Lydia’s King Alyattes mints the first official currency
The coins were made from electrum, a mixture of silver and gold that occurs naturally, and stamped with pictures that acted as denominations.
7th Century B.C.E.
Hanno the Navigator of Carthage explores the coasts of West Africa
In the 5th century B.C.E., the Carthaginian explorer Hanno sailed beyond the Pillars of Hercules, out of the Mediterranean and into hitherto unknown territory down the Atlantic coast of Africa.
The Agora thrives as public commons space in ancient Athens
From the 6th and until the 1st century B.C.E. the Agora as the heart of the government and the judiciary, as a public place of debate, as a place of worship, and as marketplace.
Vaishali in India becomes world’s first republic
An ancient metropolis, the capital of the Republic of the Vaishali state and the capital of the Vajjian Confederacy (Vijji), Vaishali is prominently mentioned in Jain and Buddhist texts which emerged later.
Suśruta of ancient India authors Sushruta Samhita, an ancient Sanskrit text on medicine
The Sushruta Samhita is one of the most important treatises on medicine and herbalism to survive from the ancient world.
The first Scythian kingdom comes to power in Central Eurasia
The early Scythian kingdoms were dominated by inter-ethnic forms of dependency based on subjugation of agricultural populations in eastern South Caucasia, plunder and taxes regular tribute, tribute disguised as gifts, and possibly also payments for military support.