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224-557: According to classical historiography, Media emerged as one major power of the ancient Near East after the collapse of Assyria. Under Cyaxares (r. 625–585 BCE), the kingdom's borders were expanded to the east and west through the subjugation of neighboring peoples, such as the Persians and Armenians . Media's territorial expansion led to the formation of the first Iranian empire, which at its height would have exercised authority over more than two million square kilometers, stretching from

448-500: A "traditional" empire, aligns with the limited evidence, but such reconsideration does not necessarily diminish their importance in the history of the Ancient Near East. According to Matt Waters, the existing evidence shows a Median king exerting influence or authority directly or indirectly over many peoples through a hierarchical and informal system of governance, without the existence of a formal "Median Empire" — meaning

672-638: A Median Empire. Heleen Sancisi-Weerdenburg expressed this view when she said that "the Median Empire exists for us because Herodotus says it did". An alternative view suggests a loose confederation of tribes capable of causing devastating effects, such as the conquest of Assyria, but lacking centralized imperial structures, mechanisms, and bureaucracies of control. This confederation would operate through loose alliances and dependencies driven by momentarily overlapping goals and ambitions. If any organized and stable authority existed, it would likely be centered in

896-536: A Median empire. The Median empire was said to resemble the later Achaemenid Empire and to have ruled over a vast chunk of the Ancient Near East for half a century until its last king, Astyages , was overthrown by his own vassal, Cyrus the Great . In 1988, 1994, and 1995, historian Heleen Sancisi-Weerdenburg questioned the existence of a Median Empire as a political entity possessing structures comparable to

1120-455: A Median perspective on their own history. The available textual sources on Media primarily consist of contemporary Assyrian and Babylonian texts, as well as the Persian inscription of Behistun , works by later Greek authors such as Herodotus and Ctesias, and some biblical texts. Before the archaeological discoveries of Assyrian and Babylonian ruins and cuneiform archives in the mid-19th century,

1344-529: A centralized and bureaucratic structure. In the 590s BCE, Jeremiah mentions 'the kings of the Medes' (51:11) and 'the kings of the Medes, their governors ( pechah ), all their officials ( sagan ), and all the lands ( eretz ) of their dominion ( memshalah )' (51:27-28). The plurality of "kings" is remarkable (although the Septuagint uses the singular "king"); whether the fact that Jeremiah (25:25) also lists "all

1568-593: A contributing factor to the downfall, after c.  1180 BC , of the Hittite Empire, where it was already widely spoken. Luwian was also the language spoken in the Neo-Hittite states of Syria, such as Melid and Carchemish , as well as in the central Anatolian kingdom of Tabal that flourished around 900 BC. Luwian has been preserved in two forms, named after the writing systems used to represent them: Cuneiform Luwian and Hieroglyphic Luwian . Mari

1792-598: A decade. In the Achaemenid Empire , Media retained a privileged position, ranking second after Persia itself. Media was a large province, and its capital, Ecbatana, became one of the Achaemenid capitals and the summer residence of the Persian kings. Persian rule in Media was shaken by a major revolt at the beginning of the reign of Darius the Great , who seized power after killing the usurper Gaumata . This event

2016-531: A descendant of Cyaxares, continued the rebellion but was also defeated. This is the last Median rebellion against Achaemenid rule. After the end of the Achaemenid Empire, Media continued to have great importance under the later Seleucid and Parthian empires . Until the late 20th-century, scholarship generally agreed that the collapse of the Assyrian Empire was followed by the emergence of

2240-566: A domed ceiling, similar to a Median-era structure from Tepe Nush-i Jan , interpreted as a Zoroastrian fire temple . Excavations have revealed a massive defensive wall made of mud-bricks, and dated to the Median period based on a comparison to Tepe Nush-i Jan and Godin Tepe . There are also two column bases from the Achaemenid period, and some mud-brick structures thought to be from the Median or Achaemenid periods. A badly-damaged stone lion sculpture

2464-415: A forest where lions, leopards, bears, boars, antelopes, gazelles, wild asses, and deer could be found. As usual, these animals were pursued on horseback and targeted with bows or spears. Little is known about the Median army, but it certainly played a significant role in Median history. In the late 7th century BCE, the Medes made notable military progress under Cyaxares, who, according to Herodotus, organized

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2688-572: A kingdom of northern Mesopotamia (modern-day northern Iraq), competing for dominance with its southern Mesopotamian rival Babylonia. From 1365 to 1076, it had been a major imperial power, rivaling Egypt and the Hittite Empire. Beginning with the campaign of Adad-nirari II , it became a vast empire, overthrowing the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt and conquering Egypt, the Middle East, and large swaths of Asia Minor , ancient Iran ,

2912-428: A long period during which the Medes ruled a vast empire. What has survived from his work is filled with romantic stories, exotic anecdotes, court gossip, and lists of questionable reliability making Ctesias one of the few ancient authors considered not very reliable. However, others have regarded him as an important source. The Assyrian royal inscriptions, dating from Shalmaneser to Esarhaddon (circa 850-670 BCE), contain

3136-487: A long period. Some elements of the administrative system introduced by the Assyrians may have persisted in the Median provinces even after the fall of Assyria. Instead of being a centralized monarchy, the Median state was more like a confederation with various rulers. The Median governance system favored a pyramidal structure of loyalty, where small rulers pledged allegiance to a provincial king, who, in turn, owed loyalty to

3360-562: A long political crisis began to develop in Assyria. Later, during the reign of Tiglath-Pileser III (r. 745–728 BCE), Assyria began organizing provinces in conquered lands, ensuring a regular source of income and providing a base for further territorial conquests. The Assyrian borders approached Media proper when in 744 BCE, the Assyrians created, in addition to the already established province of Zamua, two more provinces called Bit Ḫamban and Parsua, where they installed governors and garrisons. In

3584-533: A long time the primary and generally accepted historical account of the ancient Medes. In his account in the first book of his Histories , Herodotus traces the development of a unified Median state or empire with a major capital at Ecbatana and a geographical reach as far west as the Halys river in central Turkey. Although what he describes happened centuries earlier and he probably relied on unreliable oral accounts, his description can be correlated to some degree with

3808-470: A monarch, as evidenced by the Medo-Babylonian conquest of Assyria. Nothing is known about the Median socio-political structure, and scholars differ sharply in what they infer from some rather ambiguous evidence. Some posit the existence of a highly developed empire, strongly influenced by Assyrian imperial practices. In contrast, others, underscoring the lack of concrete evidence, lean towards viewing

4032-471: A mutual arrangement between Medes and Babylonians. Since Arrapha was very close to the principal centers of the Assyrian heartland ( Assur , Nineveh , and Arbela ), all of the empire's positions in western Iran had likely already been lost. The Medes reached Nineveh by the fifth month of 614 BCE, ravaging the territory between Arrapha and Nineveh. In mid-614 BCE, the Medes captured Tarbisu , a city little to

4256-759: A nomadic Semitic people who occupied the country west of the Euphrates from the second half of the 3rd millennium BC. In the earliest Sumerian sources, beginning about 2400 BC, the land of the Amorites ("the Mar.tu land") is associated with the West, including Syria and Canaan , although their ultimate origin may have been Arabia . They ultimately settled in Mesopotamia, ruling Isin , Larsa , and later Babylon. The Hurrians lived in northern Mesopotamia and areas to

4480-526: A peaceful or military resolution for the trouble with Kaštaritu was achieved, this silence may suggest a negative outcome. Attacks on Assyrian strongholds show that Assyria started to loose control of territory in the east under Esarhaddon's reign. Saparda , which was made part of the province of Harhar in 716 BCE, was not under Assyrian control anymore and its city lord Dusanni is mentioned, alongside Kaštaritu, as an enemy of Assyria in several oracle queries. In Ashurbanipal ’s reign (r. 668–630 BCE), references to

4704-527: A picture does not align with the reconstruction of a Median Empire based on classical historians. The historian Mario Liverani argues that the archaeological evidence from these Median sites aligns well with the evidence from Mesopotamian sources. Some scholars suggest that the abandonment of Tepe Nush-i Jan and other sites in northwest Iran may be related to the centralization of power in Ecbatana. In this context, Herodotus's observation about Deioces compelling

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4928-655: A popular site even before the 1st millennium BC. Along with Athens in Greece , Rome in Italy and Susa in Khuzestan , Ecbatana is one of the few ancient cities in the world that is still alive and important, representing the current-day Hamadan . According to Herodotus , Ecbatana was chosen as the Medes ' capital in 678 BC by Deioces , the first ruler of the Medes. Herodotus said that it had seven walls. Deioces' intention

5152-564: A reputation as an impartial and fair judge. Eventually, he ceased administering justice, leading to chaos in Media. This prompted the Medes to assemble and decide to elect a king, ultimately resulting in Deioces becoming their ruler. Then, a fortress city named Ecbatana was constructed where all governing authority was centralized. However, this is not indicated in contemporary textual sources or archaeological findings. Judging by Assyrian sources, no unified Median state, as described by Herodotus for

5376-400: A revolt became inevitable. After the capture of Astyages, Cyrus marched to Ecbatana and took the city's valuables to Anshan. As the extent of the territory the Medes controlled is disputed, we do not know what exactly Cyrus gained by his victory. Taking control of Media may have implied taking control of vassal states like Armenia, Cappadocia, Parthia, Drangiana, and Aria. If Cyrus was indeed

5600-537: A similar narrative: the progressive growth of public buildings during Phases 1 to 4, followed by a period of "peaceful abandonment" and " squatter occupation " in Phase 5. A similar story is also told by the results of excavations at Baba Jan, although the excavator supports a higher chronology with the flourishing Phase III in the 9th-8th centuries and irregular occupation in the 7th century - primarily for historical reasons (alleged Assyrian and Scythian attacks). In any case,

5824-604: A substantial part in the history of the Hittites . Ishuwa was an ancient kingdom in Anatolia . The name is first attested in the second millennium BC, and is also spelled Išuwa. In the classical period, the land was a part of Armenia . Ishuwa was one of the places where agriculture developed very early on in the Neolithic . Urban centres emerged in the upper Euphrates river valley around 3500 BC. The first states followed in

6048-465: A temporary museum. With an area of over 600 square meters, a significant amount of the findings from Ecbatana are kept at this museum today, with some others at the National Museum of Iran and Reza Abbasi Museum . The Noushijan fire temple is one of the most important and oldest fire temples in the world, which is near Ecbatana. It is also the oldest adobe temple in the world. In 1967,

6272-521: A term that came to prevail in the 20th century and continues in modern times. As Near East had meant the lands of the Ottoman Empire at roughly its maximum extent, on the fall of that empire, the use of Near East in diplomacy was reduced significantly in favor of the Middle East. Meanwhile, the ancient Near East had become distinct. The Ottoman rule over the Near East ranged from Vienna (to

