6th century BC

From Freepedia

Centuries:	7th century BC - 6th century BC - 5th century BC
Decades:	00s 10s 20s 30s 40s 50s 60s 70s 80s 90s

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Contents 1 Overview 2 Events 3 Significant persons 4 Inventions, discoveries, introductions

Overview

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

Events

• 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

Significant persons

• 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.

Inventions, discoveries, introductions

• First archaeological surveys of the Arabian peninsula by Babylonian king Nabonidus.

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