Derbent fortress
Persia seals the pass between the Caucasus and the Caspian
Under Shah Khosrow I (531–579) the Sasanians blocked the narrow pass between the Caucasus range and the Caspian Sea with two stone walls running into the sea and a citadel. The fortress guarded Iran against northern nomads; the Arabs later called it Bab al-Abwab, 'the Gate of Gates'.
Wikipedia (Russian) · Wikipedia (English) · 6th century
Meanwhile around the world (±25 years)
Europe
- 537 Hagia Sophia consecrated — 25 years earlier
- 541–549 Plague of Justinian — 21 years earlier
- 568 Lombards invade Italy — 6 years later
Middle East
- c. 570 Year of the Elephant — 8 years later
Asia
- c. 538 Buddhism reaches Japan — 24 years earlier
- 552 Founding of the First Turkic Khaganate — 10 years earlier
Alive at the time
- Justinian I (aged 80)
- Khosrow I (aged 61)