Culture & Society in the 6th century

54 sourced entries, 500 CE to 597 CE, oldest first. Also see Culture & Society across every century or everything else in the 6th century.

• 500Uxmal is founded (approximate date).source
• 500Thrasamund, king of the Vandals, marries Amalafrida (widowed sister of Theodoric the Great). She brings with her a large dowry and an elite Gothic force of 5,000 soldiers.source
• 500Approximate year of the founding of the Kingdom of Essex.source
• 500Possible date at which Fergus Mór begins his reign – the historicity of Mór is doubtful.source
• 502The Chinese Book of Song is finished. The text is one of the Twenty-Four Histories, a traditional collection of historical records during the Southern and Northern Dynasties.source
• 512The first written text in the Arabic alphabet is recorded at Zabad (Syria).source
• 514Cissa of Sussex becomes king of the South Saxons after his father's death (approximate date).source
• 515Amalasuintha, daughter of king Theodoric the Great, marries Eutharic, an Ostrogoth noble of the old Amal line.source
• 515As a sign of his victory, Anastasius I leads a procession to Sosthenion, and attends a service of thanks at the local church dedicated to the Archangel Michael.source
• 520King Budic II returns to Cornouaille (Brittany), to claim the Breton throne (approximate date).source
• 520Priscian, 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.source
• 520Ostrogothic ruler Theodoric the Great builds the Mausoleum of Theodoric as his future tomb in Ravenna (Italy).source
• 521Boethius introduces Greek musical letter notation to the West.source
• 523Justinian, later Byzantine emperor, marries in Constantinople his mistress Theodora, who is by profession a courtesan (approximate date).source
• 528April 1 – The 6-week-old only daughter of Emperor Xiaoming of Northern Wei is proclaimed empress regnant of Northern Wei, by Empress Dowager Hu.source
• 529The Academy, originally founded at Athens by Plato around 387 BC, closes down by order of Justinian I, on charges of un-Christian activity. Many of the school's professors emigrate to Persia and Syria.source
• 530The mosaic synagogue floor from Maon (Judea) is made. It is now kept at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem (approximate date).source
• 530The Vishnu Temple at Deogarh, Uttar Pradesh (India) is built.source
• 530Xiao Tong, eldest son of emperor Wu Di, compiles the Wen Xuan (Literary Selections), a famous anthology of works dating from the Han to the Liang dynasty (approximate date).source
• 531Ankan, age 66, succeeds his father Keitai as the 27th emperor of Japan.source
• 534November 16 – A second and final revision of the Codex Justinianus is published.source
• 534Summer – Belisarius arrives in Constantinople and is permitted by Emperor Justinian I to celebrate a triumph, the first non-imperial triumph for over 500 years. In the procession the spoils of the Temple of Jerusalem and the Vandal treasure are paraded.source
• 535Significant to the history of agriculture, Chinese author Jia Sixia writes the treatise "Chimin Yaoshu" in this year, and although it quotes 160 previous Chinese agronomy books, it is the oldest existent Chinese agriculture treatise. In over 100,000 written Chinese characters, the book covers land preparation, seeding, cultivation, orchard management, forestry, animal husbandry, trade, and culinary uses for crops.source
• 542Gildas, British monk, writes his work "De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae" (approximate date).source
• 547The mosaic panels of Justinian I and Theodora I with attendants, in the Basilica of San Vitale (Ravenna), are made (approximate date).source
• 549In the Circus Maximus, first and largest circus in Rome, the last chariot races are held.source
• 550Procopius writes the Secret History (approximate date).source
• 551Jordanes, Roman bureaucrat, publishes "The Origin and Deeds of the Goths" (approximate date).source
• 552July 11 – First year of the Armenian calendar.source
• 554Wei Shou completes compilation of the Book of Wei.source
• 555Taliesin, British poet, becomes court bard to King Brochwel of Powys (approximate date).source
• 555Around this time, the historian Jordanes writes several books, among them De origine actibusque Getarum (The origin and deeds of the Goths).source
• 560Ceawlin succeeds his father Cynric as king of Wessex (approximate date).source
• 562December 23 – Justinian I re-consecrates Hagia Sophia after its dome is rebuilt. Paul the Silentiary, Byzantine poet, writes an epic poem (Ekphrasis).source
• 562Spring – Xiao Ming Di, age 20, succeeds his father Xuan Di as emperor of the Chinese Liang Dynasty.source
• 566Fei Di, age 12, succeeds his father Wen Di, as emperor of the Chinese Chen dynasty. He honors his grand-aunt Zhang Yao'er with the title of Grand Empress, and she becomes his regent.source
• 566A poet from Italy named Venantius Fortunatus arrives at the Merovingian court at Metz. With a strong grasp of traditional Roman poetry, Fortunatus impresses and entertains the Frankish royalty and aristocracy. The success of a Latin poet in Francia suggests that Roman culture persisted well after the Roman Empire disintegrated in Gaul in the late 5th century.source
• 567Sigebert I, king of Austrasia, marries Brunhilda, and his half brother Chilperic I marries Galswintha, both daughters of the Visigothic king Athanagild.source
• 569Gisulf I, nephew of Alboin, is appointed as the first duke of Friuli (approximate date).source
• 571Wuffa becomes the first king of East Anglia, as recorded in the Anglo-Saxon royal genealogies (approximate date).source
• 572Bidatsu succeeds his father Kinmei and ascends to the throne of Japan as the 30th emperor.source
• 577Reccopolis (modern Zorita de los Canes) in Hispania is founded by King Liuvigild, in honour of his son Reccared.source
• 581Maurice writes an encyclopedic work on the science of war (the Strategikon), which exercises a major influence on the military system.source
• 586The Page with the Crucifixion, from the "Rabbula Gospels", at the Monastery of St. John in Beth Zagba (Syria), is completed. It is now kept at the Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, Florence, Italy.source
• 587Sledd succeeds his father Æscwine as king of Essex (approximate date).source
• 589May 15 – King Authari marries Theodelinda, daughter of the Bavarian duke Garibald I. A Catholic, she has great influence at court and among the Lombard nobility.source
• 591May 21 – A Mesoamerican ballgame court is dedicated at the Mayan city of Chinkultic (Mexico).source
• 591Agilulf, cousin of Authari (called "the Thuringian"), is raised on the shield (a ceremonial investment) by Lombard warriors in Milan. He becomes king of the Lombards, on advice of the Lombard dukes (dux). Agilulf marries widowed queen Theodelinda and is baptized to please her.source
• 592Gregory, bishop of Tours, completes his Historia Francorum ("History of the Franks").source
• 593Empress Suiko begins a long reign during a pivotal period, in which Buddhism influences the development and culture of Japan. She is the first female ruler and the first to receive official recognition from China.source
• 593The Altar to Amitābha Buddha is made during the Sui dynasty. It is now kept at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.source
• 595Supratisthitavarman succeeds his father Susthitavarman, as king of the Varman dynasty in Assam (Northeast India).source
• 597The King's School is founded by Augustine in Canterbury. He builds an abbey where the Benedictine teaching takes place.source
• 597Emperor Maurice writes his last will, in which he describes his ideas for governing the Byzantine Empire (his eldest son, Theodosius, will rule the East from Constantinople, and his second son, Tiberius, the West from Rome).source