Mazares (

Median In statistics and probability theory, the median is the value separating the higher half from the lower half of a data sample, a population, or a probability distribution. For a data set, it may be thought of as "the middle" value. The basic f ...

: ''Mazdara'', grc, Μαζάρης) was a

general who defected to

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 ...

when the latter overthrew his grandfather,

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 ...

and formed the Persian Empire. Mazares is mentioned by

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 fo ...

as a Median general in the service of

who died while putting down a revolt in Asia Minor.

Repression of the Lydian revolt

After Cyrus' conquest of

Lydia Lydia ( Lydian: ‎𐤮𐤱𐤠𐤭𐤣𐤠, ''Śfarda''; Aramaic: ''Lydia''; el, Λυδία, ''Lȳdíā''; tr, Lidya) was an Iron Age kingdom of western Asia Minor located generally east of ancient Ionia in the modern western Turkish pro ...

in 539 BC, a Lydian official named

Pactyas Pactyes was the Lydian put in charge of civil administration and gathering Croesus's gold when Lydia was conquered by Cyrus the Great of Persia around 546 BC: He led a revolt against Cyrus and Tabalus, the Persian military commander or satrap w ...

, whom Cyrus had honored by making him a treasury official in his own government, raised an army of Lydians and

Ionia Ionia () was an ancient region on the western coast of Anatolia, to the south of present-day Izmir. It consisted of the northernmost territories of the Ionian League of Greek settlements. Never a unified state, it was named after the Ionia ...

Greeks The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, ot ...

. He revolted against Tabalus, Cyrus'

Satrap A satrap () was a governor of the provinces of the ancient Median and Achaemenid Empires and in several of their successors, such as in the Sasanian Empire and the Hellenistic empires. The satrap served as viceroy to the king, though with cons ...

at Sardis in Lydia, besieging the Persian forces in the royal enclosure and stealing from the famed Lydian Horde (the riches of King Crœsus) to finance his revolt. Cyrus, upon hearing of the revolt, was enraged and made plans to punish the Lydians by burning Sardis to the ground. King Crœsus, who had been made an advisor to Cyrus' court after his defeat, entreated Cyrus to leave his former capital unharmed. According to Herodotus, Crœsus' recommendation was to disarm the population and enact trade laws that would turn the minds of the people to habits of luxury and pleasure: :"By doing this," Crœsus advised, "the people will, in a short time, become so enervated and so effeminate that you will have nothing to fear from them." Cyrus, who was to become known for the mercy he showed to the peoples he conquered, agreed and sent his commander Mazares to put down the insurrection according to Crœsus' wishes, with instructions to return Pactyas alive for punishment. But Pactyas fled when Marzares' forces approached the city and found refuge in Ionian Greece. Mazares gave chase, conquering the Ionian Greek city-states of Priene and Magnesia, capturing Pactyas after several attempts and sending him back to Cyrus for punishment. Mazares then continued the conquest of Asia Minor, but died of unknown causes while on campaign:

Succession

Cyrus then sent his leading general,

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 th ...

, to take his place. Harpagus completed Mazares' conquests of

Asia Minor Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

Lycia Lycia ( Lycian: 𐊗𐊕𐊐𐊎𐊆𐊖 ''Trm̃mis''; el, Λυκία, ; tr, Likya) was a state or nationality that flourished in Anatolia from 15–14th centuries BC (as Lukka) to 546 BC. It bordered the Mediterranean Sea in what is ...

Cilicia Cilicia (); el, Κιλικία, ''Kilikía''; Middle Persian: ''klkyʾy'' (''Klikiyā''); Parthian: ''kylkyʾ'' (''Kilikiyā''); tr, Kilikya). is a geographical region in southern Anatolia in Turkey, extending inland from the northeastern co ...

and

Phoenicia Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their his ...

, using the hitherto unknown technique of building

earthworks Earthworks may refer to: Construction *Earthworks (archaeology), human-made constructions that modify the land contour *Earthworks (engineering), civil engineering works created by moving or processing quantities of soil *Earthworks (military), mi ...

to breach the walls of besieged cities:

External links

Livius.org HistoriesThe Baldwyn Project

References

{{Achaemenid rulers Generals Median people Military leaders of the Achaemenid Empire 6th-century BC deaths Year of birth unknown 6th-century BC Iranian people Achaemenid satraps of Lydia Officials of Cyrus the Great