View source for 8th century BC

{{Short description|One hundred years, from 800 BC to 701 BC}}{{redirect|700s BC|the decade|700s BC (decade)}}
{{Centurybox|-8}} 
The '''8th century BC''' started the first day of [[800 BC]] and ended the last day of [[701 BC]]. The 8th century BC was a period of great change for several historically significant civilizations.  In [[Egypt]], the [[Twenty-third Dynasty of Egypt|23rd]] and [[Twenty-fourth Dynasty of Egypt|24th dynasties]] lead to rule from [[Kingdom of Kush]] in the [[Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt|25th Dynasty]].  The [[Neo-Assyrian Empire]] reaches the peak of its power,  conquering the [[Kingdom of Israel (Samaria)|Kingdom of Israel]] as well as nearby countries.

[[Ancient Greece|Greece]] [[Magna Graecia|colonizes]] other regions of the [[Mediterranean Sea]] and [[Black Sea]]. Rome is [[ab urbe condita|founded]] in [[753 BC]], and the [[Etruscan civilization]] expands in Italy. The 8th century BC is conventionally taken as the beginning of [[Classical Antiquity]], with the first [[Olympiad]] set at 776 BC, and the epics of [[Homer]] dated to between 750 and 650 BC.

[[Iron Age India]] enters the later [[Vedic period]]. [[Historical Vedic religion|Vedic ritual]] is annotated in many [[shakhas|priestly schools]] in [[Brahmana]] commentaries, and the earliest [[Upanishads]] mark the beginning of [[Vedanta]] philosophy.

==Events==
[[Image:Capitoline she-wolf Musei Capitolini MC1181.jpg|thumb|right|250px|The bronze [[Capitoline Wolf]] suckles the infant twins [[Romulus and Remus]], the twins added in the 15th century. They were the legendary founders of [[history of Rome|Rome]].]]

[[Image:Sargon II and dignitary.jpg|thumb|200px|[[Sargon II]], King of [[Assyria]] and conqueror of the [[Kingdom of Israel (Samaria)|Kingdom of Israel]], depicted here with a dignitary]]

*Late 8th century BC: [[Earring]]s, [[Crown (headgear)|crown]] and [[rosette (design)|rosettes]], from the tomb of Queen Yabay in [[Kalhu]] (modern [[Nimrud]], [[Iraq]]) are made. They are now at [[Iraq Museum]], [[Baghdad]]. Discovered in 1988.
*Second half of the 8th century BC: In the [[Kingdom of Judah]], [[Jerusalem]] begins an expansion in population and size, going from a small town into a major city.
* [[797 BC]]: Thespieus, [[Kings of Athens|King of Athens]], dies after a reign of 27 years and is succeeded by his son Agamestor.

=== [[780s BC]] ===

* [[788 BC]]: The Malay society of [[Sungai Batu]] in Old [[Kedah]] Kingdom ([[History of Kedah]]) had established the dynamic city port and industry which iron smelting has operated in a large scale and their entreport was an important trade centre. Iron was the major commodity which exported from Sungai Batu, Old Kedah Kingdom or it was known in the past as Kataha, Qalah,  Chie-Cha and some other names. At these time,  Old Kedah Kingdom located in Malaysia or the [[Malay Peninsula]]. The excavation works at the ancient city are still going on.
* [[783 BC]]: [[Shalmaneser IV]] succeeds his father [[Adad-nirari III]] as king of [[Assyria]].
* [[782 BC]]: Founding of [[Erebuni Fortress|Erebuni]] (Էրեբունի) by the orders of King [[Argishtis I of Urartu|Argishtis I]] at the site of current-day [[Yerevan]].
* [[782 BC]]: Death of [[King Xuan of Zhou]], King of the [[Zhou Dynasty|Zhou Dynasty (1122 BC—256 BC)]] of China.
* [[781 BC]]: [[King You of Zhou]] becomes King of the [[Zhou Dynasty|Zhou Dynasty (1122 BC—256 BC)]] of China.
* [[780 BC]]: The first historic [[solar eclipse]] is recorded in China.
(Although Greece, Egypt, and other Eastern societies had mentioned solar and lunar eclipses, and had been counting their centuries on lunar and solar cycles, the mentioned solar eclipse lasted longer than previous records.)

