16th century BC

One hundred years, from 1600 BC to 1501 BC

Millennium
2nd millennium BC
Centuries
17th century BC 16th century BC 15th century BC
Timelines
17th century BC 16th century BC 15th century BC
State leaders
17th century BC 16th century BC 15th century BC
Decades
1590s BC 1580s BC 1570s BC 1560s BC 1550s BC 1540s BC 1530s BC 1520s BC 1510s BC 1500s BC
Categories:
Births – Deaths Establishments – Disestablishments
v t e

The 16th century BC was a century that lasted from 1600 BC to 1501 BC.

Events

The royal Grave Circle in Mycenae, Greece (left) and the 'Mask of Agamemnon' (right) found in one of the graves.

1700 BC – 1500 BC: Hurrian conquests.
1601 BC: Sharma-Adad II became the King of Assyria.
c. 1600 BC: The creation of one of the oldest surviving astronomical documents, a copy of which was found in the Babylonian library of Ashurbanipal: a 21-year record of the appearances of Venus (which the early Babylonians called Nindaranna): Venus tablet of Ammisaduqa.
c. 1600 BC: The date of the earliest discovered rubber balls.
c. 1600 BC: Early Mycenaean culture: weapons, Cyclopean walls, and chariots.
c. 1600 BC: Unetice culture ends in Czech Republic, eastern Europe
Development of the windmill in Persia.
c. 1600 BC: Building of El morro del tulcán Pyramid in Colombia.
1595 BC: Sack of Babylon by the Hittite king Mursilis I.
c. 1595 BC: The overthrow of the ruling Amorite dynasty in Aleppo, Syria.
1570 BC: Cretan palaces at Knossos and other centres flourish despite disasters.
1567 BC: Egypt: End of Fifteenth Dynasty, end of Sixteenth Dynasty, end of Seventeenth Dynasty, start of Eighteenth Dynasty.
1558 BC: Shang Dynasty of China established (according to the Bamboo Annals).^[1]
1556 BC: Cecrops I builds or rebuilds Athens following the great flood of Deucalion and the end of the Golden age. He becomes the first of several Kings of Athens whose life account is considered part of Greek mythology.
c. 1550 BC: The city of Mycenae, located in the northeast Peloponnesus, comes to dominate the rest of Achaea, giving its name to Mycenaean civilization.
1550 BC: End of Seventeenth dynasty of Egypt, start of the Eighteenth Dynasty upon the coronation of Ahmose I (Low Chronology).
1530 BC: End of the First Dynasty of Babylon and the start of the Kassite Dynasty—see History of Iraq.
1525 BC: End of Fifteenth dynasty of Egypt.
c. 1512 BC: The flood of Deucalion, according to O'Flaherty, Augustine, Eusebius, and Isidore (bishop of Seville).
1506 BC: Cecrops I, legendary King of Athens, dies after a reign of 50 years. Having survived his own son, he is succeeded by Cranaus.
1504 BC: Egypt started to conquer Nubia and the Levant.
c. 1500 BC: Many scholars date early parts of the Rig Veda to roughly the 16th century.
c. 1500 BC: Queen Hatsheput in Egypt (18th Dynasty).
c. 1500 BC: The element Mercury has been discovered in Egyptian tombs dating from this decade.
c. 1500 BC: Settlers from Crete, Greece move to Miletus, Turkey.
c. 1500 BC: Early traces of Maya civilization developing in Belize.
c. 1500 BC: The Phoenicians develop an alphabet—see Timeline of communication technology.
c. 1500 BC: Indo-Aryan migration is often dated to the 17th to 16th centuries.
c. 1500 BC: Birth of Zoroaster (Avestan: Zarathushtra).

Sovereign states

See: List of sovereign states in the 16th century BC.

References

^ Hong Yuan (2018). "Chronology of the Three Dynasties (Xia, Shang and Zhou)". The Sinitic Civilization Book II: A Factual History Through the Lens of Archaeology, Bronzeware, Astronomy, Divination, Calendar and the Annals (PDF). iUniverse. pp. 645–649. ISBN 9781532058301.

Decades and years

16th century BC
18th century BC ← 17th century BC ← ↔ → 15th century BC → 14th century BC

1600s BC	1609 BC	1608 BC	1607 BC	1606 BC	1605 BC	1604 BC	1603 BC	1602 BC	1601 BC	1600 BC
1590s BC	1599 BC	1598 BC	1597 BC	1596 BC	1595 BC	1594 BC	1593 BC	1592 BC	1591 BC	1590 BC
1580s BC	1589 BC	1588 BC	1587 BC	1586 BC	1585 BC	1584 BC	1583 BC	1582 BC	1581 BC	1580 BC
1570s BC	1579 BC	1578 BC	1577 BC	1576 BC	1575 BC	1574 BC	1573 BC	1572 BC	1571 BC	1570 BC
1560s BC	1569 BC	1568 BC	1567 BC	1566 BC	1565 BC	1564 BC	1563 BC	1562 BC	1561 BC	1560 BC
1550s BC	1559 BC	1558 BC	1557 BC	1556 BC	1555 BC	1554 BC	1553 BC	1552 BC	1551 BC	1550 BC
1540s BC	1549 BC	1548 BC	1547 BC	1546 BC	1545 BC	1544 BC	1543 BC	1542 BC	1541 BC	1540 BC
1530s BC	1539 BC	1538 BC	1537 BC	1536 BC	1535 BC	1534 BC	1533 BC	1532 BC	1531 BC	1530 BC
1520s BC	1529 BC	1528 BC	1527 BC	1526 BC	1525 BC	1524 BC	1523 BC	1522 BC	1521 BC	1520 BC
1510s BC	1519 BC	1518 BC	1517 BC	1516 BC	1515 BC	1514 BC	1513 BC	1512 BC	1511 BC	1510 BC
1500s BC	1509 BC	1508 BC	1507 BC	1506 BC	1505 BC	1504 BC	1503 BC	1502 BC	1501 BC	1500 BC
1490s BC	1499 BC	1498 BC	1497 BC	1496 BC	1495 BC	1494 BC	1493 BC	1492 BC	1491 BC	1490 BC

Centuries and millennia

Millennium	Century
BC (BCE)
4th	40th	39th	38th	37th	36th	35th	34th	33rd	32nd	31st
3rd	30th	29th	28th	27th	26th	25th	24th	23rd	22nd	21st
2nd	20th	19th	18th	17th	16th	15th	14th	13th	12th	11th
1st	10th	9th	8th	7th	6th	5th	4th	3rd	2nd	1st
AD (CE)
1st	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th
2nd	11th	12th	13th	14th	15th	16th	17th	18th	19th	20th
3rd	21st	22nd	23rd	24th	25th	26th	27th	28th	29th	30th