Editing 540 BC

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The year '''540 BC''' was a year of the [[Roman calendar|pre-Julian Roman calendar]]. In the [[Roman Empire]], it was known as '''year 214 '' [[Ab urbe condita]]'''''. The denomination 540 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the [[Anno Domini]] [[calendar era]] became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

==Events==

*[[Cyrus the Great|Cyrus]] attacks [[Babylonia]].
*[[Ancient Greece|Greek]] city of [[Velia|Elea]] of [[southern Italy]] is founded (approximate date).
*[[Achaemenid Empire|Persians]] conquer [[Lycia]]n city of [[Xanthos]] (approximate date).
*[[Amasis Painter]] makes [[Dionysos]] with [[maenad]]s, black-figure decoration on an [[amphora]].
*[[Exekias]] makes ''The Suicide of [[Ajax the great|Ajax]]'', black-figure decoration on an [[amphora]].
*[[Amyntas I of Macedon|Amyntas I]] becomes king of [[Macedon]]ia (approximate date).
*[[Comet Hale–Bopp]] appears in the evening sky, making its closest approach to Earth. Its next appearance occurs in 1997.

==Births==
* [[Epicharmus of Kos]], Greek dramatist (approximate date; d. c. [[450 BC]]){{citation needed|date=January 2021}}
* [[Heraclitus]], Greek philosopher, born in [[Ephesus]] (approximate year)<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Heraclitus | access-date=February 24, 2024 | title=Heraclitus | series=Encyclopædia Britannica | date=February 2, 2024}}</ref> 
* [[Leonidas I]], leader of the 300 Spartans at the [[Battle of Thermopylae]] (approximate date; d. [[480 BC]]){{citation needed|date=January 2021}}
* [[Vardhamana Mahavira]], the twenty-fourth and last Tirthankara of the Jains [[450 BC ]]

==Deaths==
*

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:540 BC| ]]


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