Editing 16th century BC

{{Short description|One hundred years, from 1600 BC to 1501 BC}}
{{redirect|1500s BC|the decade|1500s BC (decade)}}
{{Centurybox|-16}}
The '''16th century BC''' was a [[century]] that lasted from 1600 BC to 1501 BC.

==Events==
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| footer = The royal [[Grave Circle A, Mycenae|Grave Circle]] in [[Mycenae]], [[Greece]]
(left) and the '[[Mask of Agamemnon]]'  (right) found in one of the graves.
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* [[1700 BC]] – [[1500 BC]]: [[Hurrians|Hurrian]] conquests.
*[[1600 BC|1601 BC]]: [[Sharma-Adad II]] became the [[King of Assyria]].
*c. [[1600 BC]]: The creation of one of the oldest surviving astronomical documents, a copy of which was found in the [[Babylonia]]n library of [[Ashurbanipal]]: a 21-year record of the appearances of [[Venus]] (which the early Babylonians called Nindaranna): [[Venus tablet of Ammisaduqa]].
*c. [[1600 BC]]: The date of the earliest discovered [[rubber]] balls.
*c. [[1600 BC]]: Early [[Mycenae]]an culture: weapons, Cyclopean walls, and chariots.
*c. [[1600 BC]]: [[Unetice culture]] ends in [[Czech Republic]], [[eastern Europe]]
*Development of the [[windmill]] in [[Persia]].
*c. [[1600 BC]]: Building of [[El morro del tulcán]] [[Pyramid]] in [[Colombia]].
* [[1595 BC]]: Sack of [[Babylon]] by the [[Hittites|Hittite]] king [[Mursilis I]].
*c. [[1595 BC]]: The overthrow of the ruling [[Amorite]] dynasty in [[Aleppo]], [[Syria]].
* [[1570 BC]]: Cretan palaces at [[Knossos]] and other centres flourish despite disasters.
* [[1567 BC]]: [[Egypt]]: End of [[Fifteenth dynasty of Egypt|Fifteenth Dynasty]], end of [[Sixteenth dynasty of Egypt|Sixteenth Dynasty]], end of [[Seventeenth dynasty of Egypt|Seventeenth Dynasty]], start of [[Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt|Eighteenth Dynasty]].
* [[1558 BC]]: [[Shang dynasty]] of China established (according to the [[Bamboo Annals]]).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hong Yuan |title=The Sinitic Civilization Book II: A Factual History Through the Lens of Archaeology, Bronzeware, Astronomy, Divination, Calendar and the Annals |date=2018 |publisher=[[iUniverse]] |isbn=9781532058301 |pages=645–649 |url=https://www.academia.edu/40663044 |format=PDF |chapter=Chronology of the Three Dynasties (Xia, Shang and Zhou)}}</ref>
* [[1556 BC]]: [[Cecrops I]] builds or rebuilds [[Athens]] following the great flood of [[Deucalion]] and the end of the [[Golden age]]. He becomes the first of several [[Kings of Athens]] whose life account is considered part of [[Greek mythology]].
* c. 1550 BC: The city of [[Mycenae]], located in the northeast [[Peloponnesus]], comes to dominate the rest of [[Achaea]], giving its name to [[Mycenaean Greece|Mycenaean]] civilization.
* [[1550 BC]]: End of [[Seventeenth dynasty of Egypt]], start of the [[Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt|Eighteenth Dynasty]] upon the coronation of [[Ahmose I]] (Low Chronology).
* [[1530 BC]]: End of the [[First Dynasty of Babylon]] and the start of the [[Kassites|Kassite dynasty]]—see [[History of Iraq]].
* [[1525 BC]]: End of [[Fifteenth Dynasty of Egypt]].
* c. 1512 BC: The [[flood]] of [[Deucalion]], according to [[O'Flaherty]], [[Augustine of Hippo|Augustine]], [[Eusebius]], and [[Isidore]] (bishop of Seville).
* [[1506 BC]]: [[Cecrops I]], legendary [[King of Athens]], dies after a reign of 50 years. Having survived his own son, he is succeeded by [[Cranaus]].
* [[1504 BC]]: [[Egypt]] started to conquer [[Nubia]] and the [[Levant]].
* c. 1500 BC: Many scholars date early parts of the [[Rig Veda]] to roughly the 16th century.
* c. 1500 BC: Queen [[Hatsheput]] in [[Egypt]] ([[Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt|18th Dynasty]]).
* c. 1500 BC: The element [[Mercury (element)|Mercury]] has been discovered in [[Egypt]]ian tombs dating from this decade.
* c. 1500 BC: Settlers from [[Crete]], [[Greece]] move to [[Miletus]], [[Turkey]].
* c. 1500 BC: Early traces of [[Maya civilization]] developing in [[Belize]].
* c. 1500 BC: The [[Phoenicia]]ns develop an [[alphabet]]—see [[Timeline of communication technology]].
* c. 1500 BC: [[Indo-Aryan migration]] is often dated to the 17th to 16th centuries.
* c. 1500 BC: Birth of [[Zoroaster]] ([[Avestan]]: ''Zarathushtra'').

==Sovereign states==
See: [[List of sovereign states in the 16th century BC]].

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Decades and years}} 
{{Centuries}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:16th Century Bc}}
[[Category:16th century BC| ]]
[[Category:2nd millennium BC|-4]]
[[Category:Centuries|-84]]