Medo-Persian conflict
The Medo-Persian conflict was a military campaign led by the Median king Astyages against Persis in the mid 6th-century BCE. Classical sources claim that Persis had been a vassal of the Median kingdom that revolted against Median rule, but this is not confirmed by contemporary evidence though. After some battles the Persians led by Cyrus the Great emerged victorious, subsequently conquering Median territories and establishing the Achaemenid Empire.
| Medo-Persian conflict | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Campaigns of Cyrus the Great | |||||||||
Pasargadae Citadel | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
| Median Kingdom | Persis | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
|
Astyages, Harpagus (early), unknown others |
Cyrus the Great, Oebares, Harpagus (later), unknown others | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| heavy | heavy | ||||||||
The main sources on the conflict are the Histories of the Greek historian Herodotus and two cuneiform inscriptions of the Babylonian king Nabonidus. The Babylonian texts suggest that the decisive battle and the capture of Ecbatana, the capital of Media, were only the climax of the Medo-Persian hostilities that lasted for at least three years (553-550 BCE).