History of Media and Persia

Kings of Media

• Deioces (709 to 656 B.C.)
• Phraortes (656 to 634 B.C.)
• Cyraxares (634 to 594 B.C.)
• Astyages (594 to 559 B.C.)

Kings of Persia

• Cyrus (559 to 530 B. C.)
• Cambyses (530 to 523 B.C.)
• Smerdis (Magus usurper) (522 B.C.)
• Darius (522 to xxx B.C.)

History of Media

This history starts about 150 years before the reign of Cyrus, king of Persia. Media had just successfully rebelled from the Assyrian empire, but had no central government.

Deioces (Reigned 53 years - About 709 to 656 B.C.)

• Son of Phraortes (Her.Hist.1.96)
• Media had previously revolted from Assyria, but had no formal government (Her.Hist.1.95)
• Became ruler of Medes because of his ability to judge legal cases (Her.Hist.1.96-98)
• Establishment of rule (Her.Hist.1.98-101)
• Built Agbatana, with 7 circular walls of various colors (Her.Hist.1.98)
• Ruled 53 years (Her.Hist.1.102)

Phraortes (Reigned 22 years - About 656 to 634 B.C.)

• Son of Deioces (Her.Hist.1.102)
• Conquered the Persians (Her.Hist.1.102)
• Attacked Assyrians - Died in battle (Her.Hist.1.102)
• Ruled 22 years (Her.Hist.1.102)

Cyraxares (Reigned 40 years - About 634 to 594 B.C.)

• Son of Phraortes (Her.Hist.1.103)
• Faught the Lydians (Her.Hist.1.103)
• A day turned to night (eclipse?) (Her.Hist.1.103)
• Faught against Ninevah, but during seige the Scythians invaded Media (Her.Hist.1.103-4)
• The Egyptian king Psammetichus convinced the Scythians not to invade Egypt (Her.Hist.1.105)
• Scythians controlled Media for 28 years, before Cyraxares broke their control (Her.Hist.1.106)
• Had some problems with some Scythian nomads which illustrated his hospitality and his hot temper. The Scythians provoked him to anger, and then fled to Sardis who was ruled by Alyattes, son of Sadyattes. The king of Sardis accepted them as suppliants, and then refused to surrender them to the Medes. This led to a 5 year war between the Lydians and Medes, which was finally settled by a treaty in which Alyattes daughter Aryenis was given in marriage to Astyages, son of Cyaxares. (Her.Hist.1.73-74)
• Labynetus was ruler of Babylon (Her.Hist.1.74)
• Ninevah was conquered (Her.Hist.1.106)
• Total ruling time: 40 years (includes 28 years of Scythian rule)

Astyages (Reigned 35 years - About 594 to 559 B.C.)

• Son of Cyraxares (Her.Hist.1.107)
• Married Aryenis, daughter of Alyattes (king of Sardis), as part of a peace treaty between Sardis and Media (Her.Hist.1.74)
• Had a dream about his daughter Mandane. The Magi interpreted it to mean that one of her children would be a world ruler. Afraid for his kingdom, he married her to a Persian of a quiet temper (Her.Hist.1.107)
• After a second dream, Astyages ordered Harpagus to kill Mandane's child (Her.Hist.1.108)
• Harpagus, afraid to personally kill a child of the royal family, took it to a herdsman to expose on the mountains. However, since the herdsman had just lost a child, he switched children and raised the baby. (Her.Hist.1.109-113)
• When the child was 10 years old, events happened which caused Astyages to discover who he was (Her.Hist.1.114-6)
• Astyages was pleased that the child was alive, but angry with Harpagus. In verifying Harpagus' actions, Harpagus admitted that he did not directly kill the child, and had not personally confirmed the death. (Her.Hist.1.117-8)
• To punish Harpagus, Astyages had his son killed and fed to him at a banquet. Harpagus had the presence of mind to not blame the king for acting wrong. (Her.Hist.1.119)
• The Magi, called in to determine what to do with the child (Cyrus), decided that Astyages' dream had been fulfilled and he had nothing to worry. The child was returned to his parents in Persia. (Her.Hist.1.120-2)
• Was a cruel ruler (Her.Hist.1.127, 130)
• Loss of power - See Cyrus (rise of the Persians)
• Lived out his life in the court of Cyrus (Her.Hist.1.130)
• Total ruling time: 35 years (Her.Hist.1.130)

History of Persia

Cyrus - (Reigned 29 years - About 559 to 530 B. C.)

