1504
Michelangelo's David Takes His Stand
Florentines gathered in the Piazza della Signoria to watch a colossal nude youth hauled onto a plinth before the Palazzo Vecchio. Carved from a flawed block other sculptors had abandoned, Michelangelo's David glared defiantly toward Rome, a civic hero in marble and sling. The seventeen-foot figure, carved from a block two previous sculptors had abandoned, took four days and crowds of thousands to move.
Babur Seizes Kabul
Driven from his Central Asian homeland by Uzbek warlords, the young Timurid prince Babur led a hungry band over the Hindu Kush and stormed Kabul almost without bloodshed. From this mountain capital of orchards and poets he would stare south toward Hindustan and begin dreaming of empire. His memoir, the Baburnama, describes Kabul's melons and mountain air with the eye of both a conqueror and a poet.
Krishnadevaraya Crushes the Gajapatis
The Vijayanagara ruler Krishnadevaraya led an elephant-mounted army into Orissa and broke the Gajapati kingdom of the eastern Deccan. He carved inscriptions of victory in temples from Godavari to Krishna. His court poets celebrated him as the Andhra Bhoja, a scholar-king in the old Sanskrit tradition. His campaigns expanded Vijayanagara to its greatest extent, controlling the Deccan plateau from the Krishna River to the peninsula's tip.
Death of Isabella of Castile
The queen who had funded Columbus, expelled the Jews, and conquered Granada died at Medina del Campo after a long illness. Castile passed to her grieving, unstable daughter Juana. Ferdinand of Aragon, suddenly a widower-king, began scheming to hold the united crown. Her will instructed humane treatment of indigenous peoples, cited by reformers like Las Casas but honored almost entirely in the breach.
Queen Isabella's Will
On her deathbed Queen Isabella of Castile dictated a will instructing her successors to treat the native peoples of the Indies justly and not to harm them. The instruction, honored almost entirely in the breach, would later be cited by reformers like Las Casas arguing for indigenous rights before the Crown.
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Frequently asked
What happened in the year 1504?
Saeculum lists 5 curated events from 1504. The most significant is Michelangelo's David Takes His Stand: Florentines gathered in the Piazza della Signoria to watch a colossal nude youth hauled onto a plinth before the Palazzo Vecchio.
What era was 1504 part of?
1504 falls within the Renaissance (1501-1650). Reformation, conquest, and the world drawn whole.
Which regions saw notable events in 1504?
The curated events from 1504 span Europe, Central Asia and South Asia.