Dashed left edge = started before this timeline ·
Dashed right edge = still ongoing
Events in 490 BC – 480 BC 2
563 BC – 483 BCThe BuddhaFounder of Buddhism in northern IndiaSiddhartha Gautama, born a prince in what is now Nepal/northern India around 563 BC, renounced his royal life and attained enlightenment to become the Buddha. His teachings on suffering and the path to liberation spread across Asia to become one of the world's great religions.
522 BC – 486 BCDarius the GreatEmpire at its zenith; Persepolis builtDarius I brought the Achaemenid Empire to its greatest extent and organised it into provinces governed by satraps, with a common coinage, road network and postal system. He began the great ceremonial capital at Persepolis. His invasions of Greece, however, met defeat at Marathon in 490 BC.