The Nebuchadnezzar Chronicle , also known as Jerusalem Chronicle , is one of the series of Babylonian Chronicles , and contains a description of the first eleven years of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar II . The tablet details Nebuchadnezzar's military campaigns in the west and has been interpreted to refer to both the Battle of Carchemish and the Siege of Jerusalem (597 BC) . The tablet is numbered ABC5 in Grayson's standard text and BM 21946 in the British Museum .
243-632: It is one of two identified Chronicles referring to Nebuchadnezzar, and does not cover the whole of his reign. The ABC5 is a continuation of Babylonian Chronicle ABC4 (The Late Years of Nabopolassar ), where Nebuchadnezzar is mentioned as the Crown Prince . Since the ABC 5 only provides a record through Nebuchadnezzar's eleventh year, the subsequent destruction and exile recorded in the Hebrew Bible to have taken place ten years later are not covered in
486-595: A Seleucid -era colophon , which erroneously identifies Nabopolassar as a "king of the Sealand" (the Sealand being the southernmost part of Babylonia, often politically independent or autonomous) and accuses the king of having stolen wooden tablets from temples in Uruk. The contemporary priest of Uruk, Kidin-Ani, alleged that he had seen these tablets on a visit to Elam in the reign of either Seleucus I ( r. 305–281 BC) or Antiochus I ( r. 281–261 BC). Though
729-429: A "City of Iaahudu", interpreted to be "City of Judah ". The Chronicle states: In the seventh year (of Nebuchadnezzar) in the month Chislev (Nov/Dec) the king of Babylon assembled his army, and after he had invaded the land of Hatti (Turkey/Syria) he laid siege to the city of Judah. On the second day of the month of Adar (16 March) he conquered the city and took the king ( Jeconiah ) prisoner. He installed in his place
972-501: 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
1215-641: 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
1458-537: 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
1701-458: 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,
1944-530: 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
2187-707: A city little to 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
2430-409: A common and shortened nickname), a prominent official in Uruk who served as its governor under Ashurbanipal ( r. 669–631 BC) in the 640s BC. In Assyrian tradition, the desecration of a dead body showed that the deceased individual and their surviving family were traitors and enemies of the state, and that they had to be completely eradicated. The desecration of the body itself functioned as
2673-513: A crushing defeat at the Battle of Carchemish in 605 BC. According to the Babylonian records of the battle and its aftermath, "not a single man escaped to his country"; Necho's forces were completely annihilated. The Babylonian forces at the battle were led by Nabopolassar's son and crown prince, Nebuchadnezzar, as Nabopolassar had chosen to stay in Babylon, possibly on account of illness. With
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#17327729048252916-600: 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
3159-532: 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
3402-500: A few months prior, as well as the unrest caused by the potentially ongoing interregnum in the south, to his advantage. He began by assaulting both Babylon and Nippur, taking the cities from the garrisons left there by Sinsharishkun. The Assyrian response was swift and in October 626 BC, the Assyrian army recaptured Nippur and laid siege to both Nabopolassar at Uruk and to Babylon itself. Both sieges were repulsed by Nabopolassar's forces;
3645-417: 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
3888-740: A general of Sinsharishkun, who betrayed the Assyrian king. Berossus is not typically considered reliable, but there was ample Assyrian influence within the Neo-Babylonian Empire, with there being considerable continuity within military and court administration. Jursa does not consider this surprising; Nabopolassar's ancestors, such as Kudurru, had been pro-Assyrian in their policies (Kudurru even having been appointed by Ashurbanipal himself); Kudurru even fought in Ashurbanipal's civil war against his brother Shamash-shum-ukin (designated by their father Esarhaddon as king of Babylon), aiding in
4131-605: A geopolitical scale. Inscriptions that record Nabopolassar's building projects or his piety, recovered at several sites throughout Babylonia, do not mention much about geopolitical events either. Later works, such as the works of Berossus, the Bible , and the works of ancient Greek historians such as Ctesias , Herodotus and Xenophon , corroborate details mentioned in the earlier Babylonian sources, but do not offer any meaningful additional commentary or insight. In terms of dating, several sources can be used to confidently determine
4374-548: A handful of sites, such as Assur and Arbela , continuing to be populated under later Babylonian and Median rule. The level of the destruction, including the destruction and desecration of Assyria's temples, shocked the Babylonians and Nabopolassar. In some inscriptions, Nabopolassar was careful to attribute his victory and its aftermath to divine intervention in attempt to absolve himself of the blame, though other inscriptions were less remorseful, with one reading "I slaughtered
4617-598: A king ( Zedekiah ) of his own choice, and after he had received rich tribute, he sent forth to Babylon. The Chronicle is understood to confirm the date of the First Siege of Jerusalem . Prior to publication of the Babylonian Chronicles by Donald Wiseman in 1956, Thiele had determined from the biblical texts that Nebuchadnezzar's initial capture of Jerusalem occurred in the spring of 597 BC, while other scholars, including Albright , more frequently dated
4860-521: A large force of Egyptian soldiers attempted to retake the city, but this campaign failed disastrously. Beginning in July or June 609 BC, Ashur-uballit's siege lasted for two months, until August or September, but he and the Egyptians retreated when Nabopolassar again led his army against them. It is possible that they had retreated even earlier. The failed retaking of Harran is the last time Ashur-uballit
5103-451: A large population and boasted many villages and some cities like Rages and Gabae . Assyrian texts mention wealthy Median cities, but 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
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#17327729048255346-435: A letter from the time of Sinsharishkun, ABL 469, which discusses how the grave and body of Kudurru , a deceased governor of Uruk, was desecrated due to the anti-Assyrian activities of Kudurru's two sons, Nabu-shumu-ukin and a son whose name is mostly missing. The desecration went so far as to drag Kudurru's body through the streets of Uruk. Kudurru can be identified with Nebuchadnezzar ( Nabû-kudurri-uṣur , "Kudurru" simply being