6496-421: A vassal of Media, was the grandson of Astyages. Babylonian sources, however, do not mention this; they refer to Cyrus only as "the king of Anshan" (i.e., Persia), while Astyages is called the "king of the Medes". Herodotus reports that the Median general Harpagus organized a conspiracy against Astyages, and during a battle, he defected with a large part of the troops to the side of Cyrus. Astyages himself commanded

6720-523: A year of military service. Encouraged by the weakness of the Assyrian king Sardanapalus , Arbaces and Belesys rebelled against Assyria, and Arbaces emerged as the first king of Media. While names similar or identical to Deioces and Arbaces do appear in Assyrian sources, these names seem to have been common among the people on the Iranian Plateau during the Assyrian period. Thus, none of the individuals with these names can be conclusively identified as

6944-401: Is also mentioned in the so-called "oaths of loyalty" concluded on the occasion of the appointment of the Assyrian throne successor in 672 BCE. In that year, agreements were made between Esarhaddon and chiefs from various western regions of Media, ensuring their loyalty to the Assyrian king and the security of their possessions. Scholars generally view this agreement as a "vassal treaty" imposed by

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7168-467: Is likely they never penetrated east of the Alvand despite two centuries of involvement in Median areas of the central Zagros . In 550 BC, Cyrus the Great defeated Astyages and conquered Ecbatana, forming the Achaemenid Empire . Although Ecbatana lost its former importance, it was located on the royal road, where it connected Persepolis to Sardis , and situated at the foot of Mount Alvand . So it

7392-488: Is no direct or substantial indirect evidence, not from Herodotus, supporting the existence of a Median Empire, and that such an empire is a Greek construction. In 2001, an international symposium was held in Padua , Italy, focused on the issue of the Median Empire. While no consensus was reached on the existence of a Median Empire, it was generally agreed that there was no conclusive proof for its existence. The debate continues to

7616-2145: Is noted in western history as the foe of the Greek city states in the Greco-Persian Wars , for freeing the Israelites from their Babylonian captivity , and for instituting Aramaic as the empire's official language. In 116–117 AD, most of the Ancient Near East (excepting several more marginal regions) was briefly re-united under the rule of the Roman Empire under Trajan . ( Shamshi-Adad dynasty 1808–1736 BCE) (Amorites) Shamshi-Adad I Ishme-Dagan I Mut-Ashkur Rimush Asinum Ashur-dugul Ashur-apla-idi Nasir-Sin Sin-namir Ipqi-Ishtar Adad-salulu Adasi (Non-dynastic usurpers 1735–1701 BCE) Puzur-Sin Ashur-dugul Ashur-apla-idi Nasir-Sin Sin-namir Ipqi-Ishtar Adad-salulu Adasi ( Adaside dynasty 1700–722 BCE) Bel-bani Libaya Sharma-Adad I Iptar-Sin Bazaya Lullaya Shu-Ninua Sharma-Adad II Erishum III Shamshi-Adad II Ishme-Dagan II Shamshi-Adad III Ashur-nirari I Puzur-Ashur III Enlil-nasir I Nur-ili Ashur-shaduni Ashur-rabi I Ashur-nadin-ahhe I Enlil-Nasir II Ashur-nirari II Ashur-bel-nisheshu Ashur-rim-nisheshu Ashur-nadin-ahhe II Second Intermediate Period Sixteenth Dynasty Abydos Dynasty Seventeenth Dynasty (1500–1100 BCE) Kidinuid dynasty Igehalkid dynasty Untash-Napirisha Twenty-first Dynasty of Egypt Smendes Amenemnisu Psusennes I Amenemope Osorkon

7840-628: Is of disputed date: it may be Achaemenid or Parthian. Numerous Parthian-era constructions attest to Ecbatana's status as a summer capital for the Parthian rulers. In 2006, excavations in a limited area of Hagmatana hill failed to discover anything older than the Parthian period, but this does not rule out older archaeological layers existing elsewhere within the 35-hectare site. Ecbatana was first excavated in 1913 by Charles Fossey . Fossey discovered fragments of column bases adorned with arabesques and inscriptions, glazed bricks, and faience tiles during

8064-421: Is one of the historical capitals of Iran and the present capital of East Azerbaijan province . The city, which was previously called Tauris, was put forward by John-Thomas Minadoi, who cited that his identification of the city was based on data collected from modern and ancient geographers, recent travel accounts, and local informants. This theory was also promoted by other historians, such as Sir William Jones and

8288-496: Is secure." Earlier, a lack of significant archaeological remains from the Median and Achaemenid periods had prompted suggestions of other sites for Ecbatana. Assyrian sources never mention Hagmatana/Ecbatana. Some scholars believed the problem can be resolved by identifying the Ecbatana/Hagmatana mentioned in later Greek and Achaemenid sources with the city Sagbita/Sagbat frequently mentioned in Assyrian texts, since

8512-459: Is that, as early as 615 BCE, Cyaxares and Nabopolassar had forged a plan to destroy both Urartu and Assyria. Little is known about the end of Urartu as written sources end after 640 BCE. While the Cimmerians and the Medes are postulated as responsible for the end of Urartu, the general consensus is that Urartu was destroyed by the Medes in the late 7th century BCE. In the early 7th century BCE,

8736-592: Is the name given by those historians who see the transition from the late Bronze Age to the Early Iron Age as violent, sudden and culturally disruptive, expressed by the collapse of palace economies of the Aegean and Anatolia, which were replaced after a hiatus by the isolated village cultures of the Dark Age period in history of the ancient Middle East. Some have gone so far as to call the catalyst that ended

8960-418: Is the palace which is about seven stories in circumference, and its magnificence shows the wealth of its founders. During his time, no parts of the woodwork were left exposed. There were silver or gold-plated rafters, compartments in the ceiling, and columns in the porticos and colonnades, and silver tiles were used throughout the structure. In the invasion by Alexander , most precious metals were stripped, while

9184-544: The Babylonian Chronicle and other evidence imply that most of the former Assyrian territory came under Babylonian control. Mario Liverani argues against the notion that the Medes and Babylonians shared Assyrian territory; instead, the Medes simply took over the Zagros, which Assyria had already lost earlier. Until recently, it was a common opinion that, following the fall of Assyria, the Medes took possession of

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9408-459: The Babylonians rebelled against Assyrian domination. Nabopolassar, governor of southern regions and leader of the revolt, was soon recognized as king of Babylon. Nabopolassar gained control of Babylon but not all of Babylonia from the Assyrians and was engaged in serious fighting, he must have been looking for any possible allies. Interestingly, Herodotus mentions that the Median king Phraortes

9632-647: The Biblical Ararat . Two related Israelite kingdoms known as Israel and Judah emerged in the Southern Levant during the Iron Age. The northern Kingdom of Israel , with its most prominent capital at Samaria , was the more prosperous of the two kingdoms and soon developed into a regional power; during the days of the Omride dynasty , it controlled Samaria , Galilee , the upper Jordan Valley ,

9856-785: The Cimmerians invaded the Caucasus and Anatolia. While the Cimmerians settled in the plains of Cappadocia , the kingdom of Lydia was emerging in Anatolia, with its capital in Sardis. The Lydian kings repelled the Cimmerian invasion and initiated an eastward offensive, gradually approaching Cappadocia. The Cimmerian power, once great and significant in Cappadocia, collapsed almost simultaneously with Urartu. This created an opportunity for

10080-488: The Great Khurasan Road may have contributed to the accumulation of wealth by Median chiefs, prompting an ambitious individual to seek broader authority. Alternatively, conflicts among Median chiefs led to Assyrian intervention in 676 BCE and the oath of allegiance in 672 BCE. Assyrian concerns about potential threats from the Medes, Scythians, and Cimmerians during this period may have created an opportunity for

10304-477: The Ibenans , Macrones , Mushki , Marres , Mossynoeci and Tibareni were subdued by Cyaxares. Later indirect evidence suggests that the Medes may have conquered Hyrcania , Parthia , Sagartia , Drangiana , Aria and Bactria , becoming an empire that stretched from Anatolia in the west to Central Asia in the east. Whatever the political role of the Medes in the east, the representation of an Indian embassy at

10528-472: The Indo-Iranian sound /s/ became /h/ in many Iranian languages . The Sagbita mentioned by Assyrian sources was located in the proximity of the cities Kishesim (Kar-Nergal) and Harhar (Kar-Sharrukin). It is now proposed that the absence of any mention of Ecbatana in Assyrian sources can be explained by the possibility that Assyria never became involved as far east as the Alvand mountains, but only in

10752-585: The Kura-Araxes culture has been connected with this movement, although its date is somewhat too early. Yamhad was an ancient Amorite kingdom. A substantial Hurrian population also settled in the kingdom, and the Hurrian culture influenced the area. The kingdom was powerful during the Middle Bronze Age, c. 1800–1600 BC. Its biggest rival was Qatna further south. Yamhad was finally destroyed by

10976-699: The Macedonian general Parmenion by Alexander's order. Later, in 305 BC, the city was ruled by Seleucus I . The Battle of Ecbatana was fought in 129 BC between the Seleucids led by Antiochus VII Sidetes and the Parthians led by Phraates II , and marked the final attempt on the part of the Seleucids to regain their power in eastern Iran against the Parthians. After their defeat, the territory of

11200-454: The Magi were a highly influential priestly caste at the court, considered honorable by both the king and the people. They served as interpreters of dreams, sorcerers, and advisors on various matters, including political affairs. They were responsible for the religious ceremonies, and high state offices were likely granted to them. The court's primary entertainment was hunting, often taking place in

11424-796: The Sassanian period . The early capital city at Ecbatana is simply buried or destroyed by the substantial subsequent occupation of the site. Identification of Median sites beyond Iran is challenging, but certain ceramic and architectural features may indicate dispersed Median presence or at least some influence at sites such as Nor Armavir and Arinberd in Armenia, Altıntepe , Van and Tille Höyük in Turkey, Qizkapan and Tell Gubba in Iraq and Ulug Depe in Turkmenistan. The archaeological findings at

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11648-658: The Sharon and large parts of the Transjordan . It was destroyed around 720 BC, when it was conquered by the Neo-Assyrian Empire . The southern Kingdom of Judah , with its capital at Jerusalem , survived longer. In the 7th century BC, the kingdom's population increased greatly, prospering under Assyrian vassalage. After the fall of the Neo-Assyrian Empire in 605 BC, the ensuing competition between

11872-699: The Twenty-sixth Dynasty of Egypt and the Neo-Babylonian Empire for control of the Levant resulted with the rapid decline of the kingdom. In the early-6th century BC, Judah was weakened by a series of Babylonian invasions , and in 587–586 BC, Jerusalem was besieged and destroyed by the second Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar II , who subsequently exiled the Judeans to Babylon . The term Neo-Babylonian Empire refers to Babylonia under

12096-743: The battle of Nahavand in 642 AD, Ecbatana fell to the Muslims, and around 1220, the city was completely destroyed by the Mongol invasion . Ecbatana was sacked in 1386 by Timur , and the population was slaughtered as a result. The Greeks thought Ecbatana to be the capital of the Median empire and credited its foundation to Deioces (the Daiukku of the cuneiform inscriptions). It is alleged that he surrounded his palace in Ecbatana with seven concentric walls of different colors. There are some indications that

