Medes

Ancient Iranian people

This article is about the ancient Iranian people. For other uses, see Medes (disambiguation). For Medians, see Median (disambiguation).

File:Translation to english arrow.svg

This article may be expanded with text translated from the corresponding article in French.  (February 2020) Click [show] for important translation instructions.

* View a machine-translated version of the French article.
* Machine translation like DeepL or Google Translate is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the Justapedia.
* Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article.
* You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is `Content in this edit is translated from the existing French Justapedia article at [[:fr:Mèdes]]; see its history for attribution.`
* You should also add the template `{{Translated|fr|Mèdes}}` to the talk page.
* For more guidance, see Justapedia:Translation.

|

Median Dynasty

Māda

c. 678 BC–c. 549 BC
The Medes at the time of their maximum expansion

The Medes at the time of their maximum expansion

Capital| Ecbatana
Common languages| Median
Religion

| Ancient Iranian religion (related to Mithraism, early Zoroastrianism)
Government| Monarchy

• 700s–675 BC

| Deioces

• 675–653 BC

| Phraortes

• 653–585 BC

| Cyaxares

• 585–549 BC

| Astyages
Historical era| Iron Age

• Established

| c. 678 BC

• Conquered by Cyrus the Great

| c. 549 BC

Preceded by | Succeeded by

|

| File:Map of Assyria.png | Neo-Assyrian Empire

|

File:13-Urartu-9-6mta.gif | Urartu
| Achaemenid Empire | File:Standard of Cyrus the Great.svg

|

Part of a series on the

History of Iran
File:Persepolis 24.11.2009 11-12-14.jpg

Ancient period

| |  BC

|

Prehistory of Iran|  Ancient Times–4000
Kura–Araxes culture|  3400–2000
Proto-Elamite|  3200–2700
Jiroft culture|  c. 3100 – c. 2200
Elam|  2700–539
Akkadian Empire|  2400–2150
Lullubi culture|  c. 2300-700
Kassites|  c. 1500 – c. 1155
Neo-Assyrian Empire|  911–609
Urartu|  860–590
Mannaeans|  850–616

Imperial period

|  Median Empire|  678–550 BC

|

Scythian Kingdom|  652–625 BC
Anshanite Kingdom|  635 BC–550 BC
Neo-Babylonian Empire|  626 BC–539 BC
Achaemenid Empire|  550 BC–330 BC
Kingdom of Armenia|  331 BC–428 AD
Atropatene|  c. 323 BC–226 AD
Kingdom of Cappadocia|  320s BC–17 AD
Seleucid Empire|  312 BC–63 BC
Kingdom of Pontus|  281 BC–62 BC
Fratarakas|  3rd-century BC–132 BC
Parthian Empire|  247 BC–224 AD
Elymais|  147 BC–224 AD
Characene|  141 BC–222 AD
Kings of Persis|  132 BC–224 AD
Indo-Parthian Kingdom|  19 AD–224/5
Paratarajas|  125–300
Sasanian Empire|  224–651
Zarmihrids|  6th century–785
Qarinvandids|  550s–11th century

Medieval period

|  Rashidun Caliphate|  632-661

|

Umayyad Caliphate|  661–750
Abbasid Caliphate|  750–1258
Dabuyids|  642–760
Bavandids|  651–1349
Masmughans of Damavand|  651–760
Baduspanids|  665–1598
Justanids|  791 – 11th century
Alid dynasties|  864 – 14th century
Tahirid dynasty|  821–873
Samanid Empire|  819–999
Saffarid dynasty|  861–1003
Ghurid dynasty|  pre-879 – 1215
Sajid dynasty|  889–929
Sallarid dynasty|  919–1062
Ziyarid dynasty|  930–1090
Ilyasids|  932–968
Buyid dynasty|  934–1062
Rawadid dynasty|  955–1070
Hasanwayhids|  959–1095
Ghaznavid dynasty|  977–1186
Annazids|  990/1–1117
Kakuyids|  1008–1141
Nasrid dynasty|  1029–1236
Shabankara|  1030–1355
Seljuk Empire|  1037–1194
Khwarazmian dynasty|  1077–1231
Eldiguzids|  1135–1225
Atabegs of Yazd|  1141–1319
Salghurids|  1148–1282
Hazaraspids|  1155–1424
Pishkinid dynasty|  1155–1231
Khorshidi dynasty|  1184-1597
Qutlugh-Khanids|  1223-1306
Mihrabanids|  1236–1537
Kurt dynasty|  1244–1396
Ilkhanate Empire|  1256–1335
Chobanid dynasty|  1335–1357
Muzaffarid dynasty|  1335–1393
Jalayirid Sultanate|  1337–1376
Sarbadars|  1337–1376
Injuids|  1335–1357
Afrasiyab dynasty|  1349–1504
Mar'ashis|  1359–1596
Timurid Empire|  1370–1507
Kar-Kiya dynasty|  1370s–1592
Qara Qoyunlu|  1406–1468
Aq Qoyunlu|  1468–1508

Early modern period

|  Safavid Iran|  1501–1736

|

(Hotak dynasty)|  1722–1729
Afsharid Iran|  1736–1796
Zand dynasty|  1751–1794

Modern period

|  Qajar Iran|  1789–1925

|

Pahlavi Iran|  1925–1979

Contemporary period

|  Iranian Revolution|  1979

|

Interim Government|  1979
Islamic Republic|  1979–present

Related articles

* Name
* Monarchs
* Heads of state
* Economic history
* Military history
* Wars

Timeline

* v
* t
* e

File:Persepolis Apadana noerdliche Treppe Detail.jpg

The Apadana Palace, 5th century BC Achaemenid bas-relief shows a Mede soldier behind a Persian soldier, in Persepolis, Iran

The Medes /ˈmiːdz/[N 1] (Old Persian: 𐎶𐎠𐎭 Māda-; Akkadian: File:Assyrian cuneiform U121B3 MesZL 578.svgFile:Assyrian cuneiform U12220 MesZL 552.svgFile:Assyrian cuneiform U12055 MesZL 561.svgFile:Assyrian cuneiform U12000 MesZL 839.svgFile:Assyrian cuneiform U12000 MesZL 839.svg mat Mādāya, File:Assyrian cuneiform U121B3 MesZL 578.svgFile:Assyrian cuneiform U12220 MesZL 552.svgFile:Assyrian cuneiform U122EB MesZL 248.svgFile:Assyrian cuneiform U12000 MesZL 839.svgFile:Assyrian cuneiform U12000 MesZL 839.svg mat Mātāya;[2] Ancient Greek: Μῆδοι Mēdoi; Latin: Medi) were an ancient Iranian people[N 2] who spoke the Median language and who inhabited an area known as Media between western and northern Iran. Around the 11th century BC, they occupied the mountainous region of northwestern Iran and the northeastern and eastern region of Mesopotamia located in the region of Hamadan (Ecbatana). Their consolidation in Iran is believed to have occurred during the 8th century BC. In the 7th century BC, all of western Iran and some other territories were under Median rule, but their precise geographic extent remains unknown.[4]

Although they are generally recognized as having an important place in the history of the ancient Near East, the Medes have left no written source to reconstruct their history, which is known only from foreign sources such as the Assyrians, Babylonians, Armenians and Greeks, as well as a few Iranian archaeological sites, which are believed to have been occupied by Medes. The accounts relating to the Medes reported by Herodotus have left the image of a powerful people, who would have formed an empire at the beginning of the 7th century BC that lasted until the 550s BC, played a determining role in the fall of the Assyrian Empire and competed with the powerful kingdoms of Lydia and Babylonia. However, a recent reassessment of contemporary sources from the Mede period has altered scholars' perceptions of the Median state. The state remains difficult to perceive in the documentation, which leaves many doubts about it, some specialists even suggesting that there never was a powerful Median kingdom. In any case, it appears that after the fall of the last Median king against Cyrus the Great of the Persian Empire, Media became an important province and prized by the empires which successively dominated it (Achaemenids, Seleucids, Parthians and Sasanids).

