View source for Cyaxares

{{Short description|King of the Medes from 625 to 585 BC}}
{{for|other persons of the same name|Cyaxares I|Cyaxares II}}
{{protection padlock|small=yes}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name         = Cyaxares
| title        = [[List of monarchs of Iran|King of Media]]
| image        = 18. Detail. The facade of the rock-cut tombs of Qizqapan, Sulaymaniyah Governorate, Iraqi Kurdistan. Probably Achaemenid (6th-5th century BCE) rather than Median.jpg
| image_size   = 300px
| alt          = 
| caption      = Possible relief of Cyaxares, [[Qyzqapan]] tomb, [[Sulaymaniyah]]. [[Iraqi Kurdistan]].
| succession   = King of the [[Medes]]
| reign        = 625 – 585 BC
| coronation   = 625 BC
| predecessor  = [[Phraortes]]
| successor    = [[Astyages]]
| birth_date   = 675 BC
| birth_place  = [[Ecbatana]]
| death_date   = 585 BC
| death_place  = 
| burial_place = [[Syromedia]] (present-day [[Qyzqapan]], [[Kurdistan Region]]){{refn|according to [[Igor M. Diakonoff|Igor Diakonoff]]{{sfn|Diakonoff|1985|page=139}}}}
| spouse       = Daughter (or granddaughter) of [[Nabopolassar]]
| issue        = [[Astyages]]<br />[[Amytis of Babylon|Amytis]]
| full name    = 
| dynasty      = [[Median dynasty]]
| father       = [[Phraortes]]
| mother       = 
| religion     = [[Ancient Iranian religion]]
| native_lang1 = [[Median language|Median]]
| native_lang1_name1 = {{transliteration|xme|ᴴuvaxšϑra|italics=no}}
}}
{{Contains special characters|cuneiform}}
'''Cyaxares'''{{efn|
*{{IPAc-en|s|ai|'|ae|k|s|ə|r|,|i|z}} {{Respell|sai|ACK|sir|eez}}
*[[Median language|Median]]: {{transliteration|xme|ᴴuvaxšϑra}}<ref>{{cite book |last=Ivantchik |first=Askold |author-link=Askold Ivantchik |date=1993 |title=Les Cimmériens au Proche-Orient |trans-title=The Cimmerians in the Near East |url=https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/151019/1/Ivantchik_1993_Les_Cimmerians_au_Proche-Orient.pdf |language=fr |page=83 |location=[[Fribourg]], [[Switzerland]]; [[Göttingen]], [[Germany]] |publisher=[[:fr:Librairie de l'Université de Fribourg|Éditions Universitaires Fribourg]] (Switzerland); [[Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht]] (Germany) |isbn=978-3-727-80876-0}}</ref>
*[[Old Persian]]: {{lang|peo|{{script|Xpeo|{{small|[[wikt:𐎢𐎺𐎧𐏁𐎫𐎼|𐎢𐎺𐎧𐏁𐎫𐎼]]}}}}}}, <small>[[Romanization of Persian|romanized]]:</small> {{transliteration|peo|ᴴuvaxštra}}{{sfn|Diakonoff|1993}}<ref>{{cite book|last=Akbarzadeh|first=D.|author2=A. Yahyanezhad|title=The Behistun Inscriptions (Old Persian Texts)|publisher=Khaneye-Farhikhtagan-e Honarhaye Sonati|year=2006|language=fa|isbn=964-8499-05-5|page=87}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Kent |first=Ronald Grubb |title=Old Persian: Grammar, Text, Glossary |url=https://archive.org/details/OldPersian |date=1953 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/OldPersian/page/n189/mode/2up 177]}}</ref>{{sfn|Schmitt|2011|pp=216–218}}
*{{langx|akk-x-latbabyl|{{cuneiform|12|𒁹𒌑𒀝𒊓𒋫𒅈}}|translit=Waksatar}}{{sfn|Diakonoff|1993}}
*[[Phrygian language|Old Phrygian]]: {{transliteration|xpg|Ksuwaksaros}}{{sfn|Diakonoff|1993}}
*{{langx|grc|[[wikt:Κυαξάρης|Κυαξάρης]]|Kuaxarēs}}{{sfn|Diakonoff|1993}}
*[[Latin]]: {{lang|la|Cyaxarēs}}}} was the third king of the [[Medes]]. He ascended to the throne in 625 BC, after his father [[Phraortes]] lost his life in a battle against the Assyrians, probably [[Ashurbanipal]]. Assyrian allies, the [[Scythians]] then ruled Media for 28 years before Cyaxeres overthrew Scythian domination and became king.

