7th century BC

Millennium:	1st millennium BC
Centuries:	8th century BC 7th century BC 6th century BC
Decades:	690s BC 680s BC 670s BC 660s BC 650s BC 640s BC 630s BC 620s BC 610s BC 600s BC
Categories:	Births – Deaths Establishments – Disestablishments

The 7th century BC began the first day of 700 BC and ended the last day of 601 BC.

The Assyrian Empire continued to dominate the Near East during this century, exercising formidable power over neighbors like Babylon and Egypt. In the last two decades of the century, however, the empire began to unravel as numerous enemies made alliances and waged war from all sides. The Assyrians finally left the world stage permanently when their capital Nineveh was destroyed in 612 BC. These events gave rise to the Neo-Babylonian Empire, which would dominate the region for much of the following century.

Events

Ashurbanipal, king of Assyria who created "the first systematically collected library" at Nineveh

A 16th-century depiction of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, by Martin Heemskerck, with Tower of Babel in the background.

690s BC

• 699 BC: Khallushu succeeds Shuttir-Nakhkhunte as king of the Elamite Empire.
• 697 BC: Death of King Huan of Zhou, King of the Zhou Dynasty of China.
• 696 BC: King Zhuang of Zhou becomes King of the Zhou Dynasty of China.
• 696 BC: The Cimmerians ravage Phrygia, possible migration of the Armenians.
• 691 BC: King Sennacherib of Assyria defeats king Humban-nimena of Elam in the Battle of Halule.
• 690 BC: Taharqa, a king of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty, ascends the throne of Egypt (approximate date).

680s BC

• 689 BC: King Sennacherib of Assyria sacks Babylon.
• 687 BC: Gyges becomes king of Lydia.
• 687 BC: Hezekiah succeeded by Manasseh as king of Judah.
• 682 BC: Death of King Zhuang of Zhou, King of the Zhou Dynasty of China.
• 681 BC: King Xi of Zhou becomes King of the Zhou Dynasty of China.
• 681 BC: Esarhaddon succeeds Sennacherib as king of Assyria.

670s BC

• 677 BC: Death of King Li of Zhou, King of the Zhou Dynasty of China.
• 677 BC: Esarhaddon leads the Assyrian army against rebellious Arab tribes, advances as far as the Brook of Egypt.
• 676 BC: King Hui of Zhou becomes King of the Zhou Dynasty of China.
• 675 BC: Esarhaddon begins the rebuilding of Babylon.
• 674 BC: Esarhaddon puts down a revolt in Ashkelon supported by Taharqa, king of Egypt. In response, the Assyrians invade Egypt, but Taharqa is able to hold the invaders off.
• 673 BC: Tullus Hostilius becomes king of Rome.
• 671 BC: Esarhaddon again invades Egypt, capturing Memphis as well as a number of the royal family.

660s BC

• 669 BC: Assurbanipal succeeds his father Esarhaddon as king of Assyria.
• 669 BC: Argos defeats Sparta for the last time, this time using a Phalanx, at the battle of Hysiae.
• 668 BC: Shamash-shum-ukin, son of Esarhaddon, becomes King of Babylon.
• 668 BC: Egypt revolts against Assyria.
• 668 BC: Nineveh, capital of Assyria becomes the largest city of the world, taking the lead from Thebes in Egypt.
• 667 BC: Byzantium founded by Megaran colonists under Byzas. (traditional date)
• 664 BC: First naval battle in Greek recorded history, between Corinth and Corcyra.
• 664 BC: Assurbanipal captures and sacks Thebes, Egypt.
• 664 BC: Psammetichus I succeeds Necho I as king of Lower Egypt.
• 664 BC: Taharqa appoints his nephew Tantamani as his successor of Upper Egypt.
• February 11, 660 BC—Traditional founding date of Japan by Emperor Jimmu.
• 660 BC: First known use of the Demotic script.
• 660 BC: Psammetichus I drives the Assyrians out of Egypt.
• 660 BC: Estimated date of the impact that created the Kaali crater

