Medes
Medes, an ancient people related to the Persians. Their kingdom, Media, lay in what is now northwestern Iran, between the Caspian Sea and the Zagros Mountains. The Medes were first mentioned in Assyrian records of the ninth century B.C. They were a warlike people who fought from horsedrawn chariots. Their capital city was Ectabana (Hamadan, Iran), the Biblical Achmetha.
The Medes were united by King Phraortes, who ruled about 675–653 B.C. After a period of Scythian control, the Medes regained their independence in 628 under Cyaxares. He subjected the Persians to his rule and joined with the Chaldeans (Babylonians) to conquer Assyria, destroying Nineveh in 612 B.C. His son Astyages was overthrown by the Persian ruler Cyrus the Great in 550 B.C. Cyrus set up a dual monarchy, giving equal rights, at least theoretically, to Medes and Persians. After Cambyses, son of Cyrus, died in 521, there was civil war, during which the Medes tried but failed to regain their independence.