Who and what are…
Madai

Hebrew: מָדַי —transliteration: Maday or Madai —occurrences: 16

This was the name of a biblical man and his descendants.

  1. Madai, the man

    He is the third “son” of Japheth (Genesis 10:2)

    Madai is a grandson of Noah. Both his father and grandfather were privileged to live in both the pre- and post-Deluvian worlds, and thus had much knowledge of interest.

  2. Madai, the people

    These are descendants of that man Madai (above). This is one of the names by which the Medes are known on the Assyrian monuments.

    These people are also called Medians.

    They are close kin of the Persians.

  3. Media, the land of the Medes (Medians)

    Old map showing ancient Media

    During the Achaemenid period (the First Persian Empire), it comprised present-day Iranian Azerbaijan, Iranian Kurdistan and western Tabaristan. Today, this is the region of northwestern Iran.

    At the beginning the Greek historians referred to the Achaemenid Empire as a Median Empire, rather than a Persian Empire.

    In 678 BC, Deioces (founder and first king of the Median region) united the Median tribes and made the first Median Empire. His grandson Cyaxares, the third king of the Medes, managed to unite all tribes of Ancient Iran and made his empire a major power. When Cyaxares died (585 BCE) he was succeeded by his son, Astyages, who was the last king of the Median Empire (585 to 550 BCE). He was a follower of the Vedic (Vedas) religion originating in India, now known as Hinduism. King Astyages was conquered by Cyrus.

    The ancient city of Ecbatana (aka Achmetha, modern Hamedan, Iran) was the capital of the Median kingdom, making it the first capital of Iran.

    The Median Empire was replaced by the Persian Empire under Cyrus the Great. Later still, Alexander the Great conquered this region.

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Article Version: June 28, 2024