590s BC at La Venta •
598 BC:
Jehoiachin succeeds
Jehoiakim as
King of Judah. • 16 March
597 BC:
Babylonians capture
Jerusalem, replace Jehoiachin with
Zedekiah as king. •
595 BC:
Psammetichus II succeeds
Necho II as King of
Egypt. •
594 BC:
Solon appointed
Archon of
Athens; institutes
democratic reforms. •
590 BC: Egyptian army sacks
Napata, compelling the
Cushite
court to move to a more secure location at
Meroe near the
sixth Cataract.
580s BC •
589 BC:
Apries succeeds
Psammetichus II as King of
Egypt. •
588 BC:
Nebuchadrezzar II of Babylon begins siege of
Jerusalem; some sources set the date at
587 BC. •
587 BC/
586 BC: Jerusalem falls to the
Babylonians, ending the
Kingdom of Judah. The conquerors destroy
Solomon's Temple and exile the land's remaining inhabitants.
Babylonian Captivity for the Jews begins. •
586 BC: death of
King Ding of Zhou, king of the
Zhou dynasty of
China • 28 May
585 BC: A
solar eclipse occurs as predicted by
Thales, while
Alyattes is
battling Cyaxares. This leads to a truce. This is one of the cardinal dates from which other dates can be calculated. •
585 BC/
584 BC:
Astyages succeeds
Cyaxares as King of the
Medes. •
585 BC:
King Jian of Zhou becomes king of the Zhou dynasty. •
583 BC: The Babylonians begin a siege against
Tyre. •
582 BC:
Pythian Games founded at
Delphi (traditional date). •
580 BC:
Cambyses I succeeds
Cyrus I as King of
Anshan and head of the
Achaemenid dynasty (approximate date). •
580 BC:
Isthmian Games founded at
Corinth (traditional date) •
570s BC •
579 BC:
Servius Tullius succeeds the assassinated
Lucius Tarquinius Priscus as
King of Rome (traditional date). •
573 BC:
Nemean Games founded at
Nemea (traditional date). •
572 BC: Death of
King Jian of Zhou, king of the
Zhou dynasty of
China. •
571 BC:
King Ling of Zhou becomes king of the
Zhou dynasty of
China. •
570 BC:
Amasis II succeeds
Apries as King of
Egypt. •
570 BC:
Pythagoras of
Samos is born (approximate date). •
570 BC: End of the Babylonian siege against the city of Tyre with a partial victory by the Babylonians. It was the longest siege of the city in history, lasting 13 years.
560s BC on the pyre, Attic red-figure amphora , a symbol of
Zoroastrianism in
Persepolis •
568 BC:
Amtalqa succeeds his brother
Aspelta as
King of
Kush. •
562 BC:
Amel-Marduk succeeds
Nebuchadnezzar as
King of Babylon. •
560 BC:
Neriglissar succeeds
Amel-Marduk as
King of Babylon. •
561 BC/
560 BC:
Croesus becomes
King of Lydia. •
560 BC:
Pisistratus seizes the
Acropolis of
Athens and declares himself
tyrant. He is deposed in the same year.
550s BC •
550s BC:
Carthage conquers
Sicily,
Sardinia and
Corsica. •
559 BC:
King Cambyses I of Anshan dies and is succeeded by his son
Cyrus II the Great. •
558 BC: Hegesias removed as
Archon of
Athens. •
558 BC: The
Chinese state of
Jin defeats its rival
Qin in battle. •
556 BC:
Pisistratus is exiled from
Athens to
Euboea. •
556 BC:
Labashi-Marduk succeeds
Neriglissar as
King of Babylon. •
556 BC/
555 BC:
Nabonidus succeeds
Labashi-Marduk as
King of Babylon. •
551 BC:
Confucius was born. •
550 BC:
Abdera is destroyed by the
Thracians. •
553–
550 BC:
Medo-Persian conflict;
Cyrus II overthrows the Median king
Astyages, establishing the
Persian Empire. •
550 BC: The
Late Mumun Period begins in the
Korean peninsula.
540s BC •
547 BC:
Croesus,
Lydian
King, is defeated by
Cyrus of
Persia near the River
Halys. •
546 BC:
Cyrus of
Persia completes his conquest of
Lydia, and makes
Pasargadae his
capital. • Mid-6th century BC: Foundation of
Temple of Olympian Zeus (Athens) by
Pisistratus. •
544 BC:
Bimbisara establishes
Haryanka dynasty of
Magadha in India. •
544 BC: People of
Teos migrate to
Abdera, Thrace to escape the yoke of
Persia. •
544 BC:
King Jing of Zhou becomes king of the
Zhou dynasty of
China. •
543 BC:
Prince Vijaya establishes a
Sinhalese dynasty of
Sri Lanka. •
543 BC:
Pisistratus, tyrant of
Athens, purifies the island of
Delos (approximate date). •
540 BC:
Greek city of
Elea of
southern Italy founded (approximate date). •
540 BC:
Persians conquer
Lycian city of
Xanthos, now in southern
Turkey (approximate date).