## Contents

* 1 Tribes
* 2 Etymology
* 3 Mythology
* 4 Archaeology
* 5 Geography
* 6 History
* 6.1 Prehistory
* 6.2 Rise and fall
* 6.3 Median dynasty
* 6.4 Historicity of a Median Empire
* 7 Culture and society
* 7.1 Language
* 7.2 Religion
* 8 Kurds and Medes
* 9 See also
* 10 Notes
* 11 References
* 12 Sources
* 13 Further reading
* 14 External links

## Tribes[edit | edit source]

According to the Histories of Herodotus, there were six Median tribes:[5]

> Thus Deioces collected the Medes into a nation, and ruled over them alone. Now these are the tribes of which they consist: the Busae, the Paretaceni, the Struchates, the Arizanti, the Budii, and the Magi.

The six Median tribes resided in Media proper, the triangular area between Rhagae, Aspadana and Ecbatana.[6] In present-day Iran,[7] that is the area between Tehran, Isfahan and Hamadan, respectively. Of the Median tribes, the Magi resided in Rhagae,[8] modern Tehran.[9] They were of a sacred caste which ministered to the spiritual needs of the Medes.[10] The Paretaceni tribe resided in and around Aspadana, modern Isfahan,[6][11][12] the Arizanti lived in and around Kashan (Isfahan Province),[6] and the Busae tribe lived in and around the future Median capital of Ecbatana, near modern Hamadan.[6] The Struchates and the Budii lived in villages in the Median triangle.[13]

## Etymology[edit | edit source]

The original source for their name and homeland is a directly transmitted Old Iranian geographical name which is attested as the Old Persian "Māda-" (singular masculine).[14] The meaning of this word is not precisely known.[15] However, the linguist W. Skalmowski proposes a relation with the proto-Indo European word "med(h)-", meaning "central, suited in the middle", by referring to the Old Indic "madhya-" and Old Iranian "maidiia-" which both carry the same meaning.[14] The Latin medium, Greek méso, Armenian mej, and English mid are similarly derived from it.

Greek scholars during antiquity would base ethnological conclusions on Greek legends and the similarity of names. According to the Histories of Herodotus (440 BC):[16]

> The Medes were formerly called by everyone Arians, but when the Colchian woman Medea came from Athens to the Arians, they changed their name, like the Persians [did after Perses, son of Perseus and Andromeda].[17] This is the Medes' own account of themselves.

## Mythology[edit | edit source]

In the Greek myth of Jason and the Argonauts, Medea is the daughter of King Aeëtes of Colchis and a paternal granddaughter of the sun-god Helios.[18] Following her failed marriage to Jason while in Corinth, for one of several reasons depending on the version,[19] she marries King Aegeus of Athens and bears a son Medus. After failing to make Aegeus kill his older son Theseus, she and her son fled to Aria, where the Medes take their name from her, according to several Greek and later Roman accounts, including in Pausanias' Description of Greece (1st-century AD).[20] According to other versions, such as in Strabo's Geographica (1st-century AD) and Justin's Epitoma Historiarum Philippicarum (2nd or 3rd century AD), she returned home to conquer neighboring lands with her husband Jason, one of which was named after her; while another version related by Diodorus Siculus in Bibliotheca Historica (1st-century BC) states that after being exiled she married an Asian king and bore Medus, who was greatly admired for his courage, after whom they took their name.[21]

## Archaeology[edit | edit source]

File:Ecbatane - excavated house.jpg

Excavation from ancient Ecbatana, Hamadan, Iran

The discoveries of Median sites in Iran happened only after the 1960s.[22] Prior to the 1960s, the search for Median archeological sources has mostly focused in an area known as the "Median triangle", defined roughly as the region bounded by Hamadān and Malāyer (in Hamadan Province) and Kangāvar (in Kermanshah Province).[22] Three major sites from central western Iran in the Iron Age III period (i.e. 850–500 BC) are:[23]

* Tepe Nush-i Jan (a primarily religious site of Median period),

The site is located 14 km west of Malāyer in Hamadan province.[22] The excavations started in 1967 with David Stronach as the director.[24] The remains of four main buildings in the site are "the central temple, the western temple, the fort, and the columned hall" which according to Stronach were likely to have been built in the order named and predate the latter occupation of the first half of the 6th century BC.[25] According to Stronach, the central temple, with its stark design, "provides a notable, if mute, expression of religious belief and practice".[25] A number of ceramics from the Median levels at Tepe Nush-i Jan have been found which are associated with a period (the second half of the 7th century BC) of power consolidation in the Hamadān areas. These findings show four different wares known as "common ware" (buff, cream, or light red in colour and with gold or silver mica temper) including jars in various size the largest of which is a form of ribbed pithoi. Smaller and more elaborate vessels were in "grey ware", (these display smoothed and burnished surface). The "cooking ware" and "crumbly ware" are also recognized each in single handmade products.[25]

* Godin Tepe (its period II: a fortified palace of a Median king or tribal chief),

The site is located 13 km east of Kangāvar city on the left bank of the river Gamas Āb". The excavations, started in 1965, were led by T. C. Young, Jr. According to David Stronach, the evidence shows an important Bronze Age construction that was reoccupied sometime before the beginning of the Iron III period. The excavations of Young indicate the remains of part of a single residence of a local ruler which later became quite substantial.[22] This is similar to those mentioned often in Assyrian sources.[23]

* Babajan (probably the seat of a lesser tribal ruler of Media).

The site is located in northeastern Lorestan with a distance of roughly 10 km from Nūrābād in Lorestan province. The excavations were conducted by C. Goff in 1966–69. The second level of this site probably dates to the 7th century BC.[26]

These sources have both similarities (in cultural characteristics) and differences (due to functional differences and diversity among the Median tribes).[23] The architecture of these archaeological findings, which can probably be dated to the Median period, show a link between the tradition of columned audience halls often seen in the Achaemenid Empire (for example in Persepolis) and Safavid Iran (for example in Chehel Sotoun from the 17th century AD) and what is seen in Median architecture.[23]

The materials found at Tepe Nush-i Jan, Godin Tepe, and other sites located in Media together with the Assyrian reliefs show the existence of urban settlements in Media in the first half of the 1st millennium BC which had functioned as centres for the production of handicrafts and also of an agricultural and cattle-breeding economy of a secondary type.[27] For other historical documentation, the archaeological evidence, though rare, together with cuneiform records by Assyrian make it possible, regardless of Herodotus' accounts, to establish some of the early history of Medians.[28]

## Geography[edit | edit source]

An early description of Media from the end of the 9th century BC to the beginning of the 7th century BC comes from the Assyrians. The southern border of Media, in that period, is named as the Elamite region of Simaški in present-day Lorestan Province. To the west and northwest, Media was bounded by the Zagros Mountains and from the east by the Dasht-e Kavir desert. This region of Media was ruled by the Assyrians and for them the region fell "along the Great Khorasan Road from just east of Harhar to Alwand, and probably beyond."[29] The location of Harhar is suggested to be "the central or eastern" Mahidasht District in Kermanshah Province.[30]

Its borders were limited in the north by the non-Iranian states of Gizilbunda and Mannea, and to its south by Ellipi and Elam.[29][4] Gizilbunda was located in the Qaflankuh Mountains, and Ellipi was located in the south of modern Lorestan Province.[4] On the east and southeast of Media, as described by the Assyrians, another land with the name of "Patušarra" appears. This land was located near a mountain range which the Assyrians call "Bikni" and describe as "Lapis Lazuli Mountain". There are differing opinions on the location of this mountain. Mount Damavand of Tehran and Alvand of Hamadan are two proposed sites. This location is the most remote eastern area that the Assyrians knew of or reached during their expansion until the beginning of the 7th century BC.[31]

In Achaemenid sources, specifically from the Behistun Inscription (2.76, 77–78), the capital of Media is Ecbatana, called "Hamgmatāna-" in Old Persian (Elamite:Agmadana-; Babylonian: Agamtanu-) corresponding to modern-day Hamadan.[32]

The other cities existing in Media were Laodicea (modern Nahavand)[33] and the mound that was the largest city of the Medes, Rhages (present-day Rey). The fourth city of Media was Apamea, near Ecbatana, whose precise location is now unknown. In later periods, Medes and especially Mede soldiers are identified and portrayed prominently in ancient archaeological sites such as Persepolis, where they are shown to have a major role and presence in the military of the Achaemenid Empire.

