7th century BC

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.

Significant people

 * Esarhaddon


 * Ashurbanipal


 * Psamtik I


 * Thales of Miletus


 * Alcman


 * Alyattes, king of Lydia


 * Ancus Marcius, king of Rome


 * Anlamani, king of Kush


 * Arganthonios, king of Tartessos


 * Argishti II, king of Urartu


 * Battus I of Cyrene, king of Cyrene


 * Cyaxares, king of Medes


 * Cypselus, tyrant of Corinth


 * Cyrus I of Anshan, head of the Achaemenid dynasty


 * Draco, Athenian statesman


 * Esarhaddon, king of Assyria


 * Gaius Cluilius, king of Alba Longa


 * Gyges, king of Lydia


 * Guan Zhong, Prime Minister of the Chinese state of Qi


 * Jeremiah Jewish prophet


 * Josiah, king of Judah


 * Hezekiah, king of Judah


 * King Hui of Zhou, King of the Zhou Dynasty of China


 * Madius, king of the Scythians


 * Manasseh of Judah


 * Mettius Fufetius, king of Alba Longa


 * Nabopolassar, king of Babylon


 * Nebuchadnezzar II, king of Babylon


 * Necho I, pharaoh of Egypt


 * Numa Pompilius, King of Rome


 * Pittacus, Mytilene leader


 * Psammetichus I, pharaoh of Egypt


 * Sennacherib, king of Assyria


 * Solon, one of the Seven Sages of Greece (638 BC–558 BC)


 * Taharqa, pharaoh of Egypt


 * Tantamani, pharaoh of Egypt


 * Tullus Hostilius, king of Rome

Literature

 * Alcman, Greek poet


 * Archilochus, Greek poet


 * Callinus, Greek poet


 * Mimnermus, Greek poet


 * Semonides of Amorgos, Greek poet


 * Stesichorus, Greek poet


 * Thales of Miletus, Greek mathematician


 * Tyrtaeus, Greek poet

Sports

 * Arrhichion, Greek pankratiast


 * Chionis of Sparta, Greek runner


 * Cleondas of Thebes, Greek runner


 * Onomastus of Smyrna, Greek runner

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.