The5th century BC started the first day of500 BC and ended the last day of401 BC.
TheParthenon in Athens, a symbol of Ancient Greece and Western Philosophy.
This century saw the establishment ofPataliputra as a capital of theMagadha 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 andBuddhism. This period sawMahavira andBuddha spreading their respective teachings in the northern plains of India. This essentially changed the socio-cultural and political dynamics of the region ofSouth Asia. Buddhism would later go on to become one of the major world religions.
This period also saw the work ofYaska, who createdNirukta, that would lay the foundation stone forSanskrit grammar and is one of the oldest works on grammar known to mankind.
This century is also traditionally recognized as the classical period of theGreeks, which would continue all the way through the4th century until the time ofAlexander the Great. The life ofSocrates represented a major milestone inGreek philosophy though his teachings only survive through the work of his students, most notablyPlato andXenophon. The tragediansAeschylus,Sophocles, andEuripides, as well as the comedianAristophanes all date from this era and many of their works are still considered classics of the western theatrical canon.
ThePersian Wars, fought between a coalition of Greek cities and the vastAchaemenidPersian Empire was a pivotal moment in Greek politics. The Greeks successfully prevented the annexation of Greece by the Persians inBattle 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, theDelian 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 thePeloponnesian War.
426 BC: WhenAmbracia invadesAcarnania, they seek help from the Spartans and Athenians respectively. The Athenians then defeat the Spartans in theBattle of Olpae.
424 BC:Sicily withdraws from the war and expels every foreign power. Thus,Athens is forced to withdraw from the island.
424 BC: The Athenians try to captureMegara, but are defeated by the Spartans.
424 BC: The Spartan generalBrasidas capturesAmphipolis, which is a setback for Athens.Thucydides is held responsible for the Athenian failure and is ostracised. This gives him time to start writing hishistory book.
423 BC: The Athenians propose a cease-fire, which the Spartan general Brasidas ignores.
416 BC: The Athenians capture the island ofMelos and treat the inhabitants with great cruelty.
416 BC: The Athenians adhere to a plea of help fromSicily and start planning an invasion of the island.
415 BC: The sacredHermae 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 intheir siege ofSyracuse but are defeated by the Spartans.
413 BC:Demosthenes suggests the Athenians leave Syracuse in order to return to Athens, where help is needed. However,Nicias refuses and they are againdefeated in battle by the Spartans. Both Demosthenes and Nicias are killed.
411 BC: The democracy in Athens is overthrown and replaced by the oligarchicCouncil 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.
408 BC: The Persian king,Darius II, decides to aid Sparta in the war and makes his sonCyrus asatrap. However, Cyrus starts collecting an army to benefit his own interests, rather than his father's.
408 BC:Alcibiades returns to Athens in triumph after an absence of seven years.
407 BC: The Athenian fleet is routed by the Spartan one in theBattle of Notium, which gives Alcibiades' opponents a reason to strip him of command. He never returns to Athens again.
403 BC: Some exiled Athenians return to fight the Thirty Tyrants and restore democracy in Athens. They are, however, narrowly defeated by the Spartans in theBattle of Piraeus. After this, the Spartan kingPausanias allows democracy to be restored in Athens.
403 BC:Thrasybulus restores the Athenian democracy and grants an almost general amnesty.
400 BC: After Cyrus has been killed, his Greek mercenaries make their way back to Greece, where Sparta is so impressed with their feats in and march throughPersia that they declare war on the Persians.
The Chinese philosopherLi Kui writes theBook of Law (Fajing, 法经) in407 BC, the basis for the law codes of the followingQin dynasty and partially that of theHan dynasty.
Scholars commonly accept that the Hindu text the Bhagavad Gita was written.
^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.
