520s BC

Events

• 529 BC — Cambyses II started to rule. He is son of Cyrus II. He conquered Egypt and Cyprus.
• 528 BC — Gautama Buddha attained Enlightenment, and began his ministry.
• 527 BC — Pisistratus a tyrant of Athens dies: his son Hippias inherits his power.
• 526 BC — Psammetichus III succeeds Amasis II as king of Egypt.
• 526 BC — King Liao of Wu ascends to power in the State of Wu in China during the Zhou Dynasty.
• 525 BC — Cambyses II, ruler of Persia, conquers Egypt, defeating Psammetichus III. This is considered the end of the Twenty-sixth Dynasty, and the start of the Twenty-seventh Dynasty.
• c. 525 BC — Coins started to have an image on two sides.
• 522 BC — Smerdis succeeds Cambyses II as ruler of Persia.
• 522 BC — Babylon rebels against Persian rule.
• 521 BC — Darius I succeeds Smerdis as ruler of Persia. He is son of a government official.
• 521 BC — The Babylonian rebellion against Persian rule is suppressed.
• 520 BC — Zhou dao wang becomes King of the Zhou Dynasty of China but dies before the end of the year.
• 520 BC — Cleomenes I succeeds Anaxandridas as king of Sparta. (approximate date).
• c. 520 BC — Kore, from Chios(?), is made. It is now at Acropolis Museum, Athens.
• 520 BC–510 BC — The Priam Painter makes Women at a fountain house, black-figure decoration on a hydria. It is now at Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Significant people

• c. 520 BC — Mahavira

Births

• 521 BC — Leonidas I. King of Sparta
• 525 BC — Aeschylus, author of Greek tragedies (d. 456 BC)
• 522 BC — Pindar, Greek poet
• 520 BC — Panini, Hindu Indian grammarian (d. 460 BC)

Deaths

• July, 529 BC — Cyrus the Great, ruler of ancient Persia
• 527 BC — Mahavira, major Jain reformist (b. 599 BC)
• 527 BC — Peisistratus, Athenian tyrant
• 525 BC — Anaximenes of Miletus, Greek philosopher (b. 585 BC)
• 525 BC — Psammetichus III, the last Pharaoh of the Twenty-sixth Dynasty of Egypt
• 522 BC — Cambyses II, ruler of ancient Persia (suicide)
• October, 521 BC — Smerdis, ruler of ancient Persia