538

This article is about the year 538. For the number, see 538 (number). For other uses, see 538 (disambiguation).

Millennium:	1st millennium
Centuries:	5th century – 6th century – 7th century
Decades:	500s  510s  520s  – 530s –  540s  550s  560s
Years:	535 536 537 – 538 – 539 540 541

538 by topic

Politics

State leaders – Sovereign states

Birth and death categories

Births – Deaths

Establishment and disestablishment categories

Establishments – Disestablishments

538 in other calendars

Gregorian calendar	538 DXXXVIII
Ab urbe condita	1291
Assyrian calendar	5288
Bengali calendar	−55
Berber calendar	1488
Buddhist calendar	1082
Burmese calendar	−100
Byzantine calendar	6046–6047
Chinese calendar	丁巳年 (Fire Snake) 3234 or 3174     — to — 戊午年 (Earth Horse) 3235 or 3175
Coptic calendar	254–255
Discordian calendar	1704
Ethiopian calendar	530–531
Hebrew calendar	4298–4299
Hindu calendars
- Vikram Samvat	594–595
- Shaka Samvat	460–461
- Kali Yuga	3639–3640
Holocene calendar	10538
Iranian calendar	84 BP – 83 BP
Islamic calendar	87 BH – 86 BH
Julian calendar	538 DXXXVIII
Korean calendar	2871
Minguo calendar	1374 before ROC 民前1374年
Seleucid era	849/850 AG
Thai solar calendar	1080–1081

Year 538 (DXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Iohannes without colleague (or, less frequently, year 1291 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 538 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Events

By place

Byzantine Empire

• March 12 – Siege of Rome: King Vitiges ends his siege (after 374 days) and abandons Rome. He retreats with his Gothic army northeast along the Via Flaminia.
• Belisarius attacks the Goths when they have crossed the Milvian Bridge. After fierce resistance, Vitiges routs in panic, and many are slain or drowned in the river.
• Gothic War: Vitiges strengthens the garrisons of various towns and besieges Ariminum. Byzantine forces under the Armenian general Narses arrive at Picenum.
• April – Belisarius secures Liguria, Mediolanum (modern Milan) and Ariminum, but disagreements, especially with Narses, leads to disunity in the Byzantine army.
• Summer – King Theudebert I sends a small Frankish force across the Alps, and defeats the Goths and Byzantines at the River Po. Belisarius retreats to Tuscany.
• Sittas, Byzantine general, suppresses a revolt in Armenia in protest against heavy taxation. During the campaign he is killed by Artabanes, leader of the revolt.

Britain

• King Cuneglas of Rhos abandons his wife in favour of his sister-in-law, a nun who he drags from her convent (approximate date).
• Gabrán mac Domangairt becomes king of Dál Riata (Scotland).

Asia

• The Kofun period ends and the Asuka period, the second part of the Yamato period in Japan, begins.

By topic

Religion

• The Third Council of Orléans takes place and prohibits rural labor on Sunday.
• Buddhism is introduced formally into Japan (by some accounts; see also 552).

Births

• Bidatsu, emperor of Japan (d. 585)
• Gregory of Tours, bishop and historian (d. 594)
• Zhiyi, de facto founder of Tiantai Buddhism (d. 597)

Deaths

• Cailtram, king of the Picts (approximate date)
• Comgall mac Domangairt, king of Dál Riata (approximate date)
• February 8 – Severus of Antioch, patriarch of Antioch
• Sittas, Byzantine general (magister militum)
• Damascius, Byzantine philosopher