Cyrus the Great was born in 600 BCE in Anshan Persia. The founder of the Achaemenid Persian Empire, Cyrus overthrew the Median king Astyages around 550 BCE, and went on to defeat Croesus of Lydia and conquer Babylon in 539 BCE, creating the largest empire the world had yet seen. His rule became known for relative tolerance toward conquered peoples and their religions. The Cyrus Cylinder, a clay inscription from Babylon, records his policy of restoring temples and returning displaced populations, and the Hebrew Bible credits him with allowing the Jews to return to Jerusalem. He died fighting on the northeastern frontier, and his tomb stands at Pasargadae. The year of his birth is uncertain, and the date given is only approximate.
Before and after
- c. 601 BCEThe Lydians mint the first coins
- c. 600s BCEPhoenician sailors circumnavigate Africa, according to Herodotus
- from 600 BCE to 500 BCEArchaic Greece
- 600 BCEFounding of Milan
- 600 BCEBirth of Cyrus the Great
- from 16 March 597 BCE to 1 January 538 BCEBabylonian captivity
- c. 595 BCESolon reforms Athens
- from 589 BCE to 587 BCESiege of Jerusalem
- 587 BCENebuchadnezzar destroys Jerusalem and the First Temple
More in Wars, politics & history
- c. 3,101 BCENarmer unifies Egypt
- from c. 1,258 BCE to 1,180 BCETrojan War
- c. 510 BCEThe Roman Republic is founded
- from 74 BCE to 72 BCEThe slave revolt of Spartacus
- 24 August 410 CEAlaric and the Visigoths sack Rome
- 451 CEAetius and Theodoric stop Attila at the Catalaunian Plains
The era
This moment belongs to the Ancient civilizations (3,200 BCE to 500 CE), writing, cities and empires. You can also browse everything in the 6th century BCE.