6th Century BC - Events

Events

• Mid-6th century BC: Foundation of Temple of Olympian Zeus (Athens) is made
• 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
• 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
• 587/586 BC: Jerusalem falls to the Babylonians, ending the Kingdom of Judah. The conquerors destroy the Temple of Jerusalem and exile the land's remaining inhabitants. Babylonian Captivity for the Jews began
• 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 II is battling Cyaxares. This leads to a truce. This is one of the cardinal dates from which other dates can be calculated
• 585/584 BC: Astyages succeeds Cyaxares as King of the Medes
• 585 BC: King Jian of Zhou becomes King of the Zhou Dynasty of China
• 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)
• 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)
• 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
• 560/561 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: 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
• 556/555 BC: Nabonidus succeeds Labashi-Marduk as King of Babylon
• 550 BC: Abdera is destroyed by the Thracians
• 550 BC: Cyrus I of Anshan overthrows Astyages of the Medes, establishing the Persian Empire
• 550 BC: The Late Mumun Period begins in the Korean peninsula
• 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
• 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: North Indian Prince Vijaya invades Ceylon and establishes a Sinhalese dynasty
• 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).
• 539 BC: Babylon is conquered by Cyrus the Great, defeating Nabonidus
• c. 538 BC: Return of some Jews from Babylonian exile who build the Second Temple about seventy 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 visitor
• 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
• 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: Cleomenes I succeeds Anaxandridas II as King of Sparta (approximate date)
• 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 Persian King Vistaspa
• 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 Suzhou, as his capital in China
• 513 BC: Darius the Great subdues the Getae and east Thrace in his war against the Scythians
• 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)
• 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 Bai ju: 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
• Persians begin to seize power
• Persians dominate eastern Mediterranean
• The Persians under Darius I and later Cyrus invade Transoxiana
• Carthage's merchant empire slowly dominates the western Mediterranean
• Tao Te Ching written (traditional date)
• Confucius formulates his ethical system of Confucianism, which proves highly influential in China
• The Sinhalese emigrate to Sri Lanka
• Apparent writing of the Book of Psalms
• Abkhazia is colonized by the Greeks
• Emergence of the Proto-Germanic Jastorf culture
• Temple B, Selinus, Sicily, is built
• The Autariatae communities united and expanded towards the Triballi in the east and the Ardiaei in the south