Events of the 17th Century BC
The 17th century BC spanned from 1700 BC to 1601 BC and witnessed significant developments across various civilizations.
Key Events
- c. 1700 BC: The Indus Valley civilization comes to an end, succeeded by the Cemetery H culture.
- 1700 BC: Belu-bani is inaugurated as the King of Assyria.
- c. 1700 BC: The end of the Minoan Old Palace period and the commencement of the Minoan Second Palace period in Ancient Greece.
- c. 1700 BC: The onset of the Late Minoan period on Crete.
- c. 1700 BC: Aegean metalworkers begin to produce decorative objects rivaling those of Ancient Near East jewelers, adopting similar techniques.
- c. 1700 BC: Lila-Ir-Tash commences his reign over the Elamite Empire.
- c. 1700 BC: Creation of a wall painting detailing a young girl gathering saffron crocus flowers, preserved in the Thera Foundation, Greece.
- c. 1700 BC: The Bronze Age begins in China.
- c. 1698 BC: The death of Lila-Ir-Tash, followed by Temti-Agun I taking over the Elamite Empire.
- 1691 BC: The passing of Belu-bani, King of Assyria.
- c. 1690 BC: The death of Temti-Agun I, succeeded by Tan-Uli in the Elamite Empire.
- 1690 BC: Libaia ascends as the King of Assyria.
- c. 1680 BC: In Egypt, the development of leavened bread begins (approximate date).
- c. 1673 BC: Sharma-Adad I becomes the King of Assyria.
- c. 1661 BC: Iptar-Sin ascends to the Assyrian throne.
- c. 1655 BC: The death of Tan-Uli, ruler of the Elamite Empire.
- c. 1650 BC: The collapse of the 14th Dynasty of Egypt.
- c. 1650 BC: The Hyksos conquer Memphis, leading to the collapse of the 13th Dynasty of Egypt.
- c. 1650 BC: The establishment of the 15th (Hyksos) and 16th Dynasties of Egypt.
- c. 1646 BC: Jie of Xia is overthrown by Tang of Shang in the Battle of Mingtiao.
- 1649 BC: Bazaia assumes the throne as King of Assyria.
- 1633 BC: The beginning of Lunar Saros 34.
- 1627 BC: A notable climate cooling period begins, potentially caused by volcanic eruptions.
- 1625 BC: Samsu-Ditana becomes King of Babylon.
- 1621 BC: Lullaia becomes the King of Assyria.
- 1620 BC: Mursili I becomes King of the Hittite Empire.
- 1615 BC: Shu-Ninua claims the title of King of Assyria.
- c. 1600 BC: Tang of Shang establishes the Shang dynasty.
Notable Deaths
- 1684 BC: Heremon, a figure of Irish legend.
Extinctions
The last known population of the woolly mammoth, isolated on Wrangel Island, becomes extinct.
Sovereign States
For more information, refer to the List of sovereign states in the 17th century BC.