Astyages - Wikipedia Astyages From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to navigation Jump to search King Astyages King King Astyages in chains submitting to Cyrus the Great (18th century tapestry). Shahanshah of Media Reign 564–550 BC (according to Herodotus) Predecessor Cyaxares the Great Successor Cyrus the Great Shahanshah of Cappadocia Reign 564-550 BC Predecessor Cyaxares Born Ecbatana Consort Aryenis of Lydia Spouse Tigranuhi (daughter of Orontes I Sakavakyats) Issue Mandane House Deiocids Dynasty Median Dynasty Father Cyaxares Religion Ancient Iranian religion Astyages (spelled by Herodotus as Ἀστυάγης Astyages; by Ctesias as Astyigas; by Diodorus as Aspadas; Babylonian: Ištumegu) was the last king of the Median Empire, r. 585–550 BC, the son of Cyaxares; he was dethroned in 550 BCE by Cyrus the Great. His name derives from the Old Iranian Rishti Vaiga, which means "swinging the spear, lance-hurler".[1] In the inscriptions of Nabonidus, the name is written Ishtuvegu.[2] Contents 1 Reign 2 In Herodotus 3 In the Book of Daniel 4 Defeat 5 References 6 External links Reign[edit] The Median Empire during both Cyaxares the Great, and Astyages Astyages succeeded his father in 585 BCE, following the Battle of Halys, which ended a five-year war between the Lydians and the Medes. He inherited a large empire, ruled in alliance with his two brothers-in-law, Croesus of Lydia and Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, whose wife, Amytis, Astyages' sister, was the queen for whom Nebuchadnezzar was said to have built the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.[3] However, due to recent evidence, the garden was likely built by the Assyrian King Sennacherib. Married to Aryenis, the sister of King Croesus of Lydia, to seal the treaty between the two empires, Astyages ascended to the Median throne upon his father's death later that year.[4] The ancient sources report almost nothing about Astyages’ reign, and a final judgment on his character is not possible, since Herodotus’ negative account (Astyages is represented as a cruel and despotic ruler) and Ctesias’ favorable one, are both biased.[1] According to Cyropaedia of Xenophon, after thirty-two years of relative stability, Astyages lost the support of his nobles during the war against Cyrus, whom Xenophon understands as being Astyages' grandson. This resulted in the founding of the Persian empire by Cyrus.[5] In Herodotus[edit] King Astyages commands Harpagos to take the infant Cyrus and slay him, tapestry by Jan Moy (1535-1550). Astyages's dream (France, 15th century) The account given by the ancient Greek historian Herodotus relates that Astyages had a dream in which his daughter, Mandane, gave birth to a son who would destroy his empire. Fearful of the dream's prophecy, Astyages married her off to Cambyses I of Anšan, who had a reputation for being a "quiet and thoughtful prince" and whom Astyages believed to be no threat. When a second dream warned Astyages of the dangers of Mandane's offspring, Astyages sent his general Harpagus to kill the child Cyrus. Herodotus correctly names Cyrus' parents, though he fails to mention that Cambyses was a king.[6][7] Modern scholarship generally rejects his claim that Cyrus was the grandson of Astyages.[8] Harpagus, unwilling to spill royal blood, gave the infant to a shepherd, Mitridates, whose wife had just given birth to a stillborn child. Cyrus was raised as Mitridates' own son, and Harpagus presented the stillborn child to Astyages as the dead Cyrus. When Cyrus was found alive at age ten, Astyages spared the boy on the advice of his Magi, returning him to his parents in Anshan. Harpagus, however, did not escape punishment, as Astyages is said to have fed him his own son at a banquet. Cyrus succeeded his father in 559, and in 553, on the advice of Harpagus, who was eager for revenge for being given the "abominable supper," Cyrus rebelled against Astyages. After three years of fighting, Astyages' troops mutinied during the battle of Pasargadae, and Cyrus conquered the Median's empire. Astyages was spared by Cyrus, and despite being taunted by Harpagus, Herodotus says he was treated well and remained in Cyrus' court until his death. Rather than giving the popular mythology that Cyrus was suckled by a dog (the dog was sacred to Persians. cf. also the legend of Sargon, or the similar legend of Romulus and Remus, suckled by a she-wolf (Latin: Lupa)) Herodotus explains that the herdsman Mitridates lived with another of Astyages' slaves, a woman named 'Spaco,' which he explains is Median for "dog,"[9][10] which gives both the legend and Herodotus' rationalized version.[11] In the Book of Daniel[edit] Chapter 14 of the deutero-canonical version of the biblical Book of Daniel, otherwise known as Bel and the Dragon, opens with the accession of Cyrus after the death of Astyages.