Medes

Also known as Median Empire, Median Kingdom, Median civilization

thumb|upright|Artistic representation of a Median man

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The Medes were an ancient Iranian people who established a powerful empire in what is now Iran during the 7th and 6th centuries BCE. They are historically significant as one of the major powers of the ancient Near East and played important roles in regional conflicts before their empire was absorbed by the Persians.

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Commons category: Medes
inception: 0678-00-00

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Article

22 sections

Contents

Etymology
Archaeology
History
Origins
Assyrian intervention in Median territories
Rise and fall
Median dynasty
Later history
Culture and society
Society
Religion
Language
Art and architecture
Economy
Mythology
Kurds and Medes
See also
Notes
Citations
Bibliography
Further reading
External links

thumb|upright|Artistic representation of a Median man

The Medes were an Iron Age Iranian people who spoke the Median language and who inhabited an area known as Media between western and northern Iran. Around the 11th century BC, they occupied the mountainous region of northwestern Iran and the northeastern and eastern region of Mesopotamia in the vicinity of Ecbatana (present-day Hamadan). Their consolidation in Iran is believed to have occurred during the 8th century BC. In the 7th century BC, all of western Iran and some other territories were under Median rule, but their precise geographic extent remains unknown.