17th century BC
The 17th century BC was the century that lasted from 1700 BC to 1601 BC.
File:Nebra Scheibe.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Nebra sky disk, central Europe 1600 BC. The inlaid gold depicted the crescent moon and the Pleiades star cluster in a specific arrangement forming the earliest known depiction of celestial phenomena.
Events
- c. 1700 BC: Indus Valley Civilisation comes to an end but is continued by the Cemetery H culture.
- 1700 BC: Belu-bani became the King of Assyria.
- c. 1700 BC: Minoan Old Palace period ends and Minoan Second Palace period starts in Crete.
- c. 1700 BC: beginning of the Late Minoan period on Crete.
- c. 1700 BC: Aegean metalworkers are producing decorative objects rivaling those of Ancient Near East jewelers, whose techniques they seem to borrow.
- c. 1700 BC: Lila-Ir-Tash started to rule the Elamite Empire.
- c. 1700 BC: 1450 BC: Young girl gathering saffron crocus flowers, detail of wall painting, Room 3 of House Xeste 3, Akrotiri, Thera, is made. Second Palace period. It is now kept in Thera Foundation, Petros M. Nomikos, Greece.
- c. 1700 BC: Bronze Age starts in China.
- c. 1698 BC: Lila-Ir-Tash the ruler of the Elamite Empire died. Temti-Agun I started to rule the Elamite Empire.
- 1691 BC: Belu-bani, the King of Assyria died.
- c. 1690 BC: Temti-Agun I, the ruler of the Elamite Empire, died. Tan-Uli started to rule the Elamite Empire.
- 1690 BC: Libaia became the King of Assyria.
- c. 1680 BC: Egypt: Development of leavened bread.
- c. 1673 BC: Sharma-Adad I became the King of Assyria.
- c. 1661 BC: Iptar-Sin became the King of Assyria.
- c. 1655 BC: Tan-Uli, the ruler of the Elamite Empire, died.
- c. 1650 BC: Collapse of the 14th Dynasty of Egypt.
- c. 1650 BC: Conquest of Memphis by the Hyksos and collapse of the 13th Dynasty of Egypt.
- c. 1650 BC: Start of the 15th and 16th Dynasties of Egypt.
- c. 1650 BC: Possibly, start of the Abydos Dynasty in Upper Egypt.
- c. 1646 BC or earlier: Jie of Xia is overthrown by Tang of Shang in the Battle of Mingtiao.
- 1649 BC: Bazaia became the King of Assyria.
- 1633 BC – May 2 – Lunar Saros 34 begins.
- 1627 BC: Beginning of a cooling of world climate lasting several years recorded in tree-rings all over the world. It may have been caused by one, or more, volcanic eruptions e.g. the Minoan eruption of Thera, the Avellino eruption of Mount Vesuvius, and/or the eruption of Mount Aniakchak in Alaska.
- 1625 BC: Samsu-Ditana becomes King of Babylon.
- 1621 BC: Lullaia becomes the King of Assyria.
- 1620 BC: Mursili I becomes King of the Hittite Empire.
- 1615 BC: Shu-Ninua became the King of Assyria.
- c. 1600 BC: Tang of Shang established the Shang dynasty.
Deaths
- 1684 BC – Heremon, Irish legend
Extinctions
- The last known population of woolly mammoth, preserved on Wrangel Island, becomes extinct.
Sovereign states