Cyaxares collaborated with the [[Neo-Babylonian Empire|Babylonians]] to destroy the [[Assyrian Empire]], and united most of the [[Iranian peoples]] of ancient Iran, thereby transforming [[Median state|Media]] into a major power.<ref>[https://www.livius.org/ct-cz/cyaxares/cyaxares.html Cyaxares] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141022085954/http://www.livius.org/ct-cz/cyaxares/cyaxares.html |date=2014-10-22 }} (Livius.org)</ref><ref>[http://global.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/147792/Cyaxares Cyaxares king of Media] britannica.com</ref>

==Name==
The name {{transliteration|la|Cyaxares}} is the [[Latin]]ised form of the Greek {{transliteration|grc|Kuaxárēs}} ({{lang|grc|Κυαξάρης}}), which was itself the Hellenisation of the [[Median language|Median]] name {{transliteration|xme|ᴴuvaxšϑra}} ({{lang|xme|{{script|Xpeo|{{small|𐎢𐎺𐎧𐏁𐎫𐎼}}}}}}), meaning "good ruler."{{sfn|Diakonoff|1993}}{{sfn|Schmitt|2011|pp=216–218}}

The Greek author [[Diodorus Siculus]] named Cyaxares as {{transliteration|grc|Astibaras}} ({{lang|grc|Αστιβαρας}}),<ref name="Olbrycht">{{cite book |last=Olbrycht |first=Marek Jan |author-link= |date=2021 |title=Early Arsakid Parthia (ca. 250–165 B.C.): At the Crossroads of Iranian, Hellenistic, and Central Asian History |url= |location=[[Leiden]], [[Netherlands]]; [[Boston]], [[United States]] |publisher=[[Brill Publishers|Brill]] |pages=17–18 |isbn=978-9-004-46076-8 }}</ref> which is the Hellenisation of the Median name [[wikt:Reconstruction:Old Median/R̥štibara|{{transliteration|xme|*R̥štibara}}]], meaning "spear bearer."{{sfn|Hinz|1975|page=[https://archive.org/details/AltiranischesSprachgutDerNebenberlieferungen/page/n101/mode/2up 207]}}{{sfn|Schmitt|2011|pp=139–140}} This name is similar to the Median form of his son [[Astyages]]'s name, [[wikt:Reconstruction:Old Median/R̥štivaigah|{{transliteration|xme|*R̥štivaigah}}]], meaning "spear thrower."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://iranicaonline.org/articles/astyages-the-last-median-king |title=Astyages  |last=Schmitt |first=Rüdiger |author-link=Rüdiger Schmitt |date=1987 |website=[[Encyclopædia Iranica]] |publisher= |access-date=2022-07-12 |quote=}}</ref>{{sfn|Hinz|1975|page=[https://archive.org/details/AltiranischesSprachgutDerNebenberlieferungen/page/n103/mode/2up 208]}}

== Life and reign ==
=== Scythian rule ===
According to Herodotus, Cyaxares was the son of the Median king [[Phraortes]]. In the middle of the 7th century BCE, Phraortes led the Medes in a revolt against Assyria and was killed in battle, either against the Assyrians under their king [[Ashurbanipal]], or against the Assyrians' [[Scythians|Scythian]] allies, whose king [[Madyes]] invaded the Medes and imposed Scythian hegemony over them for almost 
three decades years on behalf of the Assyrians, thus starting a period which Herodotus called the "Scythian rule over Asia".<ref>{{cite journal |last=Phillips |first=E. D. |date=1972 |title=The Scythian Domination in Western Asia: Its Record in History, Scripture and Archaeology |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/123971 |journal=World Archaeology |volume=4 |issue=2 |pages=129–138 |doi=10.1080/00438243.1972.9979527 |jstor=123971 |access-date=5 November 2021 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>{{sfn|Sulimirski|Taylor|1991|p=565}}

