486 BC

Centuries:	6th century BC · 5th century BC · 4th century BC
Decades:	510s BC 500s BC 490s BC 480s BC 470s BC 460s BC 450s BC
Years:	489 BC 488 BC 487 BC 486 BC 485 BC 484 BC 483 BC

Events

Darius I, one of the greatest rulers of the Achaemenid dynasty of the Persia, dies and is succeeded by his son, Xerxes I. During this time the Persian empire extends as far west as Macedonia and Libya and as far east as the Hyphasis (Beas) River; it stretches to the Caucasus Mountains and the Aral Sea in the north and to the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Desert in the south.
Egypt revolts against Persian rule.
The construction of a relief in the Apadana, a ceremonial complex at Persepolis, is finished. It shows Darius and Xerxes receiving tribute and is now kept in the Iranbustan Museum in Teheran.

During his third consulate, Roman consul Spurius Cassius Vecellinus proposes an agrarian law to assist needy plebeians, a measure violently opposed both by the patricians and by the wealthy plebeians, who have Cassius condemned and executed.

First Buddist Council at Rejgaha, under the patronage of King Ajatasattu. Oral tradition established for the first time.
First part of the Grand Canal of China is built.