Not to be confused with Middle Kingdom (disambiguation).
Median kingdom
𐎶𐎠𐎭 Māda
c. 678 BCE[a]–c. 550 BCE
Hypothetical map of the Median kingdom at its maximum extent
Capital
Ecbatana
Common languages
Median
Religion
Ancient Iranian religion
Government
Monarchy
Kings
• 700–678 BCE
Deioces
• 678–625 BCE
Phraortes
• 625–585 BCE
Cyaxares
• 585–550 BCE
Astyages
Historical era
Iron Age
• Accession of Phraortes
c. 678 BCE[a]
• Median revolt against Assyria
672 BCE
• Accession of Cyaxares
625 BCE
• Medes and Babylonians conquer Nineveh
612 BCE
• Battle of the Eclipse
585 BCE
• Conquered by Cyrus the Great
c. 550 BCE
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Neo-Assyrian Empire
Urartu
Achaemenid Empire
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Media (in Old Persian: Māda; in Greek: Mēdía; in Akkadian: Mādāya)[1] 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 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.[2]
According to classical historiography, Media emerged as one major power of the ancient Near East after the collapse of Assyria. Under Cyaxares (r. 625–585 BCE), the kingdom's borders were expanded to the east and west through the subjugation of neighboring peoples, such as the Persians and Armenians. Media's territorial expansion led to the formation of the first Iranian empire, which at its height would have exercised authority over more than two million square kilometers, stretching from 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, the Median capital, Ecbatana, was conquered by the Persian king Cyrus II, marking the beginning of the Achaemenid Empire.[3]
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 the political structures of the later Achaemenid Empire. Others argue that the Medes formed a loose confederation of tribes rather than a centralized state.
^ abDandamayev & Medvedskaya 2006.
^Curtis, Vesta Sarkhosh; Stewart, Sarah (2010-01-08). Birth of the Persian Empire. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-0-85771-092-5.
^Dandamaev 1989.
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contemporary scholarship tends to be skeptical about the existence of a united Mediankingdom or state, at least for most of the 7th century BCE. According to classical...
suggesting that there never was a powerful Mediankingdom. In any case, it appears that after the fall of the last Median king against the Persian king Cyrus...
The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two equally-sized groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having...
Δηιόκης, Dēiokēs, Kurdish: Diyako), was the founder and first king of the Mediankingdom. His name has been mentioned in different forms in various sources,...
Leloux: The Battle of the Eclipse (May 28, 585 BC): A Discussion of the Lydo-Median Treaty and the Halys Border. In: Polemos. Volume 19, no. 2, 2016, ISSN 1331-5595...
this Era see: List of Parthian monarchs List of rulers of Parthian sub-kingdoms Note: Classical Persia is generally agreed to have ended with the collapse...
of the Assyrians in Zagros unified the Median tribes by Deioces in 728 BC, the foundation of the MedianKingdom and their capital Ecbatana, unifying Iran...
A median strip, central reservation, roadway median, or traffic median is the reserved area that separates opposing lanes of traffic on divided roadways...
romanized: Phraórtēs), son of Deioces, was the second king of the Mediankingdom. Like his father Deioces, Phraortes started wars against Assyria, but...
symbols instead of cuneiform script. Astyages was the last king of the Mediankingdom, reigning from 585 to 550 BCE. The son of Cyaxares, he was dethroned...
māt Urarṭu, Babylonian: Urashtu, Hebrew: אֲרָרָט Ararat) was an Iron Age kingdom centered around Lake Van in the Armenian Highlands. It extended from the...
Median household disposable income in the UK was £29,400 in the financial year ending (FYE) 2019, up 1.4% (£400) compared with growth over recent years;...
Harran refers to the siege and capture of the Assyrian city of Harran by the Median and Neo-Babylonian empires. From the year 639 BC, the Neo-Assyrian Empire...
the creator of the Mediankingdom was one Deioces who, according to Herodotus, reigned from 728 to 675 BCE and founded the Median capital Ecbatana(Hâgmatâna...
from Persis, he brought the Achaemenid dynasty to power by defeating the Median Empire and embracing all of the previous civilized states of the ancient...
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off...
the fall of the city, with the kingdom of Media as her dowry. When Cyaxares died about two years later the Mediankingdom passed peaceably to Cyrus, so...
This article is a list of countries by median age. The median age is the index that divides the entire population into two numerically equal age groups...
Halys River as having been set as the border between the Lydian and the Mediankingdom, which appears to have been a retroactive narrative construction based...
a monument on the tomb of his brother, the Mithraic High Priest of the Kingdom of Greater Armenia, Mazhan. Movses of Khoren notes that Bardesanes translated...
successful, with a mean of 6.0 (median of 5.9). The three Liberals averaged 5.8 (median of 6.2) and the twelve Conservatives 4.8 (median of 4.1). In a 2006 issue...
resulted in the overthrow of Astyages from the throne, the fall of the Mediankingdom, and the rise of the Achaemenid Empire. Mandane serves as the genealogical...
late 1960s. In other contexts, the intersection is called a median U‑turn crossover or median U‑turn, or restricted crossing U-turn (RCUT). The design is...
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