| Millennium: | 1st millennium BC |
|---|---|
| Centuries: | |
| Decades: | |
| Years: |
| 538 BC by topic |
| Politics |
|---|
| Categories |
| Gregorian calendar | 538 BC DXXXVIII BC |
| Ab urbe condita | 216 |
| Ancient Egypt era | XXVI dynasty, 127 |
| - Pharaoh | Amasis II, 33 |
| Ancient Greek era | 60th Olympiad, year 3 |
| Assyrian calendar | 4213 |
| Balinese saka calendar | N/A |
| Bengali calendar | −1130 |
| Berber calendar | 413 |
| Buddhist calendar | 7 |
| Burmese calendar | −1175 |
| Byzantine calendar | 4971–4972 |
| Chinese calendar | 壬戌年 (Water Dog) 2160 or 1953 — to — 癸亥年 (Water Pig) 2161 or 1954 |
| Coptic calendar | −821 – −820 |
| Discordian calendar | 629 |
| Ethiopian calendar | −545 – −544 |
| Hebrew calendar | 3223–3224 |
| Hindu calendars | |
| - Vikram Samvat | −481 – −480 |
| - Shaka Samvat | N/A |
| - Kali Yuga | 2563–2564 |
| Holocene calendar | 9463 |
| Iranian calendar | 1159 BP – 1158 BP |
| Islamic calendar | 1195 BH – 1194 BH |
| Javanese calendar | N/A |
| Julian calendar | N/A |
| Korean calendar | 1796 |
| Minguo calendar | 2449 before ROC 民前2449年 |
| Nanakshahi calendar | −2005 |
| Thai solar calendar | 5–6 |
| Tibetan calendar | 阳水狗年 (male Water-Dog) −411 or −792 or −1564 — to — 阴水猪年 (female Water-Pig) −410 or −791 or −1563 |
The year 538 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as year 216 Ab urbe condita. The denomination 538 BC 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.