History by century · The 400s

The 5th century

In the 400s, 237 recorded states existed somewhere in the world. 98 were founded and 64 came to an end. The great powers of the age included the Sasanian Empire, the Byzantine Empire and the Gupta Empire.

ProfileState112 states with a known seat in 450 CESee 450 CE in the atlas →

Great powers

Profiles of the 5th century, ranked by their military, territorial, economic and historical weight in the Institute’s analysis and by how strong they were in these hundred years.

Key events

All 9 battles, wars and treaties of the 5th century →

People

Works and ideas

States founded 98

Show all 98

States that came to an end 64

Show all 64

On this day

Year by year 7

The years of the 5th century with a page of their own: their events, births and deaths, and the states founded and ended.

Test yourself

5 questions on the 5th century: its events, people and great powers.

The questions open here once the page has loaded.

Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). The 5th century. In The Epoch Institute. https://the-epoch-institute.org/centuries/5th-century
MLA
“The 5th century.” The Epoch Institute, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/centuries/5th-century. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “The 5th century.” The Epoch Institute. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/centuries/5th-century.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘The 5th century’, The Epoch Institute. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/centuries/5th-century (Accessed: ).