Median Empire

Median empire started by election of Diaoco (Greek: Dioces) as the king of all Median tribes (c. 730 BC). Diaoco was the chief of a local tribe who was proved to be the wisest in the council of cheiftains. He established a judicial system which became the basis for the laws of Cyrus and Darius. He organised his realm into several provinces, and created a strong army to stop Assyrians.

Diaoco was succeeded by his son, Fravartish, a military genius who defeated Asyrian kings for the first time in their history. After Fravartish came several kings whose name are not known to us, and many of them are thought to be either legendary or just rulers fighting over the crown. After this period of small struggles came Hovakhshatra, the greatest of Median rulers. He organised his countries struggle against the Assyrian threat and defeated Assyrians in their capital, Nineveh. he order the destruction of the city and declared the end of Assyrian empire. He inherited a small territory from his ancestors, and left it an empire to his successor and son, Ishtivogo.

Last king of Meded was Ishtivogo or Dahak. Under him, the Median empire started to decline, the simplistic life style of Aryans whcih provided Medians with their amazing conquests was replaced with a Mesopotamian elegant and extravagant court life. Medians who were use to hard work and hard life, now started to decorate themselves with the jewelry and to make large and extravagant houses. All of these, added to the weakness and brutality of the king, made Medes ready for its new master, maternal grandson of Dahak and son of Kambodhia of Persia, Kourosh II, better known to history as Cyrus the Great (550 BC).