On This Day: December 5th

Cicero gives the fourth and final of the Catiline Orations.

Sir Francis Drake, after sailing through Strait of Magellan, raids Valparaiso.

Ten-year-old Charles IX becomes king of France, with Queen Mother Catherine de' Medici as regent.

King Manuel I of Portugal issues a decree ordering the expulsion of Jews from the country.

Pope Innocent VIII issues the Summis desiderantes affectibus, a papal bull that deputizes Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger as inquisitors to root out alleged witchcraft in Germany.

The first of two earthquakes measuring Mw  7.2 strikes Italy, causing extreme destruction and killing upwards of 70,000 people.

Seeking to resubjugate Muscovy, Emir Edigu of the Golden Horde reaches Moscow, burning areas around the city but failing to take the city itself.

Ramon Berenguer II, Count of Barcelona is assassinated, most likely by his brother, Berenguer Ramon II.

The Jordan Rift Valley earthquake destroys multiple cities across the Levant, triggers a tsunami and kills many.

Fourth Council of Toledo opens, presided over by Isidore of Seville.