577

Year 577 was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 577 for this year has been used since early medieval times, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Events

Byzantine–Sassanid War: A Byzantine expeditionary force under command of Justinian (magister militum [per Orientem)|Justinian] invades Caucasian Albania, launching raids across the Caspian Sea against the Persians.
Summer - Tiberius [II Constantine|Tiberius], Byzantine co-ruler, establishes a naval base at Derbent on the Caspian Sea to construct a Byzantine fleet.
Winter - Maurice is appointed commander-in-chief of the Byzantine army in the East. He succeeds Justinian, despite complete lack of military experience.

Battle of Deorham: The Anglo-Saxons under Ceawlin of Wessex invade the lower Severn Valley, and defeat the British Celts at Dyrham. After the battle, the Saxons occupy the three cities: Cirencester, Gloucester and Bath, bringing their advance to the Bristol Channel.
Reccopolis in Hispania is founded by King Liuvigild, in honour of his son Reccared.

Winter - Northern Qi, one of the Northern Dynasties, is conquered by Northern Zhou under Emperor Wu Di. He orders the last ruler and other members of the Gao clan to commit suicide. North [China Plain|Northern China], above the Yangtze River, is once again brought under the control of a single power.

The Temple of Dendur, dedicated to the Egyptian gods Isis, Harpocrates and Osiris, is converted for use as a Christian church.
Eutychius of Constantinople|Eutychius] is restored as patriarch of Constantinople, after an exile of 12 years at Amasia.
Muhammad, age 6, returns to his immediate family, but within a year his mother Aminah bint Wahb dies.

A predecessor of the modern match, small sticks of pinewood impregnated with sulfur, are first used in China. Besieged by military forces of Northern Zhou and Chen, Northern Qi court ladies use the "lighting sticks" to start fires for cooking and heating.