Difference between revisions of "Medes"

<p> Media. From Μadai , Japheth's son (&nbsp;Genesis 10:2). They called themselves Mada in the arrow headed inscriptions, Semitic Μadai Greek Μedoi . S.W. and S. of the Caspian, N.W. and N. of Persia, W. of [[Parthia]] and the salt desert of Iram, E. of [[Armenia]] and Assyria. Its length was 550 miles; its width was 300. Coming to Europe in small parties mingled with the [[Scythians]] they were the [[Sarmatians]] (Sauro-Matae) of the steppe country between the [[Euxine]] and Caspian. [[Berosus]] (in [[Eusebius]] Chron. i. 4) states that about 2450 B.C. eight [[Median]] kings reigned over [[Babylon]] for 224 years. Aryans (the name applied to [[Medes]] by their neighbors in Herodotus' time, vii. 62) existed very early with Cushites and Shemites in the Mesopotamian population. These Aryans probably became masters for a time, then were driven to the mountains from whence they spread E., N., and W. The early Vedic settlers in western Hindostan were Aryans. The Maeotae of the sea of Azov and the Medi of [[Thrace]] (see Herodotus, v. 9) attest their progress. </p> <p> Rawlinson (Herodotus, i. 327; Es. iii. 3) thinks that the Medes of Berosus' statement were really Scyths; but Berosus' statements are generally confirmed by recent deciphering of the [[Babylonian]] monuments. A very early Aryan migration probably preceded the one in progress about 880 B.C. Then the Medes appear in the cuneiform inscriptions as Assyria's enemies, inhabiting part of Media. They then consisted of petty chieftains and tribes without central government. [[Assyria]] ravaged their lands and exacted tribute. The range of Zagros inhabited by hardy mountaineers intervened between them and Assyria. So, in spite of Sargon's attempt by military colonies to occupy Media permanently, the Medes maintained their nationality and outlived Assyria. [[Sennacherib]] and his successor [[Esarhaddon]] both profess to conquer Media, which shows it was still unconquered when they came to the throne. In Ahaz' reign, beginning 741 B.C., [[Kir]] a Median city was held by Tiglath Pileser (&nbsp;2 Kings 16:9). </p> <p> In Sargon's reign the ten tribes were removed to the cities of the Medes (&nbsp;2 Kings 17:6). In the deciphered inscriptions he says he founded in Media cities which he planted with colonists from other parts of his dominions. As Assyria declined Media rose. [[Cyaxares]] subdued the Scythians ''(Those Of Zagros [[Range]] And The [[Kindred]] Tribes [[Invited]] By The [[Former]] From The N.)'' who disputed with the Aryans the possession of the mountain region. [[Finally]] he captured Nineveh 625 B.C. [[Nabopolassar]] with the [[Babylonians]] helped him in its overthrow (Abydenus), and was therefore made independent king of Babylon. (See [[Nineveh]] ; ASSYRIA.) The Median empire then was separated from [[Babylonia]] either by the [[Tigris]] or by a line half way between the Tigris and Euphrates; Syria, Phoenicia, and [[Judaea]] falling to Babylon. Cyaxares' predecessors named by Herodotus, Deioces the first king ''(A Title Assumed By All Median Kings, From Dahak "Biter" Or "Snake")'' , and Phraortes, are hardly historical persons. </p> <p> Cyaxares after taking Nineveh tried to extend his empire even beyond Assyria's boundary, the Halys, to the Aegean Sea. But after a six years' war in which he had Babylon's help he failed to conquer Lydia, and the three great monarchies concluded a peace ''(Ratified By Engagements And Intermarriages)'' which lasted throughout Cyaxares' and his son Astyages' reigns. Media probably left the native monarchs over the subject nations and required only tribute. [[Certainly]] [[Cambyses]] and his son Cyrus so held their throne under Media until Cyrus revolted. The latter introduced the system of satraps. Media only lasted as an empire the two reigns of Cyaxares and Astyages, 75 years, down to 558 B.C. ''(Still That There Were Earlier Kings Appears From '' &nbsp;Jeremiah 25:25'', "All The Kings Of The Medes".)'' Enervated by adopting [[Assyrian]] manners the Medes were defeated by the hardy [[Persian]] mountaineers under Cyrus, and their king [[Astyages]] taken. Both races being of the same Aryan or Iranic source, the same religion and language, naturally all but coalesced. </p> <p> [[Together]] they conquered Babylon, as foreseen by Isaiah (&nbsp;Isaiah 13:17): "behold I will stir up the Medes against them, which shall not regard silver, and as for gold they shall not delight in it" ''(Similarly Xenophon, Cyrop. 