The foregoing facts also illustrate the predictions of Isaiah (xiii. 17) and Jeremiah (li. 11, 25), which represent the Medes as the chief agents in the overthrow of Babylon. They acted there in conjunction with the Persians, and apparently under the immediate command of their own monarch.
The subsequent history of Media is unimportant. It held the first rank among the Persian satrapies ; but this did not satisfy the proud spirit of the Medes. In the third year of Darius Hystaspes they joined the Assyrians and Armenians in an attempt to throw off the Persian yoke. They even elected a king. Darius went against them in person, de feated their army, captured the usurper at the city of Rhages, and put him to death at Ecbatana (Herodot. i. 130 ; Rawlinson, Behist. Inscrip. i.; Grote, Hist. of Greece, iv. 304). Again they re belled during the reign of Darius Nothus, but were easily put down (Xen., Hellen. 1. 2, 9). Media, with the rest of the Persian empire, fell under the sway of Alexander the Great. At his death the northern province was erected by the satrap Atro pates into an independent state, and called Atro patene. The southern province, Media Magna, was attached with Babylon to the kingdom of the Seleucid. The whole country eventually passed over to the Parthian monarchy (Strabo, xvi. p. 745). It is now included in the dominions of the Shah of Persia.
Character, Manners and Customs.--The ancient Medes were a warlike people, particularly cele brated, as Herodotus (vii. 6 t) and Strabo (xi. p. 525) inform us, for their skill in archery. Xenophon says their bows were three ells long. This illus trates the language of Isaiah describing the attack of the Medes on Babylon : Their bows also shall dash the young men to pieces' (xiii. t8). Their cavalry was also excellent, their horses being fleet and strong, and their men skilful riders. It is doubtless in reference to this fact that Jeremiah, speaking of the overthrow of Babylon, says, 'They (the enemies) shall hold the bow and the lance . . . and they shall ride upon horses' (1. 42). Strabo states that the province of Atropatene alone was able to bring into the field an army of 10,000 horse (xi. p. 523). Xenophon affirms that the Medes did not fight for plunder. Military glory was their great ambition, and they would never permit gold or silver to turn them aside from their object. How striking do the words of Isaiah thus appear! Be hold I will stir up the Medes against them, which shall not regard silver, and as for gold, they shall not delight in it' (xiii. r8). The wealth of Babylon
could not save it, for the Medes could not be bought off (Rosenmiiller, Bib. Geog., i. 176). The conquests of the Medes, and their intercourse with other nations, produced a marked change upon their character. They became fond of dress and display ; those settled in cities engaged in commerce, and lost their hardy habits and bravery. The splendour of the Median robes became proverbial, and their princes and nobles ruled the fashion in the East. They were imitated by the Persian court (Herodot. vi. 112 ; Xen., Cyrop. i. 3. 2 ; Strabo, xi. p. 525). The Medes thus gave way to luxury and its consequent vices, and they soon became an easy prey to their more warlike neighbours. The northern mountaineers retained their primitive habits, and consequently their independence for a much longer period.
ancient religion of the Medes we learn from the Zend books. It was identical with that of the Persians. It mainly consisted of the adoration of two greatbeings—the principle of Good and the principle of Evil. They also connected with this the worship of the heavenly bodies, espe cially the sun, moon, and planets. To this they added at a later period the worship of the elements, and of fire as the chief (Herodot. i. 131; iii. 16). Their priesthood then constituted a distinct class, called Magi, who laid claim to mysterious and miraculous power—consulting the stars, interpret ing dreams, explaining visions, and prognosticating the future (Rawlinson's Herodot., i. 424, seq.) The ancient authorities for the history and geo graphy of Media and the Medes are Heroa'otus, especially when read with the learned and valuable notes of Rawlinson ; Strabo, Xenophon, Ptolemy, Diadems Siculus, Arrian, and yosephus. The monuments and inscriptions discovered, and in part deciphered, within the last few years, add vastly to our stores of information. The various works and articles of Sir H. Rawlinson referred to in the body of this article serve to set forth and illustrate their contents. Among modern writers the student may consult Bochart, Cellarius, Ritter, Grote's History of Greece, and Prof. Rawlinson's Ancient .11fonarchies. For the present state of the country, Sir K. Porter's Travels; Kinnier's Persian Empire; Layard's Nineveh and Babylon; Sir H. Rawlinson's articles in the journal of R. G. S., vols. ix. and x. ; and the valuable Dissertations in Rawlinson's Hero datus, vol. i. J. L. P.