500 BC – 490 BCs

Events in 500 BC – 490 BC 5

• 1500 BC – 500 BC Vedic period — the Vedas composed Sanskrit hymns and the roots of Hinduism Following the Indus decline, the Vedic period saw the composition of the Vedas — the oldest scriptures of Hinduism — in archaic Sanskrit. This era shaped Indian religion, the caste system, and the philosophical traditions later expressed in the Upanishads.
• 570 BC – 495 BC Pythagoras Greek mathematician, philosopher, and mystic who founded the Pythagorean Brotherhood Pythagoras of Samos (c. 570 - c. 495 BC) was an Ionian Greek philosopher and mathematician whose teachings fused rigorous number theory with religious mysticism. He founded a secretive philosophical and religious movement at Croton in southern Italy that held mathematics, music, and the soul's transmigration to be intimately linked. Though he left no writings of his own, later tradition credited him with the theorem bearing his name, the discovery of numerical ratios underlying musical harmony, and the doctrine that "all is number." His school shaped the trajectory of Greek mathematics, influenced Plato and the Academy, and left a legacy that echoes through Western science, music theory, and esoteric thought to this day.
• 544 BC – 496 BC Sun Tzu writes The Art of War The most influential military treatise in history Sun Tzu (Sun Wu) was a military strategist from the state of Wu during the Spring and Autumn period. His Art of War — 13 chapters on strategy, deception, terrain and leadership — is the oldest and most widely read military manual ever written. It has influenced military commanders, business strategists and political leaders worldwide for 2,500 years.
• 500 BC Laozi and the founding of Taoism The Tao Te Ching — the way of nature and non-action Laozi (meaning "Old Master") is the legendary founder of Taoism, traditionally credited with writing the Tao Te Ching — 81 short chapters on the nature of the Tao (the Way). His philosophy of wu wei (non-action, going with the natural flow) stands in elegant contrast to Confucius's emphasis on ritual and duty. Taoism became one of China's three great philosophical traditions alongside Confucianism and Buddhism.
• 494 BC First Secession of the Plebs The plebeian class — the non-patrician majority — withdraws to the Sacred Mount outside Rome, refusing to serve in the army until their grievances are addressed. The patricians, unable to defend Rome without them, negotiate: the tribunes of the plebs are created, magistrates with the power to veto any action harmful to a plebeian citizen (the sacrosanct "intercessio"). The first great victory of Roman democracy — won by walking away.