Year of the Elephant
Abraha marches on Mecca in Muhammad's traditional birth year
Around 570 Abraha, ruler of Yemen, marched on Mecca with an army and a war elephant to destroy the Kaaba, but the expedition failed — the Quran tells of birds that pelted the army with stones. Muslim tradition holds that the Prophet Muhammad was born in this year.
Wikipedia (Russian) · Wikipedia (English) · 6th century
Meanwhile around the world (±25 years)
Europe
- 568 Lombards invade Italy — 2 years earlier
Asia
- 552 Founding of the First Turkic Khaganate — 18 years earlier
- 589 Sui dynasty reunifies China — 19 years later