The invasion of Temen-bar was probably more like an Arab raid than a militarj' conquest. His successors on the Assyrian throne were almost incessantly engaged in hostilities with the Medes (KawUnso!i's JItrodot. i, 404) ; and Sargon appears to have been the first who attempted to occupy the countrj- with regular garrisons. He built cities i!i Media, and reduced the people to trib- ute (Kawlinson's Herod. 1. c. ; and Comment.). Sargon was that king of Assyria " who took Samaria, and car- ried Israel captive," and placed some of them "in the cities of the Medes" (2 Kings xvii, 6; comp. xviii, 17; Isa. XX, 1). The truth of Scripture history is here strongly confirmed by monuments recently ilisentombed from the ruins of Sargon's palace at Khorsabad. On its walls are inscribed the records of his conquests, in which both Media and Judsea are mentioned — the former as on the eastern, and the latter on the western limits of his vast empire (Kawlinson's Comment, p. CI ; Kawlin- son's Herodot. i, 405). See Sakgon.
INIedia was not yet a kingdom. It was occupied by a number of petty chiefs, each ruling his own tribe. From these chiefs the Assyrian monarchs exacted tribute. The tribes increased in numbers, influence, a!id power. They held a cou!itry naturally strong. The Assyrian yoke was galling to their free spirits, and probably this first induced them to unite their forces, elect a conmion leader, a!!d assert their iiidcpendence. The exact date of this revolution ca!!!!ot now be fixed, but the fact of it is certain. Herodotus's account of it is as follows: " The Assyrians had held the empire of Upper Asia for a space of .")20 years, wheti the Medes set the example of revolt. Tiiey took arms for the recovery of their free- dom, a!id fought a battle with the Assyrians, in which they behaved with such gallantry as to shake off the yoke of servitude" (i, 95). He then tells how the em- pire was formed by a certain Deioces, who, in co!ise- (pience of his wisdom and justice, was elected moiiarch by the six tribes composing the nation (i, !U)-li)l). Deioces built the great city of Ecbatana; aiitl, after a prosperous reign of (ifty-tlirec years, left the throne to his son I'hraortes. I'iiraortes coiiipiered Persia, vastly enlarged the Jledian emiiire, and reigned twenty-two years. He was succeeded by his son Cyaxarcs. Dur- i!!g his reign, while engaged in a war ngaii!st Nineveh, Media was overrun by a horde of Scythians, who held a great part of Western Asia for t wei!ty-eight year*. The Scythian leaders were at length treacherously murden-d i>y Cyaxares, aitd the ^lediaii moiiarchy rc-estalilished. He ruled forty years. ai!d then left the kii!gdom to his son Astyages, whose daughter Mandane was married to a Persian noble, and became the mother of the great Cyrus. According to this !!arrative. the ^ledian monarchy was estal)lisiied about B.C. 708 (Kawlins..n"s //< m/o/. i! 407). There is gooil reasoti to believe, however, that the early
MEDIA
17
MEDIA
According to Herodotus.
Years of Reign.
According to Diodorus.
Reign.
Eusebius.
Reign.
Syncellua.
Reign.
53
22 40 35
1. Arbaces
2. Mandauces....
3. Sosarmus
4. Articas
5. Arbaciues
6. Artffius
7. Artynes
8. Autibarnes....
9. Astibares, or 10. Astyages
Total
28 50 30 50 22 40 22 40
1. Arbaces . . .
2. Sosarmus..
3. Medidus...
4. Cardiccas..
5. Deioces....
6. Phraortes..
7. Cyaxares . .
8. Astyas
Total
28
30 40 13
54 24 32
1. Arbaces
28. 20 30 30
54 51 32 3S
4. Articas
5. DicBces
2. Phi-aortes
3. Cyaxares
4. Astyages
Total
S. Astyages, or Darius. . . Total
150
282
259
283
Herodotus.
B.C.
Presumed Original Authority. |b.c.
Rawlinson's Chronology.
B.C.
Revolt of- the Medes
70S
655 C33 632 604 603 602 596 593 558
Revnlt of thp Mprl(>«
70S
633 632 604 603
558
Medes at war with Assyria
710 633 (?)
625
597 593 558
I
Media conquered by Assyria
Media generally subject to Assyria, but often in revolt
Phraortes (22 yrs.) conquers Persia, and
X
II
\
i
2
Phaortes (53 yrs.) conquers
Persia, and Cyaxares (40 years) 28 (Attacks Nineveh .... yrs. (Drives out the Scyths Takes Nineveh
Astyatjes (35 years)
Conquered by Cyrus
Cyaxares begins his conquests
Wars with Scyth#
Drives out the Scyths ....
Attacks Halyattes
Wars with Lydia
Astyages, or Aspadas
Conquered by Cyrus
Conquered by Cyrus
portion of the narrative is apocryphal, and that Cyaxa- res was the real founder of the Median empire. He is so represented by most ancient historians (Diodorus Sic. ii, 32; yEschykis, Persn, 761; see Grote's Histonj of Greece, vol. iii). The Assyrian monumental annals are almost complete down to the reign of the son of Esar- haddon (B.(_'. 640), and they contain no mention of any Median irruptions; on the contrary, they represent the Median chiefs as giving tribute to Esarhaddon (Rawlin- son's llerodot. i, 405, 408).
Ctesias, as quoted by Diodorus Siculus (ii, 32), as- signs to the jNIedian monarchy a still older date than Herodotus. He gives a list of eight kings who ruled before Astyages, for an aggregate period of 282 years, which would fix the establishment of the monarchy about B.C. 875. The names of the kings are different from those of Herodotus ; and it is vain to attempt to reconcile the narratives (see, however, Hales's A nuli/sis of Chronology, iii, 84 ; Heeren, Manual of A ncient Hist.'). Rawlinson has clearh'- shown that Ctesias's narrative is fabulous (fferodot. i, 406).