12320-412: The "king's eye" (a kind of secret agent), and builders. Ctesias mentions the royal cupbearer as one of the positions at the Median court. When founding the Achaemenid Empire, Cyrus likely continued the organization and practices of the Median court, including forms of etiquette, ceremony, and diplomatic protocol that the Medes, in turn, inherited from Assyria. According to Herodotus, as soon as he ascended

12544-463: The "royal city" of Median chief Hanaşiruka, and conquered it. According to the Assyrian inscription, 2,300 Medes were killed, and Sagbita, along with 1,200 settlements nearby, was destroyed. This campaign was significant as Assyria henceforth imposed regular tribute on the Median tribes in horses, cattle, and handicraft products. The Assyrians now shifted the main direction of their attacks to Media, partly influenced by events around Lake Urmia , where, by

12768-407: The 7th century BCE. Current reasoning suggests that the transition toward a unified state may have occurred in the period from 670 to 615 BCE, during the reign of Ashurbanipal or his successors. The lack of Assyrian records or other contemporary sources for this period left room for the acceptance of Herodotus's account. While the Greek historian's information about earlier periods lacks reliability, in

12992-404: The 7th millennium BC, although it is likely that the area was occupied even earlier. The oldest layers at 'Oueili mark the beginning of the Ubaid period , which was followed by the Uruk period (4th millennium BC) and the Early Dynastic periods (3rd millennium BC). The Akkadian Empire , founded by Sargon the Great , lasted from the 24th to the 21st century BC, and was regarded by many as

13216-404: The 8th and 7th centuries BCE, Median sites experienced significant growth but were depopulated in the first half of the 6th century BCE, a period presumed to be the zenith of development for the supposed Median Empire. The Nush-i Jan I phase, with an approximate date of 750-600 BCE, uncovered a sequence of several buildings on the site. The "Central Building" was constructed early in this phase, in

13440-411: The 8th century BCE, while the "Fort" and the "Western Building," the latter featuring a notable columned hall, were added to the site throughout the 7th century BCE. These public buildings were later abandoned, and in the first half of the 6th century BCE, the site was occupied by less institutionalized populations. In one of their reports, the excavators David Stronach and Michael Roaf conjectured that

13664-413: The 8th century. It is unknown whether the Assyrian provinces in the Zagros, Parsua, Bīt-Hamban, Kišesim (Kār-Nergal) and Harhar (Kar-Sarrukin), were still part of the empire during Ashurbanipal's reign. Although the Assyrian sources maintain silence about the Iranians during this period, suggesting that Assyria was less concerned with them than during the reign of Esarhaddon, everything seems to indicate that

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13888-404: The Achaemenid Empire, concrete archaeological evidence for such an empire is lacking. Others view the Median Empire as a fiction created by Herodotus to fill a gap between the Assyrian and Persian Empires in his vision of a sequence of Eastern empires. Karen Radner concluded that, without Herodotus and the Greek tradition, it is "highly doubtful" that modern researchers would posit the existence of

14112-795: The Achaemenid period. If this is the case, then there would be no interruption in the occupation of Median sites between 600 and 550 BCE, as suggested by some scholars, implying a breakdown of central authority in this period. According to Stuart Brown , the rise of Persian dominance may have been a contributing factor to the abandonment of various Median sites, including Godin Tepe. Several excavated sites such as Godin Tepe, Tepe Nush-i Jan, Moush Tepe , Gunespan , Baba Jan and Tepe Ozbaki , show significant commonalities in architecture, ceramics and small finds to be considered as arguably Median. Median settlement can be summarized as dispersed with fortified nodes controlling major plains, valley and passes. The largest sites identified in Media measure only 3-4 hectares,

14336-433: The Alusjerd river, which flows from north to south, separates the city into two parts. The summit of the Moṣallā, an 80 m (260 ft)-high rock hill in the southeast sector, contains stone and brick remnants of a rectangular citadel marked by towers. It is believed to be the Median citadel, which dates back no earlier than the Parthian era. The Tell Hagmatana, also called Tepe Hegmataneh (thought to correspond to

14560-446: The Assyrian Zagros provinces submitted to Esarhaddon and sought his assistance against rival city lords. This episode is followed by the deportation of two city lords from the country of Patušarri to Assyria, here Esarhaddon's activities against the "distant" Medes reached to the Caspian Sea and the Salt Desert near Mount Bikni. However, unlike his predecessors, Esarhaddon does not seem to have expanded Assyrian territory in Iran. Ramateia

14784-433: The Assyrian administration on recently subdued vassals. However, Mario Liverani argued that this agreement resulted from internal struggles among various Median groups and the presence of armed Median warriors in the Assyrian palace serving as bodyguards to the crown prince. The Median chiefs had to swear that their men in the Assyrian court would be loyal to Esarhaddon and his son, Ashurbanipal. Judging by Assyrian texts from

15008-412: The Assyrian and Babylonian sources. The Greek historian Ctesias worked as a physician in the service of the Achaemenid king Artaxerxes II and wrote about Assyria, Media, and the Achaemenid Empire in his work Persica , consisting of 23 books supposedly based on Persian royal archives. Despite heavily criticizing Herodotus and accusing him of telling many lies, Ctesias follows Herodotus and also reports

15232-445: The Assyrian lands east of the Tigris River, as well as the Harran region. This view is partially based on a text from the Babylonian king Nabonidus, indicating that the Medes dominated Harran for 54 years until the third year of his reign, and later classical sources. In this case, the Medes held Harran from 607 to 553 BCE. However, some scholars argue that the heart of Assyria and Harran remained under Babylonian control from 609 BCE until

15456-575: The Assyrians regularly invaded and plundered regions in northwest Iran, where numerous small principalities existed at that time. The first mention of the Medes in Assyrian texts dates back to 834 BCE when the Assyrian king Shalmaneser III (r. 858–824 BCE) returned from a military campaign, passing through the Median territory in the Hamadan plain. The Medes formed numerous small entities under tribal chiefs, and despite subduing several Median chiefs, Assyrian kings never conquered all of Media. In 815 BCE, Shamshi-Adad V (r. 823–811 BCE) marched against Sagbita,

15680-537: The Assyrians were losing control over the provinces established in the Zagros. This could have created room for the development of a unified Median state and although Assyrian sources make no reference to a united Median territorial state that would be comparable to Assyria itself or other contemporary principalities such as Elam, Mannea or Urartu, many scholars remain reluctant to assign no historical relevance whatsoever to Herodotus' account. The Medes reappear in contemporary sources about forty years later in 615 BCE, under

15904-439: The Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II (r. 605–562 BCE) made him the brother-in-law of the latter as well. However, not everything was well with the alliance with Babylon, and there is some evidence suggesting that Babylon may have feared the power of the Medes. The relations between Babylonia and Media seem to have deteriorated since in the 590s BCE it was expected that the Medes would invade Babylonian territory, as can be seen from

16128-676: The Bronze Age a "catastrophe". The Bronze Age collapse may be seen in the context of a technological history that saw the slow, comparatively continuous spread of iron-working technology in the region, beginning with precocious iron-working in what is now Romania in the 13th and 12th centuries. The cultural collapse of the Mycenaean kingdoms , the Hittite Empire in Anatolia and Syria, and the Egyptian Empire in Syria and Palestine ,

16352-729: The Caucasus and east Mediterranean . The Neo-Assyrian Empire succeeded the Middle Assyrian period (14th to 10th century BC). Some scholars, such as Richard Nelson Frye , regard the Neo-Assyrian Empire to be the first real empire in human history. During this period, Aramaic was also made an official language of the empire, alongside the Akkadian language . The states of the Neo-Hittite kingdoms were Luwian , Aramaic and Phoenician -speaking political entities of Iron Age northern Syria and southern Anatolia that arose following

16576-752: The Elder Siamun Psusennes II Twenty-third Dynasty of Egypt Harsiese A Takelot II Pedubast I Shoshenq VI Osorkon III Takelot III Rudamun Menkheperre Ini Twenty-fourth Dynasty of Egypt Tefnakht Bakenranef ( Sargonid dynasty ) Tiglath-Pileser Shalmaneser Marduk-apla-iddina II Sargon Sennacherib Marduk-zakir-shumi II Marduk-apla-iddina II Bel-ibni Ashur-nadin-shumi Nergal-ushezib Mushezib-Marduk Esarhaddon Ashurbanipal Ashur-etil-ilani Sinsharishkun Sin-shumu-lishir Ashur-uballit II Ecbatana Ecbatana ( / ɛ k ˈ b æ t ən ə / )

16800-579: The Euphrates river and destroyed the cities there. This corresponds well with burnt destruction layers discovered by archaeologists at town sites in Ishuwa of roughly the same date. After the end of the Hittite empire in the early 12th century BC a new state emerged in Ishuwa. The city of Malatya became the centre of one of the so-called Neo-Hittite kingdom. The movement of nomadic people may have weakened

17024-490: The Great , who stayed there in the following year to attack Mithridates II . Ecbatana remained loyal to the Parthians until AD 226, when Ardashir I defeated Artabanus IV and conquered Ecbatana from the north, alongside Atropatene . There is conflicting evidence as to whether Ecbatana was used as the summer capital for Sasanians or not. According to Ibn al-Faqih , buildings were built between Ctesiphon (The Sassanid capital) and Mount Alvand, but not beyond that. After

17248-457: The Hebrew prophet is not concerned with the complexities of the situation. The descriptions by Nabonidus and Jeremiah are consistent with Herodotus's depiction of Median dominance in 1.134: When the Medes were in power, in the same way, the nations ruled one another. The Medes ruled all together, and (directly) those who lived closest; and these, in turn, ruled their neighbors and so on, following

17472-440: The Hittites in the 16th century BC. The Aramaeans were a Semitic ( West Semitic language group), semi-nomadic and pastoralist people who had lived in upper Mesopotamia and Syria . Aramaeans have never had a unified empire; they were divided into independent kingdoms all across the Near East. Yet to these Aramaeans befell the privilege of imposing their language and culture upon the entire Near East and beyond, fostered in part by

17696-525: The Iranian plateau. In archaeological terms, this corresponds to the late Banesh period. This civilization is recognized as the oldest in Iran and was largely contemporary with its neighbour, Sumer. The Proto-Elamite script is an early Bronze Age writing system briefly in use for the ancient Elamite language (which was a language isolate ) before the introduction of Elamite cuneiform . The Amorites were

17920-555: The Medes as certainly a potent force, but never developing any state institutions. It is in the period between the fall of Nineveh in 612 BCE and the conquest of the Median capital Ecbatana by the Persians in 550 BCE that the existence of a powerful Median Empire is postulated. However, contemporary sources about the Medes in this period are scarce. In any case, the available evidence in Babylonian and biblical sources indicates that

