The Historians' History of the World 02

The pretext for the war was afforded by the flight of some Scythians in Cyaxares’ service to Alyattes, king of Lydia; but the real cause was doubtless thirst of conquest. The war lasted for five years with varying fortune, and was ended by the battle during which the eclipse of the sun, said to have been predicted by Thales, took place. The terrified combatants saw in this a divine warning and hastily concluded peace. An impression so profound could be produced by nothing short of a total eclipse. Now, according to Airy’s calculation, of all the eclipses of that period the only one which was total in the east of Asia Minor (where we must necessarily look for the seat of war) was that of May 28th, 585. The 28th of May 585 B.C. is perhaps the oldest date of a great event which can be fixed with perfect certainty down to the day of the month. The conclusion of peace which followed affords us a remarkable instance of diplomatic mediation in very ancient times. The peace was brought about by Syennesis, prince of Cilicia, and Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon. Astyages, son of Cyaxares, married Aryenis, daughter of Alyattes. But according to Herodotus’ calculation the above date does not fall within the time of Cyaxares; and even with the necessary correction Astyages ascended the throne in this same year. We might suppose that the battle fell in the father’s, the peace in the son’s time. But, as we saw above, the dates of these reigns are not of a sort in which we can place much confidence, and it is more likely that the reign of Astyages did not last so long as tradition asserts. Thus Cyaxares probably died after 585.

Of the reign of his son Astyages (in Ctesias, Astyigas; in a Babylonian inscription Ishtuvegu) we have no particulars. It is not even certain that he was cruel, for Herodotus’ account of him and of the revolt of Cyrus is not impartial, based as it is on the narratives of the descendants of Harpagus, who had an interest in portraying in unfavourable colours the prince whom their ancestor had betrayed. On the other hand, Ctesias’ Median authority (Nicolaus Dam., 64 et seq.), which sets Astyages in a very favourable light, has no better claim to credence on this point.c

NEW LIGHT ON THE MEDES

In our account of the capture of Nineveh, mention was made of a philological error of the Greeks which endured until the very end of the nineteenth century. Now that the matter has been cleared up, we are in possession of the somewhat startling fact that Cyaxares was not a Median prince and that the Medes had nothing whatever to do with the tragic end of the Assyrian capital. The Medes were indeed the people whose cities Shalmaneser II laid waste and from whom he exacted tribute; against whom Tiglathpileser III led an expedition in 737; whose princes asked the help of Esarhaddon to repel the nomadic invasion which was threatening their land and the neighbouring kingdom of Urartu; but they were not the nation that came only too willingly to the assistance of Nabopolassar. They were, in fact, closely akin to the very people whom Esarhaddon was implored to drive back, and are known as the Manda.

Thus a readjustment of a very important period of ancient history has been made possible within the last few years; and it is proposed here to orient the reader and to outline what is now regarded as the true state of affairs. It seems inadvisable entirely to discard that universally used phrase “the Median empire,” and to a certain degree its retention is justifiable, but it is equally important that the remarkable results of recent research should be carefully explained and that the ancient misconceptions as to the Medes shall be entirely swept away.

First of all it must be understood that the political situation of Western Asia, even as late as the reign of Esarhaddon, differed very materially from that of the time of Nabonidus, only a little more than a century after. Babylonia was held fast under the Assyrians’ heel. The power of Elam was still a thing of the future. But to the north and east of Assyria there were several countries which, however much they were tributary to the government at Nineveh, were still kingdoms of some power and importance.

Urartu, concerning whose history much has already been told, in the region around Lake Van was one of these, and beyond it, north and east, lay the land known in ancient geography as Media. Its people first appear upon the Assyrian monuments as the Amada, but later and more frequently they are called Mada. “The Mada,” says Professor Sayce, “were the Kurdish tribes who lived eastward of Assyria and whose territory extended as far as the Caspian Sea. They were for the most part Indo-European in language and Aryan in descent, and lived like the Greeks, in small states, each of which obeyed a ‘city lord’ of its own.”