Deioces, Phraortes and Median Royal Chronology
Medvedskaya Inna N.
The article discusses a new variant of the Median dynasty chronology based on the evidence of Herodotus about 128 years of Median rule in Upper Asia. As the Median dynasty fell in 550/549 ВС, its accession took place in 700/699 ВС, and the beginning of Median rule in Upper Asia should be dated to 678 ВС. The number 128 is the summed duration of the three reigns out of the four mentioned by Herodotus (53 + 40 + 35 = 128). In this case, 22 years of the second king - Phraortes - fall out. But the number 128 turns out to be the reference point, so it means that Herodotus confused the reigns of the first king Deioces and the second, Phraortes. Thus, in 678 ВС, the 53 years of Phraortes/Kashtariti began. In 672/671 ВС an anti-Assyrian rebellion flared up in Northwest Iran, and Media's victory there lead to its quick rise. The suggested chronology of the Median dynasty enables to adjust the communications of Herodotus about the conquests of Phraortes/Kashtariti and Cyaxares, and to verify and coordinate the Medikos Logos with a Median history reconstructed from cuneiform and archaeological sources.