Caliphate of Córdoba.

On this day: 16/01/1120

Crusades: The Council of Nablus is held, establishing the earliest surviving written laws of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem.

On this day: 16/01/1362

Saint Marcellus's flood kills at least 25,000 people on the shores of the North Sea.

On this day: 16/01/1537

Bigod's Rebellion, an armed insurrection attempting to resist the English Reformation, begins.

On this day: 16/01/1547

Grand Duke Ivan IV of Muscovy becomes the first Tsar of Russia, replacing the 264-year-old Grand Duchy of Moscow with the Tsardom of Russia.

On this day: 16/01/1556

Philip II becomes King of Spain.

On this day: 16/01/1572

Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk is tried and found guilty of treason for his part in the Ridolfi plot to restore Catholicism in England.