This article concerns the period 589 BC – 580 BC.

Events and trends

* 589 BC— Apries succeeds Psamtik II as king of

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

. *589 BC—

Nebuchadnezzar II Nebuchadnezzar II, also Nebuchadrezzar II, meaning "Nabu, watch over my heir", was the second king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, ruling from the death of his father Nabopolassar in 605 BC to his own death in 562 BC. Often titled Nebuchadnezzar ...

begins his second siege of Jerusalem. *589 BC— Battle of An: Jin defeats Qi; these two Chinese states later agree to an alliance. * 15 January 588 BC—The last phase of Siege of Jerusalem began.Note on Jeremiah 52:4 in NET Bible * 587/

586 BC The year 586 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as year 168 ''Ab urbe condita'' . The denomination 586 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar e ...

—Jerusalem falls to the

Babylonia Babylonia (; , ) was an Ancient history, ancient Akkadian language, Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in the city of Babylon in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq and parts of Kuwait, Syria and Iran). It emerged as a ...

ns, ending the

Kingdom of Judah The Kingdom of Judah was an Israelites, Israelite kingdom of the Southern Levant during the Iron Age. Centered in the highlands to the west of the Dead Sea, the kingdom's capital was Jerusalem. It was ruled by the Davidic line for four centuries ...

. The conquerors destroy the Jewish Temple of Jerusalem and exile some of the land's inhabitants. *586 BC—Death of King Ding of the

Zhou dynasty The Zhou dynasty ( ) was a royal dynasty of China that existed for 789 years from until 256 BC, the longest span of any dynasty in Chinese history. During the Western Zhou period (771 BC), the royal house, surnamed Ji, had military ...

of China. *

28 May Events Pre-1600 *585 BC – A solar eclipse occurs, as predicted by the Greek philosopher and scientist Thales, while Alyattes is battling Cyaxares in the Battle of the Eclipse, leading to a truce. This is one of the cardinal dates from wh ...

585 BC The year 585 BC was a year of the Roman calendar, pre-Julian Roman calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as year 169 ''Ab urbe condita'' . The denomination 585 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Do ...

—A

solar eclipse A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby obscuring the view of the Sun from a small part of Earth, totally or partially. Such an alignment occurs approximately every six months, during the eclipse season i ...

occurs while

Alyattes of Lydia Alyattes (Lydian language: ; ; reigned c. 635 – c. 585 BC), sometimes described as Alyattes I, was the fourth king of the Mermnad dynasty in Lydia, the son of Sadyattes, grandson of Ardys, and great-grandson of Gyges. He died after a re ...

fights

Cyaxares Cyaxares was the third king of the Medes. He ascended to the throne in 625 BC, after his father Phraortes lost his life in a battle against the Assyrians, probably Ashurbanipal. Assyrian allies, the Scythians then ruled Media for 28 years befo ...

Media Media may refer to: Communication * Means of communication, tools and channels used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Interactive media, media that is inter ...

at a battle on the Halys river, leading to a truce. This is a cardinal date from which other dates can be calculated. *585 BC— Kirrha is destroyed, ending the

First Sacred War The First Sacred War, or Cirraean War, was fought between the Amphictyonic League of Delphi and the city of Kirrha. At the beginning of the 6th century BC the Pylaeo-Delphic Amphictyony, controlled by the Thessalians, attempted to take hold of t ...

. *585 BC—

Lucius Tarquinius Priscus Lucius Tarquinius Priscus (), or Tarquin the Elder, was the legendary fifth king of Rome and first of its Etruscan dynasty. He reigned for thirty-eight years.Livy, '' ab urbe condita libri'', I Tarquinius expanded Roman power through military ...

, king of

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, defeats the

Sabines The Sabines (, , , ; ) were an Italic people who lived in the central Apennine Mountains (see Sabina) of the ancient Italian Peninsula, also inhabiting Latium north of the Anio before the founding of Rome. The Sabines divided int ...

war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

, takes the town of

Collatia Collatia was an ancient town of central Italy, c. 15 km northeast of Rome by the ''Via Collatina''. It appears in the legendary history of Rome as captured by King Tarquinius Priscus. Vergil speaks of it as a Latin colony of Alba Long ...

, and celebrates a triumph for his victories on 13 September. *585 BC— Ji Yi becomes King Jian of the

of China. *585 BC—Fall of the Kingdom of Urartu following a Median invasion. (The

Scythians The Scythians ( or ) or Scyths (, but note Scytho- () in composition) and sometimes also referred to as the Pontic Scythians, were an Ancient Iranian peoples, ancient Eastern Iranian languages, Eastern Iranian peoples, Iranian Eurasian noma ...

ruined the Kingdom of Urartu.) *585 BC—

Croesus Croesus ( ; ; Latin: ; reigned: ) was the Monarch, king of Lydia, who reigned from 585 BC until his Siege of Sardis (547 BC), defeat by the Persian king Cyrus the Great in 547 or 546 BC. According to Herodotus, he reigned 14 years. Croesus was ...

succeeds Alyattes as King of

Lydia Lydia (; ) was an Iron Age Monarchy, kingdom situated in western Anatolia, in modern-day Turkey. Later, it became an important province of the Achaemenid Empire and then the Roman Empire. Its capital was Sardis. At some point before 800 BC, ...

