MEDIA
Country of Asia, east of the Zagros Mountains, south of the Caspian Sea, west of the country of the Parthians, and north of Elam.
It was just over 1,000 km long and about 400 km wide. When the empire was at its peak, it surpassed these limits, especially to the northwest.
Most of the Media itself was made up of a plateau of about 900 m. Tall. The rest of the country consisted of seven parallel mountain ranges oriented from northwest to southeast, separated by fertile, well-watered valleys.
This country, whose horses were of great renown, had excellent pastures. The native inhabitants were defeated by an Indo-European people, the Madai of Gn. 10:2 (Herodotus 7:62).
The history of Media begins in the 9th century BC. The name of Medes is found for the first time in the inscriptions of Shalmansar III of Assyria, who invaded Media (around 835 BC); 27 Persian kings paid him tribute.
Invasions followed with Shamshid-adad (825-812) and Adad Nirari III (812-782), who led expeditions against Media (801 to 787). In the year 737, Tiglath-pileser III invaded and annexed certain districts of the country.
When Sargon seized the city of Samaria in 722 BC, he deported Israelites and settled them in cities in Media (2 Kings 17:6; 18:11). Around the year 710, Sargon completely subdued the Medes. He imposed a tribute on them of beautiful horses, which made his country famous. Sennacherib also boasted of receiving tribute from Media.
Esar-haddon established governors in Media. Until then the Medes do not seem to form a nation unified by a royal power (contrary to the claims of Herodotus. 1:96 ff.). Under Phraortes (674-653 BC)
Media became a formidable power. Around the year 625 Cyaxares, son of the former, allied with Nebopolassar of Babylon, besieged Nineveh, took it, and overthrew the Assyrian empire (Ant. 10:5, 1). The winners shared the spoils. Cyaxares took possession of Assyria itself and the regions that depended on it, to the north and northwest.
The marriage of Nebuchadnezzar, son of Nebopolassar, with Amytus (Amuhea, Amuhia), daughter of Cyaxares, contributed to strengthening the alliance between Babylon and Media, giving strength to both monarchies. Cyaxares (652-612) was succeeded by Arbaces (612-585). Astyages, son of Cyaxares, reigned from 584 to 550.
In the year 550, the Persians established in the south and southeast of Media rebelled; Cyrus, king of Anshan, became king of Media and Persia. Both the victors and the vanquished were of pure Aryan race and merged into a single nation.
In 330 BC, Media became part of Alexander’s empire. After the death of this ruler, Media was united to Syria (1 Macc. 6:56), and later incorporated into the Parthian Empire.
The OT mentions the Medes among the peoples who took control of Babylon (Is. 13:17, 18; cf. Jer. 51:11, 28). The conquerors of Babylon are predicted to come from Elam and Media (Is. 21:2, 9). Under Cyrus, in the year 539, Darius of Media, leading the Medes and Persians, took possession of Babylon (Dan. 5:31; cf. v. 28).
The Medo-Persian empire is Daniel’s second kingdom (cf. Dan. 2:39); the bear (Dan. 7:5) and the two-horned ram (Dan. 8:3-20) are other symbols of the Medo-Persian empire; one of the horns was taller than the other and the taller grew later (Dan. 7:3); This means that the power of the Medes was going to manifest first, soon followed by Persian arrogance.