Deiokes

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Deiokes ( Assyrian Daiukku ) was a Mannaean king whose reign is unclear, but dated 728 BC. BC to 716 BC Is estimated.

Deiokes with Herodotus

Nothing is known of Deiokes' youth. According to Herodotus , Deiokes was a respected judge in his hometown, who enjoyed a very good reputation for his fair judgments and was known far beyond the town's borders. The rush for his judgments was very great, and Deiokes realized that he had the people in his hands.

He soon declared that he wanted to resign as a judge because he had to neglect his own affairs. As crimes and acts of violence became more common in the period that followed, the people demanded that Deiokes should reassemble the judgment seat. In the end, it was even decided to elect Deiokes as king, because they were convinced that he could enforce the law in the country. Deiokes accepted the royal dignity and ordered a palace to be built around which a new town was founded. According to Herodotus, it was the royal city of Ekbatana (today Hamadan ).

Deiokes is said to have ruled as a despot . He no longer granted personal audiences with his subjects. He acted as the chief judge and had informants monitor compliance with the law in the empire .

He is also said to have united numerous Iranian ethnic groups under his rule and thus founded the Mederreich. Herodotus names the Bosen , Paretakener , Struchaten , Arizanter , Budier , and Mager as the Medes tribes subject to the Deiokes.

Deiokes in Assyrian inscriptions

Mannea and surrounding areas

Herodotus' descriptions of the life and rule of Deiokes have meanwhile been declared as ideal by modern research and do not agree with historical facts. Assyrian inscriptions name e.g. B. a Daiukku as king of the Manneans, a tribal chief among many who opposed the Assyrians. At that time, the Assyrians were striving to rule the entire highlands and were hostile to both the Urartians and the Manneans. The Urartians were open to the Manneans, however, as they served as a buffer state to the Assyrian Empire and were valuable allies due to their fighting power.

When it was 716 BC BC came to war between Assyria under Sargon II and the Urartians under Rusas I , Daiukku allied with Urartu. The Assyrians got the upper hand in this war, captured Daiukku and his family and deported them to Hama, Syria .

Source comparison

Neither Herodotus nor later Persian sources mention this deportation. Herodotus names a reign of 53 years for Deiokes, the deportation from Daiukku is dated to 716 BC. Dated to a reign of 768–715 BC. Would correspond to. If, however, one includes Herodotus' continued description of the later Median kings, it becomes clear how problematic the development of early Iranian history is due to the lack of primary Median and Iranian sources.

Succession

After Herodotus (1.102) he was succeeded by his son Phraortes as the second king of the Median dynasty

swell

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Encyclopedia Iranica Phraortes [1]


personal data
SURNAME Deiokes
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Mannean king
DATE OF BIRTH 9th century BC BC or 8th century BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH 8th century BC BC or 7th century BC Chr.