Burning of Teotihuacan
The heart of the Americas' largest city is burned
Around 550 the ceremonial centre of Teotihuacan, a city of up to 100,000 people, went up in flames: the temples and elite palaces on the Avenue of the Dead were deliberately set on fire, perhaps during an uprising. The city declined rapidly afterwards.
Wikipedia (Russian) · Wikipedia (English) · 6th century
Meanwhile around the world (±25 years)
Europe
- c. 529 Benedict founds Monte Cassino — 21 years earlier
- 536 Volcanic winter of 536 — 14 years earlier
- 537 Hagia Sophia consecrated — 13 years earlier
- 541–549 Plague of Justinian — 9 years earlier
- 568 Lombards invade Italy — 18 years later
Middle East
- 529–534 Code of Justinian — 21 years earlier
- c. 570 Year of the Elephant — 20 years later
Africa
- 533–534 Belisarius destroys the Vandal kingdom — 17 years earlier
Asia
- c. 538 Buddhism reaches Japan — 12 years earlier
- 552 Founding of the First Turkic Khaganate — 2 years later
Alive at the time
- Justinian I (aged 68)
- Aryabhata (aged 74)
- Khosrow I (aged 49)