18144-401: The Medes become very sparse. Ashurbanipal reports that three Median city lords had rebelled against Assyrian rule were defeated and brought to Nineveh during his fifth campaign in 656 BCE. This is the last mention of Medes in the Assyrian sources. The fact that the three Median rulers are described as city lords may indicate that the powers structure among the Medes at this time was the same as in

18368-499: The Medes bred an excellent breed of horses. In Assyrian reliefs, the Medes are sometimes depicted wearing what appears to be sheepskin cloaks over their tunics and high-laced boots, equipment necessary for pastoral work in the plateaus where winters brought snow and intense cold. Archaeological evidence shows that the Medes possessed skilled workers in bronze and gold. The archaeological material from sites like Tepe Nush-i Jan and Godin Tepe, as well as Assyrian reliefs, demonstrate that in

18592-599: The Medes had already subjugated Mannea and Urartu. Julian Reade proposed that the Babylonian Chronicle's entry for 609 BCE might refer to a Median assault on Urartu rather than a Babylonian one. This event, occurring shortly before Babylonian attacks in 608 and possibly 607 BCE, could indicate that the Babylonians provided support for Median expansion westward onto the Anatolian plateau. Another hypothesis

18816-509: The Medes once more recede from history till 550 BCE when the Persian king Cyrus II defeats the Median king Astyages to become the paramount political figure in Iran. The history of the period c. 650–550 BCE — the apparent zenith of Median power — remains poorly understood. While Classical Greek sources claim the existence of a Median Empire during this period, tangible evidence supporting the existence of such an empire has not yet been found and contemporaneous sources from this period rarely reference

19040-504: The Medes played a significant political role in the ancient Near East after the fall of Assyria. Four powers dominated the ancient Near East from then on: Babylon , Media, Lydia , and, further south, Egypt . The Medes seem soon to have established a common frontier with Lydia in central Anatolia. According to Herodotus, hostilities between the Medes and Lydians began five years before a battle precisely dated by an eclipse to 585 BCE. If this account holds true, it implies that before 590 BCE,

19264-759: The Medes residing outside regions controlled by the Assyrians. The Assyrians consistently referred to the Medes as living in settlements ruled by bēl ālāni (“city lords”). The coalescence of broader authoritative power presumably had its origins in the interpersonal relationships among these Median bēl ālāni . The application of a model of secondary state formation to the case of Media proposes that, stimulated by decades of aggressive Assyrian intrusion, Median bēl ālāni learned by example how to organize and administer themselves politically and economically so as to achieve state-like status. Frequent Assyrian attacks compelled various inhabitants of Media to cooperate and develop more effective leadership. The Assyrians valued goods from

19488-402: The Medes then departed for the last time and we know of their activities largely from classical sources. In 605 BCE, the Babylonians marched to Carchemish and conquered it, completely defeating the Assyrians and Egyptians. It is not clear whether the Medes also participated in this final defeat of the Assyrians. The outcome of the fall of Assyria for Median territorial expansion is unknown, but

19712-499: The Medes, who, after conquering Urartu, entered Asia Minor, subjugating Cappadocia. This region might have been familiar to them, as Assyrian texts from the 7th century BCE describe the situation in Anatolia west of the Euphrates similarly to the Zagros region. Herodotus recounts that Cyaxares sent an embassy to Lydia to demand the extradition of Scythian fugitives from Media, but the Lydian monarch Alyattes refused, leading to war between

19936-479: The Medes. The Median period is one of the least understood periods in Iranian archaeology, and the geography of Media remains largely obscure. Any effort to identify distinctive elements of the Median material culture from the Iron Age III (c. 800-550 BCE) in the western region of Iran primarily focuses on sites near the ancient capital of Media, Ecbatana (modern Hamadan ). Furthermore, the lack of clarity in

20160-520: The Median capital of Ecbatana. The basic details of this account align with the detailed narrative of the Median king's treachery and despotism in Herodotus. That the confrontation is likely to have been longer than the concise chronicle entry conveys is indicated by an inscription from Sippar where the Babylonian king Nabonidus seems to refer to a conflict between Persians and Medes already in 553 BCE. In Herodotus's narrative, Cyrus, in addition to being

20384-416: The Median capital, Ecbatana, was conquered by the Persian king Cyrus II , marking the beginning of the Achaemenid empire. While it is generally accepted that the Medes played a significant role in the ancient Near East after the fall of Assyria, historians debate the existence of a Median empire or even a kingdom. Some scholars accept the existence of a powerful and organized empire that would have influenced

20608-463: The Median nobles to leave their small cities to live near the capital becomes relevant. One possible scenario suggests that Tepe Nush-i Jan underwent formal closure around 550 BCE, with informal or squatter occupation persisting until approximately 500 BCE. The revised dating implies that Tepe Nush-i Jan and potentially other sites from the Iron III period maintained formal occupation until the onset of

20832-570: The Median state, contrary to the will of the tribal nobility. This may have contributed to the downfall of the kingdom. According to Ctesias, the Median kings also fought wars against the Cadusians and the Sacae , although there is no hard evidence to back this up. Nevertheless, the reference to a war against the Sacae might indicate continued challenges from nomadic incursions, while the narrative about

21056-592: The Medo-Persian conflict as a protracted rebellion led by the Persian king Cyrus II against his Median overlord. However, the notion of Median overlordship over Persia lacks support from contemporary evidence. According to the Nabonidus Chronicle, in 550 BCE, the Median king Astyages marched with his troops against Cyrus of Persia "for conquest". However, his own soldiers revolted, captured him, and handed him over to Cyrus. Subsequently, Cyrus captured

21280-477: The Near East and far beyond, and the second great Iranian empire (after the Median Empire). At the height of its power, encompassing approximately 7,500,000 km (2,900,000 sq mi), the Achaemenid Empire was territorially the largest empire of classical antiquity, and the first world empire. It spanned three continents ( Europe , Asia, and Africa), including apart from its core in modern-day Iran,

21504-516: The Near East. The result is a descriptive abstraction that provides a useful handle on Near East periods of time with relatively stable characteristics. The Uruk period ( c.  4000 to 3100 BC) existed from the protohistoric Chalcolithic to the early Bronze Age period in the history of Mesopotamia , following the Ubaid period . Named after the Sumerian city of Uruk , this period saw

21728-550: The Neo-Assyrian, Neo-Babylonian, or Achaemenid Empires. She cast doubts on the overall validity of our most important source, namely Herodotus's Medikos Logos , and pointed to gaps in non-classical sources, especially for the first half of the 6th century BCE. Sancisi-Weerdenburg highlighted that virtually only Greek classical sources were used by modern historiography to construct Median history, and that ancient Near Eastern sources were almost fully ignored. She argued that there

21952-465: The Persians. Both fought on horseback and on foot using spears, bows, and daggers, large wicker shields, and carrying quivers on their backs. The original characteristics of the Median army, as indicated in the Hebrew Bible and by Xenophon , are simpler than Herodotus's description. The Median army seems to have been based on horse archery. Trained in a variety of equestrian exercises and the use of

22176-613: The Scythian interregnum is not implausible except for the duration of Scythian domination, his narrative has a legendary character and is not reliable. Despite the doubtful historicity of the Scythian interregnum, the Scythians are mentioned in Assyrian sources during the same period of the supposed interregnum. After the death of Ashurbanipal in 631 BCE, the Assyrian Empire entered a period of political instability. In 626 BCE,

22400-429: The Scythian leaders to a feast, induced them to drink until they were thoroughly intoxicated, attacked and easily killed them. Subsequently, a war ensued resulting in the defeat of the Scythians. However, it is more likely that, during this time, the Scythians voluntarily withdrew from western Iran to raid elsewhere or were simply absorbed by a rapidly developing confederation under Median hegemony. Herodotus believed that

22624-429: The Seleucids was limited to the area of modern-day Syria . Ecbatana later became the summer capital of the Parthians , and their main mint, producing drachms , tetradrachms , and assorted bronze denominations. The wealth and importance of the city during classical antiquity are attributed to its location, a crucial crossroads that made it a staging post on the main east–west highway called High-Road. There

22848-470: The Urartian site of Erebuni, in Armenia, has shown that a columned hall initially dated to the Achaemenid period is now likely to have been constructed in the late 7th century. This is the period following the fall of Assyria, when the Medes would have begun their expansion northward according to Herodotus. A similar columned hall at Altıntepe, in eastern Turkey, may also be dated to this period. The spread of

23072-474: The Zagros region, Sennacherib (r. 704-681 BCE) operated only on a very low-key level compared to his predecessors Tiglath-Pileser III and Sargon II. This may suggest that after the initial problems to control the new provinces Kar-Sarrukin and Kar-Nergal things proceeded smoothly in the eastern Assyrian territories after 713 BCE. The established dual system, involving the Assyrian provincial administration and local city lords, seems to have found an equilibrium that

23296-418: The ancient citadel of Ecbatana) has a circumference of 1.4 km (0.87 mi) and an area of about 40 hectares, which corresponds to a report from Polybius , although the ancient Greek and Roman accounts likely exaggerate Ecbatana's wealth, splendor, and extravagance. Relatively few finds thus far can be firmly dated to the Median era. There is a "small, open-sided room with four corner columns supporting

23520-598: The ancient site. In 1969, the Ministry of Culture and Art began buying property on the tell in support of archaeology, though excavation did not begin until 1983. By 2007, 12 seasons of excavation had occurred. In 1974, the Iranian Centre for Archeological Research performed some excavation in the Parthian cemetery located at southeast of Hamedan. The work on the tell is ongoing. Historians and archaeologists now believe "the identification of Ecbatana with Hamadān

23744-549: The archaeological record makes it challenging to determine whether certain archaeological materials should be attributed to the Median or Achaemenid culture. Modern archaeological activity in the central area of ancient Media was especially intense and fruitful in the 1960s and 1970s, with excavations at Godin Tepe , Tepe Nush-i Jan , and Baba Jan . Additionally, in the adjacent region of the ancient kingdom of Mannea , excavations at Hasanlu and Ziwiye also yielded productive results. The archaeological activity revealed that, during

23968-413: The army in the battle, but the Medes were defeated, and their king was taken prisoner. The deeper cause of the Median army's rebellion might have been dissatisfaction with Astyages's policies. In the 6th century BCE, Iranian tribes became increasingly settled, and their leaders no longer resembled early tribal chiefs but began to behave like kings. When Astyages started punishing some of these tribal leaders,

24192-526: The army into special units: infantry, spearmen, archers, and horsemen, as the previous mixed genders led to confusion in the army on the battlefield. Before Cyaxares, it appears that the Medes went to war in tribal organization, with each chief bringing and leading their infantry and mounted troops. The king trained the forces into an army divided into tactical groups with unified weapons. The Medes used chariots less frequently and relied mainly on cavalry equipped with Nisean horses . Their martial equipment included

