Artlas. ARTIAS, by fome called Arbycas, by others Cardiccas, Teigned next. From his name, fome, who indulge etynologics, argue him to have been a great and glorious prince, the word art or arta, in the compofition of his mane, denoting greatnefs, as it does, according to the interpretation of Herodotus, in that of the Perfian Artaxerxes. All we can fay is, that, if he performed great exploits, they have been long fince buried in oblivion. There is a great difagreement among authors concerning the length of his reign, fome allowing him fifty years, others thirty, and fome only thirteen. 533 Arbianes, AFTER him came Arbianes; in whofe reign a war broke out between the Medes and Cadufians, who, at the inftigation of one Par fades, rifing up in arms, fhook off the yoke, which they had for fome time groaned under. Parfodes was by birth a Perfian; but the chief favourite and prime minifter of Arbianes king of the Medes, whom he ferved with great fidelity, till, being highly provoked at a sentence pronounced againft him by that prince, he fled, with three thoufand foot, and a thoufand horfe, to the Cadufians; where he not only withdrew his obedience to Arbianes, but ftirred up the whole nation to a revolt. The Cadufians, being thus encouraged to ftand up for their liberties, committed the whole management of the war to Parfodes, as the moft proper perfon, on all accounts, to appear at the head of their army; but, before he took the field, Arbianes died, after a reign of twenty years. Artæus. ARTAUS came to the crown while the Cadufians were making vaft preparations to invade his kingdom; and, understanding that Parfodes was advancing towards the frontiers at the head of two hundred thoufand men, he thought it high time to curb the infolence of that rebel; and accordingly, having raifed an army of eight hundred thousand men, he marched out with his mighty hoft, and engaged the rebels; but was moft fhamefully routed, and forced to fave himself by flight, leaving fifty thoufand of his men dead in the field of battle. Upon this victory, the Cadufians proclained Parfades their king; who, accepting the crown, infpired his new fubjects with that irreconcileable hatred which he had conceived against the Medes, and laid the foundations of a perpetual enmity between the two nations. He is faid to have folemnly conjured the Cadufians, even on his death-bed, to wage an eternal war with the Medes, and never lay down their arms, till that odious nation was utterly abolished, loading, at the fame time, with curfes and imprecations, fuch of his fucceffors, as ever fhould, upon any terms whatfoever, be reconciled with them. In pursuance of this, as we may call it, his laft will, the Cadufians watched all opportunities of haraffing the Medes with inroads, and doing them what mifchicf they could, till the empire was transferred from them to the Perfians 9. AFTER Artaus, Artynes reigned twenty-two years; but Artynes. did nothing worth mentioning. He was fucceeded by Artibarnas or Artabanus; in whofe reign, the Parthians, re- Artibarvolting, put themselves under the protection of the Sace, nas. a people inhabiting mount Hemodus, which feparates India from Scythia. This occafioned a war of many years between the Medes and the Saca, who were then governed by the famed Zanara, an heroine of great prowess. That princefs is no lefs celebrated, by our author, for her courage and conduct in war, than for her beauty. She had, according to him, refcued her country from the tyranny of the neighbouring princes, civilized her fubjects, and inured them to military difcipline, and the toils of war. After fhe had, for many years, harafled the Medes, a peace was at laft concluded between her and Atibarnas, on the following equitable conditions, that the Parthian fhould fubmit to the Medes; and the Saca and Medes quietly enjoy what they poffeffled at the beginning of the war (P). HITHERTO we have dwelt on what we may fafely call the fabulous hiftory of the Medes, these kings, or most of them, being no-where found, but in the books, or rather (P) This queen was, according to our author, another Semiramis. She excelled all of her own fex in beauty, and was inferior to none of the Idem ibid. vantages they enjoyed by her other in courage and wisdom; top of which was a PY the built many cities, madeiramid of a furlong in height. Upon this pyramid he was The genu ine hiftory of the Medes. in the imagination, of Ctefias, which was very fertile in the production of monfrers. We now come to the genuine hiftery of Media, as it has been tranfmitted to us by authors of a quite different character. 9 THE Medes, having thrown off the Affyrian yoke in the reign of Sennacherib, lived fome time without a king; but were again brought under fubjection by one of their own country, whofe name was Dejoces. He is represented as a fubtle, crafty man, and aiming at abfolute power; and is faid to have compaffed his defign in the following manner: The Medes were, at that time, divided into feveral diftricts, in one of which lived Dejoces, who, Teeing all kind of licentioufnefs prevail over the whole country, ap plied himself to the adminiftration of juftice with great zeal and diligence. The Medes of the fame diftrict, obfervifig the equity of his conduct, chose him for their judge, and he, afpiring to the fovereign power, performed that office with all poffible regard to justice. By this means, he not only acquired a great reputation in his own district, but among thofe alfo of the other divifions, who looked upon him as the only impartial judge in the whole nation: whence fuch as thought themfelves injured by unjust fentences, reforted from all parts to him, in order to obtain justice, till, at last, no one would commit the decifion of a differ ence to any other perfon. At length the numbers of those, who applied to him for redrefs, increafing, in