A Look at the Religion of the Medes Based on the Analysis of Two Neo-Babylonian Inscriptions and the Sequence of Their Kings

Various views have been proposed about the religious beliefs of the Medes. Some consider them followers of Zoroastrianism and others have the opposite opinion. This research deals with the following questions: Did different groups of the Medes have the same religion? What are the characteristics of their religion? To what extent was it akin to Zoroastrianism or the common beliefs of the people of Mesopotamia? Contrary to the views insisting on the influence of Mesopotamia worldview on the attitude of Iranians living in the western regions of the Iranian Plateau, the present study shows that based on the content of Mesopotamian documents as the first-hand written sources, Greek-language reports as the second-hand sources, and according to some cultural elements of the Medes (e.g. individual names), the dominant religion of this group of Iranian descent, on the one hand, has similarities to Zoroastrianism and on the other hand, has clear differences with Mesopotamia beliefs. The fact that the religious mentality of a group of the Medes was in complete opposition to the religious culture ruling Mesopotamia forms the foundation of the current paper