6th century BC

The 6th century BC started on the first day of 600 BC and ended on the last day of 501 BC. This was a time of great change and important events around the world.

In Western Asia, the Neo-Babylonian Empire was strong in the early part of the century. Later, Cyrus created the Persian Empire, which became very large and powerful.

In Iron Age Europe, many new things were happening. The people known as the Celtic were spreading out. In China, this time is called the Spring and Autumn period. Also, important ideas such as Confucianism, Legalism, Moism, and Taoism began during this century.

Other places also saw big changes. In Ancient India, Buddhism and Jainism were started by the Buddha and Mahavira. In Central America, the Olmec civilization began to decline.

The world in the 6th century BC

The 6th century BC started on the first day of 600 BC and ended on the last day of 501 BC. During this time, the Neo-Babylonian Empire was very powerful. They took control of many lands after fighting against rulers who had been in charge before.

One important event happened in 586 BC when forces from Babylon captured Jerusalem. This led to big changes for the people living there. Later, around the 540s BC, a new leader named Cyrus started ruling. He created what became known as the Persian Empire, taking over from the Babylonians.

Events

590s BC

Main article: 590s BC

• 598 BC: Jehoiachin becomes King of Judah after Jehoiakim.
• On March 16, 597 BC, the Babylonians capture Jerusalem and appoint Zedekiah as the new king.
• In 595 BC, Psammetichus II takes over as King of Egypt from Necho II.
• In 594 BC, Solon becomes Archon of Athens and starts democratic changes.
• In 590 BC, Egyptian forces attack Napata, moving the Cushite court to Meroe near the sixth Cataract.

580s BC

Main article: 580s BC

• In 589 BC, Apries becomes King of Egypt.
• In 588 BC, Nebuchadrezzar II of Babylon starts surrounding Jerusalem; some records say this happened in 587 BC.
• In 587 BC or 586 BC, Jerusalem falls to the Babylonians, ending the Kingdom of Judah. The city and its temple are destroyed, and many people are taken far away.
• In 586 BC, King Ding of Zhou of the Zhou dynasty in China passes away.
• On May 28, 585 BC, a solar eclipse happens just as Thales predicted, while Alyattes and Cyaxares are fighting. This leads to peace between them.
• In 585 BC or 584 BC, Astyages takes over as King of the Medes from Cyaxares.
• Also in 585 BC, King Jian of Zhou becomes king of the Zhou dynasty in China.
• In 583 BC, the Babylonians start surrounding the city of Tyre.
• In 582 BC, the Pythian Games start at Delphi.
• In 580 BC, Cambyses I becomes King of Anshan and leader of the Achaemenid dynasty.
• Also in 580 BC, the Isthmian Games start at Corinth.

570s BC

Main article: 570s BC

• In 579 BC, Servius Tullius becomes King of Rome after Lucius Tarquinius Priscus passes away.
• In 573 BC, the Nemean Games start at Nemea.
• In 572 BC, King Jian of Zhou of the Zhou dynasty in China passes away.
• In 571 BC, King Ling of Zhou becomes king of the Zhou dynasty in China.
• In 570 BC, Amasis II becomes King of Egypt.
• Also in 570 BC, Pythagoras of Samos is born.
• The Babylonian surround of Tyre ends in 570 BC after 13 years with a win for Babylon.

560s BC

Main article: 560s BC

• In 568 BC, Amalqia takes over as King of Kush from his brother Aspelta.
• In 562 BC, Amel-Marduk becomes King of Babylon after Nebuchadnezzar.
• In 560 BC, Neriglissar becomes King of Babylon after Amel-Marduk.
• Between 561 BC and 560 BC, Croesus becomes King of Lydia.
• In 560 BC, Pisistratus takes control of the Acropolis in Athens and calls himself tyrant, but is removed the same year.

550s BC

Main article: 550s BC

• In the 550s BC, Carthage takes over Sicily, Sardinia, and Corsica.
• In 559 BC, King Cambyses I of Anshan passes away, and his son Cyrus II the Great takes over.
• In 558 BC, Hegesias leaves his position as Archon of Athens.
• Also in 558 BC, the Chinese state of Jin beats its rival Qin in battle.
• In 556 BC, Pisistratus leaves Athens for Euboea.
• Also in 556 BC, Labashi-Marduk becomes King of Babylon after Neriglissar.
• Between 556 BC and 555 BC, Nabonidus becomes King of Babylon after Labashi-Marduk.
• In 551 BC, Confucius is born.
• In 550 BC, Abdera is destroyed by the Thracians.
• Between about 553 BC and 550 BC, Cyrus II defeats the Median king Astyages, starting the Persian Empire.
• Also in 550 BC, the Late Mumun Period starts on the Korean peninsula.

540s BC

Main article: 540s BC

• In 547 BC, Croesus, the Lydian king, is defeated by Cyrus of Persia near the River Halys.
• In 546 BC, Cyrus of Persia finishes taking over Lydia and makes Pasargadae his capital.
• Around the middle of the 6th century BC, the Temple of Olympian Zeus (Athens) is started by Pisistratus.
• In 544 BC, Bimbisara starts the Haryanka dynasty of Magadha in India.
• Also in 544 BC, people from Teos move to Abdera, Thrace to escape Persian control.
• Also in 544 BC, King Jing of Zhou becomes king of the Zhou dynasty in China.
• In 543 BC, Prince Vijaya starts a Sinhalese dynasty in Sri Lanka.
• Also in 543 BC, Pisistratus, the ruler of Athens, cleans up the island of Delos.
• In 540 BC, the Greek city of Elea in southern Italy is founded.
• Also in 540 BC, the Persians take over the Lycian city of Xanthos, now in southern Turkey.

