The Median empire was not of long duration. Little more than a century had passed since Phraortes succeeded Deioces in the government of the land of Ecbatana, little more than eighty since Phraortes had united the tribes of the Medes under his leadership, about sixty since Cyaxares had expelled the Scythians, and not quite fifty since Nineveh had succumbed to the arms of the Medes and Babylonians. In the overthrow of so mighty a power, Cyrus had achieved a great, and, so far as we can tell, an unexpected, success. Scanty as our information is, we can still perceive that he used the victory with circumspection and moderation. Herodotus told us that he did no injury to the captive Astyages, and kept him with him till his death. Ctesias relates that at the command of Cyrus, the heavy chains, which Oebares had put on Astyages, were quickly taken off; that he honoured him as a father; and entrusted him with the government of the Barcanians. According to the statement of Pompeius Trogus, Cyrus allowed him to be viceroy of the Hyrcanians. The same nation may be meant by these two names; in the inscriptions of Darius Hyrcania is called Varkana, in the Avesta Vehrkana.[559] Ctesias further tells us that Cyrus put to death the Mede Spitamas, whom Astyages had married to his daughter Amytis, and then made his successor, and that after treating Amytis for some time as his mother he subsequently made her his wife. No harm was done to Megabernes and Spitaces, the sons of her marriage with Spitamas; on the contrary, the first was placed by the wish of Cyrus in the satrapy of the Barcanians, the second in the satrapy of the Derbiccians. Cyrus must have made it his object to reconcile the Medes to their defeat and loss of empire. If he could make the house of Astyages his own, and take his daughter to wife, the edge of the change was softened, and the more apparent it was that this marriage had the consent of Astyages, the more legitimate would his rule be in the eyes of the Medes, the less could they regard it as the dominion of a stranger. It was of importance to gain the assent of the Medes to the new kingdom, and support this if possible on the united power of Medes and Persians. Moreover, the relations of alliance in which Astyages stood to the princely houses of Lydia and Babylonia made it advisable to deal carefully with Astyages and his kindred. Astyages was still alive in 549 B.C.,[560] according to Herodotus and Ctesias. Whatever may be the case as to the connection of Cyrus with Amytis, his legitimate wife was Cassandane, the daughter of the Persian Pharnaspes, who according to Herodotus was an Achæmenid, and was in fact one of the six tribal princes. Cassandane bore Cyrus two sons, Cambyses and Bardiya, whom Herodotus calls Smerdis; Ctesias, Tanyoxarkes; and Xenophon, Tanaoxares. The death of Cassandane was a great grief to Cyrus; he caused the whole kingdom to go into mourning for her.[561]