Median kingdom
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Media was a polity centered in Ecbatana that existed from the 7th century BCE until the mid-6th century BCE, and is believed to have dominated a significant portion of the Iranian plateau, preceding t
Scythian archers shooting with a composite bow, Kerch, Ukraine, 4th century BCE
Ancient Near East in c. 600 BCE
Achaemenid bas-relief from the 5th century BCE showing a Median soldier behind a Persian soldier
Artistic representation of noble Medes
Cyrus the Great
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Cyrus II of Persia, commonly known as Cyrus the Great, was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire. Hailing from Persis, he brought the Achaemenid dynasty to power by defeating the Median Empire and embr
Median kingdom
…tribal nobility, which may have contributed to the kingdom's downfall. In 550 BCE, the Median capital, Ecbatana, was conquered by the Persian leader Cyrus the Great, marking the beginning of the Achaemenid Empire. However, most historians increasingly view the Median Empire as having been made up by Herodotus and…
Winged genie relief at Pasargadae, with braided hair and a Hemhem crown, which an old theory identified as Cyrus
The four-winged guardian figure that may depict Cyrus, known from a bas-relief on a doorway pillar from Pasargadae. An inscription says "I am Cyrus the King, an Achaemenian." Scholars doubting that it depicts Cyrus note the inscription was inscribed in a later period and that the same inscription is found on other palaces in the complex.
"I am Cyrus the King, an Achaemenian" in Old Persian, Elamite and Akkadian languages. It is known as the "CMa inscription", carved in a column of Palace P in Pasargadae. These inscriptions on behalf of Cyrus were probably made later by Darius I in order to affirm his lineage, using the Old Persian script he had designed.
Painting by Jean-Charles Nicaise Perrin of king Astyages sending Harpagus to kill young Cyrus