Professor Rawlinson estimates the entire length of the kingdom of Media at 550 miles, and its breadth at from 25o to 300 (Herodotus, vol. i., p. 57• Southern Ecbatana, or Achmetha, as it is called in Scripture (Ezra vi. 2), was the capital of the kingdom.
Enlargement of the Empire.—The conquest of Assyria produced a great change in the Median Empire, and on the whole of Western Asia. Ba bylon then regained its independence, and formed a close alliance with Media. The Israelites, who had been led captive by the Assyrians, were placed under new rulers. Cyaxeres led his victorious armies into Syria and Asia Minor (Herod., i. to3). When Pharaoh -necho marched to the banks of the Euphrates against Babylon, the Babylonians were aided by the Medes (Toseph. Antiq. x. 5. 1). It was in attempting to oppose this expedition of the Egyptian monarch that King Josiah was slain at Megiddo (Jer. xlvi. 2 ; 2 Chron. xxxv. 20 ; 2 Kings xxiii. 29). We also learn that Nebuchadnezzar was aided by the Medes in tile conquest of the Jews and capture of Jerusalem (Eusebius, Pr. Evang_. ; cf. 2 Kings xxiv. t ; 2 Chron. xxxvi. 5). Media was now the most powerful monarchy in Western Asia. It ruled a country extending from the borders of Parthia to the banks of the Halys in Asia Minor, and from the plains of Babylonia to the Caucasus.
Its rise was rapid, and appears to have been chiefly owing to the genius of one man—Cyaxeres. The power of Media was short-lived. With Cyaxeres it rose, and with him it passed away. At his death he left his throne to Astyages, of whom little is known except the stories told by Herodotus (i. tio-129) and Nicolaus of Damascus, who probably borrowed from Ctesias ; and on these little reliance can be placed. They are founded on fact ; and we may infer from them that during the reign of Astyages a war broke out between the Medes and Persians, in which the latter were victorious, and Cyrus, the Persian king, who was himself closely related to Astyages, united the two nations under one sceptre (B. C. 558). The life of Astyages was spared, and even the title of king continued with him.
It has been conjectured, and is probably true, that Astyages and Darius the Mede,' so often mentioned by Daniel, were only different names of the same person. If the identification be regarded as sufficiently established, we must believe that Cyrus, when he • conquered Astyages, did not deprive him of the name or state of king, but left him during his life the royal title, contenting him self with the real possession of the chief power. This would be the more likely if Astyages were, as Herodotus maintains, his grandfather. When
the combined armies of Persia and Media captured Babylon, Astyages, whose real name may pos sibly have been Darius, might appear to the Jews to be the actual king of Babylon—more especially if he was left there to exercise the kingly office, while Cyrus pursued his career of conquest. At his death Cyrus may have taken openly the royal title and honours, and so have come to be recog nised as king by the Jews' (Rawlinson, Herodotus, i. 417 ; cf. Joseph. Antiq. x. t t. 2, seq. ; Dan. v. 31 ; vi. I ; ix. I ; see art. Damns).
Overthrow of the Emtire.—Astyages (or Darius) was the last king of Media. When he was con quered by Cyrus, the Median monarchy virtually ceased to exist, and Media thenceforth became a province of Persia. The close connection of these two great nations, and the position which the Medes continued to occupy in the Persian court and kingdom, have created much difficulty and controversy among historians. They cannot be accounted for by any alliance, however intimate, between the royal families. The true solution appears to be that the two nations were branches of the same great Arian family (Herodot. vii. 62 ; Strabo, xv. p. 72o). They were thus identical in origin, in language, in religion, in manners and customs, and in dress (Rawlinson's Herodot., i. 670-673 ; Commentary). Separated for a long period by geographical position, and by the state of neighbouring nations, they were, by the accidents of war, brought together again, and coalesced as one people. In this way we can account for the almost universal occurrence of the two names in the records of Persian conquests, laws, and ordi nary historic events. In the book of Esther, written half a century after the overthrow of the Median Empire, the phrase Persia and Media' occurs five times. Daniel, interpreting the mira culous inscription on the palace- wall just before the destruction of Babylon, says, The kingdom rs given to the Modes and Persians' (ver. 2S) ; and he repeatedly mentions the laws of the Medes and Persians' (vi. S, 12, IS). So also in classic authors the names are used as convertible (Herodot. i. 163 ; vi. 64 ; Thucyd. i. 14, 23). Upon this subject Prof. Rawlinson has well said, We see how natu ral it was that there should be an intimate union, if not an absolute fusion, of two peoples so nearly allied ; how it was likely that the name of either should apply to both ; how they would have one law and one dress, as well as one religion and one language, and would stand almost, if not quite, upon a par, at the head of the other nations, who in language, religion, and descent were aliens' (Herodot., i. p. 403).