# 657 BC

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The year **657 BC** was a year of the [pre-Julian Roman calendar](/source/Roman_calendar). In the [Roman Empire](/source/Roman_Empire), it was known as **year 97 *[Ab urbe condita](/source/Ab_urbe_condita)***. The denomination 657 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the [Anno Domini](/source/Anno_Domini) [calendar era](/source/Calendar_era) became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

## Events

### By place

#### Asia Minor

- King [Gyges of Lydia](/source/Gyges_of_Lydia) establishes a [state monopoly](/source/Government_monopoly) in metal [coinage](/source/Coin), making it illegal for individuals to issue the bean-shaped lumps of [electrum](/source/Electrum) used as a medium of exchange in place of commodities (approximate date).

#### Greece

- [Cypselus](/source/Cypselus) becomes the first [tyrant](/source/Tyrant) of [Corinth](/source/Ancient_Corinth).

#### China

- The [Li Ji Unrest](/source/Li_Ji_Unrest), a series of events that ends in [651 BC](/source/651_BC),[1] initiates when [Li Ji](/source/Li_Ji_(concubine)), the concubine of [Duke Xian of Jin](/source/Duke_Xian_of_Jin), attempts to have her son [Xiqi](/source/Xiqi) placed on the [throne](/source/Throne) of [Jin](/source/Jin_(Chinese_state)).

## References

1. ["Historical and Cultural References"](https://www.degruyterbrill.com/unauthorizedDownload/10.1515/9780295999982-021?action=Downloading+PDF&countDenial=true&download=true). *Idle Talk under the Bean Arbor*. 31 December 2017. [doi:10.1515/9780295999982-021](https://doi.org/10.1515/9780295999982-021). Retrieved 15 March 2026.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [657 BC](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/657_BC) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/657_BC?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.