| B.C. | ||
|---|---|---|
| 550. | Cyrus the Persian succeeded Cyaxares the Mede. | |
| Cyrus conquered Crœsus. | ||
| Buddha lived about this time. | ||
| So also did Confucius and Lao Tse. | ||
| 539. | Cyrus took Babylon and founded the Persian Empire. | |
| 521. | Darius I, the son of Hystaspes, ruled from the Hellespont to the Indus. | |
| His expedition to Scythia. |
| 490. | Battle of Marathon. | |
|---|---|---|
| 480. | Battles of Thermopylï and Salamis. | |
| 479. | The battles of Platea and Mycale completed the repulse of Persia. | |
| 474. | Etruscan fleet destroyed by the Sicilian Greeks. | |
| 431. | Peloponnesian War began (to 404) |