Median Kingdom

State · 615–551 BCE · at its largest around 600 BCE

The Medes, Iranian horsemen of the Zagros mountains, joined Babylon to destroy the Assyrian capital Nineveh in 612 BC. From Ecbatana they led a loose kingdom whose customs, titles and nobility passed to the Persian empire of Cyrus, their conqueror.

On its lands while it lasted

Eridu (c. 5,400–600 BCE): Regarded by the Sumerians as the first city; its temple to the god Enki was rebuilt many times from the Ubaid period onward.
Uruk (c. 5,000 BCE – c. 700 CE): Sumerian city on the Euphrates that by about 3100 BCE was probably the largest city in the world, centre of the first urban civilization.
Anshan Persia (4,000 BCE – 675 CE): Capital of Elam (2700 BCE–601 BCE).
Assur (2,500–609 BCE): Capital of Assyria (1800 BCE–901 BCE), Neo-Assyrian Empire (900 BCE–609 BCE).
Babylon (2,201 BCE – 1 CE): Capital of Babylonia (1800 BCE–601 BCE), Neo-Babylonian Empire (600 BCE–539 BCE), Achaemenid Empire (550 BCE–330 BCE).
Nimrud (c. 1,800–612 BCE): Capital of Assyria (1800 BCE–901 BCE).
Nineveh (c. 1,800–612 BCE): Capital of Assyria (1800 BCE–901 BCE).
Dur-Sharrukin (c. 1,800–605 BCE): Capital of Assyria (1800 BCE–901 BCE).
Tushpa (c. 800–590 BCE): Capital of Kingdom of Urartu (800 BCE–590 BCE).
Nebuchadnezzar II (c. 642 BCE – 562 BCE): King of Babylon (r. 605–562 BCE) who rebuilt Babylon on a grand scale and conquered Jerusalem, deporting many of its inhabitants.
Fall of Nineveh (612 BCE): A coalition of Babylonians and Medes sacked Nineveh, the Assyrian capital, bringing about the collapse of the Neo-Assyrian Empire.
Cyrus the Great (c. 600 BCE – 530 BCE): Founder of the Achaemenid Persian Empire, which he expanded from Anatolia to Central Asia by conquering Media, Lydia and Babylon.
Hanging Gardens of Babylon (c. 600 BCE): Terraced gardens said to have been built in Babylon, perhaps by Nebuchadnezzar II; one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and the only one whose site has never been found.
Ishtar Gate (c. 575 BCE): A monumental gateway of blue glazed bricks decorated with dragons and aurochs, built by Nebuchadnezzar II; a reconstruction stands in Berlin's Pergamon Museum.