Cyaxares
Cyaxares, the son of Phraortes, was a significant ruler of the ancient state of Media from 625 to 585 BCE. Notably, he is credited with reorganizing the Median military into three distinct classes: spearmen, bowmen, and cavalry. This restructuring enabled him to successfully expel the nomadic Scythians from Media. Cyaxares also formed a strategic alliance with Nabopolassar, the king of the Chaldeans, and his daughter was married to Nebuchadnezzar II, the Babylonian prince. This connection is historically significant as it led to the construction of the famed Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Together, the Medes and Chaldeans played a crucial role in overthrowing the Assyrian Empire, capturing Nineveh in 612 BCE and subsequently defeating remnants of Assyrian forces in 610 BCE. Cyaxares' reign was marked by a confrontation with the Lydians in western Anatolia, which ended with a peace agreement in 585 BCE, facilitated by the prediction of a solar eclipse by the philosopher Thales. Overall, Cyaxares' leadership contributed to the rise of Median power in the region.
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Cyaxares
Related civilizations: Media, Scythia
Major role/position: King
Life
Cyaxares (si-AK-suh-reez), the son of Phraortes, reigned over the ancient state of Media from 625 to 585 b.c.e. According to the historian Herodotus, Cyaxares organized the Median army into three mobile classes of spearmen, bowmen, and cavalry and was able to expel the nomadic Scythians from the area. He made an alliance with Nabopolassar, the king of the Chaldeans. Cyaxares’ daughter was given in marriage to the Babylonian prince, Nebuchadnezzar II. It was for her that he built the famous Hanging Gardens of Babylon.
The Medes and the Chaldeans toppled the hitherto invincible Assyrian Empire, capturing Nineveh in 612 b.c.e. An Assyrian remnant, who fled to Haran, were defeated by the Chaldeans and the Medes in 610 b.c.e.
During the last five years of his reign, Cyaxares fought against the Lydians of western Anatolia. Herodotus claimed that the conflict was ended in 585 b.c.e. by the Greek philosopher Thales’s prediction of an eclipse. The peace was sealed by the marriage of a Lydian princess to Astyages, the son of Cyaxares.
Influence
The long reign of Cyaxares saw the ascendancy of the Medes.
Bibliography
Cook, J. M. The Persian Empire. New York: Schocken, 1983.
Culican, W. The Medes and Persians. New York: Praeger, 1965.
Yamauchi, E. Foes from the Northern Frontier. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker, 1982.
Yamauchi, E. Persia and the Bible. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker, 1990.