The 520s

520 CE24 entries

• February 25 – Epiphanius is elected patriarch of Constantinople by Byzantine Emperor Justin I.
• July – Byzantine general Vitalian becomes consul, and is shortly later murdered, probably on the orders of Justinian, the nephew and heir-apparent of Emperor Justin I.
• Priscian, Latin grammarian, writes the Institutiones Grammaticae ("Grammatical Foundations"). In Constantinople, he codifies this manuscript in 18 volumes, which will be widely used through the Middle Ages. It provides the raw material for the field of speculative grammar.

521 CE10 entries

• February 22 – Samson of Dol is ordained as bishop in Brittany, on the Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter.
• Boethius introduces Greek musical letter notation to the West.
• Future Byzantine emperor Justinian, age 39, is appointed consul. He later becomes Commander-in-chief of the Army of the East.

522 CE10 entries

• Dhu Nuwas seizes the throne of the Himyarite Kingdom in Yemen. He attacks the Aksumite garrison at Zafar, capturing the city and burning the churches.
• Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius, Roman philosopher, is arrested on charges of having conspired against Theodoric the Great. He is imprisoned at Pavia (Lombardy).
• Dhū Nuwas moves to Najran, an Aksumite stronghold. After accepting the city's capitulation, he massacres the Christian inhabitants (some sources estimate a death toll up to 20,000).

523 CE15 entries

• August 6 – Pope Hormisdas dies at Rome after a tenure of 9 years and 17 days, in which he has been instrumental in ending the Acacian Schism. He is succeeded by John I as the 53rd pope.
• A revolt breaks out on the Six Garrisons, on the northern border of Northern Wei China ("Revolt of the Six Garrisons"). Tensions between the elite and the Tuoba-clan severely destabilise the state.
• Justinian, later Byzantine emperor, marries in Constantinople his mistress Theodora, who is by profession a courtesan (approximate date).

524 CE18 entries

• May 1 – King Sigismund of Burgundy is executed at Orléans after an 8-year reign, and is succeeded by his brother Godomar. He rallies the Burgundian army and begins plundering Frankish territory.
• June 25 – Battle of Vézeronce: The Franks under Chlodomer, Childebert I and Chlothar I are defeated by the Burgundians and allied Ostrogoths near Isère (France), averting the Frankish advance into Burgundy. During the fighting Chlodomer is killed. Later Childebert annexes the cities of Chartres and Orléans.
• October 23 – Anicius Manlius Boethius, one of Rome's most prolific writers and philosophers, is beaten to death at the prison at Pavia, where he has been imprisoned for treason. During his prison sentence, he has written his final work, The Consolation of Philosophy. The date of the death of St. Boethius is later celebrated as his feast day on the Roman Catholic Calendar of Saints.

525 CE20 entries

526 CE14 entries

• May 18 – John I dies of starvation after a 3-year reign. Theodoric the Great selects Pope Felix IV as the 54th pope.
• August 30 – King Theodoric the Great dies of dysentery at Ravenna; his daughter Amalasuintha takes power as regent for her 10-year-old son Athalaric.
• Roman–Persian Wars: King Kavad I, assisted by his Arabian vassal, Al-Mundhir III, begins a campaign in the Transcaucasus region and Upper Mesopotamia.

527 CE13 entries

• April 1 – Emperor Justin I names his nephew Justinian I as co-ruler, as an incurable wound saps his strength.
• Æscwine becomes the first king of Essex (approximate date), defeating Octa in battle at Hackney, west of the River Lea.
• The Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem is rebuilt until 565, restoring the architectural tone of the basilica.

528 CE22 entries

• March 31 – Emperor Xiaoming of Northern Wei, emperor of Northern Wei, is poisoned by order of his mother, the regent Empress Dowager Hu.
• May 17 – Empress Dowager Hu, regent of Northern Wei, having resorted to an old monarchist tool and executed lovers who have displeased her, is drowned in the Yellow River along with the nominal emperor, the baby Yuan Zhao, and prince Yuan Yong by order of General Erzhu Rong, who places 21-year-old Yuan Ziyou on the throne as Emperor Xiaozhuang of Northern Wei.
• November 29 – Natural disaster: A second earthquake strikes Antioch, killing thousands.

529 CE13 entries

• February 25 – Kʼan Joy Chitam I becomes the new ruler of the Mayan city-state of Palenque what is now the state of Chiapas in southern Mexico, ending an interregnum of a little over four years, and reigns until his death in 565.
• Rudravarman is granted investiture by China, as the first king of the fourth dynasty of Champa (modern Vietnam).
• The Samaritans revolt and are defeated; the Church of the Nativity is burnt down during the Rebellion.