24416-526: The army toward the Assyrian capital, Nineveh, with the aim of destroying the city. While besieging Nineveh, the Medes were attacked by a large Scythian army under the command of Madyes , son of Bartatua . A battle ensued, in which the Medes were defeated, losing their power in Asia, which was entirely taken over by the Scythians. The Scythian yoke was said to be unbearable, characterized by brutality, injustice, and high taxes. According to Herodotus, Cyaxares invited

24640-586: The authenticity of Ctesias's account is questionable, it is very likely that Cyrus married a daughter of the Median king. After Astyages's defeat, the Lydian king Croesus crossed the Halys River in hopes of expanding his borders to the east. This resulted in a war, leading Lydia to be conquered by the Persians. Subsequently, Cyrus conquered Babylon, putting an end to three powers in the Ancient Near East: Media, Lydia, and Babylon, all within

24864-581: The bow, the Medes advanced against their enemies on horseback, similar to the Scythians, and achieved their victories primarily through their skill in shooting arrows while advancing or retreating. They also used swords and spears, but the terror inspired by the Medes arose from their exceptional archery abilities. The Medes had a pastoral lifestyle, with their primary economic activity being animal husbandry, including cattle, sheep, goats, donkeys, mules, and horses. Horses were particularly prized, as Assyrian cuneiform texts on Assyrian incursions into Media show that

25088-472: The case of Cyaxares, his existence and role in the fall of Nineveh are corroborated by the Babylonian Chronicle . Thus, other details regarding the chronology of his reign and his status as the king of a unified state have more credibility. According to Herodotus, Deioces was succeeded by his son Phraortes . Herodotus may have advanced the events linked with the Median kings by one reign. Thus,

25312-434: The central Zagros region, between Lake Urmia and Elam. While this hypothesis is sustainable and plausible, it remains a probability since textual evidence is inconclusive. Although archaeological evidence supports many judgments based on textual sources, at least for the period until around 650 BCE, there is still enough uncertainty for the period after 650 BCE. Reconsidering the Medes as a confederation or coalition, rather than

25536-418: The central court in Ecbatana. This system somewhat resembled the satrapal and feudal systems. The exercise of authority over various Iranian and non-Iranian peoples in the form of a confederation is implied by the ancient Iranian royal title " king of kings ". Jeremiah speeches dating from 593 BCE mentions "kings of Media" in the plural, alongside satraps and governors. Herodotus gives this characterization of

25760-458: The centre of West Asia , having been focused on the lands between Greece and Egypt in the west and Iran in the east. It therefore largely corresponds with the modern-day geopolitical concept of the Middle East . The history of the ancient Near East begins with the rise of Sumer in the 4th millennium BC, though the date that it ends is a subject of debate among scholars; the term covers

25984-417: The chest with empty sleeves hanging at the sides. The Median attire quickly gained popularity among other Iranian peoples. The presence of Median soldiers in Assyrian palaces evidently significantly influenced the restructuring of Median military tactics, adopting more advanced techniques. The Median cavalry was highly trained and well-equipped, playing a crucial role in battles against the Assyrians. Occupying

26208-462: The chief French orientalists. Ecbatana is the supposed capital of Astyages ( Istuvegü ), which was taken by the Persian emperor Cyrus the Great in the sixth year of the reign of Nabonidus (550/549 BC). Ecbatana Museum was opened in 1994. The museum is open all days of the week except Monday evening. Located in the east of Ecbatana hill, the museum building used to be a nursery school, but it has been put into changes and repairs to create

26432-494: The collapse of Assyria and the gradual erosion of Scythian power might have influenced the abandonment of various fortresses, especially those located near the territorial core of Media. In another report, it was suggested that the various buildings were abandoned in different ways during the period when Median power was still on the rise. Godin Tepe's Level II, excavated by T. Cuyler Young and Louis Levine, contains architectural structures similar to those of Nush-i Jan I and presents

26656-558: The collapse of the Hittite Empire around 1180 BC and lasted until roughly 700 BC. The term "Neo-Hittite" is sometimes reserved specifically for the Luwian-speaking principalities like Melid ( Malatya ) and Karkamish ( Carchemish ), although in a wider sense the broader cultural term "Syro-Hittite" is now applied to all the entities that arose in south-central Anatolia following the Hittite collapse – such as Tabal and Quwê – as well as those of northern and coastal Syria. Urartu

26880-416: The columned hall form before the ascension of the Achaemenid Empire suggests some form of Median presence or influence in adjacent regions during the late 7th and early 6th centuries BCE. Evidence from recent excavations and surveys, suggests that permanent settlement in Media persisted beyond the late 7th century BCE. Monumental construction appears to have continued at various sites, and an early form of money

27104-470: The conclusion that the Scythian domination was much shorter. It couldn't have been long after the Scythian attack for the Medes to begin recovering and clearing their territories of the Scythians. If the invasion occurred during the reign of Cyaxares, and not Phraortes, it is likely that less than a decade after its occurrence, the Medes were strong enough to resume their old plans and, for the second time, lead an army into Assyria. Although Herodotus's account of

27328-400: The country of Ecbatana; the royal residence he seized; silver, gold, other valuables of the country Ecbatana he took as booty and brought to Anšan." In the 2nd Century BC, Polybius writes about Ecbatana. He mentioned that the wealth and magnificence of its buildings make it stand out among all other cities. It has no walls but an artificial citadel with amazing fortifications. Underneath this

27552-404: The course of the six-week excavation of Mosalla. Based on his chance discoveries, it looks like the 30 m (98 ft)-high mound, Tell Hagmatana, is the site of the Median citadel and the Achaemenid royal construction. The sculptured head of a prince was found during the three months-long excavation of the eastern section. Excavations have been limited due to the modern town covering most of

27776-459: The court of Cyaxares ( Xenophon , Cyropaedia 2.4.1) seems a plausible outcome of commercial contacts. Cyaxares died shortly after the treaty with the Lydians, leaving the throne to his son Astyages. Compared to Cyaxares, little is known about the reign of Astyages. His marriage to Aryenis made him the brother-in-law of the future Lydian king Croesus , and the marriage of his sister Amytis to

28000-414: The dominant groups were the Scythians, and their involvement in the affairs of the western plateau during the 7th century BCE may mark one of the most significant turning points in Iron Age history. Herodotus provides some details about a Scythian dominance period, the so-called Scythian interregnum in the Median dynasty. The dating of this event remains uncertain but is traditionally seen as occurring between

28224-806: The east between these two terms was current in diplomacy in the late 19th century, with the Hamidian Massacres of the Armenians and Assyrians by the Ottoman Empire in 1894–1896 and the First Sino-Japanese War of 1894–1895. The two theatres were described by the statesmen and advisors of the British Empire as "the Near East" and "the Far East". Shortly after, they were to share the stage with '' Middle East '',

28448-463: The east emanated from the actions of Kaštaritu , the city lord of Kār-Kaššî , who is prominently mentioned in oracle queries concerning Median affairs. The Assyrians perceived Kaštaritu as a political leader of substantial influence and a force to be reckoned with; Esarhaddon worried about Kaštaritu plotting with other Median city lords, mobilizing against Assyria and attacking the Assyrian strongholds and cities. The available sources don't reveal whether

28672-433: The east, such as Bactrian lapis lazuli, and the east-west trade route through Media became increasingly crucial. Trade might explain Ecbatana's rise as the central city of Media and could have triggered the unification process. According to Herodotus, Deioces strategically plotted to establish autocratic rule over the Medes. In a time of widespread lawlessness in Media, Deioces diligently worked to establish justice, earning

28896-469: The eastern banks of the Halys River in Anatolia to Central Asia . In this period, the Median empire was one of the great powers in the ancient Near East alongside Babylon , Lydia , and Egypt . During his reign, Astyages (r. 585–550 BCE) worked to strengthen and centralize the Median state, going against the will of tribal nobility, which may have contributed to the kingdom's downfall. In 550 BCE,

29120-401: The emergence of a dominant leader. The attack on Assyria from 615 to 610 BCE likely played a crucial role in consolidating the authority of this leader. David Stronach argues that there is not enough reason to posit the existence of a robust, independent, and unified Median kingdom at any date before 615 BCE. However, he disagrees with extending this negative assessment to the period from 615 to

29344-577: The emergence of urban life in Mesopotamia. It was followed by the Sumerian civilization in southern Mesopotamia . The late Uruk period (3400 to 3200 BC) saw the gradual emergence of cuneiform script and corresponds to the early Bronze Age. Sumer hosted many early advances in human history , such as schools ( c.  3000 BC ), making the area a cradle of civilization . The oldest excavated archaeological site in Sumer, Tell el-'Oueili , dates to

29568-462: The excavations of this place began under the supervision of David Stronach , which led to the identification of three historical periods in three separate floors. The third floor belongs to the Parthians , the second floor belongs to the Achaemenids , and the first floor belongs to the Medes . This place was the most important fire temple of the Medes from the second half of the 8th century to

29792-484: The fall of the Neo-Babylonian Empire in 539 BCE. It is true that, judging by the Babylonian Chronicle , Harran remained under Babylonian rule while the Medes returned to their land. However, it is possible that some time after 609 BCE, the Medes took Harran again and remained there for a long period. By the late 7th century BCE, the Medes appear to have coalesced into a significant political entity under

30016-720: The favored regions of Media in the Zagros and Azerbaijan, the soil was almost entirely cultivable and capable of producing an excellent grain harvest. South of the Caspian Sea, there was a narrow strip of fertile soil covered by a dense forest, providing excellent-quality wood. The economy of the villages relied on crops such as barley, spelt, wheat bread, peas, lentils, and grapes. The densely forested mountains offered an extensive range of hunting, but animal husbandry remained noble. The sample of domestic bones in Nush-i Jan includes nine species, with sheep, goats, pigs, and cattle being

30240-418: The first legal codes , all of which were monumental advances that laid the foundations of astronomy and mathematics , and the invention of the wheel . During this period, the region's previously stateless societies largely transitioned to building states , many of which gradually came to annex the territories of their neighbouring civilizations . This process continued until the entire ancient Near East

30464-650: The first half of the 6th century BCE, may have demanded tribute from peoples such as the Persians, Armenians, Parthians, Drangians, and Arians. The importance of Media is primarily related to controlling a substantial portion of the east-west route known in the Middle Ages as the Silk Road . This route connected the Eastern and Western worlds, linking Media to Babylon, Assyria, Armenia, and the Mediterranean in

30688-401: The first half of the first millennium BCE, there were urban-type settlements in various regions of Media, serving as centers for craft production and a sedentary agricultural and livestock economy. From Median territories, the Assyrians received tribute in the form of horses, cattle, sheep, Bactrian camels, lapis lazuli, bronze, gold, silver, and other metals, as well as linen and wool fabrics. In

30912-489: The founder of the Median Kingdom, who united all Median tribes and build the new capital of Media, could have been Deioces' successor. Phraortes is commonly identified with Kaštaritu, who led the Median revolt against the Assyrians in 672 BCE, although some scholars tend to reject or consider this identification doubtful. Other scholars believe that the Medes were only unified under Cyaxares, who, according to Herodotus,

