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| {{Infobox Military Conflict | {{Infobox Military Conflict | ||
| |conflict=Persian Revolt | |conflict=Persian Revolt | ||
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| ==Background== | ==Background== | ||
| It appears that the Persian branch of the A riai i race which had made itself a home in the country lying south arid south east of Media between the 32nd parallel and the Persian Gulf had acknowledged some subjection to the Median kings during the time of their greatness Dwelling in their rugged mountains and high upland plains they had however maintained the simplicity of their primitive manners and had mixed but little with the Medes being governed by their own native princes of the Achiemenian house the descendants real or supposed of a certain Achsemenes 8 These princes were connected by marriage with the Cappadocian kings 10 and their house was regarded as one of the noblest in Western Asia What the exact terms were upon which they stood with the Median monarch is uncertain Herodotus regards Persia as absorbed into Media at this time and the Achsemenidse as merely a good Persian family n Nicolas of Damascus makes Persia a Median satrapy of which Atradates the father of Cyrus is satrap 12 Xenophon on the contrary not only gives the Achsemenidfe their royal rank 13 but seems to consider Persia as completely independent of Media w Moses of Chorend takes the same view regarding Cyrus as a great and powerful sovereign during the reign of Astyages 15 The native records lean towards the view of Xenophon and Moses Darius declares that eight of his race had been kings before himself, and makes no difference between his own royalty and theirs.Cyrus calls himself in one inscription the son of the powerful king 1T .It is certain therefore that Persia continued to be ruled by her own native monarchs during the own whole of the Median period and that Cyrus led the attack upon Astyages as hereditary Persian king The Persian records seem rather to imply actual independence of Media but as national vanity would prompt to dissimulation in such a case we may perhaps accord so much weight to the statement of Herodotus and to the general tradition on the subject 18 as to believe that there was some kind of acknowledgment of Median supremacy on the part of the Persian kings anterior to Cyrus though the acknowledgment may have been not much more than a formality and have imposed no onerous obligations The residence of Cyrus at the Median Court which is asserted in almost every narrative of his life before he became king inexplicable if Persia was independent 19 becomes thoroughly intelligible on the supposition that she was a great Median feudatory In such cases the residence of the Crown Prince at the capital of the suzerain is constantly desired or even required by the superior Power 20 which sees in the presence of the son and heir the best security against disaffectation or rebellion on the part of the father. | |||
| ==The motives== | ==The motives== | ||
| It appears that Cyrus while at the Median Court observing the unwarlike temper of the existing generation of Medes who had not seen any actual service and despising the personal character of the monarch 21 who led a luxurious life chiefly at Ecbatana amid eunuchs concubines and dancing girls 1 resolved on raising the standard of rebellion and seeking at any rate to free his own country It may be suspected that the Persian prince was not actuated solely by political motives To earnest Zoroastrians such as the Achaemenians are shown to have been by their inscriptions the yoke of a Power which had so greatly corrupted if it had not wholly laid aside the worship of Ormazfd 2 must have been extremely distasteful; may as the honour of his religion 3 as to obtain a loftier position for his nation If the Magi occupied really the position at the Median Court which Herodotus assigns to them if they were held in high honour by the king and shared in his sovereignty 4 if the priest ridden monarch was perpetually dreaming and perpetually referring his dreams to the Magian seers for exposition and then guiding his actions by the advice they tendered him 5 the religious zeal of the young Zoroastriau may very naturally have been aroused and the contest into which he plunged may have been in his eyes not so much a national struggle as a crusade against the infidels It will be found hereafter that religious fervour animated the Persians in most of those wars by which they spread their dominion We may suspect therefore though it must be admitted we cannot prove that a religious motive was among those which led them to make their first efforts after independence. | |||
| ==The battles== | ==The battles== | ||
| According to the account of the struggle6 which is most circumstantial and on the whole most probable the first difficulty whicli the would be rebel had to meet and vanquish was that of quitting the Court Alleging that his father was in weak health and required his care he requested leave of absence for a short time but his petition Avas refused on the flattering ground that the Great King was too much attached to him to lose sight of him even for a day 7 A second application however made through a favourite eunuch after a certain interval of time was more successful Cyrus received permission to absent himself from Court for the next five months whereupon with a few attendants he left Ecbatana by night and took the road leading to his native country The next evening Astyages enjoying himself as usual over his wine surrounded by a crowd of his concubines singing girls and dancing girls called on one of them for a song The girl took her lyre and sang as follows 8 The lion had the wild boar in his power but let him depart to his own lair in his lair he will wax in strength and will cause the lion a world of toil till at length although the weaker he will overcome the stronger The words of the song greatly disquieted the king who had been already made aware that a Chaldsean prophecy designated Cyrus as future king of the Persians 9 Repenting of the