Editing 550

{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2022}}
{{About year|550}}
{{Year nav|550}}
{{M1 year in topic}}
[[File:Transasia trade routes 1stC CE gr2.png|thumb|right|259px|The [[Silk Road]]s between 500 BC and 500 AD]]  
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Year '''550''' ('''[[Roman numerals|DL]]''') was a [[common year starting on Saturday]] of the [[Julian calendar]]. The denomination 550 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 ==
<onlyinclude>

=== By place ===
==== Byzantine Empire ====
* Emperor [[Justinian I]] appoints [[Bessas (magister militum)|Bessas]] commander (''[[magister militum]]'') of [[Armenia]], and entrusts him with the war in [[Lazica]] ([[Georgia (country)|Georgia]]).
** [[Siege of Petra (550–551)]]
* [[January 16]] &ndash; [[Gothic War (535–554)|Gothic War]]: The [[Ostrogoths]] under king [[Totila]] recapture [[Rome]] after a long [[Siege of Rome (549–550)|siege]], by bribing the [[Isauria]]n garrison.
* Summer &ndash; Totila plunders [[Sicily]], after he subdues [[Corsica]] and [[Sardinia]]. He sends a [[Goths|Gothic]] fleet to raid the coasts of [[Greece]].
* Justinian I sends two [[Nestorian Church|Nestorian]] monks on a [[Christian mission|mission]] to [[Central Asia]], to spread [[Christianity]] in the East (approximate date).

==== Europe ====
* The [[Vendel era]] begins; the name is given to a region in [[Uppland]] (an important area of the [[saga]]s' account of a [[History of Sweden|Swedish kingdom]]).

==== Persia ====
* The [[Sassanid Empire]], under the reign of King [[Khosrow I]], controls the trade of [[History of Silk|silk]] destined for [[Europe]] and the [[Byzantine Empire]].

==== Asia ====
* The [[Eastern Wei|Eastern Wei Dynasty]] ends, and [[Emperor Wenxuan of Northern Qi|Wen Xuan Di]] becomes emperor of [[Northern Qi]]. He forces [[Emperor Xiaojing of Eastern Wei|Xiao Jing Di]] to yield the [[throne]].
* Wen Xuan Di adopts a defensive policy towards the hostile northern tribes; he builds over 1,000 miles of [[Defensive wall|walls]] on the border.<ref>Imperial Chinese Armies (p. 23). C.J. Peers, 1995. {{ISBN|978-1-85532-514-2}}</ref>
* The [[Gupta Empire]] falls; [[India]] is again ruled by regional kingdoms (approximate date).

==== Americas ====
* Construction of [[Quiriguá]] ([[Guatemala]]) begins (approximate date).
* The last known [[Types of volcanic eruptions|eruption]] of [[Chimborazo (volcano)|Chimborazo]] (modern [[Ecuador]]) occurs.

=== By topic ===
==== Arts and sciences ====
* [[Hindu]] [[mathematician]]s give [[0 (number)|zero]] a numeral representation in a [[numeral system|positional notation system]].
* [[Procopius]] writes the ''[[Procopius#Secret History|Secret History]]'' (approximate date).

==== Religion ====
* The churches of [[Lazica]] ([[Georgia (country)|Georgia]]) and [[Armenia]] split. While the [[Armenian Apostolic Church|Armenian Church]] remains independent, the Georgian church unites with the [[Byzantine Empire]]. This [[Ecclesiology|ecclesiastical]] union deepens political and cultural contact between the two states. As a sign of Lazica's status vis-à-vis Byzantium, Lazic princes are vested with [[honorific]] titles of the Byzantine court, including ''[[kouropalates]]'', or "minister of the imperial palace" (approximate date).
* The main redaction of the [[Talmud|Babylonian Talmud]] is completed under Rabbis [[Ravina II|Ravina]] and [[Rav Ashi|Ashi]] (approximate date).
* [[Chararic (Suevic king)|Chararic]], king of the [[Suebi|Suevi]], converts to [[Catholicism]].
* In [[Ireland]], the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Tuam|Diocese of Tuam]] is erected.
</onlyinclude>

== Births ==
*''probable''
**[[Pope Boniface IV]] (approximate date)
**[[Finbarr of Cork]], Irish [[bishop]] (approximate date)
**[[Saint Gall|Gallus]], Irish [[missionary]] (approximate date)
**[[Gaugericus]], [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cambrai|bishop of Cambrai]] (approximate date)
**[[John Moschus]], Byzantine [[monk]] (approximate date)
**[[Peter III of Callinicum]], Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch (approximate date)<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |first1=Lionel R. |last1=Wickham|title=Peter of Kallinikos|encyclopedia=Gorgias Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Syriac Heritage: Electronic Edition |editor1=Sebastian P. Brock |editor2=Aaron M. Butts |editor3=George A. Kiraz |editor3-link=George A. Kiraz |editor4=Lucas Van Rompay |url=https://gedsh.bethmardutho.org/Peter-of-Kallinikos|year=2011|access-date=June 19, 2020}}
</ref>

== Deaths ==
* [[May 8]] &ndash; [[Desideratus]], French saint<ref>{{cite book|author=Alban Butler|title=April, May, June|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jm3NAAAAMAAJ|year=1956|publisher=Burns & Oates}}</ref>
*''exact date unknown''
**[[Aryabhata]], Indian mathematician-astronomer (b. [[476]])<ref>{{cite book | date=1865 | contribution=Brief Notes on the Age and Authenticity of the Works of Aryabhata, Varahamihira, Brahmagupta, Bhattotpala, and Bhaskaracharya | title=Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland | author=Bhau Daji | author-link=Bhau Daji | pages=392–406 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fAsFAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA392 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160914162945/https://books.google.com/books?id=fAsFAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA392&dq=aryabhata&redir_esc=y&hl=en#v=onepage&q=kusumapura&f=false | archive-date=14 September 2016 | df=dmy-all }}</ref>
**[[Buddhapālita]], Indian [[Madhyamaka]] scholar (b. [[470]])
**[[Drest V of the Picts|Drest V]], king of the [[Picts]] 
**[[Germanus (cousin of Justinian I)|Germanus]], Byzantine general (''[[magister militum]]'')
*''probable''
**[[Dubricius]], British bishop and saint 
**[[Eustathius of Mtskheta]], [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodox Christian]] saint

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

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