Following the Scythian invasion, Cyaxares succeeded his father Phraortes as king of the Medes under the suzerainty of the Scythians.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Spalinger |first=Anthony |date=1978 |title=Psammetichus, King of Egypt: II |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40000130 |journal=Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt |volume=15 |issue= |pages=49–57 |doi=10.2307/40000130 |jstor=40000130 |access-date=2 November 2021|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://iranicaonline.org/articles/media |title=MEDIA |last1=Dandamayev |first1=M. |author-link1=Muhammad Dandamayev |last2=Medvedskaya |first2=I. |date=2006 |website=[[Encyclopædia Iranica]] |publisher= |access-date=11 August 2022 |quote=}}</ref>

By the 620s BCE, the Assyrian Empire began to weaken after the death of Ashurbanipal: in addition to internal instability within Assyria itself, Babylon [[Revolt of Babylon (626 BC)|revolted against the Assyrians]] in 626 BCE.{{sfn|Diakonoff|1985|page=119}} The next year, in 625 BCE, Cyaxares overthrew the Scythian yoke over the Medes by inviting the Scythian rulers to a banquet, getting them drunk, and then murdering them all, including possibly Madyes himself.{{sfn|Diakonoff|1993}}{{sfn|Diakonoff|1985|page=119}}{{sfn|Sulimirski|Taylor|1991|p=565}}

After freeing the Medes from the Scythian yoke, Cyaxares reorganised the Median armed forces in preparation for a war with Assyria: whereas the Medes previously fought as tribal militias divided into kinship groups and each warrior used whatever weapons they were the most skilled at, Cyaxares instituted a regular army modelled on the Assyrian and Urartian armies, fully equipped by the state and divided into strategic and tactical units.{{sfn|Diakonoff|1985|pages=121–122}} Cyaxares might also have forced the Scythians into an alliance with the Medes after overthrowing their rule, since from 615 BCE onwards the [[Babylon]]ian records mention the Scythians as the allies of the Medes.{{sfn|Sulimirski|Taylor|1991|p=567}}

=== War in Parthia ===
At some point during his reign, Cyaxares conquered the countries of [[Hyrcania]] and [[Parthia]], which were located to the immediate east of Media.<ref>{{cite book |editor-last1=Dani |editor-first1=Ahmad Hasan |editor-link1=Ahmad Hasan Dani |editor-last2=Harmatta |editor-first2=János |editor-link2=János Harmatta | editor-last3=Puri |editor-first3=Baij Nath |editor-link3=Baij Nath Puri |editor-last4=Etemadi |editor-first4=G. F. |editor-last5=Bosworth |editor-first5=Clifford Edmund |editor-link5=Clifford Edmund Bosworth |last=Dandamayev |first=M. A. |author-link=Muhammad Dandamayev |date=1994 |title=History of Civilizations of Central Asia |chapter=Media and Achaemenid Iran |url= |location=[[Paris]], [[France]] |publisher=[[UNESCO]] |pages=35–64 |isbn=978-9-231-02846-5 |quote=Judging by later indirect evidence, Cyaxares also succeeded in taking Parthia, Hyrcania to the east of the Caspian Sea, and Armenia. }}</ref>

According to Diodorus Siculus, at one point the [[Parthia]]ns revolted against Cyaxares and entrusted their country and their capital city to the [[Saka|Sacae]]<ref name="Olbrycht"/> or the [[Dahae]],{{sfn|Diakonoff|1985|p=132}} after which a war broke out between the Medes and the Saka, led by their queen [[Zarinaea|Zarinaia]], who founded multiple cities.<ref name="Olbrycht"/> According to Diodorus, Zarinaia was the sister of the Saka king [[Cydraeus]] and initially his wife, but after his death she married the Parthian king [[Marmares]]. During the war against the Medes, Zarinaia was wounded in battle and captured by Cyaxares's son-in-law [[Stryngaeus]], who listened to her pleas and spared her life; when Marmares later captured Stryngaeus, Zarinaia killed Marmares, and rescued Stryngaeus.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/zarinaia |title=Zarinaia  |last=Schmitt |first=Rüdiger |author-link=Rüdiger Schmitt |date=2000 |website=[[Encyclopædia Iranica]] |publisher= |access-date=2022-07-12 |quote=}}</ref> At the end of this war, the Parthians accepted Median rule,<ref name="Olbrycht"/> and peace was made between the Medes and the Saka.<ref>{{cite book |last=Mayor |first=Adrienne |author-link=Adrienne Mayor |date=2014 |title=The Amazons: Lives and Legends of Warrior Women across the Ancient World |url= |location=[[Princeton, New Jersey|Princeton]] |publisher=[[Princeton University Press]] |pages=379–381 |isbn=978-0-691-14720-8 }}</ref>

