Events and trends
- 546 BC—Croesus, Lydian king, is defeated by Cyrus of Persia near the River Halys.
- 546 BC—Cyrus of Persia completes his conquest of Lydia, and makes Pasargadae his capital.
- 546 BC—Cyrus makes a garrison in Sardis. He adds the Greek cities of Ionia in Asia Minor into Persian Empire. He gains the important ports that look out to the Mediterranean world.
- 546 BC—Pisistratus takes power in Athens from the aristocratic party.
- 546 BC—The architect Eupalinos of Megara built aqueducts that supply water to Athens.
- 546 BC—The peace conference between the kingdoms in China. A treaty between Jin, Chu and some other kingdoms was signed.
- 546 BC—A coup d'état in Qi kingdom.
- 544 BC—People of Teos move to Abdera, Thrace to escape Persia.
- 544 BC—King Jing becomes King of the Zhou Dynasty of China.
- 543 BC—North Indian Prince Vijaya invades Ceylon. He makes a Sri Lankan dynasty.
- 543 BC—Pisistratus, tyrant of Athens, purifies the island of Delos (approximate date).
- 543 BC—Guided by the Chinese statesman Zi Chan, the State of Zheng starts a formal code of law.
- 540 BC—Cyrus attacks Babylonia.
- 540 BC—Greek city of Elea of southern Italy founded (approximate date).
- 540 BC—Persians conquer Lycian city of Xanthos now in southern Turkey (approximate date).
- c. 540 BC—Amasis Painter makes Dionysos with maenads, black-figure decoration on an amphora. It is now at Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris.
- c. 540 BC—Exekias makes The Suicide of Ajax, black-figure decoration on a amphora. It is now at Chateau-Musee, Boulogne-sur-Mer, France.
Significant people