Cyaxares vs Hormizd IV

Cyaxares formed a military alliance with Nabopolassar, king of Babylon, to jointly attack the Assyrian Empire. This coalition combined Median and Babylonian forces against the weakened Assyrian state, setting the stage for the fall of Nineveh.

Cyaxares led the Median army alongside Babylonian forces in the siege of Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian Empire. The city was captured and destroyed after a three-month siege, resulting in the collapse of the Assyrian Empire and the rise of Median power.

Cyaxares fought the Lydian king Alyattes at the Battle of the Eclipse, which was halted by a solar eclipse. The battle ended in a stalemate, leading to a peace treaty mediated by Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II, establishing the Halys River as the border between Media and Lydia.

Hormizd IV succeeded his father Khosrow I as king of the Sasanian Empire. He inherited a powerful but strained empire, facing threats from the Byzantine Empire and internal noble factions.

Hormizd IV alienated the powerful Zoroastrian clergy and nobility by favoring commoners and showing tolerance towards Christians. He executed several high-ranking nobles, including the powerful general Bahram Chobin, leading to widespread rebellion.

Following a rebellion led by the general Bahram Chobin, Hormizd IV was overthrown by a conspiracy of nobles. He was blinded and imprisoned, and his son Khosrow II was placed on the throne. Hormizd was later killed in captivity.