650s BC

• 650s BC: The Spartan Creed by Ancient Greek poet Tyrtaeus
• 650s BC: Occupation begins at Maya site of Piedras Negras, Guatemala.
• 657 BC: Cypselus becomes the first tyrant of Corinth.
• 656 BC: Psammetichus extends his control over all of Egypt. End of Twenty-fifth Dynasty.
• 653 BC: Atta-Khumma-In-Shushinak and Khumbanigash II succeed Shilhak-In-Shushinak and Tempti-Khumma-In-Shushinak as kings of the Elamite Empire.
• 652 BC: Babylonia rises in revolt under Shamash-shum-ukin against the Assyrians.
• 652 BC: Achaemenid dynasty in Persia.
• 651 BC: King Xiang of Zhou becomes King of the Zhou Dynasty of China.
• 650 BC: The town of Abdera in Thrace is founded by colonists from Clazomenae.
• 650 BC: A climate change affects all the Bronze Age cultures in Europe with colder and wetter climate, and tribes from the Scandinavian Nordic Bronze Age cultures are pushed downwards into the European continent.

640s BC

• 640s BC: Assyrian king Ashurbanipal founds library, which included our earliest complete copy of the Epic of Gilgamesh.
• 649 BC: Indabigash succeeds Tammaritu as a king of the Elamite Empire.
• 649 BC: Babylonian revolt under Shamash-shum-ukin is crushed by the Assyrians.
• 648 BC: Pankration becomes an event at the Ancient Olympic Games.
• April 6, 648 BC: Earliest Greek-chronicled solar eclipse.
• 647 BC: King Assurbanipal of Assyria sacks Susa
• 642 BC: Ancus Marcius becomes king of Rome (traditional date).
• c.641 BC: Josiah becomes king of Judah.
• 640 BC: Decisive victory of Assyria over Elamite Empire; Assurbanipal captures its last king Khumma-Khaldash III, annexes Elam, and lays waste the country.

630s BC

• 632 BC: Cylon, Athenian noble, seizes the Acropolis in a failed attempt to become king.
• 632 BC: In the Battle of Chengpu, the Chinese kingdom of Jin and her allies defeat the kingdom of Chu and her allies.
• 631 BC: Founding of Cyrene, a Greek colony in Libya (North Africa) (approximate date).
• 631 BC: Sadyates becomes king of Lydia.

620s BC

• 627 BC: Death of Assurbanipal, king of Assyria; he is succeeded by Assur-etel-ilani (approximate date).
• 626 BC: Nabopolassar revolts against Assyria, founds the Neo-Babylonian Empire.
• 625 BC: Medes and Babylonians assert their independence from Assyria and attack Nineveh (approximate date).
• 623 BC: Sin-shar-ishkun succeeds his brother Assur-etel-ilani as king of Assyria (approximate date).
• 622 BC: Text of Deuteronomy found in the Temple in Jerusalem.The Hebrew prophet Ezekiel said to be born this year.

610s BC

• 619 BC: Alyattes becomes king of Lydia.
• 619 BC: Death of King Xiang of Zhou, King of the Zhou Dynasty of China.
• 618 BC: King Qing of Zhou becomes King of the Zhou Dynasty of China.
• 616 BC: Lucius Tarquinius Priscus becomes king of Rome.
• 614 BC: Sack of Asshur by the Medes and Babylonians.
• 613 BC: Death of King Qing of Zhou, King of the Zhou Dynasty of China.
• 612 BC: King Kuang of Zhou becomes King of the Zhou Dynasty of China.
• 612 BC: An alliance of Medes, Babylonians and Susianians besiege and conquer Nineveh. King Sin-shar-ishkun of Assyria is killed in the sack.
• 612 BC: Ashur-uballit II attempts to keep the Assyrian empire alive by establishing himself as king at Harran.
• 612 BC: Babylon, capital of Babylonia becomes the largest city of the world, taking the lead from Nineveh, capital of Assyria.
• 610 BC: Necho II succeeds Psammetichus I as king of Egypt.