31136-408: The fourth blue, the fifth orange; all these colors with paint. The last two have their battlements coated respectively with silver and gold. All these fortifications Deioces had caused to be raised for himself and his own palace." Herodotus' description is corroborated in part by stone reliefs from the Neo-Assyrian Empire , depicting Median citadels ringed by concentric walls. Other sources attest to

31360-474: The grandson of Astyages as Herodotus claims, then this would explain why the Medes accepted his reign. However, it is also possible that the connection between Cyrus and Astyages was invented to justify Persian rule over the Medes. According to Ctesias, Astyages had a daughter named Amytis , who was married to Spitamas , who then became the presumptive successor to his father-in-law. After killing Spitamas, Cyrus would have married Amytis to gain legitimacy. Although

31584-429: The height of its power, during the 14th century BC, encompassing what is today southeastern Turkey, northern Syria and northern Iraq (roughly corresponding to Kurdistan ), centred on the capital Washukanni whose precise location has not yet been determined by archaeologists. The Mitanni language showed Indo-Aryan influences, especially in the names of gods. The spread to Syria of a distinct pottery type associated with

31808-739: The highlands of southeastern Anatolia, near the Gulf of İskenderun in modern-day Turkey , encircling the Taurus Mountains and the Ceyhan river. The centre of the kingdom was the city of Kummanni , situated in the highlands. In a later era, the same region was known as Cilicia . Luwian is an extinct language of the Anatolian branch of the Indo-European language family . Luwian speakers gradually spread through Anatolia and became

32032-640: The historical importance of Ecbatana based on the terms used by ancient authors to describe it such as Caput Mediae (capital of Media), the Royal Seat, and the Great City. It is said that Alexander the Great deposited the treasures he took from Persepolis and Pasargadae and that one of the last acts of his life was to visit the city. The citadel of Ecbatana is also mentioned in the Bible in Ezra 6 :2, in

32256-433: The history of civilizations in the Near East prior to the Achaemenid Empire relied solely on classical and biblical sources. Information about the Medes, as well as about the Assyrians and Babylonians, was derived from the works of classical authors such as Herodotus and their successors. They gathered information from scholarly circles within the Achaemenid Empire, but this information was neither direct nor contemporary, nor

32480-553: The immediate east and west, beginning approximately 2500 BC. They probably originated in the Caucasus and entered from the north, but this is not certain. Their known homeland was centred on Subartu , the Khabur River valley, and later they established themselves as rulers of small kingdoms throughout northern Mesopotamia and Syria. The largest and most influential Hurrian nation was the kingdom of Mitanni . The Hurrians played

32704-523: The kingdom of Malatya before the final Assyrian invasion. The decline of the settlements and culture in Ishuwa from the 7th century BC until the Roman period was probably caused by this movement of people. The Armenians later settled in the area since they were natives of the Armenian plateau and related to the earlier inhabitants of Ishuwa. Kizzuwatna was a kingdom of the second millennium BC, situated in

32928-518: The kings of Elam and Media" among the condemned nations shows that the plural and singular are rhetorically interchangeable is debatable. A possible explanation may be found in Nabonidus's references to the " Ummān-manda , their country, and the kings who march at their side." Nabonidus is pointing to a unitary threat, composed of components that include a plurality of kings. Jeremiah's formula may be an alternative way of expressing this, especially since

33152-451: The late 19th dynasty , and especially during Year 8 of Ramesses III of the 20th Dynasty . The Egyptian Pharaoh Merneptah explicitly refers to them by the term "the foreign-countries (or 'peoples') of the sea" in his Great Karnak Inscription . Although some scholars believe that they "invaded" Cyprus , Hatti and the Levant, this hypothesis is disputed. The Bronze Age collapse

33376-489: The late 9th century BCE, the Urartians had conquered the west and south shores of Lake Urmia and began advancing towards Mannea . Assyria failed to halt the Urartian advance and gradually became an ally of Mannea in its struggle against Urartu . The Assyrians could not secure victories in the six campaigns (in 809, 800, 799, 793, 792, and 788 BCE) waged against the Medes by Adad-nirari III (r. 810–781 BCE), and subsequently

33600-403: The leadership of Cyaxares , launching an attack on the Assyrian heartland and allying with the Babylonians. Nothing in the existing Assyrian sources provide insights into how Cyaxares assumed leadership of a unified Median force since the preceding decades is marked by a scarcity of sources concerning Assyria's internal and foreign policies, creating a fragmented understanding of the second half of

33824-553: The mass relocations enacted by successive empires, including the Assyrians and Babylonians . Scholars even have used the term 'Aramaization' for the Assyro-Babylonian peoples' languages and cultures, that have become Aramaic-speaking. The Sea peoples is the term used for a confederacy of seafaring raiders of the second millennium BC who sailed into the eastern shores of the Mediterranean, caused political unrest, and attempted to enter or control Egyptian territory during

34048-610: The mid-10th century BC, and the rise of the Neo-Assyrian Empire . During the Early Iron Age, from 911 BC, the Neo-Assyrian Empire arose, vying with Babylonia and other lesser powers for dominance of the region, though not until the reforms of Tiglath-Pileser III in the 8th century BC, did it become a powerful and vast empire. In the Middle Assyrian period of the Late Bronze Age, Ancient Assyria had been

34272-467: The mid-6th century BCE. For the period from 615 to 550 BCE, Babylonian sources contain two important pieces of information that align with Herodotus's account: in 615-610 BCE, the Medes, united under the leadership of Cyaxares, destroyed Assyrian capitals; in 550 BCE, the Median army, led by Astyages, defected to the Persian king Cyrus, followed by the conquest of Ecbatana. Thus, the beginning and end of an independent Median kingdom seem to be present, although

34496-544: The middle Euphrates and captured Mannean forces who were helping the Assyrians. Whether the Kingdom of Mannea still existed by this time remains uncertain. In the same year, the Babylonians defeated the Assyrians near Arrapha (modern Kirkuk). In the third month of 615 BCE, the Babylonians marched directly up the Tigris and attacked Assur but were driven back. In the eighth month, the Medes were active near Arrapha, which suggests

34720-470: The middle of the city for treasures and assets. Some weeks before Darius III was killed in a coup in July 330 BC, Ecbatana was conquered, and Persepolis destroyed by Alexander. These events marked the end of the Achaemenid Empire. In 330 BC, Alexander the Great captured the treasury of Ecbatana, and he looted all the gold and silver decorations of the palace. Ecbatana was the site of the assassination of

34944-420: The most common. There are also indications, in line with the millennia-old reputation of Media's pastures, that the aforementioned horse breeding played a significant role in the local economy. Hilary Gopnik see the Median state as a “dominant economic force” in control of the trade routes of the northern Zagros in the late 7th and 6th centuries. As Medes, being the most powerful people on the Iranian plateau in

35168-529: The most significant set of historical information about the Medes. The Herodotean account dealing with the period before the Median king Cyaxares has been largely dismissed in favor of contemporary Assyrian records. The Assyrian sources that provide information on the Medes never mention a unified Median state. Instead, these sources indicate a fragmented political landscape comprising small-scale entities headed by various city lords. While scholars have suggested connections between certain individuals in this milieu and

35392-432: The names mentioned in classical sources, all identifications based on name similarity are questionable. The Assyrian sources only offer a clear picture up to c. 650 BCE. For the subsequent period, there is a gap in quantity and quality of Assyrian sources. Historical evidence for a unified Median state comes only very late in the period, when in 615 BCE the Medes reappear in Babylonian sources led by Cyaxares. After this event,

35616-444: The nature of such a kingdom is not necessarily equal to that described by Herodotus as a true empire foreshadowing the Achaemenid Empire. It is likely that a unified Median kingdom exerted control over a significant part of northern Iran, at least in the first half of the 6th century BCE. However, some scholars have also raised doubts about the existence of a unified, short-lived Median kingdom. Historian Mario Liverani proposed that there

35840-468: The north of the Assyrian capital Nineveh, and then moved down the Tigris to attack Assur, which they captured before the arrival of the Babylonian army that was coming to their assistance. This collaborative effort indicates a pre-existing alliance between Nabopolassar and the Median king Cyaxares (r. 625–585 a.C.), they then met personally and formalized their relationship. The Babylonian historian Berossus mentions that this alliance between Babylon and Media

36064-560: The north) to the tip of the Arabian Peninsula (to the south), from Egypt (in the west) to the borders of Iraq (in the east). The 19th-century archaeologists added Iran to their definition, which was never under the Ottomans, but they excluded all of Europe and, generally, Egypt, which had parts in the empire. Ancient Near East periodization is the attempt to categorize or divide time into discrete named blocks, or eras, of

36288-420: The one beyond it by the battlements. The nature of the ground, which is a gentle hill, favors this arrangements in some degree but it is mainly effected by art. The number of the circles is seven, the royal palace and the treasuries standing within the last. The circuit of the outer wall is very nearly the same with that of Athens . On this wall the battlements are white, of the next black, of the third scarlet, of

36512-399: The period from the Scythian victory over the Medes to the assassination of the Scythian leaders was exactly 28 years, but this chronology is problematic. It is highly unlikely that the Scythians could have dominated the Medes for nearly three decades. The Scythians, being nomads, were fierce warriors but incapable of ruling large territories for an extended period. This and other reasons lead to

36736-401: The political structures of the later Achaemenid empire. Others argue that the Medes formed a loose confederation of tribes rather than a centralized state. Not only during the Neo-Assyrian period of the 9th through 7th centuries BCE but also for the following Neo-Babylonian and early Persian times the sources exhibit an external view of the Medes. There is not a single Median source representing

36960-411: The present day. Around 650 BCE, information about the Assyrian provinces in the Zagros was considerably reduced, and Assyrian sources no longer mention the Medes. When the Medes reappear in contemporary records in 615 BCE, they are attacking Assyria. There is no indication of how Cyaxares brought a unified Median force to such effective and devastating use. Currently, two contrasting academic views exist:

37184-936: The protagonists described by the Greek historians. Although some characters in Herodotus and Ctesias can be identified with figures known in Assyrian and Babylonian sources, the narratives presented by these Greek historians deviate from the course of events found in Near Eastern sources. Consequently, it remains unknown to what extent many details in their stories reflect historical reality. The Assyrian king Esarhaddon (r. 680–669 BCE) conducted several expeditions into Iranian territory. Compared to Sargon's conquests, Esarhaddon's campaign results were rather insignificant. Most likely in 676 BCE, and certainly before 672 BCE, city lords Uppis of Partakka, Zanasana of Partukka, and Ramateia of Urakazabarna brought horses and lapis lazuli as tribute to Nineveh. These rulers who hailed from regions beyond

37408-520: The provincial system already implemented in more accessible and nearby areas. Assyrian governors coexisted with local city lords: the former likely responsible for overseeing long-distance trade and tax collection, while the latter retained power for handling local affairs. In 716 BCE, Sargon made Harhar and Kišesim centers of new Assyrian provinces, adding to them some other territories of west Media, including Sagbita, and renamed these provinces Kar-Sarrukin and Kar-Nergal, respectively. Despite being active in

