“Pugnatrix natio et formidanda.”--Amm. Marc, xxiii. 6.
The ethnic character of the Median people is at the present day scarcely
a matter of doubt. The close connection which all history, sacred and
profane, establishes between them and the Persians, the evidence of
their proper names and of their language, so far as it is known to us,
together with the express statements of Herodotus and Strabo, combine to
prove that they belonged to that branch of the human family known to us
as the Arian or Iranic, a leading subdivision of the great Indo-European
race. The tie of a common language, common manners and customs, and to
a great extent a common belief, united in ancient times all the dominant
tribes of the great plateau, extending even beyond the plateau in
one direction to the Jaxartes (Syhun) and in another to the Hyphasis
(Sutlej). Persians, Medes, Sagartians, Chorasmians, Bactrians, Sogdians,
Hyrcanians, Sarangians, Gandarians, and Sanskritic Indians belonged all
to a single stock, differing from one another probably not much more
than now differ the various subdivisions of the Teutonic or the Slavonic
race. Between the tribes at the two extremities of the Arian territory
the divergence was no doubt considerable; but between any two
neighboring tribes the difference was probably in most cases exceedingly
slight. At any rate this was the case towards the west, where the Medes
and Persians, the two principal sections of the Arian body in that
quarter, are scarcely distinguishable from one another in any of the
features which constitute ethnic type.
The general physical character of the ancient Arian race is best
gathered from the sculptures of the Achsemenian kings, which exhibit to
us a very noble variety of the human species--a form tall, graceful, and
stately; a physiognomy handsome and pleasing, often somewhat resembling
the Greek; the forehead high and straight, the nose nearly in the same
line, long and well formed, sometimes markedly aquiline, the upper lip
short, commonly shaded by a moustache, the chin rounded and generally
covered with a curly beard. The hair evidently grew in great plenty, and
the race was proud of it. On the top of the head it was worn smooth,
but it was drawn back from the forehead and twisted into a row or two of
crisp curls, while at the same time it was arranged into a large mass of
similar small close ringlets at the back of the head and over the ears.
[PLATE IV., Fig. 1.]
[Illustration: PLATE IV.]
Of the Median women we have no representations upon the sculptures; but
we are informed by Xenophon that they were remarkable for their stature
and their beauty. The same qualities were observable in the women of
Persia, as we learn from Plutarch, Ammianus Marcellinus, and others.
The Arian races seem in old times to have treated women with a certain
chivalry, which allowed the full development of their physical powers,
and rendered them specially attractive alike to their own husbands and
to the men of other nations.
The modern Persian is a very degenerate representative of the ancient
Arian stock. Slight and supple in person, with quick, glancing eyes,
delicate features, and a vivacious manner, he lacks the dignity and
strength, the calm repose and simple grace of the race from which he
is sprung, Fourteen centuries of subjection to despotic sway have left
their stamp upon his countenance and his frame, which, though still
retaining some traces of the original type, have been sadly weakened and
lowered by so long a term of subservience. Probably the wild Kurd or Lur
of the present day more nearly corresponds in physique to the ancient
Mede than do the softer inhabitants of the great plateau.
Among the moral characteristics of the Medes the one most obvious
is their bravery. “_Pugnatrix natio et formidanda_,” says Ammianus
Marcellinus in the fourth century of our era, summing up in a few words
the general judgment of Antiquity. Originally equal, if not superior, to
their close kindred, the Persians, they were throughout the whole
period of Persian supremacy only second to them in courage and warlike
qualities. Mardonius, when allowed to take his choice out of the entire
host of Xerxes, selected the Median troops in immediate succession to
the Persians. Similarly, when the time for battle came he kept the Medes
near himself, giving them their place in the line close to that of
the Persian contingent. It was no doubt on account of their valor, as
Diodorus suggests, that the Medes were chosen to make the first attack
upon the Greek position at Thermopylae, where, though unsuccessful, they
evidently showed abundant courage. In the earlier times, before riches
and luxury had eaten out the strength of the race, their valor and
military prowess must have been even more conspicuous. It was then
especially that Media deserved to be called, as she is in Scripture,
“the mighty one of the heathen”--“the terrible of the nations.”
