Astyages

Astyages was the last king of the Median Empire, defeated by Cyrus the Great in the sixth century BCE. Accounts of his reign and downfall come chiefly from later Greek and Persian traditions.

Cyaxares: Cyaxares was a king of Media credited with strengthening its army and helping destroy the Neo-Assyrian Empire. He was Astyages' father and predecessor on the Median throne.
Cyrus the Great: Cyrus the Great founded the Achaemenid Empire and conquered Media, Lydia, and Babylonia. His victory ended Astyages' rule and transferred Median power to a new empire.
Battle of Pasargadae: The Battle of Pasargadae was the decisive confrontation in which Cyrus defeated Astyages and secured control of Media. It marks the military turning point of Astyages' loss of power.
Cyrus birth legend: The Cyrus birth legend is a Greek narrative in which the infant Cyrus survives Astyages' attempt to prevent a prophecy. Its dramatic prophecy and exposure story differs from the sparse contemporary record.
Median Empire: The Median Empire was an ancient Iranian kingdom that flourished in western Asia before its conquest by Cyrus the Great. Astyages ruled this kingdom at the end of its independent history.
Herodotus: Herodotus was a fifth-century BCE Greek historian whose Histories recount conflicts among Greeks and western Asian powers. His account supplies the fullest surviving narrative of Astyages' downfall.
Achaemenid Empire: The Achaemenid Empire was the Persian imperial state founded by Cyrus the Great in the sixth century BCE. Cyrus' victory over Astyages opened the way for this empire's expansion.
Median dynasty: The Median dynasty was the line of rulers traditionally associated with the kingdom of Media before Cyrus' conquest. Astyages' removal ended the ruling house described in later traditions.
Medes: The Medes were an ancient Iranian people whose political power centered on the Iranian Plateau. Astyages' dynasty ruled a kingdom associated with this people.
Ctesias: Ctesias was a Greek physician and writer at the Persian court in the late fifth century BCE. His lost Persica offered a version of Median history that differs from Herodotus.

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Bartholomew the ApostleRelated: His traditional role in Bartholomew’s martyrdom belongs to Armenian apostolic accounts.