37632-641: The recorded plunder mainly consisted of weapons, cattle, donkeys, horses, camels, and occasionally lapis lazuli, obtained through Median trade further east. Around the time of their unification or shortly afterward, it seems that the Medes acquired means to supply themselves with more substantial wealth. This is inferred from a passage in the Babylonian Chronicle from the 6th century BCE, which mentions that king Cyrus II took silver, gold, goods, and properties from Ecbatana as spoils to Anshan. Ancient Near East Mesopotamia Egypt Iran Anatolia The Levant Arabia Cosmology The ancient Near East

37856-615: The region's developments in the Bronze Age and the Iron Age , and is variously considered to end with either the establishment of the Achaemenid Empire in the 6th century BC, the establishment of the Macedonian Empire in the 4th century BC, or the beginning of the early Muslim conquests in the 7th century AD. It was within the ancient Near East that humans first practiced intensive year-round agriculture , which led to

38080-548: The reign of Deioces, existed in the early 7th century BCE. His account is at best a Median legend about the foundation of their kingdom. In contrast, Ctesias presents a different narrative centered around a Mede named Arbaces . Arbaces served as a general in the Assyrian army and as the governor of the Medes on behalf of the Assyrian king. He met his later ally, the Babylonian Belesys, at Nineveh, where both commanded Assyria's Median and Babylonian auxiliary troops during

38304-517: The reigns of Phraortes and Cyaxares. Russian Iranologist Edvin Grantovsky dates this event between 635 and 615 BCE, while historian George Cameron dates it between 653 and 625 BCE. According to Herodotus, king Phraortes led an attack against Assyria, but the Assyrian king managed to repel the invasion, and Phraortes, along with much of his army, died in the battle. Herodotus reports that Cyaxares, wanting to avenge his father's death, marched with

38528-403: The remainder were stripped during Antigonus ' and Seleucus ' reigns. However, Antiochus found that the columns of the temple of Aene were still gilded and that several silver tiles were piled up around the temple along with some gold bricks (Polybius, 10.27). Topographically, Hamadan is characterized by three hills, Mosalla (place of prayer), Tell Hagmatana (Tappa-ye Hagmatana), Sang-e Sir, and

38752-404: The rise of the earliest dense urban settlements and the development of many now-familiar institutions of civilization, such as social stratification , centralized government and empires , and organized religion (see: ancient Near Eastern religions ) and organized warfare . It also saw the creation of the first writing system , the first alphabet (i.e., abjad ), the first currency , and

38976-523: The royal presence by an official. He was surrounded by bodyguards for personal security and rarely left his palace, relying on reports about the state of his kingdom transmitted to him occasionally by his officials. No one could laugh or spit in the royal presence or in the presence of anyone else, as such acts were considered unworthy and shameful. Having consolidated royal authority, Deioces proceeded to administer justice with severity. Legal cases were sent to him in writing, he judged them and returned them with

39200-402: The rule of the 11th ("Chaldean") dynasty, from the revolt of Nabopolassar in 623 BC until the invasion of Cyrus the Great in 539 BC (Although the last ruler of Babylonia ( Nabonidus ) was in fact from the Assyrian city of Harran and not Chaldean), notably including the reign of Nebuchadrezzar II. Through the centuries of Assyrian domination, Babylonia enjoyed a prominent status, and revolted at

39424-422: The sack of the Assyrian capital, only the Babylonians seem to have continued the campaign and a part of the Babylonian army marched on Nasibina and Rasappa , while Cyaxares and his army returned to Media. Meanwhile the Assyrians were regrouping under a new king further west at Harran . The Medes appear to be absent from the account of 611 BCE, while the Babylonians are militarily active advancing towards Syria and

39648-404: The same principle by which the Persians esteem others. Thus, indeed, it progressed, each nation ruling and being ruled (by its neighbor). Currently, there's a lack of direct information about the political, economic, and social structure of the Medes. However, it is likely that in many aspects, the Median administrative system resembled that of the Assyrians, under whose influence the Medes were for

39872-660: The same year, the Assyrians received tribute from the Medes and Manneans, and in 737 BCE, Tiglath-Pileser invaded Media, reaching its remote parts and demanding tribute from the "city lords" of the Medes up to the Salt Desert and Mount Bikni. In an account of this campaign, Tiglath-Pileser mentions "the provinces of the mighty Medes" and claims to have deported 6,500 people from northwest Iran to Syria and Phoenicia. Under Sargon II (r. 722–705 BCE), Assyrian presence in Media reached its zenith. Sargon aimed to establish direct administrative control over these distant regions, following

40096-410: The scission of long-distance trade contacts and sudden eclipse of literacy occurred between 1206 and 1150 BC. In the first phase of this period, almost every city between Troy and Gaza was violently destroyed, and often left unoccupied thereafter (for example, Hattusas , Mycenae , Ugarit ). The gradual end of the Dark Age that ensued saw the rise of settled Neo-Hittite and Aramaean kingdoms of

40320-437: The second most important position in the Achaemenid Empire, the Medes paid less tribute but provided more soldiers to the Achaemenid army than other peoples. This is evidenced by the reliefs of Persepolis and Herodotus, as well as the fact that many Median generals, such as Harpagus , Mazares , and Datis , served in the Persian army. According to Herodotus, during the Greco-Persian Wars , Median soldiers did not differ much from

40544-428: The sentence. He established law and order by introducing "observers and listeners" throughout his kingdom, monitoring the actions of his subjects. Like other oriental rulers, the Median monarch had multiple wives and concubines , and polygamy was commonly practiced among the wealthier and prominent classes. The main characteristics of the Median court may have been similar to the Assyrian court. According to Herodotus,

40768-444: The side" of the Median king mentioned in Babylonian sources. Maria Brosius envisions Media as a territory of chiefdoms that, between 614 and 550 BCE, united their military forces under a city lord, with Ecbatana as their power base. Available information about the Median court is limited and not entirely reliable. In his charming account of the youth of Cyrus II, Herodotus suggests that the Median court included bodyguards, messengers,

40992-506: The site appears to be completely abandoned in the first half of the 6th century BCE. The archaeological developments in Mannae appear to have been exactly the same as those in Media: flourishing settlements with public buildings in the second half of the 8th century BCE and throughout the 7th century BCE, followed by a period of irregular occupation in the first half of the 6th century BCE. Such

41216-412: The size of small villages. Notably, monumental architecture found many Median sites does not appear to be integrated into larger settlements. It is difficult to reconcile this archaeological picture with the system of “city leaders” mentioned in the Assyrian sources. The capital of Media, Ecbatana, is a site of great interest for archaeological study, but excavations so far have revealed remains belonging to

41440-461: The slightest indication that it did not. However, the Assyrians always managed to restore Babylonian loyalty, whether through the granting of increased privileges, or militarily. That finally changed in 627 BC with the death of the last strong Assyrian ruler, Ashurbanipal , and Babylonia rebelled under Nabopolassar the Chaldean a few years later. In alliance with the Medes and Scythians , Nineveh

41664-428: The spear, bow, sword, and dagger. The mountainous nature of their country and its martial character contributed to the development of suitable attire for cavalry: tight trousers typically made of leather with an extra belt for a short sword, a long tight leather tunic, a round felt helmet with cheek flaps and a neck protector, possibly covering the mouth, and a long variegated cloak thrown over the shoulders and fastened to

41888-402: The speeches of Jeremiah. According to Herodotus, Astyages married his daughter Mandane to the Persian king Cambyses I , with whom she would have a son, Cyrus II , connecting the Median dynasty to the Achaemenid dynasty . This marriage would have taken place before 576 BCE, but there is some doubt about its historicity. During his reign, Astyages may have worked to strengthen and centralize

42112-452: The spring, the Persian leader invaded Media from the west, and in May 521 BCE, defeated Phraortes. The Persian victory was complete, and Phraortes fled to Parthia but was captured in Rages (modern Tehran ). Later, the rebel was tortured and crucified in Ecbatana. After his victory, Darius could send troops to Armenia and Parthia, where his generals managed to defeat the remaining rebels. A Sagartian named Tritantechmes , who also claimed to be

42336-406: The structure of the Median kingdom (1, 134): "... one people ruled another, but the Medes ruled over all and especially over those that dwelt nearest them, and these ruled over their neighbours, and they again over theirs". Some scholars assume that the later Median administrative structure evolved into a more developed form in the administrative system of the Achaemenid Empire. Probably, there never

42560-425: The subsequent years from 616 to 595, much of the Babylonian Chronicle is preserved and provides reasonably reliable account of events. The source is not a complete record of the history of the period, and is focused exclusively on events in Mesopotamia. After securing full control of Babylonian territory, Nabopolassar (r. 626–605 BCE) marched against Assyria. In 616 BCE, the Babylonians defeated an Assyrian army on

42784-482: The territories of modern Iraq, the Caucasus (Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Dagestan , Abkhazia), Asia Minor (Turkey), Thrace (parts of Eastern Bulgaria ), Macedonia (roughly corresponding to present-day Macedonia in Northern Greece), many of the Black Sea coastal regions, northern Saudi Arabia , Jordan , Israel , Lebanon , Syria, Afghanistan , Central Asia , parts of Pakistan , and all significant population centers of ancient Egypt as far west as Libya . It

43008-432: The third millennium BC. The name Ishuwa is not known until the literate period of the second millennium BC. Few literate sources from within Ishuwa have been discovered and the primary source material comes from Hittite texts. To the west of Ishuwa lay the kingdom of the Hittites , and this nation was an untrustworthy neighbour. The Hittite king Hattusili I ( c.  1600 BC ) is reported to have marched his army across

43232-490: The throne, Deioces ordered the construction of a fortress city to be his capital; all governmental authority was centralized in this city, Ecbatana. He established a royal guard, and a very strict court protocol, in such a way that the heads of the great Median families ”took him for a being of a different nature from themselves.” In normal circumstances, the monarch remained isolated in his palace, and no one could see him unless formally requesting an audience and being presented to

43456-474: The time of Darius I , as part of the national archives. The Nabonidus Chronicle , an ancient Babylonian text from the 5th century BC, describes how Astyages , the last Median king, was dethroned and how Cyrus conquered Ecbatana. "King Astyages called up his troops and marched against Cyrus , king of Anšan [ i.e., Persis ], in order to meet him in battle. The army of Astyages revolted against him and delivered him in fetters to Cyrus. Cyrus marched against

43680-464: The time of Esarhaddon, the situation on the Assyrian eastern borders was extremely tense. While going into the Assyrian provinces in the Zagros in order to collect tribute is routine of the various governors after 713 BCE, such missions were fraught with danger in the time of Esarhaddon. This increased risk stemmed not only from traditional adversaries like the Medes and Manneans but also from the Cimmerians and Scythians active in Iran. The primary threat in

