540 BC

Millennium:	1st millennium BC
Centuries:	7th century BC 6th century BC 5th century BC
Decades:	560s BC 550s BC 540s BC 530s BC 520s BC
Years:	543 BC 542 BC 541 BC 540 BC 539 BC 538 BC 537 BC

540 BC in various calendars

Gregorian calendar	540 BC DXL BC
Ab urbe condita	214
Ancient Egypt era	XXVI dynasty, 125
- Pharaoh	Amasis II, 31
Ancient Greek era	60th Olympiad (victor)¹
Assyrian calendar	4211
Balinese saka calendar	N/A
Bengali calendar	−1132
Berber calendar	411
Buddhist calendar	5
Burmese calendar	−1177
Byzantine calendar	4969–4970
Chinese calendar	庚申年 (Metal Monkey) 2158 or 1951     — to — 辛酉年 (Metal Rooster) 2159 or 1952
Coptic calendar	−823 – −822
Discordian calendar	627
Ethiopian calendar	−547 – −546
Hebrew calendar	3221–3222
Hindu calendars
- Vikram Samvat	−483 – −482
- Shaka Samvat	N/A
- Kali Yuga	2561–2562
Holocene calendar	9461
Iranian calendar	1161 BP – 1160 BP
Islamic calendar	1197 BH – 1196 BH
Javanese calendar	N/A
Julian calendar	N/A
Korean calendar	1794
Minguo calendar	2451 before ROC 民前2451年
Nanakshahi calendar	−2007
Thai solar calendar	3–4
Tibetan calendar	阳金猴年 (male Iron-Monkey) −413 or −794 or −1566     — to — 阴金鸡年 (female Iron-Rooster) −412 or −793 or −1565

The year 540 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as year 214 Ab urbe condita. The denomination 540 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.

Events

• Cyrus attacks Babylonia.
• Greek city of Elea of southern Italy is founded (approximate date).
• Persians conquer Lycian city of Xanthos (approximate date).
• Amasis Painter makes Dionysos with maenads, black-figure decoration on an amphora.
• Exekias makes The Suicide of Ajax, black-figure decoration on an amphora.
• Amyntas I becomes king of Macedonia (approximate date).
• Comet Hale–Bopp appears in the evening sky, making its closest approach to Earth. Its next appearance occurs in 1997.

Births

• Epicharmus of Kos, Greek dramatist (approximate date; d. c. 450 BC)
• Heraclitus, Greek philosopher, born in Ephesus (approximate year)
• Leonidas I, leader of the 300 Spartans at the Battle of Thermopylae (approximate date; d. 480 BC)
• Vardhamana Mahavira, the twenty-fourth and last Tirthankara of the Jains 450 BC