Editing 6th century BC (section)

=== [[540s BC]] ===

* [[547 BC]]: [[Croesus]], [[Lydia]]n [[monarch|King]], is defeated by [[Cyrus the Great|Cyrus]] of [[Achaemenid Empire|Persia]] near the River [[Halys River|Halys]].
* [[546 BC]]: [[Cyrus the Great|Cyrus]] of [[Persia]] completes his conquest of [[Lydia]], and makes [[Pasargadae]] his [[Capital (political)|capital]].
* Mid-6th century BC: Foundation of [[Temple of Olympian Zeus (Athens)]] by [[Pisistratus]].
* [[544 BC]]: [[Bimbisara]] establishes [[Haryanka dynasty]] of [[Magadha (Mahajanapada)|Magadha]] in India.
* [[544 BC]]: People of [[Teos]] migrate to [[Abdera, Thrace]] to escape the yoke of [[Iran|Persia]].
* [[544 BC]]: [[King Jing of Zhou (Ji Gui)|King Jing of Zhou]] becomes king of the [[Zhou dynasty]] of [[China]].
* [[543 BC]]: [[Prince]] [[Vijaya of Sri Lanka|Vijaya]] establishes a [[Sinhalese people|Sinhalese]] dynasty of [[Sri Lanka]].
* [[543 BC]]: [[Pisistratus]], tyrant of [[Athens]], purifies the island of [[Delos]] (approximate date).
* [[540 BC]]: [[Ancient Greece|Greek]] city of [[Thesprotia|Elea]] of [[southern Italy]] founded (approximate date).
* [[540 BC]]: [[Achaemenid Empire|Persians]] conquer [[Lycia]]n city of [[Xanthos]], now in southern [[Turkey]] (approximate date).