43904-473: The traditional perspective sees Cyaxares as the king of a unified Median state confronting Assyria as an equal power, while the alternative view considers the Medes as a military force that contributed to the fall of Assyria but lacked political cohesion. The absence of relevant Assyrian evidence after 650 BCE does not rule out the existence of a broader Median authority centered in Ecbatana. Some theories suggest that tribute demands and commercial exploitation along

44128-411: The two kingdoms. The war between the Medes and Lydians resulted in a series of conflicts over five years, with both sides experiencing alternating victories. In the sixth year of the conflict, a solar eclipse interrupted a battle, leading both sides to conclude a peace treaty mediated by Labynetus of Babylon and Syennesis I of Cilicia . As a result, the Halys River was established as the border between

44352-456: The two powers. The treaty was sealed by the marriage of Aryenis , daughter of Alyattes, and Astyages , son of Cyaxares, establishing a new balance of power among the Near Eastern states. In a few words, Herodotus states that Cyaxares subjugated all of Asia east of the river Halys, suggesting that he engaged in a series of battles with various peoples in the region to subdue them. This assertion may imply that, in addition to Cappadocia and Urartu,

44576-408: The upper Euphrates. The Egyptian pharaoh Necho II sent help to the Assyrian army that had entrenched itself in Harran. So Nabopolassar seems to have asked the Medes for help. The Medes reappeared on the scene in 610 BCE, when they joined the Babylonians for an assault on Harran. Faced with the formidable alliance, the Assyrians and their Egyptian allies abandoned Harran, which was captured. After that,

44800-419: The walls of this complex might be an ancient ziggurat , which was a type of temple tower with multiple stories that were common in the ancient Near East . In the 5th century BC, Herodotus wrote of Ecbatana: "The Medes built the city now called Ecbatana, the walls of which are of great size and strength, rising in circles one within the other. The plan of the place is, that each of the walls should out-top

45024-426: The war against the Cadusians might indicate that the Medes had limited control over the southern shores of the Caspian Sea, where the Cadusians lived. Apparently, Astyages's reign was relatively undisturbed until shortly before its end. Moses of Chorene claims that he engaged in a long struggle with an Armenian king named Tigranes , but little credit can be given to these statements. Both Herodotus and Ctesias depict

45248-529: The west, as well as to Parthia, Aria, Bactria, Sogdiana, and China in the east. Another important road connected Ecbatana with the Persian capitals, Persepolis and Pasargadae. In addition to controlling east-west trade, Media was also rich in agricultural products. The valleys of the Zagros were fertile, and Media was well-known for its crops, sheep, and goats. The country could sustain a large population and boasted many villages and some cities like Rages and Gabae . Assyrian texts mention wealthy Median cities, but

45472-401: The western Zagros . Sir Henry Rawlinson attempted to prove that there was a second and older Ecbatana in Media Atropatene on the site of the modern Takht-i-Suleiman . However, the cuneiform texts imply that there was only one city of the name, and that Takht-i Suleiman is the Gazaca of classical geography. There is also the claim that Ecbatana used to be the city of Tabriz , which

45696-424: The world's first empire. The Akkadians eventually fragmented into Assyria and Babylonia. Ancient Elam lay to the east of Sumer and Akkad , in the far west and southwest of modern-day Iran , stretching from the lowlands of Khuzestan and Ilam Province . In the Old Elamite period, c.  3200 BC , it consisted of kingdoms on the Iranian plateau , centered on Anshan , and from the mid-2nd millennium BC, it

45920-434: Was a Median empire strictu sensu . Therefore, the term "empire" to refer to the political entity constructed by the Medes might not be suitable. The Median kingdom was probably just a loose federation of western Iranian chieftains and kings and their unity was maintained by their personal ties with the Median king, who was less an absolute monarch than a first among equals. This fits the description of other rulers "who march at

46144-423: Was a reputation for horses and wheat in the area (Polybius, 5.44.1). Graphite, gold, platinum, antimony, iron, and various minerals are found there; however, the classics mention oil seeps and flares, and there is no evidence of exploitation of these resources. In 130 BC, with the intention of restoring the Seleucid power to Iran, Antiochus VII stopped in Ecbatana for a short period of time, just as Tigranes

46368-444: Was an ancient Sumerian and Amorite city, located 11 kilometres north-west of the modern town of Abu Kamal on the western bank of Euphrates river, some 120 km southeast of Deir ez-Zor , Syria. It is thought to have been inhabited since the 5th millennium BC, although it flourished from 2900 BC until 1759 BC, when it was sacked by Hammurabi . Mitanni was a Hurrian kingdom in northern Mesopotamia from c.  1600 BC , at

46592-462: Was an ancient city, the capital of the Median kingdom , and the first capital in Iranian history . It later became the summer capital of the Achaemenid and Parthian empires. It was also an important city during the Seleucid and Sasanian empires. It is believed that Ecbatana is located in the Zagros Mountains , the east of central Mesopotamia , on Hagmatana Hill (Tappe-ye Hagmatāna). Ecbatana's strategic location and resources probably made it

46816-419: Was an ancient kingdom of Armenia and North Mesopotamia which existed from c.  860 BC , emerging from the Late Bronze Age until 585 BC. The Kingdom of Urartu was located in the mountainous plateau between Asia Minor , the Iranian plateau , Mesopotamia, and the Caucasus Mountains , later known as the Armenian Highland , and it centered on Lake Van (present-day eastern Turkey). The name corresponds to

47040-404: Was apparently in use in the heart of Media around 600 BCE. However, the Median Empire is still not a concrete archaeological fact, and its history is largely based on information provided by Herodotus and other texts directly or indirectly influenced by him. At the end of the 2nd millennium BCE, Median tribes began settling in the territory of future Media in western Iran. From the 9th century BCE,

47264-509: Was built in the last inner fort, had hundreds of rooms and people also built their houses outside of these forts, next to the palace. Some archaeologists have also attributed its construction to Phraortes , the second king of the Medes. Other old legends attribute the origin of Ecbatana to the legendary Semiramis or Jamshid . Ecbatana has also been mentioned by other Greek historians such as Polybius , Ctesias , Justin and Xenophon . The Assyrians do not seem to mention Ecbatana, and it

47488-414: Was centered on Susa in the Khuzestan lowlands. Elam was absorbed into the Assyrian Empire in the 9th to 7th centuries BC; however, the civilization endured up until 539 BC when it was finally overrun by the Iranian Persians . The Proto-Elamite civilization existed from c.   3200 BC to 2700 BC , when Susa, the later capital of the Elamites, began to receive influence from the cultures of

47712-408: Was enveloped by militaristic empires that had emerged from their own lands to conquer and absorb a variety of cultures under the rule of a top-level government. The phrase "ancient Near East" denotes the 19th-century distinction between the Near and Far East as global regions of interest to the British Empire . The distinction began during the Crimean War . The last major exclusive partition of

47936-456: Was followed by a series of rebellions in the Achaemenid satrapies. When Darius suppressed these rebellions and stayed in Babylon, a certain Phraortes made an attempt to seize power and restore Median independence. He claimed to be a descendant of Cyaxares and managed to seize Ecbatana in December 522 BCE. Around the same time, there was a new rebellion in Elam, and there were rebellions in adjacent provinces such as Armenia, Assyria, and Parthia. In

48160-427: Was home to many cradles of civilization , spanning Mesopotamia , Egypt , Iran (or Persia ), Anatolia and the Armenian highlands , the Levant , and the Arabian Peninsula . As such, the fields of ancient Near East studies and Near Eastern archaeology are one of the most prominent with regard to research in the realm of ancient history . Historically, the Near East denoted an area roughly encompassing

48384-403: Was it based on solid archives or historical materials. Although no contemporary textual source has been discovered in Media, the information available in Assyrian and Babylonian sources is quite relevant. Due to the absence of written records from pre-Achaemenid Media and, until recently, the lack of archaeological evidence, the 'Median logos' of the Greek historian Herodotus (1. 95-106) was for

48608-457: Was killed around 625 BCE during an unsuccessful invasion of Assyria. There is no evidence regarding the relations between the Medes and Assyrians from 624 to 617 BCE. It is unknown whether the Medes were still geographically separated from the Assyrian heartland by the Zagros mountains and surrounding peoples, or if they were already asserting themselves in the mountainous Assyrian provinces, particularly in Mazamua (modern Suleimaniya ). However, for

48832-400: Was mutually beneficial. The extant sources available shows the continued Assyrian control over the provinces founded by Tiglath-Pileser and Sargon, at least until the reign of Esarhaddon. In 702 BCE, Sennacherib engaged with the Medes during a campaign against the Zagros kingdom of Ellipi . This marked his only recorded direct contact with the Medes in their own territory, receiving tribute from

49056-399: Was no transition from city lords to regional rulers or kings; instead, there was a brief unification under a primary Median king, specifically to confront a weakened Assyria in the 610s BCE, followed by a rapid return to the previous status quo . Nevertheless, this view is not widely accepted. While some scholars still consider Media a powerful and structured empire that would have influenced

49280-423: Was sacked in 612 and Harran in 608 BC, and the seat of empire was again transferred to Babylonia. Subsequently, the Medes controlled much of the ancient Near East from their base in Ecbatana (modern-day Hamadan , Iran), most notably most of what is now Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and the South Caucasus . Following the fall of the Medes, the Achaemenid Empire was the first of the Persian Empires to rule over most of

49504-585: Was sealed with the marriage of Amytis , probably the daughter of Cyaxares, with the son of Nabopolassar, Nebuchadnezzar II . Afterwards Cyaxares and his army went home. In 613 BCE, the Medes are not mentioned in the chronicle. However, in 612 BCE, a king of the ummān-manda appears on the scene; he is surely identical with the king of the Medes, although it is strange that a single cuneiform tablet should describe one people by two different terms. The combined military forces of Cyaxares and Nabopolassar laid siege to Nineveh, resulting in its fall after three months. After

49728-412: Was settled by the Achaemenid rulers. The city became the summer capital and a treasury of the Achaemenids. As mentioned in several sources, the city was also used as a royal archive. In ancient times, Ecbatana was renowned for its wealth and splendid architecture. In 330 BC when Darius III faced Alexander , Ecbatana was in ruins, but Darius III ordered the construction of hundreds of hiding places in

49952-466: Was the son of Phraortes and began his reign around 625 BCE. From 627 BCE onward the Assyrians were definitely in serious trouble both at home and in Babylonia and, therefore, the Median kingdom most likely emerged after 627, or possibly already after 631 BCE. In ancient times, the vast areas north of the Black and Caspian Seas were inhabited by the Scythians . In the late 8th and early 7th centuries BCE, groups of nomadic warriors entered western Iran. Among

50176-435: Was to build a palace worthy of the dignity of a king. After choosing Ecbatana as his capital, Deioces decided to build a huge and strong palace in the form of seven nested castles. Herodotus says that each of them was in the color of a planet. The royal palace and the treasury were located inside the seventh castle. The outer perimeter of the castle wall was almost the size of the city wall of Athens. The royal palace, which

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