Phraortes

Phraortes (died 653 bc) was the king of Media from 675 to 653 bc. Known by that name as a result of the writings of the 5th-century-bc Greek historian Herodotus, he was originally a village chief of Kar Kashi, but he later subjugated the Persians and a number of other Asian peoples, eventually forming an anti-Assyrian coalition of Medes and Cimmerians. In his attack on Assyria, however, he was defeated and killed in battle.

Another Phraortes was a usurper who reigned for a short time in Media during a rebellion against the Achaemenian king Darius I in 522 bc. Darius’ rock inscription at Bīsitūn relates that “a man of the name of Fravartish [i.e., Phraortes], a Mede, rebelled in Media and spoke to the people thus ‘I am Khshathrita, of the family of Uvakhshtra [Cyaxares].’ ” After a short reign this king was defeated and executed at Ecbatana, the Median capital. The deception of the usurper Phraortes may have led to Herodotus’ mistake about the name of the earlier king.