Diodorus's account suggests that the region of Parthia was influenced by both the Medes to their west, and by the Saka nomads of the region of the [[Caspian Sea|Caspian]] and [[Aral Sea|Aral]] Seas.<ref name="Olbrycht"/>

=== War against Assyria ===
Following the defeat of a joint Assyrian-[[Mannaeans|Mannaean]] force at [[Gablinu]] by the new Babylonian rebel king and founder of the [[Neo-Babylonian Empire]], [[Nabopolassar]], the next year Cyaxares conquered Mannae, which brought the Median armies to the frontiers of Assyria.{{sfn|Diakonoff|1993}} In November 615 BCE, six months after Nabopolassar had failed to seize the important Assyrian centre of [[Assur]], Cyaxares crossed the Zagros mountains and occupied the city of [[Arrapha]]. The next year, in July and August of 614 BCE, the Median armies performed a distractive manoeuvre by ostensibly marching on the Assyrian capital of [[Nineveh]], which prompted the Assyrian king [[Sinsharishkun]] to go defend the city, after which the Medes marched north along the Tigris and [[Fall of Tarbisu|seized]] [[Tarbisu|Tarbiṣu]], following which they crossed the river and marched down its right bank to Assur, and thereby cut the Assyrian centres of Nineveh and [[Nimrud|Kalhu]] from outside help. Then the Median forces [[Fall of Assur|attacked and conquered]] Assur, during which the Medes' forces massacred the city's inhabitants, destroyed its temples, and seized its treasures.{{sfn|Diakonoff|1985|pages=122–123}}

Shortly after the fall of Assur, the Babylonian king Nabopolassar met Cyaxares at the ruins of the city, and they concluded an alliance against Assyria which was sealed by diplomatic marriages, with Nabopolassar's son [[Nebuchadnezzar II]] marrying Cyaxares's daughter [[Amytis of Babylon|Amytis]],{{sfn|Diakonoff|1985|page=123}} and Cyaxares marrying a daughter or granddaughter of Nabopolassar.{{sfn|Diakonoff|1993}}

Once the alliance between Cyaxares and Nabopolassar had been concluded, the Median and Babylonian forces [[Medo-Babylonian conquest of the Assyrian Empire|acted in concert with each other in the war against Assyria]]. In 612 BCE, the Median and Babylonian armies together crossed the [[ʿAdhaim]] river at its mouth and marched on the Assyrian capital city, Nineveh, which was [[Battle of Nineveh (612 BC)|taken and sacked]] by the joint Medo-Babylonian forces after three months of siege. The Assyrian king Sinsharishkun likely died during the fall of Nineveh.{{sfn|Diakonoff|1985|page=124}}

After the death of Sinsharishkun, an Assyrian leader who might have been his son, [[Ashur-uballit II]], proclaimed himself the new Assyrian king in [[Harran]], where he ruled with the support of the remnant of the Assyrian army. In 610 BCE, the pro-Assyrian [[Ancient Egypt|Egyptian]] pharaoh [[Necho II]] intervened in the Levant in support of the Assyrians, and went to Harran to support Ashur-uballit. In 610 BCE, Cyaxares and Nabopolassar seized Harran from the Assyro-Egyptian force, which retreated to Carchemish on the west bank of the Euphrates.{{sfn|Diakonoff|1985|page=124}}

