Med

Med (Medes) is one of the ancient Near Eastern peoples mentioned in primary sources from the pre-Islamic period, whose relationship with the Kurds is debated; it is mentioned in ancient sources along with the geography of Media.

Debate on its Relationship with Kurds

The Medes are at the center of one of the most open areas of speculation in pre-Islamic Kurdish history. How related similar and parallel appellations such as Med, Kardukhia, Corduene, Qardu (Beth Qardu), Korduk, Kordrik, and Korçeyk, mentioned in primary sources from this period, are to the Kurds is a major subject of debate in early Kurdish historiography (Vol. 1, p. 17). To evaluate the information associated with Kurds in these sources, one must directly consult the sources that mention them; this is also the way to reach a meaningful conclusion as to whether peoples like the Medes and Kardukhialılar have a connection with the Kurds (Vol. 1, p. 18).

In the academic approach, it is emphasized that the Medes should not be read in isolation, but as part of a whole concerning ancient Kurdish history: The historical geography of Mardia, Media, Kardukhia (Corduene, Korduk/Korçeyk, and Beth Qardu), Adiabene, and even Armenia concerns the Kurds both historically and socio-culturally (Vol. 1, p. 20). However, it is not claimed that the peoples mentioned in these sources definitively refer to the Kurds; the relevant section merely aims to provide information about the nature of the sources in ancient period discussions (Vol. 1, p. 18).

The Medes in Ancient Sources

Most of the information regarding the Medes comes from Greek, Roman, and Armenian historians. Xenophon, while addressing the Persian-Median relationship, provides important details about the traditions and customs of the Medes (Vol. 1, p. 27). Diodorus Siculus is the author of the work titled Bibliotheke Historike, which contains information about ancient peoples (Vol. 1, p. 28). Pliny describes the lands extending east and northeast from Adiabene as the country of the Medes and dedicates a separate section to the country of the Medes (Vol. 1, p. 47). Eusebius, in his Chronicle, considered the first systematic and universal history of the ancient world, also mentions the Medes along with the Chaldeans, Assyrians, and Lydians (Vol. 1, p. 36).

The name Med also appears in connection with the geographical and political boundaries of the region: in the treaty of 298/99 AD, the fortress of Zintha was accepted as the border between Media and Armenia (Vol. 1, p. 40), Strabo mentioned the Amardians living on the borders of the Media and Armenia mountains along with other peoples (Vol. 1, p. 31). Theophylact Simocatta also records that the Kardukhia mountain range could be seen from the Malabason mountains in the Media region (Vol. 1, p. 41). It is noteworthy that Procopius, one of the Late Antiquity historians, frequently mentions the Medes in his work (Vol. 1, p. 39).

Armenian Sources

Armenian sources provide original data regarding the Medes. Moses Khorenatsi states that a person named Zoroaster, king and priest of the Medes, was left as regent in Assyria, lists the Median kings mentioned in Eusebius's chronicle, and states that the Medes were known as Muratsean or Marats'i in his own time (Vol. 1, p. 77). In a later period, a text attributed to Sebeos recounts that the Medes, who no longer existed, sided with the Persians against the Arabs during the Arab-Persian conflict with an army of eighty thousand men under the command of a general named Rustem (Vol. 1, p. 79).