16 Facts About Deioces

Deioces was the founder and the first king of the Median Kingdom, an ancient polity in western Asia.

Deioces's name has been mentioned in different forms in various sources, including the ancient Greek historian Herodotus.

The exact date of the era of Deioces' rule is not clear and probably covered most of the first half of the 7th century BC.

Deioces' name has been mentioned in various forms in different sources.

Deioces' name is derived from the Iranian Dahyu-ka, and is the junior noun of the word dahyu-, meaning "the land".

The old Iranian name Deioces was not uncommon even in later times.

Also following Spiegel's theory, Ferdinand Justi believes that Deioces' name is his title and a shortened form of dahyaupati in Old Persian and danhupaiti in Avestan having acquired the suffix -ka.

Herodotus says that Deioces ruled for 53 years and thus some assumptions have been made about the era of his reign; but it seems that Herodotus's report is based on a verbal narrative.

Herodotus's Deioces is sometimes associated with a provincial governor named Daiukku, mentioned several times in Neo-Assyrian texts from the time of Sargon II.

Deioces allied with the king of Urartu against the Mannaen ruler but was captured by Sargon II, who exiled him and his family to Syria in 715 BC, where he apparently died.

Hagbata is the only Median settlement mentioned in Assyrian sources whose name is similar to that of Ecbatana, the place chosen by Herodotus's Deioces to become the capital of the Median kingdom.

The Medes were living in small villages with independent rulers, when a certain Deioces embarked on an elaborate scheme to make himself king.

Deioces thus rose from a commoner to a despot, who united the Median tribes.

Deioces held a ceremony for the first time; Herodotus states that Deioces stayed in his palace; and his connection was by sending to and receiving messages from the outside; and no one was able to contact the king directly; and the petitions and messages were performed only by the messengers; the limitation was in order to make a sense of fear and respect among the people.

The city which Deioces chose for it was called Hagmatana in Old Persian and Ecbatana in Greek language, believed to be Hamadan today.

Some Iranologists believe Deioces to be the Hushang in Shahnameh due to the features Herodotus states for him and consider the title Paradat or Pishdadian equal to "the first legislator".