Page 87 - Biblical Backgrounds

Medes turned their attention to the north and toward Asia Minor.” 118 One of the groups of people
under the rule of the Medes was the Persian people of the Ansan tribal kingdom. Found in the south of
the Median Empire, Ansan and the other Persian tribes were forced to pay tributes to Media, which they
weren't too happy about. Around 559 BCE, a man named Cyrus II (often referred to as Cyrus the
Great) rose to power as king of Ansan, replacing his father, Cambyses I. Cyrus immediately set to
organizing a coalition of the Persian tribes and declared rebellion against the Medes. He eventually
captured and took over the ruler Astyages (around 550 BCE).

Though conquered by the Persians, the Medes continued to hold a place of honor in the Persian Empire.
This is probably due to the strong relations between the two territories through marriage. Indeed, Cyrus’
mother was Astyages’ daughter. 119 The combination of the two under Cyrus the Great was commonly
referred to as Medo-Persia. Biblical references frequently combine “the Medes and the Persians” (Dan.
5:28; cp. Esther 1:19; 10:2). The kings of the Persian Empire are called “the kings of Media and Persia”
(Dan. 8:20). “The combined strength of the Persians and the Medes led to the conquest of Babylon in
539 BCE, with the resulting extension of their empire over much of the Middle East until the conquest of
Alexander the Great in 331 BCE” 120 Besides Mesopotamia (Babylonia), Cyrus the Great went on to add
Asia Minor to Medo-Persian holdings and died fighting to extend his borders in the east. His successor,
Cambyses (530–522 BCE), added Egypt to the empire, and Darius I (521–486 BCE) expanded holdings in
the east and, on the other end, moved across the Hellespont into Greece. 121 Although the Greeks were
able to repel the Persians, Darius, with his conquests, created the greatest empire of Western Asia up to
that time.

At its fullest extent, the empire spread over a remarkable 3,000 miles from east to west. It stretched
from the Indus River in India to the Mediterranean Sea and included Asia Minor and part of Greece. This
giant empire engulfed three great river valleys: the Indus, the Tigris-Euphrates, and the Nile.

The birthplace and governing center of the Persian empire was the modern-day Iranian plateau. The
plateau of Iran, the homeland of the ancient Persians, averages 3,000 to 5,000 feet in altitude. Over half
of the drainage of the plateau flows inward to form inland lakes and sterile swamps. In its central region
lie great sand and salt deserts. This continuous desert region stretches northwest to southeast about
800 miles in length and varies from 100 to 200 miles in width.

At the western edge of the plateau rise the Zagros Mountains, with several peaks over 10,000 feet in
altitude. This range is about 600 miles in length and 120 miles in width. It consists of numerous parallel
folds enclosing fruitful valleys where wheat, barley, and other grains and fruits grow. South of the

118 Bean, A. F. (2003). Medes, Media. In C. Brand, C. Draper, A. England, S. Bond, E. R. Clendenen, & T. C. Butler
(Eds.), Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (p. 1095). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.

119 Ibid.
120 John F. Walvoord: THE NATIONS IN PROPHECY: https://bible.org/seriespage/6-medes-and-persians

121 Vos, H. F. (1999). Nelson’s new illustrated Bible manners & customs: how the people of the Bible really lived (p.
323). Nashville, TN: T. Nelson Publishers.

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