. *585/ 584 BC—

Astyages Astyages was the last king of the Median kingdom, reigning from 585 to 550 BCE. The son of Cyaxares, he was dethroned by the Persian king Cyrus the Great. Reign Astyages succeeded his father in 585 BCE, following the Battle of Halys, wh ...

succeeds Cyaxares as King of the

Medes The Medes were an Iron Age Iranian peoples, Iranian people who spoke the Median language and who inhabited an area known as Media (region), Media between western Iran, western and northern Iran. Around the 11th century BC, they occupied the m ...

. * 582 BC—Military clash between the major

Classical antiquity Classical antiquity, also known as the classical era, classical period, classical age, or simply antiquity, is the period of cultural History of Europe, European history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD comprising the inter ...

powers of

and

Babylon Babylon ( ) was an ancient city located on the lower Euphrates river in southern Mesopotamia, within modern-day Hillah, Iraq, about south of modern-day Baghdad. Babylon functioned as the main cultural and political centre of the Akkadian-s ...

. *582 BC—

Akragas Agrigento (; or ) is a city on the southern coast of Sicily, Italy and capital of the province of Agrigento. Founded around 582 BC by Greek colonisation, Greek colonists from Gela, Agrigento, then known as Akragas, was one of the leading citie ...

is founded on

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

. *582 BC—Nebuchadnezzar forces a third deportation of Jews from Judah into

Babylonian captivity The Babylonian captivity or Babylonian exile was the period in Jewish history during which a large number of Judeans from the ancient Kingdom of Judah were forcibly relocated to Babylonia by the Neo-Babylonian Empire. The deportations occurred ...

. *582 BC—The

Pythian Games The Pythian Games () were one of the four Panhellenic Games of Ancient Greece. Founded circa the 6th century BCE, the festival was held in honor of the god Apollo and took place at his sanctuary in Delphi to commemorate the mytho-historic slayin ...

are reorganised at

Delphi Delphi (; ), in legend previously called Pytho (Πυθώ), was an ancient sacred precinct and the seat of Pythia, the major oracle who was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient Classical antiquity, classical world. The A ...

(traditional date). *582/ 581 BC—The

Isthmian Games Isthmian Games or Isthmia (Ancient Greek: Ἴσθμια) were one of the Panhellenic Games of Ancient Greece, and were named after the Isthmus of Corinth, where they were held. As with the Nemean Games, the Isthmian Games were held both the year be ...

are founded at

Corinth Corinth ( ; , ) is a municipality in Corinthia in Greece. The successor to the ancient Corinth, ancient city of Corinth, it is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese (region), Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Sin ...

. *581 BC— Suizei becomes the second

Emperor of Japan The emperor of Japan is the hereditary monarch and head of state of Japan. The emperor is defined by the Constitution of Japan as the symbol of the Japanese state and the unity of the Japanese people, his position deriving from "the will of ...

. *c. 580 BC—

Cambyses I Cambyses I ( ''Kambūjiya'') was king of Anshan from c. 580 to 559 BC and the father of Cyrus the Great (Cyrus II), younger son of Cyrus I, and brother of Arukku. He should not be confused with his better-known grandson Cambyses ...

succeeds

Cyrus I Cyrus I (Old Persian language, Old Persian: ''Kuruš'') or Cyrus I of Anshan or Cyrus I of Persia, was King of Anshan (Persia), Anshan in Persia from to 580 BC or, according to others, from to 600 BC. Cyrus I of Anshan is the grandfather of C ...

as king of

Anshan Anshan ( zh, s=鞍山, p=Ānshān, l=saddle mountain) is an inland prefecture-level city in central-southeast Liaoning province, People's Republic of China, about south of the provincial capital Shenyang. As of the 2020 census, it was Liaoning' ...

and head of the

Achaemenid dynasty The Achaemenid dynasty ( ; ; ; ) was a royal house that ruled the Achaemenid Empire, which eventually stretched from Egypt and Thrace in the west to Central Asia and the Indus Valley in the east. Origins The history of the Achaemenid dy ...

. *c. 580 BC—''Gorgon Medusa'', detail of a sculpture from the west pediment of the Temple of Artemis, Korkyra, is made. *c. 580 BC—''Standing Youth'' (

kouros Kouros (, , plural kouroi) is the modern term given to free-standing Ancient Greek sculpture, Ancient Greek sculptures that depict nude male youths. They first appear in the Archaic period in Greece and are prominent in Attica and Boeotia, with ...

) is made.

Significant people

*585 BC—Birth of

Anaximenes of Miletus Anaximenes of Miletus (; ; ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek, Pre-Socratic philosophy, Pre-Socratic philosopher from Miletus in Anatolia (modern-day Turkey). He was the last of the three philosophers of the Ionian School (philosophy), Milesi ...

, Greek philosopher (died 525 BC) *585 BC—Death of

Emperor Jimmu was the legendary first emperor of Japan according to the and . His ascension is traditionally dated as 660 BC.Kelly, Charles F"Kofun Culture"Cyaxares Cyaxares was the third king of the Medes. He ascended to the throne in 625 BC, after his father Phraortes lost his life in a battle against the Assyrians, probably Ashurbanipal. Assyrian allies, the Scythians then ruled Media for 28 years befo ...

*585 BC—Death of king

Alyattes Alyattes ( Lydian language: ; ; reigned c. 635 – c. 585 BC), sometimes described as Alyattes I, was the fourth king of the Mermnad dynasty in Lydia, the son of Sadyattes, grandson of Ardys, and great-grandson of Gyges. He died after a r ...

*580 BC—Death of Cyrus I of Anshan (approximate date)

References

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