expand, with the Sultan taking the title of Caliph, while dealing with a resurgent Persia. Iran and Iraq were caught by a major popularity of the Shia sect of Islam under the rule of the Safavid dynasty of warrior-mystics, providing grounds for a Persia independent of the majority-Sunni Muslim world. In the Indian subcontinent, following the defeat of the Delhi Sultanate and Vijayanagara Empire, new powers emerged, the Sur Empire founded by Sher Shah Suri, Deccan sultanates, and the Mughal Empire by Emperor Babur, a direct descendant of Timur and Genghis Khan. His successors Humayun and Akbar, enlarged the empire to include most of South Asia. The empire developed a strong and stable economy in the world, leading to commercial expansion and greater patronage of culture, which significantly influenced the course of Indian history. Japan suffered a severe civil war at this time, known as the Sengoku period, and emerged from it as a unified nation. China was ruled by the Ming dynasty and came into conflict with Japan and Japanese piracy over the control of Korea. Significant events 1501–1509 1501: Michelangelo returns to his native Florence to begin work on the statue David. 1501: Safavid dynasty reunifies Iran and rules over it until 1736. Safavids adopt a Shia branch of Islam. 1501: First Battle of Cannanore between the Third Portuguese Armada and Kingdom of Cochin under João da Nova and Zamorin of Kozhikode's navy marks the beginning of Portuguese conflicts in the Indian Ocean. 1502: First reported African slaves in the New World 1502: The Crimean Khanate sacks Sarai in the Golden Horde, ending its existence. 1503: Spain defeats France at the Battle of Cerignola. Considered to be the first battle in history won by gunpowder small arms. 1503: Leonardo da Vinci begins painting the Mona Lisa and completes it three years later. 1503: Nostradamus is born on either December 14 or December 21. 1504: A period of drought, with famine in all of Spain. 1504: Death of Isabella I of Castile; Joanna of Castile becomes the Queen. 1504: Foundation of the Sultanate of Sennar by Amara Dunqas, in what is modern Sudan 1505: Zhengde Emperor ascends the throne of Ming Dynasty. 1505: Martin Luther enters St. Augustine's Monastery at Erfurt, Germany, on 17 July and begins his journey to instigating the Reformation. 1505: Sultan Trenggono builds the first Muslim kingdom in Java, called Demak, in Indonesia. Many other