TDIH - January 2 This Day in (Medieval) History: January 2 533 – A priest named Mercurius was elected Pope, taking the new name John II. He is believed to have been the first Pope to take a new name after suceeding to the Papacy. 1492 – The last location held by the Moors in Spain, the city of Granada, surrendered when Muhammad XII turned over control of the city to the Catholic monarchs of Spain, Ferdinand and Isabella, based on terms of surrender that had been worked out the previous November 25th (1491) in the Treaty of Granada.