Medes

The Medes were an ancient Iranian people who inhabited Media, a region in northwestern Iran. Their core territory lay around the Zagros Mountains and the Iranian plateau, with the city of Ecbatana (modern Hamadan) serving as a major center. They emerged as a distinct political power in the first millennium BCE and formed a significant early Iranian state.

Linguistically and culturally, the Medes spoke Median, an Iranian language related to Old Persian. They practiced ancient Iranian polytheism and shared cultural and religious features with other Iranian peoples of the region. Their social and political organization favored centralized royal authority and military strength, traits later echoed in the broader Achaemenid administration.

Politically, the Median realm rose to prominence after the decline of the Assyrian Empire. Under kings such as Cyaxares, the Medes expanded their influence and allied with the Babylonians to defeat Assyria, contributing to the fall of Nineveh in 612 BCE. In 550 BCE, the Median king Astyages was deposed by Cyrus II of Persia, who founded the Achaemenid Empire. Media then became a core constituent territory within the empire, with Ecbatana functioning as a major city and royal residence in the eastern satrapy. Although the Medes ceased to exist as an independent political entity, their elites continued to play a leading role within the Achaemenid administration.

Legacy of the Medes lies in their role in forming the first Persian imperial tradition and in shaping the administration and military structures adopted by the Achaemenids. The region of Media remained a distinct geographic and cultural reference in antiquity, and the Medes are frequently referenced in classical and Near Eastern sources as foundational to the broader Iranian world.