580s BC

Centuries: 7th century BC – 6th century BC – 5th century BC

Decades: 620s BC – 610s BC – 600s BC – 590s BC – 588s BC – 570s BC – 560s BC – 550s BC – 540s BC – 530s BC

Events and trends

• 589 BC – Apries succeeds Psammetichus II as king of Egypt
• 588 BC – Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon begins siege of Jerusalem
• 586 BC – Jerusalem falls to the Babylonians, ending the Kingdom of Judah. The conquerors destroy the Temple of Jerusalem and exile the land's remaining inhabitants.
• 586 BC – Death of Zhou ding wang, King of the Zhou Dynasty of China.
• 585 BC – May 28 – A solar eclipse occurrs 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 BC – Zhou jian wang becomes King of the Zhou Dynasty of China.
• 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)

Significant people

• Nebuchadnezzar II, King of Babylon
• 585 BC – Birth of Anaximenes of Miletus, Greek philosopher († 525 BC).
• 582 BC – Birth of Pythagoras in Samos, Greek philosopher and mathematician († 496 BC).
• 580 BC – Death of Cyrus I of Anshan (approximate date).