=== [[770s BC]] ===

* [[778 BC]]: Agamestor, [[Kings of Athens|King of Athens]], dies after a reign of 17 years and is succeeded by his son Aeschylus.
* [[776 BC]]: retrospectively set as the first [[Olympiad]]. The history of the [[Ancient Olympic Games|Olympic Games]] is believed to reach as far back as the [[13th century BC]].
* [[774 BC]]: End of the reign of king [[Pygmalion of Tyre]].
* [[773 BC]]: Death of [[Shoshenq III]], king of [[History of Egypt|Egypt]].
* [[773 BC]]: [[Ashur-Dan III]] succeeds his brother [[Shalmaneser IV]] as king of [[Assyria]].
* [[771 BC]]: End of the Western [[Zhou Dynasty (1122 BC — 256 BC)|Zhou Dynasty]] in China as "western" barbarian tribes sack the capital [[Hao (city)|Hao]]. [[King You of Zhou]] is killed. [[Crown Prince]] Ji Yijiu escapes and will reign as [[King Ping of Zhou]].
* [[770 BC]]: Beginning of the Eastern [[Zhou Dynasty (1122 BC — 256 BC)|Zhou Dynasty]] in China as [[King Ping of Zhou]] becomes the first King of the Zhou to rule from the new capital of [[Chengzhou]] (today [[Luoyang]]).

=== [[760s BC]] ===

* June 15, [[763 BC]]: A [[solar eclipse]] on this date is used to fix the [[chronology of the Ancient Near East]].
* Mid-8th century BC: Model of temple, found in the Sanctuary of Hera, [[Argos, Peloponnese|Argos]], is made. It is now at [[National Archaeological Museum, Athens|National Archeological Museum]], [[Athens]].

=== [[750s BC]] ===

* [[756 BC]]: Founding of [[Cyzicus]].
* [[755 BC]]: [[Ashur-nirari V]] succeeds [[Ashur-Dan III]] as king of [[Assyria]].
* [[755 BC]]: Aeschylus, [[Kings of Athens|King of Athens]], dies after a reign of 23 years and is succeeded by [[Alcmaeon (King of Athens)|Alcmaeon]].
* [[753 BC]]: [[Alcmaeon (King of Athens)|Alcmaeon]], [[Kings of Athens|King of Athens]], dies after a reign of 2 years. He is replaced by Harops, elected [[Archon]] for a ten-year term.
* April 21, [[753 BC]]: [[Rome]] founded by [[Romulus]] (according to [[founding of Rome|tradition]]). Beginning of the [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] '[[Ab urbe condita]]' calendar.

=== [[740s BC]] ===

* February 26, [[747 BC]]: [[Nabonassar]] becomes king of [[Babylon]].
* [[747 BC]]: [[Meles of Lydia|Meles]] becomes king of [[Lydia]].
* [[747 BC]]: The [[Lusatian culture]] city at [[Biskupin]] is founded.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.biskupin.pl/asp/pl_start_nauka.asp?typ=14&menu=46&strona=1 |title=Muzeum Archeologiczne w Biskupinie |publisher=Biskupin.pl |access-date=2012-07-06 }}{{Dead link|date=May 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
* [[745 BC]]: The crown of [[Assyria]] is seized by Pul, who takes the name [[Tiglath-Pileser III]].
* [[743 BC]]: [[Duke Zhuang of Zheng|Duke Zhuang]] of the Chinese state of [[Zheng (state)|Zheng]] comes to power.
* [[740 BC]]: [[Tiglath-Pileser III]] conquers the city of [[Arpad (Syria)|Arpad]] in [[Syria]] after two years of siege.
* [[740 BC]]: Start of [[Ahaz]]'s reign of [[Kingdom of Judah|Judah]].