## History[edit | edit source]

### Prehistory[edit | edit source]

File:Pre-Achaemenid Era.gif

Timeline of Pre-Achaemenid era.

At the end of the 2nd millennium BC, the Iranian tribes emerged in the region of northwest Iran. These tribes expanded their control over larger areas. Subsequently, the boundaries of Media changed over a period of several hundred years.[34] Iranian tribes were present in western and northwestern Iran from at least the 12th or 11th centuries BC. But the significance of Iranian elements in these regions were established from the beginning of the second half of the 8th century BC.[35] By this time the Iranian tribes were the majority in what later become the territory of the Median Kingdom and also the west of Media proper.[35] A study of textual sources from the region shows that in the Neo-Assyrian period, the regions of Media, and further to the west and the northwest, had a population with Iranian speaking people as the majority.[36]

This period of migration coincided with a power vacuum in the Near East with the Middle Assyrian Empire (1365–1020 BC), which had dominated northwestern Iran and eastern Anatolia and the Caucasus, going into a comparative decline. This allowed new peoples to pass through and settle. In addition Elam, the dominant power in Iran, was suffering a period of severe weakness, as was Babylonia to the west.

In western and northwestern Iran and in areas further west prior to Median rule, there is evidence of the earlier political activity of the powerful societies of Elam, Mannaea, Assyria and Urartu.[35] There are various and up-dated opinions on the positions and activities of Iranian tribes in these societies and prior to the "major Iranian state formations" in the late 7th century BC.[35] One opinion (of Herzfeld, et al.) is that the ruling class were "Iranian migrants" but the society was "autonomous" while another opinion (of Grantovsky, et al.) holds that both the ruling class and basic elements of the population were Iranian.[37]

File:Rhyton media.jpg

Rhyton in the shape of a ram's head, gold – western Iran – Median, late 7th–early 6th century BC

File:Neo-Babylonian Empire under Nabonidus map.png

The neighboring Neo-Babylonian Empire at its greatest extent after the destruction of the Neo-Assyrian Empire

File:Median Empire Protoma.jpg

Protoma in the form of a bull's head, 8th century BC, gold and filigree, National Museum, Warsaw

### Rise and fall[edit | edit source]

From the 10th to the late 7th centuries BC, the western parts of Media fell under the domination of the vast Neo-Assyrian Empire based in northern Mesopotamia, which stretched from Cyprus in the west, to parts of western Iran in the east, and Egypt and the north of the Arabian Peninsula. Assyrian kings such as Tiglath-Pileser III, Sargon II, Sennacherib, Esarhaddon, Ashurbanipal and Ashur-etil-ilani imposed Vassal Treaties upon the Median rulers, and also protected them from predatory raids by marauding Scythians and Cimmerians.[38]

During the reign of Sinsharishkun (622–612 BC), the Assyrian empire, which had been in a state of constant civil war since 626 BC, began to unravel. Subject peoples, such as the Medes, Babylonians, Chaldeans, Egyptians, Scythians, Cimmerians, Lydians and Arameans quietly ceased to pay tribute to Assyria.

Neo-Assyrian dominance over the Medians came to an end during the reign of Median King Cyaxares, who, in alliance with King Nabopolassar of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, attacked and destroyed the strife-riven Neo-Assyrian empire between 616 and 609 BC.[39] The newfound alliance helped the Medes to capture Nineveh in 612 BC, which resulted in the eventual collapse of the Neo-Assyrian Empire by 609 BC. The Medes were subsequently able to establish their Median Kingdom (with Ecbatana as their royal capital) beyond their original homeland and had eventually a territory stretching roughly from northeastern Iran to the Kızılırmak River in Anatolia. After the fall of Assyria between 616 BC and 609 BC, a unified Median state was formed, which together with Babylonia, Lydia, and ancient Egypt became one of the four major powers of the ancient Near East.

Cyaxares was succeeded by his son King Astyages. In 553 BC, his maternal grandson Cyrus the Great, the King of Anshan/Persia, a Median vassal, revolted against Astyages. In 550 BC, Cyrus finally won a decisive victory resulting in Astyages' capture by his own dissatisfied nobles, who promptly turned him over to the triumphant Cyrus.[40] After Cyrus's victory against Astyages, the Medes were subjected to their close kin, the Persians.[41] In the new empire they retained a prominent position; in honour and war, they stood next to the Persians; their court ceremony was adopted by the new sovereigns, who in the summer months resided in Ecbatana; and many noble Medes were employed as officials, satraps and generals.

### Median dynasty[edit | edit source]

The list of Median rulers and their period of reign is compiled according to two sources. Firstly, Herodotus who calls them "kings" and associates them with the same family. Secondly, the Babylonian Chronicle which in "Gadd's Chronicle on the Fall of Nineveh" gives its own list. A combined list stretching over 150 years is thus:

* Deioces (700s–675 BC)
* Phraortes (675–653 BC)
* Scythian rule (652–624 BC)
* Cyaxares (624–585 BC)
* Astyages (585–549 BC)[42]

However, not all of these dates and personalities given by Herodotus match the other near eastern sources.[42]

In Herodotus (book 1, chapters 95–130), Deioces is introduced as the founder of a centralised Median state. He had been known to the Median people as "a just and incorruptible man" and when asked by the Median people to solve their possible disputes he agreed and put forward the condition that they make him "king" and build a great city at Ecbatana as the capital of the Median state.[43] Judging from the contemporary sources of the region and disregarding[44] the account of Herodotus puts the formation of a unified Median state during the reign of Cyaxares or later.[45]

### Historicity of a Median Empire[edit | edit source]

File:Cylinder seal Persian stabbing Greek hoplite 89333.jpg

Cylinder seal, chalcedony; depicts a Median warrior, on the left, facing a Greek warrior, with hoplite equipment, stabbing him with a lance; above, a winged solar disk. Achaemenid period, 6th-4th century BC. British Museum BM 89333.[46]

Until the late 20th-century, scholarship generally agreed that the emergence of a Median "empire" took place following the collapse of the Assyrian Empire. The Median "empire" was said to have ruled over a vast chunk of the Ancient Near East until its last king, Astyages, was overthrown by his own vassal, Cyrus the Great. The historicity of these events were first put into question by the modern historian Heleen Sancisi‐Weerdenburg, whose works has revealed many of its complications and flaws. She especially criticized the asserted "imperial" system and style of the Medes, which she noted had noticeable contrasts with other imperial kingdoms of the Ancient Near East. She also highlighted that practically only Greek sources were used by modern historiography to construct Median history, and that Ancient Near Eastern sources were almost fully ignored.[47] However, the majority of scholarship did not support her suggestions.[48] In 2001, an international symposium was held in Padua to review all accessible sources in order to present an accurate as possible account of Median history. Due to the lack of sources, no consensus was reached. However, it was generally agreed that there was no proof of the existence of a Median "empire" and that it should therefore be considered a hypothesis.[49]

## Culture and society[edit | edit source]

Greek references to "Median" people make no clear distinction between the "Persians" and the "Medians"; in fact for a Greek to become "too closely associated with Iranian culture" was "to become Medianized, not Persianized".[23] The Median Kingdom was a short-lived Iranian state and the textual and archaeological sources of that period are rare and little could be known from the Median culture which nevertheless made a "profound, and lasting, contribution to the greater world of Iranian culture".[50]

### Language[edit | edit source]

Main article: Median language

Median people spoke the Median language, which was an Old Iranian language. Strabo's Geographica (finished in the early first century) mentions the affinity of Median with other Iranian languages: "The name of Ariana is further extended to a part of Persia and of Media, as also to the Bactrians and Sogdians on the north; for these speak approximately the same language, but with slight variations".[51]

No original deciphered text has been proven to have been written in the Median language. It is suggested that similar to the later Iranian practice of keeping archives of written documents in Achaemenid Iran, there was also a maintenance of archives by the Median government in their capital Ecbatana. There are examples of "Median literature" found in later records. One is according to Herodotus that the Median king Deioces, appearing as a judge, made judgement on causes submitted in writing. There is also a report by Dinon on the existence of "Median court poets".[52] Median literature is part of the "Old Iranian literature" (including also Saka, Old Persian, Avestan) as this Iranian affiliation of them is explicit also in ancient texts, such as Herodotus's account[16] that many peoples including Medes were "universally called Iranian".[53]

Words of Median origin appear in various other Iranian dialects, including Old Persian. A feature of Old Persian inscriptions is the large number of words and names from other languages and the Median language takes in this regard a special place for historical reasons.[54] The Median words in Old Persian texts, whose Median origin can be established by "phonetic criteria",[54] appear "more frequently among royal titles and among terms of the chancellery, military, and judicial affairs".[54] Words of Median origin include:

File:Hamadan (Iran) Relief Achamenid Period.JPG

The Ganj Nameh ("treasure epistle") in Ecbatana. The inscriptions are by Darius I and his son Xerxes I.