Her valor, undoubtedly, was of the merciless kind. There was no
tenderness, no hesitancy about it. Not only did her armies “dash
to pieces” the fighting men of the nations opposed to her, allowing
apparently no quarter, but the women and the children suffered
indignities and cruelties at the hands of her savage warriors, which the
pen unwillingly records. The Median conquests were accompanied by the
worst atrocities which lust and hate combined are wont to commit when
they obtain their full swing. Neither the virtue of women nor the
innocence of children were a protection to them. The infant was slain
before the very eye of the parent. The sanctity of the hearth was
invaded, and the matron ravished beneath her own roof-tree. Spoil, it
would seem, was disregarded in comparison with insult and vengeance;
and the brutal soldiery cared little either for silver or gold, provided
they could indulge freely in that thirst for blood which man shares with
the hyena and the tiger.
The habits of the Medes in the early part of their career were
undoubtedly simple and manly. It has been observed with justice that the
same general features have at all times distinguished the rise and fall
of Oriental kingdoms and dynasties. A brave and adventurous prince, at
the head of a population at once poor, warlike, and greedy, overruns
a vast tract, and acquires extensive dominion, while his successors,
abandoning themselves to sensuality and sloth, probably also to
oppressive and irascible dispositions, become in process of time victims
to those same qualities in another prince and people which had enabled
their own predecessor to establish their power. It was as being braver,
simpler, and so stronger than the Assyrians that the Medes were able to
dispossess them of their sovereignty over western Asia. But in this,
as in most other cases of conquest throughout the East, success was
followed almost immediately by degeneracy. As captive Greece captured
her fierce conqueror, so the subdued Assyrians began at once to corrupt
their subduers. Without condescending to a close imitation of Assyrian
manners and customs, the Medes proceeded directly after their conquest
to relax the severity of their old habits and to indulge in the delights
of soft and luxurious living. The historical romance of Xenophon
presents us probably with a true picture when it describes the strong
contrast which existed towards the close of the Median period between
the luxury and magnificence which prevailed at Ecbatana, and the
primitive simplicity of Persia Proper, where the old Arian habits, which
had once been common to the two races, were still maintained in all
their original severity. Xenophon’s authority in this work is, it must
be admitted, weak, and little trust can be placed in the historical
accuracy of his details; but his general statement is both in itself
probable, and is also borne out to a considerable extent by other
authors. Herodotus and Strabo note the luxury of the Median dress,
while the latter author goes so far as to derive the whole of the later
Persian splendor from an imitation of Median practices. We must hold
then that towards the latter part of their empire the Medes became a
comparatively luxurious people, not indeed laying aside altogether their
manly habits, nor ceasing to be both brave men and good soldiers,
but adopting an amount of pomp and magnificence to which they were
previously strangers, affecting splendor in their dress and apparel,
grandeur and rich ornament in their buildings, variety in their
banquets, and attaining on the whole a degree of civilization not very
greatly inferior to that of the Assyrians. In taste and real refinement
they seem indeed to have fallen considerably below their teachers. A
barbaric magnificence predominated in their ornamentation over artistic
effort, richness in the material being preferred to skill in the
manipulation. Literature, and even letters, were very sparingly
cultivated. But little originality was developed. A stately dress, and
a new style of architecture, are almost the only inventions to which the
Medes can lay claim. They were brave, energetic, enterprising, fond
of display, capable of appreciating to some extent the advantages of
civilized life; but they had little genius, and the world is scarcely
indebted to them for a single important addition to the general stock of
its ideas.
