The Coverdale Bible, compiled by Myles Coverdale in 1535, was the first complete Bible translated into Modern English and the first complete printed English Bible. Before this, English readers had only partial translations. For a long time its printer was uncertain, but in 1997 scholars identified Merten de Keyser of Antwerp. The book was financed partly by merchants in Antwerp, including the family of the geographer Abraham Ortelius. Over twenty editions of the whole Bible or New Testament were printed, with the last appearing in 1553.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.