The Medes were the first Iranian people to build a state. From their capital Ecbatana (modern Hamadan) they helped bring down Assyria in 612 BCE and ruled a large kingdom until Cyrus the Great took it over in about 550 BCE.
| Period | c. 728–550 BCE |
|---|---|
| Covers | The first Iranian state: rise, kings, capital Ecbatana, fall to Cyrus |
Pages in this era
- The Rise of the Medes and Deioces
- Ecbatana (Hamadan): Capital of the Medes
- Phraortes, the Scythian Interregnum and Median Expansion
- Scythians and Cimmerians in Iran
- Cyaxares the Great and the Fall of Nineveh
- The Battle of the Eclipse: Medes against Lydia
- Astyages, the Last Median King
- The Fall of Media and the Persian Revolt
- Median Society, Magi and Religion
- Herodotus and the Medes: Myth or History?
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