* *čiθra-: "origin".[55] The word appears in *čiθrabṛzana- (med.) "exalting his linage", *čiθramiθra- (med.) "having mithraic origin", *čiθraspāta- (med.) "having a brilliant army", etc.[56]
* Farnah: Divine glory (Avestan: khvarənah)
* Paridaiza: Paradise
* Spaka- : The word is Median and means "dog".[57] Herodotus identifies "Spaka-" (Gk. "σπάχα" – female dog) as Median rather than Persian.[58] The word is still used in modern Iranian languages including Talyshi, also suggested as a source to the Russian word for dog sobaka.[59][60][61]
* vazṛka-: "great" (as Western Persian bozorg)[54]
* vispa-: "all"[62] (as in Avestan). The component appears in such words as vispafryā (Med. fem.) "dear to all", vispatarva- (med.) "vanquishing all", vispavada- (Median-Old Persian) "leader of all", etc.[63]
* xšayaθiya- (king)[citation needed]
* xšaθra- (realm; kingship): This Median word (attested in *xšaθra-pā- and continued by Middle Persian šahr "land, country; city") is an example of words whose Greek form (known as romanized "satrap" from Gk. σατράπης satrápēs) mirrors, as opposed to the tradition,[N 3] a Median rather than an Old Persian form (also attested, as xšaça- and xšaçapāvā) of an Old Iranian word.[64]
* zūra-: "evil" and zūrakara-: "evil-doer".[54]

### Religion[edit | edit source]

File:Persepolis The Persian Soldiers.jpg

Apadana Hall, 5th century BC Achaemenid-era carving of Persian and Median soldiers in traditional costume (Medians are wearing rounded hats and boots), in Persepolis, Iran

There are very limited sources concerning the religion of Median people. Primary sources pointing to religious affiliations of Medes found so far include the archaeological discoveries in Tepe Nush-e Jan, personal names of Median individuals, and the Histories of Herodotus. The archaeological source gives the earliest of the temple structures in Iran and the "stepped fire altar" discovered there is linked to the common Iranian legacy of the "cult of fire". Herodotus mentions Median Magi as a Median tribe providing priests for both the Medes and the Persians. They had a "priestly caste" which passed their functions from father to son. They played a significant role in the court of the Median king Astyages who had in his court certain Medians as "advisers, dream interpreters, and soothsayers".

Classical historians "unanimously" regarded the Magi as priests of the Zoroastrian faith. From the personal names of Medes as recorded by Assyrians (in 8th and 9th centuries BC) there are examples of the use of the Indo-Iranian word arta- (lit. "truth") which is familiar from both Avestan and Old Persian and also examples of theophoric names containing Maždakku and also the name "Ahura Mazdā".[65] Scholars disagree whether these are indications of Zoroastrian religion amongst the Medes. Diakonoff believes that "Astyages and perhaps even Cyaxares had already embraced a religion derived from the teachings of Zoroaster" and Mary Boyce believes that "the existence of the Magi in Media with their own traditions and forms of worship was an obstacle to Zoroastrian proselytizing there".[65] Boyce wrote that the Zoroastrian traditions in the Median city of Ray probably goes back to the 8th century BC.[66] It is suggested that from the 8th century BC, a form of "Mazdaism with common Iranian traditions" existed in Media and the strict reforms of Zarathustra began to spread in western Iran during the reign of the last Median kings in the 6th century BC.[65]

It has also been suggested[by whom?] that Mithra is a Median name and Medes may have practised Mithraism and had Mithra as their supreme deity.[67]

## Kurds and Medes[edit | edit source]

Main article: Origin of the Kurds

Russian historian and linguist Vladimir Minorsky suggested that the Medes, who widely inhabited the land where currently the Kurds form a majority, might have been forefathers of the modern Kurds. He also states that the Medes who invaded the region in the eighth century BC, linguistically resembled the Kurds. This view was accepted by many Kurdish nationalists in the twentieth century. However, Martin van Bruinessen, a Dutch scholar, argues against the attempt to take the Medes as ancestors of the Kurds.[68]

> "Though some Kurdish intellectuals claim that their people are descended from the Medes, there is no evidence to permit such a connection across the considerable gap in time between the political dominance of the Medes and the first attestation of the Kurds" - van Bruinessen

Contemporary linguistic evidence has challenged the previously suggested view that the Kurds are descendants of the Medes.[69][70] Gernot Ludwig Windfuhr, professor of Iranian Studies, identified the Kurdish languages as Parthian, albeit with a Median substratum.[71] David Neil MacKenzie, an authority on the Kurdish language, said Kurdish was closer to Persian and questioned the "traditional" view holding that Kurdish, because of its differences from Persian, should be regarded as a Northwestern Iranian language.[72] The Kurdologist and Iranologist Garnik Asatrian stated that "The Central Iranian dialects, and primarily those of the Kashan area in the first place, as well as the Azari dialects (otherwise called Southern Tati) are probably the only Iranian dialects, which can pretend to be the direct offshoots of Median... In general, the relationship between Kurdish and Median is not closer than the affinities between the latter and other North Western dialects – Baluchi, Talishi, South Caspian, Zaza, Gurani, Kurdish(Soranî, Kurmancî, Kelhorî)[73][74] Asatrian also stated that "there is no serious ground to suggest a special genetic affinity within North-Western Iranian between this ancient language [Median] and Kurdish. The latter does not share even the generally ephemeric peculiarity of Median."[75]

According to Alireza Shapour Shahbazi: "The Aryan tribes including the Medes (ancestors of many Iranians, particularly the Kurds), Persians, Hyrcanians (...)".[76]

According to The Cambridge History of the Kurds,

> Although some Kurdish authors have claimed descendants for Kurdish from Avestan and Median, a direct link of Kurdish with Avestan was ruled out in Iranian philology even back in its initial stages (cf. Rödiger and Pott, 1842, cited in Lecoq, 1997: 31), while Avestan, although its classification is also unresolved, is traditionally considered to be closer to Eastern Iranian languages (cf. Korn, 2016: 403). Furthermore, the purported relationship of Kurdish to the Median language, although defended by Minorsky based mostly on conjectural historical evidence (Minorsky, 1940: 143–6), is not supported by linguistic evidence, since information about the Median language is extremely limited and indirect, being mostly restricted to the loanwords found in the Old Persian inscriptions (Lecoq, 1987: 674).4 As Lecoq (1997: 31) states in relation to the Kurdish–Median connection, everything is possible but nothing is demonstrable. But even the limited data at hand provide evidence against Kurdish–Median genetic affinity (Asatrian, 2009: 21; MacKenzie, 1999: 675–6; Rossi, 2010: 308). Refuting thus the Median origin of Kurdish, MacKenzie (1961) outlined a picture of the evolution of North-western Iranian languages where Kurdish and Persian evolved in parallel and therefore Kurdish "represented an early splitting from the linguistic subgroup of Median" (cf. Rossi, 2010: 307–8). Likewise, in his survey of major isoglosses in the historical phonology of West Iranian languages, Windfuhr (1975: 458) concluded on the basis of these facts (and with regard to the subsequent migration of the Kurds into the Median territory – explained below) that Kurdish can probably not be considered a ‘Median’ dialect neither linguistically nor geographically, stating further that the modern Iranian languages of Azerbaijan (originally ‘Aturpatakan’) and Central Iran (e.g. Sivandi) are Median dialects (Windfuhr, 2009: 15).[77]