[12] Defeat[edit] The Defeat of Astyages (standing left in chains) to Cyrus the Great (center), 18th century tapestry. The contemporary Chronicle of Nabonidus refers to the mutiny on the battlefield as the cause for Astyages' overthrow, but does not mention Harpagus by name. However, since Harpagus was Astyages' general at the battle of Pasargadae and his family were granted high positions in Cyrus' empire after the war, and since Harpagus went on to become Cyrus' most successful general, it is possible he had something to do with the mutiny against Astyages.[13] Cyrus then went on to capture Astyages' capital of Ecbatana. Ancient sources agree that after Astyages was taken by Cyrus he was treated with clemency, though the accounts differ. Herodotus says that Cyrus kept Astyages at his court during the remainder of his life, while according to Ctesias, he was made a governor of a region of Parthia and was later murdered by a political opponent, Oebares. The circumstances of Astyages' death are not known. After Astyages' overthrow, Croesus marched on Cyrus to avenge Astyages. Cyrus, with Harpagus at his side, defeated Croesus and conquered Lydia in or after 547 BC.[14] References[edit] ^ a b "ASTYAGES – Encyclopaedia Iranica". www.iranicaonline.org. ^ Meyer 1911. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-08-08. Retrieved 2013-08-02.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link), The Hanging Gardens of Babylon ^ "Cyaxares (Livius.org)". ^ Xenophon, 431 BCE-350? BCE (February 1, 2000). Cyropaedia: The Education of Cyrus – via Project Gutenberg. ^ cf. How, W. W., & Wells, J. (1991) ^ A commentary on Herodotus with introduction and appendixes. Oxford [Oxfordshire]: Oxford University Press. i.107 ^ cf. How and Wells i.107 ^ Herodotus i.110 ^ Justin (i.4) ^ cf. How and Well, i.110 ^ Daniel 14:1: New American Bible, Revised Edition, based on Theodotion's version ^ "Cyrus takes Babylon (530 BCE) (Livius.org)". ^ "Astyages - Livius". www.livius.org. External links[edit] Asia portal Media related to Astyages at Wikimedia Commons The dictionary definition of astyages at Wiktionary Livius Site's Astyages' page Meyer, Eduard (1911). "Astyages" . In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. 2 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 821. Preceded by Cyaxares King of Medes Succeeded by Cyrus the Great of Persia v t e Median topics Language Median language, Iranian language Cities Ecbatana (Hamadan) Rhagae (Shahre Rey, Tehran) Laodicea (Nahavand) Battles involving Lydia Eclipse of Thales Battles involving Persia Persian Revolt Battle of Hyrba Battle of the Persian Border Siege of Pasargadae Hill Battle of Pasargadae Fall of Ecbatana Kings/Satraps Deioces Phraortes Madius Cyaxares Astyages Cyaxares II Darius the Mede Other Medians Amytis of Media Artembares Datis Gubaru Mazares Harpagus Aryenis Mandane v t e Median and Achaemenid kings Family tree Median (728–550 BC) Deioces Phraortes Madius Cyaxares Astyages Achaemenid (550–330 BC) Achaemenes Ariaramnes Arsames Teispes Cyrus I Cambyses I Cyrus the Great (Cyrus II) Cambyses II Smerdis Gaumata Darius the Great (Darius I) Xerxes the Great (Xerxes I) Artaxerxes I Xerxes II Sogdianus Darius II Nothus Artaxerxes II Mnemon Artaxerxes III Ochus Artaxerxes IV Arses Darius III Codomannus Artaxerxes V Bessus Italics indicate kings not directly attested and so possibly legendary. Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Astyages&oldid=999541835" Categories: Median kings 6th-century BC rulers 6th-century BC Iranian people Hidden categories: CS1 maint: archived copy as title Articles with short description Short description is different from Wikidata Articles containing Ancient Greek (to 1453)-language text Articles containing Latin-language text Commons category link from Wikidata Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica with Wikisource reference Navigation menu Personal tools Not logged in Talk Contributions Create account Log in Namespaces Article Talk Variants Views Read Edit View history More Search Navigation Main page Contents Current events Random article About Wikipedia Contact us Donate Contribute Help Learn to edit Community portal Recent changes Upload file Tools What links here Related changes Upload file Special pages Permanent link Page information Cite this page Wikidata item Print/export Download as PDF Printable version In other projects Wikimedia Commons Languages العربية Azərbaycanca تۆرکجه Беларуская Български Brezhoneg Català Čeština Dansk Deutsch Eesti Ελληνικά Español Esperanto Euskara فارسی Français Galego 한국어 Հայերեն Hrvatski Bahasa Indonesia Italiano עברית ქართული Kurdî Latina Magyar مصرى Bahasa Melayu Nederlands 日本語 Norsk bokmål Polski Português Русский Slovenščina کوردی Српски / srpski Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Svenska Tagalog Türkçe Українська Tiếng Việt 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 10 January 2021, at 18:36 (UTC). 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