Cyrus - Childhood

• See Astyages (son of Mandane)

Cyrus - Rise of the Persians

• To avenge his son's death, Harpagus offered to support Cyrus in a bid for the throne. Method of secretly sending information - hid a letter inside a dead rabbit and disquised the messenger as a hunter. (Her.Hist.1.123-4)
• Cyrus was in charge of Persian army. To convince them to revolt, he made them spend one day cutting a field of thorn bushes, and the next day relaxing at a banquet. He then asked which one the army preferred. Since the banquet was obviously better, Cyrus then asked why they remained slaves to the Medes when with a little work they could have luxury . (Her.Hist.1.125-6)
• Astyages heard of Cyrus' actions and ordered him to appear before him. Cyrus replied that he would be there very quick. Astyages then prepared for war and put Harpagus in charge of the Median army. When Cyrus' army met Harpagus, most of the army merged and proceeded on to attack Astyages. (Her.Hist.1.127)
• Astyages executed the Magi which had said that Cyrus was not a problem, and then attempted to raise an army. He was defeated and captured by Cyrus. (Her.Hist.1.128-9)

Cyrus - Events during reign

Defeat of the Lydians (Capital was Sardis, ruled by Croesus)

• Croesus provoked the situation, within a few years after Cyrus defeated Astyages. He was concerned with the power of Persia (Her.Hist.1.46), he coveted the land, and he was insulted about the treatment of Astyages, to whom he was related. (Her.Hist.1.73)
• Croesus entered Cappadocia and faught them. Cyrus raised an army and attached Croesus, but though the initial battle was intense, neither side won. Since Cyrus did not attack the next day, Croesus decided to return to Sardis and be better prepared for war the next year (Her.Hist.1.76). When he arrived home, he disbanded his army (Her.Hist.1.77)
• Sparta, and the Babylonians had a treaty with Lydia. Labynetus was king of Babylon. (Her.Hist.1.77)
• Cyrus, suspecting what Croesus would do, followed Croesus so fast that he had no warning, and could not get support from his allies. (Her.Hist.1.79)
• Lydian warfare: Rode on horseback, with long lances (Her.Hist.1.79). Cyrus disabled the Lydian attack by using camels, which caused the Lydian horses to run in fear. (Her.Hist.1.80)
• Lydia was taken by the Persians climbing a steep cliff on one side of Sardis, which the Lydians felt was too difficult a climb for an army to attempt. (Her.Hist.1.84)
• Croesus was captured and almost executed. When the Persians were plundering Sardis, he came up with a plan to give 1/10 of the money to Cyrus, by pretending that it was going to Zeus. Croesus became an advisor to Cyrus. (Her.Hist.1.89,90)
• The Lydians later revolted. Croesus, to avoid having Sardis destroyed, advised Cyrus to make the Lydians a nation of shopkeepers and musicians, since this would subdue their warlike attitude. (Her.Hist.1.154-157)

Defeat of Ionians and Aeolians

• After defeat of Lydia, the Ionians and Aeolians sent envoys to Cyrus, but he rejected their terms. They prepared for war, and requested aid from Sparta. (Her.Hist.1.141)
• Sparta voted to refuse aid against the Persians, but they did send a ship to observe their activity, and an envoy who ordered the Persians not to attack any Greek city. (Her.Hist.1.152)
• Cyrus was not impressed with Sparta, but since he wanted to attack Babylon and Egypt, he left one of his generals to conquer the Ionians. (Her.Hist.1.153)
• Harpagus, the Mede, attacked Phocaea first. This city had become known for their long sea voyages. Harpagus first asked for their surrender. They refused, but then evacuated the city by ship, taking their wealth. They tried to buy an island, and when they were refused, they returned to Phocaea and killed the Persians guarding the empty city. They then left and faught with other nations until they could have a city for themselves. (Her.Hist.1.162-167)
• Harpagus then went to other cities. One evacuated like the Phocaeans. The rest faught and lost. (Her.Hist.1.168-170)
• Harpagus then and attacked the Carians, Caunians, and Lycians. The Carians and Caunians submitted fairly quick, but the Lycians of Xanthus faught well, and when they were driven back to their city they killed their families, burned the city, and then made a suicidal attack on the Persians. (Her.Hist.1.174-176)

