580s BC

Millennia:	1st millennium BC
Centuries:	7th century BC - 6th century BC - 5th century BC
Decades:	610s BC 600s BC 590s BC - 580s BC - 570s BC 560s BC 550s BC
Years:	589 BC 588 BC 587 BC 586 BC 585 BC 584 BC 583 BC 582 BC 581 BC 580 BC
Categories:	Births - Deaths - State leaders - Sovereign states Establishments - Disestablishments

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.

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