540s BC

Millennium:	1st millennium BC
Centuries:	7th century BC – 6th century BC – 5th century BC
Decades:	570s BC 560s BC 550s BC – 540s BC – 530s BC 520s BC 510s BC
Years:	549 BC 548 BC 547 BC 546 BC 545 BC 544 BC 543 BC 542 BC 541 BC 540 BC
Categories:	Births – Deaths – Architecture Establishments – Disestablishments

Events and trends

• 546 BC—Croesus, Lydian king, is defeated by Cyrus of Persia near the River Halys.
• 546 BC—Cyrus of Persia completes his conquest of Lydia, and makes Pasargadae his capital.
• 546 BC—Cyrus makes a garrison in Sardis. He adds the Greek cities of Ionia in Asia Minor into Persian Empire. He gains the important ports that look out to the Mediterranean world.
• 546 BC—Pisistratus takes power in Athens from the aristocratic party.
• 546 BC—The architect Eupalinos of Megara built aqueducts that supply water to Athens.
• 546 BC—The peace conference between the kingdoms in China. A treaty between Jin, Chu and some other kingdoms was signed.
• 546 BC—A coup d'état in Qi kingdom.
• 544 BC—People of Teos move to Abdera, Thrace to escape Persia.
• 544 BC—King Jing becomes King of the Zhou Dynasty of China.
• 543 BC—North Indian Prince Vijaya invades Ceylon. He makes a Sri Lankan dynasty.
• 543 BC—Pisistratus, tyrant of Athens, purifies the island of Delos (approximate date).
• 543 BC—Guided by the Chinese statesman Zi Chan, the State of Zheng starts a formal code of law.
• 540 BC—Cyrus attacks Babylonia.
• 540 BC—Greek city of Elea of southern Italy founded (approximate date).
• 540 BC—Persians conquer Lycian city of Xanthos now in southern Turkey (approximate date).
• c. 540 BC—Amasis Painter makes Dionysos with maenads, black-figure decoration on an amphora. It is now at Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris.
• c. 540 BC—Exekias makes The Suicide of Ajax, black-figure decoration on a amphora. It is now at Chateau-Musee, Boulogne-sur-Mer, France.

Significant people

• 549 BC—Birth of Darius I
• 547 BC—Death of Croesus
• 546 BC—Death of Anaximander, Greek philosopher (approximate date)
• 545 BC—Death of Zhou ling wang, King of the Zhou Dynasty of China
• 544 BC—Birth of Sun Tzu
• 543 BC—Death of Gautama Buddha (traditional in Thailand and elsewhere—basis of the Thai solar calendar)
• 543 BC—Death of Thales, Greek philosopher
• 540 BC—Amyntas I becomes king of Macedonia (approximate date)
• Amasis Painter, Greek painter
• Exekias, Greek painter