Defeat of Babylon

• Cyrus attacked Labynetus (Nabonitus) son of Nitocris. (Her.Hist.1.188)
• Cyrus split the Gyndes river into a number of streams to cross it (Her.Hist.1.189)
• Cyrus defeated the Babylonians in combat outside the walls, but then the Babylonians simply retreated behind their walls. Cyrus attempted a seige, but Babylon had food supplies for several years.(Her.Hist.1.190)
• Cyrus, unable to deal with the walls, stationed his army where the Euphrates entered and left the city under the walls. He then diverted the river, and the army entered under the walls. If they had been detected, the Babylonians could have easily destroyed them, but they were having a festival and were unaware.(Her.Hist.1.190-1)

Persians attack the Massagetae

• Cyrus wanted the realm of the Massagetae, by theCaspian sea.(Her.Hist.1.200-204)
• Cyrus had a dream that Darius, son of Hystaspes, (who was 20 years old at the time) was to become the future ruler.(Her.Hist.1.209)
• Cyrus won an initial victory, then had a major defeat and was killed.(Her.Hist.1.211-214)

Cyrus, son of Cambyses (ruled 29 years) (Her.Hist.1.214)

Cambyses - (Reigned 7 years, 5 months - About 530 to 523 B. C.)

Cambyses - Events during reign

• Mother was Cassandane, daughter of Pharnaspes (Her.Hist.2.1)
• Capture of Egypt
• Pretext for war, while Amasis was king of Egypt (Her.Hist.3.1-2)
• Persians aided by Phanes, a Greek mercenary originally employed by Amasis (Her.Hist.3.3)
• Persians made an alliance with the Arabs. This was critical, since a land attack of Egypt required methods of obtaining water while crossing a desert. (Her.Hist.3.4-8)
• Arab's method of forming covenants (Her.Hist.3.7)
• Amasis died by the time Cambyses attacked (Her.Hist.3.9)
• Psammenitus, Amasis' son ruled Egypt when Cambyses attacked (Her.Hist.3.9)
• Mercenaries hired by Psammenitus were upset with Phanes, and so they killed his sons and drank their blood before the battle with the Persians. After a fierce battle, the Egyptians were defeated (Her.Hist.3.11, 13)
• Libya, Cyrene & Barca paid tribute rather than risk war (Her.Hist.3.13)
• Cambyses humiliated Psammenitus to test his character, and then relented and allowed him to rule. He later attempted a rebellion, and when discovered he committed suicide. (Her.Hist.3.14-15)
• Cambyses desecrated the body of Amasis, in his frustration that Amasis died before Cambyses arrived. (Her.Hist.3.16-17)
• Cambyses sent his fleet to attack Carthage (Her.Hist.3.18)
• Cambyses' attempts to capture Ethiopia
• Initially sent spies to Ethiopia with "gifts" (Her.Hist.3.18)
• Ethiopians were tall, strong, handsome and lived long (120 years). They had plenty of gold, but little bronze. They ate boiled meat and milk. The dead were enbalmed and placed in clear caskets in their homes. The Ethiopian king recognized that the Persians were spies, and he insulted the power of the Persians. (Her.Hist.3.19-23)
• Cambyses, in anger, decided to attack but did not plan for supplies in the desert. He turned back before reaching Ethiopia, after his army was resorting to cannibalism to survive. (Her.Hist.3.25)
• Cambyses attempt to attack the Ammonians failed due to a sandstorm which destroyed the army (Her.Hist.3.26)
• Cambyses arrived back in Memphis after his failure against Ethiopia. The Egyptians were rejoicing because their god APIS (a specially marked bull) appeared. Cambyses, thinking that they were rejoicing over his failure, killed the bull. (Her.Hist.3.27-29)

Cambyses - Madness of

• Killed his brother Smerdis because he had a dream that Smerdis would rule the empire (Her.Hist.3.30)
• Married his sister (against Persian custom) and later killed her in anger (Her.Hist.3.31-32)
• Cambyses once asked Prexaspes (who was a message carrier) what the people thought of their king. Displeased with the answer that he drank too much, he killed Prexaspes's son (who was a cupbearer) to prove his skill as an archer. (Her.Hist.3.34-35)
• Cambyses took 12 leading Persians, who were not charged with crimes worthy of death, and buried them up to their necks (Her.Hist.3.35)
• Cambyses, displeased with the advice of Croesus, tried to kill him. Cambyses servants hid Croesus rather than killing him, since they thought he might regret the decision later. Cambyses was glad that Croesus remained alive, but he killed those who had refused to do what he commanded (Her.Hist.3.36)
• Cambyses opened tombs and ridiculed the Egyptian gods in their temples (Her.Hist.3.37)

