Editing 1601 (section)

=== January–March ===
* [[January 11]] – [[Valladolid]] is briefly the capital of [[Habsburg Spain]] under [[Philip III of Spain|Philip III]], before returning indefinitely to [[Madrid]] in 1606.
* [[January 17]] – [[Treaty of Lyon (1601)|Treaty of Lyon]]: [[Kingdom of France|France]] gains [[Bresse]], [[Bugey]] and [[Pays de Gex|Gex]] from [[Savoy]], ceding [[Saluzzo]] in exchange.
* [[February 8]] – [[Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex]], longtime favourite of Queen [[Elizabeth I of England]], begins [[Essex's Rebellion|a rebellion against the Queen]]. The revolt is crushed the next day. The Earl of Essex and [[Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton]] are arrested and charged with treason. Essex confesses to the plot and then implicates his co-conspirators. <ref>{{cite book|author=P. W. Hasler|title=The House of Commons, 1558-1603: Members, D-L|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Gu-KW9Ie2BwC|year=1981|publisher=History of Parliament Trust|isbn=978-0-11-887501-1|page=17|language=en}}</ref>
* [[February 23]] – [[Michael the Brave]], [[List of rulers of Wallachia|Prince of Wallachia]], arrives in [[Prague]] to enlist the assistance of [[Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor]] in driving Ottoman troops out of Transylvania. Michael leaves on March 5, having received a pledge of Austrian troops to the fight. 
* [[February 25]] – The Earl of Essex becomes the first of the Essex's Rebellion participants to be executed. He is beheaded at [[Tower Hill]]. His co-conspirator, the Earl of Southampton, sentenced to death, but Queen Elizabeth commutes his penalty to life imprisonment; Southampton will be released two years later. 
* [[March 5]] – The treason trial for five secondary participants in [[Essex's Rebellion]] — [[Gelli Meyrick]], [[Henry Cuffe]], [[Christopher Blount]], [[Charles Danvers]], and Sir John Davies — is held in London. All five are found guilty. Meyrick and Cuffe are hanged at Tyburn on March 13, and Blount and Danvers are beheaded at Tower Hill on March 18. Davies is allowed to go free. 
* [[March 7]] – In India, Mughal Empire Prince [[Daniyal Mirza]], son of the [[Akbar|Emperor Akbar]], is named the ruler of [[Khandesh]], after having completed the conquest of the sultanate of [[Ahmednagar]].
* [[March 24]] – [[Sigismund Báthory]], who had abdicated as [[Prince of Transylvania]] in 1599, returns as the leader of the invading Polish Army.