indulgence which he had granted him Astyages forthwith summoned an officer into his presence and ordered him to take a body of horsemen pursue the Persian prince and bring him back either alive or dead The officer obeyed overtook Cyrus and announced his errand upon which Cyrus expressed his perfect willingness to return but proposed that as it was late they should defer their start till the next day The Medes consenting Cyrus feasted them and succeeded in making them all drunk then mounting his horse he rode off at full speed with his attendants and reached a Persian outpost where he had arranged with his father that he should find a body of Persian troops When the Medes had slept off their drunkenness and found their prisoner gone they pursued and again overtaking Cyrus who was now at the head of an armed force engaged him They were however defeated with great loss and forced to retreat while Cyrus having beaten them off made good his escape into Persia When Astyages heard what had happened he was greatly vexed and smiting his thigh 10 he exclaimed Ah fool thou knewest well that it boots not to heap favours on the vile yet didst thou suffer thyself to be gulled by smooth words and so thou hast brought upon thyself this mischief But even now he shall not get off scotfree And instantly he sent for his generals and commanded them to collect his host and proceed to reduce Persia to obedience Three thousand chariots two hundred thousand horse and a million footmen were soon brought together u and with these Astyages in person invaded the revolted province and engaged the army which Cyrus and his father Cambyses 12 had collected for defence This consisted of a hundred chariots 13 fifty thousand horsemen and three hundred thousand light armed foot 14 who were drawn up in front of a fortified town near the frontier The first day's battle was long and bloody terminating without any decisive advantage to either side but on the second day Astyages making skilful use of his superior numbers gained a great victory Having detached one hundred thousand men with orders to make a circuit and get into the rear of the town he renewed the attack and when the Persians were all intent on the battle in their front the troops detached fell on the city and took it almost before its defenders were aware Cambyses who commanded in the town was mortally wounded and fell into the hands The army in the field finding itself between two fires interior on Pasargadse the capital Meanwhile Astyages having given Cambyses honourable burial pressed on in pursuit The country had now become rugged and difficult Between Pasargadae and the place where the two days battle was fought lay a barrier of lofty hills only penetrated by a single narrow pass On either side were two smooth surfaces of rock while the mountain towered above lofty and precipitous The pass was guarded by ten thousand Persians Recognising the impossibility of forcing it Astyages again detached a body of troops who marched along the foot of the range till they found a place where it could be ascended when they climbed it and seized the heights directly over the defile The Persians upon this had to evacuate their strong position and to retire to a lower range of hills very near to Pasargadae Here again there was a two days fight On the first day all the efforts of the Medes to ascend the range which though low was steep and covered with thickets of wild olive 1 were fruitless Their enemy met them not merely with the ordinary weapons but with great masses of stone 2 which they hurled down with crushing force upon their ascending columns On the second day however the resistance was weaker or less effective Astyages had placed at the foot of the range below his attacking columns a body of troops with orders to kill all who refused to ascend or who having ascended attempted to quit the heights and return to the valley 3 Thus compelled to advance his men fought with desperation and drove the Persians before them up the slopes of the hill to its very summit where the women and children had been placed for the sake of security There however the tide of success turned The taunts and upbraidings of their mothers and wives restored the courage of the Persians and turning upon their foe they made a sudden furious charge The Medes astonished and overborne were driven headlong down the hill and fell into such confusion that the Persians slew sixty thousand of them Still Astyages did not desist from his attack The authority whom we have been following here to a great extent fails us and we have only a few scattered notices from which to reconstruct the closing scenes of the war It would seem from these that Astyages still maintained the offensive and that there was a fifth battle in the immediate neighbourhood of Pasargadse wherein he was completely defeated by Cyrus who routed the Median army and pressing upon them in their flight took their camp All the insignia of Median royalty fell into his hands and amid the acclamations of his army he assumed them and was saluted by his soldiers King of Media and Persia Meanwhile Astyages had sought for safety in flight the greater part of his army had dispersed and he was left with only a few friends who still adhered to his fortunes 5 Could he have reached Ecbatana he might have greatly prolonged the struggle but his enemy pressed him close and being compelled to an engagement he not only suffered a complete defeat but was made prisoner by his fortunate adversary. | |||
| ==Aftermath== | ==Aftermath== | ||
| ⚫ | ==See Also== | ||
