The 660s BC
26 sourced entries across 9 years, inside the 7th century BC. Each year below opens its own page; the lines under it are that year’s highest-ranked entries.
669 BCE2 entries
- Esarhaddon dies in Harran while on his way to recover Egypt from the Kushites.
- Taharqa, king of Kush, invades and reconquers Egypt from the Assyrian Empire.
668 BCE3 entries
- King Ashurbanipal puts down an Egyptian rebellion. He drives out Egypt's Ethiopian king Taharqa, and restores Necho I as governor of Sais in the Nile Delta.
- Nineveh, capital of Assyria becomes the largest city of the world, taking the lead from Thebes in Egypt (estimation).
- Shamash-shum-ukin, second son of the late Assyrian king Esarhaddon, becomes king of Babylon.
667 BCE2 entries
- Byzantium (modern Istanbul) is founded by Megaran colonists under Byzas.
- King Ashurbanipal of Assyria resumes his late father's attack on Egypt (see 671 BC), recapturing Memphis and beginning an offensive into Upper Egypt.
666 BCE2 entries
- King Ashurbanipal undertook a campaign to Egypt.
- One theory is that this is the year Psammitichus I ascended the throne.
665 BCE3 entries
- Elamite king Urtak launches a surprise attack against Babylonia but is successfully driven back
664 BCE8 entries
- First naval battle in Greek recorded history, between Corinth and Corcyra.
- Tantamani succeeds his uncle Taharqa as king of Kush.
- The Assyrians under Ashurbanipal capture and sack Thebes, Egypt.
663 BCE2 entries
- Siege of Tyre by the Assyrians under Ashurbanipal.
- The Assyrian Empire under Ashurbanipal drives the Kushites from Egypt and conquers the country.
661 BCE1 entries
- Queen Macha of Ireland begins to rule alone, after the death of her husband Cimbaeth, according to the Annals of the Four Masters.
660 BCE3 entries
- February 11 - The accession date of the first Emperor of Japan, Emperor Jimmu, converted from the Japanese imperial year as calculated by the dates in the Nihon Shoki.
- Extreme solar particle event comparable with the event detected at AD 774/775