Astyages

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Astyages
King of the Medes
Aryenis of Lydia
IssueMandane
Amytis
Cyaxares II (disputed)
DynastyMedian dynasty
FatherCyaxares
ReligionAncient Iranian religion

Astyages

Median kingdom, reigning from 585 to 550 BCE. The son of Cyaxares, he was dethroned by the Persian king Cyrus the Great
.

Reign

The Median Empire during both Cyaxares and Astyages reigns

Astyages succeeded his father in 585 BCE, following the

Amytis, Astyages' sister, was the queen for whom Nebuchadnezzar was said to have built the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.[4] Married to Aryenis, the sister of the Lydian king Croesus, to seal the treaty between the two empires, Astyages ascended to the Median throne upon his father's death later that year.[5]

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] Xenophon's Cyropaedia depicts him as a kindly old gentleman devoted to his grandson Cyrus, but the work is widely regarded as fiction and contains numerous historical inaccuracies which make it an unreliable source.

In Herodotus

King Astyages commands Harpagus 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 Anshan, 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

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 Bible

Douay-Rheims Bible, Darius the Mede is another name for Astyages.[13][14]

Overthrow

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.[15] 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 BCE.[16]

Notes

  1. Latin
    : Astyages, Astyigas, Aspadas.

References

  1. ^ a b "ASTYAGES – Encyclopaedia Iranica". www.iranicaonline.org.
  2. ^ Meyer 1911.
  3. ^ "Ištumegu [ASTYAGES, KING OF THE UMMAN-MANDA] (RN)". oracc.museum.upenn.edu.
  4. ^ "Hanging Gardens of Babylon". Archived from the original on 2013-08-08. Retrieved 2013-08-02., The Hanging Gardens of Babylon
  5. ^ "Cyaxares (Livius.org)". Archived from the original on 2014-10-22. Retrieved 2020-03-26.
  6. ^ cf. How, W. W., & Wells, J. (1991)
  7. ^ A commentary on Herodotus with introduction and appendixes. Oxford [Oxfordshire]: Oxford University Press. i.107
  8. ^ cf. How and Wells i.107
  9. ^ Herodotus i.110
  10. ^ Justin (i.4)
  11. ^ cf. How and Well, i.110
  12. New American Bible, Revised Edition, based on Theodotion
    's version
  13. ^ "Philologic Results".
  14. ^ "Philologic Results".
  15. ^ "Cyrus takes Babylon (530 BCE) (Livius.org)". Archived from the original on 2016-12-08. Retrieved 2020-03-26.
  16. ^ "Astyages - Livius". www.livius.org.

External links

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