Of the Median customs in war we know but little. Herodotus tells us
that in the army of Xerxes the Medes were armed exactly as the Persians,
carrying on their heads a soft felt cap, on their bodies a sleeved
tunic, and on their legs trousers. Their offensive arms, he says, were
the spear, the bow, and the dagger. They had large wicker shields, and
bore their quivers suspended at their backs. Sometimes their tunic
was made into a coat of mail by the addition to it on the outside of a
number of small iron plates arranged so as to overlap each other, like
the scales of a fish. They served both on horseback and on foot, with
the same equipment in both cases.
There is no reason to doubt the correctness of this description of the
Median military dress under the early Persian kings. The only question
is how far the equipment was really the ancient warlike custom of the
people. It seems in some respects too elaborate to be the armature of a
simple and primitive race. We may reasonably suppose that at least the
scale armor and the unwieldy wicker shields (yeppa), which required to
be rested on the ground, were adopted at a somewhat late date from the
Assyrians. At any rate the original character of the Median armies,
as set before us in Scripture, and as indicated both by Strabo and
Xenophon, is simpler than the Herodotean description. The primitive
Modes seem to have been a nation of horse-archers. Trained from their
early boyhood to a variety of equestrian exercises, and well practised
in the use of the bow, they appear to have proceeded against their
enemies with clouds of horse, almost in Scythian fashion, and to have
gained their victories chiefly by the skill with which they shot their
arrows as they advanced, retreated, or manoeuvred about their foe. No
doubt they also used the sword and the spear. The employment of these
weapons has been almost universal throughout the East from a very remote
antiquity, and there is some mention of them in connection with the
Medes and their kindred, the Persians, in Scripture; but it is evident
that the terror which the Medes inspired arose mainly from their
dexterity as archers.
No representation of weapons which can be distinctly recognized as
Median has come down to us. The general character of the military dress
and of the arms appears, probably in the Persepolitan sculptures; but
as these reliefs are in most cases representations, not of Medes, but of
Persians, and as they must be hereafter adduced in illustration of the
military customs of the latter people, only a very sparing use of them
can be made in the present chapter. It would seem that the bow employed
was short, and very much curved, and that, like the Assyrian it was
usually carried in a bow-case, which might either be slung at the back,
or hung from the girdle. [PLATE V., Fig. 1.] The arrows, which were
borne in a quiver slung behind the right shoulder, must have been short,
certainly not exceeding the length of three feet. The quiver appears to
have been round; it was covered at the top, and was fastened by means of
a flap and strap, which last passed over, a button. [PLATE V. Fig. 1.]
The Median spear or lance was from six to seven feet in length. Its head
was lozenge-shaped and flattish, but strengthened by a bar or line down
the middle. It is uncertain whether the head was inserted into the top
of the shaft, or whether it did not rather terminate in a ring or socket
into which the upper end of the shaft was itself inserted. The shaft
tapered gradually from bottom to top, and terminated below in a knob or
ball, which was perhaps sometimes carved into the shape of some natural
object. [PLATE IV., Fig. 2.]
[Illustration: PLATE V.
The sword was short, being in fact little more than a dagger. It
depended at the right thigh from a belt which encircled the waist, and
was further secured by a strap attached to the bottom of the sheath, and
passing round the soldier’s right leg a little above the knee.
Median shields were probably either round or oval. The oval specimens
bore a resemblance to the shield of the Boeotians, having a small oval
aperture at either side, apparently for the sake of greater lightness.
They were strengthened at the centre by a circular boss or disk,
ornamented with knobs or circles. They would seem to have been made
either of metal or wood. [PLATE IV., Fig. 3.]
