MEDIA (Assyrian mât Ma-da-a-a).—Northwestern part of the Iranian plateau, between the Aras, the Caspian, the central desert, the borders of Persis and Susiana (Elam), and the Zagros ranges: a land with a relatively dense population from prehistoric times, which, after the Medes had established their supremacy there, shaped the history of the first millennium B.C.
The country was very well suited to serve as the foundation of a great power: “good in men and horses,”
rich in metals and in skilled craftsmen in its “cities,” or rather small townships. But the bulk of the population consisted of shepherds, vigorous and fierce. The few genuine cities stood at the crossroads of the caravan routes: such as Ecbatana (Hangmatana), which controlled trade toward the west, and Raga (south of Tcherân), which controlled trade toward the north and east.
Knowledge of the history of M. is based on fragmentary sources: Avestan literature (especially yat and yama: vague indications, with the exception of the Videvdat, “Antidemoniac Law”), Greek accounts (partly fabulous), and Assyrian annals (the richest in information). The excavated sites, and the practical evidence they provide for chronology and history, are still lacking.
The language of the Medes is known only from proper names; it was close to Persian, so that interpreters were unnecessary, and likewise related to that of the Scythians, Saka (in Russia and southern Siberia), and Indo-Aryans; it belongs to the eastern branch of the Indo-European family. The religion was, at least in part, monotheistic.
How was the region occupied by the Medes (from the thirteenth to the ninth century B.C.)? Even in the ninth and eighth centuries, the proper names of the region represent a mixture of Subarean, Aramaic, and Median names; and, as a vassal of the great king of Nineveh, one man even assumed an Assyrian name. It was a large-scale migration, influenced by the “feudal” system of the shepherds of Central Asia: the chiefs of the hordes, with their horsemen, came to occupy the towers and castles from which petty rulers already settled in the land controlled the valleys, and became their successors. Behind them came the shepherds and flocks, who mingled with the indigenous population of shepherds and settled peoples. Then, peacefully, families of newly arrived and indigenous petty lords joined together; in this mixture the Medes gained the upper hand.
In the pre-imperial period, therefore, the country lacked political unity. There were only demana (“house”), vis (“tribe”), and faithra (“district”), but not yet dahyu (“land”); all were dominated by the airjaman, the “horsemen” (Assyrian with the epithet danuñti = “the strong”), the ruling class that had established itself over the hvaetu and vercena, the lower classes. The Assyrians therefore had dealings only with the petty rulers, that is, the “feudal” lords who controlled some trade route and were consequently more influential. These readily submitted when an Assyrian army approached, only to live in complete freedom once it had departed. The Assyrians sought to remedy this situation by founding colonies and making part of M. their province; they never, however, succeeded in organizing it effectively, still less in defining its boundaries.
The first Assyrian incursion was reported by Shalmaneser III in 836: a certain number of rulers of the land of Mada submitted, southeast of Lake Urmia. A century later (737), Tiglath-pileser penetrated as far as the “Mountain of Lapis Lazuli,” the majestic Demavend north of Tcherân. After Samaria was taken by Sargon (722 B.C.), some of the Israelites were deported “to the cities of M.,” that is, to the Assyrian colonies in the province of M. Sargon also, in 715, deported the Median ruler Daiakku to Hamâh in Syria, together with his vassal horsemen. The Greeks made him the founder of the Median dynasty, under the name Deioces.
The true founder of the dynasty, however, was Cyaxares I (Uahfatar). Still paying tribute to Sargon (in 714), under Sennacherib he began attacking and plundering the Assyrian colonies around Harbâr, in the Zagros (in 702). Then the invasion of the Gimmirrai and the Išguzai (Cimmerians and Scythians) harmed both sides: Assyria lost the regions around Lake Urmia, famous for the breeding of thoroughbred horses, and, seeking to remedy the situation, carried out extensive raids in M., penetrating as far as the land of Patufarri, on the shores of the salt waters of the Central Lake, carrying off especially the numerous herds of horses.
Kša-thritha, or Fravartiš (Phraortes), originally ruler of Kar Kašši, who reigned from 675 to 653, may be called the founder of the Median Empire. In addition to systematically attacking the Assyrian colonies,
he succeeded in establishing a stable understanding between the Medes and the Cimmerians, directed against Assyria. He even managed to make Ariyaramna, son of Hahamiš (from whom the Achaemenid dynasty descended), his vassal; Ariyaramna had introduced his Persians into Persis, as he related on a gold tablet, then brought to Ecbatana, already splendidly fortified (cf. the book of Judith). Finally, Fravartiš risked battle with Ashurbanipal and lost both the battle and his life (653); the Persians became independent.
M. rose again under Cyaxares II (ca. 625–585), who, combining Scythian and Assyrian techniques, reorganized the army to perfection, dividing it into spearmen, archers, and cavalry. The Assyrian incursions immediately came to an end. Cyaxares once more subjugated Persia (Persis and Anšan), despite the sovereignty of Assyria. He even descended from the Zagros mountains to besiege Nineveh. But Sinšar-iškun knew how to set the “Scythians” allied with him in motion (according to Greek sources; it may be more accurate to think of the people of the Ummān Manda, who were then entering history). Cyaxares seems to have been forced to submit to them. But already in 616 he freed himself, winning some of them over to his side, entered into an alliance with Nabopolassar, who had then wrested all Babylonia from Assyria, and transferred the war into enemy territory. The alliance signified that Assyria’s final hour had sounded.
The subsequent wars show M. as the greatest power of the period, and to it must be attributed the successes that followed: the conquest of the city of Aššur in 614, of Nineveh in 612, and of Harran, the last Assyrian center, taken in 610 and defended in the following years. The alliance was sealed by the marriage of Nebuchadnezzar to Amyhia, and M. received Assyria and the northern territories. In other military expeditions Cyaxares subdued the Carduchi, between the Caspian and Elburz, and even the Parthians, in eastern Iran. A long war with Alyattes of Lydia (590–585) ended with a compromise peace, extending M. as far as the Halys. An alliance was also made with Lydia, and Cyaxares gave another daughter in marriage to Croesus, the heir apparent and later the last king of Lydia on the throne of Sardis.
Shortly after its apogee, Median power collapsed. Ištumegu (v. ASIA), the last king, gave his daughter Mandanes in marriage to Cambyses I, his Persian vassal. From this union was born Cyrus (v.) the Great, who ascended the Persian throne in 559. His aims were not limited to independence; he even sought the throne of M. Having secured the loyalty of his entire country and of certain Median tribes, he formed an alliance with Nabonidus, who went to attack Harran, then in the possession of the Medes. In 553 Cyrus was summoned by Astyages to the court of Ecbatana; he did not appear, which signified rebellion, and Astyages led the army against him. But Astyages’ army rebelled against its commander, took him prisoner, and brought him to Cyrus, who hastened to go to Ecbatana to lay hands on his treasures.
Thus, in 550, the independence of the Medes came to an end. Mada became the first satrapy. But the Persians regarded it as part of their homeland, and the Medes enjoyed the same rights of honor as the Persians, since the highest offices were open to them. Ecbatana remained a favored residence of the Achaemenid kings.
Herzfeld, Archaeological history of Iran, Londra 1935, pp. 1-43; G. G. Cameron, Histoire de l'Iran antique, Parigi 1937; A. T. Olmstead, History of the persian empire, Londra-Nuova York 1948, pp. 16-38. Pietro Nober