According to older interpretations of the destruction of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, its territory was partitioned between the Babylonians and the Medes, the latter of whom obtained a territory which included [[Assyrian homeland|Assyria proper]] and had a southern border which started at Carchemish and passed south of Harran and along the [[Sinjar Mountains|Jabal Sinjār]] till the Tigris to the south of Assur, and then along the [[Hamrin Mountains|Jabāl Hamrīn]] and across the [[Diyala River]] valley until the northwestern borders of [[Elam]].{{sfn|Diakonoff|1985|pages=124–125}} However, according to more recent research, the Neo-Babylonian Empire obtained all of the former territories of the Assyrian Empire except for those on the Zagros mountains which the Assyrians had already lost to the Medes in earlier times, and the role of the Medes in the war against the Assyrians was largely to act as the main fighting force which handed over territory to the Babylonians and returned to Media once these military activities were completed.<ref>{{cite book |last=Liverani |first=Mario |author-link=Mario Liverani |editor1-last=Lanfranchi |editor1-first=Giovanni B. |editor2-last=Roaf |editor2-first=Michael |editor-link2=Michael Roaf |editor3-last=Rollinger |editor3-first=Robert |editor-link3=Robert Rollinger |date=2003 |title=Continuity of Empire (?) Assyria, Media, Persia |chapter=The Rise and Fall of Media |chapter-url=http://m-hosseini.ir/mad-hakha/articles-1/20.pdf |location=[[Padua]] |publisher=S.a.r.g.o.n. Editrice e Libreria |pages=1–12 |isbn=978-9-990-93968-2 }}</ref>

=== Conquest of Urartu ===
In 609 BCE, the Medes attacked the capital of the kingdom of [[Urartu]] in the [[Armenian Highlands]]. The attack on Urartu might have been carried out in alliance with the Babylonians, since Babylonian records mention a joint Medo-Babylonian attack on Bit Hanunia in Urartu in 608 BCE,{{sfn|Diakonoff|1985|pages=124–125}} and a splinter Scythian group likely joined the Medes and participated in their conquest of Urartu.{{sfn|Sulimirski|Taylor|1991|p=568}} This invasion did not result in the destruction of Urartu, but in it becoming a subject kingdom of the new Median state.{{sfn|Diakonoff|1985|page=124}} Median contingents might have helped the final [[Battle of Carchemish|Babylonian victory]] against the joint Assyrian-Egyptian force at [[Carchemish]] in 605 BCE, at which point the Medes' military collaboration with the Babylonian campaigns ended, and Median forces did not participate in any of the consequent Babylonian campaigns in Syria and Palestine.{{sfn|Diakonoff|1985|pages=124–125}}

===War against the Lydians===
[[File:Median empire map.png|thumb|200px|right|Cyaxares' Media at the time of its maximum expansion]]

Following the destruction of the Assyrian Empire, the majority of the Scythians were expelled from Western Asia and into the [[Pontic–Caspian steppe|Pontic Steppe]] during the 600s BCE,{{sfn|Sulimirski|Taylor|1991|p=567}} and the relations between the Medes and the Babylonians soon temporarily deteriorated in the 590s.{{sfn|Diakonoff|1985|pages=124–125}} The deuterocanonical Book of Judith describes a battle in 593 BC. between King Nebuchadnezzar II and Arphaxad (thought to be another name for Cyaxares).<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.drbo.org/chapter/18001.htm |title=Douay-Rheims Bible, Judith Chapter 1 }}</ref>

Later, a war broke out between Media and another group of Scythians, probably members of a splinter group who had formed a kingdom in what is now [[Azerbaijan]]. These Scythians left Median-ruled Transcaucasia and fled into the kingdom of [[Lydia]], which had been allied to the Scythians. After the Lydian king [[Alyattes]] refused to accede to Cyaxares's demands that these Scythian refugees be handed to him, a war broke out between Media and the Lydian Empire in 590 BCE.

[[File:Median Empire.png|thumb|320px|A map showing the ancient Median Empire around 550 BC at its maximum extent]]

This war lasted five years, until a solar eclipse known as the [[Eclipse of Thales]] occurred in 585 BCE, during which a battle was fought between the Lydian and Median armies. Hence, this battle became known as the [[Battle of the Eclipse]]. Both sides interpreted the eclipse as an omen to end the war. The kings of Babylon and [[Kingdom of Cilicia (ancient)|Cilicia]] acted as mediators in the ensuing peace treaty, which was sealed by the marriage of Cyaxares's son [[Astyages]] with Alyattes's daughter [[Aryenis]].

