From the cuneiform inscriptions of Sargon we learn that during his reign only a portion, presumably the smaller portion, of the Median country was subject to the Assyrians, and that the few races paying tribute either felt themselves practically independent or made repeated attempts to throw off the Assyrian yoke. It was at this time that the power of Assyria over Media was at its zenith. Immediately after the death of Sargon the influence of Ashur in Media began to wane as the desire for freedom increased within the tributary provinces. The accounts of Herodotus, which declare that the Medes revolted from the Assyrians at the close of the eighth century, correspond to the cuneiform records.
At that time the desire for unity had made headway among the Medes. This explains why the name Madâ, in the Sargon texts, is used in a broader sense than in the older texts—e. g., we are told that Kar-Sharrukîn was fortified "for the subjugation of Media" (ana šuknuš mât Madâ[1]). Several lines later Sargon speaks of other races, whom he also calls Medes—e. g., the "Medes on the border of the Aribi of the East" (Madâ ša pâti amêl Aribi nipiḫ šamši, 1. 69). Furthermore, Ellipi, which was formerly spoken of as near to the land of the Madâ, is in another place called a part of Media e. g., " Ba'-it-ili, a district of the Medes in Ellipi"[2] (Ba-'-it-ili na-gu-u sa Ma-da-a-a ša mê-ṣir El-li-bi). In the same place mention is made of a people called Mandâ where the
