580s BC
This article concerns the period 589 BC – 580 BC.
Events and trends
- 589 BC—Apries succeeds Psamtik II as king of Egypt.
- 589 BC—Nebuchadnezzar II 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.
- 587/586 BC—Jerusalem falls to the Babylonians, ending the Kingdom of Judah. 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 of China.
- 28 May 585 BC—A solar eclipse occurs while Alyattes of Lydia fights Cyaxares of Media 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.
- 585 BC—Lucius Tarquinius Priscus, king of Rome, defeats the Sabines in war, takes the town of Collatia, and celebrates a triumph for his victories on 13 September.
- 585 BC—Ji Yi becomes King Jian of the Zhou dynasty of China.
- 585 BC—Fall of the Kingdom of Urartu following a Median invasion.
- 585 BC—Croesus succeeds Alyattes as King of Lydia.
- 585/584 BC—Astyages succeeds Cyaxares as King of the Medes.
- 582 BC—Military clash between the major Classical antiquity powers of Egypt and Babylon.
- 582 BC—Akragas is founded on Sicily.
- 582 BC—Nebuchadnezzar forces a third deportation of Jews from Judah into Babylonian captivity.
- 582 BC—The Pythian Games are reorganised at Delphi.
- 582/581 BC—The Isthmian Games are founded at Corinth.
- 581 BC—Suizei becomes the second Emperor of Japan.
- c. 580 BC—Cambyses I succeeds Cyrus I as king of Anshan and head of the Achaemenid dynasty.
- 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 is made.
Significant people
- 585 BC—Birth of Anaximenes of Miletus, Greek philosopher
- 585 BC—Death of Emperor Jimmu of Japan
- 585 BC—Death of king Cyaxares of Media
- 585 BC—Death of king Alyattes of Lydia
- 580 BC—Death of Cyrus I of Anshan