530s BC in
Pasargadae •
539 BC:
Babylon is conquered by
Cyrus the Great, defeating
Nabonidus. •
538 BC: Return of some
Jews from
Babylonian exile who build the
Second Temple about fifty years after the destruction of the
First Temple, from
520 BC–
516 BC. •
537 BC:
Jews transported to
Babylon are allowed to return to
Jerusalem, bringing to a close the
Babylonian captivity. •
536 BC: According to tradition, the
Biblical prophet Daniel receives an angelic visit from the archangel Gabriel. •
534 BC:
Lucius Tarquinius Superbus becomes
King of Rome. •
534 BC: Competitions for
tragedy are instituted at the
City Dionysia festival in
Athens. •
530 BC:
Cambyses II succeeds
Cyrus as
King of Persia.
520s BC •
528 BC:
Gautama Buddha attains
Enlightenment, and begins his ministry. He founds
Buddhism in
India. It becomes a major
world religion. •
526 BC:
Psammetichus III succeeds
Amasis II as
King of
Egypt. •
525 BC:
Cambyses II, ruler of
Persia, conquers
Egypt, defeating
Psammetichus III. This is considered the end of the
Twenty-sixth Dynasty, and the start of the
Twenty-seventh Dynasty. •
522 BC:
Smerdis succeeds
Cambyses II as ruler of
Persia. •
522 BC:
Babylon rebels against
Persian rule. •
521 BC:
Darius I succeeds
Smerdis as ruler of
Persia. •
521 BC: The
Babylonian rebellion against
Persian rule is suppressed •
520 BC:
King Dao of Zhou becomes king of the
Zhou dynasty of
China but dies before the end of the year •
520 BC: Start of construction of a colossal new
Temple of Olympian Zeus (Athens) by
Pisistratus's sons,
Hippias and
Hipparchos (approximate date). •
520 BC:
Cleomenes I succeeds
Anaxandridas II as
King of Sparta (approximate date)
510s BC •
519 BC:
King Jing of Zhou becomes king of the
Zhou dynasty of
China. •
516 BC:
Indian subcontinent—Occupation of
Punjab is completed by the
Achaemenid King Darius I. • 12 March
515 BC: Construction is completed on the
Temple in Jerusalem. •
514 BC:
King Helü of Wu establishes the "Great City of Helü", the ancient name for
Wuxi, as his
capital in
China. •
513 BC:
Darius the Great subdues the
Getae and east
Thrace in his war against the
Scythians. •
512 BC: The
Kingdom of Macedonia, under King
Amyntas I, becomes a vassal state to the
Achaemenid Empire. •
510 BC:
Hippias, son of
Pisistratus and
tyrant of
Athens, is expelled by a popular revolt supported by
Cleomenes I,
King of
Sparta and his forces. •
510 BC: End of reign of
Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, last King of the traditional seven
Kings of Rome. •
510 BC: Establishment of the
Roman Republic. •
510 BC:
Demaratus succeeds
Ariston as
King of Sparta (approximate date).
500s BC • 13 September
509 BC: The
Temple of Jupiter on Rome's
Capitoline Hill is dedicated on the Ides of September. •
508 BC: Office of
pontifex maximus created in
Rome. •
507 BC:
Cleisthenes,
Greek reformer, takes power and increases
democracy. •
506 BC:
Battle of Boju: Forces of the
Kingdom of Wu under
Sun Tzu defeat the forces of
Chu. •
505 BC: First pair of
Roman consuls elected. • 4 December
502 BC:
Solar eclipse darkens
Egypt (computed, no clear historical record of observation). •
502 BC: The
Latin League defeats the
Etruscans under
Lars Porsena at
Aricia. •
502 BC:
Naxos rebels against
Persian domination sparking the
Ionian Revolt. •
501 BC:
Cleisthenes reforms
democracy in
Athens. •
501 BC:
Naxos is attacked by the
Persian Empire. •
501 BC: In response to threats by the
Sabines,
Rome creates the office of
dictator. •
501 BC:
Confucius is appointed governor of
Chung tu. •
501 BC:
Gadir (present-day
Cádiz) is captured by
Carthage (approximate date). •
500 BC:
Bantu-speaking people migrate into south-west
Uganda from the west (approximate date). •
500 BC:
Refugees from
Teos resettle
Abdera. •
500 BC:
Darius I of
Persia proclaims that
Aramaic be the
official language of the western half of his empire. •
500 BC: Signifies the end of the
Nordic Bronze Age civilization in
Oscar Montelius periodization system and begins the
Pre-Roman Iron Age. •
500 BC: Foundation of first
republic in
Vaishali Bihar India. •
500 BC:
Sa Huynh-Kalanay Interaction Sphere extensive trade network started between the Sa Huynh and the
Philippines and later expanded to Taiwan, Southern Thailand, and northeastern Borneo. ==Inventions, discoveries, introductions==