600s BC

• 609 BC: King Josiah of Judah dies in the Battle of Megiddo against Pharaoh Necho II of Egypt, who is on his way north to aid the rump Assyrian state of Ashur-uballit II.
• 609 BC: The Babylonians defeat the Assyrian army of Ashur-uballit II and capture Harran. Ashur-uballit, the last Assyrian king, disappears from history.
• 609 BC: Jehoahaz succeeds his father Josiah as King of Judah, but is quickly deposed by Necho, who installs Jehoahaz's brother Jehoiakim in his place.
• 607 BC: Death of King Kuang of Zhou, King of the Zhou Dynasty of China.
• 606 BC: King Ding of Zhou becomes King of the Zhou Dynasty of China.
• 605 BC: Battle of Carchemish: Crown Prince Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon defeats the army of Necho II of Egypt, securing the Babylonian conquest of Assyria. The Babylonians pursue the Egyptians through Syria and Palestine.
• 605 BC: Nebuchadrezzar II succeeds his father Nabopolassar as King of Babylon.
• 601 BC: The Medes from Media (western Iran) and the Scythians from modern Russia and Ukraine invade the northern and eastern parts of Assyria.
• 600 BC: Foundation of Capua.
• 600 BC: India—Age of the Mahajanapadas—16 great kingdoms rule India—Kasi, Kosala, Anga, Magadha, Vajji (or Vriji), Malla, Chedi, Vatsa (or Vamsa), Kuru, Panchala, Machcha (or Matsya), Surasena, Assaka, Avanti, Gandhara, Kamboja
• 600 BC: Foundation of Milan by Celts (approximate date).
• 600 BC: Foundation of Marseille by Phoceans (traditional date).
• 600 BC: Smyrna sacked and destroyed.
• 600 BC: Nebuchadrezzar builds the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.

Significant persons

• Hezekiah of the Kingdom of Judah (reigned 715–687 BC)
• Sennacherib, king of Assyria and conqueror of Babylon (705–681 BC)
• Gyges of Lydia (reigned 687–652 BC)
• Manasseh of Judah (reigned 687–643 BC)
• Esarhaddon, king of Assyria and conqueror of Egypt (reigned 681–669 BC)
• Archilochus of Thasos, poet (c. 680 BC–645 BC). He is born on the island of Paros
• 673 BC—Death of Numa Pompilius, second of the Kings of Rome, successor to Romulus
• 670 BC—Death of Mettius Fufetius, Latin king of Alba Longa
• 664 BC—Death of Necho I, king of Egypt
• 663 BC—Death of Taharqa, king of Egypt
• 653 BC—Death of Tantamani, last king of the Twenty-fifth dynasty of Egypt
• 652 BC—Death of King Hui of Zhou, king of the Zhou Dynasty of China
• 652 BC—First recorded mention of King Kuras of Parsumas, possibly the same as King Cyrus I of Anshan, head of the Achaemenid dynasty
• Tyrtaeus—Ancient Greek poet, general and musician
• 645 BC—Death of Guan Zhong, Prime Minister of the Chinese state of Qi
• Nabopolassar king of Babylon
• Josiah of the Kingdom of Judah (reigned 641 BC–609 BC)
• Stesichorus of Sicily, lyric poet (c. 640 BC–555 BC)
• Solon of Athens, one of the Seven Sages of Greece (638 BC–558 BC)
• Thales of Miletus, Greek mathematician (635 BC–543 BC)
• Nebuchadnezzar II king of Babylon
• 610 BC—Death of Psammetichus I, king of Egypt
• 610 BC—Birth of Anaximander, Greek philosopher
• Sappho of Lesbos, Ancient Greek poet
• Jeremiah Jewish prophet

Inventions, discoveries, introductions

• The Chinese invent printing.
• First metal coins used by the Lydians of western Anatolia. Until c. 525 BC, coins bore an image on one side only.
• Greeks adopt coins from Asia Minor.
• Iron allegedly discovered in China.
• 7th century BC – 4th century BC – Etruscan cemetery of La Banditaccia, Cerveteri is made.

Sovereign States

See: List of sovereign states in the 7th century BC.