## See also[edit | edit source]

* Greater Iran
* Iranian Plateau
* Linear Elamite – a script possibly used to write Median language
* List of monarchs of Persia
* List of rulers of the pre-Achaemenid kingdoms of Iran
* Madai
* Qanat – water management system

## Notes[edit | edit source]

1. ^ According to the OED entry "Mede", the word is from Classical Latin Mēdus (usually as plural, Mēdī) from ancient Greek (Attic and Ionic) Μῆδος Mê̄dos [mɛ̂ːdos] (Cypriot Μᾶδοι Mâdœ [mâdoi̯], plural) from Old Persian Māda.[1]
2. ^ A) "Archaeological evidence for the religion of the Iranian-speaking Medes of the ..." (Diakonoff 1985, p. 140). B) "...and the Medes (Iranians of what is now north-west Iran)..." EIEC (1997:30). C) "... succeeded in uniting into a kingdom the many Median tribes" (from Encyclopædia Britannica[3]). D) "Proto-Iranian split into Western (Median, and others) and Eastern (Scythian, Ossetic, Saka, Pamir and others)..." (Kuz'mina, Elena E. (2007), The origin of the Indo-Iranians, J. P. Mallory (ed.), BRILL, p. 303, ISBN 978-90-04-16054-5)
3. ^ "..a great many Old Persian lexemes...are preserved in a borrowed form in non-Persian languages – the so-called "collateral" tradition of Old Persian (within or outside the Achaemenid Empire).... not every purported Old Iranian form attested in this manner is an actual lexeme of Old Persian."[64]

## References[edit | edit source]

1. ^ OED Online "entry Mede, n.":
2. ^ Parpola, Simo (1970). Neo-Assyrian Toponyms. Kevaeler: Butzon & Bercker. pp. 230-231.
3. ^ Encyclopædia Britannica Online Media (ancient region, Iran)
4. ^ a b c "MEDIA". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
5. ^ Herodotus 1.101
6. ^ a b c d Gershevitch, I. (1985). The Cambridge History of Iran. Cambridge University Press. p. 75\. ISBN 978-0-521-20091-2.
7. ^ (Diaconus), Leo (2005). The History of Leo the Deacon: Byzantine Military Expansion in the Tenth Century. Dumbarton Oaks. p. 204\. ISBN 9780884023241.
8. ^ Boyce, Mary (1982). A History of Zoroastrianism: Volume II: Under the Achaemenians. BRILL. ISBN 978-90-04-06506-2.
9. ^ Zumerchik, John; Danver, Steven Laurence (2010). Seas and Waterways of the World: An Encyclopedia of History, Uses, and Issues. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-85109-711-1.
10. ^ Sabourin, Leopold (1973). Priesthood. Brill Archive. GGKEY:ZRNUJJQ6GG2.
11. ^ Travels in Luristan and Arabistan. J. Madden and Company. 1845. p. 312.
12. ^ Christensen, Peter (1993). The Decline of Iranshahr: Irrigation and Environments in the History of the Middle East, 500 B.C. to A.D. 1500. Museum Tusculanum Press. p. 131\. ISBN 978-87-7289-259-7.
13. ^ Thomson, James Oliver (1948). History of Ancient Geography. Biblo & Tannen Publishers. p. 292\. ISBN 978-0-8196-0143-8.
14. ^ a b (Tavernier 2007, p. 27)
15. ^ (Diakonoff 1985, p. 57)
16. ^ a b Herodotus 7.62
17. ^ Herodotus 7.61
18. ^ Hesiod, 700 BC: Theogony, pp. 993–1002
19. ^ Ketevan Nadareishvili (2010–2011). "Madea in the Context of East/West Relationships".
20. ^ "PAUSANIAS, DESCRIPTION OF GREECE 2.1-14 - Theoi Classical Texts Library".
21. ^ "DIODORUS SICULUS, LIBRARY OF HISTORY BOOK 4.40-58 - Theoi Classical Texts Library".
22. ^ a b c d (Stronach1982, p. 288)
23. ^ a b c d e (Young 1997, p. 449)
24. ^ (Stronach 1968, p. 179)
25. ^ a b c (Stronach 1982, p. 290)
26. ^ (Henrickson 1988, p. ?)
27. ^ (Dandamayev & Medvedskaya 2006, p. ?)
28. ^ (Young 1997, p. 448)
29. ^ a b (Levine 1974, p. 119)
30. ^ (Levine 1974, p. 117)
31. ^ (Levine 1974, pp. 118–119)
32. ^ (Levine 1974, p. 118)
33. ^ Ayatollahi, Habibollah (2003). The Book of Iran: The History of Iranian Art. Alhoda UK. ISBN 978-964-94491-4-2., page 93
34. ^ (Diakonoff 1985, pp. 36–41)
35. ^ a b c d (Dandamaev et al. 2004, pp. 2–3)
36. ^ (Zadok 2002, p. 140)
37. ^ (Dandamaev et al. 2004, p. 3)
38. ^ Georges Roux, Ancient Iraq, 1992[full citation needed]
39. ^ Encyclopaedia Britannica "The last great Assyrian ruler was Ashurbanipal, but his last years and the period following his death, in 627 BCE, are obscure. The state was finally destroyed by a Chaldean-Median coalition in 612–609 bce."
40. ^ Briant, Pierre (2006). From Cyrus to Alexander: A History of the Persian Empire. Eisenbrauns. p. 31.
41. ^ Herodotus, The Histories, p. 93.[full citation needed]
42. ^ a b (Diakonoff 1985, p. 112)
43. ^ (Young 1988, p. 16)
44. ^ (Young 1988, p. 19)
45. ^ (Young 1988, p. 21)
46. ^ "cylinder seal; pin British Museum". The British Museum.
47. ^ Rollinger 2021, p. 337.
48. ^ Rollinger 2021, p. 337–338.
49. ^ Rollinger 2021, p. 338.
50. ^ (Young 1997, p. 450)
51. ^ Geography, Strab. 15.2.8
52. ^ (Gershevitch 1968, p. 2)
53. ^ (Gershevitch 1968, p. 1)
54. ^ a b c d e (Schmitt 2008, p. 98)
55. ^ (Tavernier 2007, p. 619)
56. ^ (Tavernier 2007, pp. 157–8)
57. ^ (Tavernier 2007, p. 312)
58. ^ (Hawkins 2010, "Greek and the Languages of Asia Minor to the Classical Period", p. 226)
59. ^ (Gamkrelidze - Ivanov, 1995, "Indo-European and the Indo-Europeans: A Reconstruction and Historical..", p. 505)
60. ^ (Fortson, IV 2009, "Indo-European Language and Culture: An Introduction", p. 419)
61. ^ (YarShater 2007, "Encyclopaedia Iranica", p. 96)
62. ^ (Tavernier 2007, p. 627)
63. ^ (Tavernier 2007, pp. 352–3)
64. ^ a b (Schmitt 2008, p. 99)
65. ^ a b c (Dandamayev & Medvedskaya 2006, Median Religion)
66. ^ (Boyce & Grenet 1991, p. 81)
67. ^ (Soudavar 2003, p. 84)
68. ^ Hakan Özoğlu, Kurdish notables and the Ottoman state: Evolving Identities, Competing Loyalties, and Shifting Boundaries, SUNY Press, 2004, p. 25.
69. ^ Turkey Foreign Policy and Government Guide. April 2003. ISBN 9780739762820.
70. ^ Division, Federal Research (2004). Turkey. ISBN 9781419191268.
71. ^ Windfuhr, Gernot (1975), "Isoglosses: A Sketch on Persians and Parthians, Kurds and Medes", Monumentum H.S. Nyberg II (Acta Iranica-5), Leiden: 457–471
72. ^ Paul, Ludwig. "KURDISH LANGUAGE i. HISTORY OF THE KURDISH LANGUAGE". Encyclopædia Iranica. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
73. ^ Schmitt, Rüdiger (1989). Compendium Linguarum Iranicarum. Wiesbaden: Reichert.
74. ^ G. Asatrian, Prolegomena to the Study of the Kurds, Iran and the Caucasus, Vol. 13, pp. 1–58, 2009. (p. 21 [1])
75. ^ Asatrian, Garnik (2009). "Prolegomena to the Study of the Kurds". Iran & the Caucasus. 13 (1): 1–57. doi:10.1163/160984909X12476379007846. ISSN 1609-8498. JSTOR 25597392.
76. ^ Shahbazi, A. Shapur (2012). "The Achaemenid Persian Empire (550–330 BCE): Political History". In Daryaee, Touraj (ed.). The Oxford Handbook of Iranian History. Oxford University Press. p. 122\. ISBN 978-0-19-020882-0.
77. ^ Öpengin, Ergin (2021). "The History of Kurdish and the Development of Literary Kurmanji". In Bozarslan, Hamit; Gunes, Cengiz; Yadirgi, Veli (eds.). The Cambridge History of the Kurds. Cambridge University Press. pp. 608–609.

