The Medes were an ancient Iranian people who spoke Median and inhabited Media, an area spanning western to northern Iran. They settled in northwestern Iran and parts of Mesopotamia around Ecbatana (modern-day Hamadan) circa the 11th century BCE. Their consolidation in Iran is believed to have occurred in the 8th century BCE. By the 7th century BCE, the Medes had established control over western Iran and possibly other areas, though the exact extent of their territory is unclear.

Despite their significant role in ancient Near Eastern history, the Medes left no written records. Their history is primarily known through foreign sources, including Assyrian, Babylonian, Armenian, and Greek accounts, as well as from Iranian archaeological sites believed to be Median. Herodotus depicted the Medes as a powerful people who established an empire in the early 7th century BCE, lasting until the 550s BCE.

In 646 BCE, Assyrian king Ashurbanipal sacked Susa, ending Elamite dominance in the region.^[13] For over 150 years, Assyrian kings from Northern Mesopotamia had sought to conquer the Median tribes of Western Iran.^[14] Facing Assyrian pressure, small kingdoms on the western Iranian plateau merged into larger, more centralized states. During the latter half of the 7th century BCE, the Medes achieved independence under the leadership of Deioces. In 612 BCE, Cyaxares, Deioces' grandson, allied with Babylonian king Nabopolassar to invade Assyria. This alliance culminated in the siege and destruction of Nineveh, the Assyrian capital, leading to the fall of the Neo-Assyrian Empire.^[15] The Medes also conquered and dissolved Urartu.^[16] The Medes are recognized for founding the first Iranian empire and nation, which was the largest of its time until Cyrus the Great merged the Medes and Persians, forming the Achaemenid Empire around 550–330 BCE. Media became a significant province under successive empires, including the Achaemenids, Seleucids, Parthians, and Sasanians.