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.
• January 15 588 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, as predicted by Thales of Miletus, 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. (The Scythians ruined the Kingdom of Urartu.)
• 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 (traditional date).
• 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 (kouros) is made.

Significant people

• 585 BC—Birth of Anaximenes of Miletus, Greek philosopher (died 525 BC)
• 585 BC—Death of Emperor Jimmu of Japan (according to legend)
• 585 BC—Death of king Cyaxares of Media
• 585 BC—Death of king Alyattes of Lydia
• 580 BC—Death of Cyrus I of Anshan (approximate date)