The favorite dress of the Medes in peace is well known to us from the
sculptures; there can be no reasonable doubt that the long flowing robe
so remarkable for its graceful folds, which is the garb of the kings,
the chief nobles, and the officers of the court in all the Persian
bas-reliefs, and which is seen also upon the darics and the gems, is the
famous “Median garment” of Herodotus, Xenophon, and Strabo. [PLATE V.,
Fig. 2.] This garment fits the chest and shoulders closely, but falls
over the arms in two large loose sleeves, open at the bottom. At the
waist it is confined by a cincture. Below it is remarkably full and
ample, drooping in two clusters of perpendicular folds at the two sides,
and between these hanging in festoons like a curtain. It extends down
to the ankles, where it is met by a high shoe or low boot, opening in
front, and secured by buttons. [PLATE IV., Fig. 4.]
These Median robes were of many colors. Sometimes they were purple,
sometimes scarlet, occasionally a dark gray, or a deep crimson.
Procopius says that they were made of silk, and this statement is
confirmed to some extent by Justin, who speaks of their transparency.
It may be doubted, however, whether the material was always the same;
probably it varied with the season, and also with the wealth of the
wearer.
Besides this upper robe, which is the only garment shown in the
sculptures, the Medes wore as under garments a sleeved shirt or tunic
of a purple color, and embroidered drawers or trousers. They covered the
head, not only out of doors, but in their houses, wearing either felt
caps like the Persians, or a head-dress of a more elaborate character,
which bore the name of _tiara_ or _cidaris_. This appears to have been,
not a turban, but rather a kind of high-crowned hat, either stiff or
flexible, made probably of felt or cloth, and dyed of different hues,
according to the fancy of the owner. [PLATE VI., Fig. 1.]
The Medes took a particular delight in the ornamentation of their
persons. According to Xenophon, they were acquainted with most of the
expedients by the help of which vanity attempts to conceal the ravages
of time and to create an artificial beauty. They employed cosmetics,
which they rubbed into the skin, for the sake of improving the
complexion. They made use of an abundance of false hair. Like many other
Oriental nations, both ancient and modern, they applied dyes to enhance
the brilliancy of the eyes, and give them a greater apparent size and
softness. They were also fond of wearing golden ornaments. Chains or
collars of gold usually adorned their nocks, bracelets of the same
precious metal encircled their wrists, and earrings were inserted into
their ears. [PLATE VI., Fig. 2.] Gold was also used in the caparisons of
their horses, the bit and other parts of the harness being often of this
valuable material.
We are told that the Medes were very luxurious at their banquets.
Besides plain meat and game of different kinds, with the ordinary
accompaniments of wine and bread, they were accustomed to place before
their guests a vast number of side-dishes, together with a great variety
of sauces. They ate with the hand, as is still the fashion in the East,
and were sufficiently refined to make use of napkins. Each guest had his
own dishes, and it was a mark of special honor to augment their number.
Wine was drunk both at the meal and afterwards, often in an undue
quantity; and the close of the feast was apt to be a scene of general
turmoil and confusion. At the Court it was customary for the king to
receive his wine at the hands of a cupbearer, who first tasted the
draught, that the king might be sure that it was not poisoned, and then
presented it to his master with much pomp and ceremony.
The whole ceremonial of the court seems to have been imposing. Under
ordinary circumstances the monarch kept himself secluded, and no one
could obtain admission to him unless he formally requested an audience,
and was introduced into the royal presence by the proper officer. On his
admission he prostrated himself upon the ground with the same signs of
adoration which were made on entering a temple. The king, surrounded by
his attendants, eunuchs, and others, maintained a haughty reserve, and
the stranger only beheld him from a distance. Business was transacted
in a great measure by writing. The monarch rarely quitted his palace,
contenting himself with such reports of the state of his empire as were
transmitted to him from time to time by his officers.
The chief amusement of the court, in which however the king rarely
partook, was hunting. Media always abounded in beasts of chase; and
lions, bears, leopards, wild boars, stags, gazelles, wild sheep, and
wild asses are mentioned among the animals hunted by the Median nobles.
