From Mount Silhazu to Mount Bikni: Historical Geography of Media in the Neo-Assyrian Period

The problem of historical geography and extent of Median territory in Neo-Assyrian period, from 9th to 7th centuries B.C. has always made dissensions. Given the extent of Median territory in Achaemenid and Parthian periods, early historians and Assyriologists in the late 19th and early 20th centuries considered Median realm extending from Zagros mountains to central plateau of Iran. From 1970s onwards, however, a new minimalistic approach to the historical geography of Neo-Assyrian Zagros has appeared and proposed a large Median territory than previously assumed and located Media on the western flanks of Alvand Mountain ranges. The advocates of this minimalistic approach have put limits on the extent of Assyrian dominance in Iran and consider the Alvand as the last spot of Assyrian Armies’ penetration to the east. The present study deals with assessing these contradictory assumptions. We also try to determine the Median boarders and also try to locate the main regions and cities of Media based on the Assyrian written sources.