6th century BC

(7th century BC - 6th century BC - 5th century BC - other centuries)

(600s BC - 590s BC - 580s BC - 570s BC - 560s BC - 550s BC - 540s BC - 530s BC - 520s BC - 510s BC - 500s BC - other decades)

(2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC - 1st millennium AD)

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Events

• Cyrus the Great conquered many countries and created the Persian Empire.
• Persians conquer Ancient Egypt, dominate eastern Mediterranean.
• Carthage's merchant empire slowly dominates the western Mediterranean
• Roman Republic founded
• Ruin of the Kingdom of Judah and the destruction of the First Temple (586 BC), return of the Jews several decades later (538 BC).
• Fall of the Babylonian Empire (539 BC), destroyed by Persian King of Kings Cyrus the Great.
• Buddha founds Buddhism in India. It becomes a major world religion.
• Dao de jing 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

Significant persons

• Stesichorus of Sicily, lyric poet (c. 640-555 BC).
• Solon of Athens, one of the Seven Sages of Greece (638 - 558 BC).
• Thales, Greek mathematician ( 635 - 543 BC). Predicts solar eclipse in 585 BC.
• Pythagoras of Samos, Greek mathematician. See Pythagorean Theorem (582 - 496 BC).
• Cyrus the Great, king of Persia ( 576 - 529 BC, reigned 559 - 529 BC).
• Gautama Buddha, founding figure of Buddhism (c. 563 - 483 BC).
• Confucius, founding figure of Confucianism (551 - 479 BC).
• Aeschylus of Athens, playwright (525 - 456 BC).
• Darius I, King of Persia (reigned 521 - 485 BC).

Inventions, discoveries, introductions

• First archeological surveys of the Arabian peninsula by Babylonian king Nabonidus.