Under the Persian rule the country was divided into two sat rapies. The south, with Ecbatana and Rhagae (Rai), Media proper, or "Great Media," as it is often called, formed in Darius' organization the eleventh satrapy (Herodotus, iii. 92), together with the Paricanians and Orthocorybantians; the north, the dis trict of Matiane (see above), together with the mountainous districts of the Zagros, and Assyria proper (east of the Tigris) was united with the Alarodians and Saspirians in eastern Armenia, and formed the i8th satrapy (Herod., iii. 94; cf. v. 49, 52, vii. 72). When the empire decayed and the Carduchi and other moun tainous tribes made themselves independent, eastern Armenia became a special satrapy, while Assyria seems to have been united with Media; therefore Xenophon in the Anabasis, ii. 4, 27; iii. 5, 15; vii. 8, 25; cf. iii. 4, 8 sqq. always designates Assyria by the name of Media.
Alexander occupied Media in the summer of 33o; in 328 he appointed as satrap Atropates, a former general of Darius (Ar rian, iii. 8, 4, iv. 18, 3, vi. 3), whose daughter was married to Perdiccas in 324 (Arrian, vii. 4, 5). In the partition of his em pire southern Media was given to the Macedonian Peithon ; but the north, which lay far off and was of little importance for the generals who fought for the inheritance of Alexander, was left to Atropates. While southern Media with Ecbatana passed to the rule of Antigonus, and afterwards (about 31o) to Seleucus I., Atropates maintained himself in his satrapy and succeeded in founding an independent kingdom. Thus the partition of the country, which the Persian had introduced, became lasting; the north was named Atropatene after the founder of the dynasty, a name which is preserved in the modern Azerbaijan. The capital was Gazaca in the central plain, and the strong castle Phraaspa (Dio Cass., xlix. 26; Plut., Anton., 38; Ptol., vi. 2, in) or Vera (Strabo, xi. 523), probably identical with the great ruin Takhti Suleiman, with remains of Sassanid fire-altars and of a later palace. The kings had a strong and warlike army, especially cavalry (Polyb., v. 55; Strabo, xi. 253). Nevertheless, King Arta bazanes was forced by Antiochus the Great in 220 to conclude a disadvantageous treaty (Polyb., v. 55), and in later times the rulers became in turn dependent on the Parthians, on Tigranes of Armenia and then Rome. Pompey defeated their King Darius (Appian, Mithr. io8), Antonius invaded Atropatene,—Augustus received the homage of their kings. In the time of Strabo (A.D. 17), the dynasty existed still (p. 523) ; in later times the country
seems to have become a Parthian province.
Southern Media remained a province of the Seleucid empire for a century and a half, and Hellenism was introduced every where. "Media is surrounded everywhere by Greek towns, in pursuance of the plan of Alexander, which protect it against the neighbouring barbarians," says Polybius (x. 27). Only Ecbatana retained its old character. But Rhagae became a Greek town, Europus; and with it Strabo (xi. 524) names Laodicea, Apamea, Heraclea or Achais (cf. Plin., vi. 48). Most of them were founded by Seleucus I. and his son Antiochus I. In 221, the satrap Molon tried to make himself independent (there exist bronze coins with his name and the royal title), together with his brother Alexander, satrap of Persis, but they were defeated and killed by Antiochus the Great. In the same way, in 161, the Median satrap Timarchus took the diadem and conquered Babylonia; on his coins he calls himself "the great King Timarchus"; but this time again the legitimate king, Demetrius I., succeeded in subduing the rebellion, and Timarchus was slain. But with Demetrius I. the dissolution of the Seleucid empire begins, which was brought on chiefly by the intrigues of the Romans, and shortly afterwards, about i5o, the Parthian king, Mithridates I. (q.v.), conquered Media ( Jus tin, xli. 6). From this time Media remained subject to the Arsacids, who changed the name of Rhagae, or Europus, into Arsacia (Strabo, xi. 524), and divided the country into five small provinces (Isidorus Charac.). From the Arsacids or Parthians, it passed in A.D. 226 to the Sassanids, together with Atropatene. By this time the old tribes of Aryan Iran had lost their character and had been amalgamated into the one nation of the Iranians.
The revival of Zoroastrianism, which was enforced everywhere by the Sassanids, completed this development. It was only then that Atropatene became a principal seat of fire-worship, with many fire-altars. Rhagae now became the most sacred city of the empire and the seat of the head of the Zoroastrian hierarchy; the Sassanid Avesta and the tradition of the Parsees therefore con sider Rhagae as the home of the family of the Prophet. Hence forth the name of Media is used only as a geographical term and begins to disappear from the living language; in Persian traditions it occurs under the modern form Mah (Armen. Mai; in Syriac the old name Madai is preserved; cf. Marquart, Eranshahr, 18, seq.).
For Mohammedan history see CALIPHATE; for later history