Deiokes is considered the first king of the ancient land of Medes. He appears on the Bible Timeline with World History around 700 BC. The Medians were an ancient tribal group that existed in the Middle East for thousands of years.
Their homelands were situated in the Middle East near the modern day nation of Iran. The Medes were not an important tribal group for thousands of years and it wasn’t until the fall of the Assyrian Empire that they became significant in world affairs.
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Around 600 B.C. the Babylonians, Medes and Scythians were subjected to the might of the Assyrian Empire which ruled the Middle East and the Mesopotamian world. The Babylonians, Medes and Scythians joined forces and rebelled against the Assyrians. They were led by the Babylonian general Nebopolasser who eventually play a crucial role with the defeat of Assyria at Nineveh and Harran. Once Harran fell to the Babylonians and their allies the Babylonians became the next undisputed rulers of the Middle East.
The Babylonians formed an alliance with the Medes and continued to rely on them to help fight wars. After the Medes gained their independence from the Assyrians they settled into their homelands and began to live a sedentary lifestyle. The vast majority of the Median population no longer remained nomadic. They tried to live in cities and to establish some type of permanent society. Since the Medes were not used to living a stable existence this situation caused them many problems.
The Medes were a people who didn’t have a centralized government. They were used to living as nomads and as a result they were governed by clan chiefs. The chiefs would usually settle disputes, but this proved to be ineffective for their new lifestyle. They needed a judge or group of judges to preside over their legal and social matters.
There was one man within their community by the name of Deiokes whom the people considered a wise judge and ruler. The Median people took all of their problems to Deiokes and him decide various matters that affected their lives. At first Deiokes didn’t mind performing this task for the people but eventually it started to weigh down on him and take a toll on his personal life. So Deiokes told the people that he would continue to be their judge if they made him king. The people agreed that Deiokes would be king and he then began to rule the people.
Once Deiokes became the first Median king he had the people construct a palace and created a Median capital known as Ecbatana. Deiokes then told the people that he must live in seclusion when he was not governing the people. He had developed a vast network of spies that constantly fed him information about events all throughout his land. He also decided to write down all of his judgments and decisions in writing so that he could enjoy the pleasures and luxuries of being king.
Deiokes’ rule didn’t achieve any major changes for the Median people, but it did help them to remain settled as a people. The Medians were always in the shadow of the Babylonians and they didn’t become a significant power.
Starting with Deiokes there were only five ruling monarchs that governed the land from 700 B.C. to 550 B.C. The biblical city of Laodicea that was mentioned in Revelations 3: 14 used was founded by the people of Medes. After Persia conquered Babylon and the rest of the Middle East the Medians began to decline after 550 B.C. Many of them went back to their nomadic lifestyles.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deioces
http://bibleencyclopedia.com/medes.htm
http://mythagora.com/encyctxt/subtextd/deiokes.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Median_Empire.jpg
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