5:1, [[Section]] 10, Makes Cyrus Attribute To The Medes Disregard Of Riches, "And Babylon Shall Be ... As When God Overthrew Sodom")'' ; so &nbsp;Isaiah 21:2, "go up [[O]] [[Elam]] (Persia), besiege O Media." Both Medes and [[Persians]] were famous in using "bows" and as horsemen. Cyrus made Darius the [[Mede]] viceroy of Babylon until he assumed the government (Daniel 5; 6; Ezra 1). (See [[Cyrus]] ; DARIUS; BABYLON.) The Median capital was a royal residence for part of the year, and Media claimed precedence among the provinces. [[Achmetha]] (Ecbatana) "the palace in the province of the Medes" (&nbsp;Ezra 6:2-5) is where Cyrus' decree is found, an undesigned coincidence of [[Scripture]] with the fact that the Median capital was the seat of government under Cyrus, but a royal residence only under Darius Hystaspes. </p> <p> [[Discontent]] however led Media to seek to regain its old ascendancy and to elevate a Phraortes to the throne who claimed descent from Cyaxares. Darius [[Hystaspes]] crushed the rebellion with difficulty, and crucified and mutilated Phraortes. Again in vain the Medes rebelled under Darius Nothus. [[Afterward]] they made no further attempt. [[Herodotus]] divides the Medes into six tribes, of which the Arizanti ''(Of Aryan Descent)'' seem the first, then the Paretaceni, Struchates, Busae; lastly the Budii ''(The Putiya Of The Persian Inscriptions)'' and Magi ''(The [[Priest]] Caste, A Scythic [[Tribe]] Incorporated By The Medes With Themselves, [[Foreigners]] Admitted Into The Nation)'' . The two divisions latterly made were Media Magna ''(Now Kurdistan, Luristan, Ardelan, And Irak Ajemi)'' and Media Atropatia (now Azerbijan, the tract between the Caspian and the mountains running N. front Zagros, N. and W. of Media Magna) or Atropatene. The phrases "the Medes and Persians" and "Media and Persia," even after the Persians got the supremacy (&nbsp;Esther 10:2), show the original supremacy of Media, which still in legal and religious formalities was retained. </p> <p> In &nbsp;Daniel 8:3, of the two horns on the ram the higher came up last, namely, Persia. Herodotus (1:131) makes their original religion the worship of the elements, tire, etc. Rawlinson however makes dualism (the worship of both a good and an evil principle eternally existing: [[Ormuzd]] the good object of trust, [[Ahriman]] the object of fear) to have been their original faith as described in the Zendavesta, and that the worship of the elements was subsequently taken from the Scythians ''(The Fire Worshippers Of Armenia And Mount Zagros, Among Whom Magism Existed From Of Old)'' and was Magian. Their language belongs to the great Indo Germanic family, which Japheth's sons starting from Armenia spread N., E., and W. In [[Persia]] the purer Aryan creed, dualism ''(Ormuzd However Being Supreme)'' , prevailed; in Media Magism, the worship of water, air, earth, and above all fire, to which altars (but no temples) on mountain tops were dedicated, on which the fire was never allowed to go out. </p> <p> The usurpation of the Pseudo Smerdis or the Magian [[Artaxerxes]] (Ezra 4) was probably a religious revolution, Median Magianism striving against the Persian creed. (See [[Darius]] HYSTASPES; ARTAXERXES.) The magi performed the sacred rites, and divined the future; from them "magic" takes its name. (See [[Magi]] .) Fear of polluting the elements gave rise to the superstition of neither burying nor burning their dead, but exposing them to beasts and birds of prey (Herododus, i. 140), as do still the Parsees. The Persians copied their dress, the flowing robe seen on the Persepolitan sculptures. Their arms were bows, arrows, shields, short spears, poniards. They delighted in rich colors of dress, as scarlet, and chains and collars of gold. </p>