The border between Lydia and Media was fixed at a yet undetermined location in eastern Anatolia; the Graeco-Roman historians' traditional account of the [[Kızılırmak River|Halys River]] as having been set as the border between the two kingdoms appears to have been a retroactive narrative construction based on symbolic role assigned by Greeks to the Halys as the separation between Lower Asia and Upper Asia as well as on the Halys being a later provincial border within the [[Achaemenid Empire]].{{sfn|Diakonoff|1985|pages=125–126}}<ref name="The Battle of the Eclipse">{{cite journal|url=https://orbi.uliege.be/handle/2268/207259|title=The Battle of the Eclipse|last1=Leloux|first1=Kevin|journal=Polemos: Journal of Interdisciplinary Research on War and Peace|date=December 2016|volume=19|issue=2|publisher=Polemos|hdl=2268/207259|access-date=2019-04-30}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Rollinger |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Rollinger |editor1-last=Lanfranchi |editor1-first=Giovanni B. |editor2-last=Roaf |editor2-first=Michael |editor-link2=Michael Roaf |editor3-last=Rollinger |editor3-first=Robert |editor-link3=Robert Rollinger |date=2003 |title=Continuity of Empire (?) Assyria, Media, Persia |chapter=The Western Expansion of the Median ‘Empire’: A Re-Examination |chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/13842356 |location=[[Padua]] |publisher=S.a.r.g.o.n. Editrice e Libreria |pages=1–12 |isbn=978-9-990-93968-2 }}</ref><ref name="Leloux-2">{{cite thesis |last=Leloux |first=Kevin |date=2018 |title=La Lydie d'Alyatte et Crésus: Un royaume à la croisée des cités grecques et des monarchies orientales. Recherches sur son organisation interne et sa politique extérieure |type=PhD |volume=2 |publisher=[[University of Liège]] |docket= |oclc= |url=https://orbi.uliege.be/bitstream/2268/220928/2/The%cc%80se%20entie%cc%80re%20vol%20II.pdf |access-date=1 May 2022 |archive-date=9 October 2022 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://orbi.uliege.be/bitstream/2268/220928/2/The%cc%80se%20entie%cc%80re%20vol%20II.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Death===
[[File:Zoroastrianism Tomb Sulaymaniyah province 28.JPG|thumb|200px|Possible Tomb of Cyaxares, ''[[Qyzqapan]]'', [[Sulaymaniyah]]. [[Iraqi Kurdistan]]]]

Cyaxares died a short time after the Battle of the Eclipse in 585 BCE, and was succeeded by his son [[Astyages]]. The Russian historian [[Igor M. Diakonoff|Igor Diakonoff]] has tentatively suggested that the tomb of Cyaxares might be located at the place now called [[Qyzqapan]], in the mountains of present-day Iraqi Kurdistan in [[Sulaymaniyah]].{{sfn|Diakonoff|1985|page=124}}

== Legacy ==
After [[Darius I]] seized power in the [[Achaemenid Empire]], rebellions erupted claiming Cyaxares's legacy. After these were defeated, Darius noted two in the [[Behistun Inscription]]:
"Another was Phraortes, the Mede; he lied, saying: 'I am Khshathrita, of the dynasty of Cyaxares.' He made Media to revolt. Another was Tritantaechmes, the Sagartian; he lied, saying: 'I am king in Sagartia, of the dynasty of Cyaxares.' He made Sagartia to revolt." One of the options that has sparked deep debate regarding the reign of Cyaxares is [[Zoroastrianism]]. The question of when the prophet [[Zoroaster]] lived and to which years the [[Avesta]] belongs still awaits an empirical answer.<ref>(Struve, 1948, pp. 5–34)</ref>