| By this capture the Median monarchy was brought abruptly to an end Astyages had no son to take his place and continue the struggle Even had it been otherwise the capture of the monarch would probably have involved his people's submission In the East the king is so identified with his kingdom that the possession of the royal person ia regarded as conveying to the possessor all regal rights Cyrus apparently had no need even to besiege Ecbatatia the whole Median state together with its dependencies at once submitted to him on learning what had happened This ready submission was no doubt partly owing to the general recognition of a close connection between Media and Persia which made the transfer of empire from the one to the other but slightly galling to the subjected power and a matter of complete indifference to the dependent countries Except in so far as religion was concerned the change from one Iranic race to the other would make scarcely a perceptible difference to the subjects of either kingdom The law of the state would still be the law of the Medes and Persians Official employments would be open to the people of both countries Even the fame and glory of empire would attach in the minds of men almost as much to the one nation as the other If Media descended from her pre eminent rank it was to occupy a station only a little below the highest and one which left her a very distinct superiority over all the races The weakness of the Empire arose chiefly from its want of organization Nicolas of Damascus indeed in the long pas sar e from which our account of the struggle between Cyrus and Astyages has been taken represents the Median Empire as divided like the Persian into a number of satrapies but there is no real ground for believing that any such organization was practised in Median times or to doubt that Darius Hystas pis was the originator of the satrapial system But in the affairs of nations as in those of men negligence often proves fatal before it can be repaired Cyrus saw his opportunity pressed his advantage and established the supremacy of his nation before the unhappy effects of Astyages peace policy could be removed He knew that his own Persians possessed the military spirit in its fullest vigor he felt that he himself had all the qualities of a successful leader he may have had faith in his cause which he would view as the cause of Ormazd against Ahriman 2 of pure religion against a corrupt and debasing nature worship His revolt was sudden unexpected and well timed He waited till Astyages was advanced in years and so disqualified for command till the veterans of Cyaxares were almost all in their graves and till the Babylonian throne was occupied by a king who was not likely to afford Astyages any aid He may not at first have aspired to do more than establish the independence of his own country But when the opportunity of effecting a transfer of empire off ercd itself he seized it promptly rapidly repeating his blows and allowing his enemy no time to recover and renew the struggle The substitution of Persia for Media as the ruling power in Western Asia was due less to general causes than to the personal character of two men Had Astyages been a prince of ordinary vigor the military training of the Medes would have been kept up and in that case they might easily have held their own against all comers Had their training been kept up or had Cyrus possessed no more than ordinary ambition and ability either he would not have thought of revolting or he would have revolted unsuccessfully The fall of the Median Empire was due immediately to the genius of the Persian Prince but its ruin was prepared and its destruction was really caused by the shortsightedness of the Median monarch. | |||
| Historians accredit this event as the defining moment of the world near the 6th century BC, which led to a total change in the geographic borders of the ], and founded the first ] transversing almost three continents and three centuries. | |||
| ⚫ | ==See |
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| {{ANE portal}} | {{ANE portal}} | ||
| *] | *] | ||
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| *] ('']''), (XV 3.8) | *] ('']''), (XV 3.8) | ||
| ===Modern Sources=== | ===Modern Sources=== | ||
| ==External links== | ==External links== | ||
| * ISBN 1931956464 | * ISBN 1931956464 | ||
| {{Median topics}} | {{Median topics}} | ||
| {{Battle-stub}} | |||
| {{ANE-stub}} | |||
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Revision as of 15:03, 21 September 2008
| Persian Revolt | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Wars of Cyrus the Great | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
| Median Empire | Persis | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
|
Astyages of Media, Harpagus, unkown others |
Cambyses I of Anshan†, Cyrus the Great, Later Harpagus, unknown others | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
|
1,000,000 infantry, 200,000 cavalry, 3,000 chariots (total reserves of which less fought in battles) |
300,000 infantry, 50,000 cavalry, 100 chariots (total reserves of which less fought in battles) | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| Heavy | Minimal | ||||||||
| Campaigns of Cyrus the Great | |
|---|---|
| Battles against the Satraps
Invasion of Anatolia Invasion of Babylonia |
The Persian Revolt, as it is known, was the first time the unified province of ancient Persis, after voluntary submission to the Medes two times earlier, declared its independence, and commenced its revolution as it later separated from the Median Empire. However, it is unknown whether their subjegation was official. The revolt was triggered by the actions of Astyages, the ruler of Media, which spread to other provinces, as they allied with the Persians. The war lasted from 552 BC to 550 BC. The Medes had early successes in battles, but the comeback by Cyrus the Great and army was too overwhelming, and the Medes were finally conquered by 549 BC. Thus the first official Persian Empire was born. It all began summer 553 BC, and led to the rise of Persia.
Background
The motives
The battles
Aftermath
See Also
Notes
References
Bibliography
Ancient Sources
- The Nabonidus Chronicle of the Babylonian Chronicles
- Herodotus (The Histories) I, 127
- Ctesias (Persica)
- Diodorus Siculus (Bibliotheca historica)
- Justin, Epitome of the Philippic History of Pompeius Trogus Template:En icon
- Fragments of Nicolas of Damascus
- Strabo (History), (XV 3.8)
Modern Sources
External links
- George Rawlinson, The Seven Great Monarchies of the Ancient Eastern World -- v. 3 (of 7): Media ISBN 1931956464
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