Cambyses - Events leading to his death

• Cambyses received word in Egypt that "Smerdis" had become the ruler of the Persians. When he realized that he had killed his brother in error, and in his anger at the Magi, he mounted his horse quickly to organize his army to return. His sword accidentally injured him, and after about 20 days, infection caused his death in Agbatana, Syria. Cambyses, on his death bed, told the Persians that he had killed his brother, but this was not believed at first. (Her.Hist.3.61-66)
• Cambyses ruled 7 years, 5 months. He died with no descendents (male or female) (Her.Hist.3.66)

Smerdis (the Magus) - (Reigned 8 months - 522 B. C.)

• Patizeithes, a Magi who was in charge of Cambyses house, knew that Cambyses' brother Smerdis had been secretly killed. Since Patizeithes' brother looked like Smerdis (and shared his name), they decided that he should pretend to be Smerdis, son of Cyrus, and issued a proclaimation that all nations and armies should follow Smerdis, rather than Cambyses. (Her.Hist.3.61)
• The two brothers succeeded, since Cambyses died shortly after hearing about the revolt, and Prexaspes refused to admit that he had killed Cambyses' brother. (Her.Hist.3.62-66)
• The two Magi bought the friendship of other nations by repealing the war taxes for three years (Her.Hist.3.67)
• The Persians began to suspect fraud when Smerdis never left the capital, and refused to have any private audiences with the Persian nobles. (Her.Hist.3.68)
• Otanes, a Persian noble who's daughter had been a wife of Cambyses, and therefore became a wife of "Smerdis", used his daughter to verify who was king. Initially this was difficult, since the daughter had never met the real Smerdis, and the king seperated all of Cambyses' wives as soon as he became king (since queen Atossa was brother to both Smerdis and Cambyses). However, king Cyrus had cut off the ears of Smerdis the Magi, so Otanes proposed that his daughter check to see if he had ears. This was dangerous, but the daughter waited until it was her turn in rotation to sleep with the king, and then checked his ears when he was asleep. (Her.Hist.3.68-69)
• Otanes gathered six other Persians in a conspiracy to murder the Magi (Aspathines, Gobryas, Intaphernes, Gobryas Megabyzus, Aspathines Hydarnes and Darius, son of Hystapes). (Her.Hist.3.70)
• Otanes wanted to gain more support. Darius urged them to attack the Magi before their plot could be discovered. (Her.Hist.3.71-73)
• Prexaspes, at a public gathering, admitted that he had killed the brother of Cambyses, and that their king was a fraud. Before the Magi brothers could recover from this, the seven Persians arrived at the court, and were almost admitted to the presence of the king. When guards finally stopped them, they killed the guards and the Magi. (Her.Hist.3.74-78)
• The Persians responded to the revolt by executing all of the Magi that could be found, since they were insulted that they had been ruled by Magi. This later became the start of a yearly festival called the "Slaughter of the Magi". (Her.Hist.3.79)

Darius, son of Hystapes - (Reigned xx years- 522 to xxx B. C.)

Darius - Rise to power

• Darius was one of the conspirators who murdered the Magi "Smerdis"
• The 7 conspirators met to decide what form of government to set up. There were several opinions, but most voted for a king. 6 decided to select the king from among themselves. The 7th, Otanes, did not want to rule or be ruled. It was agreed that he would not be allowed to be king, but that he and his descendents would not be bound to follow any decree of whoever became king. (Her.Hist.3.80-83)
• Method to select the king - the one who's horse neighed first after sunrise. Darius, by the help of his groom, won. (Her.Hist.3.84-87)