<p> [[Medes]] and [[Media]] (''Mç'Di-Ah'' ), ''Name.'' The same as Madai, "middle land," one of Japheth's sons. &nbsp;Genesis 10:2. The [[Hebrew]] word thus translated "Madai" is also rendered "Medes," &nbsp;2 Kings 17:6, etc., and "Media," &nbsp;Esther 1:3, etc., and also "Mede." &nbsp;Daniel 11:1. In the period of which Herodotus writes the people of Media were called Aryans. Its greatest length from north to south was 550 miles, its average breadth 250 to 300 miles, and its area 150,000 square miles. Media was divided originally into six provinces, which in Greek and Roman times were reduced to two. The early history of the Medes is very obscure. Their origin is given in &nbsp;Genesis 10:2, and they were connected with the captivity of Israel. &nbsp;2 Kings 17:6; &nbsp;2 Kings 18:11. Isaiah, in his prophecy against Babylon, reveals the agency and character of the Medes. &nbsp;Isaiah 13:17-18; &nbsp;Isaiah 21:2. But Media was not incorporated with Assyria, although Sargon, and afterward Sennacherib, subdued its people and exacted tribute. In b.c. 633 an independent kingdom was set up by Cyaxares, who in b.c. 625 took a leading part in the destruction of Nineveh. Media then became a great and powerful monarchy, comprising, besides Media proper, Persia, Assyria, Armenia, and other adjoining countries. The empire was 1500 miles long, 450 miles wide, and had an area of 600,000 square miles. Under Cyrus the two kingdoms of Babylonia and Media were united, b.c. 538. There are references in Scripture to this kingdom under the title of the "Medes and Persians." &nbsp;Daniel 5:28; &nbsp;Daniel 6:8; &nbsp;Daniel 6:12; &nbsp;Daniel 6:15; comp. &nbsp;Esther 1:19. The only city in Media alluded to in [[Scriptures]] is Achmetha, or Ecbatana. &nbsp;Ezra 6:2. This region was absorbed in the [[Macedonian]] empire of [[Alexander]] the Great Later an independent Median kingdom held sway until the [[Christian]] era, after which it became a part of the [[Parthian]] empire. Medes are mentioned in connection with Parthians, etc., in the New Testament, &nbsp;Acts 2:9. </p>

<p> ''''' mēdz ''''' ( מדי , <i> ''''' mādhı̄ ''''' </i> ; Assyrian <i> ''''' Amadā ''''' </i> , <i> ''''' Madā ''''' </i> ; Achaem. Persian <i> ''''' Māda ''''' </i> ; Μῆδοι , <i> ''''' Mḗdoi ''''' </i> (&nbsp; [[Genesis]] 10:2; &nbsp;2 Kings 17:6; &nbsp;2 Kings 18:11; &nbsp;1 Chronicles 1:5; &nbsp;Ezra 6:2; &nbsp;Esther 1:3 , &nbsp;Esther 1:14 , &nbsp;Esther 1:18 , &nbsp;Esther 1:19; &nbsp;Esther 10:2; &nbsp;Isaiah 13:17; &nbsp;Isaiah 21:2; &nbsp;Jeremiah 25:25; &nbsp;Jeremiah 51:11 , &nbsp;Jeremiah 51:28; &nbsp;Daniel 5:28; &nbsp;Daniel 6:1 , &nbsp;Daniel 6:9 , &nbsp;Daniel 6:13 , &nbsp;Daniel 6:16; &nbsp;Daniel 8:20; &nbsp;Daniel 9:1; &nbsp;Daniel 11:1 )): [[Mentioned]] as Japhethites in &nbsp;Genesis 10:2 , i.e. Aryans, and accordingly they first called themselves Ἄριοι , <i> '''''Árioi''''' </i> (Herod. vii. 62), in Avestic <i> '''''Airya''''' </i> = Skt. <i> '''''Árya''''' </i> , "noble." They were closely allied in descent, language and religion with the Persians, and in secular history preceded their appearance by some centuries. Like most Aryan nations they were at first divided into small village communities each governed by its own chiefs (called in Assyrian <i> '''''ḥazanāti''''' </i> by <i> '''''Assur''''' </i> - <i> '''''bani''''' </i> - <i> '''''pal''''' </i> : compare Herod. i. 96). [[Shalmaneser]] Ii mentions them (Nimrod Obelisk, i. 121) about 840 BC. They then inhabited the modern <i> '''''Ā'ẓarbāı̄jān''''' </i> (Media Atropatene). <i> '''''Rammānu''''' </i> - <i> '''''nirārı̄''''' </i> Iii of Assyria (Rawlinson, <i> Western Asiatic [[Inscriptions]] </i> , I, 35) declares that he (810-781 BC) had conquered "the land of the Medes and the land of Parsua" (Persis), as well as other countries. This probably meant only a plundering expedition, as far as Media was concerned. So also Assur-nirari Ii ( <i> Western Asiastic Inscriptions </i> , II, 52) in 749-748 Bc overran Namri in Southwest Media. Tiglath-pileser [[Iv]] (in Babylonian called Pulu, the "Pul" of &nbsp;2 Kings 15:19 ) and [[Sargon]] also overran parts of Media. Sargon in 716 Bc conquered Kisheshin, Kharkhar and other parts of the country. Some of the [[Israelites]] were by him transplanted to "the cities of the Medes" (&nbsp;2 Kings 17:6; &nbsp;2 Kings 18:11; the [[Septuagint]] reading Ὀρή , <i> '''''Orḗ''''' </i> , cannot be rendered "mountains" of the Medes here) after the fall of [[Samaria]] in 722 BC. It was perhaps owing to the need of being able to resist Assyria that about 720 Bc the Medes (in part at least) united into a kingdom under Deiokes, according to Herodotus (i. 98). Sargon mentions him by the name Dayaukku, and says that he himself captured this prince (715 BC) and