Around 489 BC, Aristides the Just was made Archon of Athens, while Hypparchos is ostracized for his efforts to bring peace with Persia. In 487 BC the Athens election was opened up to direct voting by the citizenry, and by 486 BC much of Egypt was revolting against Persian rule.
King Fuchai of Wu oversees the beginning of construction of the Grand Canal of China, joining the Yangtze River with the Huai River, created to move supplies north for troops bordering Song and Lu.
In 485 BC Darius I died and was succeeded by his son Xerxes I. About five years later, Xerxes encourages the Carthaginians to attack the Greeks in Sicily. Under the Carthaginian military leader, Hamilcar, Carthage sends across a large army. Circa 464 BC, Regent King Artabanus of Persia is killed by his charge Artaxerxes I. By 460 BC, Egypt was in full revolt against Persia, starting a six year war. An Athenian force sent to attack Cyprus was diverted to support this revolt.
Around 459 BC, Ezra, the "redactor" of the Old Testament, leads many Jews from exile in Babylon back to the Promised Land in Jerusalem. He reads the newly revised scripture to the people for seven hours straight, and they wonder how he has magically woven the stories of northern Israel and southern Judah into the life and mission of one Chosen People.
The Delian League was founded in Greece about 478 BC with their official meeting place being the island of Delos; in 454 BC their treasury was moved to Athens. In 450 BC Perdiccas II succeeds Alexander I as King of Macedonia, and the teachings of Lao Tzu are spreading in China.
Also in 450 BC, Empedoclese published his On Nature and Purifications, and Greek historian Herodotus describes the Scythians of central Asia throwing hemp onto heated stones under canvas: 'as it burns, it smokes like incense and the smell of it makes them drunk'. Herodotus also claimed that "hemp garments are as fine as linen."
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