## Sources[edit | edit source]

* Boyce, Mary; Grenet, Frantz (1991), Zoroastrianism under Macedonian and Roman rule, BRILL, ISBN 978-90-04-09271-6
* Bryce, Trevor (2009), The Routledge Handbook of the Peoples and Places of Ancient Western Asia. From the Early Bronze Age to the Fall of the Persian Empire, Taylor & Francis
* Dandamaev, M. A.; Lukonin, V. G.; Kohl, P. L.; Dadson, D. J. (2004), The Culture and Social Institutions of Ancient Iran, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0-521-61191-6
* Dandamayev, M.; Medvedskaya, I. (2006), "Media", Encyclopaedia Iranica Online Edition, archived from the original on 30 August 2017
* Diakonoff, I. M. (1985), "Media", in Ilya Gershevitch (ed.), The Cambridge History of Iran, vol. 2, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, pp. 36–148, ISBN 978-0-521-20091-2
* Gershevitch, I. (1968), "Old Iranian Literature", Iranian Studies, Hanbuch Der Orientalistik – Abeteilung – Der Nahe Und Der Mittlere Osten, vol. 1, Brill, pp. 1–30, ISBN 978-90-04-00857-1
* Henrickson, R. C. (1988), "Baba Jan Teppe", Encyclopaedia Iranica, vol. 2, Routledge & Kegan Paul, ISBN 978-0-933273-67-2
* Levine, Louis D. (1 January 1973), "Geographical Studies in the Neo-Assyrian Zagros: I", Iran, 11: 1–27, doi:10.2307/4300482, ISSN 0578-6967, JSTOR 4300482
* Levine, Louis D. (1 January 1974), "Geographical Studies in the Neo-Assyrian Zagros-II", Iran, 12: 99–124, doi:10.2307/4300506, ISSN 0578-6967, JSTOR 4300506
* Rollinger, Robert (2021). "The Median Dilemma". In Jacobs, Bruno; Rollinger, Robert (eds.). A Companion to the Achaemenid Persian Empire. John Wiley & Sons. pp. 457–473. ISBN 978-1119174288.
* Schmitt, Rüdiger (2008), "Old Persian", in Woodard, Roger D. (ed.), The Ancient Languages of Asia and the Americas, Cambridge University Press, pp. 76–100, ISBN 978-0-521-68494-1
* Soudavar, Abolala (2003), The aura of kings: legitimacy and divine sanction in Iranian kingship, Mazda Publishers, ISBN 978-1-56859-109-4
* Stronach, David (1968), "Tepe Nush-i Jan: A Mound in Media", The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New Series, 27 (3): 177–186, doi:10.2307/3258384, ISSN 0026-1521, JSTOR 3258384
* Stronach, David (1982), "Archeology ii. Median and Achaemenid", in Yarshater, E. (ed.), Encyclopædia Iranica, vol. 2, Routledge & Kegan Paul, pp. 288–296, ISBN 978-0-933273-67-2
* Tavernier, Jan (2007), Iranica in the Achaemenid Period (ca. 550-330 B.C.): Linguistic Study of Old Iranian Proper Names and Loanwords, Attested in Non-Iranian Texts, Peeters Publishers, ISBN 978-90-429-1833-7
* Van De Mieroop, Marc (2015), A History of the Ancient Near East, ca. 3000-323 BC, Wiley Blackwell
* Windfuhr, Gernot L. (1991), "Central dialects", in Yarshater, E. (ed.), Encyclopædia Iranica, pp. 242–251, ISBN 978-0-939214-79-2
* Young, T. Cuyler Jr. (1988), "The early history of the Medes and the Persians and the Achaemenid empire to the death of Cambyses", in Boardman, John; Hammond, N. G. L.; Lewis, D. M.; Ostwald, M. (eds.), The Cambridge Ancient History, vol. 4, Cambridge University Press, pp. 1–52, doi:10.1017/CHOL9780521228046.002, ISBN 9781139054317
* Young, T. Cuyler (1997), "Medes", in Meyers, Eric M. (ed.), The Oxford encyclopedia of archaeology in the Near East, vol. 3, Oxford University Press, pp. 448–450, ISBN 978-0-19-511217-7
* Zadok, Ran (2002), "The Ethno-Linguistic Character of Northwestern Iran and Kurdistan in the Neo-Assyrian Period", Iran, 40: 89–151, doi:10.2307/4300620, ISSN 0578-6967, JSTOR 4300620

## Further reading[edit | edit source]

* "Mede." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2008. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 16 January 2008.
* Gershevitch, Ilya (1985), The Cambridge History of Iran, vol. 2, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0-521-20091-2

## External links[edit | edit source]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Medes.

* Median Empire at Iran Chamber Society website.

* v
* t
* e

Ancient Mesopotamia

Geography|

| Modern|

* Upper Mesopotamia
* Lower Mesopotamia
* Mesopotamian Marshes
* Persian Gulf
* Syrian Desert
* Taurus Mountains
* Tigris–Euphrates river system
* Euphrates
* Tigris
* Zagros Mountains
* Hamrin Mountains
* Sinjar Mountains

|

Ancient|

* Fertile Crescent
* Akkad
* Assyria
* Babylonia
* Chaldea
* Elam
* Hittites
* Media
* Mitanni
* Subartu
* Sumer
* Urartu
* Cities

Ishtar Gate in the city of Babylon

History|

| Pre- / Protohistory|

* Acheulean
* Mousterian
* Trialetian
* Zarzian
* Natufian
* Nemrik
* Khiamian
* Pre-Pottery Neolithic A (PPNA)
* Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB)
* Hassuna/Samarra
* Halaf
* Ubaid
* Uruk
* Jemdet Nasr
* Kish civilization

|

History|

* Early Dynastic
* Akkadian
* Gutians
* Simurrum
* Ur III
* Isin-Larsa
* Old Babylonian
* Kassite
* Middle Babylonian
* Neo-Assyrian
* Neo-Babylonian
* Fall of Babylon
* Achaemenid
* Seleucid
* Parthian
* Roman
* Sasanian
* Muslim conquest

Languages|

* Akkadian
* Amorite
* Aramaic
* Eblaite
* Elamite
* Gutian
* Hittite
* Hurrian
* Kassite
* Luwian
* Median
* Middle Persian
* Old Persian
* Parthian
* Proto-Armenian
* Sumerian
* Urartian

Culture / Society|

* Architecture
* Art
* Akitu
* Cuneiform
* Babylonian astronomy
* Babylonian mathematics
* Akkadian literature
* Economy of Sumer
* Warfare in Sumer
* Military history of the Neo-Assyrian Empire

* Sumerian literature
* Music
* Indus-Mesopotamia relations
* Egypt-Mesopotamia relations
* Royal titles
* List of rulers

Archaeology|

* Looting
* Destruction by ISIL
* Tell

Religion|

* Ancient Mesopotamian religion
* Sumerian religion
* Deities
* Mesopotamian myths
* Divination
* Prayers
* Ziggurat (Temple)