conquered his territory two years later. After his release, probably, Deiokes fortified [[Ecbatana]] (formerly Ellippi) and made it his capital. It has been held by some that Herodotus confounds the Medes here with the Manda (or Umman-Manda, "hosts of the Manda") of the inscriptions; but these were probably Aryan tribes, possibly of [[Scythian]] origin, and the names Mada and Manda may be, after all, identical. Esar-haddon in his 2nd year (679-678 BC) and Assurbani-pal warred with certain Median tribes, whose power was now growing formidable. They (or the Manda) had conquered [[Persis]] and formed a great confederacy. Under Kyaxares (Uvakh-shatara - D eiokes' grandson, according to Herodotus), they besieged Nineveh, but Assur-bani-pal, with the assistance of the Ashguza (? the [[Ashkenaz]] of &nbsp;Genesis 10:3 ), another Aryan tribe, repelled them. The end of the Assyrian empire came, however, in 606 BC, when the Manda under their king Iriba-tukte, Mamiti-arsu "lord of the city of the Medes," Kastarit of the Armenian district of Kar-kassi, the Kimmerians (Gimirra = Gomer) under Teushpa (Teispes, Chaishpish), the [[Minni]] (Manna; compare &nbsp;Jeremiah 51:27 ), and the Babylonians under Nabu-pal-ucsur, stormed and destroyed Nineveh, as Nabu-nahid informs us. The last king of Assyria, Sin-sar-iskun (Sarakos), perished with his people. </p> <p> Herodotus says that Deiokes was succeeded by Phraortes (Fravartish) his son, Phraortes by his son Kyaxares; and the latter in turn left his kingdom to his son Astyages whose daughter Mandane married Cambyses, father of the great Cyrus. Yet there was no Median <i> empire </i> (such as he describes) then, or at least it did not embrace all the Aryan tribes of Western Asia, as we see from the inscriptions that in 606 BC, and even later, many of them were under kings and princes of their own (compare &nbsp; Jeremiah 25:25; &nbsp;Jeremiah 51:11 ). Herodotus tells us they were divided into six tribes, of whom the Magi were one (Herod. i. 101). Kyaxares warred for 5 years (590-585 BC) with the Lydians, the struggle being ended in May, 585, by the total eclipse of the sun foretold by [[Thales]] (Herodotus i. 74). </p> <p> The alliance between the Medes and the Babylonians ended with Nebuchadnezzar's reign. His successor Nabu-nahid (555 BC) says that in that year the Medes under Astyages (Ishtuwegu) entered [[Mesopotamia]] and besieged Haran. Soon after, however, that dynasty was overthrown; for Cyrus the Persian, whom Nabu-nahid the first time he mentions him styles Astyages' "youthful slave" ( <i> ''''' ardušu ''''' </i> <i> ''''' ṣaḥru ''''' </i> ), but who was even then king of Anshan (Anzan), attacked and in 549 Bc captured Astyages, plundered Ecbatana, and became king of the Medes. Though of Persian descent, Cyrus did not, apparently, begin to reign in Persia till 546 BC. [[Henceforth]] there was no Median empire distinguished from the Persian (nor is any such mentioned in Daniel, in spite of modern fancies). As the Medes were further advanced in civilization and preceded the Persians in sovereignty, the Greek historians generally called the whole nation "the Medes" long after Cyrus' time. Only much later are the Persians spoken of as the predominant partners. Hence, it is a sign of early date that Daniel (&nbsp;Daniel 8:20 ) speaks of "Media and Persia," whereas later the Book of Esther reverses the order ("Persia and Media," &nbsp;Esther 1:3 , &nbsp;Esther 1:14 , &nbsp;Esther 1:18 , &nbsp;Esther 1:19; &nbsp;Esther 10:2 ), as in the inscriptions of Darius at Behistun. Under Darius I, Phraortes (Fravartish) rebelled, claiming the throne of Media as a descendant of Kyaxares. His cause was so powerfully supported among the Medes that the rebellion was not suppressed till after a fierce struggle. He was finally taken prisoner at Raga ( <i> '''''Rai''''' </i> , near Tehran), brutally mutilated, and finally impaled st Ecbatana. After that Median history merges into that of Persia. The history of the [[Jews]] in Media is referred to in Daniel and Esther. 1 [[Maccabees]] tells something of Media under the Syrian (6:56) and Parthian dominion (14:1-3; compare Josephus, <i> Ant. </i> , XX, iii). Medes are last mentioned in &nbsp;Acts 2:9 . They are remarkable as the first leaders of the Aryan race in its struggle with the Semites for freedom and supremacy. </p>