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5th century BC

"400s BC" redirects here. For the decade, see 400s BC (decade).

The 5th century BC started the first day of 500 BC and ended the last day of 401 BC.

The Parthenon in Athens, a symbol of Ancient Greece and Western Philosophy.

This century saw the establishment of Pataliputra as a capital of the Magadha Empire. This city would later become the ruling capital of different Indian kingdoms for about a thousand years. This period saw the rise of two great philosophical schools of the east, Jainism and Buddhism. This period saw Mahavira and Buddha spreading their respective teachings in the northern plains of India. This essentially changed the socio-cultural and political dynamics of the region of South Asia. Buddhism would later go on to become one of the major world religions.

This period also saw the work of Yaska, who created Nirukta, that would lay the foundation stone for Sanskrit grammar and is one of the oldest works on grammar known to mankind.

This century is also traditionally recognized as the classical period of the Greeks, which would continue all the way through the 4th century until the time of Alexander the Great. The life of Socrates represented a major milestone in Greek philosophy though his teachings only survive through the work of his students, most notably Plato and Xenophon. The tragedians Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, as well as the comedian Aristophanes all date from this era and many of their works are still considered classics of the western theatrical canon.

The Persian Wars, fought between a coalition of Greek cities and the vast Achaemenid Persian Empire was a pivotal moment in Greek politics. The Greeks successfully prevented the annexation of Greece by the Persians in Battle of Plataea, Battle of Mycale, and further counter attacks. Afterwards, Sparta, the dominant power in the coalition, had no intention of further offensive action and considered the war over. Meanwhile, Athens counter-attacked, liberating Greek subjects of the Persian Empire up and down the Ionian coast and mobilizing a new coalition, the Delian League. Tensions between Athens, and its growing imperialistic ambitions as leader of the Delian League, and the traditionally dominant Sparta led to a protracted stalemate in the Peloponnesian War.

The world in the 5th century BC

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Map of the Eastern Hemisphere in 500 BC, the beginning of the fifth century BC.
 
Map of the world in 400 BC, the end of the fifth century BC.

Events

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490s BC

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480s BC

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470s BC

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460s BC

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450s BC

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440s BC

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430s BC

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420s BC

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410s BC

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  • 419 BC: The Peace of Nicias is broken when Sparta defeats Argos.
  • 418 BC: The Spartans win a major victory over the Athenians in the Battle of Mantinea, the biggest land battle of the Peloponnesian War.
  • 416 BC: The Athenians capture the island of Melos and treat the inhabitants with great cruelty.
  • 416 BC: The Athenians adhere to a plea of help from Sicily and start planning an invasion of the island.
  • 415 BC: The sacred Hermae busts in Athens are mutilated just before the expedition to Sicily is sent away. One of the culprits, Andocides, is captured and is forced to turn informer. He names the other mutilators, among them Alcibiades, who are sentenced to death in their absence.
  • 415 BC: Alcibiades defects from Athens to Sparta after having learned about his death sentence.
  • 414 BC: The Athenians try to make a breakthrough in their siege of Syracuse but are defeated by the Spartans.
  • 413 BC: Nagadaska is deposed by people of Magadha. Thus, ending Haryanka dynasty. He succeeded by Shishunaga who founded Shaishunaga dynasty.
  • 413 BC: Demosthenes suggests the Athenians leave Syracuse in order to return to Athens, where help is needed. However, Nicias refuses and they are again defeated in battle by the Spartans. Both Demosthenes and Nicias are killed.
  • 413 BC: Caria allies itself with Sparta.
  • 412 BC: The Persian Empire starts preparing an invasion of Ionia and signs a treaty with Sparta about it.
  • 411 BC: The democracy in Athens is overthrown and replaced by the oligarchic Council of Four Hundred. This council is itself soon defeated and order is almost restored, when the Five Thousand start ruling. Early next year, they are also overthrown and the old democracy is restored.
  • 410 BC: Athens regains control over its vital grain route from the Black Sea by defeating Sparta in the Battle of Cyzicus.

400s BC

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Inventions, discoveries, introductions

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Sovereign states

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See: List of sovereign states in the 5th century BC.

References

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  1. ^ Zhao, Dingxin (2004). "Comment: Spurious Causation in a Historical Process: War and Bureaucratization in Early China". American Sociological Review. 69 (4): 603–607. doi:10.1177/000312240406900407.
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