5589-473: A letter to Nabopolassar, attempting to broker peace. Sinsharishkun pleaded with Nabopolassar to avoid any more bloodshed and wrote that he should "quiet his fiery heart". Nabopolassar was not interested; Sinsharishkun had waited too long and there was no longer anything he could offer that the Babylonians and Medes would not be able to take for themselves in battle. A harsh response was sent, in which Nabopolassar declared that "[Nineveh's] roots I shall pluck out and
5832-432: 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
6075-488: 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
6318-562: 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
6561-535: 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
6804-466: A means to punish an enemy even after their death. The name of the son whose name is unpreserved in the letter ended with either ahi , nâsir or uṣur , and the remaining traces can fit with the name Nabû-apla-uṣur , meaning that Nabopolassar could be the other son mentioned in the letter and thus a son of Kudurru. Strengthening the case that Kudurru was Nabopolassar's father is the name of Nabopolassar's son, also Nebuchadnezzar. At this time, Nebuchadnezzar
7047-523: A member of the royal family, or at least a person that would be acceptable as king. Understandably alarmed by this development, Sinsharishkun abandoned his Babylonian campaign and though he successfully defeated the usurper after a hundred days of civil war, the absence of the Assyrian army saw the Babylonians conquer the last remaining Assyrian outposts in Babylonia in 622–620 BC. The Babylonian siege of Uruk had begun by October 622 BC and though control of
7290-470: 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
7533-400: 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 ,
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7776-527: 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
8019-529: 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
8262-567: 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
8505-403: 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
8748-537: 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,
8991-461: A symbol against the domination of foreign empires over Babylon. Nabopolassar's origins are unclear. In his own inscriptions, he refers to himself as a mâr lā mammâna (" son of a nobody "), a striking descriptor that is not known from any other Mesopotamian king. The two other Neo-Babylonian kings who had no blood connection to previous royalty; Neriglissar ( r. 560–556 BC) and Nabonidus ( r. 556–539 BC), nevertheless mentioned
9234-421: 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
9477-523: 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
9720-401: 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
9963-569: Is hardly surprising as virtually the entirety of Nabopolassar's reign was spent fighting wars, with little time to devote to other matters. With Nabopolassar's use of titles in mind, and the fact that little changed administratively from the Neo-Assyrians to the Neo-Babylonians, it is possible that Nabopolassar represented himself as the legitimate heir to the throne of the Assyrians. Later Babylonian king lists do not clearly separate
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10206-481: Is mentioned in Babylonian records; his ultimate fate is unknown. After his victory at Harran, Nabopolassar resumed his campaign against the remainder of the Assyrian army in the beginning of the year 608 or 607 BC. In 608 BC the Egyptian Pharaoh Necho II , Psamtik I's successor, personally led a large Egyptian army into former Assyrian territory to rescue what remained of the Assyrians and turn
10449-489: 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
10692-643: Is not known, but he might have been inspired by the Egyptian failure to aid the Assyrians in holding and then recapturing Harran for the Assyrians. According to the Biblical Books of Chronicles , Necho had not intended to do battle with the Judeans and was confused by Josiah's decision to attack him, supposedly sending a letter to him which included the passage "what have we done to each other, king of Judah? I am not coming against you this day." For much of
10935-461: 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,
11178-417: Is unclear if Sinsharishkun and Sin-shumu-lishir actually claimed the title "king of Babylon" (or only used "king of Assyria"), meaning that Babylonia could have experienced an interregnum of sorts. Modern historians typically include both Sin-shumu-lishir and Sinsharishkun in lists of Babylonian kings, as did some ancient Babylonian king lists. As a consequence of the turbulent times in which he reigned, and
11421-546: 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
11664-460: 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
11907-786: 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
12150-462: The Esagila , had to be restored. It was with this work still ahead of him, on the eve of his final victory, that Nabopolassar died. As he had managed to secure universal recognition for his rule, Nabopolassar was succeeded without any issues by his son and crown prince Nebuchadnezzar, who would finish the building projects left at the time of Nabopolassar's death and, in time, surpass his father. At
12393-488: 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
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#173277290482512636-483: 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
12879-454: 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
13122-799: 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
13365-482: 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
13608-453: The "Babylonian problem". In 631 BC, the long-ruling Assyrian king Ashurbanipal died and in 627 BC, he was followed in death by his appointed vassal ruler of Babylonia, Kandalanu . Their deaths ended an about 20-year long period of relative peace and stability. Ashurbanipal was first succeeded by his son Ashur-etil-ilani , but he died in 627 BC at around the same time as Kandalanu, leading to Ashurbanipal's other son, Sinsharishkun, assuming
13851-413: 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
14094-463: 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
14337-460: 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
14580-404: 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
14823-411: 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
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#173277290482515066-471: 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
