1497 e.v.

Babur takes Samarkand at the age of fifteen after a seven-month siege. He will hold the city for 100 days.

Ivan the Great issues his law code, the Sudebnik.

The Ottomans give Russian merchants freedom of trade within the empire.

Iamblichus's *De mysteriis Aegyptorum*, edited by Marsilio Ficino, is published. Francesco Berni, Italian poet, is born (will die in 1536). Gentile de' Becchi, Bishop of Arezzo, dies (was born in 1420). Elia del Medigo, Italian philosopher, dies (was born in 1460)

*The Annals of the Four Masters* refer to a famine in Ireland which "prevailed through all Ireland".

Jean Fernel, French physician, is born (will die in 1558)

Anne Seymour, Duchess of Somerset, English noblewoman, is born (will die in 1587). John Heywood, English playwright (will die in 1580)

Gonzalo de Sandoval, Spanish conquistador, is born (will die in 1528)

Margareta Eriksdotter Vasa, Swedish noblewoman, is born (will die in 1536)

Johann Wild, German preacher, is born (will die in 1554)

Al-Mutawakkil II, Caliph of Cairo, dies. Al-Sakhawi, Egyptian scholar, dies (was born in 1428)

Albert Brudzewski, Polish astronomer, dies (was born in 1445)

## January

### 3rd

Beatrice d'Este, Duchess of Milan, dies (was born in 1475)

### 30th

Lê Thánh Tông, Emperor of Vietnam, dies (was born in 1442)

## February

### 6th

Johannes Ockeghem, Flemish composer, dies (was born in 1410)

### 7th (Shrove Tuesday)

Followers of Girolamo Savonarola burn thousands of "immoral" objects, at the Bonfire of the Vanities in Florence.

## March

Giovanni Paolo I Sforza, Italian condottiero, is born (will die in 1535)

## April

### 2nd

Georg Giese, German merchant, is born (will die in 1562)

### 16th

Mōri Motonari, Japanese daimyō, is born (will die in 1571)

### 17th

Pedro de Valdivia, Spanish conquistador, is born (will die in 1553)

## May

The Cornish Rebellion breaks out in England, incited by war taxes.

### 3rd

Wilhelm IV of Eberstein, President of the Reichskammergericht, is born (will die in 1562)

### 10th

Amerigo Vespucci allegedly leaves Cádiz, for his first voyage to the New World.

### 12th

Pope Alexander VI excommunicates Girolamo Savonarola.

### 16th

Philip Melanchthon, German humanist and reformer, is born (will die in 1560)

### 19th

Matthäus Schwarz, German fashion writer, is born (will die in 1574)

### 20th

John Cabot sets sail from Bristol, on the ship *Matthew* (principally owned by Richard Amerike), looking for new lands to the west.

### 21st

Al-Hattab, Tripolitanian Muslim jurist, is born (will die in 1547)

### 26th

Antonio Manetti, Italian mathematician and architect, dies (was born in 1423)

## June

### 13th

The Catholic Monarchs issue the ordinance of Medina del Campo, creating a money system based on the copper maravedí, creating the peso of 34 maravedis. In the next three centuries, this system will dominate international payments. It will be used in almost all parts of North and South America and large parts of Asia. It is the basis for a number of modern currencies, including the U.S. dollar.

### 14th

Giovanni Borgia, 2nd Duke of Gandía, is assassinated (was born in 1474)

### 17th

Battle of Deptford Bridge near London: Cornish rebels under Michael An Gof are soundly defeated by Henry VII.

### 24th

John Cabot lands in North America (near present day Bonavista, Newfoundland).

### 27th

Ernest I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, is born (will die in 1546). Michael An Gof, Cornish rebel leader, is executed, as is his fellow rebel leader, Thomas Flamank.

### 28th

James Tuchet, 7th Baron Audley, dies (was born in 1463)

## July

Estêvão da Gama, Portuguese explorer, dies (was born in 1430)

### 8th

Vasco da Gama's fleet departs from Lisbon, beginning his expedition to India.

### 15th

Francis of Denmark, Danish prince, is born (will die in 1511)

### 23rd

Barbara Fugger, German banker, dies (was born in 1419)

## August

### 18th

Francesco Canova da Milano, Italian composer, is born (will die in 1543)

### 24th

Sophie of Pomerania, Duchess of Pomerania, dies (was born in 1435)

## September

### 7th

**Second Cornish Uprising in England:** Perkin Warbeck lands near Land's End.

### 10th

Perkin Warbeck is proclaimed as King in Bodmin.

Wolfgang Musculus, German theologian, is born (will die in 1563)

### 28th

**Battle of Rotebro:** John, King of Denmark, defeats Sten Sture the Elder.

### 30th

The Treaty of Ayton establishes a seven-year peace between England and Scotland.

## October

### 4th

Leaders of the Second Cornish Uprising surrender to the King at Taunton.

John Trastamara, only son of Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile, dies by accident (was born in 1478)

### 5th

Warbeck, having deserted his army, is captured at Beaulieu Abbey in Hampshire.

### 6th

Sten Sture the Elder is forced to resign and end his 27-year term as Regent of Sweden. King John of Denmark and Norway is acknowledged by the estates as King of Sweden.

### 18th

King John of Denmark and Norway is formally elected King of Sweden, restoring the power of the Kalmar Union.

### 29th

Benedetto Accolti the Younger, Italian cardinal, is born (will die in 1549)

## November

### 7th

Philip II, Duke of Savoy, dies (was born in 1443)

### 30th

Anna Sforza, Italian noble, dies (was born in 1476)

## December

### 5th

King Manuel I of Portugal proclaims an edict in which he demands that Jews convert to Christianity or leave the country.

### 23rd

Sheen Palace is destroyed by fire. Henry VII of England rebuilds it as Richmond Palace.

## The Symphony That Never Ends

John Trastamara survives accident, thanks to an angel of the Shield.