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 siege of Jerusalem; the opera Nabucco sets the date at 587 BC.
• 589 BC—Battle of An: Jin defeats Qi; these two Chinese states later agree to an alliance.
• 587 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, while Alyattes of Lydia fights Cyaxares of Media at the Battle of Halys, leading to a truce. This is a cardinal date from which other dates can be calculated.
• 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.
• 585/584 BC—Astyages succeeds Cyaxares as King of the Medes.
• 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.)
• 582 BC—Military clash of the major Classical antiquity powers Egypt and Babylon.
• 582 BC—Pythian Games reorganised at Delphi. (This is the traditional date.)
• 582/581 BC—Isthmian Games founded at Corinth.
• 580 BC—Cambyses I succeeds Cyrus I as king of Anshan and head of the Achaemenid dynasty. (approximate date)
• c. 580 BC—Gorgon Medusa, detail of sculpture from the west pediment of the Temple of Artemis, Korkyra, is made. It is now at the Archaeological Museum of Corfu.
• c. 580 BC—Standing Youth (Kouros) is made. It is now at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Significant people

• Nebuchadnezzar II, King of Babylon
• 585 BC—Birth of Anaximenes of Miletus, Greek philosopher (d. 525 BC)
• 585 BC—Death of Emperor Jimmu of Japan
• 580 BC—Death of Cyrus I of Anshan (approximate date)