=== [[730s BC]] ===

* [[739 BC]]: [[Hiram II]] becomes king of [[Tyre (Lebanon)|Tyre]].
* [[738 BC]]: King [[Tiglath-Pileser III]] of [[Assyria]] invades [[Kingdom of Israel (Samaria)|Israel]], forcing it to pay tribute.
* [[734 BC]]: [[Syracuse, Sicily|Syracuse]] (Sicily) was founded as a colony by Corinth.
* [[734 BC]]: [[Naxos (Sicily)|Naxus]] in [[Sicily]] founded as a [[colony]] of [[Chalcis]] in [[Euboea]]. (traditional date)
* [[732 BC]]: [[Hoshea]] becomes the last [[kingdom of Israel (Samaria)|king of Israel]].
* [[730 BC]]: [[Osorkon IV]] succeeds Sheshonq IV as king of the [[Twenty-second dynasty of Egypt]].
* [[730 BC]]: [[Piye]] succeeds his father [[Kashta]] as king of the [[Nubia]]n kingdom of [[Napata]].
* [[730 BC]]: Mattan II succeeds [[Hiram II]] as king of [[Tyre (Lebanon)|Tyre]].

=== [[720s BC]] ===

* [[728 BC]]: [[Piye]] invades [[History of ancient Egypt|Egypt]], conquering [[Memphis, Egypt|Memphis]], and receives the submission of the rulers of the [[Nile Delta]]. He founds the [[Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt]].
* [[727 BC]]: [[Babylonia]] makes itself independent of [[Assyria]].
* [[724 BC]]: The [[Assyria]]ns start a four-year siege of [[Tyre (Lebanon)|Tyre]].
* [[724 BC]]: The ''[[Ancient Greek units of measurement|diaulos]]'' footrace introduced at the Olympics.
* [[722 BC]]: [[Spring and Autumn period]] of China's history begins as [[King Ping of Zhou]] of the [[Zhou Dynasty (1122 BC — 256 BC)|Zhou Dynasty]] reigns in name only.
* [[722 BC]]: [[Kingdom of Israel (Samaria)|Israel]] is conquered by [[Assyrian people|Assyrian]] king [[Sargon II]].
* [[720 BC]]: End of the [[Assyria]]n siege of [[Tyre (Lebanon)|Tyre]].

=== [[710s BC]] ===

* [[719 BC]]: [[King Huan of Zhou]] of the [[Zhou dynasty]] becomes ruler of China.
* [[718 BC]]: [[Gyges of Lydia|Gyges]] becomes the ruler of [[Lydia]].
* [[717 BC]]: [[Assyria]]n king [[Sargon II|Sargon]] conquers the [[Hittites|Hittite]] stronghold of [[Carchemish]].
* [[717 BC]]: [[Sargon II]] founds a new [[Capital (political)|capital]] for [[Assyria]] at [[Dur-Sharrukin]].
* [[716 BC]]: [[Roman Empire|Roman]] legend marks this as the date that [[Romulus and Remus|Romulus]] ended his rule.
* [[715 BC]]: Start of the reign of [[Roman Empire|Roman]] King [[Numa Pompilius]].
* [[713 BC]]: [[Numa Pompilius]] reforms the [[Roman calendar]].
* [[712 BC]]: [[Numa Pompilius]] creates the office of [[Pontifex Maximus]].

=== [[700s BC (decade)|700s BC]] ===

* [[706 BC]]: [[Sparta]]n immigrants found [[Taranto|Taras]] (''[[Taranto|Tarentum]]'', the modern [[Taranto]]) [[colony]] in [[southern Italy]].
* [[705 BC]]: [[Sennacherib]] succeeds [[Sargon II]] as king of [[Assyria]].
* [[704 BC]]: [[Sennacherib]] moves the [[Capital (political)|capital]] of [[Assyria]] to [[Nineveh]].
* [[701 BC]]: King [[Hezekiah]] of [[Kingdom of Judah|Judah]], backed by [[ancient Egypt|Egypt]], revolts against king [[Sennacherib]] of [[Assyria]]. [[Sennacherib]] sacks many cities, but fails in his attempt to take [[Jerusalem]].
* [[700 BC]]: The [[Scythians]] start settling in [[Cimmerian]] areas, slowly replacing the previous inhabitants.
* [[700 BC]]: End of the [[Villanovan culture]] in [[northern Italy]] and rise of the [[Etruscan civilization]].
* [[700 BC]]: The [[Upanishad]]s, a sacred text of [[Hinduism]], are written around this time.