15309-409: 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
15552-849: 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,
15795-682: 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
16038-434: 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
16281-415: 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
16524-433: The Assyrian army remained powerful and capable of being deployed rapidly. In late 615 BC or in 614 BC, the Medes under their king Cyaxares entered Assyria and conquered the region around the city of Arrapha in preparation for a campaign against Sinsharishkun. Although there are plenty of earlier sources discussing Assyro-Median relations, none are preserved from the period leading up to Cyaxares's invasion and as such,
16767-540: The Assyrian kings were mutilated and inhabitants as young as the age of ten were slaughtered en masse before the entire city was razed and burned to the ground. Sinsharishkun's fate is not entirely certain but it is commonly accepted that he died in the defense of Nineveh. The brutal sack of Nineveh was only the beginning; in the aftermath of their victory, the Medes swept through the Assyrian heartland. Cities such as Nimrud, Dur-Sharrukin , Tarbisu , Imgur-Enlil and Khirbet Khatuniyeh were completely destroyed, with only
17010-559: 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
17253-439: The Assyrians had managed to create the best organized and largest empire that the world had yet seen. Though Babylonia in the south had also once been a large kingdom, it had typically been weaker than its northern neighbor due to internal divisions and the lack of a well-organized army. The population of Babylonia was divided into various ethnic groups with different priorities and ideals. Though old native Babylonians ruled most of
17496-495: The Assyrians in the Zagros region led to the process of unifying the Median tribes. By 612 BCE, the Medes became strong enough to overthrow the declining Assyrian empire in alliance with the Babylonians . However, contemporary scholarship tends to be skeptical about the existence of a united Median kingdom or state, at least for most of the 7th century BCE. According to classical historiography, Media emerged as one major power of
17739-468: The Assyrians out of Babylonia after nearly ten years of fighting. Subsequent campaigns were intended to hinder the possibility of an Assyrian campaign directed at Babylonia through securing the border, but the intervention of the eastern Median Empire under Cyaxares in Nabopolassar's favor shifted the goals and the possibilities of the war. In 614 BC, the Medes brutally sacked the city of Assur ,
17982-633: 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,
18225-527: The Assyrians took the city of Sippar and Nabopolassar's attempted reconquest of Nippur failed. Another of Assyria's vassals, Elam , also stopped paying tribute to Assyria during this time and several Babylonian cities, such as Der , revolted and joined Nabopolassar. Realizing the threat this posed, Sinsharishkun led a massive counterattack himself which saw the successful recapture of Uruk in 623 BC. Sinsharishkun might have ultimately been victorious had it not been for another revolt, led by an Assyrian general in
18468-433: The Assyrians venerated the long history and culture of Babylon, it was preserved as a full kingdom, either ruled by an appointed client king, or by the Assyrian king in a personal union . The relationship between Assyria and Babylonia was similar to the relationship between Greece and Rome in later centuries; much of Assyria's culture, texts and traditions had been imported from the south. Assyria and Babylonia also shared
18711-539: 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
18954-441: 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
19197-540: The Babylonians were not yet ready to conduct a full invasion of Assyria and that their plans were at this time just to secure Babylonian independence, not to conquer and destroy Assyria. In March 615 BC, Nabopolassar inflicted a crushing defeat on the Assyrian army at the banks of the Tigris , pushing them back to the Little Zab . This victory weakened Assyrian control of the buffer zone that had been established around
19440-480: The Canon lists and documents astronomical phenomena, it is an important document for dating events in the entire chronology of the ancient Near East. Contemporary Babylonian astronomical texts can also be used to a certain extent as they record astronomical phenomena and sometimes also political events. It is probable that Nabopolassar held some high office in Uruk before his rebellion against Assyria, possibly following
19683-477: The Egyptian army withdrew before him. He accomplished their defeat and beat them to non-existence. As for the rest of the Egyptian army which had escaped from the defeat so quickly that no weapon had reached them, in the district of Hamath the Babylonian troops overtook and defeated them so that not a single man escaped to his own country. At that time Nebuchadnezzar conquered the whole area of Hamath." The Chronicle does not refer to Jerusalem directly but mentions
19926-639: The Elder Siamun Psusennes II Median Empire Media ( Old Persian : 𐎶𐎠𐎭 Māda ; Greek : Μηδία Mēdía ; Akkadian : Mādāya ) was a political entity centered in Ecbatana that existed from the 7th century BCE until the mid-6th century BCE and is believed to have dominated a significant portion of the Iranian plateau , preceding the powerful Achaemenid Empire . The frequent interference of
20169-656: The Euphrates river into lands in present-day Syria. As he marched on, he took the Assyrian city Hindanu and reached the Balikh River , where he defeated an Assyrian force near the city Gablinu . Nabpolassar then pushed north, reaching as far as the Khabur River . The Assyrians swiftly regrouped in order to deal with the threat. Realizing that the situation was dire, Assyria's ally, Pharaoh Psamtik I of Egypt , marched his troops to aid Sinsharishkun. Psamtik had over
20412-458: 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
20655-702: The Iranian plateau in 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
20898-442: 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
21141-401: 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
21384-500: 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
21627-539: 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
21870-511: 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
22113-506: 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,
22356-762: 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
22599-405: 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
22842-500: 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
