Silla, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, formally adopts Buddhism as a state religion in approximately 527.

Saxon occupation of land that is to form the kingdom of Essex had begun by the early fifth century at Mucking and other locations.

A large proportion of these original settlers came from Old Saxony.

The territory known later as Essex was according to British legend ceded by the Britons to the Saxons following the infamous Brad y Cyllyll Hirion event, which occurred about 460 during the reign of High-King Vortigern.

Della Hooke relates the territory ruled by the kings of Essex to the pre-Roman territory of the Trinovantium.

The kingdom of Essex grew by the absorption of smaller sub-kingdoms or Saxon tribal groups.

There are a number of suggestions for the location of these sub-kingdoms including: the Rodings—the people of Hrotha, the Haemele, (Hemel Hempstead) Vange—marsh district (possibly stretching to the Mardyke) Denge Ginges Berecingas—Barking, in the south west of the kingdom Haeferingas in Havering Uppingas—Epping.

Essex, founded by the Saxons who have landed north of the Thames, emerges during the sixth century as a single kingdom.

They take control of the land between what is now London and St Albans.

The dates, names and achievements of the Essex kings, like those of most early rulers in the Heptarchy, remain conjectural.

The historical identification of the kings of Essex, including the evidence and a reconstructed genealogy are discussed extensively by Yorke.

The dynasty claimed descent from Woden via Seaxnēat.

A genealogy of the Essex royal house was prepared in the ninth century in Wessex.

The surviving copy unfortunately is somewhat mutilated.

Several sub-kings within Essex at times during the history of the kingdom appear to have been able to rule simultaneously.

They may have exercised authority over different parts of the kingdom.

The first recorded king, according to the East Saxon King List, was Æscwine to which a date of 527 is given for the start of his reign, although there are some difficulties with the date of his reign, and Sledda is listed as the founder of the Essex royal house by other sources.

King Cerdic of Wessex and his son Cynric according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle defeat the Britons at Cerdicesleah (probably modern Chearsley, in Aylesbury).

The latter years of Justin's reign have been marked by strife among the Empire, the Ostrogoths, and the Persians.

His health had begun to decline in 526.

Throughout his reign, Justin, though by no means the nonentity often supposed, has had the help of his gifted nephew, Justinian, who, like his childless uncle, is a Latin-speaking Illyrian born of peasant stock.

Legally adopted by Justin and granted the rank of caesar in 525, Justinian is on April 4, 527, formally recognized as co-emperor with the rank of augustus.

His wife, the former actress Theodora, who exercises considerable influence over him, is crowned augusta at the same time.

Justin's death occurs a few months later, on August 1, and Justinian succeeds him as sole emperor.

When Justinian comes to the throne, his troops are fighting on the Euphrates River against the armies of the Persian king Kavadh.

Justin will soon dedicate the Eastern Empire to the reconquest of the West from the Germanic tribes.

The new emperor reorganizes the command structure of the army and fields a small but highly trained army, dispatching a young but capable general, Belisarius, to command the Eastern army in Armenia and on the Roman-Persian border.

Overt Roman–Persian fighting had broken out in the Transcaucasus region and upper Mesopotamia by 526–527.

The early years of war favor the Persians: by 527, the Iberian revolt has been crushed, a Roman offensive against Nisibis and Thebetha in this year is unsuccessful, and forces trying to fortify Thannuris and Melabasa are prevented from doing so by Persian attacks.

Attempting to remedy the deficiencies revealed by these Persian successes, the new Roman emperor, Justinian I, reorganizes the eastern armies.

The spread of Buddhism dramatically influences Chinese architecture.

By the sixth century, Buddhism has spread with tremendous momentum throughout China: Chinese culture is adjusting and adapting its traditions to include Buddhism worship.

The Chinese transform the rounded earthen mound of the South Asian stupa into the towering pagoda to house the sacred buried relics of Buddha at its core.

The Songyue Pagoda, constructed in 523 during the Northern Wei Dynasty at the Songyue Monastery on Mount Song, in Henan province, is one of the few intact sixth-century pagodas in China and is also the earliest known Chinese brick pagoda.

