Kingdom of Media

E831709

The Kingdom of Media was an ancient Iranian state in the first millennium BCE, centered in the region of Media and known for its powerful empire that preceded and influenced the rise of the Achaemenid Persian Empire.

All labels observed (1)

Label Occurrences
Kingdom of Media canonical 3

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (46)

Predicate Object
instanceOf ancient kingdom
historical polity
ally Neo-Babylonian Empire
capital Ecbatana
Hamadan (modern identification of Ecbatana)
continent Asia
culture Iranian culture
influences from Mesopotamian civilizations
currency used metal bullion and weighed silver (typical of region and period)
endTime 550 BCE (conquest by Cyrus the Great)
6th century BCE
era Iron Age
ethnicGroup Medes
event fall of Nineveh
linked to: Fall of Nineveh
followedBy Achaemenid Empire
governmentType monarchy
historicalDebate extent of centralized imperial structure is debated
historicalStatus poorly documented archaeologically
influenced Achaemenid Persian Empire
linked to: Achaemenid Empire
knownFrom Assyrian sources
Babylonian sources
Greek historians
Herodotus
language Median language
languageFamily Northwestern Iranian languages
legacy provided administrative and court models for Achaemenid Persia
locatedIn Zagros Mountains region
linked to: Zagros Mountains

northwestern Iran
region of Media
military noted for cavalry
participatedIn destruction of the Neo-Assyrian Empire
partOf ancient Near East
linked to: Ancient Near East
population Iranian-speaking tribes
precededBy Neo-Assyrian Empire (as overlord)
linked to: Neo-Assyrian Empire
religion ancient Iranian religion
early forms of Zoroastrianism (disputed)
ruler Astyages
Cyaxares
Deioces (traditional founder in Greek accounts)
linked to: Deioces

Phraortes (in Greek tradition)
linked to: Phraortes
startTime 7th century BCE
c. 678 BCE (traditional date for independence from Assyria)
territoryIncluded parts of eastern Anatolia
parts of northern Mesopotamia
parts of the Iranian plateau
parts of western Iran

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (3)

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

Median forces politicalAllegiance Kingdom of Media
Siege of Nineveh involvedPolity Kingdom of Media
siege of Assur (614 BCE) involvedPolity Kingdom of Media