23085-482: 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
23328-521: 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
23571-417: 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
23814-464: 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
24057-571: 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
24300-474: The Mediterranean in 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
24543-435: The Medo-Babylonian army, Ashur-uballit and a contingent of Egyptian reinforcements fled the city into the deserts of Syria. The siege of Harran lasted from the winter of 610 BC to the beginning of 609 BC and the city eventually capitulated. Ashur-uballit's failure at Harran marks the end for the ancient Assyrian monarchy, which would never be restored. After the Babylonians had ruled Harran for three months, Ashur-uballit and
24786-592: 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
25029-505: The Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian dynasties in the same way that modern scholars do. In one of his clay cylinders, Nabopolassar used the titulature presented below. The use of "governor of Babylon" ( šakkanakki Bābili ) rather than "king of Babylon" ( šar Bābili ) was an ancient practice of the Babylonian monarchs and an act of reverence to Marduk, who was formally considered the true king of Babylon. In Nabopolassar's inscriptions
25272-534: The Neo-Assyrian king Sinsharishkun ( r. 627–612 BC) describes Nabopolassar as "of the lower sea", i.e. southernmost Mesopotamia. Regardless of his ethnic origin, Nabopolassar appears to have been strongly connected to the city of Uruk , located south of Babylon, possibly having been a member of its ruling elite prior to becoming Babylon's king. In a 1998 paper, the Assyriologist Paul-Alain Beaulieu mentioned that there
25515-492: 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
25758-465: 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
26001-617: 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,
26244-431: 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
26487-470: 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
26730-474: 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
26973-413: The ancient city would shift between Assyria and Babylon, it was firmly in Nabopolassar's hands by 620 BC. Nippur was also conquered in 620 BC and Nabopolassar pushed the Assyrians out of Babylonia. Though he had successfully driven out the Assyrian army, pro-Assyrian factions still existed in some Babylonian cities, for instance Ur and Nippur, by 617 BC, making Nabopolassar's full consolidation of control in
27216-462: The ancient heart of Assyria, plundering it and killing many of its inhabitants. The brutal sack of Assur came as a shock to people throughout the Near East. Even the Babylonian chronicles, hostile to Assyria, speak of the Medes as unnecessarily brutal, stating that they "inflicted a terrible defeat on a great people, pillaged and looted them and robbed them". Nabopolassar only arrived at Assur after
27459-551: 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
27702-414: 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,
27945-526: 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
28188-527: 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
28431-588: 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
28674-500: The blame and in others he openly boasts of the destruction. The Neo-Babylonian Empire's claim to succeed the Neo-Assyrian Empire was immediately challenged by Egypt under Pharaoh Necho II , who fought for several years to restore the Assyrians, whom he was allied to, until he was defeated at the Battle of Carchemish in 605 BC. Upon his death that same year, Nabopolassar was succeeded by his son Nebuchadnezzar II . As
28917-582: 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
29160-473: 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,
29403-435: 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
29646-420: 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
29889-420: 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
30132-544: The chronicles or elsewhere in the archaeological record. As with most other Babylonian Chronicles, the tablet is unprovenanced , having been purchased in 1896 via an antiquities dealer from an unknown excavation. It was first published 60 years later in 1956 by Donald Wiseman . The tablet claims that Nebuchadnezzar "crossed the river to go against the Egyptian army which lay in Karchemiš . They fought with each other and
30375-530: The cities, such as Kish , Ur , Uruk, Borsippa , Nippur , and Babylon itself, the Chaldean tribes, led by chieftains who often squabbled with each other, dominated most of the southernmost land. The Arameans lived on the fringes of settled land and were notorious for plundering surrounding territories. Because of the infighting of these three major groups, Babylonia often represented an appealing target for Assyrian campaigns. The two kingdoms had competed since
30618-508: The city of Harran , where they continued to hold out. Although Babylonian sources refer to him as Assyria's new king, Ashur-uballit ruled with the title of crown prince ( mar šarri , literally meaning "son of the king"). In Assyrian tradition, the king was appointed to his position by the Assyrian national deity, Ashur , during the New Year festivals in Assur. The last king to be crowned at
30861-438: The city of Takrit . There, Sinsharishkun besieged Nabopolassar, but he was eventually forced to abandon the siege. Though the conflict had shifted to Assyria becoming the defender, the war was at this point still being fought according to standard Mesopotamian practice, with attacks, counterattacks and retreats and neither side having the confidence or means to force a decisive confrontation. Despite constant defeats and setbacks,
31104-494: 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
31347-417: 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
31590-455: The combined Medo-Babylonian army marched on Nineveh. Sinsharishkun rallied his forces to make a final stand at the capital but stood little chance at defending it on account of the city's massive size. From June to August 612 BC, the Medo-Babylonian army besieged the Assyrian capital and in August the walls were breached, leading to a lengthy and brutal sack . The city was looted, depictions of
31833-471: 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
32076-462: 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
32319-436: The defeat of the latter. Kudurru's support for Assyria could explain Nabopolassar's unwillingness to mention his father in his inscriptions, and the desecration of his father's body additionally meant that Nabopolassar in a literal sense no longer had a father. In the middle of the seventh century BC, the Neo-Assyrian Empire ruled the entire Near East . Due to their powerful standing army and their sophisticated administration,