Academia|

* Assyriology
* Assyriologists
* Hittitology
* Pennsylvania Sumerian Dictionary
* Chicago Assyrian Dictionary
* Chicago Hittite Dictionary

* v
* t
* e

Median topics

Language|

* Median language, Iranian language

Cities|

* Ecbatana (Hamadan)
* Rhagae (Shahre Rey, Tehran)
* Laodicea (Nahavand)

Battles involving Lydia|

* Eclipse of Thales

Battles involving Persia|

* Persian Revolt
* Battle of Hyrba
* Battle of the Persian Border
* Siege of Pasargadae Hill
* Battle of Pasargadae
* Fall of Ecbatana

Kings/Satraps|

* Deioces
* Phraortes
* Madyes
* Cyaxares
* Astyages
* Cyaxares II
* Darius the Mede

Other Medians|

* Amytis of Babylon
* Artembares
* Datis
* Gubaru
* Mazares
* Harpagus
* Aryenis
* Mandane

Lists|

* Monarchs of the Median dynasty

* v
* t
* e

Median and Achaemenid kings

Family tree

Median (728–550 BC)|

* Deioces
* Phraortes
* Madyes
* Cyaxares
* Astyages

Achaemenid (550–330 BC)|

* Achaemenes
* Ariaramnes
* Arsames
* Teispes
* Cyrus I
* Cambyses I
* Cyrus the Great (Cyrus II)
* Cambyses II
* Smerdis
* Gaumata
* Darius the Great (Darius I)
* Xerxes the Great (Xerxes I)
* Artaxerxes I
* Xerxes II
* Sogdianus
* Darius II Nothus
* Artaxerxes II Mnemon
* Artaxerxes III Ochus
* Artaxerxes IV Arses
* Darius III Codomannus
* Artaxerxes V Bessus

Italics indicate kings not directly attested and so possibly legendary.

* v
* t
* e

Empires

Ancient
(Colonies)|

* Akkadian
* Neo-Sumerian
* Assyrian
* Old Assyrian
* Middle Assyrian
* Neo-Assyrian
* Babylonian
* Old Babylonian
* Kassite
* Neo-Babylonian
* Egyptian
* Old Kingdom
* Middle Kingdom
* New Kingdom
* Phoenician
* Carthaginian
* Chinese
* Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors
* Xia
* Shang
* Zhou
* Spring and Autumn
* Warring States
* Qin
* Eighteen Kingdoms
* Han
* Three Kingdoms
* Jin
* Sixteen Kingdoms
* North and South
* Kush
* Hellenistic
* Macedonian
* Seleucid
* Ptolemaic
* Pergamon
* Bactrian
* Indo-greek
* Hittite
* Indian
* Nanda
* Maurya
* Satavahana
* Shunga
* Gupta
* Harsha
* Iranian
* Median
* Achaemenid
* Parthian
* Sasanian
* Kushan
* Roman
* Western
* Eastern
* Teotihuacan
* Hunnic
* White
* Asian
* Xianbei
* Nirun

Post-classical|

* Aksum
* Aragonese
* Angevin
* Ayyubid
* Turkic
* First
* Western
* Eastern
* Second
* Aztec
* Benin
* Bornu
* Bruneian
* Bulgarian
* First
* Second
* Burmese
* First
* Calakmul
* Caliphate
* Rashidun
* Umayyad
* Abbasid
* Fatimid
* Chinese
* Sui
* Tang
* Liao
* Song
* Jīn
* Yuan
* Uyghur
* Ethiopian
* Zagwe
* Solomonic
* Genoese
* Georgian
* Huetar
* Inca
* Indian
* Chola
* Gurjara-Pratihara
* Pala
* Eastern Ganga dynasty
* Vijayanagara
* Indo-Persian
* Delhi
* Iranian
* Tahirid
* Saffarid
* Samanid
* Buyid
* Kanem
* Khmer
* Latin
* Majapahit
* Malaccan
* Mali
* Egyptian Mamluk
* Mongol
* Yuan
* Golden Horde
* Chagatai Khanate
* Ilkhanate
* Moroccan
* Idrisid
* Almoravid
* Almohad
* Marinid
* North Sea
* Oyo
* Hellenic Roman
* Byzantine
* Nicaea
* Thessalonica
* Trebizond
* Epirus
* Morea
* Romano-Germanic
* Carolingian
* Holy-Roman
* Serbian
* Singhasari
* Somali
* Ajuran
* Ifatite
* Adalite
* Mogadishan
* Tunni
* Songhai
* Srivijaya
* Tibetan
* Tikal
* Tiwanku
* Toltec
* Turco-Persian
* Ghaznavid
* Great Seljuk
* Khwarezmian
* Timurid
* Venetian
* Vietnamese
* Dai Viet
* Wagadou
* Wari
* Japanese
* Yamato
* Kamakura
* Muromachi
* Edo

Modern|

* Afghan
* Ashanti
* Austrian
* Austro-Hungarian
* Brazilian
* Burmese
* Second
* Third
* Central African
* Chinese
* Ming
* Qing
* China
* Manchukuo
* Ethiopian
* Haitian
* First
* Second
* French
* First
* Second
* German
* German
* Nazi
* Indian
* Mysorean
* Maratha
* British Raj
* Indo-Persian
* Mughal
* Sikh
* Iranian
* Safavid
* Afsharid
* Zand
* Qajar
* Pahlavi
* Japanese
* Johor
* Korean
* Mamluk
* Mexican
* First
* Second
* Moroccan
* Saadi
* 'Alawi
* Ottoman
* Russian
* Mongol
* Oirat
* Khoshut
* Dzungar
* Kalmyk
* Bogd
* Somali
* Geledi
* Habr Yunis
* Darawiish
* Hobyo
* Isaaq
* Majeerteen
* Swedish
* Tongan
* Vietnamese
* Dainam
* Vietnam

| Colonial|

* American
* Belgian
* British
* English
* Scottish
* Danish
* Dutch
* French
* German
* Italian
* Japanese
* Omani
* Polish–Lithuanian
* Couronian
* Portuguese
* Spanish
* Swedish

|

Lists|

* Empires
* largest
* Ancient great powers
* Medieval great powers
* Modern great powers
* European colonialism
* African empires

Miscellaneous|

* "Empire" as a description of foreign policy
* American Empire
* Soviet Empire

* v
* t
* e

* Provinces of the Achaemenid Empire
* (Behistun / Persepolis / Naqsh-e Rustam / Susa / Daeva inscriptions)

* Akaufaka (Quhistan?)
* Amyrgoi
* Arabia
* Arachosia
* Aria
* Armenia
* Assyria
* Babylonia
* Bactria
* Cappadocia
* Caria
* Carmania
* Chorasmia
* Cilicia
* Colchis
* Dahae
* Drangiana
* 1st Egypt / 2nd Egypt
* Eber-Nari (Levant)
* Elam
* Kush (Nubia)
* Gandāra (Gandhara)
* Gedrosia
* Hyrcania
* Ionia
* Hindush
* Libya
* Lydia
* Maka
* Margiana
* Media
* Massagetae
* Parthia
* Persis
* Phoenicia
* Phrygia
* Hellespontine Phrygia
* Greater Phrygia
* Saka
* Samaritan Province
* Sattagydia
* Skudra (Thrace)
* Sogdia
* Yehud

The principal Achaemenid satrapies, ~500 BC.

