Phraortes

For the genus of stick insects, see Lonchodinae.

Phraortes,^[a] son of Deioces, was the second king of the Median kingdom.

Phraortes
King of the Medes
Reign	678 – 625 BCE
Predecessor	Deioces
Successor	Cyaxares
Died	625 BCE
Dynasty	Median dynasty
Father	Deioces
Religion	Ancient Iranian religion

Like his father Deioces, Phraortes started wars against Assyria, but was defeated and killed by the Assyrian king, probably Ashurbanipal (r. 668-631 BCE).

Biography

All information about him is from Herodotus. According to him (1.102), Phraortes was the son of Deioces and united all Median tribes into a single state. He also subjugated the Persians and Parthians and other nations of ancient Iran. He ruled for twenty-two years (c. 675 – c. 653 BC), however, some scholars assume that he ruled for fifty-three years, c. 678 – c. 625. Phraortes is commonly identified with Kashtariti, a chieftain in Media, although some scholars consider such an identification doubtful. He was later succeeded by his son Cyaxares.^[4]

Notes

1. /freɪˈɔːrtiz/ fray-OAR-teez^[1] (Old Persian: 𐎳𐎼𐎺𐎼𐎫𐎡𐏁, romanized: Fravartiš;^[2][3] Ancient Greek: Φραόρτης, romanized: Phraórtēs)