6th century BCE

The 6th century BCE is the period between 600 BCE and 501 BCE according to the proleptic Gregorian calendar. It was a century marked by major political upheavals in the Middle East and the emergence of philosophical and religious ideas that had lasting impact on history.

This period saw the fall of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, the rise of the Achaemenid Persian Empire, and the creation of new forms of government among the Greek city-states. During the same era, Asia produced influential figures including Buddha and Confucius, though scholars differ on the dates of their lives.

Middle East and Persia

At the beginning of this century, the Neo-Babylonian Empire was the dominant power in Mesopotamia. King Nebuchadnezzar II conquered Jerusalem and deported some of the Jewish population to Babylon—an event known as the Babylonian exile. In the middle of the century, Cyrus the Great founded the Achaemenid Empire and captured Babylon in 539 BCE. Power subsequently passed to Cambyses and later Darius I, who divided the empire into provinces (satrapies) each governed by an appointed official.

Greece and the origins of philosophy

The Greek city-states underwent political change. In Athens, Solon introduced legal reforms addressing debt and social rank; later Peisistratos and his sons ruled as tyrants, followed by Cleisthenes, who expanded citizen participation. In the same century, thinkers from the Ionian cities on the coast of Anatolia—Thales, Anaximander, and Anaximenes—attempted to explain the nature of the world through natural causes rather than divine intervention. Pythagoras and Heraclitus are also associated with the end of the century.

Asia and religious thought

In India, movements arose that challenged Vedic practice, including Buddhism and Jainism. In China, during the late Zhou dynasty, there were disputes over succession and governance; Confucius advocated an approach based on family loyalty, social duty, and the virtue of rulers. Some historians refer to this period as the "Axial Age," a concept suggesting that philosophical ideas of similar character emerged almost simultaneously across distant regions.