Cyrus II defeats the Median king Astyages, laying the foundation of the Persian Achaemenid Empire, the largest empire of its time.
Approximate date.
Cyrus the Great takes Babylon, ending the Neo-Babylonian Empire; he later allows exiled Judeans to return to Judah.
Darius I takes the throne, organising the empire into satrapies and building Persepolis and the Royal Road.
Nebuchadnezzar II's forces take Jerusalem, destroy Solomon's Temple and deport many Judeans to Babylon.
A Babylonian and Median coalition sacks Nineveh, the Assyrian capital, marking the collapse of the Neo-Assyrian Empire.
The Neo-Assyrian Empire captures Samaria, ending the northern Kingdom of Israel and deporting part of its population.
Alexander the Great defeats Darius III, sealing the fall of the Achaemenid Empire.