32562-470: 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
32805-463: 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
33048-434: 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
33291-521: 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,
33534-427: The eldest son and heir by Nabopolassar, Nabu-shum-lishir had been recognized as "his equal brother", a dangerously vague title. No attempts at usurpation were made. One of Nebuchadnezzar's first acts as king was to bury his father. Nabopolassar was laid in a huge coffin, adorned with ornamented gold plates and fine dresses with golden beads, which was then placed within a small palace he had constructed in Babylon. With
33777-402: 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
34020-415: The empire's western provinces in 622 BC. This general, whose name remains unknown, took advantage of the absence of Sinsharishkun and the Assyrian army to march on Nineveh, the Assyrian capital, where he met a hastily organized army which surrendered without fighting. The usurper then successfully seized the Assyrian throne. The surrender of the army indicates that the usurper was an Assyrian and possibly even
34263-401: The entire story has to be seen as unreliable, it is possible that this particular tale can be related to a passage in the Babylonian chronicles that mention Nabopolassar returning statues of gods to that the Assyrians had stolen from Elam and put in Uruk. Some aspects of Nabopolassar's royal titulature suggest that he wished to distance himself from the Neo-Assyrian kings, while others suggest
34506-642: The event to 598 BC. There are no extra-biblical sources for the Second Siege of Jerusalem , which has been dated to 587 BC. The date was arrived at by comparing the evidence of the Chronicle to dates given in the Book of Ezekiel in connection to the year of captivity of Jeconiah (i.e. the first fall of Jerusalem). Nabopolassar Nabopolassar ( Neo-Babylonian Akkadian : 𒀭𒉺𒀀𒉽 , romanized: Nabû-apla-uṣur , meaning " Nabu , protect
34749-412: 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
34992-416: The family tradition and serving as the city's governor. In early 626 BC, he rose in rebellion against Sinsharishkun. Fighting for the control of Babylonia would drag on for about ten years, and which side had the advantage shifted dramatically back and forth several times. The timing of the revolt was opportune. Nabopolassar might have used the political instability caused by the revolt of Sin-shumu-lishir
35235-723: 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
35478-402: 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
35721-438: The foundations of the land I shall obliterate". The original tablets containing these letters have not been preserved, with the known text instead having been derived from tablets made during Seleucid times, centuries later. Whether the letters are copies of authentic, more ancient, originals, or fabrications entirely is a matter of debate. In April or May 612 BC, at the start of Nabopolassar's fourteenth year as king of Babylon,
35964-491: 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,
36207-460: The founder of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, Nabopolassar was long remembered by the Babylonians after his death, even beyond the fall of his empire less than a century later. In the Hellenistic period , several centuries later, Nabopolassar's legend was still remembered, with Babylonian authors casting him as a champion ordered by Marduk , Babylon 's chief deity, to avenge their homeland, and as
36450-475: 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
36693-433: 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
36936-518: 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
37179-629: The kingship of Assyria. Although it has been suggested by several historians, there is no evidence to prove the idea that Ashur-etil-ilani was deposed in a coup by his brother. Sinsharishkun's inscriptions state that he was selected for the kingship from among several of "his equals" (i.e., his brothers) by the gods. Almost immediately after Sinsharishkun's rise to the throne, the general Sin-shumu-lishir rebelled. Sin-shumu-lishir took some cities in northern Babylonia , including Nippur and Babylon and ruled there for three months before Sinsharishkun defeated him. Though both of them exercised control there, it
37422-400: The land of Assyria, I turned the hostile land into heaps and ruins". Later Neo-Babylonian rulers, such as Nabonidus ( r. 556–539 BC), blamed the destruction solely on the Medes and Cyaxares, maintaining that Nabopolassar had not destroyed any temples and described him as remorseful of the fate that befell Assyria. Though ultimately victorious, the Babylonians and Medes had violated
37665-457: The last few years campaigned to establish dominance over the small city-states of the Levant and it was in his interests that Assyria survived as a buffer state between his own empire and those of the Babylonians and Medes in the east. A joint Egyptian-Assyrian campaign to capture the city of Gablinu was undertaken in October of 616 BC, but ended in failure after which the Egyptian allies kept to
37908-489: 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
38151-403: 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
38394-468: 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
38637-491: 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
38880-454: The middle of the Tigris river between the two kingdoms, meaning that the Babylonians now controlled lands directly bordering the Assyrian heartland itself. In May 615 BC, Nabopolassar and the Babylonians assaulted Assur , the ceremonial and religious center of Assyria and the Assyrian Empire's southernmost remaining city. Sinsharishkun swiftly rallied his army and counterattacked, lifting the siege of Assur and forcing Nabopolassar to retreat to
39123-426: The modern interpretations in regards to the reason for briefly "ruling" from Nineveh are that Nabopolassar either might have wanted to cement himself as the successor of the Assyrian kings, or that taking residence there was an attempt to save what remained of the city from further sacking by the Medes. The survivors of Nineveh's fall followed a new Assyrian ruler, Ashur-uballit II , possibly Sinsharishkun's son, to
39366-399: 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
39609-530: 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