Cyaxares is referenced in the [[Kurdish anthems|Kurdish national anthem]] [[Ey Reqîb]], written in 1938 by poet [[Dildar (poet)|Dildar]]. In the lyrics, he is named as "Kayxusraw",{{efn|{{langx|ku|کەیخوسرەو|Keyxûsirew}}}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://poland.gov.krd/about-kurdistan/basic-facts/|title=Basic facts|website=Kurdistan Regional Government-Representation in Poland|language=en|author=KRG Poland|access-date=2025-07-09}}</ref> as a symbol of ancient [[Kurds|Kurdish]] power and resistance.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Gunter|first=Michael|title=Out of Nowhere: The Kurds of Syria in Peace and War|year=2014|isbn=9781849045322|pages=44–45}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Körlings |first=Helmut |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dmrPBAAAQBAJ&q=ey+raqib |title=Ey Raquib: Kurdisches Zwischenspiel |date=2014-10-14 |publisher=BookRix |isbn=978-3-7368-4688-3 |language=de}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=1938 |title=Ey Reqîb – Kurdish National Anthem |url=https://www.kurdishlobbyaustralia.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Kurdish-national-anthem.pdf |access-date=2025-07-09 |website=Kurdish Lobby Australia |language=ku }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Younis |first=Rauf |author-link=Dildar (poet) |date=1938 |title=ئەی ڕەقیب |url=https://books.vejin.net/text/4278 |access-date=2025-07-09 |website=VejinBooks |language=ku}}</ref>

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==Sources==
{{EB1911 poster|Cyaxares}}
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite encyclopedia |title=CYAXARES |last=Diakonoff |first=I. M. |author-link=Igor M. Diakonoff |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/cyaxares-gk |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica |year=1993 }}
*{{cite book |last=Diakonoff |first=I. M. |author-link=Igor M. Diakonoff |editor-last=Gershevitch |editor-first=Ilya |editor-link=Ilya Gershevitch |date=1985 |title=The Cambridge History of Iran |volume=2 |chapter=Media |url= |location=[[Cambridge]] |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |pages=36–148 |isbn=978-0-521-20091-2 }}
* {{cite book |last=Hinz |first=Walther |author-link=:de:Walther Hinz |date=1975 |title=Altiranisches Sprachgut der Nebenüberleiferung |trans-title=Old Iranian Language from Collateral Sources |url=https://archive.org/details/AltiranischesSprachgutDerNebenberlieferungen |language=de |location=[[Wiesbaden]], [[Germany]] |publisher=[[Harrassowitz Verlag|Harrassowitz]] |page=[https://archive.org/details/AltiranischesSprachgutDerNebenberlieferungen/page/n103/mode/2up 208] |isbn=978-3-447-01703-9 }}
* {{cite book |last=Schmitt |first=Rüdiger |author-link=Rüdiger Schmitt |date=2011 |title=Iranisches Personennamenbuch |trans-title=Book of Iranian Personal Names |language=de |volume=5.5a |url= |location= |publisher=[[:de:Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften|Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften]] |isbn=978-3-700-17142-3 }}
*{{cite book |editor1-last=Boardman |editor1-first=John |editor1-link=John Boardman (art historian) |editor2-last=Edwards |editor2-first=I. E. S. |editor2-link=I. E. S. Edwards |editor3-last=Hammond |editor3-first=N. G. L. |editor3-link=N. G. L. Hammond |editor4-last=Sollberger |editor4-first=E. |editor4-link=Edmond Sollberger |editor5-last=Walker |editor5-first=C. B. F. |last1=Sulimirski |first1=Tadeusz |author-link=Tadeusz Sulimirski |last2=Taylor |first2=T. F. |author-link2=Timothy Taylor (archaeologist) |date=1991 |title=The Cambridge Ancient History |volume=3 |chapter=The Scythians |issue=2 |url= |location=[[Cambridge]] |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |pages=547–590 |isbn=978-1-139-05429-4}}
{{refend}}

{{Portal|Iran}}
{{Median and Achaemenid kings}}
{{Median topics}}

[[Category:580s BC deaths]]
[[Category:Kings of Media]]
[[Category:6th-century BC monarchs in Asia]]
[[Category:7th-century BC monarchs in Asia]]
[[Category:Year of birth unknown]]
[[Category:6th-century BC Iranian people]]
[[Category:7th-century BC Iranian people]]
[[Category:Median dynasty]]