Achmetha

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This entry incorporates text from the public domain Easton's Bible Dictionary, originally published in 1897.

Achmetha (Ezra 6:2), called Ecbatana by classical writers, was the capital of northern Media. Here was the palace which was the residence of the old Median monarchs, and of Cyrus and Cambyses. In the time of Ezra, the Persian kings resided usually at Susa of Babylon. But Cyrus held his court at Achmetha; and Ezra, writing a century after, correctly mentions the place where the decree of Cyrus was found.

According to the commentator Charles Fensham (commentary on Ezra and Nehemiah), Xenophon records that Cyrus resided in Babylon in the winter months, in Susa during the spring, and in Achmetha (Ecbatana) in the summer. Achmetha was the headquarters of the Medes. It later became a part of the Persian empire after the victory of King Cyrus.