Medes

E73059

The Medes were an ancient Iranian people who established a powerful kingdom in western Iran, playing a key role in the downfall of the Assyrian Empire and later forming part of the Achaemenid Persian Empire.


Statements (52)

Predicate Object
instanceOf ancient Iranian people
ethnic group
historical people
administrativeLegacy satrapal system in the Achaemenid Empire
alliedWith Neo-Babylonian Empire
Scythia
surface form: Scythians
capital Ecbatana
capitalModernLocation Hamadan
surface form: Hamadan, Iran
continent Asia
coreTerritory Media
coreTerritoryModernLocation northwestern and western Iran
culturalInfluenceOn Achaemenid dynasty
surface form: Achaemenid Persians
economy agriculture
pastoralism
trade
ethnoLinguisticGroup Iranian peoples
floruit c. 700–550 BCE
incorporatedInto Achaemenid Empire
involvedIn destruction of the Neo-Assyrian Empire
fall of Nineveh
keyEvent siege and capture of Nineveh in 612 BCE
knownFor establishing a powerful kingdom in western Iran
forming part of the Achaemenid Persian Empire
role in the downfall of the Neo-Assyrian Empire
languageFamily Indo-European language family
surface form: Indo-European languages

Indo-Iranian languages
Iranian languages
lastKing Astyages NERFINISHED
mentionedInSource Assyrian royal inscriptions
Babylonian chronicles
Herodotus
militaryFeature archers
cavalry
neighbor Assyrians
Babylonians
Persians
Kingdom of Urartu
surface form: Urartians
overthrownBy Cyrus the Great NERFINISHED
politicalEntity Median Kingdom
predecessor various local Iranian tribes in western Iran
primaryRegion northwestern Iran
western Iran
religion Zoroastrian-influenced beliefs
ancient Iranian religion
ruler Astyages
Cyaxares
Deioces
Phraortes
successor Achaemenid Empire
timePeriod 6th century BCE
7th century BCE
early 1st millennium BCE

Referenced by (11)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.