Of these the first four were reckoned dangerous, the others harmless. It
was customary to pursue these animals on horseback, and to aim at them
with the bow or the javelin. We may gather a lively idea of some of
these hunts from the sculptures of the Parthians, who some centuries
later inhabited the same region. We see in these the rush of great
troops of boars through marshes dense with water-plants, the bands of
beaters urging them on, the sportsmen aiming at them with their bows,
and the game falling transfixed with two or three well-aimed shafts.
Again we see herds of deer driven within enclosures, and there slain by
archers who shoot from horseback, the monarch under his parasol looking
on the while, pleased with the dexterity of his servants. It is thus
exactly that Xenophon portrays Astyages as contemplating the sport
of his courtiers, complacently viewing their enjoyment, but taking no
active part in the work himself.
Like other Oriental sovereigns, the Median monarch maintained a seraglio
of wives and concubines; and polygamy was commonly practised among the
more wealthy classes. Strabo speaks of a strange law as obtaining with
some of the Median tribes--a law which required that no man should be
content with fewer wives than five. It is very unlikely that such a
burden was really made obligatory on any: most probably five legitimate
wives, and no more, were allowed by the law referred to, just as four
wives, and no more, are lawful for Mohammedans. Polygamy, as usual,
brought in its train the cruel practice of castration; and the court
swarmed with eunuchs, chiefly foreigners purchased in their infancy.
Towards the close of the Empire this despicable class appears to have
been all-powerful with the monarch.
Thus the tide of corruption gradually advanced; and there is reason to
believe that both court and people had in a great measure laid aside
the hardy and simple customs of their forefathers, and become enervated
through luxury, when the revolt of the Persians came to test the quality
of their courage, and their ability to maintain their empire. It would
be improper in this place to anticipate the account of this struggle,
which must be reserved for the historical chapter; but the well-known
result--the speedy and complete success of the Persians--must be adduced
among the proofs of a rapid deterioration in the Median character
between the accession of Cyaxares and the capture--less than a century
later--of Astyages.
We have but little information with respect to the state of the arts
among the Medes. A barbaric magnificence characterized, as has been
already observed, their architecture, which differed from the Assyrian
in being dependent for its effect on groups of pillars rather than on
painting or sculpture. Still sculpture was, it is probable, practised to
some extent by the Medes, who, it is almost certain, conveyed on to the
Persians those modifications of Assyrian types which meet us everywhere
in the remains of the Achsemenian monarch? The carving of winged genii,
of massive forms of bulls and lions, of various grotesque monsters,
and of certain clumsy representations of actual life, imitated from
the bas-reliefs of the Assyrians, may be safely ascribed to the Medes;
since, had they not carried on the traditions of their predecessors,
Persian art could not have borne the resemblance that it does to
Assyrian. But these first mimetic efforts of the Arian race have almost
wholly perished, and there scarcely seems to remain more than a single
fragment which can be assigned on even plausible grounds to the Median
period. A portion of a colossal lion, greatly injured by time, is still
to be seen at Hamadan, the site of the great Median capital, which the
best judges regard as anterior to the Persian period, and as therefore
most probably Median. It consists of the head and body of the animal,
from which the four legs and the tail have been broken off, and measures
between eleven and twelve feet from the crown of the head to the point
from which the tail sprang. By the position of the head and what
remains of the shoulders and thighs, it is evident that the animal was
represented in a sitting posture, with the fore legs straight and the
hind legs gathered up under it. To judge of the feeling and general
character of the sculpture is difficult, owing to the worn and mutilated
condition of the work; but we seem to trace in it the same air of calm
and serene majesty that characterizes the colossal bulls and lions of
Assyria, together with somewhat more of expression and of softness than
are seen in the productions of that people. Its posture, which is unlike
that of any Assyrian specimen, indicates a certain amount of originality
as belonging to the Median artists, while its colossal size seems to
show that the effect on the spectator was still to be produced, not so
much by expression, finish, or truth to nature, as by mere grandeur of
dimension. [PLATE VI., Fig. 3.]