580s BC

Events and trends

589 BC — Apries succeeds Psammetichus II as king of Egypt.
588 BC — Nebuchadrezzar II of Babylon begins siege of Jerusalem; the opera Nabucco sets the date at 587 BC.
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 Zhou ding wang, King of the Zhou Dynasty of China.
May 28, 585 BC — A solar eclipse occurs as predicted by Thales, while Alyattes II is battling Cyaxares. This leads to a truce. This is one of the cardinal dates from which other dates can be calculated.
585/584 BC — Astyages succeeds Cyaxares as King of the Medes.
585 BC — Zhou jian wang becomes King of the Zhou Dynasty of China.
585 BC — Fall of the Kingdom of Urartu following a Median invasion.
582 BC — Pythian Games founded at Delphi. (traditional date)
580 BC — Cambyses I succeeds Cyrus I as king of Anshan and head of the Achaemenid dynasty. (approximate date)
580 BC — Isthmian Games founded at Corinth. (traditional 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 Archaeological Museum, Korkyra (Corfu).
c. 580 BC — Standing Youth (Kouros) is made. It is now at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

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
582 BC — Birth of Pythagoras in Samos, Greek philosopher and mathematician (d. 496 BC)
580 BC — Death of Cyrus I of Anshan (approximate date)