Diako

Diako, Dahiok, or Dia’uko was the founder and first king of the Median Empire. His name is mentioned in various sources in different forms; for instance, Herodotus wrote his name as “Deioces.” The name Diako is derived from the Iranian word Dahiok, meaning land. The exact date of Diako’s reign is not clearly known and likely covered more of the first half of the seventh century BC. According to Herodotus, Diako reigned for 53 years

According to the writings of Herodotus, Diaochos was the first king of the Medes who gained independence from the Assyrians

The first task of Diaoch after ascending to the throne was to appoint guards for himself and also to build a capital. The city that Diaoch chose for this purpose was known in Old Persian as Hegmataneh and in Greek as Ekbatana, which is identified with present-day Hamadan. Hegmataneh means “place of gathering” or “city for all” and refers to the coming together of the Median tribes that were previously dispersed. In the late eighth century BC, he ordered the construction of a stronghold on a hill in this city so that all military, governmental, and treasury affairs could be conducted there. After Diyako, his son Fravartish succeeded him and ruled for 22 years

In the late eighth century BC, he ordered the construction of a stronghold on a hill in this city so that all military, governmental, and treasury affairs could be conducted there. Herodotus explains that this royal complex was built with seven concentric walls, each inner wall taller than the outer wall and overlooking it.These seven walls were each decorated in a specific color: the first (outer) wall was white, the second wall was black, the third was bright red, the fourth was blue, the fifth was light red, the sixth wall was copper-colored, and the seventh and innermost wall was golden. This type of coloring in Babylon was a sign of the seven planets, but in Ecbatana, it was an imitation of Babylon.