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)
The 5th and 6th centuries BC were a time of empires, but more importantly, a time of learning and philosophy.
*Mediterranean: Beginning of Greek philosophy, flourishes during the 5th century BC
*East Asia: Chinese philosophy become the "religion" of China. Confucianism, Daoism, Legalism, and Moism flourish.
*Middle East: During the Persian empire, Zoroaster, aka Zarathustra, founded Zoroastrianism, a dualistic philosophy
*India: The Buddha and Mahavira found Buddhism and Jainism, challenging Hinduism and the caste system
*
Cyrus the Great conquered many countries and created the
Persian Empire.
**
Persians conquer
Ancient Egypt, dominate eastern
Mediterranean.
**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 Cyrus the Great.
** The
Persians under
Darius I and later
Cyrus invade
Transoxiana.
*
Carthage's merchant empire slowly dominates the western
Mediterranean*
Roman Republic founded
*
Gautama Buddha founds
Buddhism in
India. It becomes a major world religion.
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*The prophet
Lehi, according to the
Book of Mormon, leaves
Jerusalem and settles in
North America.
*
Abkhazia is colonized by the
Greeks.
*The celtic
Bruthin or
Priteni, invade Britain and Ireland the
British Isles some time before the
5th century BC.
*emergence of the
Proto-Germanic Jastorf culture*
Stesichorus of
Sicily,
lyric poet (c.
640-
555 BC).
*
Thales, Greek mathematician (
635 -
543 BC). Predicts solar eclipse in
585 BC.
*
Solon of
Athens, one of the
Seven Sages of Greece (
638 -
558 BC).
*
Mahavira of
Vaishali (
599 -
527).
*
Pisistratus, Tyrant of
Athens in
561,
559-
556 and
546-
528 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).
*
Lehi, legendary figure, first prophet recorded in the
Book of Mormon*
Sun Tzu, author of
The Art of War.
* First
archaeological surveys of the Arabian peninsula by
Babylonian king
Nabonidus.
