550 BC

The year 550 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as year 204 Ab urbe condita. The denomination 550 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

550 BC in various calendars

Gregorian calendar	550 BC DL BC
Ab urbe condita	204
Ancient Egypt era	XXVI dynasty, 115
- Pharaoh	Amasis II, 21
Ancient Greek Olympiad (summer)	57th Olympiad, year 3
Assyrian calendar	4201
Balinese saka calendar	N/A
Bengali calendar	−1143 – −1142
Berber calendar	401
Buddhist calendar	−5
Burmese calendar	−1187
Byzantine calendar	4959–4960
Chinese calendar	庚戌年 (Metal Dog) 2148 or 1941     — to — 辛亥年 (Metal Pig) 2149 or 1942
Coptic calendar	−833 – −832
Discordian calendar	617
Ethiopian calendar	−557 – −556
Hebrew calendar	3211–3212
Hindu calendars
- Vikram Samvat	−493 – −492
- Shaka Samvat	N/A
- Kali Yuga	2551–2552
Holocene calendar	9451
Iranian calendar	1171 BP – 1170 BP
Islamic calendar	1207 BH – 1206 BH
Javanese calendar	N/A
Julian calendar	N/A
Korean calendar	1784
Minguo calendar	2461 before ROC 民前2461年
Nanakshahi calendar	−2017
Thai solar calendar	−7 – −6
Tibetan calendar	ལྕགས་ཕོ་ཁྱི་ལོ་ (male Iron-Dog) −423 or −804 or −1576     — to — ལྕགས་མོ་ཕག་ལོ་ (female Iron-Boar) −422 or −803 or −1575

Events

• Greek colonization ends (approximate date).^{[clarification needed]}
• Cyrus II the Great overthrows Astyages of the Medes, establishing the Achaemenid Empire.
• Mago I begins his rule of Carthage and founds the Magonid dynasty.
• The Kingdom of Colchis is established.
• Abdera is destroyed by the Thracians.
• The Temple of Artemis is completed in Ephesus.
• The Temple of Hera I is built in what is now Paestum, Italy (approximate date).
• Siddhartha Gautama founds Buddhism in Northern India after achieving enlightenment after six years of practicing penance and meditation.

Births

• Aristodemus of Cumae, tyrant of Cumae
• Hecataeus of Miletus, early Greek historian
• Miltiades, renowned Olympic chariot-racer
• Epicharmus, Greek poet
• Atossa, Achaemenid queen (approximate date)

Deaths

• Arcesilaus II of Cyrene, the fourth Greek Cyrenaean King and a member of the Battiad dynasty; he was strangled by Learchus.