16th century BC

One hundred years, from 1600 BC to 1501 BC

"1500s BC" redirects here. For the decade, see 1500s BC (decade).

Millennia

2nd millennium BC
Centuries

* 17th century BC
* 16th century BC
* 15th century BC

Timelines

* 17th century BC
* 16th century BC
* 15th century BC

State leaders

* 17th century BC
* 16th century BC
* 15th century BC

Decades

* 1590s BC
* 1580s BC
* 1570s BC
* 1560s BC
* 1550s BC

* 1540s BC
* 1530s BC
* 1520s BC
* 1510s BC
* 1500s BC

Categories:
Births – Deaths
Establishments – Disestablishments

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The 16th century BC was a century that lasted from 1600 BC to 1501 BC.

## Events

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The royal Grave Circle in Mycenae, Greece (left) and the 'Mask of Agamemnon' (right) found in one of the graves.

* 1700 BC – 1500 BC: Hurrian conquests.
* 1601 BC: Sharma-Adad II became the King of Assyria.
* c. 1600 BC: The creation of one of the oldest surviving astronomical documents, a copy of which was found in the Babylonian library of Ashurbanipal: a 21-year record of the appearances of Venus (which the early Babylonians called Nindaranna): Venus tablet of Ammisaduqa.
* c. 1600 BC: The date of the earliest discovered rubber balls.
* c. 1600 BC: Early Mycenaean culture: weapons, Cyclopean walls, and chariots.
* c. 1600 BC: Unetice culture ends in Czech Republic, eastern Europe
* Development of the windmill in Persia.
* c. 1600 BC: Building of El morro del tulcán Pyramid in Colombia.
* 1595 BC: Sack of Babylon by the Hittite king Mursilis I.
* c. 1595 BC: The overthrow of the ruling Amorite dynasty in Aleppo, Syria.
* 1570 BC: Cretan palaces at Knossos and other centres flourish despite disasters.
* 1567 BC: Egypt: End of Fifteenth Dynasty, end of Sixteenth Dynasty, end of Seventeenth Dynasty, start of Eighteenth Dynasty.
* 1558 BC: Shang dynasty of China established (according to the Bamboo Annals).[1]
* 1556 BC: Cecrops I builds or rebuilds Athens following the great flood of Deucalion and the end of the Golden age. He becomes the first of several Kings of Athens whose life account is considered part of Greek mythology.
* c. 1550 BC: The city of Mycenae, located in the northeast Peloponnesus, comes to dominate the rest of Achaea, giving its name to Mycenaean civilization.
* 1550 BC: End of Seventeenth dynasty of Egypt, start of the Eighteenth Dynasty upon the coronation of Ahmose I (Low Chronology).
* 1530 BC: End of the First Dynasty of Babylon and the start of the Kassite dynasty—see History of Iraq.
* 1525 BC: End of Fifteenth Dynasty of Egypt.
* c. 1512 BC: The flood of Deucalion, according to O'Flaherty, Augustine, Eusebius, and Isidore (bishop of Seville).
* 1506 BC: Cecrops I, legendary King of Athens, dies after a reign of 50 years. Having survived his own son, he is succeeded by Cranaus.
* 1504 BC: Egypt started to conquer Nubia and the Levant.
* c. 1500 BC: Many scholars date early parts of the Rig Veda to roughly the 16th century.
* c. 1500 BC: Queen Hatsheput in Egypt (18th Dynasty).
* c. 1500 BC: The element Mercury has been discovered in Egyptian tombs dating from this decade.
* c. 1500 BC: Settlers from Crete, Greece move to Miletus, Turkey.
* c. 1500 BC: Early traces of Maya civilization developing in Belize.
* c. 1500 BC: The Phoenicians develop an alphabet—see Timeline of communication technology.
* c. 1500 BC: Indo-Aryan migration is often dated to the 17th to 16th centuries.
* c. 1500 BC: Birth of Zoroaster (Avestan: Zarathushtra).

## Sovereign states

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See: List of sovereign states in the 16th century BC.

## References

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1. ^ Hong Yuan (2018). "Chronology of the Three Dynasties (Xia, Shang and Zhou)". The Sinitic Civilization Book II: A Factual History Through the Lens of Archaeology, Bronzeware, Astronomy, Divination, Calendar and the Annals (PDF). iUniverse. pp. 645–649\. ISBN 9781532058301.

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Decades and years

16th century BC
18th century BC ← 17th century BC ← ↔ → 15th century BC → 14th century BC | 1600s BC | 1609 BC | 1608 BC | 1607 BC | 1606 BC | 1605 BC | 1604 BC | 1603 BC | 1602 BC | 1601 BC | 1600 BC

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1590s BC | 1599 BC | 1598 BC | 1597 BC | 1596 BC | 1595 BC | 1594 BC | 1593 BC | 1592 BC | 1591 BC | 1590 BC
1580s BC | 1589 BC | 1588 BC | 1587 BC | 1586 BC | 1585 BC | 1584 BC | 1583 BC | 1582 BC | 1581 BC | 1580 BC
1570s BC | 1579 BC | 1578 BC | 1577 BC | 1576 BC | 1575 BC | 1574 BC | 1573 BC | 1572 BC | 1571 BC | 1570 BC
1560s BC | 1569 BC | 1568 BC | 1567 BC | 1566 BC | 1565 BC | 1564 BC | 1563 BC | 1562 BC | 1561 BC | 1560 BC
1550s BC | 1559 BC | 1558 BC | 1557 BC | 1556 BC | 1555 BC | 1554 BC | 1553 BC | 1552 BC | 1551 BC | 1550 BC
1540s BC | 1549 BC | 1548 BC | 1547 BC | 1546 BC | 1545 BC | 1544 BC | 1543 BC | 1542 BC | 1541 BC | 1540 BC
1530s BC | 1539 BC | 1538 BC | 1537 BC | 1536 BC | 1535 BC | 1534 BC | 1533 BC | 1532 BC | 1531 BC | 1530 BC
1520s BC | 1529 BC | 1528 BC | 1527 BC | 1526 BC | 1525 BC | 1524 BC | 1523 BC | 1522 BC | 1521 BC | 1520 BC
1510s BC | 1519 BC | 1518 BC | 1517 BC | 1516 BC | 1515 BC | 1514 BC | 1513 BC | 1512 BC | 1511 BC | 1510 BC
1500s BC | 1509 BC | 1508 BC | 1507 BC | 1506 BC | 1505 BC | 1504 BC | 1503 BC | 1502 BC | 1501 BC | 1500 BC
1490s BC | 1499 BC | 1498 BC | 1497 BC | 1496 BC | 1495 BC | 1494 BC | 1493 BC | 1492 BC | 1491 BC | 1490 BC

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Centuries and millennia

| Millennium | Century

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BC (BCE)
4th | 40th | 39th | 38th | 37th | 36th | 35th | 34th | 33rd | 32nd | 31st
3rd | 30th | 29th | 28th | 27th | 26th | 25th | 24th | 23rd | 22nd | 21st
2nd | 20th | 19th | 18th | 17th | 16th | 15th | 14th | 13th | 12th | 11th
1st | 10th | 9th | 8th | 7th | 6th | 5th | 4th | 3rd | 2nd | 1st
AD (CE)
1st | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th
2nd | 11th | 12th | 13th | 14th | 15th | 16th | 17th | 18th | 19th | 20th
3rd | 21st | 22nd | 23rd | 24th | 25th | 26th | 27th | 28th | 29th | 30th

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