Medes(media)
Summary
The Medes were an Aryan people dwelling in the region southwest of the Caspian Sea who established an empire that later merged with Persia, and among whom Israelite exiles were settled after the fall of Samaria.
☩Origin and Territory
The Medes descended from Madai, son of Japheth, making them Aryans who called themselves 'Arioi.' Their territory lay southwest and south of the Caspian Sea, northwest of Persia, and east of Assyria, stretching about 550 miles in length and 300 in width. Initially divided into small communities governed by local chiefs, they were frequently subjected to Assyrian raids and tribute demands.
☩Rise and Fall of the Median Empire
Under Cyaxares, the Medes united with Babylon to destroy Nineveh in 606 BC, ending the Assyrian Empire. The Median empire then extended from the Halys River to Persia, lasting through the reigns of Cyaxares and his son Astyages—approximately 75 years. In 550 BC, Cyrus the Persian, vassal king of Anshan, rebelled against Astyages, capturing him and making Ecbatana his own capital. Thereafter Media and Persia merged, though Media retained precedence in legal and religious formalities.
☩Religion and Culture
The Medes originally practiced a form of Aryan dualism centered on Ormuzd (the good principle) and Ahriman (the evil principle), as described in the Zendavesta. Magism, the worship of the elements especially fire, later became prominent, with the priestly caste called Magi performing sacred rites and divination. From these priests the word 'magic' derives. They neither buried nor burned their dead but exposed them to beasts and birds to avoid polluting the sacred elements—a practice continued by the Parsees today.
☩Biblical Significance
After Samaria's fall in 722 BC, Sargon of Assyria transported Israelites to 'the cities of the Medes.' Isaiah and Jeremiah prophesied that the Medes would be stirred up against Babylon, which was fulfilled when the Medo-Persian forces under Cyrus conquered Babylon in 539 BC. Darius the Mede received the kingdom of Babylon under Cyrus. Medes are mentioned among those present in Jerusalem at Pentecost, descendants of Jewish settlers or Median proselytes.
Related Verses22 mentions
References
- 1.James Orr (ed.), "Medes," in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. III (Howard-Severance Company, 1915).
- 2.Andrew Robert Fausset, "Medes," in The Englishman's Critical and Expository Bible Cyclopædia (Hodder & Stoughton, 1878).