:
Mandana of Media (
Old Iranian
The Iranian languages or Iranic languages are a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages in the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family that are spoken natively by the Iranian peoples, predominantly in the Iranian plateau, Iranian Pl ...
: ''Mandanā'') was a
Shahbanu
Shahbanu ( fa, شهبانو, ''Šahbānū'' lit. "Lady King") was the title for empress consort in Persian and other Iranian languages. The two Sassanian empresses regnant, Boran and Azarmidokht, c. 630, were the last two that carried the title ...
of
Media
Media may refer to:
Communication
* Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data
** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising
** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass el ...
and, later, the
Queen consort of
Cambyses I
Cambyses I ( peo, 𐎣𐎲𐎢𐎪𐎡𐎹 ''Kabūjiya'') was king of Anshan (Persia), Anshan from c. 580 to 559 BC and the father of Cyrus the Great (Cyrus II), younger son of Cyrus I, and brother of Arukku. He should not be confus ...
of Anshan and mother of
Cyrus the Great
Cyrus II of Persia (; peo, 𐎤𐎢𐎽𐎢𐏁 ), commonly known as Cyrus the Great, was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire, the first Persian empire. Schmitt Achaemenid dynasty (i. The clan and dynasty) Under his rule, the empire embraced ...
, ruler of Persia's
Achaemenid Empire
The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Based in Western Asia, it was contemporarily the largest em ...
.
Etymology
The name ''Mandane'' is a
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
ized form derived from the
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
Μανδάνη, ''Mandánē'', itself from the
Old Iranian
The Iranian languages or Iranic languages are a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages in the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family that are spoken natively by the Iranian peoples, predominantly in the Iranian plateau, Iranian Pl ...
name ''*Mandanā-'' which means ''delighting'' and ''cheerful''.
Mandana in Herodotus' histories
According to
Herodotus
Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey) and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria ( Italy). He is known f ...
, Mandane was the daughter of
Astyages
Astyages (Median: ; Akkadian: ; Ancient Greek: grc, Αστυαγης, Astuagēs, , romanized: , , romanized: ; la, Astyages, , ; reigned 585–550 BC) was the last king of the Median Empire. The son of Cyaxares; he was dethroned in 550 BC by h ...
, King of Media.
Shortly after her birth, Herodotus reports that Astyages had a strange dream where his daughter urinated so much that
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
would flood.
Herodotus, 'The Histories' Book 1.108
/ref> He consulted the magians
Magi (; singular magus ; from Latin ''magus'', cf. fa, مغ ) were priests in Zoroastrianism and the earlier religions of the western Iranians. The earliest known use of the word ''magi'' is in the trilingual inscription written by Darius th ...
who interpreted the dream as a warning that Mandane's son would overthrow his rule. To forestall that outcome, Astyages betrothed Mandane to the vassal
A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain. W ...
prince, Cambyses I of Anshan
Cambyses I ( peo, 𐎣𐎲𐎢𐎪𐎡𐎹 ''Kabūjiya'') was king of Anshan from c. 580 to 559 BC and the father of Cyrus the Great (Cyrus II), younger son of Cyrus I, and brother of Arukku. He should not be confused with his bette ...
, “a man of good family and quiet habits”, whom Astyages considered no threat to the Median throne. Astyages had a second dream when Mandane became pregnant where a vine grew from her womb and overtook the world. Terrified, he sent his most loyal court retainer, Harpagus
Harpagus, also known as Harpagos or Hypargus (Ancient Greek Ἅρπαγος; Akkadian: ''Arbaku''), was a Median general from the 6th century BC, credited by Herodotus as having put Cyrus the Great on the throne through his defection during the b ...
, to kill the child. However, Harpagus
Harpagus, also known as Harpagos or Hypargus (Ancient Greek Ἅρπαγος; Akkadian: ''Arbaku''), was a Median general from the 6th century BC, credited by Herodotus as having put Cyrus the Great on the throne through his defection during the b ...
loathed to spill royal blood and hid the child, Cyrus II
Cyrus II of Persia (; peo, 𐎤𐎢𐎽𐎢𐏁 ), commonly known as Cyrus the Great, was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire, the first Persian empire. Schmitt Achaemenid dynasty (i. The clan and dynasty) Under his rule, the empire embraced ...
, with a shepherd named Mitradates. Years later, Cyrus would defy his grandfather Astyages, leading to war between them; a war that Cyrus would have lost, but for Harpagus
Harpagus, also known as Harpagos or Hypargus (Ancient Greek Ἅρπαγος; Akkadian: ''Arbaku''), was a Median general from the 6th century BC, credited by Herodotus as having put Cyrus the Great on the throne through his defection during the b ...
' defection at the battle of Pasargadae
Pasargadae (from Old Persian ''Pāθra-gadā'', "protective club" or "strong club"; Modern Persian: ''Pāsārgād'') was the capital of the Achaemenid Empire under Cyrus the Great (559–530 BC), who ordered its construction and the location of ...
, leading to the overthrow of Astyages, as the dream had forecast.
Mandane in Xenophon's Cyropedia
Xenophon
Xenophon of Athens (; grc, wikt:Ξενοφῶν, Ξενοφῶν ; – probably 355 or 354 BC) was a Greek military leader, philosopher, and historian, born in Athens. At the age of 30, Xenophon was elected commander of one of the biggest Anci ...
also gives reference to Mandane in his ''Cyropaedia'' ''(The Education of Cyrus)''. In this story, Mandane and her son travel to Astyages' court, when Cyrus is in his early teens. Cyrus charms his grandfather, who includes the boy in royal hunts, while Mandane returns to her husband in Anshan
Anshan () is an inland prefecture-level city in central-southeast Liaoning province, People's Republic of China, about south of the provincial capital Shenyang. As of the 2020 census, it was Liaoning's third most populous city with a population ...
. It is when Cyrus concocts a story that his father, Cambyses I
Cambyses I ( peo, 𐎣𐎲𐎢𐎪𐎡𐎹 ''Kabūjiya'') was king of Anshan (Persia), Anshan from c. 580 to 559 BC and the father of Cyrus the Great (Cyrus II), younger son of Cyrus I, and brother of Arukku. He should not be confus ...
, is ill and returns to visit him that Astyages comes after him and the battle is joined.
Death
There are references to Mandana's death as 559 BC; however, as this year is considered the date of her husband's death (Cambyses I
Cambyses I ( peo, 𐎣𐎲𐎢𐎪𐎡𐎹 ''Kabūjiya'') was king of Anshan (Persia), Anshan from c. 580 to 559 BC and the father of Cyrus the Great (Cyrus II), younger son of Cyrus I, and brother of Arukku. He should not be confus ...
), it is unknown if that is the actual date of her death or when she changed status from queen consort to queen mother
A queen mother is a former queen, often a queen dowager, who is the mother of the reigning monarch. The term has been used in English since the early 1560s. It arises in hereditary monarchies in Europe and is also used to describe a number of ...
.
Sources
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mandane Of Media
Persian queens consort
Median people
6th-century BC women
Queens of the Achaemenid Empire
580s BC births
Year of death unknown
6th-century BC Iranian people
Ancient Persian women
Ancient princesses
Cyrus the Great
Median dynasty