Media (region)

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Media was an Iron Age region in northwestern Iran and the heartland of the Medes. In ancient times it covered what is now Iranian Azerbaijan, Iranian Kurdistan, and western Tabaristan, and under the Achaemenid Empire it extended further north toward Dagestan. After Alexander the Great’s conquests, the northern part became the independent kingdom of Atropatene (modern Azerbaijan) while the rest remained as Lesser Media.

The Median kingdom began with Deioces around 678 BCE, who united the Median tribes. His grandson Cyaxares united all Iranian tribes in the region, creating a powerful Median state. Astyages, Cyaxares’s son, was the last Median king. In 550–549 BCE Cyrus the Great defeated Astyages, and the Medes were incorporated into the Persian Empire. Medes then held prominent roles as officials, satraps, and generals, with Ecbatana (modern Hamadan) serving as a key royal residence.

There were a few Mede revolts, but they were crushed. Under the Achaemenids Media was divided into two satrapies: Media proper (Greater Media) in the south and the northern district of Matiane, with surrounding mountainous regions. Later, Caucasian Albania and parts of the area were brought into media’s satrapy network. Following the decline of the Achaemenids, northern Media became Atropatene, while the southern region remained under successive Greek, then Parthian, and later Sassanid rule.

In the Hellenistic era, Greek towns were founded or renamed in Media; Rhagae became Europus. By around 150 BCE the Parthians had conquered Media, which was then divided into smaller provinces. In 226 CE the Sassanids absorbed Media and Atropatene.

Geographically, Media lay between the Zagros Mountains to the west and the Dasht-e Kavir desert to the east, with Ecbatana as its capital. Other notable cities included Laodicea (Nahavand), Rhagae (Rey), and Apamea near Ecbatana.

Media’s importance lies in its role as the core of Median power and as a major contributor to the administration and culture of the later Persian empires, even as its borders and rulers changed across successive empires.