39852-420: The name of Kudurru's second son, Nabu-shumu-ukin, is also the name of a prominent general under Nabopolassar (a role not unlikely to be filled by a family member) and the name of one of Nebuchadnezzar II's sons (possibly another example of a name honoring a relative). The ancient author Berossus , a native Babylonian historian active in Hellenistic times , centuries after Nabopolassar, described Nabopolassar as
40095-434: 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,
40338-413: The names of their fathers and wrote about them with pride in their inscriptions. On account of a lack of sources in regards to his true origins, subsequent historians have variously identified Nabopolassar as a Chaldean , an Assyrian or a Babylonian . Although no evidence conclusively confirms him as being of Chaldean origin, the term " Chaldean dynasty " is frequently used by modern historians for
40581-446: 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
40824-474: The next year. The Assyrians appear to have not recognized the severity of their situation as they did not use the pause in the fighting to fall back into, and prepare, defensive positions. Instead of repairing the damage in Nimrud, the populace there dismantled the walls further to prepare for future renovation work (which would never happen). In an attempt to keep the enemies out of Assyria, Sinsharishkun went on
41067-428: The normal practices of warfare in the Near East. The destruction of the Assyrian heartland had been so extensive that the region did not even begin to recover until a century later, when it came under the rule of the Achaemenid Empire . Although Nabopolassar did not take the title "king of Assyria", he first extracted tribute while encamped at the ruins of Nineveh. In 2003, Assyriologist Stephanie Dalley wrote that two of
41310-432: The offensive in 613 BC, attacking Nabopolassar's forces in the middle Euphrates, occupied at the time with suppressing an Assyrian-supported rebellion of a local tribe. Sinshariskun successfully rescued the tribe's besieged city of Rahilu , but Nabopolassar's army retreated before a battle could take place. Around this time, Sinsharishkun, apparently finally recognizing the disaster that was about to befall his kingdom, sent
41553-553: The opposite and a wish to establish clear continuity with them. Some prominent Assyrian titles, such as " king of the Four Corners of the World ", were dropped, whereas Nabopolassar assumed others, such as šarru dannu ("mighty king") and the much older Sumerian " king of Sumer and Akkad ". The title of "mighty king" in particular was strongly associated with Assyria, previously only ever having been used by Assyrian rulers. Though
41796-422: The outcome was not yet decisive, characteristic of previous Assyro-Babylonian conflicts in the Neo-Assyrian period. In previous uprisings, the Babylonians had sometimes temporarily gained the upper hand as well and there was no reason to believe that Nabopolassar's success would be anything but a temporary inconvenience. In 616 BC, Nabopolassar entered Assyrian territory for the first time, leading his armies along
42039-501: The period between 609 and 607 BC, Nabopolassar was occupied by a war against the northern Kingdom of Urartu , and in the meantime, the Egyptians took the city of Carchemish in Syria, which Necho established as his base of operations for the course of the campaign. In 606 BC, the Egyptians won several victories at various sites in Syria, such as at the city of Kimuhu , located near Carchemish. The Egyptian war continued until Necho suffered
42282-401: 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
42525-421: The plunder had already begun and met with Cyaxares, allying with him and signing an anti-Assyrian pact. The treaty between the Babylonians and Medes was sealed through the marriage of Nabopolassar's son and heir, Nebuchadnezzar, and Cyaxares's daughter, Amytis . The onset of winter after the fall of Assur meant that both the Medes and Babylonians then returned to their homelands, preparing for further campaigns in
42768-416: The political context and reasons for the sudden attack are not known. Perhaps, the war between Babylonia and Assyria had disrupted the economy of the Medes and inspired a direct intervention. In July or August of 614 BC, the Medes mounted attacks on the cities of Nimrud and Nineveh and successfully conquered the city of Tarbisu . They then besieged Assur. This siege was successful and the Medes captured
43011-401: 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
43254-414: 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:
43497-456: The proper coronation. In 611 BC, Nabopolassar's army consolidated his rule throughout northern Mesopotamia, going as far as to the border of Harran itself. After Nabopolassar himself had travelled the recently conquered Assyrian heartland in 610 BC in order to ensure stability, the Medo-Babylonian army embarked on a campaign against Harran in November of 610 BC. Intimidated by the approach of
43740-886: 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
43983-522: 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
44226-551: 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
44469-520: 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
44712-417: The religious and ceremonial heart of Assyria, and in 612 BC the Medes and Babylonians assaulted Nineveh , Assyria's capital. As with Assur before it, Nineveh was brutally sacked , with its inhabitants, including children, slaughtered en masse and the entire city being burned to the ground. Sinsharishkun probably died in its defense. Other Assyrian cities, such as Nimrud , were also assaulted and sacked much in
44955-463: The rise of Nabopolassar and the foundation of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, Babylonia entered into a new age of political stability and economic prosperity. In terms of his legacy, archaeologist and historian Rocío Da Riva wrote in 2017 that Nabopolassar's exploits and figure are "inextricably linked to the overthrow of the Neo-Assyrian Empire and to the formation and configuration of the Chaldean kingdom". Nabopolassar's legend survived for centuries and he
45198-562: The rise of the Middle Assyrian Empire in the 14th century BC, and in the 8th century BC, the Assyrians consistently gained the upper hand. Babylon's internal and external weakness led to its conquest by the Assyrian king Tiglath-Pileser III in 729 BC. During the expansion of Assyria into a major empire, the Assyrians had conquered various neighboring kingdoms, either annexing them as Assyrian provinces or turning them into vassal states. Because
45441-449: The rise of the Neo-Babylonian Empire in its place. Of unclear, possibly Chaldean , origin and potentially connected to a powerful political family in the southern city of Uruk , Nabopolassar revolted against the Neo-Assyrian king Sinsharishkun at an opportune moment when Babylonia was already plagued by political instability. Though the advantage shifted back and forth dramatically several times, Nabopolassar managed to decisively push
