Media

Media (Medes), an ancient kingdom in western Iran that, along with Persia, conquered Babylon and formed the Persian Empire (2Ki.17.6; 18:11; Esther 1:3, 14, 18; 10:2; Isaiah 21:2; Jeremiah 25:25; Dan.8.20).

Media was an ancient kingdom located in western Iran, which played a significant role in biblical history. The Medes, along with the Babylonians, conquered the Assyrian Empire in 612 BC (Isaiah 13:17; Jeremiah 51:11, 28). Later, the Medes joined forces with the Persians to form the powerful Medo-Persian Empire. This empire, under the rule of Cyrus the Great, conquered Babylon in 539 BC (Dan.5.28, 31). The Medes are mentioned in the book of Esther as one of the peoples under the rule of King Ahasuerus (Xerxes) (Esther 1:3, 14, 18; 10:2). The Medes were also involved in the deportation of the Israelites from the northern kingdom (2Ki.17.6; 18:11). The prophet Daniel served in the Medo-Persian court (Dan.6.8, 12, 15; 9:1; 11:1) and interpreted the handwriting on the wall, which announced the fall of Babylon to the Medes and Persians (Dan.5.28). Medes were among the peoples present in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost (Act.2.9).

Heb. Madai, which is rendered in the Authorized Version (1) “Madai,” Gen. 10:2; (2) “Medes,” 2 Kings 17:6; 18:11; (3) “Media,” Esther 1:3; 10:2; Isa. 21:2; Dan. 8:20; (4) “Mede,” only in Dan. 11:1.

We first hear of this people in the Assyrian cuneiform records, under the name of Amada, about B.C. 840. They appear to have been a branch of the Aryans, who came from the east bank of the Indus, and were probably the predominant race for a while in the Mesopotamian valley. They consisted for three or four centuries of a number of tribes, each ruled by its own chief, who at length were brought under the Assyrian yoke (2 Kings 17:6). From this subjection they achieved deliverance, and formed themselves into an empire under Cyaxares (B.C. 633). This monarch entered into an alliance with the king of Babylon, and invaded Assyria, capturing and destroying the city of Nineveh (B.C. 625), thus putting an end to the Assyrian monarchy (Nah. 1:8; 2:5, 6; 3:13, 14).

Media now rose to a place of great power, vastly extending its boundaries. But it did not long exist as an independent kingdom. It rose with Cyaxares, its first king, and it passed away with him; for during the reign of his son and successor Astyages, the Persians waged war against the Medes and conquered them, the two nations being united under one monarch, Cyrus the Persian (B.C. 558).

The “cities of the Medes” are first mentioned in connection with the deportation of the Israelites on the destruction of Samaria (2 Kings 17:6; 18:11). Soon afterwards Isaiah (13:17; 21:2) speaks of the part taken by the Medes in the destruction of Babylon (comp. Jer. 51:11, 28). Daniel gives an account of the reign of Darius the Mede, who was made viceroy by Cyrus (Dan. 6:1-28). The decree of Cyrus, Ezra informs us (6:2-5), was found in “the palace that is in the province of the Medes,” Achmetha or Ecbatana of the Greeks, which is the only Median city mentioned in Scripture.