The first mention of the Medo Empire and the Persians takes place in the campaigns of Shalmaneser III (circa 844 BC) when they come into conflict with the Assyrians, before the most brilliant period of civilization in Luristan. The region between Elam and Lake Urmia comprised four main regions:
- Ellipi.
- The Zamua or country of the lullubi, guti and casitas.
- The Country of the mannai o Medes:South and southeast of Lake Urmia.
- Parsua :Country of the Persians. West of Lake Urmia.
Upon the death of Shalmaneser III of Assyria, the subjugated peoples regained their freedom and the eastern regions became autonomous, except Parsua , which was occupied by a new power, Urartu, established on the ruins of Hurri in the mountains of Armenia. Its power will be maintained, especially when the Assyrian period begins to decline.
At the end of the 8th century B.C. Before the death of Sargon II of Assyria, the Cimmerian and Scythian peoples appeared in Iran who, divided into two bands, headed south and the Assyrian sources reveal the concerns that both these and the Medes produced.
Dejoces (728-675), son of Phraortes, was a famous Median judge to whom his contemporaries submitted his litigation and therefore abandoned his business. He had to worry about them again to the detriment of the safety and tranquility of his citizens, so they decided to name him king.
The king chose a personal guard and established his capital at Hamadari, the Ecbatana of the Greeks, of which he is not the founder; but that with him began to acquire importance. Around it he organized the different clans, urbanized and embellished the city and surrounded it with colored walls (seven in all), in imitation of the two of the Babylonians (for whom the colors symbolized the planets), but for the Medes they were just an artistic copy.
He also instituted a Court etiquette, being forbidden to look at the king face to face. He was succeeded by his son Phraortes (675-653), who bore the same name as his grandfather. He tried to group together the Medes, Scythians, and Mannaeans and subdued the Persians, who had spread to the northeast of Susa.
After a period of Scythian domination of Iran, which Herodotus estimated at twenty-eight years, Cyaxares (653-585), around the year 625 a. C. restored the situation. He invited the leading Scythian generals to a banquet, intoxicated them, and had them killed. He built an army in the Assyrian manner, the most important of which was his cavalry, since the Medes were excellent horse breeders.
This king enlarged his kingdom. He besieged Nineveh and gave his daughter Amytis as wife to Nebuchadnezzar, son of King Nabopalasar of Babylon, soon after conquering Nineveh with the help of the Babylonians (year 612) and then Harran (610 BC). sharing with Babylon the territories of the sunken Assyrian empire.
a) Babylon seized the territory of Assur and Elam . from Upper Mesopotamia and inherited its claims to Syria and Palestine (held by Egypt, which had aided Assyria against its final destroyers and profited from its ruin)
b) The Medes claimed what had been the kingdom of Urartu , where the newly arrived Armenians will be tributaries of the Medes and the Assyrian provinces in Asia Minor, stopping at the Halys River (in the center of Anatolia, cradle of the disappeared Hittite Empire), to where the powerful Minorasiatic kingdom of Lydia extended, ruled by Alyates. of the Mermnadas dynasty.
King Astiaqes (584-550) succeeded Cyaxares in Persia. His reign was peaceful and long. He introduced Assyrian customs to his kingdom, such as long purple dresses adorned with luxurious long necklaces. His daughter Mandana married Cambyses, king of the Persians and their son. Cyrus II. he dethroned his grandfather, unifying the country and ruling over Medes and Persians. From that of his predecessor Achaemenes. his empire is called Achaemenid .
The religion of the Medes
The Medo Empire and the populations of western Iran had four religions:that of the autochthonous Asian people, that of the Magi, of Aryan origin, that of the Medes kings and Zoroastrianism .
The religion of the Asian people The native was a naturalist, he did not know a universal god. He worshiped four elements:Light (from the sun and the moon), water, earth and wind and made animal sacrifices.
The religion of the magicians they belonged to a Meda Indo-Iranian tribe, which was the priestly tribe (like the Levites in Israel), also having some political powers. They preserved, until the writing of the Avesta, a multitude of Aryan beliefs and traditions.
The real religion was that of the Medes kings, who played the Ahura or Gentlemen the protectors of the dynasty and the country.
The religion of Zoroaster , preached by the median reformer and prophet of this name, placed Ahura-Mazda at the highest point in the universe. or Wise Lord , the greatest of all gods.
Zoroastrian religious reform or Zoroastrian Mazdaism was the real religion, reformed by Zoroaster.
The doctrine of him is contained in the Avesta , written only in the 3rd century B.C. and decreed canonical book in the fourth century AD. Zoroaster was a prophet (7th century BC) to whom Ahura-Mazda appeared. after a retreat of ten years revealing to him a moral law and a very hard religious practice, to be taught among the Medes.
At age 40, by God's command, he preached his religion at the court of the Bactrian king. His successes earned him numerous enemies, especially among the priests and nobles, and he was killed in combat (circa 583 BC).
Religious aspect of the Zoroastrian reform
The ancient Medo-Persian god Ahura , also called Hormuz , will be the Wise Lord par excellence or Ahura-Mazda .
He was the supreme god and creator, god of goodness, wisdom, beauty, light, purity and truth. Giver of all goods, especially life and immortality. His symbol is fire. Zoroaster's teaching was based on the existence of a dualism:Two principles always in struggle:
a) The good-light principle and the forces of heaven are represented by Ahura-Mazda.
b) The evil-darkness principle and the forces of hell are represented by Ah-riman.
This dualism evolved into a hierarchical polytheism and made great progress toward the one god. He penetrated with his ideas into Judaism and Christianity.
Ahura-Mazda he led the council of six demigods, The Immortal Saints (announced by the future Christian archangels:Michael, Raphael and Gabriel) and the forces of good, thousands of inferior gods or geniuses who personified the forces of good, such as the Moon, the Sun, stars, earth, fire, air, water, truth, justice, peace. The celestial forces were commanded by Ahura-Mazda; the terrestrial ones, by Zoroaster.
Ahriman led the forces of evil :Sins and illnesses. Ceremonies could conjure up the power of evil forces. The soul is immortal for this doctrine and judged after death by three judges; if it was bad, it will go to hell, if it is good, to heaven and if it was fair, to purgatory.
This religion prohibits animal sacrifices and its doctrine has a moral and social justice value since the good ones will be rewarded and the bad ones punished.
Political aspect of Zoroastrianism
Zoroaster's doctrine evolved according to the different historical epochs. The Medes kings, without officially adopting the doctrine, sought to employ the ardor of the young sect in the service of their politics. Zoroastrian monotheism , which is a divine monarchism, fit perfectly with the imperialism of the Mede monarchy.
Under the Sassanids (226-652 AD) it finally became the official religion of the Persian Empire, until Islam put an end to official Zoroastrianism.