6th century

Information about 6th century

The 6th century is the period from 501 to 600 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian Era. This century is widely considered to mark the end of Classical Antiquity and the beginning of the Dark Ages.

Overview

Enlarge picture
Map of the world in AD 500
Following the collapse of the Western Roman Empire late in the previous century, Europe fractured into many small Germanic Kingdoms, which competed constantly for land and wealth. From this upheaval the Franks finally became dominant, and carved out a sizeable domain encompassing much of modern France and Germany. Meanwhile, the surviving Eastern Roman Empire began to expand under the emperor Justinian, who eventually recaptured North Africa from the Vandals, and attempted to fully recover Italy as well in the hope of re-establishing Roman control over the lands once ruled by the Western Roman Empire. Following Justinian's death, most of his gains were lost. The Sassanid Empire reached the peak of its power under Khosrau I in the 6th century. [1]

Events

Enlarge picture
This Buddhist stela from China, Northern Wei period, was built in the early 6th century.

Significant persons

Inventions, discoveries, introductions

  • Dionysius Exiguus creates the Anno Domini system, inspired by the birth of Jesus, in 525. This is the system upon which the Gregorian calendar and Common Era systems are based.
  • Backgammon (nard) invented in Persia by Burzoe
  • Chess, as chaturanga, entered Persia from India and was modified to shatranj.
  • Breast-strap horse harness in use in Frankish kingdom
  • Byzantine Empire acquires silk technology from China
  • Vaghbata, Indian medical books
  • In 589 AD, the Chinese scholar-official Yan Zhitui makes the first reference to the use of toilet paper in history.
  • Significant to the history of agriculture, the Chinese author Jia Sixia wrote the treatise Chi Min Yao Shu in 535, and although it quotes 160 previous Chinese agronomy books, it is the oldest existent Chinese agriculture treatise. In over one hundred thousand written Chinese characters, the book covered land preparation, seeding, cultivation, orchard management, forestry, animal husbandry, trade, and culinary uses for crops.

References

1. ^ Roberts, J: "History of the World.". Penguin, 1994.
2. ^ Roberts, J: "History of the World.". Penguin, 1994.

Decades and Years

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6th century
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Millennium Century
Before Christ / Before Common Era (BC/BCE)
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Anno Domini / Common Era (AD/CE)
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6th century · 7th century
470s 480s 490s 500s 510s 520s 530s
498 499 500 501 502 503 504
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6th century · 7th century
570s 580s 590s 600s 610s 620s 630s
597 598 599 600 601 602 603
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Julian calendar was a reform of the Roman calendar which was introduced by Julius Caesar in 46 BC and came into force in 45 BC (709 ab urbe condita). It was chosen after consultation with the astronomer Sosigenes of Alexandria and was probably designed to approximate the
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Anno Domini (Latin: (In)The year of (Our) Lord[1]), abbreviated as AD or A.D., defines an epoch based on the traditionally reckoned year of the conception or birth of Jesus of Nazareth.
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Classical antiquity (also the classical era or classical period) is a broad term for a long period of cultural history centered on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome.
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Dark Ages or Dark Age refers to the Early Middle Ages, the period encompassing (roughly) 476 AD to 1000 AD.

This concept of a dark age was created by the Italian scholar Petrarch (Francesco Petrarca) in the 1330s, and was originally intended as a sweeping criticism of
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The Western Roman Empire refers to the western half of the Roman Empire, from its division by Diocletian in 286; the other half of the Roman Empire became known as the Eastern Roman Empire, today widely known as the Byzantine Empire.
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Franks or Frankish people (Latin: Franci or gens Francorum) were West Germanic tribes first identified in the 3rd century as an ethnic group living north and east of the Lower Rhine.
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Byzantine Empire or Byzantium is the term conventionally used since the 19th century to describe the Greek-speaking Roman Empire of the Middle Ages, centered on its capital of Constantinople.
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Justinian I
Emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire

Justinian depicted on one of the famous mosaics of the Basilica of San Vitale, Ravenna
Reign 9 August 527 - 13 or 14 November 565
Full name Flavius Petrus Sabbatius Iustinianus
Born
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Vandals were an East Germanic tribe which entered the late Roman Empire during the 5th century. The Goth Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths and regent of the Visigoths was allied by marriage with the Vandals, as well as with the Burgundians and the Franks under Clovis I.
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The Western Roman Empire refers to the western half of the Roman Empire, from its division by Diocletian in 286; the other half of the Roman Empire became known as the Eastern Roman Empire, today widely known as the Byzantine Empire.
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Sassanid Empire or Sassanian Dynasty (Persian: ساسانیان [sɒsɒnijɒn
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Khosrau I or Khosrow I (Chosroes I in classical sources, most commonly known in Persian as Anushirvan, Persian: انوشيروان meaning the immortal soul), also known as Anushiravan the Just
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Gundeshapur (Persian گندیشاپور, Gund-ī Shāh Pūr, Gondeshapur', Jondishapoor, Jondishapur, and Jondishapour, Gundishapur, Gondêšâpur, Jund-e Shapur,
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Anthem
Sorūd-e Mellī-e Īrān ²


Capital
(and largest city) Tehran

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Khosrau I or Khosrow I (Chosroes I in classical sources, most commonly known in Persian as Anushirvan, Persian: انوشيروان meaning the immortal soul), also known as Anushiravan the Just
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Ireland
Éire
Airlann <nowiki />

Northwest of continental Europe with Great Britain to the east.

Geography <nowiki/>
Location Western Europe <nowiki />
Archipelago
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Caledonia is the Latin name given by the Roman Empire to a northern area of the island of Great Britain. The name means "Wooded Land". In others it may mean the area north of the Antonine Wall. In English and Scots 'Caledonia' is now a romantic or poetic name for Scotland.
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Motto
Nemo me impune lacessit   (Latin)
"No one provokes me with impunity"
"Cha togar m'fhearg gun dioladh"   
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Glendalough (Irish: Gleann Dá Loch, meaning "Glen of Two Lakes") is a village located at the site of a monastery located in County Wicklow, Ireland.
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Monastery (plural: Monasteries), a term derived from the Greek word μοναστήριον (monastērion), denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer (e.g.
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Wicklow (Irish: Cill Mhantáin, meaning Church of the toothless one) is the county town of County Wicklow in Ireland.
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Ireland
Éire
Airlann <nowiki />

Northwest of continental Europe with Great Britain to the east.

Geography <nowiki/>
Location Western Europe <nowiki />
Archipelago
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Saint Kevin Bokelmann of Glendalough (c. 498–618) is a Christian saint who was the Abbot of Glendalough in County Wicklow, Ireland. "Kevin" is the English-language spelling of the Irish name Caoimhín (Coemgen in Old Irish, Latinized as Coemgenus).
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Iona

Location
OS grid reference: NM275245

Names

Gaelic name: Ì Chaluim Cille
Norse name: Eyin Helga; Hioe (hypothetical)
Meaning of name: Gaelic for 'Columba's island'.
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Saint Columba (7 December 521 - 9 June 597) is sometimes referred to as Columba of Iona, or, in Old Irish, as Colm Cille or Columcille (meaning "Dove of the church").
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Zen ( or ) is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism notable for its emphasis on practice and experiential wisdom—particularly as realized in the form of meditation known as zazen—in the attainment of awakening.
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Buddhism is often described as a religion[1] and a collection of various philosophies, based initially on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, known as Gautama Buddha.
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Motto
Độc lập - Tự do - Hạnh phúc
"Independence - Freedom - Happiness"
Anthem
Tiến Quân Ca
"Army March" (first verse)
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