Customs of the Medes

Customs of the Persians

• Nature of Persians before they were a world power: Wore leather pants and clothes, ate what a poor soil provided, drank water instead of wine, had no dessert luxuries like figs (Her.Hist.1.71)
• Wine - Drunk in large quantities. Decisions must be made and confirmed when they are both drunk and sober. (Intellect and Emotion) (Her.Hist.1.133)
• Display of rank in public: People of equal rank give each other a kiss on the lips. One of slightly lower rank receives a kiss on the cheek. One of much lower rank bows to the one of higher rank. (Her.Hist.1.134)
• Easily adopt customs from other nations. They dress like the Medes, wear Egyptian breastplates in war, and adopt luxurys and novelties from others (Her.Hist.1.135)
• Yearly festival - "Slaughter of the Magi" - Honored Darius revold against the Magi. No Magi is allowed to be seen on the day of the festival. (Her.Hist.3.79)

Law and government

• Conception of ranks in nations: The closest neighbors have the highest esteem. Those further away a lesser, and the furthest away are the least esteemed. Therefore the Persians rule the Medes, the Medes rule the nations at their border, and those nations rule the next layer out, etc. (Her.Hist.1.134). They often allow the children of a rebellious king to assume control in place of the father (Her.Hist.3.15)
• Judges are specially picked men, and hold the office for life unless convicted of misconduct. They interpret the old laws and resolve all disputes. (Her.Hist.3.31)
• Persians allowed the king to do anything he wished (Her.Hist.3.31)
• A cupbearer to the king was a highly honored position in Persia (Her.Hist.3.34)
• There was a distinction between the law of the land, and the edicts of a king. All Persians, including the king, were bound to follow the laws of the Persians (Her.Hist.3.31, 83)
• The king is not allowed to execute a man for a single fault (Her.Hist.1.137)
• The Persian people were not allowed to execute a slave for a single fault (Her.Hist.1.137)
• Basic concept in law: Good actions weighed against bad actions, and if the good did not outweigh the bad, the punishment was carried out. (Her.Hist.1.137)
• Persians believe it is unlawful to talk about something that it is unlawful to do (Her.Hist.1.138)
• Telling a lie was the most disgraceful thing for a Persian to do, closely followed as being in debt. (Her.Hist.1.139)

Family

• Persian fathers are greatly honored by having large families of sons. However, infant mortality was likely high, for the father was not allowed to see a son until he was 5 year old. The sons were educated from the age of 5 to 20, being taught to ride, use a bow, tell the truth. (Her.Hist.1.135) After the age of 20, a boy was allowed to go to war (Her.Hist.1.209)
• Birthdays: Most commonly celebrated day. The one having a birthday celebrates with a fancy meal, with a lot of desserts. (Her.Hist.1.133)
• Having multiple wives was common, and men often had more concubines than wives. (Her.Hist.1.135) At least the wives were sleep with them in rotation (Her.Hist.3.69)
• Illegal for a man to marry his sister (Her.Hist.3.31)

Religion

• Have no temples, altars or images of gods. They do climb the highest mountains and offer sacrifices to Zeus. They also worship the sun, moon, earth, fire, water and winds. They also worship Mitra (similiar to Aphrodite). Sacrifices are made by cutting up the animal and boiling the flesh. A Magi then chants a hymn, and the worshipper then takes the meat away to use as he pleases. There is no altar, grain offerings or music. (Her.Hist.1.131, 132)
• Fire is viewed as a god (Her.Hist.3.16)
• Magi
• Likely a caste in the Persian society
• Enjoy killing many types of animals (Her.Hist.1.138)
• A Magi must be present at sacrifices (Her.Hist.1.132)
• Called to interprete dreams (Her.Hist.1.107-8, 120)
• Sometimes killed for giving bad advice (Her.Hist.1.128)

Burial Customs

• Males are not buried before they are torn by a dog or bird of prey. (Her.Hist.1.140)
• After being torn, the body is covered with wax, then buried (Her.Hist.1.140)
• It is unlawful to burn the dead, since fire is considered a god and they felt it was wrong to give a corpse to a god. (Her.Hist.3.16)

Medical practices

• Leprosy: A Persian with leprosy was not allowed to enter a city or interact with others. Foreigners with the disease were forced to leave the country. Even animals (birds) with the disease were driven away. (Her.Hist.1.139)
• Sewage was not dumped in rivers, nor were they used for bathing, because they hold rivers in great honor. (Her.Hist.1.139)

Warfare

• Water for the king during the war was brought from a stream near Susa, boiled, and stored in silver jars. (Her.Hist.1.188)