See also Taxation districts of the Achaemenid Empire (according to Herodotus)

* v
* t
* e

Iran topics

History

Prehistory

Ancient|

| 3400–539 BC|

* Kura-Araxes culture (3400–2000 BC)
* Proto-Elamite civilization (3100–2700 BC)
* Elamite dynasties (2700–540 BC)
* Akkadian Empire (c.2334 BC–c.2154 BC)
* Lullubi (c.2300–675 BC)
* Kassites (c.1595–c.1155 BC)
* Kingdom of Mannai (10th–7th century BC)
* Neo-Assyrian Empire (911–609 BC)
* Urartu (860 BC–590 BC)
* Median Empire (678–549 BC)
* Scythian Kingdom (652–625 BC)
* Neo-Babylonian Empire (626–539 BC)

|

550 BC–AD 224|

* Achaemenid Empire (550–330 BC)
* Atropatene (c.323 BC–AD 226)
* Kingdom of Armenia (321 BC–AD 428)
* Kingdom of Cappadocia (320s BC–AD 17)
* Seleucid Empire (312–63 BC)
* Frataraka (c.295–220 BC)
* Kingdom of Pontus (281 BC–AD 62)
* Parthian Empire (247 BC–AD 224)
* Kings of Persis (after 132 BC–AD 224)

AD 224–651|

* Sasanian Empire (AD 224–651)

Medieval and
early modern|

| 632–1090|

* Rashidun Caliphate (632–661)
* Umayyad Caliphate (661–750)
* Abbasid Caliphate (750–1258)
* Samanid dynasty (819–999)
* Tahirid dynasty (821–873)
* Alavid dynasty (864–928)
* Saffarid dynasty (861–1003)
* Ziyarid dynasty (931–1090)
* Buyid dynasty (934–1062)

|

977–1432|

* Ghaznavid Empire (977–1186)
* Ghurid dynasty (1011–1215)
* Seljuk Empire (1037–1194)
* Anushtegin dynasty (1077–1231)
* Eldiguzids (1135/36-1225)
* Kart dynasty (1244–1381)
* Ilkhanate (1256–1335)
* Muzaffarid dynasty (1314–1393)
* Jalayirid Sultanate dynasty (1335–1432)
* Chobanid dynasty (1338–1357)

1370–1925|

* Timurid Empire (1370–1507)
* Qara Qoyunlu Turcomans (1374–1468)
* Aq Qoyunlu Turcomans (1378–1508)
* Safavid Empire (1501–1736)
* Afsharid Empire (1736–1796)
* Zand Dynasty (1751–1794)
* Qajar Empire (1789–1925)
* Khanates of the Caucasus (18th–20th centuries)
* Persian Constitutional Revolution (1905–1911)
* 1908 bombardment of the Majlis
* Kurdish separatism in Iran (1918–)
* 1921 Persian coup d'état
* Arab separatism in Khuzestan (1922–)

Modern|

| 1925–1979|

* Pahlavi dynasty (1925–1979)
* Shatt al-Arab dispute (1936–1975)
* Iran crisis of 1946
* Insurgency in Balochistan (1948–)
* 1949 Iranian Constituent Assembly election
* 1953 coup d'état
* Iranian Revolution (1979)

|

Islamic Republic
1979–present|

* History (1979–)
* Interim Government (1979)
* March 1979 Iranian Islamic Republic referendum
* 1979 Khuzestan insurgency
* Iran hostage crisis (1979–1981)
* December 1979 Iranian constitutional referendum
* Iranian Embassy siege (1980)
* Nojeh coup plot (1980)
* Iran–Iraq War (1980–88)
* Interim Government of Iran (1981)
* 1987 Mecca incident
* Iran Air Flight 655 shootdown (1988)
* KDPI insurgency (1989–1996)
* PJAK conflict (2004–)
* 2009 Iranian presidential election protests
* Syrian civil war (2011–)
* International military intervention against the Islamic State (2014–)
* Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (2015)
* United States withdrawal (2018)
* 2017–2018 Iranian protests
* 2018–2019 Iranian general strikes and protests
* COVID-19 pandemic
* 2019 Sistan and Baluchestan protests
* 2019–2020 Iranian protests
* 2021 Sistan and Baluchestan protests
* 2021–2022 Iranian protests

See also|

* Ancient Persians
* Greater Iran
* Persianization
* Persianate society
* Turco-Persian
* Indo-Persian
* Iranian dynasties and countries
* Iranic peoples
* languages
* Jiroft culture
* Aryans
* Azerbaijanis
* Peoples of the Caucasus
* Persians
* Monarchs of Persia
* Heads of state of Iran
* History of democracy in classical Iran
* Military history
* Years in Iran

Geography

* Borders
* Cities
* largest
* twin towns and sister cities
* Earthquakes
* Iranian Azerbaijan
* Iranian Balochistan
* Caspian Hyrcanian mixed forests
* Caucasus
* Iranian Kurdistan
* Iranian plateau
* Lake Urmia
* Islands
* Mountains
* Provinces
* Wildlife

Politics

| General|

* Censorship
* Constitution (Persian Constitutional Revolution)
* Elections (2009 presidential)
* Foreign relations
* Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran
* Human rights (LGBT)
* Judicial system
* Military (Army
* Air Force
* Navy)
* Ministry of Intelligence
* Cyberwarfare
* Nuclear program (UN Security Council Resolution 1747)
* Political parties
* Principlists
* Propaganda
* Reformists
* Terrorism (state-sponsorship allegations)
* White Revolution (1963)
* Women's rights movement

|

Councils|

* Assembly (or Council) of Experts
* Expediency Discernment Council
* Guardian Council
* Islamic Consultative Assembly (parliament)
* Local councils
* Supreme National Security Council

Officials|

* Ambassadors
* President
* Provincial governors
* Supreme Leader

Economy

| General|

* Bonyad (charitable trust)
* Brain drain
* Companies (Automotive industry)
* Corruption
* Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO)
* Economic history
* Economic Reform Plan
* Energy
* Environmental issues
* Foreign direct investment
* Intellectual property
* International oil bourse
* International rankings
* Iran and the World Trade Organization
* Taxation
* Main economic laws
* Economy of the Middle East
* Milad Tower and complex
* Military equipment manufactured
* Nuclear program (UN Security Council Resolution 1747)
* Privatization
* Rial (currency)
* Space Agency
* Setad
* Supreme Audit Court
* Tehran Stock Exchange
* Venture capital (Technology start-ups)

|

Sectors|

* Agriculture (fruit)
* Banking and insurance
* Central Bank
* Shetab Banking System
* Construction
* Defense
* Health care (Pharmaceuticals)
* Industry
* Mining
* Petroleum (Anglo-Persian Oil Company)
* Telecommunications and IT (TCI)
* Transport (airlines
* metro
* railways
* shipping)
* Tourism

State-owned
companies|

* Defense Industries Organization (DIO)
* Industrial Development and Renovation Organization (IDRO)
* Iran Aviation Industries Organization (IAIO)
* Iran Electronics Industries (IEI)
* National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC)
* National Development Fund

Places|

* Asaluyeh industrial corridor
* Chabahar Free Trade-Industrial Zone
* Kish Island Free Trade Zone
* Research centers

Society

| Demographics|

| Languages|

* Persian (Farsi)
* Armenian
* Azerbaijani
* Kurdish
* Hebrew
* Georgian
* Neo-Aramaic
* Iranian languages

|

Peoples|

* Iranian citizens (abroad)
* Ethnic minorities
* Armenians
* Assyrians
* Azerbaijanis
* Circassians
* Georgians
* Kurds
* Jews
* Turkmen

Religion|

* Islam
* Baháʼí Faith (persecution)
* Christianity
* Zoroastrians (persecution)
* Freedom of religion

Other|

* Corruption
* Crime
* Education (higher
* scientists and scholars
* universities)
* International rankings
* Nationality
* Water supply and sanitation
* Women

Culture|

* Architecture (Achaemenid
* architects)
* Art (modern / contemporary)
* Astronomy
* Blogs
* Calendars (Persian New Year (Nowruz))
* Fashion
* Chicago Persian antiquities dispute
* Cinema
* Cuisine
* Folklore
* Intellectual movements
* Iranians
* Iranian studies
* Islam (Islamization)
* Literature
* Media (news agencies (student)
* newspapers)
* Mythology
* National Jewels
* National symbols (Imperial Anthem)
* Opium consumption
* Persian gardens
* Persian name
* Philosophy
* Public holidays
* Scouting
* Sport (football)

Music|

* Folk
* Jazz
* Pop
* Rap and hip-hop
* Rock
* Traditional
* Ey Iran

Other topics|

* Science and technology
* Anti-Iranian sentiment
* Tehrangeles

* Category
* Portal Portal
* Project WikiProject
* Commons

*[c.]: circa
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template