45684-458: The royal family he founded, and the term "Chaldean Empire" remains in use as an alternate historiographical name for the Neo-Babylonian Empire. Several near-contemporary texts, such as the Uruk prophecy , describe Nabopolassar as a "king of the sea", i.e. of southernmost Babylonia, suggesting that his origin was south of Babylon itself. The Assyrians also ascribed him a southern origin; a letter from
45927-524: 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
46170-403: The rule of the Assyrian Empire. The antagonist of the Nabopolassar epics is typically Sinsharishkun or Sin-shumu-lishir (who was actually defeated by Sinsharishkun, not Nabopolassar). Texts and chronicles describing Nabopolassar's military career were being spread throughout Babylonia in the 5th, and probably also 4th, century BC. A rare negative portrayal of Nabopolassar has been recovered in
46413-422: 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
46656-503: The same language (Akkadian). The relationship between Assyria and Babylon was emotional in a sense; Neo-Assyrian inscriptions implicitly gender the two countries, calling Assyria the metaphorical "husband" and Babylon its "wife". In the words of the Assyriologist Eckart Frahm, "the Assyrians were in love with Babylon, but also wished to dominate her". Though Babylon was respected as the well-spring of civilization, it
46899-404: 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
47142-444: The same way. The brutality of the Medes, including their habit of sacking even the religious temples, was so excessive that it shocked the Babylonians; contemporary Babylonian chronicles , otherwise hostile to the Assyrians, lament the sackings with sorrow and remorse. Nabopolassar's own attitude towards Assyria is unclear; in some inscriptions he is careful to ascribe his victory and its aftermath to divine intervention to rid himself of
47385-601: 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
47628-506: 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
47871-431: 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,
48114-446: 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,
48357-439: The siege of Babylon would be the last time an Assyrian army attempted to take the city. In the aftermath of the failed Assyrian counterattack, Nabopolassar was formally crowned king of Babylon on 22/23 November 626 BC, restoring Babylonia as an independent kingdom. In 625–623 BC, Sinsharishkun's forces again attempted to defeat Nabopolassar, campaigning in northern Babylonia. Initially, these campaigns were successful; in 625 BC
48600-506: 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
48843-413: 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
49086-564: The son") was the founder and first king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire , ruling from his coronation as king of Babylon in 626 BC to his death in 605 BC. Though initially only aimed at restoring and securing the independence of Babylonia , Nabopolassar's uprising against the Neo-Assyrian Empire , which had ruled Babylonia for more than a century, eventually led to the complete destruction of the Assyrian Empire and
49329-428: The south slow. The fighting in Babylonia in the last stages of the localized conflict turned conditions so desperate in some places that parents sold their children into slavery to avoid them starving to death. While unlikely to have been received positively, the end of Assyrian rule in Babylonia would probably not have been regarded as significant to the Assyrians at the time. All fighting had happened in Babylonia and
49572-428: 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
49815-462: 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
50058-553: 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
50301-408: 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
50544-560: The subjects of epics and stories to avoid explicit commentary on their contemporary politics. Typically, these historical figures were ancient, and more recent, Assyrian and Babylonian kings, including those of the Neo-Babylonian Empire. Nabopolassar, called Belesys or Bupolasaros by the Hellenistic-era authors, is used in some and is generally cast in a very positive light, described as a pious and just king who, partly through reverence of Marduk, managed to liberate his homeland from
50787-488: 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
51030-440: The succession of events in the period of Assyria's downfall, the Babylonian chronicles are the most important source, though they do not cover all of Nabopolassar's reign, only reveal select facts and are written in a terse and objective style. Around 1,500 administrative and economical texts are known from Nabopolassar's reign, most recovered from excavated temple archives in Uruk and Sippar, but they do not record much of events on
51273-423: The temple of Ashur at Assur had been Sinsharishkun and with the city's destruction in 614 BC, the traditional Assyrian coronation ritual was now impossible. Ashur-uballit did have a coronation ceremony in late 612 BC, but instead of conducting it in Assur, it was conducted in the temple of the moon god Sin , another important deity in the empire, at Harran. That he was not formally king does not mean that his claim
51516-492: 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
51759-405: The tide of the war. Though Necho would spend the better part of three years attempting to defeat the Babylonians, the Assyrian Empire had already collapsed and he was fighting for a lost cause. At Megiddo , Necho easily defeated the king of Judah , Josiah , who had attempted to block his advance into Syria and Mesopotamia. The reason for Josiah deciding to attempt to halt the Egyptian campaign
52002-465: 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
52245-443: The time of Nabopolassar's death, Nebuchadnezzar was still away on campaign and upon hearing the news, he quickly arranged affairs with the Egyptians and rushed back to Babylon. The speed in which Nebuchadnezzar returned to Babylon might be because of the threat of one of his brothers (two are known by name: Nabu-shum-lishir and Nabu-zer-ushabshi) potentially attempting to claim the throne. Though Nebuchadnezzar had been recognized as
52488-653: The timespan in which Nabopolassar ruled as king of Babylon, chiefly the Uruk King List (also known as King List 5) and the Ptolemaic Canon of Kings . In the Uruk list, the length of the reigns of each Babylonian king, from the 7th to the 3rd century BC, are recorded. The Ptolemaic Canon lists rulers of Babylonia, followed by the Achaemenid Persian kings and the Ptolemaic dynasty of Egypt. As
