MEDES

Median names are followed by their Greek transcriptions, as those are generally better recognized.

Deioces

From 728 to 675 BC

Kshatrita (Phraortes)

From 675 to 653 BC

SCYTHIAN

Centered on what is now the Crimea, the Scythians founded a rich, powerful empire that survived for several centuries before succumbing to the Sarmatians during the 4th century BC to the 2nd century AD.

Much of what is known of the history of the Scythians comes from the account of them by the ancient Greek historian Herodotus, who visited their territory. In modern times this record has been expanded chiefly by the work of Russian anthropologists.

The Scythians were feared and admired for their prowess in war and, in particular, for their horsemanship. They were among the earliest people to master the art of riding, and their mobility astonished their neighbors. The migration of the Scythians from Asia eventually brought them into the territory of the Cimmerians, who had traditionally controlled the Caucasus and the plains north of the Black Sea. In a war that lasted 30 years, the Scythians destroyed the Cimmerians and set themselves up as rulers of an empire stretching from west Persia through Syria and Judaea to the borders of Egypt. The Medes, who ruled Persia, attacked them and drove them out of Anatolia, leaving them finally in control of lands which stretched from the Persian border north through the Kuban and into southern Russia.

The Scythians were remarkable not only for their fighting ability but also for the civilization they produced. They developed a class of wealthy aristocrats who left elaborate graves filled with richly worked articles of gold and other precious materials. This class of chieftains, the Royal Scyths, finally established themselves as rulers of the southern Russian and Crimean territories. It is there that the richest and most numerous relics of Scythian civilization have been found. Their power was sufficient to repel an invasion by the Persian king Darius I in about 513 BC.

The Royal Scyths were headed by a sovereign whose authority was transmitted to his son. Eventually, around the time of Herodotus, the royal family intermarried with Greeks. In 339 the ruler Ateas was killed at the age of 90 while fighting Philip II of Macedonia. The community was eventually destroyed in the 2nd century BC, Palakus being the last sovereign whose name is preserved in history.

The Scythian army was made up of freemen who received no wage other than food and clothing, but who could share in booty on presentation of the head of a slain enemy. Many warriors wore Greek-style bronze helmets and chain-mail jerkins. Their principal weapon was a double-curved bow and trefoil-shaped arrows; their swords were of the Persian type. Every Scythian had at least one personal mount, but the wealthy owned large herds of horses, chiefly Mongolian ponies. Burial customs were elaborate and called for the sacrifice of members of the dead man’s household, including wife, servants, and a number of horses.

Madius

From 653 to 625 BC

MEDES

Uwakshatra (Cyaxares)

From 625 to 585 BC

Ishtumegu (Astyages)

From 585 to 550 BC

ACHAEMENID

the Persian 27th dynasty of Egypt (525–404 BC), founded by Cambyses II of Persia and named after his family of the Achaemenids.

The policy of the Achaemenid kings seems to have been conciliatory to national beliefs and sentiments. There are conflicting views of Cambyses II’s reign. The Egyptian courtier Udjahorresne depicts an ideal ruler in the paranoiac tradition, while Herodotus draws a portrait of a savage tyrant. Cambyses II apparently reduced the revenues given the Egyptian priesthood by more than half. Certainly Darius (reigned 522–486 BC) proved himself a more beneficent ruler and, in a visit to Egypt, displayed his consideration for the religion of the country. He restored the priests’ privileges, ordered a written codification of Egyptian law, and completed or repaired the canal from the Nile to the Red Sea. At the very end of his reign, however, several years after the Achaemenid defeat at Marathon, Egypt rebelled. Xerxes (reigned 486–465 BC) put down the revolt with severity.

The disorders that marked the accession of his successor, Artaxerxes (reigned 466–424 BC), gave Egypt another opportunity to rebel, aided by an Athenian force. In 455 BC, however, the Achaemenids captured and destroyed two Athenian fleets and quickly ended the rebellion. The reigns of Xerxes II and Darius II were uneventful until 404 BC, when Egypt regained its independence under Amyrtaeus of Sais. The Persians briefly reconquered Egypt under Artaxerxes III between 343 and 341 BC, and it remained under Achaemenid rule until 332, when the satrap surrendered to Alexander the Great.

2^nd Kourosh (Cyrus) the Great

From 550 to 529 BC

2^nd Kamboujiya (Cambyses)

From 529 to 522 BC

Smerdis the Usurper

1^st Darayavahush (Darius) the Great

1^st Xshayarsha (Xerxes) the Great

Artabanes

522 BC

From 522 to 486 BC

From 486 to 466 BC

From 466 to 465 BC

1^st Artaxshassa (Artaxerxes) Longhand

From 465 to 425 BC

2^nd Xshayarsha (Xerxes)

From 425 to 424 BC

Sogdianos

From 424 to 423 BC

2^nd Darayavahush (Darius) the Bastard

From 423 to 404 BC

2^nd Artaxshassa (Artaxerxes) the Mindful

From 404 to 359 BC

3^rd Artaxshassa (Artaxerxes)

From 359 to 338 BC

Arsha (Arses)

From 338 to 336 BC

3^rd Darayavahush (Darius)

From 336 to 330 BC