proportion to the great fame of his equity, and the whole care of adminiftring juftice-being devolved upon him, he unexpect edly abfented himself from the place where he used to determine differences, declaring, he would no longer perform that office, and fubmitting it to the judgment of his countrymen, whether it was reasonable, that he fhould neglect his private affairs, to attend thofe of the public. Hereupon rapine and all manner of wickedness prevailing again to fuch a degree, that it was not fafe to live in the country, the Medes called a general affembly of the whole nation, to deliberate on the means of reforming the abufes, that were daily becoming more frequent. Upon this occafion, thofe, who were in the intereft of Dejoces obferved, that, if a ftop was not put to the growth of the diforders that had already overspread the whole land, they should foon be obliged to abandon their country to a foreign enemy. They advifed therefore their countrymen, to appoint a king of their own nation, as the only expedient that could refcue their country from impending ruin. Their difcourfe was received with general approbation, and a king was refolved 10 on. Their next deliberation was concerning the perfon, whom they fhould prefer to the crown; when Dejoces, was named to the fovereignty, and, with univerfal applause, placed on the throne. THUS was Dejoces created king; and no fooner was he Dejoces vefted with the fupreme power, than he threw off the chofen king mask, and commenced tyrant; though the rigour he pra- Year of ctifed may perhaps have been abfolutely neceflary to bring the flood the nation, after fome years of anarchy, into any order or 1638. difcipline. THE first thing he did, after his promotion, was to command his new fubjects to build him a palace fuitable to his dignity, and to appoint him guards for the fafety of his perfon. He was obeyed; and, on the ground which he chofe, a ftrong and ftately fabric was erected for his ordinary refidence. At the fame time he was allowed to chufe for his guard, out of the whole nation, fuch as he thought moft, proper for that truft. Thus fettled on the throne, he united the feveral diftricts, into which the Medes had been divided during the anarchy, and turned his thoughts towards building a ftrong city, which might be the metro polis of his new kingdom. To this also his fubjects fubmitted; and the famous city of Ecbatan was built, pursuant to his orders and directions, a city which, in procefs of time, became very famous in those parts (Q). DEJOCES, thus lodged in a magnificent and welldefended city, enacted the following laws to be obferved by all his fubjects, of what rank foever; that no one fhould be admitted to his prefence; but tranfact all things by his fervants and minifters: that none fhould be allowed I • HERODOT. 1. i. c. 95–99. is Arbaces, whom he confounds Bef. Chr. wish blodt (Q Ecbatan, in Scripture (38), is called Achmetba; by Ctefias and Stephanus, Agbatan. In the book of Judith, it is faid to have been built by Ar phaxad king of the Medes. Dr. Prideaux (39) tells us, upon what ground we know not, that Ecbatan was only enlarged and beautified by De-ture, where, according to Ear joces. He will, perhaps, have (41),the faid decree was lodged. blues tera tolboqzs fluo vit en nortin awo Mora (38) Ezra vi. 2. pr (39) Connect, of the Old and New Teftamunt, pr. 26, (40) Jofeph, antiq. I. xi. q. (41) Ezra, ubi fupra, benenes 710. even to fee him, that were not immediately of his household and that for any, who attended him, to laugh or fpit in his prefence, fhould be accounted a great indecency, and contrary to the refpect which is due to a fovereign. Thefe laws he injoined, that the malecontents might have no opportunity of putting in execution any evil design against his perfon, not doubting but thofe, who were de barred from feeing him, would be eatily induced to think him of a fuperior nature to themselves: but tho' he kept himfelf thus concealed from the eyes of the people, yet he was informed of every thing that happened in his dominions, maintaining to that end many emiflaries in all the provinces of his government, who brought him a minute account of every tranfaction. By this means, no crime escaped either the knowlege of the prince, or the rigour of the laws and the punishment, thus treading upon the heels of the offence, kept the wicked in awe, and fremmed the courfe of violence and injustice 10 BALI2' 59 DEJOCES, having thus civilized his unpelifhed fubjects, began to entertain thoughts of extending the limits of his new kingdom; and, with this view, invaded Affyria, which was now in its decline, and greatly weakened by the revolt of many nations, who, following the example of the Medes, had fhaken off the Affyrian yoke. But Saafduchinus or Nebuchadanofor, at that time king of Affyria, meeting him in the great plain of Ragau, a battles enfued, in which the Medes were utterly defeated, and Dejoces himself flain", after å reign, according to Herodotus, of fifty-three years (R) Nebu 13740 HERODOT. 1.i. c. 99- and Judith i. paff. (R) This unfuccefsful war was not carried on, as fome fuppofe, by Phraortes, the fon and fucceffor of Dejoces, but by Dejoces himself, by the prince, which reigned over the Medes in Ecbatana, and built in Ecbatana walls round about, as we read in the book of Ju-, dith (42). Now the city of Ecbatana, and the walls for Idem ibid. c. roz. Areas of meat aluno hos as a past and to do which the city was chiefly remarkable, were built by Dejaces, as is faid in exprefs terms by Herodotus (43) We may hence conclude the Dejoces of Herodotus, and the Arphaxad of the book of Judith, who was killed by Nebuchadonofor in the great plain of Ragau, to be one and the fame perfon (44) (42) Judithi. 1, 2. (43) Herodot, I. i. c. 93. ad A. M. 3296. and Prideaux counç7. part i. booli. p. 35. 3 (44) See Ufh. chadonofor, |