52731-561: The title was not used in any royal inscriptions, i. e. not "officially", both Nabopolassar and his heir Nebuchadnezzar used the ancient title " king of the Universe " in economical documents. Nabopolassar not fully being disconnected from his Assyrian predecessors in his titulature is also reflected in his empire's administrative structure, which essentially was the same as that of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. That titulature and administration did not change much from Sinsharishkun to Nabopolassar
52974-474: 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
53217-411: 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
53460-458: 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,
53703-431: The uncontested successor of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. For the first time since the Assyrian conquest more than a century prior, tribute flowed into Babylonia rather than being drained from it. Because Nabopolassar had spent virtually his entire reign at war, pressing affairs in his capital, Babylon, had been more or less neglected. The city had been destroyed by the Neo-Assyrian king Sennacherib in 689 BC, and though it
53946-410: 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,
54189-1901: The usage varied and there are examples where he used "king of Babylon" instead. Nabopolassar, governor of Babylon, king of Sumer and Akkad, the lofty prince, who is under the guidance of Nabu and Marduk, the humble, the submissive, whose heart has learned the fear of god and goddess, the restorer of Esagila and Ezida, the one who looks after the rights of the great gods. ( 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
54432-528: The violent downfall of Assyria, comparatively few sources survive from Nabopolassar's reign. The near-contemporary sources that do survive include two Babylonian chronicles (written from the point of view of the victorious Babylonians); the Nabopolassar Chronicle and the Fall of Nineveh Chronicle , as well as royal inscriptions and economic and administrative texts. In terms of reconstructing
54675-435: The war against Egypt over, and twenty years of near-constant warfare concluded, Nabopolassar stood victorious, having achieved all of his objectives. Nineveh no longer existed and Assyria would never rise again. The Egyptians no longer represented a threat and the only other major power in the Near East, the Medes, were Nabopolassar's allies. Through the defeat of all of Nabopolassar's rivals, his Neo-Babylonian Empire had become
54918-485: 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
55161-477: The west of the Euphrates , only offering limited support. Both the Assyrians and the Babylonians then withdrew, though the Babylonians retained Hindanu and now controlled the middle Euphrates, a major strategical victory and probably the first step in Nabopolassar's plan to counteract the possibility of an Assyrian invasion of Babylonia. That Nabopolassar withdrew at the same time as the Assyrians did suggests that
55404-436: 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
55647-550: Was a growing body of evidence that Nabopolassar's family originated in Uruk, and also presented evidence that several of Nebuchadnezzar II 's (Nabopolassar's son and successor) daughters lived in the city. In 2007, the Assyriologist Michael Jursa advanced the theory that Nabopolassar was a member of a prominent political family in Uruk, whose members are attested since the reign of Esarhaddon ( r. 681–669 BC). To support his theory, Jursa points to
55890-462: Was a very rare name in Babylonia. Since the Babylonians employed patronymics , it is possible that Nabopolassar would have named his son after his father. Before becoming king after Nabopolassar's death, Nebuchadnezzar II served as the high priest of the Eanna temple in Uruk, often attested there under the nickname Kudurru, further linking Nabopolassar's dynasty both to Uruk and to Kudurru. Additionally,
56133-406: 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,
56376-425: Was challenged by his subjects; like the coronation of a king, the appointment of a crown prince required the formal recognition of all subjects and of the gods. Should the king be unable to exercise his duties, the crown prince was a competent substitute, exercising similar legal and political power. Ashur-uballit was the recognized legitimate ruler, and his title was only a provisional arrangement until he could undergo
56619-426: Was expected to remain passive in political matters, something that Assyria's "Babylonian bride" repeatedly refused to be. The Assyrians attempted various strategies to appease their Babylonian subjects throughout the eighth and seventh centuries BC; ranging from violent subjugation through war to direct rule either by the Assyrian king or by a representative (sometimes a relative such as a son or brother). Though there
56862-619: 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
57105-404: 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
57348-457: 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
57591-435: Was long remembered by the Babylonians as the "avenger of Akkad" (i. e. Babylonia) and as a symbol of resistance to domination of foreign empires. Several later texts hold that Nabopolassar was even divinely ordered by Marduk , Babylon's chief deity, to avenge Babylonia. During the Hellenistic period, centuries after Nabopolassar's death and the eventual collapse of his empire, Babylonian authors used historical royal figures as
57834-400: 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
58077-403: 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
58320-427: Was rebuilt by Sennacherib's successor Esarhaddon, it was not rebuilt as the capital of an empire, lacking the necessary headquarters for efficient imperial administration and with religious institutions not as elaborate of those that existed in Assyria. Though early work had been begun by Nabopolassar, much work still lay ahead; a new wall had to be built around the city and the great temples of Babylon, most importantly
58563-586: 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
58806-521: Was some success in pacifying the urban population of Babylonians, the Arameans and Chaldeans remained unconvinced and repeatedly rebelled whenever they saw an opportunity. Despite the enormous effort spent in keeping the region, Babylonia was seen as too important economically and strategically to allow to secede, but no matter what the Assyrians attempted, rebellion and civil war was the inevitable result each time. Prolonged Assyrian control of Babylonia proved so impossible that modern researchers have dubbed it
59049-471: 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
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