Most structures from that period were made of wood and have not survived.

Unique in form, being twelve-sided, the tower is 40 m (131 ft) high and built of yellowish brick held together with clay mortar.

The pagoda has had a changing shape over time from its Indian Buddhist origins to its form in China.

The unique many-sided shape of the Songyue Pagoda suggests that it represents an early attempt to merge the Chinese architecture of straight edges with the circular style of Buddhism from the Indian subcontinent.

The perimeter of the pagoda decreases as it rises, as this is seen in Indian and Central Asian Buddhist cave temple pillars and the later round pagodas in China.

Emperor Xiaoming, by now a teenager, is said to spend much of his time drinking.

He is also said to favor his concubine Consort Pan greatly, to the exclusion of his wife Empress Hu (his cousin) and the other concubines.

In 528, Consort Pan bears him a daughter.

However, Empress Dowager Hu falsely declares that Consort Pan's child is a son, and orders a general pardon.

By this time, Emperor Xiaoming, aged eighteen, is tired of the hold that his mother has on his administration, and he further despises Zheng Yan and Xu Ge.

He therefore sends secret messengers to the general Erzhu Rong, who controls the region around Bing Province (modern central Shanxi), ordering him to advance on Luoyang to force Empress Dowager Hu to remove Zheng and Xu.

After Erzhu advances to Shangdang (in modern Changzhi, Shanxi), Emperor Xiaoming suddenly changes his mind and sends messengers to stop him, but the news leaks.

Zheng and Xu therefore advises Empress Dowager Hu to have Emperor Xiaoming poisoned.

She does so, and after initially announcing that Emperor Xiaoming's "son" by Consort Pan will succeed him, admits that the "son" is actually a daughter, and instead selects Yuan Zhao, the two-year-old son of Yuan Baohui the Prince of Lintao, to succeed Emperor Xiaoming.

Erzhu Rong refuses to recognize this arrangement, and soon arrives at and captures Luoyang, throwing Empress Dowager Hu and Yuan Zhao into the Yellow River to drown.

Baekje’s King Seong maintains diplomatic ties with Liang Dynasty China as well as Wa (Japan).

A sponsor of Buddhist temples, he welcomes priests bringing Buddhist texts directly from India.

In 528, Baekje officially adopts Buddhism as its state religion.

An Imperial general named Justin, mentioned in 528 as "stratelates of Moesia", probably holds the title of dux Moesiae Secundae and the rank of magister militum.

He joins forces with Baduarius, dux of Scythia Minor, in battle against a force of foreign invaders of Scythia and Moesia, who John Malalas identifies as "Huns", while Theophanes the Confessor identifies them as Bulgars.

Justin is killed in this battle and is succeeded in his post by Constantiolus.

The invaders next enter Thrace.

The Eastern Roman church’s liturgy had become firmly established with the coronation of Justinian.

A hymn writer himself, the new emperor perceives the need for trained singers to conduct the musical affairs of the church, especially because the varied Office hymns necessitate more time in the service than do the masses of the Western church.

Soon, the Eastern liturgy includes elaborate services rich in hymns.

The principal forms of hymns in Eastern Roman music, are the “troparion” established in the fourth century, a monostrophic prayer with responses interpolated between psalm verses; and the “kontakion,” a poetic form with numerous stanzas, whose initial letters form an acrostic.

Priscian, Latin grammarian, writes the Institutiones Grammaticae ("Grammatical Foundations").

In Constantinople, he codifies this manuscript in eighteen volumes that will be widely used through the Middle Ages, providing the raw material for the field of speculative grammar.

The details of Priscian's life are largely unknown.

Priscian was of Greek descent, and was born and raised in Caesarea (modern Cherchell, Algeria) the capital of the Roman province of Mauretania Caesariensis.

According to Cassiodorus, he taught Latin at Constantinople.

Priscian's minor works include a panegyric to Anastasius (491—518), written about 512, which helps establish his time period.

In addition, the manuscripts of his Institutiones grammaticae contain a subscription to the effect that the work was copied (526, 527) by Flavius Theodorus, a clerk in the imperial secretariat.