in pre‐Achaemenid Iran: the Medes and the Median language. In C.G. Cereti (ed.), Iranian Identity in the Course of History Serie Orientale Roma 105, Orientalia Romana 9. Rome: Istituto Italiano Per L’Africa E L’Oriente, pp. 289–330.
45 Rossi, A.V. (2017) “… how Median the Medes were”? État d’une question longuement débattue. In W.F.M. Henkelman and C. Redard (eds.), Persian Religion in the Achaemenid Period – La religion perse à l’époque achéménide. CleO 16. Wiesbaden, pp. 462–496.
46 Sancisi‐Weerdenburg, H. (1988). Was there ever a Median Empire? In A. Kuhrt, H. Sancisi‐Weerdenburg (eds.), Method and Theory: Proceedings of the London 1985 Achaemenid History Workshop Achaemenid History 3. Leiden: Nederlands Instituut voor het Nabije Oosten, pp. 197–212.
47 Sancisi‐Weerdenburg, H. (1995). Medes and Persians in early states? In M.A. van Bakel, J.G. Oosten (eds.), The Dynamics of the Early State Paradigm. Utrecht: ISOR, pp. 87–104.
48 Sarraf, M.R. (2003). Archaeological excavations in Tepe Ekabatana (Hamadān) by the Iranian archaeological mission between 1983 and 1999. In G.B. Lanfranchi, M. Roaf, and R. Rollinger (eds.), Continuity of Empire (?): Assyria, Media, Persia History of the Ancient Near East/Monographs 5. Padova: S.a.r.g.o.n., pp. 169–280.
49 Schmitt, R. (2003). Die Sprache der Meder – eine große Unbekannte. In G.B. Lanfranchi, M. Roaf, and R. Rollinger (eds.), Continuity of Empire (?): Assyria, Media, Persia History of the Ancient Near East/Monographs 5. Padova: S.a.r.g.o.n., pp. 23–36.
50 Seidl, U. (1994). Achaimenidische Entlehnungen aus der urartäischen Kultur. In A. Kuhrt, M.C. Root, and H. Sancisi‐Weerdenburg (eds.), Continuity and Change: Proceedings of the Last Achaemenid History Workshop, April 6–8 1990, Ann Arbor Achaemenid History 8. Leiden: Nederlands Instituut voor het Nabije Oosten, pp. 107–129.
51 van der Spek, R.J. (2014). Cyrus the Great, exiles, and foreign gods: a comparison of Assyrian and Persian policies on subject nations. In M. Kozuh, W.F.M. Henkelman, C.E. Jones, and C. Woods (eds.), Extraction & Control: Studies in Honor of Matthew W. Stolper. Chicago: The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, pp. 233–264.
52 Stronach, D. (2003). Independent media: archaeological notes from the homeland. In G.B. Lanfranchi, M. Roaf, and R. Rollinger (eds.), Continuity of Empire (?): Assyria, Media, Persia History of the Ancient Near East/Monographs 5. Padova: S.a.r.g.o.n., pp. 233–248.
53 Tuplin, C. (2005). Medes in Media, Mesopotamia, and Anatolia: empire, hegemony, domination or illusion? Ancient West & East, 3, pp. 229–251.
54 Waters, M. (2005). Media and its discontents. Journal of the American Oriental Society, 125 (4), pp. 517–533.
55 Matthew, W. (2017). Ctesias’ Persica in Its Near Eastern Context. Wisconsin: The University of Wisconsin Press.
56 Wiesehöfer, J. (2003). The Medes and the idea of the succession of empires in antiquity. In G.B. Lanfranchi, M. Roaf, and R. Rollinger (eds.), Continuity of Empire (?): Assyria, Media, Persia History of the Ancient Near East/Monographs 5. Padova: S.a.r.g.o.n., pp. 391–396.
57 Wiesehöfer, J. (2005). Daniel, Herodot und “Dareios der Meder”: Auch ein Beitrag zur Idee der Abfolge von Weltreichen. In R. Rollinger (ed.), Von Sumer bis Homer: Festschrift Manfred Schretter zu seinem 60. Geburtstag am 25. Februar 2004 Alter Orient und Altes Testament 325. Münster: Ugarit‐Verlag, pp. 647–653.
58 Wiesehöfer, J., Rollinger, R. and Lanfranchi, G.B. (2011) (eds.). Die Welt des Ktesias – Ctesias' World Classica et Orientalia 1. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz.
FURTHER READING
Lanfranchi, Roaf, and Rollinger 2003 (together with Waters 2005 and Rollinger 2020a) present the best and most comprehensive overview on all available sources of the “Median dilemma” and the problems connected with this issue. Adali 2011 offers a broad introduction to the concept of the ethnic term Umman‐manda in Mesopotamian sources. Sancisi‐Weerdenburg 1988 and 1995, as well as the less well‐known but nevertheless excellent paper Kienast 1999 are still masterpieces of historical analysis of the problem. This also goes for Liverani 2003. On Herodotus and Ctesias see the various contributions in Rollinger, Truschnegg, and Bichler 2011, and Wiesehöfer, Rollinger, and Lanfranchi 2011; cf. also Waters 2017. For the problems connected with the reconstruction of the Median language, Rossi 2010 and 2017 are excellent introductions.
NOTES
1 1 It is interesting to note that some recent and very prominent handbooks on Iranian history even appear reluctant to deal with the problem at all and do not include a chapter on the Medes: Daryaee (2012) and Potts (2013).
2 2 Additionally, one has to stress that the perception of space is not an absolute value – 2300 km was a much larger distance in Cyrus' times, when Lydia was perceived to be at the western fringes of the world.
3 3 The adoption of the term “Mede” as a general synonym for “Persian” in Greek sources, attested since the later sixth century BCE, can be seen as evidence of an ephemeral contact between Medes and Greeks in Asia Minor that originated in Median raids to central Anatolia.
4 4 The alleged intermediary role in transmitting Neo‐Assyrian artistic traditions with political connotations subscribed to the Medes by modern scholars can be ascribed to Elam or to the Neo‐Babylonian Empire (Seidl 1994; Liverani 2003; Waters 2005: p. 527).
CHAPTER 26 Urar
Mirjo Salvini
On the southern slope of the Rock of Van, on the eastern shore of Lake Van in eastern Turkey, still today one can admire this trilingual inscription by Xerxes, son of Darius (Figure 26.1):
Figure 26.1 Van, trilingual rock inscription of Xerxes I.
“A great god is Ahuramazda, the greatest of gods (…) (16–27) Saith Xerxes the king: King Darius, who was my father, he by the favour of Ahuramazda built much good (construction), and this niche he gave orders to dig out, where he did not cause an inscription (to be) engraved. Afterwards I gave orders to engrave this inscription. May Ahuramazda together with the gods protect me, and my kingdom, and what has been built by me”
(Schmitt 2009: pp. 180–182: XVa).
In spite of its generic content, there is a symbolic and programmatic significance in the very fact that this inscription was engraved in the central part of Van Kalesi (Figure 26.2), the old Urartian capital Ṭušpa, beside the monumental rock chambers and inscriptions of the Urartian kings of the ninth and eighth centuries BCE. This is the only royal Achaemenid inscription outside of Persia. Its position proves that Darius and Xerxes were fascinated by the site and recognized the importance of the old kingdom of Urarṭu − henceforth part of the Achaemenid Empire as the satrapy of Armina (Old Persian § 6 I: Schmitt 2009: pp. 36–91)/Urašṭu (Accadian § 6.23.24: Malbran‐Labat 1994) – for the ideology of their kingship (Seidl 1994).