=== Date unknown ===

* [[Hellenic civilization|Greeks]] colonize the [[Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean]] and [[Black Sea]]s.
* [[Thraco-Cimmerian]] influence in [[Central Europe]].
* [[Assyria]] conquers [[Damascus]] and [[Samaria]].
* The state of [[Zhongli (state)|Zhongli]] in China is founded.{{sfnp|Anhui Provincial Institute|2015|p=83}}

==Notable People==
===Greece and Italy===
* Thespieus, king of Athens, r. 824-797 BC
* Agamestor, king of Athens, r. 795-778 BC
* Aeschylus, king of Athens, r. 778-755 BC
* [[Alcmaeon (King of Athens)|Alcmaeon]], king of Athens, r. 755-753 BC
* [[Romulus]], king of Rome, r. 753-716 BC
* [[Numa Pompilius]], king of Rome, r. 715-672 BC

===Near East and Egypt===
* [[Shoshenq III]], king of Egypt ([[22nd Dynasty]]), r. 837-798 BC
* [[Pygmalion of Tyre|Pygmalion]], king of Tyre, b. 842 BC, r. 831-785/774 BC
* [[Adad-nirari III]], king of Assyria, r. 811-783 BC
* [[Menua]], king of Urartu, b. c. 850 BC, r. 810-786 BC
* [[Shoshenq IV]], king of Egypt (22nd Dynasty), r. 798-785 BC
* [[Argishtis I]], king of Urartu, b. 827 BC, r. 786-764 BC
* [[Pami]], king of Egypt (22nd Dynasty), r. 785-778 BC
* [[Shalmaneser IV]], king of Assyria, r. 783-773 BC
* [[Ashur-dan III]], king of Assyria, r. 773-755 BC
* [[Shoshenq V]], king of Egypt (22nd Dynasty), r. 767-730 BC
* [[Ithobaal II]], king of Tyre, r. 760-739 BC
* [[Ashur-nirari V]], king of Assyria, r. 755-745 BC
* [[Nabonassar]], king of Babylon, r. 747-734 BC
* [[Tiglath-Pileser III]], king of Assyria, b. 795 BC, r. 745-727 BC
* [[Piye]], king of Napata and Egypt ([[25th Dynasty]]), r. 744-714 BC
* [[Ahaz|Jehoahaz II]], king of Judah, b. 760 BC, r. 740-724 BC
* [[Hiram II]], king of Tyre, r. 739-729 BC
* [[Hoshea]], king of Israel, r. 732-722 BC
* [[Osorkon IV]], king of Egypt (22nd Dynasty), r. 730-716 BC
* Mattan II, king of Tyre, r. 729 BC-unknown
* [[Shalmaneser V]], king of Assyria, r. 727-722 BC
* [[Hezekiah]], king of Judah, b. 740 BC, r. 724-687 BC
* [[Sargon II]], king of Assyria, b. 760s BC, r. 722-705 BC
* [[Shebitku]], king of Egypt (25th Dynasty), r. 714-705 BC
* [[Sennacherib]], king of Assyria, b. 745 BC, r. 705-681 BC
* [[Shabaka]], king of Egypt (25th Dynasty), r. 705-690 BC

===East Asia===
* [[King Xuan of Zhou|Xuan]], king of Zhou, r. 827-782 BC
* [[King You of Zhou|You]], king of Zhou, b. 795 BC, r. 781-771 BC
* [[King Ping of Zhou|Ping]], king of [[Eastern Zhou]], r. 770-720 BC
* [[King Huan of Zhou|Huan]], king of Eastern Zhou, r. 719-697 BC

==Inventions, discoveries, introductions==
* [[Demotic (Egyptian)|Demotic]] writing appeared in [[Ancient Egypt]].
* [[Greeks]] adopt [[alphabetic writing]].

==Sovereign states==
{{main article|List of sovereign states in the 8th century BC}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}
* {{Cite journal
|title = The Excavation of the tomb of Bai, Lord of the Zhongli State
|author= Anhui Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology and Bengbu Museum
|date = June 2015
|journal = Chinese Archaeology
|doi = 10.1515/char-2014-0008
|publisher = [[Walter de Gruyter]]
|issue = 1
|volume = 14
|location = [[Berlin]], [[Boston]]
|pages = 62–85
|ref = {{harvid|Anhui Provincial Institute|2015}}}}

{{Decades and years}} 
{{Centuries}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:8th century BC| ]]
[[Category:1st millennium BC|-2]]
[[Category:Centuries|-92]]