Editing 5th century BC (section)

===[[480s BC]]===
* [[489 BC]]: Cities of [[Rhodes]] unite and start construction of the new city of Rhodes.
* [[488 BC]]: [[Leonidas I]] succeeds his brother [[Cleomenes I]] as king of [[Sparta]] after Cleomenes is judged insane.
* [[487 BC]]: [[Egypt]] revolts against the [[Achaemenid Empire|Persians]].
* [[487 BC]]: [[Aegina]] and [[Athens]] go to war.
* [[487 BC]]: Athenian Archonship becomes elective by lot, an important milestone in the move towards radical [[Athenian democracy]].
* [[487 BC]]: [[Siaspiqa]] becomes ruler of the [[Kingdom of Kush|Kushite kingdom of Meroe]].
* [[486 BC]]: First part of the [[Grand Canal of China]] is built.
* [[486 BC]]: [[Xerxes I]] succeeds [[Darius I]] as Great King of [[Persia]].
* [[486 BC]]: Egypt revolts against Persian rule.
* [[486 BC]]: [[First Buddhist Council]] at Rejgaha, under the patronage of King [[Ajatashatru]]. Oral tradition established for the first time.
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* [[484 BC]]: Athenian playwright [[Aeschylus]] wins a poetry prize.
* [[484 BC]]: Xerxes I abolishes the [[Neo-Babylonian empire|Kingdom of Babel]] and removes the golden statue of [[Bel (mythology)|Bel]] ([[Marduk]], [[Merodach]]).
* [[484 BC]]: Persians regain control of Egypt.
* [[483 BC]]: [[Gautama Buddha]] dies.
* [[483 BC]]: Xerxes I of Persia starts planning his expedition against [[Greece]]
* [[481 BC]]: The [[Isthmus of Corinth]] ends a war between Athens and Aegina.
* [[480 BC]]: King Xerxes I of Persia sets out to conquer Greece.
* [[480 BC]]: [[Cimon]] and his friends burn horse-bridles as an offering to [[Athena]] and join the marines
* [[480 BC]]: [[Pleistarchus]] succeeds his father Leonidas I as king of [[Sparta]].
* August, [[480 BC]]: [[Battle of Artemisium]]—The [[Achaemenid Empire|Persian]] fleet fights an inconclusive battle with the Greek allied fleet.
* August 11, [[480 BC]]: The [[Battle of Thermopylae]], a costly victory by Persians over the Greeks.
* September 23, [[480 BC]]: [[Battle of Salamis]] between Greece and Persia, leading to a Greek victory.
* [[480 BC]]: [[Battle of Himera (480 BC)|Battle of Himera]]—The [[Carthage|Carthaginians]] under [[Hamilcar]] are defeated by the Greeks of [[Sicily]], led by [[Gelon of Syracuse]].
* [[480 BC]]: [[Roman Republic|Roman]] troops march against the [[Veii|Veientines]].