Events and trends
679 BC
- Siomón Brecc's reign ends and is succeeded by Dui Finn, according to the chronology of Geoffrey Keating's Foras Feasa ar Éirinn. [1]
- The Assyrian king Esarhaddon (r. 681 – 669 BCE) defeated the Cimmerians and killed their king Teušpa at Ḫubišna. Esarhaddon appears to have reached Ḫubišna by passing through the Göksu River valley and bypassing the Anti-Taurus Mountains and Tabal proper. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]
- Duke Huan of Qi was officially rewarded hegemony by the Zhou king Xi in 679 BCE. [8] [9] [10]
- Esarhaddon, the son of Sennacherib, is mentioned in some texts as having taken a city called Arsa near the River of Egypt, and its king Asuhili was taken back to the Assyrian capital Ninveh.
- A large structure with a mudbrick self-supporting arch roof was discovered and dated to between this year and 630 BCE in Tell Jemmeh.
- Bartatua succeeds Išpakaia as king of Iškuza. [11]
- Esarhaddon campaigned in the Tabalian region against the Cimmerians from his base in Que and Ḫilakku, resulting in the defeat and killing of the Cimmerian king Teušpâ in Ḫubišna, who was succeeded by Dugdammî, and the annexation of a part of the territory of Ḫilakku and of the sub-kingdom of Kundu and Sissu in Que, whose king Sanduarri fled into the mountains, and of a part of the territory of Ḫilakku. [12] [13] [14] [15]
- Sennacherib's successor, King Esarhaddon, campaigned in Khor, destroyed Sidon, and forced Tyre into tribute from 677 to 676 BC.
- The Cimmerians attacked Lydia for the third time, led by their king Lygdamis. The Lydians were defeated, Sardis was sacked, and Gyges was killed, following which he was succeeded by his son, Ardys, who was the father of Sadyattes. [16]
- The Cimmerians migrate to the east and west of Mannaea.
- The Assyrians used Cimmerians in their army as mercenaries; a legal document of 679 B.C. refers to an Assyrian ‘commander of the Cimmerian regiment’; but in other Assyrian documents they are called ‘the seed of runaways who know neither vows to the gods nor oaths’ [17]
678 BC
- Phraortes becomes king of the Medes (according to the chronology proposed by Igor Diakonoff) [18]
- Chu soldiers invade Zheng (according to the Zuo Zhuan ) [19]
- King Wen of Chu conquers the state of Deng.
- King Xi of Zhou used his royal clout to give legitimacy to Wu of Quwo as the rightful duke of Jin [20]
- The state of Jin became the first to maintain a standing army [21]
- Jin–Quwo wars end (739–678 BCE), dynastic struggles between two branches of Jin's ruling house [22]
- Kaštaritu is mentioned as "King of the Medes" in an inscription [23]
- According to Herodotus, Ecbatana was chosen as the Medes' capital by Deioces, the first ruler of the Medes.
- Deioces united the Median tribes of Media and made the first Iranian Empire.
- Chu had conquered most of the Nanyang Basin
- Nekauba becomes pharaoh of the twenty-sixth dynasty of Egypt [24]
November
- Two solar eclipses occur on the 1st and the 30th [25]
677 BC
- Esarhaddon leads the Assyrian army against rebellious Arab tribes and advances as far as the Brook of Egypt. [26]
- From this year to 676 BC, Sennacherib's successor, King Esarhaddon, forced Tyre into tribute after campaigning in Khor and destroying Sidon in 679 BC.
676 BC
By place
Greece
- Callisthenes of Laconia wins the stadion race at the 26th Olympic Games. [27]
China
- Zhou Hui Wang becomes King of the Zhou Dynasty of China. [28]
Middle East
- From 677 BC to this year, Sennacherib's successor, King Esarhaddon, forced Tyre into tribute after campaigning in Khor and destroying Sidon in 679 BC.
675 BC
- The Elamite king Urtaku comes to power; during his reign, relations between Elam and Babylonia worsen. [29]
- King Deioces dies after a 53-year reign that has established the kingdom of the Medes and its capital at Ecbatana (later Hamedan) in what will be northwest Persia. He is succeeded by his son Phraortes, who forms an anti-Assyrian alliance with the Cimmerians to subjugate the Persians and other Asian peoples. [30]
- King Esarhaddon begins to rebuild Babylon (approximate date). [26]
- Teispes becomes a king of Anshan.
674 BC
- Esarhaddon puts down a revolt in Ascalon supported by Taharqa, king of Kush and Egypt. In response, the Assyrians invade Egypt, but Taharqa is able to hold them off. [31] [32]
673 BC
- Tullus Hostilius becomes the third king of Rome. [33]
672 BC
- (estimated date) Tullus Hostilius becomes the legendary third king of Rome.
Tulius Hostilius