530s BC

Main article: 530s BC

• In 539 BC, Cyrus the Great takes over Babylon from Nabonidus.
• In 538 BC, some Jews who were taken away return to Jerusalem and rebuild the Second Temple about fifty years after the First Temple was destroyed, finishing between 520 BC and 516 BC.
• In 537 BC, Jews who were taken to Babylon are allowed to go back to Jerusalem, ending their time away.
• In 536 BC, tradition says the Biblical prophet Daniel sees an angel named Gabriel.
• In 534 BC, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus becomes King of Rome.
• Also in 534 BC, tragedy competitions start at the City Dionysia festival in Athens.
• In 530 BC, Cambyses II becomes King of Persia after Cyrus.

520s BC

Main article: 520s BC

• In 528 BC, Gautama Buddha finds Enlightenment and starts teaching, creating Buddhism in India, which becomes a major world religion.
• In 526 BC, Psammetichus III becomes King of Egypt after Amasis II.
• In 525 BC, Cambyses II, ruler of Persia, takes over Egypt, defeating Psammetichus III. This ends the Twenty-sixth Dynasty and starts the Twenty-seventh Dynasty.
• In 522 BC, Smerdis becomes ruler of Persia after Cambyses II.
• Also in 522 BC, Babylon refuses to follow Persian rules.
• In 521 BC, Darius I becomes ruler of Persia after Smerdis.
• Also in 521 BC, the refusal in Babylon is stopped.
• In 520 BC, King Dao of Zhou becomes king of the Zhou dynasty in China but passes away before the year ends.
• Also in 520 BC, work starts on a huge new Temple of Olympian Zeus (Athens) by Pisistratus's sons, Hippias and Hipparchos.
• Also in 520 BC, Cleomenes I becomes King of Sparta after Anaxandridas II.

510s BC

Main article: 510s BC

• In 519 BC, King Jing of Zhou becomes king of the Zhou dynasty in China.
• In 516 BC, the Achaemenid King Darius I finishes taking over Punjab in the Indian subcontinent.
• On March 12, 515 BC, work ends on the Temple in Jerusalem.
• In 514 BC, King Helü of Wu makes the "Great City of Helü", the old name for Wuxi, his capital in China.
• In 513 BC, Darius the Great fights the Getae and east Thrace in his war against the Scythians.
• In 512 BC, the Kingdom of Macedonia, under King Amyntas I, becomes a state under the Achaemenid Empire.
• In 510 BC, Hippias, son of Pisistratus and tyrant of Athens, is forced out by people who support Cleomenes I, King of Sparta and his army.
• Also in 510 BC, the rule of Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, the last of the seven traditional Kings of Rome, ends.
• Also in 510 BC, the Roman Republic starts.
• Also in 510 BC, Demaratus becomes King of Sparta after Ariston.

500s BC

Main article: 500s BC

• On September 13, 509 BC, the Temple of Jupiter on Rome's Capitoline Hill is finished on the Ides of September.
• In 508 BC, the role of pontifex maximus starts in Rome.
• In 507 BC, Cleisthenes, a Greek reformer, takes control and grows democracy in Athens.
• In 506 BC, the Battle of Boju: Forces of the Kingdom of Wu led by Sun Tzu beat the forces of Chu.
• In 505 BC, the first pair of Roman consuls are chosen.
• On December 4, 502 BC, a solar eclipse makes the sky dark over Egypt, though there are no clear records of people seeing it.
• In 502 BC, the Latin League beats the Etruscans led by Lars Porsena at Aricia.
• Also in 502 BC, Naxos refuses to follow Persian rules, starting the Ionian Revolt.
• In 501 BC, Cleisthenes changes democracy in Athens again.
• Also in 501 BC, Naxos is attacked by the Persian Empire.
• Also in 501 BC, because of worries from the Sabines, Rome creates the role of dictator.
• Also in 501 BC, Confucius is named governor of Chung tu.
• Also in 501 BC, Gadir (today’s Cádiz) is taken by Carthage.
• In 500 BC, Bantu-speaking people move into south-west Uganda from the west.
• Also in 500 BC, people who left Teos settle in Abdera again.
• Also in 500 BC, Darius I of Persia says Aramaic will be the official language of the western part of his empire.
• Also in 500 BC, the Nordic Bronze Age ends and the Pre-Roman Iron Age starts, based on Oscar Montelius's way of organizing history.
• Also in 500 BC, the first republic starts in Vaishali, Bihar, India.
• Also in 500 BC, the Sa Huynh-Kalanay Interaction Sphere starts trading between the Sa Huynh and the Philippines, later reaching Taiwan, Southern Thailand, and northeastern Borneo.

Inventions, discoveries, introductions

During this time, many important discoveries and inventions were made. In India, doctors began performing early operations to treat a condition called Lithiasis, as described in a book called the Sushruta Samhita. Indian physician Sushruta also knew how to perform cataract surgery to help people see better.

Important maps and engineering projects were also created. Babylonian King Nabonidus carried out the first surveys of the Arabian peninsula. In China, Sunshu Ao, the first hydraulic engineer, built a huge artificial reservoir by damming a river to help with irrigation. The lost-wax casting method spread to Ancient Greece, and the oldest surviving world map, called the Imago Mundi, was made in Babylon.

Sovereign states

Further information: List of sovereign states in the 6th century BC

The 6th century BC started on the first day of 600 BC and ended on the last day of 501 BC. During this time, the Neo-Babylonian Empire was very powerful in Western Asia. It took control after fighting against the rulers before it. One big event was in 586 BC when forces from Babylon captured Jerusalem and moved many people from the Kingdom of Judah to live in their lands. Later, around the 540s BC, Cyrus ended Babylonian rule and started the Persian Empire.