Cultures > Median Empire

Median Empire

Background

They were soon joined by the Chaldeans tribal leader named Nabopolassar who managed to form an alliance with Cyaxares and both forces moved to crush the Assyrians once and for all. Leading a coalition of Babylonians, Chaldeans, Medes, Scythians, Cimmerians, Lydians, and Arameans they all began to attack various cities throughout the Assyrian heartland in northern Mesopotamia. They succeeded in 612 BC with the sack of Nineveh and continued to crush an Egyptian and Assyrian final stand in Syria known as the Fall of Harran and the entire civilization collapsed after that in 605 BC after a brutal defeat at the Battle of Carchemish.

Mesopotamian Empires 600 BC - Historical Atlas (1923)

This led to the revitalization of Media as it was now free from Assyrian rule and the Median Kingdom was established with the capital at Ecbatana. This new unified state became one of the four major centers of influence created in the power vacuum of the collapse of the Assyrian Empire. The others were Babylonia, Lydia and Egypt. The Median Kingdom was short lived however, because in 550 BC it was conquered by Cyrus the Great who was building the fledgling Achaemenid Empire. This means that throughout most of its history its cultural development has been significantly influenced by both the Assyrians and the Persians.