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The 520s BC

33 sourced entries across 9 years, inside the 6th century BC. Each year below opens its own page; the lines under it are that year’s highest-ranked entries.

529 BCE1 entries

  • 529 BC—The Chinese state of Zhoulai is conquered by Wu.

528 BCE2 entries

  • 528 BC—Gautama Buddha attains Enlightenment, and begins his ministry.

527 BCE3 entries

  • 527 BC—Peisistratos a tyrant of Athens dies: his son Hippias inherits his power.
  • 527 BC—Jain Tirthankara Mahavira attains Moksha, according to the Swetambara Tradition.

526 BCE2 entries

525 BCE7 entries

  • Battle of Pelusium - Cambyses II of Persia conquers Egypt by painting cats and other animals sacred to the Egyptians on his soldiers' shields. The Egyptians run in fear of "harming" these animals. It is said that after the battle, Cambyses hurled cats in the faces of the Egyptians in scorn that they would sacrifice their country for the safety of their animals.
  • After conquering Egypt, the Persian king Cambyses II sent ambassadors to Macrobia, bringing luxury gifts for the Macrobian king to entice his submission. The Macrobian king replied instead with a challenge for his Persian counterpart in the form of an unstrung bow: if the Persians could manage to string it, they would have the right to invade his country; but until then, they should thank the gods that the Macrobians never decided to invade their empire.
  • The Twenty-sixth Dynasty ends, and the Twenty-seventh Dynasty begins.

524 BCE2 entries

  • Battle of Cumae - An army of Umbrians, Daunians, Etruscans, and others is defeated by the Greeks of Cumae, present-day Italy.

522 BCE10 entries

  • December Darius I succeeds Bardiya as ruler of Persia. He is the son of a government official.
  • Bardiya succeeds Cambyses II as ruler of Persia.
  • Babylon rebels against Persian rule.

521 BCE2 entries

520 BCE4 entries

  • King Dao becomes king of the Zhou Dynasty of China but dies before the end of the year.